***This article is inspired by chapter 8 of John C. Maxwell’s book Leadership Gold –
“A Leader’s First Responsibility Is to Define Reality.”***

A key responsibility for leaders is to define reality for their followers. This is a crucial starting point if you are to lead your people anywhere significant. Defining reality is identifying the starting point that allows you and your team to map out a path to move toward your desired destination.

Leaders who neglect this key priority for their organization or team handicap them for achieving success. Defining reality is not always fun. The leader must take a hard look in the mirror and assess the current status of his or her effectiveness, the state of the team, and the state of the organization.

If this is such an important role as a leader, how do you define reality? Consider the following:

1 – Clarify your mission and vision

If you are unclear about what you are supposed to achieve, you can’t effectively lead your team forward. Defining reality requires that you clarify why you exist and where you are heading. Your mission is your purpose and your vision is your desired outcome. For followers to be effective in their work, they need to be clear on what they are contributing toward.

2 – Write down the good, the bad, and the ugly

What is going well? Where are you struggling? What are you simply failing at achieving? Leaders may not want to own weaknesses, but the truth is that followers and outsiders already see them. If you have poor customer service, your customers and prospects already know it. If your team is dysfunctional, team members are already aware. Writing out what is going well and what needs to improve gains trust and credibility because it shows that you are honest and realistic.

3 – Draft a plan to solve problems

One of the worst things that often happens in meetings is beginning with a blank sheet of paper. As a leader, always draft a plan to begin the conversation. The plan may ultimately look nothing like what you drafted, but the document is critical to help move things forward.

4 – Include your team

Effective leaders not only think through the status of their team and organization, but they also include their team to create buy-in and synergy. While you may think you know how best to proceed, asking for and receiving feedback builds trust and credibility. Most followers simply want to be heard and contribute to the solution. Their ideas may not be adopted, but they will feel valued in the process. By including your team, you are acknowledging that while you have ideas and possible solutions, they may have better or complementary ones.

5 – Assign action items and completion dates

Once you have defined reality and made it clear to your followers, you must assign action items and completion dates so that progress can be achieved. Never leave a meeting where it is unclear who is responsible for actions and when they are due. If this step is overlooked, accountability is hijacked and progress will be stifled. This will lead to more frustration and will cause you to define new problems.

As I stated at the beginning, defining reality is a critical action for leaders. Burying your head in the sand is not an option. The longer you wait to tackle the hard issues that your team or organization is facing, the worse the problems become. If you have not defined reality lately for your team, block some time to work through these five steps and then prepare to experience traction that you may not have had in quite some time.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

P.S. If you would like to receive my blog articles directly to your inbox, click HERE to subscribe to my email list.

There is no shortage of things to keep us busy. There will always be new books, ideas, conferences, strategies, etc. With so many options available to us, what do we need to do in order to achieve the success and significance we desire?

One word – PRIORITIZE!

This may be painful for you at first. Prioritizing means you have to say “no” to good things and people so you can say “yes” to your vision, mission, and goals. It means you have to cut off anything that distracts you from accomplishing your vital work. This isn’t easy. I’ve met very few people who say “no” well. Many times we say “yes” and regret it later. We fill up our schedules with good, but not the best activities. We overbook ourselves. We add to our workload without subtracting anything.

Purposeful action is the goal, not busyness. We speak proudly of busyness in America and wear it as a badge of honor. It is not. Busyness is a sign of overcommitment and a lack of prioritization. Busyness is a sign of our inability to make wise choices. Busyness reveals a lack of discipline. The more you grow and mature as a leader, the more you will cut out of your schedule so you can focus only on what you do best.

Recording a high volume of hours at the office is not a true indicator of success. The output and quality of your work are the best metrics.

Ask yourself the question – What is the “fruit” of my effort?

One person can work 10 hours and outwork another person who puts in 40+ hours by being disciplined with their time and doing the most effective activities. Our bodies and minds can only productively work for a few hours at a time. The longer you work, the less productive you become. (For more on this topic, check out the insightful book Rest by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang.)

Side note – This is one glaring problem I see in the business world. We often penalize highly productive people by paying them similarly to nonproductive people based on hours logged rather than their production and impact during those hours. Too many workers today just put in their time. They don’t work diligently to contribute to the company’s mission, vision, and goals. We need to find a better way.

Define your priorities, then give your full focus to them in 30-60 minute time blocks. Remove other distractions by turning off notifications on your devices. Focus on one priority at a time and discover how much more productive you become. At the beginning of each day, identify three or four key activities and block out time on your calendar for each one. Go deep on what matters most rather than giving minimal, distracted attention to many things. Refuse to do “busy work” until your “vital work” is completed.

One powerful lesson I learned from author and success mentor Darren Hardy is to stop using a “to-do” list as a daily work tool. Instead, schedule vital tasks into your calendar and do them! Change your “to do” list into a “collection list” of items you need to get out of your mind so they don’t consume mental energy. Then schedule the highest priority items into your calendar. This shift will make a tremendous difference.

Many of us stay busy and end each week worn out. It’s time to re-evaluate how you are utilizing your time. If someone can do what you’re doing 70% as well, then it’s time to delegate. Determine what only you can or should do and delegate the rest.

Determine which tasks that you simply need to stop doing. Create a “stop doing” list. Spend time reflecting to determine which tasks you are doing out of habit that are not moving you toward accomplishing your vision, mission, and goals. Commit right now to dig deep on this and take action accordingly.

You can become highly effective with your time, but determining your priorities is key.

If you want to study this more in-depth, I recommend reading Essentialism by Greg McKeown and The One Thing by Gary Keller. Both address the concept of prioritization specifically.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

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Accountability is an idea that is discussed in most organizations, but it is also one of the least implemented.

Why is that?

I believe there are a few reasons:

First, no one likes being held accountable. The thinking often goes something like this – “If I hold YOU accountable, you’ll also be able to hold ME accountable.” Therefore, most people agree to the need for accountability but often neglect following through for fear of it affecting them directly.

Second, holding others accountable can lead to conflict. Even if it is healthy for the person or team, conflict isn’t fun to initiate. Very few people are willing to have difficult conversations, therefore, accountability is neglected. 

Third, it is often unclear what to hold people accountable to do or achieve. We may want a specific end result, but we don’t invest the time to define specific tasks or milestones to achieve the results. Therefore, accountability becomes difficult to manage.

So, how can you increase your organization’s accountability success? Consider the following four action steps:

1 – Make it a priority.

Don’t simply give lip service to accountability. Commit to it. As a leader, you are responsible for making this a priority and keeping it in front of your team. If YOU don’t make it a priority, it won’t happen. Period.

2 – Be consistent.

If you speak about accountability but do not consistently enforce it, your team will be confused, frustrated, or ignore the effort altogether. Consistency is a vital characteristic of high-quality leadership. It is also critical for accountability to occur.

3 – Create a system.

In order for consistent accountability to happen well, systematize it. Build it into your team’s operational rhythm. This can happen in the form of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, and annual meetings. It can happen in one-on-one meetings, team meetings, or annual reports. If accountability matters, make it an integral part of the life of your organization.

4 – Be creative.

Accountability can be done in creative ways that make it easier to enforce. Reports don’t have to be boring. Reviews don’t have to be painful. Create unique presentations. Give updates through video. Take the pressure off by making accountability check-ins more enjoyable with a fresh format. Schedule meetings with food, team building activities, or go off-site. You can even turn updates into a game that allows competition to motivate your people. Reward and celebrate success. There are many ways to be creative. If you struggle with creativity, ask your team for ideas that they could get behind and then experiment. See what sticks and makes the greatest impact.

If you want your team or organization to go further faster, accountability cannot be neglected. It’s been said that “what gets measured gets done” and “what gets rewarded gets repeated.” Implement the above four action items and watch the needle move toward greater success.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

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Letting go is hard to do. Would you agree?

As leaders, we must learn to let go of the tasks and responsibilities that others can do. Even if the quality dips for the short-term, there is much to gain long-term. Leaders need to be strategic thinkers and directors more than doers. The problem for most leaders who struggle to delegate is that they were once “doers.” Now they have leadership responsibilities but haven’t let go of the tasks they used to do. And most leaders are promoted into leadership roles because they excelled at what they did!

Do you see the problem?

It’s been said that people are often promoted to a level of incompetence. Someone excels in their job so we put them in a leadership role, but neglect to train them properly to be leaders of people rather than doers of tasks.

Another factor of why delegation is difficult is that “doing” leads to visible, tangible results while leadership is often intangible and rarely feels “done.” That’s because leadership is an ongoing process, not a project to complete or a box to check.

So, how can you effectively, strategically, and intentionally delegate?

1 – Identify tasks that someone else can and should do.

Write out your task list and your team members. What are the items that only you can or should do? What are the items that someone else can do 70% as well as you? How much time would be freed up in your schedule if you delegated? What could you do with that time?

2 – Develop your people so they can do the tasks well.

If you aren’t confident that your team members are ready to take on certain tasks, create a plan to develop them. Rather than being frustrated that your people aren’t able to perform well immediately, commit to developing them so they are. As a leader, you are responsible for their development. Send them to training. Coach them. Do whatever it takes to prepare them.

3 – Give people room to make mistakes and innovate.

Accept the fact that they will not do it perfectly immediately. Give them a clear picture of what needs to be done, then give them the freedom to struggle and fail as they begin to work on the task(s). Be available to help them as needed. Coach and guide them. Give them feedback. When necessary, sit down and show them how you do it. Have them imitate your way until they are comfortable enough to innovate and do it their way. As they get better at each task and make it their own, encourage them to keep growing.

4 – Continually evaluate what can be delegated and who can take it on.

Delegation is not a one-time activity. As you delegate, continue to look deeper at your task list to make sure that you are the only one who can do each item. Remember, as a leader you need to focus on being more strategic and directive. You need to focus on your people. You need to maintain a high-level view of your team and organization so you can advance most effectively. When you delegate, you are making the intentional choice to “stay out of the weeds” of daily tasks so you can serve your team, clients, or customers better. A good starting point is to make a weekly appointment with yourself to review the previous week and look ahead to the upcoming week’s tasks. Where did you delegate well? Where did you hold on too much? What should you delegate moving forward? Then do brief daily reviews so you will stay on track.

Delegation is sometimes difficult to begin, but once you delegate tasks to others, you will see the impact it will make on you and your organization. You will begin to look for more to hand off so you can experience more freedom to lead and develop people rather than do tasks.

Take action. Block time in your calendar to list all that you do and create a delegation plan. Then, meet with your team members whom you will delegate to and let them know what you need them to take on. Share your belief in them as capable team members. Give them a vision for how they can succeed, then walk alongside them until they make each task their own.

You can become a master of delegating.

I believe in you!

Until next time…make today GREAT!

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“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” – George Bernard Shaw 

Communication is one topic that seems to be a struggle for EVERY organization. No team or company can escape communication challenges. Why is that?

First, everyone hears and receives information differently. Many times, the communicator believes he or she has shared a clear message only to find out later that the recipient(s) didn’t understand the message fully or at all.

Second, we live in a noisy world with information coming at us constantly from all directions. We tune out much of what is communicated to us.

Third, sometimes we simply don’t want to receive what is being shared. We can be stubborn and refuse to listen.

So, if communication is such a challenge, what can you do about it so you can be a highly effective leader?

Here are 4 Simple Steps to Improve Your Communication:

1 – Seek first to understand, then be understood. 

This “habit” from Stephen Covey’s best-selling book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is critical to improving communication among your team and organization. Too often we don’t truly listen. Rather we prepare to rebut or share our thoughts. This hijacks good communication every time.

2 – Find common ground with whom you are communicating.

When you are communicating, make it about the other person. Think about how they best receive information. Put yourself in their shoes so you can imagine what it would be like to hear your message based on their personality. Determine the key ideas that are most vital to communicate. Then, customize your message to your recipient.

3 – Carefully consider how you will communicate.

In the digital age, electronic communication is the fastest and easiest method. However, we all know that we can’t pick up on visual cues in written text alone. A UCLA study by Albert Moravian found that only 7% of communication is made up of the words we actually use. The other 93% is our body language and tone of voice. Consider the best method to deliver your message, even if it is slower and more tedious than simply writing or texting.

4 – Repeat, repeat, repeat

It’s been said that until you are tired of saying it, no one has truly heard it. Because of all the noise that you are competing with, repetition is non-negotiable. Keep “beating the drum.” Don’t fear over-communicating. Rather, fear not being heard. Even if your team begins to mock you for repetition, keep it up. In fact, when they do this, you’ll know your message is finally being heard.

Communication is a tricky business. We are in the information age that is growing exponentially. We are competing against a continual barrage of information coming at us. If you want to be heard so that your message can make a difference, follow these tips and see how they can help you become a more effective leader.

Until next time…make today GREAT!

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“Humble leader” is not a term that we hear much about in our world today – at least not in the headlines. But they’re out there.

Somewhere along the way we’ve accepted the idea that humility is a weakness. We promote the bravado of the chest-pounding, loud, over-the-top kind of leader who draws attention to himself or herself. The problem is that these leaders tend to be tough to follow. They can be harsh and demanding. Many are narcissistic, only focusing on how they can advance themselves. They may be successful, but at a high cost to those around them.

There’s a better way to lead. The way of the humble leader may not be recognized publicly, but is respected and honored privately. Humble leaders gain loyal followers. They see humility as a strength because of the restraint that is required.

Here are 6 characteristics of this rare, valuable quality:

1 – They view followers as teammates.

Humble leaders are leery of hierarchy and elevating themselves above others. They want a team, not minions who do their bidding out of fear.

2 – They serve their people.

Humble leaders look out for the best interest of their people and organizations, even if it personally costs them. They see and meet needs as they can. They think of others more than they think of themselves.

3 – They don’t seek notoriety and fame.

Humble leaders must step into the spotlight at times, but they do it in a way that is intentional and respectable. Being humble doesn’t mean you shrink back and avoid making difficult decisions. It simply means that HOW you lead matters as much (or more) than what you do. They don’t seek to be noticed.

4 – They listen to the ideas and opinions of their followers.

Humble leaders consider the perspectives of others. They realize they don’t see everything clearly or accurately. They recognize they don’t hear from everyone in their organizations on a regular basis so they trust their inner circle to listen on their behalf and report back.

5 – They lead with compassion.

Humble leaders truly care about their people. They want the best for them. They encourage them to grow. They view others’ success as part of their success.

6 – They make personal growth a priority.

Humble leaders know that if they’re not growing they aren’t able to help others grow. They understand that investing in themselves is not just for themselves, but also for the sake of those they lead. They recognize that you can’t give what you don’t have.

Will you join the ranks of the humble leaders?

While we may not see many humble leaders making headlines, they are making a difference in the lives of those they lead. They are creating better work environments and communities. They are helping the harsh world become a better place. We need more humble leaders for the sake of a better future. Will you commit to being a humble leader? I hope you will.

Make today GREAT!

My family had the privilege of vacationing with friends at the Ritz-Carlton hotel on the small island of Key Biscayne, Florida this summer. It was our first time staying at a Ritz-Carlton property. It was an experience we’ll never forget. The service was truly top-notch. The property is beautiful. We felt like we were in a whole other world than the typical hotel experience.

But honestly, we expected this to be the case…the Ritz-Carlton has a reputation for all of the above to be true. Therefore, anything less would’ve been disappointing.

As we enjoyed the phenomenal poolside service and attention, one of the servers stood out. We met Lucia, a college exchange student from Argentina. She is majoring in hotel management and is spending a year in the U.S. learning the Ritz-Carlton way. As we observed and interacted with her, it became more and more noticeable that she is possibly THE best server on their team. I knew I needed to write about our experience with her as an example of what is possible when you take pride in your work.

So, what made Lucia stand out in an already-great service environment? Here are a few things worth noting:

• She always had a smile on her face – even in the extreme south Florida heat
• She was very attentive to her customers – she continually asked if we needed anything
• She did the little things that others didn’t do – she picked up trash when she wasn’t placing orders or delivering food (I saw no other servers do this consistently)
• She was very personable and engaging – she took the time to talk with us about her life and Ritz-Carlton experience
• She served our section to help her busy co-worker – we weren’t her customers one day, but she helped anyway
• She worked hard during her entire shift – we never saw her slacking
• She made up for her errors – she gave us free drinks when she gave us incorrect information

There are probably many more things that Lucia did that were not as noticeable, but I believe she gives us many important things to consider in our work and lives. Many people want to be promoted or receive raises, but most aren’t willing to “play the part before they get the part.” Too many of us want to be given an opportunity and THEN do the required work. The fast-track to promotion is working above your pay grade.

As leaders, much of what we do isn’t very fun or attractive. Leadership is hard. It’s messy. It’s often exhausting. So many people want the perks of leadership without dealing with the responsibilities and costs. Lucia stood out because she was willing to put in the work to be successful. While her co-workers were doing a “good” job, she was doing a “great” job. Even if she was only one percent better, she rose above the norm and stood out.

One of my observations about customer service these days is that the bar is pretty low to succeed. Employees often see customers as more of a nuisance rather than a priority. Visit most stores or restaurants and you’ll immediately see what I’m talking about. This is why franchises like Ritz-Carlton and Chick-fil-A stand out. They have excellent customer service while other similar brands are mediocre at best.

If you want to stand out in your work and life, learn from our experience with Lucia. I believe she’ll one day be managing a Ritz-Carlton hotel because she’s putting in the work now, which will lead to high levels of success later.

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Many people want success but are unwilling to do the daily, mundane work to reap the benefits later on in life. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the law of sowing and reaping. Farmers understand this principle very well. I admire their work and patience. They prepare the soil, plant the seeds, water the ground, and then WAIT for growth.

I’m not a very patient person. My guess is that you aren’t either. We live in a fast-paced technological, microwaveable world. We expect instant results from very little effort. Unfortunately, success doesn’t come about in an instant. It comes about through the power of daily, compounding interest.

As leaders, we must invest in our growth each and every day so that we have something to give to our followers later. This reality hit me a few months ago. I felt guilty one day for not having to prepare much for an upcoming meeting. It finally dawned on me that I’ve been preparing for that meeting for 25 YEARS! Every book, seminar, podcast, conference, mentoring session, or experience I’ve had has been a seed sown so I can now help others.

What an “aha” moment! Whether you are leading a family, a team, or an entire organization, sowing daily seeds of personal growth is required if you want to someday reap a high level of success. It’s been said by many leaders that it took them decades to become an “overnight success.” The truth is that there are no instant success stories. Successful people were just discovered after putting in a lot of daily, consistent, persistent work in the dark when others were sleeping or having fun.

If you want to be highly successful in your personal life or profession, make the commitment right now to sow daily seeds so one day you’ll be able to reap a crop of hard-earned success.

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It doesn’t take very long for leaders to realize that their character and actions directly affect others. Whether personally or professionally, there is a microscope on the lives of leaders. People are always watching. This is a double-edged sword. It can be attractive or repulsive to family, friends, followers, prospects, customers, and clients.

No leader is perfect. That should be obvious. However, the core values that leaders live by speak volumes to their followers and the watching world. We’ve all seen negative examples of leaders who have been derailed themselves, their organizations, and the lives of others because of poor choices. (Enron anyone?) Some lose their jobs, families, fortunes, even their lives. Thankfully we’ve also had good examples that have endeared us to many leaders throughout our lives.

If you want to be a leader who is highly influential and finishes well, defining your personal core values is a critical exercise. It is something that is often overlooked but can save much heartache and pain.

Just as a company needs to define its corporate values to best serve their customers and clients, a leader needs to define his or her core values to best serve their followers. In order to help you define yours, I will share mine below as an example and give you a few questions to prime your thinking. I highly encourage you to block out time to think through, clarify, and state your personal core values that you will commit to operating by.

Chris’ Core Values:

• Faith – Chris is a committed follower of Jesus Christ whose faith is the filter and standard for all he says and does.
• Family – Chris is a committed family man who protects his family relationships as the most valuable and sacred next to his relationship with Jesus.
• Freedom – Chris believes that God has created each person to experience a full, rich, satisfying, abundant life so they can live out their life purpose.
• Honesty – Chris is committed to speaking the truth in love as a key ingredient in honoring God and others.
• Integrity – Chris is committed to being a person who is honorable and above reproach while doing what he says he will do.
• Responsibility – Chris is committed to making sure he follows through on his commitments and doing his part by using his God-given gifts to serve and help others whenever, wherever, and however.
• Generosity – Chris is committed to sharing his time, talents, and resources with those who he is uniquely created to help.

Primer Questions:

• What character qualities am I committed to displaying in both good and bad situations?
• How do I want people to perceive me at home and at work?
• What do I want people to say about me at my funeral?
• If I lost all my material possessions and money, what qualities will I cling to?
• How do I want my family to speak about me to their friends?
• How do I want my followers to speak about me amongst each other and to my customers and clients?
• If there were only three words to describe me, what would they be?

Who comes to mind when you think about well-known leaders?

Coaches, bosses, and military officers are the first for me.

Now, think about the stereotypical characteristics that they demonstrate. Most of them are strong-willed, over-confident, even gruff in their demeanor.

I recognize that this is not what every leader is like, but these are the labels that many leaders from our recent past have embraced and demonstrated. We live in an ever-changing world. Every generation responds differently to various leadership styles. As an executive coach and leadership trainer, I come across leaders with all sorts of characteristics. However, one characteristic that is often overlooked by some of the best-known leaders our world has today is COMPASSION.

Compassion may not be a leadership quality that most of us think of immediately, but please hear me out. While it is wise to maintain professional boundaries, we also need to consider the human element of leadership. We are leading people after all!

I recently had a leader tell me that one of his employees recommended that he check in on another employee’s personal life. He initially pushed back, but later realized that this employee’s home life could be the cause of recent uncharacteristically poor job performance. Once he checked in, he found out that there were some personal struggles going on and it was affecting this employee’s state of mind and, therefore, his performance at work.

As leaders, it’s vital to remember that followers are holistic people. They bring their home life to work and take their work issues home with them. As much as they may try to avoid it, both aspects of their lives affect the other. To ignore this reality is foolish and detrimental. If you will consider the humanity of your followers, you can connect with them on an entirely different level. You can build trust and respect like never before. They will listen to you more and better. You will simply have a greater influence on them.

Take a few minutes to consider how compassionate you are towards your followers.

Are you doing well?

What areas could improve?

Do they know that you care about them as human beings, not just followers?

What could you do better to show them that you value them?

What actions will you commit to taking today to be a more compassionate leader?

Compassion doesn’t make you a weak leader. In fact, it makes you stronger because you are making daily intentional choices to put others’ needs ahead of your own. That requires discipline and restraint.

We can all become better leaders. Let’s add compassion to our toolbox and work on transforming our workplaces – even our world.

You’ve got this!

I believe in you.

Go make it happen today!