Chris McClure

It’s been said that “leaders are readers,” but one of the shortfalls I often see is that personal growth gets squeezed out by busyness for most leaders.

Does that happen to you? 

I also think that the heart of that statement is still true, but the ways in which leaders access personal growth resources today varies. 

I’m an avid reader, but I know many people aren’t. My wife is an avid audiobook listener. I know others who love to listen to podcasts. Some prefer workshops, seminars, and conferences. 

The bottom line is this – leaders need to continually grow in order to remain relevant and effective. 

One way to do this is to focus on adding (or improving) one new skill to your leadership toolbox. 

In our digital world, there are millions of pieces of content being added daily. We can actually suffer from information overload. However, when you focus on developing or improving one new skill at a time, you can cut through all the clutter and find helpful impactful resources more easily.

What is one new skill you need to add to your leadership repertoire? Or what is a skill you already have that you need to enhance?

Spend a few minutes today thinking about this. Commit to going deep on it for the next 90 days, then evaluate your progress. If necessary or desired, dig deeper on it for the next 90 days. Do this repeatedly and imagine how you can become four times better in this one area each year or learn up to four new skills that can improve the quality of your leadership. 

Challenge your followers to do the same. 

Imagine leading a team or organization full of growth-minded people who are committed to getting better every quarter of the year. 

It’s possible to have this kind of culture, but it starts with you as the leader going first to model what you desire from your followers. 

Commit to taking action and making this a new growth habit.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

To say 2020 was a challenging year is a major understatement!

However, when you go through a difficult year (or season), you have the opportunity to come back stronger than before. As the old adage goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” 

Unfortunately, 2020 was a killer of a year, literally and figuratively. People, businesses, and dreams died due to the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crisis, political disunity, and societal unrest due to social injustice. Dealing with a virus is one thing. Dealing with all these others simultaneously is quite another.

Many people declare a “word of the year” and adopt it as a theme for each new year. I typically find a word to live by, but this year my word found me. “Bounceback” has become my hope and theme. I believe it will be the hope of most people after a very difficult time personally and professionally. 

But what does it mean to be a bounceback leader?

Consider the following 4 characteristics of bounceback leaders:

1 – Bounceback leaders are resilient

Leadership is challenging, even in the best of circumstances. Leading through times of disruption is even more challenging. Resiliency is needed when you’re up against tremendous odds. When the deck seems stacked against you, you must display resilience when you want to quit. This is the ability to bounce back to your original form (or even better).

2 – Bounceback leaders are persistent

Persistence is a quality of anyone who has achieved any level of success. Rarely will you achieve greatness on your first try. It’s been said Thomas Edison “failed” 10,000 times, but his perspective was that he found 10,000 ways not to make a light bulb. What if he would’ve given up after his first failed attempt? We may all be sitting in the dark today! When you’re dealing with challenges, commit to being persistent and keep moving forward. Determine to never give up.

3 – Bounceback leaders are optimistic

If you believe you’ve permanently failed and there is no hope for success, bouncing back isn’t an option you’ll even consider. In order to come back from difficult situations, you must find a way to remain optimistic. This isn’t some delusional optimism, but rather it is realistic. While you may not be able to recover all that has been lost in one day, what can you do today to take a step toward recovery? Do that one thing, then the next and the next.

4 – Bounceback leaders are determined 

Those who have achieved the greatest successes in the world were determined to find a way to win. Mental toughness is required when things are bad. We all feel like giving up at times, but bounceback leaders refuse to lose. They commit to find a way to win for themselves and those they are leading. They make a decision to keep moving forward amidst and despite adversity. 

While many people have been wishing 2020 to be over for the past year, I hope you’ll take time to consider all you’ve learned about yourself and how you endured an unprecedented, unexpected season of life and leadership. 

The beginning of a new year is always a great time to reflect on the past year and dream about what could be accomplished in the coming year. If you’re reading this article, celebrate that you survived! Then write down the lessons you’ve learned about yourself, your team, and your organization.

What lessons can you take away from the past year and apply to this new year? 

The best lessons are learned when we reflect on our experiences and squeeze the value out of them. 

If you want to be a bounceback leader, don’t just pretend 2020 didn’t exist. Instead, glean all you can from a challenging year and apply it to your leadership as you advance into the future.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

I often hear leaders say that their time is not their own. While this is true in many ways due to being available to your followers, you still must be very mindful of how you utilize your time each day. You must be strategic in setting boundaries so you train your followers how to treat you.

I once read the account of a leader who was constantly distracted by his employees and drowning in his own workload. Something had to change. He decided to create specific time blocks in his days where he was available to his team members. He alerted them of his new availability, placed a white board outside of his office door, and allowed his followers to schedule 10-minute meetings with him. This helped everyone. He was able to get his work done more efficiently, he gave his employees his full attention when they met with him, and team members came more prepared because they knew they only had 10 minutes. He also made his team meetings more focused so they could get more done in a timely manner. 

While everyone’s situation is different, the principles of this leader’s experience gives us some important insights to consider. The reality is that we all have the same amount of time to use each day. No one gets more than 24 hours per day. How you use your hours is up to you. Choose wisely. 

Consider the following four key actions and consider how you can apply them to your situation:

1 – Create Specific Availability Time Blocks

Time blocking is a common productivity skill that many people fail to utilize. However, when you dedicate a specific amount of time to any task or meeting, you have a clear beginning and ending time that sets expectations. Determine what works best for you, then communicate your availability with your followers.

2 – Have People Schedule Time With You

While many leaders want to have an “open door policy,” this can often be a terrible idea for focus and productivity. I struggled with this for years. I wanted to be available to my team members, but I finally realized how unproductive it made me. I often felt extremely scattered. Closing my door and setting clear time blocks was challenging at first, but it ultimately made me a better leader to accomplish my tasks and it gave others clear boundaries for how to engage with me. When people have to schedule time with you, it requires them to think more strategically as to whether or not it’s needed.

3 – Give a Limited, Specific Amount of Time to Meet

Just as an open door policy can be detrimental, so can having no beginning and ending time in meetings. Much time is wasted on a daily basis due to lack of focus. It’s amazing how much you can accomplish in a brief period of time when you are clear on what you need to do and when you need to finish. Give your followers a specific amount of time to meet with you and stick to it. If a follow-up meeting is required to continue the conversation, do it, but don’t allow yourself to run over your predetermined time frame. That creates bad habits and communicates that you’re not serious about your time blocks.

4 – Maximize Team Meetings

Many people cringe when they hear the word “meeting,” but that’s because most meetings are not well-planned or executed. People often come to the meeting unprepared or there’s often no clear agenda. Mastering the art of leading good meetings can take your team and organization to new levels. Communicate a clear purpose of your meetings, set clear expectations of how the meetings will be executed, then end with clear assignments and deadlines for actions to be accomplished. When you maximize your team meetings, you also improve your individual meetings. Many times, a well-organized team meeting removes the need for individual meetings altogether. 

As mentioned above, I encourage you to reflect on these four key actions to help you set clear boundaries to maximize your valuable time. If you don’t guard your time, no one else will. Your calendar is yours to protect. When you implement these actions in customized ways that work for you and your team, you’ll be able to go farther faster in your life and business.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

Leaders have a bias for taking action to pursue a greater vision somewhere out in the future. While this is an extremely important quality of leadership, only looking ahead can cause you to miss key lessons from your past that can propel you to have a highly successful future. 

My oldest son has played competitive soccer since he was four years old. He loves the game. I’ve had to grow to enjoy it because it’s not the sport I grew up playing. As I’ve watched him play over the years, one key thing has stood out to me – sometimes, the best way forward is to play the ball backward first. 

While this may not make sense at first glance, strategically it can make all the difference in the world. 

If you’re like me, it’s easy to put your head down and drive forward trying to knock down all obstacles in your way. However, that is often called “working harder, not smarter.” The smartest play in sports, business, and life is often to pull back, reflect, and reset in order to advance wisely.

I’ve coached youth sports for many years and I’ve noticed that kids tend to plow “full steam ahead” without thinking about what they’re doing. They just know they need to get from here to there. When they do this, they put their head down and find themselves in a mess. If we’re not careful, this can happen to leaders as well.

In order to confidently move forward, let’s consider these three key steps: 

1 – Pull Back

Whether personally or professionally, it’s not healthy to have the throttle fully down all the time. It leads to burnout. While you may think you just have to keep charging forward, the best decision is to often pull back to rest and regain perspective. When you feel yourself pressing and becoming exhausted, let this be a warning sign that you need to slow down a bit.

2 – Reflect

When you pull back, you give yourself the space to reflect on where you’ve been so you are then able to wisely proceed forward. Reflect on what’s working, what’s not working, who has been contributing, who has been holding you back, and what resources you need for the next phase. Reflection often leads to some of the best insights to help you confidently move forward.

3 – Reset

After you’ve pulled back and reflected, take the time to reset so you can strategically set yourself and your team up for success. Sometimes busyness creates chaos. During your reflection time, you can see how to reset people in various roles or responsibilities so they can contribute best and be more productive. This allows for your team to accomplish more in less time. 

As author and researcher Jim Collins stated in his brilliant business book Good to Great, it’s critical to make sure you have the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats. When you pull back, reflect, and reset, you give yourself a winning advantage over those who just keep plowing ahead thoughtlessly. 

While you probably have a natural tendency to take continuous action, make sure to schedule time in your calendar to slow down so you can pull back, reflect, and reset. I’m confident that if you’ll make this a part of your regular routine that you’ll see incredible results as you chase the vision that is within your reach.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

I once heard a leader say that he metaphorically carries around two buckets every day. One is full of water to put out fires. The other is full of gasoline to start them. 

I love this imagery because it is so true!

Problems must be dealt with daily. (Pour on the water!)

And it’s also vital to inspire followers to take productive action consistently. (Pour on the gasoline!)

One key way to know which bucket to use is to become more situationally aware. Busyness can cause leaders to put blinders on and overlook the obvious opportunities and threats right before their eyes. 

Any crisis can cause us to develop “tunnel vision.” We can become so focused on urgent matters that we neglect truly important ones. 

At its core, leadership is about people, yet in the process of pursuing a vision and going after strategic goals or objectives, we can forget about the very people we’ve been entrusted to lead. 

It may be cliché, but leaders must pull up regularly to see from a 30,000 foot perspective. Too often, the demands of the day drag us back to ground level where we begin to lose sight of the bigger picture. 

If you are going to be the best leader possible, you must fight for your attention. You must pay attention to your surroundings. You must keep your eyes up to see the opportunities and threats surrounding yourself, your team, and your organization. 

Situational awareness allows you to lead with more clarity and effectiveness. 

Consider the following questions to help you become more situationally aware:

• What do your followers need most from you right now?
• What opportunities would be most valuable to pursue right now?
• What threats do you see or sense? 
• What key actions can you take right now to advance your vision, goals, and objectives?

All great actions are a result of great thinking. 

If you want better answers, ask better questions. 

Include your team in the decision making process. 

Invest in your team members so they can grow to reach their potential and help you achieve your vision and goals. 

Schedule time daily to reflect on your current situation and how you can address problems and fuel opportunities. 

Ask your followers what they’re seeing. Having more sets of eyes on things can help you make better decisions faster. 

Leadership is always challenging, but developing better situational awareness will help you achieve more impact and allow you to go farther faster than you ever thought possible.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

As a kid, I hated to read. I barely did what was required of me to get through my school assignments. However, something shifted in my mind after I graduated high school and entered college. Mentors whom I greatly respected shared with me that leaders are continual learners. They shared books they were reading. The modeled continual growth to me. My eyes were opened to why they had the impact and success they had achieved. 

From that point on, I began reading because I wanted to rather than because I had to for school assignments. Truth be told, I still struggled to read for the purpose of my formal education. However, when I fell in love with the topic of leadership and personal growth, I became an avid reader that has now lasted more than 25 years. 

I know reading isn’t the way that everyone learns best. Some prefer audiobooks or video training. Some like to be physically present in the room with presenters and attendees to feel the energy. How you like to learn isn’t as important as that you commit to continually learning. It’s not only good for you, but it’s vital to your leadership credibility and impact.

Leaders need to be able to stay ahead of the pack in order to lead their followers well. This doesn’t mean you need to be an expert on every topic that your organization is about. You certainly need subject matter experts on your team who know much more than you do about key topics. However, you can’t abdicate or delegate leadership development of yourself and remain relevant and effective for your followers. 

I get it. Your job often demands much of your attention and time. You wonder where you can squeeze in time to read, listen, watch, etc. to learn. If this is what you’re thinking at this moment, consider the following ways you can effectively and efficiently invest in yourself so you can be better for those you lead:

1 – Listen while exercising

If you have a regular exercise routine, pop in earbuds, and instead of listening to music, put your mind to work listening to audiobooks or podcasts on a variety of topics that are relevant to your leadership or business. Not only will you become healthier physically, but you’ll also become sharper mentally while maximizing your time.

2 – Maximize your drive time

Speaker Jim Rohn is given credit for saying that if you listen to audio training on your commute over the period of three years that you’ll have the equivalent of a Ph.D. education in your preferred topic. Whether that is 100% accurate or not, the principle is valuable. While others are mindlessly listening to the noise of radio station DJs and commercials, you can be investing in your personal development that will impact those you lead.

3 – Get up early

This is something simple that many people push back on. I get it. We’re all tired after long days, but the most successful people are strategic with their sleep habits. They don’t stay up late binge-watching the latest shows or movies. They go to bed at a reasonable hour and rise early before the rest of the world wakes up. For me, I’ve developed the habit of waking up at 5 AM each weekday morning to read, pray, journal, and think. It’s been THE game-changer for my personal and professional life. For a former “night owl” this shift was challenging at first, but I now crave my quiet early mornings. I sacrifice staying up late for the growth I experience long before my family and the rest of the world wakes up. In fact, this habit has allowed me to write books and blog articles, record podcast episodes, and create a variety of other helpful content for my clients and followers. Without my early morning routine, I would be scrambling like most people do to get going each day. Instead, I have accomplished more by 9 AM than many people accomplish throughout their entire workdays. I don’t say this to impress you or to brag. I simply want to highlight that this one daily habit has the potential to transform your life and leadership. 

4 – Schedule “power hours” 

Whether you invest time learning during your lunch break or during another time during the day, block out space on your calendar to have a personal appointment to learn and grow. Guard this time like you would any other appointment. Productivity experts tell us to ask the question – “What ONE thing can I do that will affect 1,000 other things?” Blocking out time for personal development has that kind of impact. Each time you invest in yourself, you have more to give those you lead and you will learn to work more efficiently and effectively. 

5 – Schedule time away

Leaders are busy. Sometimes the best way to invest in yourself is to escape the environment that keeps you so busy. This may mean going away to a conference or it may simply mean taking a personal retreat. Rent a cabin in the woods, take your learning materials, and something to write with. Give yourself time to think and reflect. Choose a topic to learn about and go deep during an extended period of time rather than in bite-sized chunks where you are only partly mentally engaged. Give yourself time to decompress, rest, and reflect as well. Busyness is like a drug. When you get away, the first few days can be tough. You may feel like you’re going through withdrawal. Slowing down from a frenetic pace can be tough. Be kind to yourself. Give yourself space and time. It’s not only good for you, but also for those you love and lead.

While this isn’t an exhaustive list of ways to invest in yourself, allow these to get your mind going on what can work best for you. My routine isn’t for everyone. Other people’s routines don’t work for me. John C. Maxwell is famous for stating that in order to grow yourself, you need to know yourself. Reflect on the following questions:

• How do you learn best? (reading, listening, watching, etc.)
• When are you sharpest each day? (morning, afternoon, evening)
• What topic(s) do you want to learn more about?
• When will you begin to invest in your personal development? (pick a firm date)
• What obstacles could get in your way?
• How can you overcome these obstacles?

Your personal growth matters. Don’t take this lightly. Instead, make it a priority so you can become better for yourself, your family, and those you lead. While it may take some effort, in the beginning, to get going, stay the course. It does get easier as you go, but you have to do the difficult work to start and press through the challenges. 

You can do this. 

I believe in you!

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

Many leaders have a never-ending vault of ideas stored in their minds about what they “could” or “should” do, but then struggle to find the time to implement them. Many times they are unsure if they actually should pursue these ideas or if they are simply distractions from focusing and going deep on one key idea. 

As I’ve navigated through this challenge, I’ve come to realize that my strength of execution is often hindered by taking action too quickly without strategizing first. Perhaps you’ve fallen into this trap. If this sounds familiar, I believe that the secret to speeding up is actually slowing down. When you slow down to think before acting, you’ll begin to see the key steps that you should intentionally take rather than just starting off recklessly. 

This reminds me of learning how to run long distances as a kid. I remember my P.E. teacher warning us not to start off too fast when running a mile-long race. I was more of a sprinter. I played sports that require short bursts of speed like basketball and baseball rather than those that required more endurance like soccer or cross country. You can probably see where this is going…I chose not to listen to my teacher and felt the pain that ensued in my side and lungs as a result. I may have looked really good on the first of four laps, but the last three were killers!

I share this story because this is how leaders can often work if we’re not careful. Leadership and sustained success is a marathon, not a sprint. Sure, there are moments when you experience some quick wins, but they are typically fueled by a process that built up to them. It’s similar to hearing of so-called “overnight successes.” Ask the people who receive that label how many hours, days, months, and years they put in to prepare for their “overnight success” and you’ll think differently about the concept. 

If you want to go farther faster in your business or life, take a moment to think about where you need to slow down and strategize before jumping into action. As leaders, we must also be careful not to cause whiplash to our followers with changing course too quickly or frequently. It may feel painful to slow yourself down, but the long-term benefits can be amazing. 

I was recently reading Expert Secrets by Russell Brunson and he shared the story of talking to a business consultant who helped companies grow exponentially. She told him that he was falling into the trap that many entrepreneurs do. They work really hard to develop their products and services to launch them out into the world, but then quickly move onto their next idea. They repeat this pattern over and over. Instead, she advised him to slow down and invest in one product or service for a longer time period in order to multiply it’s chances of success. This was an “aha” moment for him. He decided to go all-in for a year on his core offer and did weekly promotional webinars over the course of 52 weeks. This led him to achieve massive success and build a fast-growing company called ClickFunnels that thousands of entrepreneurs are using each day to sell their own products and services. 

I share this story because it’s what many leaders need to hear. Slow down, invest deeply in your team, and refine your strategies along the way in order to have greater long-term success. Beware jumping from project to project too quickly. 

This can happen in your leadership development of your people as well. Don’t think that a meeting or two with your followers is enough to help them become the quality leaders that you need for long-term growth and success. Developing people takes time. They need both knowledge and experience. Meet with them consistently to transfer your knowledge to them, but give them time to test what they’re learning in real-time ways. After a predetermined amount of time, meet with them again to debrief, teach them something new, then turn them loose again to test that out. Do this repeatedly and your effort will ultimately multiply and you’ll see compounding interest in their growth. But it requires you to slow down long enough to invest in them intentionally. 

Take a few moments right now to think about where you need to slow down and strategize in order to speed up in your business or personal life. 

Consider where you’re rushing into action too quickly and determine to choose a better way. 

Both you and your followers will be glad you did. 

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

It’s a BIG understatement to say that 2020 has been a turbulent season. And, unfortunately, the challenges you’ve been navigating won’t just go away when January 1, 2021 arrives. This is season has tested the leadership ability of leaders in all sectors of society. 

One thing that I’ve noticed during times like these is that it’s easy to focus on tactics and strategies while overlooking caring for the people in your organization or on your team. It’s easy to get tunnel vision while trying to fix the problems you’re facing. But people are your most valuable resource and they are navigating the same challenging times in their own lives. They are looking for leaders to care for them and help them move forward.

Transformational leaders have the courage to keep moving forward through the dense fog that is in front of them. Followers are desiring caring guides to help them navigate their way through the same fog. In your effort to come up with creative solutions to your problems, make sure not to overlook caring for your people.

In ancient times, the metaphor of leaders being “shepherds” and followers being considered “sheep” that needed tending was common. In our day and age, calling someone a “sheep” is intended as an insult, but I want to encourage you to reframe your thinking as a leader on this idea. Sheep need guidance and protection. On their own, they are vulnerable. Shepherds keep watch over their flocks in order to ensure they are cared for and have all they need to survive and thrive. 

Leading people is much like tending sheep. They wander when they become stressed. They look for someone to help them find their way. Right now, most people are going in all sorts of directions seeking answers to the challenges they are facing. While they may care about your organization and the goals you have, they are facing unprecedented stress and anxiety. This limits their effectiveness. It’s being reported that depression is elevating. People are feeling lost and confused just like sheep that wander off from their flock out in the wilderness. They need guides. They need a caring leader. 

As you go through this season, consider how you can shepherd your people well. 

Ask them how they’re doing. 

Seek ways to give them clarity where they feel confused. 

Discover ways to serve them in ways that make them feel valued and safe. 

You have an opportunity right now to build greater loyalty with your followers by how you take care of them in the midst of a global pandemic, social unrest, economic turmoil, and political uncertainty. 

Be the leader they need in the midst of a chaotic, and often scary, season that we’re all navigating through. 

You are a leader for such a time as this. Fight through your own confusion and fears in order to help others find peace, hope, and answers when confusion is swirling. This will not only add value to your people today but build your credibility for the years to come. 

However, here’s a warning: If you choose not to do this, be prepared for people to wander aimlessly in lost productivity and begin mistrusting you and your organization. Your inaction during this season can have long-term negative consequences.

The choice is yours. What will you do today to ensure that the future is bright for you as a leader and for your organization’s success?

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

Leadership requires finding solutions to many problems, yet leaders often find themselves stuck and frustrated with the lack of creative solutions to solve them. 

Why is that? 

I believe the answer lies in one simple shift in our thinking. I believe this shift can be valuable to your leadership decision-making process. 

If you want to discover better solutions, you must ask better questions. 

This idea came up in conversations regarding business development and even faith recently. If you’re like me, you want to take action and get results quickly. However, you may struggle to slow down long enough to think better thoughts. 

One action I took to shift my thinking is to create a Q&A document where I ask a specific question and then write down the specific answers that come to my attention through prayer and deep thinking. 

Imagine giving just 5-15 minutes of focused time to specific problems, issues, or concerns that you have. Simply write or type out your question and then pray and think about possible answers. In our fast-paced digital world, it’s easy to move so fast that we never slow down long enough to think deeply. This is holding us back from finding better solutions to the problems that we face. 

Several years ago, I was introduced to the “15-Minute Miracle” exercise where you set a timer and give yourself 15 minutes to work on something specific. It’s a powerful exercise that reveals how much we can achieve in short bursts of focused time. Now, imagine applying this concept to our problem-solving process. Write a very specific question, set your timer, and write down thoughts that come to you on your blank page. 

When I was speaking to a friend recently, he told me that he learned how to design websites and do all sorts of other technical tasks by becoming very good at asking questions in Google searches. He said that when he didn’t find the answers he was looking for he would refine his questions until he did. Sometimes we’re not asking good enough questions, therefore, we’re not finding quality answers. 

Here’s your challenge for today. Create a document and write down your most pressing questions for your business, life, relationships, faith, finances, or any other topic of concern you may have. Then, schedule 15-minute time blocks throughout your upcoming week(s) to focus on one question at a time. If you’re not satisfied with the answers you come up with, refine your questions. See if fine-tuning them leads to better answers that you can confidently implement. 

I believe you have many more answers than you think. The power is in asking better questions to draw out better answers. You can also apply this to leading your team members. When they’re struggling to find answers, ask them better questions that allow them to think deeper about things from different angles. 

You can find better solutions to the problems and challenges you’re facing. It simply requires slowing down long enough to ask better questions and give yourself the space to think deeply about them. 

You can do this. I believe in you!

Until next time, make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of peers where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly live Q&A coaching calls, learn from dynamic leaders in monthly recorded interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose the option to receive a monthly 1:1 coaching call to help you go farther faster. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!

Entrepreneurship coach and expert, Dan Sullivan, recently released a powerful new book with co-author Dr. Benjamin Harden entitled WHO NOT HOW. It’s not an understatement to say that this concept is transforming my business and life in real-time. 

I heard about this concept a few months ago and understood it at a surface level. As I’ve been digging deeper into the book the past few days, I’m blown away. It truly has the power to transform any leader’s life and business when implemented strategically. 

While you can certainly order your own copy for in-depth study, let me just share with you the general premise and get your brain imagining how things can improve personally and professionally when you apply the concept.

We have mostly be trained to think that we have to have all the answers as individuals. In fact, collaboration is often discouraged in our traditional educational environments. (e.g., collaborating on a test is called “cheating”!) However, Dan Sullivan astutely stated recently that the world and marketplace actually reward collaboration. 

Do you see the problem? 

We’re taught not to “cheat” as we grow up through our school years, then we struggle to collaborate later in life because we subconsciously believe we need to have all the answers individually. 

In the book, a story about Henry Ford is recounted as first told in Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. Ford was being grilled by a lawyer who was trying to prove his ignorance. After hearing many of the questions that were irrelevant to the case, Ford finally pointed his finger at the lawyer and reminded him that he had a row of push buttons on his desk and whenever he needed answers to any of the questions he had, someone would answer the call and provide the information. That’s not lazy or dumb…that’s brilliant! Henry Ford lived the WHO NOT HOW concept by surrounding himself with intelligent people who had specialized knowledge. He didn’t have to.

How does this relate to you? 

It may be obvious, but I want to encourage you to think about the “WHO’s” in your life and organization. 

Who are the people who have the answers or skills that you don’t?

When are you most prone to try to figure out “HOW” on your own rather than tapping into the genius of others?

Why do you do this?

What are you stressing about that someone else can solve or do? 

One last quick concept that can be transformational is this – procrastination can lead to wisdom.

When you are procrastinating to do something, let it be a sign that you need a “WHO” to do it with or for you. We procrastinate on things we either don’t enjoy or feel we’re going to fail at. 

Invest some time today thinking about the “HOW” items that you need to let go of and “WHO” you need to delegate to or partner with to accomplish your goals. 

Let this concept sink into your mind this week and see where it can take you!

Until next time, make today GREAT!

P.S. Are you a business owner or executive who is looking to attract quality team members and keep them engaged in your organization’s vision and mission? Imagine being a part of a community of “WHO’s” where you can learn from the collective wisdom of the group with various specialized knowledge and skills. Check out the Magnetic Leadership Community where you’ll receive weekly leadership lessons, participate in monthly Q&A calls, hear from dynamic leaders in monthly interviews, and engage in a private forum with other growing leaders like yourself. You can even choose a monthly 1:1 coaching call. CLICK HERE to learn more and join the community!