Leadership

***This article is inspired by chapter 7 of “Leadershift” by John C. Maxwell – “Ladder Climbing to Ladder Building” ***

Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen farther than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

The reality is that there are no “self-made” people. Behind every successful person are many others who have gone before them and helped them achieve their success. Parents, teachers, mentors, bosses, friends, and many others play a part in our development. We even learn from bad examples so we don’t repeat their mistakes. As we grow as leaders, the ceiling of those who have gone before us becomes our floor to build upon.

The most effective leaders are builders of people. They achieve personal success and then help others do the same. But this shift doesn’t happen overnight or automatically. It happens with intentionality and it often takes time to realize the value of shifting from striving for personal gain to focusing on helping others become great leaders.

Consider the four shifts that John Maxwell teaches about building ladders for others rather than simply climbing your own ladder:

1 – Ladder Climbing – “How High Can I Go?”

In this phase of leadership, you are focused on your own development and success. This is a required stage because without it you’ll have little to share with others and you’ll have limited credibility. No one wants to follow a leader who hasn’t succeeded. This step is about leading yourself to become the best leader possible. If you are beginning in your leadership journey, this is vital for future success and lays the foundation for what you can do to help others. Consider your strengths and opportunities. Commit to growing daily. Develop your character and operate with high integrity. Be a good follower and learn from others ahead of you.

2 – Ladder Holding – “How High Will Others Go With A Little Help?”

In this phase, you begin to shift to think about how you can help others succeed. Pastor Kevin Myers stated, “Leaders should want far more for their people than from their people.” Yes, you need to inspire and motivate your followers to produce and excel. However, if you are committed to helping them develop, you will benefit everyone around them and the effectiveness of your team and organization will multiply. Serve them. Be available to coach and train them. Help them see their potential and show them how to take steps to reach it.

3 – Ladder Extending – “How High Will Others Go With A Lot Of Help?”

This phase requires intentional, strategic mentoring. This is when you are able to share your expertise because you are successful in your specialized area and are mature enough to pass along what you’ve learned from your experiences. You are investing much time and energy into people in this stage. You choose your mentees wisely, but once you do you begin to see their growth as your success. You go deep by investing in a few rather than wide with many who only get a limited amount of your time.

4 – Ladder Building – “Can I Help Them Build Their Own Ladder?”

This final stage is about equipping them to build their own customized ladder. In the previous stages, they are often imitating what you do. In this stage, they begin to create and innovate. They have confidence and competence to lead others well. They begin to see how their success in new ways and then help others do the same. This is about reproducing what they have received from you. They begin to see opportunities to leave a legacy by investing in others as you have invested in them. Your role in this stage is to cast a vision for reproducing other leaders. You show them what you’ve done for them and then challenge them to go do it for others. Their success becomes the floor for the next generation of leaders that will follow them.

Most people strive for personal success, but many overlook the impact they can make on future generations. They overlook opportunities to pass along to others what they have learned over the years. Most of the time this happens because no one has pointed out to them that they have been invested in and should then invest in others.

Look around your organization, community, family, and friends. Who has invested in you? Be sure to thank them. Take notes of what you’ve learned from others over the years. Then take another look at those whom you can invest in so they can achieve greater levels of success.

You don’t have to be the wise old “sage” to give back. You simply need to be a few steps ahead of those you lead. In fact, many times we learn best from those who are five steps ahead because we can identify rather than those who are hundreds of steps ahead and seem out of reach.

You can do this.

People need you to invest in them.

You’ll be glad you did when you see the growth of your followers. They will become more successful and you will become more fulfilled.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

***This article is inspired by chapter 6 of “Leadershift” by John C. Maxwell – “Maintaining to Creating” ***

Children have an abundance of creativity, but at some point, it seems to diminish for most people. I believe one of the key reasons is because adults believe they have to be “practical” and creativity doesn’t fit inside that box.

However, for leaders, teams, and organizations to thrive in our world today, creativity must be a high priority. Someone is always coming up with a new idea or new way of doing things that challenge the status quo.

You may be thinking “How can I lead a creative team if I’m not creative?”

I know the feeling! I thought that way for years.

I finally had a mental shift happen that changed my perspective forever. I realized that creativity is expressed in a wide variety of ways. In my mind, I had a very limited view of creativity that included artistic expression that I didn’t embody or even have an interest in – painting, drawing, dancing, music, etc.

A few things finally became clear to me…

I love to write and writing requires creativity.

I love to lead and leadership requires creativity.

I love to coach and coaching requires creativity.

Perhaps you don’t see how creativity is required in your work and leadership. I encourage you to look deeper.

If you’re in sales, you must be creative to pitch your products and services so you can finalize deals.

If you’re an engineer, you must be creative to solve problems and create new products.

Managers at any level must be creative to connect with employees so they’ll be able to achieve their goals and objectives.

Creativity is critical to leadership.

Consider John C. Maxwell’s 7 creative principles to learn and live by as a creative leader:

1 – Build a creative culture.

Even if you don’t see yourself as a naturally creative person, you can build a creative culture by surrounding yourself with creative people. Many of the legendary leaders that we’ve admired in our world weren’t the most creative, but they knew how to get creative people in the room. When you build a creative culture, you will attract creative people to your team and you’ll learn how to be more creative by simply being surrounded by them. Once you have gathered them,  give them freedom to express their creativity.

2 – Make everything better.

“New and improved!” is a common marketing label on products and services. When you operate with this mindset, you will find creative ways to makes adjustments to what you already offer so that it can be better for your customers and clients. View everything you do as a work-in-progress that can and should be improved over time.

3 – Make plans but look for options.

Developing an initial plan is critical to get you moving, but as you gain momentum, continually look for options to take you farther. There are no perfect plans, so don’t get hung up finding the one “right” solution. Inflexibility kills creativity. Work the plan you have, but allow it to be fluid so you can adjust as new options become evident.

4 – Place a high value on ideas.

Ideas are the seeds of success. John Maxwell states, “If you have ideas you have the main asset you need, and there isn’t any limit to what you can do with your business and life.” Even if you think your idea is less-than-stellar, test it, analyze your results, learn from failures, innovate, and continue to try new things. If an idea pops into your mind, write it down and see where it takes you. Consider that all products and services in our world today were once ideas in the mind of the creators.

5 – Seek out and listen to different voices.

Creativity thrives when a topic or subject is approached from many different perspectives. If you are stuck, ask someone who is not closely associated with the problem you are trying to solve and hear their ideas. Sometimes we are too close to our work that “we can’t see the forest for the trees.” Ask for help. Invite people from other departments, teams, or organizations to speak into your process. You’ll be amazed at what others think of and contribute that you just couldn’t see for yourself.

6 – Take risks.

Most people avoid taking risks because, well, it’s risky! You aren’t guaranteed to succeed when you take a risk, but you also aren’t guaranteed to succeed by maintaining the status quo. Even doing nothing is risky! When you take a risk, your creativity will increase out of necessity. Risk-taking means that you are stepping into unknown territory that isn’t comfortable. It requires more of you than maintaining what you already have. This requires and ignites creativity.

7 – Live on the other side of “yes.”

When you say yes to something that isn’t easy, you inviting growth to come. It isn’t comfortable to say yes to unfamiliar or challenging opportunities, but your creativity will grow as you navigate the new challenge. If you’re afraid of failing, say yes anyway. If you question whether you or your team is ready, say yes, and grow into your success. While you should avoid saying yes to things that are outside of your vision and mission, many appropriate opportunities will arise that fit in well. Be courageous enough to say yes and step into the moment at hand.

Leadership is challenging in many ways. Whether you realize it or not, creativity is a key element of leadership. When you learn to intentionally inject creativity into your leadership, team, and organizational culture, you are giving everyone the opportunity to become better and more effective.

You are more creative than you think.

Make it a point to test or expand your creativity today.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

***This article is inspired by chapter 5 of “Leadershift” by John C. Maxwell – “Pleasing People to Challenging People” ***

Leadership is about people. Regardless of what business you’re in, you’re in the people business. If you don’t like people, then you’re better off staying away from leadership roles because “people issues” dominate the time of leaders. And every person is different, so you must learn to customize your leadership to fit the personality and needs of each of your followers.

One temptation most leaders face is to be a people-pleaser in order to keep everyone happy. The truth is that it’s rare for everyone to be happy. And the happiness of everyone doesn’t equal organizational success. Leaders are responsible for specific outcomes. These outcomes must be done with and through the skills of others. Leaders can’t control the emotions of their people and make them happy, but they can control the skill of challenging people to grow and perform at their best.

If you find yourself falling into the people-pleasing trap, how do you get out and become a leader who courageously challenges your followers to succeed?

Consider John C. Maxwell’s 7 tips on how to shift from pleaser to challenging leader:

1 – Change Your Expectations Toward Leadership

Begin with realizing that you can’t be everyone’s buddy. In fact, as leaders are promoted, some of their relationships can sour with coworkers who now view them differently. That’s normal, but not always easy to deal with. Leadership can be lonely at times. Your relationships with people who once talked with you as a peer may now treat you differently. It’s natural, so expect it.

Realize that leaders are responsible for sharing the vision, raising the bar, challenging others, showing the way, asking for commitment, and taking courageous action with or without consensus. If people don’t want to move into the future with you, let them go their own way without expending your precious time and energy trying to win them back. Your job is to help your people succeed, improve the organization, and achieve the vision.

2 – Value People as Much as You Value Yourself

To get the best out of your followers you must believe the best about them. If you devalue yourself, you will probably devalue others. You must develop self-confidence and self-worth and then pass that along to those you lead. When you value people and they know it, they will work diligently to assist you to achieve the vision of your team or organization. If you devalue people and make them feel like they’re simply a means to an end, they will not perform at their best nor will they help you be successful. People matter, so make it a priority to express regularly that you care and recognize how important their contribution is.

3 – Work to Establish Expectations Up Front

Unmet expectations are often the cause of damaged personal and professional relationships. Assumptions can be deadly in any environment. They almost always lead to unfulfilled expectations and create disappointment. In order to establish healthy expectations, make it a habit to have clear up-front conversations that get everyone on the same page. When things get off-track, work to regroup and reset expectations. This is not a one-time effort, but must be continually reinforced. This is why consistent one-on-one touch-base meetings and reviews are important. The more you meet face to face and deal with real-time issues, the better. An annual review is not enough. It can be a great tool to set goals and review overall growth and performance, but it is inadequate to stay on the same page with your followers. Commit to consistent face-to-face meetings so you can address challenges and take advantage of opportunities in real-time. These upfront expectation-setting conversations will save you much heartache and frustration long-term.

4 – Ask Yourself the Hard Questions Before Any Potentially Difficult Conversation

This is where many leaders fall down on the job. It’s easy to lead when everything is going smoothly, but our leadership mettle is tested when we must have difficult conversations about performance issues. In order to prepare well, ask yourself the hard questions to understand the situation best so you can address it well. Determine what the problem is, what the source is, and then evaluate your engagement level with the person you must address. Have you invested in the relationship? What part of the problem is your fault versus theirs? How can you resolve the issue together? Are you clear on your expectations and ready to express them in a conversation? Do the upfront work of preparation so you can make the difficult conversations as peaceful and effective as possible.

5 – When a Tough Conversation is Needed, Do It Right

This step piggy-backs on #4. Remember that the person you’re confronting is a valuable individual. Care enough to confront them in a healthy way and then commit to helping them overcome their challenges to be successful. They must do their part in the end to address problems, but you must commit ahead of time to helping them as they need. One option is to replace people who make mistakes, but the more challenging (and most rewarding) option for leaders is to invest time, energy, and resources into people to become better. Use wisdom in how you handle the tough conversations. If you attack, expect people to be defensive. If you approach situations with a coaching and problem-solving mindset, great outcomes are possible.

6 – Understand the 25-50-25 Principle

Leaders naturally want everyone to be on board with their vision and decisions, but it’s unrealistic to believe that everyone will be. When you expand an old vision or cast a new one for the future, you will have various responses. Some people are early adopters. Some are late adopters. Others are resistors and will need to move on. This principle states that 25% of people will support your efforts, 50% will be undecided, and 25% will resist change altogether. People are all wired differently. As a leader, your job is to help the middle 50% join the first 25% and accept that the bottom 25% rarely will join you. That’s when you’ll need to make difficult, but necessary decisions to help them transition to other areas of the organization or leave for a better fit somewhere else.

7 – Balance Care With Candor

Care without candor creates dysfunctional relationships. Candor without care creates distant relationships. Care balanced with candor creates developing relationships. Consider the following aspects of both care and candor:

CARE:

• Values the person
• Establishes the relationship
• Shores up weaknesses
• Offers comfort
• Makes the team pleasant

CANDOR:

• Values the person’s potential
• Expands the relationship
• Brings out strengths
• Offers a challenge
• Makes the team productive

As a leader, both care and candor are vital. How you communicate to each person needs to be filtered through their personality type and how they best receive information. If you will take the time to care for the person before there are challenges or problems, then being direct with them is built on a solid foundation of trust that creates respect and motivates the person to respond positively.

Leadership is both hard and rewarding simultaneously. If you will learn to shift from pleasing people to courageously challenging them to grow and do their best, everyone can win – you, your followers, and your organization. That’s the best-case scenario that all leaders should strive to achieve.

You can make this shift. I believe in you.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

***This article is inspired by chapter 4 of “Leadershift” by John C. Maxwell – “Perks to Price” ***

Many people desire to become leaders as they see the prestige or benefits from the outside looking in. However, most overlook the price that leaders have paid (and continue to pay) to be in the roles in which they serve.

Leadership is costly. The higher you climb on your leadership journey, the greater the responsibility. While many people see the perks of high-level positions, they are unaware of the stress and sleepless nights that leaders navigate on a regular basis. High-quality leaders don’t talk about this much because they realize it isn’t a burden that others can or should have to bear. However, it is a reality that you must be aware of if you aspire to greater leadership roles.

Consider the following 3 price points of leadership that John C. Maxwell highlights in his book LeaderShift:

1 – Leaders Recognize That Everything Worthwhile Is Uphill

In our world, many people believe that others are lucky to achieve “overnight success” without realizing that this success often took many years of small steps that feel like a daily grind. Whether being a professional athlete, Hollywood star, or business executive, nothing comes easy. If you desire to sit at the top of an organization, you must be prepared to put in the work to become better every day in order to someday reach your goal. As actor Steve Martin once advised, “Become so good they can’t ignore you.” Becoming good takes time, energy, and consistent effort. It takes overcoming many failures, obstacles, and setbacks. In essence, it means climbing uphill with intentionality each and every day.

2 – Leaders Acknowledge They Must Climb The Hill First

An obvious but overlooked aspect of leadership is that you must be out in front of followers doing difficult things first. You must be willing to do what others aren’t so that later on, others will do them while you are forging ahead into new territory. Climbing the hill first often means there is no pre-cut path. Instead, you have to figure things out along the way with a pioneering mindset. This is not for everyone. In fact, it’s not for most people. Even as the United States was expanding across the frontier, there were many more settlers than pioneers. Both are needed, but leadership requires you to be a pioneer and do things courageously as you deal with fear and uncertainty.

3 – Leaders Understand They Never Get To Stop Climbing

Leadership is often exhausting because you can’t stop climbing if you desire to remain the leader of your team or organization. Some leaders reach a certain place in the journey and decide it’s time to retire and hand the baton to another leader who can advance to the next level. That’s completely fine. You must know your capacity and desires. However, other leaders refuse to stop climbing until they achieve certain goals for the organization. These are the ones who often become “famous.” They’re the ones we talk about, write about, and model ourselves after. They seem to always be climbing to new heights. This isn’t for everyone, so we must continue to advance or be willing to step aside and allow someone else to lead for the sake of the mission and organization.

As you can see, leadership is not for the weak or faint of heart. Leaders must develop greater capacity and stamina in order to take their teams and organizations to places they’ve never been before. It requires mental toughness, patience, and perseverance. If you want to experience the perks of leadership, you must be willing to pay the price along the way. If you’re ready to do that, then begin climbing to new heights today.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

***This article is inspired by chapter 3 of “Leadershift” by John C. Maxwell – “Goals to Growth” ***

There is no shortage of goal-setting tips, tools, and tactics in our world. We are a driven people! However, while achieving goals has value, growing to become better is much more valuable long-term as a leader. Yes, you must set and achieve goals to be successful (and to keep your job!). But if you want to be better next year than you are this year, growth must be a key focus area.

So, how do you become a growth-oriented leader rather than simply a goal-driven doer? Consider the following 7 steps taught by leadership expert and author John Maxwell:

1 – Embrace Change

Change is inevitable. It’s often said that the only people who like change are babies. The older we get, the more we resist change, and the more we resent being forced to change. However, if we are to grow personally or professionally, change is required. You can’t become better while staying the same. Accept change as a necessary fact of life and begin to embrace it as part of your growth journey.

2 – Adopt a Teachable Spirit

When I was a young intern, my supervisor told me to never stop being teachable. I didn’t see this as a characteristic in my life at the time, but it has proven to be one of my most valuable assets. I love to learn from wiser, more experienced leaders! If you want to continue to develop into a highly valuable and well-respected leader, maintain a teachable spirit and look for ways to learn from others in all areas of life.

3 – Make Your Love for Learning Greater Than Your Fear of Failure

Many people have high aspirations for their lives and careers, but few pursue them out of fear of failing. When you choose to learn and grow, you intentionally place yourself in a position to fail, but you have a mindset of failing forward. When you do this, you are actually giving yourself an opportunity to become better every day. Think about what it was like learning to ride a bike. Failure was inevitable! But if you would’ve stopped trying (and failing), you wouldn’t have been able to achieve your desire to ride with freedom. Failure isn’t final unless you quit, so decide to embrace it as part of the learning process. If you do it long enough you’ll realize that you “failed” your way to success.

4 – Develop Relationships With Other Growing People

Who you surround yourself with is critical. Motivational teacher Jim Rohn is famous for saying that we become like the five people we spend the most time with. If you want to become more successful, up-level your inner circle. Join a mastermind group with people who are farther along than you so you can learn and be challenged by them. If you look around and realize you’re the most successful person in the room, you need to change rooms! Decide on the areas you want to grow in, then find mentors and coaches to help you advance.

5 – Develop Greater Humility

As stated in step #3, learning leads to much “failing.” In order to subject yourself to this reality, humility is required. When you admit that you have been successful but still have a long way to go in life, you’re in a great position to grow. Celebrate your successes, but humble yourself enough to recognize your need for ongoing learning. Refuse to ever “arrive” and stop growing.

6 – Believe In Yourself

A key issue that hinders people in life and leadership is being trapped by limiting beliefs. We can be extremely hard on ourselves! In order to grow, you must believe that you can. You must believe that you’re worthy of becoming more successful. You must believe you’re worth investing in. Many people refuse to buy books, attend conferences, or take continuing education courses because they don’t believe in themselves. To be a growing leader, you must develop your self-confidence and self-worth. You do matter and your followers need you!

7 – Embrace Layered Learning

Layered learning is when you build upon each lesson you learn. What you know today is built upon what you knew yesterday. What you know tomorrow will be built upon what you know today. Today’s ceiling of knowledge is tomorrow’s floor. When you embrace this mindset you will look for ways to continue to build layer by layer until the day you die. This is how you grow exponentially and become extremely valuable. Let the compound effect of learning increase your value to those you lead.

As you can see, shifting from a goal-driven mindset to a growth-oriented one isn’t complicated, but it requires intentionality. It requires that you make key decisions each day to continue to improve. When you do this, you become better and more valuable. This is critical if you are desiring to become a GREAT leader.

You can do this. I believe in you!

Until next time…make today GREAT!

***This article is inspired by chapter 2 of “Leadershift” by John C. Maxwell – “Soloist to Conductor” ***

Zig Ziglar famously stated, “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want.”

As a leader, it is critical to focus on others more than yourself. Yes, you need to take care of yourself and invest in your own personal growth, but you can’t overlook helping others reach their potential and achieve their goals. If you are a goal-driven person, it’s easy to focus on yourself and overlook the people you are called to lead. You must become intentional to add value to your followers and make sure they are growing and advancing. There is a critical need to become like the conductor of an orchestra who helps each musician excel in their own parts so that the whole can succeed rather than operating as a soloist who only looks out for himself.

In order to do this well, consider John Maxwell’s 5 realities of shifting your mindset from soloist to conductor.

1 – Go slower so you can go farther.

For highly motivated leaders, slowing down to lead others can be a challenge. Many times it feels easier to do the job yourself so it can be accomplished quicker. This may work in the short-term, but it’s a terrible long-term strategy. Leaders must do the difficult (and often slow) upfront work of developing people so they can reap the benefits later when they have highly competent and confident team members who take initiative. If you will commit to going slower now and helping others grow and improve, you will be able to go faster and farther later with a strong team.

2 – Recognize that you need others.

While many leaders receive individual awards and accolades, the best leaders admit that they didn’t get there on their own. There are truly no self-made men and women. We’re each standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us and who support us behind the scenes. When you recognize you need others to accomplish personal or organizational goals, you will treat your followers as highly valuable assets whom you will nurture so they can become better every day.

3 – Make the effort to understand others.

Steven Covey famously taught in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to “seek first to understand, then be understood.” This is wise advice in all areas of life, especially leadership. When you understand the people you lead, you can be a better leader for them. You can customize your leadership. You can address unique challenges with them. You can help them utilize their unique skills and abilities. You can help them become the best version of themselves.

4 – Want others to shine more than you do.

While many people aspire to leadership for personal gain, wise leaders quickly realize that you end up with more responsibilities than benefits. This isn’t a bad thing, but it does require a mindset shift. As you rise in leadership, you have more people to be responsible for. You also need to redirect the spotlight from your own achievements to your followers’ achievements to build goodwill and motivate them. Yes, you are responsible for the ultimate results, but much can be gained by helping others receive the accolades for doing their part. Accept the spotlight when there are failures to protect your followers. Redirect the spotlight when there are successes to build them up.

5 – Help others become better every day.

Personal growth doesn’t happen in a moment, but rather through daily consistency. If you help your followers become even 1% better each day, there will be a compound effect of incredible growth year over year. Just like we want our financial investments to grow, we should want our team members to grow as we invest in their development. You are a leader because you have grown and achieved at a high level. Now, you have the opportunity and responsibility to help your followers grow. Make a commitment now to help others become better every day. When you do this, everyone wins.

Leadership is a team sport and it is critical to guard yourself against focusing only on your personal success. To become a great leader, you must help others grow and advance. This builds trust and loyalty. It strengthens your team. It gives your organization greater opportunities for success. It communicates value to your followers and has the power to motivate and inspire them. If you desire to experience greater success tomorrow, focus on becoming a conductor who intentionally helps your people become better each and every day.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

**This article is inspired by chapter 1 of “Leadershift” by John C. Maxwell – “Why Every Leader Needs to Leadershift” ***

Thomas Edgely once stated, “Change or die.” This statement seems extremely appropriate in the rapidly changing world that we live in today. Look around and see all the things that exist today that didn’t just 1-5 years ago. We live in an amazing time in history where advancements are happening and information is multiplying at unprecedented rates. We have so many opportunities available to us thanks to technology, but we also have many challenges as leaders.

Leaders simply can’t keep up with the world around them if they don’t become adaptable. What worked even just five years ago most likely won’t work today. There are a few key behaviors and characteristics that stand the test of time, but navigating real-time challenges can become exhausting. In fact, I believe many leaders are experiencing “decision fatigue.” This is the state that when your brain becomes tired from the multitude of decisions you must make each day. In times of challenge or crisis, this condition is magnified and multiplied.

So, if this is the reality of the world we live in, how can you become the adaptable leader that is required to not only survive but thrive?

Consider the following 7 steps that John C. Maxwell teaches in his eye-opening book LEADERSHIFT:

1 – Continually learn, unlearn, and relearn

Mark Niemann-Ross states that “In four years, you’ll have to relearn 30% of your job.” Think about that for a moment. Much of what you’re doing today will have to be relearned in the next four years. As business and technological advancements increase, your education rate will have to increase to keep up. As the old saying goes, “What got you here, won’t get you there.” Tomorrow’s success requires you to continually learn and grow.

2 – Value yesterday, but live in today.

My grandfather used to say, “The good ol’ days weren’t so good.” However, many people often glamorize the past the farther removed they are from it. The challenges we faced are diminished and the successes we accomplished are blown up to be greater than they truly were. Be grateful for your past and the lessons you learned, but focus on what you can do today in order to advance your life and business. Yesterday is gone. Make the most of today.

3 – Rely on speed, but thrive on timing.

One of the challenges of modern technology is that we often try to do too much too fast. It’s like taking a sharp turn on a dangerous road at a high speed. It’s not going to end well! Yes, we have the capabilities to get farther and faster than ever before, but WHEN to do something is often as important as WHAT to do. Rushing the process can be detrimental. Trying to manufacture results too soon can end up disastrous. Be diligent to keep a good pace, but be wise enough to know when the timing is right to launch whatever you’re working on.

4 – See the big picture as the picture keeps getting bigger.

Vision is a critical component of leadership. If the leader doesn’t know where to go, he or she can’t lead their followers effectively. However, we must realize that as you advance toward the vision, the vision will expand. Former John Maxwell Team vice president and successful business owner Scott Faye teaches that once you climb to the top of one mountain you will see new mountains to climb. Today’s vision will someday be achieved if you keep moving forward. Then, you’ll see new ways to expand this vision or receive a new vision to go after. Keep this in mind as you lead your team forward.

5 – Live in today, but think about tomorrow.

As stated in #2 above, today matters. However, you must keep your eyes up to see what’s coming as if you’re driving down the road. Today is like the hood of the car. You can’t stare at it too long or else you could crash into oncoming obstacles. Keep your eyes on the horizon as you navigate today. Make the most of today, but be mindful of tomorrow so you’re not caught off-guard with surprises. Your followers need you to be a few steps ahead of them at all times.

6 – Move forward today in the midst of uncertainty.

While we live in an amazing era, we also live in a time of incredible uncertainty. In fact, all generations have navigated this reality at some level. The reason is that we can’t predict the future. Did many leaders foresee the Coronavirus pandemic that would shut down much of the economy throughout the world? Have community leaders been able to predict natural disasters that affect their regions for months (even years)? The reality is that life is uncertain. As soon as we navigate through the challenges of one surprise, more seem to come our way. This is why the world needs strong leaders. Followers are looking for leaders to guide them through uncertainty. It’s like driving through fog. You may have to slow down a bit to be cautious, but you must keep moving forward in order to get past it.

7 – Realize today’s best will not meet tomorrow’s challenges.

As I stated before, what got you “here” won’t get you “there”. This is why daily personal growth is critical. If you don’t have an intentional growth plan, you will eventually be left behind. Read, listen to podcasts, go to conferences, hire a coach, find a mentor, attend workshops, etc. Whatever you need to do to multiply your knowledge so you can be a relevant leader, do it! Think of your personal growth like going to the gym to work out. The weight you can lift today is today’s best, but if you have goals to lift 50 pounds more, you must push yourself tomorrow toward that goal. Keep challenging yourself to grow and mature as a leader. Your followers need you to keep getting better so you can help them grow and be more successful.

Leadership in our generation is not an easy task, but you can be successful if you commit to growing and advancing. You don’t have to be 100 steps ahead of your followers. Sometimes one step ahead is enough. Keep taking the next best step that you see and invite others to follow you on the journey. By taking one step after another you can achieve GREAT things!

Until next time…make today GREAT!

**This article is inspired by chapter 10 of John C. Maxwell’s book “Developing the Leaders Around You” – “The Leader’s Lasting Contribution: Reproducing Generations of Leaders” ***

A fatal flaw of many leaders is holding the assumption that next-generation leaders will simply show up without any developmental effort. The reality is that these new leaders must be intentionally developed over time. Sure, you can recruit young leaders to your team from the outside, but someone has to invest in them along the way for them to show up that way.

In the graphic above, you will see a simple (but not easy) 4-step process for developing leaders for the future. These four steps have been taught and utilized for years in various ways by a variety of leaders, but let this graphic be a tool to help you remember what you can (and must) do if you are going to leave a legacy of success in your organization long after you’re gone.

There’s one more step beyond these four that is critical as well if you are going to develop a pipeline of next-generation leaders. Keep reading to gain a better understanding of the four steps + the critical next step that is often overlooked.

Step #1 – I Do, You Watch

In this phase, you are simply allowing your developing leader to observe what you do and how you do it. They don’t have any responsibilities other than shadowing you for a period of time. The amount of time you stay in this phase depends on the complexity of what you’re training them to do. It could take minutes, weeks, or months. Predetermine an estimated timeline and communicate it upfront in order to manage expectations.

Step #2 – I Do, You Help

In this phase, your developing leader begins to assist you. Prepare to spend a significant amount of time in this phase. You are responsible for the project and they are responsible for helping you achieve your desired results. This phase will most likely have sub-phases as their skills and understanding increase. You will hand off more and more tasks to them to assist you as time goes on. As stated in Step #1, the amount of time you stay in this phase depends on the complexity of what you’re training them to do.

Step #3 – You Do, I Help

In this phase, you simply switch roles in the project. You are both involved to achieve results, but the developing leader is now taking the lead. You are assisting him or her. This gives them the support and training they need while also being empowered to take ownership and make decisions. Once again, the amount of time you stay in this phase depends on the complexity of what you’re training them to do.

Step #4 – You Do, I Watch

Once you’ve successfully navigated the previous three steps, you are able to step back while the developing leader runs with the project and takes full responsibility. You serve as a mentor and sounding board, but you are hands-off as much as possible. Resist the temptation to step in and do it your way or fix things that they simply need to learn to correct on their own. Be a voice of support and wisdom, but stay out of the project. It is theirs to own and produce results.

Step #5 – Challenge Your New Leader To Train Others

This is a key step that is often neglected in this developmental process. It’s not enough to simply train a developing leader; you must also challenge him or her to pass it on to others. You’ve just led them through a transformative process to become a capable, empowered leader. Now it’s time for them to do the same. Challenge them to identify their next-generation leader whom they can train as you did for them. And make sure they don’t let the process of developing next-generation leaders stop with that person. When done well, this process can be a powerful process that reproduces leader after leader.

One word of warning: this process is not usually fast or easy. That’s why so many leaders neglect it. However, if you will invest in the upfront effort, you will reap long-term benefits personally and organizationally. The best leaders develop other leaders who can move the organization or cause forward once they move on or retire. You can be that kind of leader if you will commit to working through this process over and over.

Are you up for it?

If so, begin today by identifying your first potential leader and begin the “I Do, You Watch” phase and then advance forward with intention through the other steps.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

***This article is inspired by chapter 9 of John C. Maxwell’s book “Developing the Leaders Around You” – “The Leader’s Finest Hour: Realizing Value To and From Leaders” ***

Author Alex Haley once said, “If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know he had some help.”

The same can be said of leaders at all levels. No one becomes a leader on their own. Books, mentors, family, friends, and others have helped them along the way. These people may not have known that their actions were helping to develop a leader, but they were integral nonetheless.

As leaders, we must remember that we’re not self-made. We needed others to help us on our journey and we also have the privilege to help others on their journeys.

Consider the value given in the two-way relationship between experienced and new leaders that John Maxwell shares with us below:

Value That Existing Leaders Add to New Leaders:

• Modeling
• Vision and direction
• Encouragement and affirmation
• Belief in themselves
• Willingness to try new things
• Personal development
• Commitment to personal growth
• Empowerment
• Being a part of something greater than themselves

Value That New Leaders Add To Existing Leaders:

• Loyalty
• Encouragement
• Personal counsel and support
• Follow-through
• Time
• Balance of gifts
• Attraction of others
• People development
• Increased influence

As you look at these lists, what stands out to you?

Which list do you find your personal strengths on?

What weaknesses do you notice?

What are your opportunities for growth?

The reality is that there is no perfect leader or follower. However, you can become better every day when you give intentional focus to your personal development and contribution.

As you go about your business today, keep these lists in mind and choose one or two items where you can increase your value to your followers and to your leaders whom you are following. Then do the same tomorrow, the next day, and the next…

You have unlimited potential to keep growing each day until you breathe your last breath. Make the commitment right now to focus on daily improvement and watch how far you can go.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

***This article is inspired by chapter 8 of John C. Maxwell’s book “Developing the Leaders Around You” – “The Leader’s Greatest Joy: Coaching a Dream Team of Leaders” ***

In my last article, I shared about 10 qualities of Dream Teams. While these qualities of your team members are critically important, a Dream Team must also have a great coach who can keep the team focused, develop the talent, and create a culture that allows the team to reach its potential.

Charles Frances once said, “You can buy a man’s time, you can even buy his physical presence at a given place, but you cannot buy enthusiasm…you cannot buy loyalty…you cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these.”

In order to lead a Dream Team to reach their potential, leaders must become great coaches. How do you do that?

Consider John Maxwell’s 10 Qualities of Dream Team Coaches:

1 – Chooses players well

The first key to forming a Dream Team is to assess needs and recruit great talent. Without great talent, a team will be limited in what it can achieve. A Dream Team coach must be clear on what he or she needs in team members to accomplish team or organizational goals.

2 – Constantly communicates the game plan

Communication must be repeated if it is to be heard. Saying anything once will not do the trick. It’s often been stated that unless you’ve said something at least 7 times it hasn’t been heard yet. Until the leader is tired of hearing himself or herself communicate a message, it probably hasn’t been fully embraced.

3 – Takes the time to huddle

All great teams know when they need to huddle up to design the next play, assess previous plays, and to reconnect to be reminded of the goal they are working toward. A Dream Team coach develops a consistent, effective meeting rhythm to make sure the team remains on the same page in order to keep moving in the right direction toward success.

4 – Knows what his or her players prefer

Knowing your followers is critical to every leader’s success. Each team member has a unique personality, skill set, and contribution. Knowing how they prefer to be communicated with, challenged, and encouraged is critically important to connect best with each person to help them do their part to make the team successful.

5 – Excels in problem-solving

Problems are what demand leadership. When problems arise, leaders rise up. Dream Team coaches have learned how to assess problems and design solutions to overcome them. The better the problem-solver you are, the more trust and credibility you gain with your followers.

6 – Provides the support needed for success

Pursuing big goals can often be draining and overwhelming. It is a journey that has many ups and downs along the way. Dream Team coaches pay attention to the state of their team members and give them the support they need to keep moving forward from the beginning to the end of the journey.

7 – Commands the respect of the players

Respect is earned, not given. When a Dream Team coach does his or her job well and connects well with the team members, he or she begins to naturally command respect. True respect cannot be demanded, but when you perform at a high level and connect intentionally to help your team members succeed, you will begin to command their respect by simply being yourself.

8 – Does not treat everyone the same

As stated above, each team member has a unique skill set, personality, and contribution. Dream Team coaches remember they are dealing with people, not machines. You can treat everyone well without treating them the same. Customize your leadership for each person you lead and you will improve their performance and the overall team results.

9 – Continues to win

Winning can lead to more winning when leaders build on previous success. However, this must be an intentional effort. It is rare in sports for championship teams to repeat the following year because the sense of urgency disappears. Dream Team coaches know how to build on previous successes while not becoming complacent because of previous wins.

10 – Understands the levels of the players

Team members operate at various levels due to experience and development. You will have star players with years of experience paired with emerging talent of younger or less-experienced players. Understanding the skill levels of your team members allows you to lead them most effectively and manage expectations well.

Dream Team coaches are few and far between because it takes intentionality to develop into one. If you will commit to focusing on each of these qualities and implementing them into your personal leadership development plan, you can become the kind of leader that Dream Team players want to follow. But remember, it’s up to you to become the kind of leader that high-performing team members want to join. If you don’t’ have the kind of talent that you want or need, look in the mirror first and consider how you need to grow in order to attract better followers.

You can become a Dream Team level leader.

I believe in you!

Make today GREAT!