While the prevailing literature in current leadership studies tell us that leading with influence is more powerful than leading through position, a lot of leaders still fail in this aspect. Organizations are still stuck in traditional modes of leadership where titles and positions are used as a basis of authority. While it’s true that position automatically requires respect, some people have the “it” factor that makes others willingly follow them. Do you have the traits of an influential leader?

You are visible

An influential leader may be an introvert who likes his space. But he may also ironically find himself put in the spotlight many times because of his abilities and personality. You make yourself available to others’ needs and are willing to take the lead when the situation calls for it.

You attract people

You may not be the most physically attractive or the most extroverted. But when a problem needs to be solved, when something needs to be done, and when others need encouragement, you’re the “run-to” guy. People have commented that there’s something about you that gets them to open up or seek your expertise or experience.

When you speak, people listen and take action

Your team respects your take on weighty issues. You communicate clearly and powerfully that others can’t help but listen.  During meetings, you may not be the most talkative, but when you do finally speak up, others agree with you or at least reconsider their positions. Your team members willingly lend their support to your plan.

You find it easy to enlist others’ help

One sure sign of influential leadership is your ability to persuade and engage others.  You have the knack for spotting others’ strengths and getting them interested in your ventures.  You know exactly how they’ll be able to contribute, and you impart your passion and excitement to them.

People want to be like you, and some of them have even become better than you

Some say that the test of a successful leader is in his ability to replicate himself.  You may not always be in the forefront, because you’re developing others to lead. In fact, influential leaders may also be “invisible leaders.”  You work quietly without much fanfare, but the rest of your team is moving, taking action, and leading.  This is not because you’re lazy. Rather, it is because you inspire others to lead. You’ve modeled leadership for them, and the result is that they want to lead like you do.  You even find yourself amazed and happy that many of your “juniors” have reached heights you yourself have never reached. And even if they have, they still verbalize that you were the mentor who inspired their success.

If you’re gifted with the ability to persuade and engage others, then you have a powerful tool in your hands. Cultivate influence, and you can positively impact others’ lives.

Whatever the problem, you need to fix it. So here are 5 suggestions for composing emails that people will actually read, and answer.

1. Use a Personal Touch

People love to hear their name, and they love to see their name in a document. Using a person’s name in the subject header and the body of the message will make your message stand out from all the other messages that a person receives. It gets their attention, and makes them want to read more.

2. KISS

Keep It Short And Simple. Don’t go on and on. That’s the quickest way to make sure your email gets deleted. Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Don’t say anything more than is necessary.

As an example, if you get an email saying “John, will you be at the meeting on Friday?” don’t reply like this: “I have to pick up the kids at daycare and then pick up some milk and bread at the grocery store. Then I’ve got to drop off my tax info at the accountant’s office, and gas up the car. So if the traffic isn’t bad, I should get there with time to spare, but if there’s backup on the freeway I might be a few minutes late, but yes, I’ll be at the meeting. The correct response is simply “Yes.”

3. Say What You Want in the Header

Frequently, people only glance at the subject header and then decide whether or not to read the entire email. So, think about this: Header says “Proposal.” Body of email says “Hi, Sandy, I was hoping you could get the final draft of the proposal by Friday afternoon. The client is coming by and I’d like to have a few facts and figures to run by her. Do you suppose you could drop off a final draft by Friday, early afternoon or late at worst? I’d really appreciate it.” Again, boring and too long.

Proper header: “Final draft proposal by Friday PM?” If you have to add more details in the body text of your message, that’s fine, but people should get an immediate “heads up” when they see your subject line that will tell them that this is a message that they should devote the time to reading and answering.

4. Say What You Want

If you want someone to respond to your email, the best way to make it happen is to ask!  State what you want, ask for a reply, and thank the recipient in advance. Inform them that if you don’t get a response, you’ll be following up by phone, and state exactly when you’ll be doing that – tomorrow, in a day or two, next week? You get the idea.

5. Proofread Your Emails

There are few things more irritating than feeling as though you’re corresponding with a semi-literate clod. Run the spell check at the very least, but remember that the spell check is not always your friend. You should still proofread for grammatical errors and other gaffes.

It’s simple courtesy – people want to feel that you’re interested enough in communicating with them that you can bother to do it properly. If you can’t be bothered, why should they?

Summary

You want to make the best possible impression in your emails. This means keeping them simple, concise, and free of error. If you follow these basic rules, you’ll have a far better chance of getting through to the people you want to reach, making them read and understand your message, and motivating them to send you a reply. It really takes very little effort, and you can keep the communication channels running smoothly.

Have thoughts about this? Leave a comment!

Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. ~Thomas A. Edison

No, sorry, failure is not good. Smart people avoid failure. That being said, failure doesn’t have to be debilitating. So how do you deal with failure?

Here’s a list of 7 strategies for handling failure.

1. Change Your Mindset

You probably see things as black and white. You either succeed or you fail. There’s nothing in between. What if you thought of failure as something in the middle? Success is your destination. Various sorts of failure are just stepping stones on your way to eventual success.

Instead of setting goals for success, try to reduce the number of times that you fail. If, on your road to success, you hear the word “No” ten times, why not set your goal as only hearing “No” five times? Then three times. And finally, your goal is hearing “yes.”

Allow yourself a number of “nos” during the process, and then a no is just a stepping stone on the way to success. Part of the process is just reducing the number of times you hear “no.”

2. Celebrate!

Every time you reach your goal with even one fewer “no,” have a party! Buy yourself something nice. Go to a movie. You can actually reward yourself for failing less. How’s that for taking something sour and turning it into something sweet?

3. Keep Up Your Courage

When you’re afraid of failing, tell yourself to “man up.” Do this even if you’re a woman.

Never give up. Consider courage as a muscle that has to be constantly trained and strengthened. You can use this technique in your personal life as well as in your business dealings.

Remember that you’re a good person, a competent person, and generally speaking a successful person. Failure has no impact on your self-esteem. It’s something that happens to you from time to time – it has nothing to do with who you are.

4. Stay Humble

Remember that failure can be a sort of gift. Maybe not one you ask for, but still, you can use it. Keep in mind that in order to appreciate warmth, you have to know what it is to feel cold. To value light, you have to know darkness. In order to appreciate success, you have to fail. And with every single failure, you become more resilient, more powerful, and more able to appreciate your successes.

5. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

Take the challenges that life throws your way seriously. Yourself, not so much. Keep in mind that you’re just a cog in the greater machinery of life, and things are going to happen to you, both good and bad. You can’t always control what happens to you, but you can control how you react to it. Be resilient.

6. Learn From Your Failures

To use another tried and true axiom, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That might sound overly optimistic, but what’s the alternative? You’re going to say “Oh no, here come the lemons again?” Think about what you can learn from what looks like failure. Sweeten it up. Grab some sugar and make lemonade.

7. Develop New Ideas

You can learn something from every type of failure. What happened? What could you do differently next time? Can you get any feedback from other people who might have shared the experience? A lot of the time, all you get from success is “Great, good, now let’s move on to the next thing.” You don’t learn much from success. You do from failure.

Summary

Remember that no one ever got ahead without taking risks, falling ,and picking themselves up. Take what you can from the experience. There’s always something sweet to be taken from even the most sour experience, so take what you can, use it and move on to bigger and better things.

Why not take a moment to leave us a comment?

People think actresses find public speaking easy, and it’s not easy at all; we’re used to hiding behind masks. ~ Jane Fonda

So how do you overcome a fear of speaking in public?

For some people, public speaking is such a huge fear that it even leads to full-blown panic attacks. When the fear is great, people might avoid speaking in public or try to find ways to deal with the fear.

The first step is to build confidence, and here’s are 8 concrete methods for doing that.

1. Breathe

First, you have to relax. And the best way to do this is to breathe deeply. When you’re focusing on your breathing, you don’t have time to think about what can go wrong. Take deep, slow breaths. Do this for at least ten minutes before you actually get up to the podium to deliver your speech.

2. Imagine Being Successful

Assume that your presentation is going to go well. Release any negative thoughts, and picture yourself in front of an audience that’s looking approvingly at you and hanging on your every word. Assume that your audience is going to see you as the authority on your subject, and then go forth and embrace the audience – these are people who have come to hear what you have to say, because you’re an authority.

3. Accept That You Know Your Stuff

You know your topic, and you care about it. If you don’t, what are you doing up there in the first place? When you know what you’re talking about, it doesn’t even matter if you get lost in the middle of your speech – you’ll recover! And you have the answers, don’t you? There’s a reason why you were asked to speak – it’s because you know what you’re talking about.

4. Be Organized

You’re an expert in your field, but you can’t possibly disseminate all your information in just one speech. So think about what you want to talk about, and get your visual aids props and so on in order. It’s okay to use outline cards. You should also visit the location of your speech before you actually deliver it.

5. Picture Yourself Succeeding

As we’ve said before, you know your stuff. So picture your speech going well. If you go into the auditorium with positive thoughts, your presentation will likely go accordingly.

6. Practice

This is an old technique that actually works – stand in front of a mirror and deliver your speech. Ask a friend to toss out questions that your audience might ask. Evaluate your performance and look for areas that could be improved.

7. Join a Group

There are all sorts of people who are afraid of speaking in public, and there’s help available. Toastmasters International offers courses that will help you to become an effective speaker. You can practice and be critiqued in a safe environment long before you actually have to deliver that major speech.

8. Laugh at Yourself

If something goes wrong, find the humor in the situation. So you dropped your notes – tell your audience that you just got new hands, and you’re still learning how to use them. They’ll get a good chuckle, giving you time to pick up and move on. You stumble over your words? Say something like “Sorry, Incomprehensible is actually my first language – I’m still working on English!” Again, your audience will laugh, and there’s no real harm done.

Conclusion

Any time you try to do something new, you can feel anxious. If you’ve never given a speech before, try out some of the techniques we’ve suggested. Remember that practice makes perfect in most areas of life, and public speaking is no exception. When all else fails, ask yourself this: If this speech goes bad, in five year’s time, will it really matter? Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn’t it?

Have feedback? Please leave a comment.

You want to be a good leader, and you feel that this means you go to the mat, all the time, every time. But sometimes, it’s just time to say “Okay, enough, time to pack it in.” How do you know when it’s time?

Give Up? Really?

Sometimes the best possible course of action is to just give up. If you’re bogged down in a bad project, or you’ve lost your focus, maybe it’s just time to pull up stakes, say “enough already,” and move onto the next thing.

If this sounds too much like one of those horrible “art of failure” posts, sorry. That’s not what’s intended here. We’re not telling you to embrace failure and learn from it – we’re saying that sometimes, you just have to cut bait. Let go. Move on. Don’t look back. When there’s nothing you’re getting, and there’s nothing left to give, it’s done.

Ask yourself, can anything be salvaged? Answer honestly. If you’re saying “no,” then give up.

1. How Do You Feel?

Have you lost your enthusiasm for a project? Does your pitch to a potential customer sound something along the lines of “I guess you don’t want to buy my product… I don’t blame you.” Are you to the point where you can’t muster up so much as an iota of enthusiasm for whatever it is you’re trying to work on? Do you just want to crawl under the carpet and die? When people talk about your project, do you do everything you possibly can to change the subject? Give up.

2. Are The Numbers Wrong?

You’re looking at the financials for your project, and everything’s upside down. You’ve got more going out than you have coming in. Profitability? Oh, as if! If no amount of change or tweaking is going to make a difference, what do you suppose you should do? You got it – give up.

3. Do Other People Think You’re Wasting Your Time?

If you’ve given your all to an idea, focused hard, worked like crazy, and it’s still not working, and people outside your main frame of reference are saying “Why are you keeping this up?” think about what you’re doing. Evaluate your progress. If there isn’t any progress? Give up.

4. It’s Hard to Let Go

No one is saying that giving up is easy. Often, you want to keep on going well beyond the point where you should just pack it in. Maybe your reputation is at stake, or maybe you’ve sunk too much of your own money into a project to feel comfortable just letting it go. Maybe you’re even approaching personal bankruptcy. Here’s a news flash – if any of this sounds familiar, you’re definitely in too deep. So what should you do? Give up.

If there’s no hope of recovery, no possibility of pulling it out of the fire, you might just have to accept the fact that you’ve failed. You took a risk, you experimented, and it didn’t work out. There’s no point in drawing things out, you have to give up!

5. Don’t Bother With What If

What if you’d done things differently? What if you’d done B instead of A? What if you’d taken Route C instead of Route D? Oh, for heaven’s sake, stop it. You can’t go back and rewrite history. Everyone makes bad decisions, and everyone has things they wish they’d done differently. You can’t go there – if you do, you’re just going to end up out more money and nothing’s going to change. It’s time to give up.

6. You’re Only Human

You made a mistake. Years are gone. Money’s down the toilet. What do you do now? You give up. You move on. You do it better the next time. Push the button on that ejection seat, get out of there, and give up.

Pick up, move on, try again. Don’t chase a dead dream. Know when to give up.

Please take the time to leave a comment.

What do you do when your leadership style just isn’t working anymore? You’ve become ineffective, and you know it. Maybe you’re burned out. Maybe your workplace environment has changed.

Either way, things aren’t working the way they used to, and you’re wondering what you’re doing wrong and how you can correct it.

Possible Roadblocks

You need to look at your habits, and think about what you’re doing wrong. The following isn’t by any means everything that could be making you an ineffective leader, but it should give you a few things to consider. Read on.

1. You’ve Stopped Caring About Your People

It’s in your attitude, isn’t it? You’re in a meeting with one of your people, and you’re texting, reading your email, and just generally doing anything you can to avoid dealing with the person who’s sitting in front of you.

Of course it’s only because you’re really very busy, but the best-case scenario for how people read you here is that you’re being rude. The worst-case scenario is that you’re saying, “I could not possibly care less.” How do you fix this problem? Simple. Put people first.

2. What You Say Isn’t What You Do

You expect certain standards from your people. In fact, you demand certain standards. But you don’t expect the same thing from yourself as you do from your people. You tell your people that they have to strive for excellence, but in your own practices, it’s “close enough is good enough.” You’ve stopped leading.

How do you fix this problem? Work to a high standard. Your people take their cue from you.

3. You Make It All About You

When something goes right, you take the credit. When it goes wrong, you say it’s because your team sent you under. Good leaders take responsibility when things go wrong, and they share the credit when things are good.

How do you fix this? Remember that you’re not an island. If you do well, it’s because you had great people supporting you. If it’s all in the toilet, your people didn’t make that happen without you enabling them. Accept that you’re part of a cohesive group.

4. No One Else’s Time Matters

Do you keep your people waiting while you arrange your desk, check out your LinkedIn profile, or go to the bathroom? If you give even your most mundane tasks priority over people, you’re giving the impression that you think you’re the only person who matters.

It looks from the outside as though you’re occupying a pedestal, putting yourself up higher than others. Well, technically, you are up higher – after all, you’re the leader – but you’ll command more respect from your team if you value their time as well as your own.

5. You Have a Sense of Entitlement

You behave as though because you’re the leader, you can behave any way you like. Maybe this means you don’t speak respectfully to others, or that you try to strong-arm your team into doing things your way. And realistically, no one’s going to stop you from behaving this way, but it’s not an effective management style.

Remember that you set the standard for behavior, and that if you take an authoritarian, “do it my way” approach, you’re telling your team that flexibility is a bad thing. You’re stifling creativity, and discouraging effective communication. A more open approach where everyone’s input is valued, and treated respectfully, yields better results.

Be the Model

Good leaders consider the people who work with them and for them. They set a good example, and they don’t use their position to manipulate others. Maybe you can lead by force and intimidation in the short term, but it will catch up with you. To be an effective leader, be the kind of leader you’d like to follow.

Please leave a comment.

You wouldn’t set off on a road trip without a map, would you? And yet, you’d be surprised how many people dive headlong into their careers with no idea of where they’re going or how to get there. If this sounds like you, perhaps you need a personal development plan.

What is a Personal Development Plan (PDP)?

A personal development plan, or PDP, is a way of identifying opportunities by asking yourself a series of questions. You think about the answers, and use what you’ve learned to plan your future.

Some employers require their workers to create a PDP. Even if that’s not the case in your job, you can still benefit from taking the time to create one. You might even find you have fun doing it, and at the very least you’ll gain some insight into yourself.

Let’s Get Started!

When thinking about how to create your PDP, you’ll need to do a bit of deep thinking. Here are some things you want to consider when developing your PDP:

• Do you have the information you need to make the right choices?
• How do you define success? Your PDP is all about helping you find the way to achieve what you want out of life. So, what exactly do you want? Money? Personal comfort? Good relationships? It’s all relevant.
• Do you have people (friends, family, co-workers) with whom you can toss around ideas?
• Does your employment situation allow you opportunities for personal growth, or are your wings clipped?
• What motivates you?

This is all about increasing self-awareness.

What’s in It for Me Personally?

Developing a PDP will give you a better idea of what makes you “tick.” You’ll be more aware of what you really need, and how to get it. You’ll achieve a better awareness of what you have to offer to those around you, and this will help you to move forward in a positive fashion.

What’s in It for My Employer?

If you’re only doing this because your employer is making you, you’re missing out on a great opportunity. But since you asked, most employers these days want you to hit the floor running – meaning that they want you to be ready to take charge of your own performance, whilst at the same time having the ability to manage others. They want you to be adaptable and not resistant to change, and to perform well under stress. If you understand what affects you personally, you will be more adaptable and thus a greater asset to your employer. You will also have a better understanding of what you want to achieve professionally, and that will help your employer to guide you toward events and training that will enhance your skill set.

Make It Happen!

Get yourself a pen and paper, or snuggle up with your laptop. Now, ask yourself, if you could do anything at all with your life, what would it be? How are you going to make it happen? Set yourself short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals for various areas of your life. As an example, in your work life, a short-term goal might be, “Tomorrow I want to rearrange my office, so that I can accomplish the tasks I need to do more quickly.” A middle-term goal might be, “In six months I want to be promoted to foreman.” A long-term goal could be, “In five years, I want my boss’s job.”

Now, think about how you’re going to make it happen. Write down some strategies. Take this same approach for other areas of your life, like family, friends, leisure activities, etc.

Feel free to brainstorm – you don’t have to finish this right away; in fact, you should take your time. After all, this is your life we’re talking about.

Summary

Creating a PDP is highly individualized, and this is just a brief overview. You can find detailed PDP ideas online, or in books or professional journals. Get started, and you’ll be glad you did!

Take a moment to share your thoughts as a comment!

Round and round, day after day, trudging around in the same old circle, ending up right back where you started. Does this sound like you? Cheer up, there are ways out of that career rut. You just need a little guidance finding ways to shine again.

Here Are Some Ideas to Get You Started

1. Reach Out

This is a vital first step. You need to know that others have felt the same way you’re feeling right now. Talk with a career coach, a mentor, or a co-worker. Sometimes what you need is a fresh perspective, and you can get that from someone who’s been there.

2. Learn Something New

Take stock of your workplace and find something that interests you. As an example, if you work in a print shop manipulating photos, ask the boss if you could learn how to run the press. “A change is as good as a rest” is more than just a tired old axiom.

3. Consider Your Strengths

You’re a resourceful person. You probably have talents that you could put to work in your job. Is there something you can do better than anyone else? Think about ways to rediscover pleasure in your job by putting your abilities to work in a whole new way.

4. Ask Yourself Why You’re Doing This

Is your job just a means to a paycheck? If that’s the case, then perhaps it’s time to move on. If you’re at the point where you’re saying, “This is not what I want to do with my life,” then you can either look for a promotion within your current company, or leave in favor of greener (or at least different) pastures.

I Could Do with a Bit of a Promotion

If you’ve reached what’s commonly known as a career plateau, then getting a promotion could be just the ticket. You’ve been successful in your career up until now, but it’s time to take the next step. It can be difficult moving up, but if you’re a hard worker with a fair share of ambition, it’s not impossible. Here are some good strategies to follow:

1. Improve Yourself

If you’ve been putting off upgrading your skill set, don’t wait any longer. Upgrade your education, or ask for additional training. This shows that you believe in yourself and your profession.

2. Network

Obviously, you should have a LinkedIn profile and make contacts outside your immediate frame of reference. But don’t neglect contacts within your company. There’s always someone who knows someone who could help you achieve your goal.

3. Ask for a Performance Review

Schedule a meeting with your immediate superior with the goal of identifying your strengths and weaknesses. You can’t fix what you can’t identify, and if you want to advance, you need to know what areas you have to work on.

4. Use the Resources Available to You

Talk with people in positions similar to the one to which you aspire. Find out what you need to know. Also, make sure your Human Resources department knows who you are and what you want.

5. If You Want It, Ask For It

Think about how you’d feel if your dream job went to someone else, and the explanation offered was, “Gosh, Lou, we didn’t think you’d be interested.” It’s easy to become occupied with networking, training and such, but keep in mind that if you don’t let your boss in on the fact that you’d like to move up, you’re not likely to be high on the list of people who will be considered when a position does open up.

I’m Just All Used Up – Time to Move On

If you’ve come to this state of affairs, go. But don’t use the opportunity to tell the boss exactly what you think of her and your mind-numbingly dull job. Leave on a high note. You might feel like burning the bridge, but rest assured that if you do, everyone in your field of work will know why the fire brigade had to be summoned.