Leadership

“Leaders know the way, go the way, and show the way.” – John C. Maxwell

Have you ever been lost and needed directions? Have you ever stopped at a gas station or store to ask for help? If you have, I’m sure you’ve experienced the difference between being told where to go and using a GPS unit that actually guides you along turn by turn.

Leaders should function more like a GPS unit than the worker at the gas station spouting off some generic directions. We should walk alongside our followers, guiding them to places where we’ve been before. Even when we are leading them somewhere we have never been, we need to step up and go first for the sake of the team.

Telling people what to do or where to go when we’ve never experienced it can be detrimental to everyone, but guiding people along can be impactful. As a leader, you must know the way first. Then you must go the way to experience it. Finally you must show the way by bringing others along with you.

Don’t expect faithful followers if you are sending them places you’ve never been before. Be like a tour guide rather than a travel agent. Tour guides are experts in the places they are leading people to experience. Travel agents are simply directing us to places they’ve often never been before.

As you examine your leadership, are you going first? If not, make the decision right now to become a guide to your followers. Show them where to go and what to do, don’t just tell them.

Be Intentionally Great Today!

“Most people accept their lives; they don’t lead them.” – John C. Maxwell

Does this sound like you? Are you simply accepting the circumstances in your life as if you can do nothing about them? Or are you living with intention each day?

Evaluate yourself with these questions:

• Do you take time each week to plan the upcoming week?
• Do you plan your work?
• Do you plan your family and social life?
• Do you guard your time and energy for things that matter most?
• Can you verbalize what truly matters most to you?
• Do you fill in your calendar or does someone else?

These questions can help you reflect on how intentional you are living. We all have the same amount of time each day to live. Some people waste theirs while others maximize the time they have. What is the difference maker? It’s intentionality!

Choose right now to be intentional each and every day. Clarify your values and make sure your calendar and checkbook are in alignment with them. Lead your life; don’t just accept it!

Be Intentionally Great Today!

Too often we focus on “what” and “how” in our daily lives and neglect the best starting point – “Why?”. Knowing your “why” is knowing your purpose. This could be as broad as your life purpose or it can be more specific as in the purpose of a project or a goal.

If you want to take strides in your effectiveness and success, start with “why”. Ask many “why” questions each day. Toddlers do this all of the time because they are curious. Even though it may become annoying to their parents, they are learning so much by asking “Why?”. We can learn a lot from this approach because curiosity leads us to dig deeper and find greater meaning in who we are and what we’re doing.

As you go about each day, search for deeper meaning. Don’t settle for the way things have always been done. Look for new ways of working, thinking, interacting, and leading.

If you want to continue to grow and stay motivated, start asking “Why?” more often. I’m confident that you will find that discovering greater purpose before taking action will increase your motivation to act and succeed.

Be Intentionally Great Today!

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” – Ray Kroc

What do you expect out of your followers? Are you modeling these expectations in front of them daily?

John C. Maxwell’s “Law of the Picture” states that “people do what people see.” It’s easy for leaders to be frustrated with their followers’ performance, but it’s not as easy to look in the mirror and ask “How can I lead them to perform better?” Personal accountability as a leader is critical!

Your example will be what is lived out in your organization. If you do not like what you are seeing in your people, it’s time to look within yourself. Spend time reflecting on your personal development. Ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I growing or have I plateaued?
• Am I striving to be better each day or am I content to coast?
• What are key areas of improvement that I need to work on?
• How can I be a better model to my followers?
• What outcomes do I want to see in the performance of myself and my team?

Before you criticize your team, do a self-check. Before you confront and criticize them, look in the mirror. When you do a personal evaluation first, you can better serve your team when you approach them with how everyone needs to improve – including yourself. You can’t ask people to do what you aren’t willing to do. Another great quote from John C. Maxwell is “A leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” Can this be said of you?

Be Intentionally Great Today!

It has been said many times that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason – to listen twice as much as we speak.

In leadership, this is critical. Many people mistakenly believe that when you are in a leadership role that you have to prove yourself to be the expert by spouting off a ton of information. In reality, the best way to lead people is to listen to them. The higher you rise in leadership, the more intently you need to listen. Many times, the key leader is the last person to know what is going on because what’s happening at the grass roots level takes a long time to work it’s way up to him or her.

Consider the following:

• What are your followers feeling about the current reality of the team or organization?
• What are the greatest challenges or fears that your followers are dealing with?
• What do your followers know that you don’t know?
• Ask “How can I help you?” before you end any conversation with a colleague or follower.

In this day and age, listening is truly an art. I would go as far to say that it can be a significant difference maker in the success or failure of a leader. John Maxwell wrote a book called “Good Leaders Ask Great Questions.” In it, he explains why questions are important. He also shares questions he asks himself and his team members.

As you reflect on your leadership today, take some time to evaluate if you are a good listener or not. If you are, keep improving! If you aren’t, start today to ask more questions and hold your tongue. When you feel the urge to speak, hold it in and give space to the other person to speak.

Contrary to the saying that “what you don’t know won’t hurt you”, in leadership what you don’t know can derail you. Don’t be caught off-guard. Listen intently to your followers and watch your leadership grow as you make better informed decisions!

Be Intentionally Great Today!

“Leadership is about being a servant first.” – Allen West

“Servant Leadership” is a topic that has been written and talked about for many years now. My goal is not to beat a dead horse, but rather echo what many have already said.

If you want to become a great leader, determine in your heart and mind that people have value, then treat them accordingly. Help them. Encourage them. Coach them along. Make THEIR success your goal.

No one wants to follow someone that doesn’t care about their well-being. Everyone would love to work for someone who cares enough to make their best interest a priority.

As a leader, serve your people. Take the time to get to know them. Ask about their families, hopes, dreams, personal and professional goals. Get rid of the idea that you have to keep your personal and professional lives separate. It’s not possible! You are ONE whole person with many facets. Your followers are too.

Today, think about how you can add value by serving the people that you are privileged to lead. In order to serve them well, you need to get to know them well. Andy Stanley has brilliantly said, “Do for one what you can’t do for everyone.” What can you do for one person on your team today? Don’t worry about being “fair”. Customize your serving to individual needs. As you serve your people, watch your trust and respect levels grow.

Be Intentionally Great Today!

“Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.” — Peter Drucker

No matter what job you have or what industry you’re in, you’re in the people business! You may be a store or department manager, customer service representative, business owner, or non-profit leader. You could work in a variety of other roles for that matter. The bottom line is that how you interact with the people around you will make or break your leadership potential and level of success.

Many people want to be more successful in life, but they don’t get along with people. Bob Burg says that people do business with those they know, like, and trust. Can that be said of you? Do your team members know, like and trust you? Do you customers or clients?

If you want to win in business (and life for that matter), you need to work on your people skills. One key way of doing this is to be curious about people. Ask questions more than talking about yourself. Stephen Covey said that we should “Seek first to understand, then be understood.” Is that how you interact with people?

Today, spend some time reflecting on how you engage the people around you. Do a 360 degree assessment of yourself using the following questions:

• How do I interact with those I report to?
• How do I interact with my peers?
• How do I interact with those that report to me?
• How do I interact with friends and family?

Take steps to improve your people skills and watch your influence and success level rise.

Be Intentionally Great Today!

While the song by American Authors may come to mind, this isn’t a music review!

You may have figured out that “BIG” in my organization name stands for “Be Intentionally Great.” This was revealed to me as I dreamed of the vision for my organization and it has become my new life message. I believe that every human being has incredible God-given potential inside of them. The problem for most people is that their potential is never realized. Instead, we settle for small thinking and living. We’re afraid to take risks, so we accept our current circumstances even if we dream of something better or more significant.

What do you dream about? What do you hope for? Are you taking risks or are you playing small?

Today I want to encourage and challenge you to start living BIG! Be Intentionally Great – at home, at work, wherever you are. Don’t settle for mediocrity. Don’t let days haphazardly slip by. Lead a life of significance by serving others. Become great by thinking BIG and taking action to go after your dreams.

If you need a partner to think and dream with, I am here to serve as a coach. Please contact me.

Be Intentionally Great Today!

“Most people simply accept their lives – they don’t lead them.” – John C. Maxwell

Take a moment to think about your life. Are you intentionally leading yourself or are you simply accepting the way things are and the circumstances that you’re in? If you fall into the latter category, you’re in good company with most people. However, if you’re in the former group, you are in an elite club.

Jim Rohn said “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.”

You have one life to live. Are you making the most of it? Are you waiting for “someday” to go after your dreams? Are you waiting for the perfect conditions before taking action on your goals? Are you striving for a life of significance?

My challenge for you today is to start leading your life. Determine to stop accepting things as they are. Go after your dreams. Start today. Start moving forward. After all, the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. What is your one step today?

Go and Be Intentionally Great Today!