Tag Archives: Action

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TEAM – Is it?

I am a member of a team and I rely on the team. I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual is the champion. ~ Mia Hamm

Rowing Team

According to Patrick Lencioni, it’s not finance, strategy or technology that gives a company the ultimate advantage. It’s the people and their ability to subordinate their individuality for the greater goal of achieving team objective.

If done successfully, working as teams can be very rewarding both for the organisation and the individuals who make up the team. But teams are made up of people and the default nature of the human being is the individual. We live in a “I”, “me” and “my” world.

The more complex the work to be accomplished the greater the need for team effort. And that’s what make teams powerful. Together you can achieve more when everyone is moving in the same direction.

Examples of Team Accomplishments

  1. Building the Tower of Babel
  2. Building the Space Shuttle
  3. Building the worlds biggest passenger airplane
  4. Building the worlds tallest bridge
  5. Building the computer or mobile device on which you are reading this article.

People are your greatest asset and your greatest liability.

Its not all the time that you have the ability or luxury of picking who is on your team. For example, when you have been chosen to be part of a team at work or in other settings. However, should you have the opportunity to pick your team, take some time to think about it because your success can depend on who is on the team with you or who is not.

To grow your business beyond yourself, other people need to be a part of what you are doing.  Here are a few things to consider before setting out to find the right people for your team.

5 Things to Consider

1. How big is your dream?

John F Kennedy set the target of being the first nation to safely take a man to the moon and back. Bill Gates dreamt of a computer on every desk and in every home. You need to dream big and you need to be able to start small. If you can do it alone, there is no point in getting others on board.

2. Can you articulate your dream?

It doesn’t matter how big your dream is, if you can’t put it in words and paint a picture for some to see, you will find it difficult to attract the right people. You may attract some people who are desperate for work. If you had only one and a half minutes to talk about your idea to a potential investor, what would you say? Spend some time clarifying your ideas and craft your words.

3. Is there an opportunity for people to grow and develop?

Is there going to be any transformation in their lives as a result of being part of your team? Invest in the training and development of your team members. Ensure that your team members have the opportunity to acquire the new skills that will take your business to the next level. Give them the space and watch as they take your business to the next level.

4. What is the reward for joining your team?

This is such an important question because everyone will ultimately want an answer to the question “what’s in it for me?”. Remember Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Beyond money, people want a sense of belonging, achievement and purpose. What have you got to offer? While team members may subordinate their individual ambition for team success, great teams are made of people who can achieve some or all of their personal goals while working on team goals.

5. Are you a team player yourself?

Do you know it all? Do your find it difficult to let go after you have assigned work? Are you pleasant to be around?

 One is too small a number to achieve greatness ~ John C Maxwell

To be a team player, you must be

  • Trustworthy
  • Comminicative
  • Commited
  • Accountable
  • Enthusastic
  • Result focused

TEAM – Together Each-one Achieves More.

Why not leave a comment by telling me your thoughts about Team

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The Cries for Inspirational Leadership (Part 1)

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action is what can change the world ~  Joel Baker

Inspirational Leadership

Partnership

Leadership is perhaps best viewed as a partnership – the partnership between the “leader” and the “led”. The goal of beneficial leadership in this regard would be to facilitate and unlock the potentials of the parties to achieve desired end results. In this context, a good leader is the person that acts as the bridge linking people to their goals through inspired actions. This distinguishes a true leader from a “greeder”. A “greeder” is the person that benefits only at the expense of the people that he or she leads.

There are people today in diverse positions of power, influence and authority who exploit the will, trust and belief of the people they supposedly lead. The often silent but agonising cry of these people for inspirational leadership is often met with more brazen exploitation.

Inspirational Leadership

Personal inspiration rather than mere motivation is what makes the leader stand out. Inspiration is far superior to motivation. It is a process that is spirit-induced and heart-controlled. It is revolutionary in concept and dynamic in approach. An inspired person is energised, enthusiastic and so passionate about his convictions that he is perpetually restless and tireless in pursuit of his goals.

I remember once asking a class during a coach-training session if well known transformational leaders like Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama and Bill Gates, among several others were inspired or merely motivated to do what they are recorded to have done? There was not one person in the class that was not convinced that these leaders were personally inspired.

Inspired Leaders Make Lasting Impact

Many scientists, writers, politicians, entrepreneurs, philosophers, entertainers, artists, teachers and others that make lasting impact in the lives of others and in their communities have been personally inspired to do so. Each of them has through some personal ingenuity made the world a better and happier place for others, because there has been a massive and irresistible personal drive to make a lasting impact. Personal inspiration is a hallmark of true leadership.

Strength from within

You cannot stop a truly inspired leader or even try to put him down, because he is propelled by forces of stronger convictions within him than all the negativism around him. That is why true personal inspiration is the key to successful leadership. A leader that is not personally inspired often ends up being the puppet of other people.

The Next Generation

A challenge of leadership succession and ascension is that some entrenched systems do not often favour the emergence and sustenance of truly inspired leaders. As a result, the transformation that the people earnestly desire continues to elude them.

Tell me what you think about Inspirational Leadership by leaving a comment below.

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Increase Productivity by Reducing Distractions

Productivity is meaningless unless you know what your goal is Eliyahu Goldrat

Increase Productivity by Reducing Distractions

For as long as I remember I have always had to struggle to maintain focus and avoid distractions. I still do battle daily against the things that take my attention away from what I have set my mind and heart to achieve.

Believe it or not, but productivity increases inversely with distractions. If you have no ambition or big goals you want to accomplish, it is unlikely that you will derive any benefits from reducing distractions. So what is a distraction?

A distraction is that which divides your attention or prevents concentration.

When I set out to write my blog posts, my mind wanders and my attention is divided between what I am doing and the many other things I want to do. I constantly have to fight to get back on track and complete the task. This for me is energy draining and a cause of low productivity. So I set out to increase my productivity, get more done and achieve my goals by reducing distractions.

Here are 5 changes I made to my working life that has yielded big results.

  1. Create A Personal Work Space.

Your personal work space includes your desk, your chair, the walls around you, access to day light, room temperature and any other thing you can think of that makes for a pleasant environment. The more comfortable you are in your chair, the less you would fidget and the longer you will stay and complete your work.

Keeping a clutter free work environment will add to your productivity. Look around you. Do you like the look and feel of where you work? If not, come up with three things you can do to make yourself relaxed and comfortable.

  1. Turn Off Emails, Telephone and Text

I am one of those persons who checks his email as soon as it arrives. So I have lights that blink when I get an email, a buzzer that rings when I get a text and a phone that vibrates when on silent.

For years I couldn’t imagine life without a smart phone. However, after overcoming the withdrawal symptoms, I get more done in my day with the phone turned off.

If you have work to do that demands focus and attention, you may want to try having these things turned off.

  1. Take Some Time To Plan Your Day In Advance

If you start your day without a plan, you are more likely to end that day without achieving much. Take some time to plan your day in advance. The previous night is a good time to do this. Set goals and have targets for the day.

A list of what you want to do or achieve is a simple tool that can make you more productive. On completion of a task, you do not have to spend time wondering what to do next. You simply look at your list and tackle the next task.

  1. Use A Timer

When on social media, decide how much time you want to spend and then spend no more that the time you have allocated. A timer is a wonderful device which simply bleeps when your allocated time is up.

When writing, use your timer, when researching online, use a timer and when you go to sleep in the middle of the day, if you have that luxury, use your timer.

  1. Record, Review And Reward

Many years ago when I was struggling with money, I was given a sheet of paper to record and keep track of my spending. The result of that exercise was an eye opener. By tracking my spending I was able to review my actual spend against my planned spend. I had actual numbers that were always different from the plan. I didn’t need much prompting to make spending cuts.

What you track you can change. Keep track of how you spend your time. Record how many minutes in your day you spend doing actual productive work. Record how many minutes you spend watching television. Record how many minutes you spend on the telephone and on social media.

Review what you have recorded. Make necessary adjustments and reward yourself for good behaviour.

Why not add your own productivity tip by leaving a comment below.

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Speaking for Impact – 7 Tools From a Speakers Toolkit

Mere words are cheap and plenty enough, but ideas that rouse and set multitudes thinking come as gold from the mines ~ A. Owen

Speaking for Impact

Have you listened to a speech or presentation that left you not knowing what was said and why you attended the event in the first place? I have.

Have you made a speech or presentation that left your audience asking themselves why they bothered to turn up? I have.

In todays fast changing world, one of the demands of your audience as you speak and make presentations is that you give them something to remember and something to make their lives better. Speaking is a means of communicating a message. Messages that are remembered always have something that resonates with the listener and something that brings a challenge to change.

Even when your speech is to inform or to entertain, it will make a difference to your audience if your message carries with it the seed of life change. How do you do this?

7 Tools For Making Impact In Your Speech And Presentations

  1. Have A Clear Objective That Is Tailored To Your Audiences Need.

What identified need does your audience have that your presentation is set out to meet or provide a solution for? You can gauge this by simply identifying who will be in your audience, what are some of the challenges they have and what would you want them to do differently after your presentation.

  1. Connect With Your Audience

You can increase you connection with your audience by arriving early. This allows you time to get acquainted with your audience.

Connection is increased when you are talk personally to people. By using the words “you” and “your” in your speech, you can speak directly to one person with several others listening in. This makes your presentation personal and I the listener will give you my attention because I want to hear what you have to say to me.

  1. Have a Clear Structure.

To make it easy for your listeners, you will need to ensure that your speech has a clear and easily identifiable structure. This will usually be made up of an opening, a body and a closing.

You opening is there to turn audience attention away from many other things that can possibly occupy their mind in that moment and to listen to you the speaker. It should also make the audience feel at ease in your presence.

The body of your speech will contain all the points you have to make laid out in a clear and logical manner. This will make it easier for listeners to follow and understand.

Your closing should contain a recap of your main points and clear next step. If you have presented a challenge for change, you want people to take action immediately and start implementing your solution.

  1. Have Just Enough Content.

Too Much Content

Many attempts to communicate are nullified by saying too much ~ Robert Greenleaf

In my opinion, it is always better to leave your audience yearning to know more than to give them so much that they get confused about what you want them to learn or do. You cannot say it all in one presentation. Based on the time allocated, decide on what is important and stay focused on it.

There is an old speakers saying that When you squeeze your information in, you squeeze your audience out”.

  1. Make You Points Stick

Each point you make will have a chance of being remembered if you

  • Base it round a story, acronym or an activity
  • Include questions and statements that cause your audience to reflect on your point and think about how it can be applied to their lives.
  • Include a method or solution for applying your point
  • Show the benefits to be derived from making the changes you are proposing
  1. Effectively use transitions.

An effective transition from one point or section to another will include a summary of the point or section and a preview of what you are about to say. This helps the listener to recollect what you have just said and create an interest in what you are about to say. It also helps the listener to know when you have finished with one point and you are about to start another.

  1. Make Your Closing Memorable.

In any speech or presentation, the last thing you say is alway the first thing your listeners remember. So be intentional about your closing. Leave your audience on a high note and never close with a question and answer session.

In your closing, recall all your main points, include a clear call to action or next step and leave your audience feeling good.

They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel ~ Carl W. Buechner

Why not add your own tools for speaking with impact by leaving a comment.

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Ideas To Action Challenge – 10 Keys To Help You Become An Ideas To Action Person.

In 1963, Mary Kay Ash, resigned from her job out of frustration from being passed over for promotion. She came up with the idea of writing a book to help women in business. What emerged from the book idea was a business plan that was later implemented and turned into a multimillion dollar business. In 2001 at the time of Mary Kay Ash’s death, Mary Kay cosmetics had over 800,000 representatives in 37 countries with total annual sales of over $200 million.

Idea Concept

According to Mary Kay Ash,

Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who implement them are priceless.

Everything starts with an idea and you have the capacity to generate lots of ideas. You can also find plenty of ideas online on just about anything you can think of. Yet many people fail to act on their ideas and the world ends up missing out on the potential that was never realised.

Why do people not act on their ideas?

Here are some of the reasons people have come up with on why they do not take action on their ideas.

  1. Lack of confidence
  2. Life gets in the way
  3. Too busy with work
  4. No motivation or drive to act
  5. Lack of support
  6. Discouragement from friends and family members
  7. Fear of failure
  8. Lack of know how
  9. No money
  10. No plan for action
  11. Don’t know how to do it
  12. Too young
  13. Too old

I am sure you can add one or two more reasons to this list.

It doesn’t matter why you have not been taking action on your ideas. What matters is your answer to this question. Do you think you would be a better person and the world you live in would be a better place if you make a decision today to act on some of your ideas? If your answer is yes, then you need to stop making excuses and start implementing some of your ideas. Here are some things to help you get started.

10 Keys To Help You Become An Ideas To Action Person.

Keys to Action

  1. Put first things first – There is always something you can do now with the limited time, skills and finances available to you. Find out what that is and then get started doing it.
  2. Believe in Yourself – Your belief in your self will be aided by your having a strong sense of purpose. What do you want in life and from life? With a sense of purpose, you will find it easier to commit to ideas that align with your purpose. You purpose serves as a screen that filters ideas.
  3. Get connected with the right people – People are your greatest ally and your greatest adversary. You will need to keep searching until you find people who will encourage, inspire and motivate you to get going with your ideas.
  4. Equip and train yourself – If you haven’t got the right skills and experience, then go and get it. Read books, attend courses or take up employment in companies that will provide you opportunity to get the skills your need.
  5. Set goals and realistic targets – Everything in life takes twice as long and costs twice as much. Set SMART goals and then proceed to create realistic plans that will lead you to achieve your goals.
  6. Set realistic time frames – Every new project is an adventure into the unknown. This will almost always result in costs and time delays you could not have envisaged at the start. Build some margin into your time estimates.
  7. Research to refine your ideas – Your idea in its current form will undoubtably undergo numerous refinements before you start. However, do not try and overdo the research. You know enough to get started and you will discover the rest along the way.
  8. Be committed to your success – Have you got a success mindset. Do you believe that you are going to make a success out of your life. If you do, then commit to your belief by taking actions that will bring you closer to your stated objectives.
  9. Find a coach or mentor – A coach is a trained professional who by asking the right questions is able to draw out the potential within you. A mentor is someone with experience in what you want to do. Mentors will share their experiences and give you tips that can help you avoid mistakes along the way.
  10. Be willing to adapt and change – Be flexible. Be a person who is open to new ideas and is willing to try new things. As you review and measure your progress against set markers, be willing to change course if necessary. You will need the wisdom to know when to persevere and when to pivot.

Decide on your next step and then act. Or leave a comment and tell me what else is holding you back.

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#3. Leadership 101 Series

#11. Risk

Leadership 101 Series

Fear stifles our thinking and actions. It creates indecisiveness that results in stagnation. I have known talented people who procrastinate indefinitely rather than risk failure. Lost opportunities cause erosion of confidence, and the downward spiral begins ~ Charles Stanley

Wikipedia describes risk as a potential for loss (due to a desirable or undesirable outcome) resulting from a given action and or inaction.

Everyday cycling on the streets of London carries the risk of being knocked down by a car on the road. Yet thousands of cyclists take to the roads on a daily basis. I couldn’t. Because it carries too much of a risk for me.

Risk therefore is in the eye’s of the beholder. The risk involved in any task is related of the skills, training and experience you have in the given task.

What you considers as safe, such as being in paid employment is probably a risky venture to the business owner.

Don’t let the fear of failure hold you back. Think of all the benefit that would come your way if you succeed, and then take one small step at a time.

#12. Courage

You must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear ~ Martin Luther King Jnr

Courage is not an absence of fear. Courage is you acting in-spite of your fears. Fear is never going to go away so stop trying to get rid of it.

Courage is like muscles that are built up with use. Learn to act even when afraid in little things and when the big one comes, you can draw from your history the courage necessary to see you through your present situation.

Courageous leaders are comfortable with making choices despite limited information, making choices within a limited time and having the grace and humility to admit that they have got it wrong rather than stick to their guns and wreck the ship.

#13. Smart

Smart

Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose. ~ Bill Gates

Smart is a difficult one to describe. How smart is smart or how dumb is dumb? The world is filled with smart people who have made stupid mistakes and not so smart people who have the wisdom to surround themselves with people smarter than they are. How smart are you?

Do you recognise your weaknesses and ensure that you have people who will complement you on your team? Are you smart enough to listen to them? They can protect you and your business from your blind spots. We all have them so you are no exception.

#14. Relational

Nothing is perfect. Life is messy. Relationships are complex. Outcomes are uncertain. People are irrational. ~ Chuck Palahniuk

What would the world be without people? I certainly wouldn’t want to be the only person in a world full of trees. I would rather have human beings with their quirkiness any-day.

The leader who has no follower is obviously going for a walk. You are going to have to spend time building relationships with people, some of whom will be your colleagues, your employees and your customers. And yes they may not respond as you predicted. That’s because they are human beings with a free will which is used without rational at times.

So quite being upset with people. They are not going to be eradicated from the face of the earth.

Love people, learn to understand their needs and then spend your time adding value to their lives and filling your identified needs. They will reward you with their follower-ship, loyalty and sometimes money.

#15. Communicator

First, you must realise and accept that clear communication is a two way process. It’s not enough to speak clearly. You have to make sure you are heard and understood. ~ Lee Froschhelser

There’s no doubt in my mind that communication is one of the essential skills a leader must have. Here are a few things that can help your communication

1. Have great clarity as to what you want to say and why you want to say it.

2. Keep it simple. Avoid jargon and use everyday words. No one will be impressed with your big words if they don’t know what it means. And don’t kid yourself. They will not bother to look it up in the dictionary.

3. Say what you have to say and then listen for feed back that will give you clues as to whether you have been understood or not.

4. Remember to keep the body language in line with the message.

Do you recognise any of this qualities?

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Take Charge Take Responsibility Take Action

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you  are a leader. – John Quincy Adams, Sixth US President 

Take Charge Take Responsibility Take Action

For many years as a young man, I assumed that it is the job of the people at the top to lead the organisation. I thought that until you had a ‘position’ or occupied an ‘office’ you are not required to make any contribution to the organisation beyond what you are paid for.

 

So I did nothing other than what my job required. This meant that I stayed in one place and got frustrated and angry when things were not moving forward. I felt helpless as if I was tied to a chair with no room to move. I could feel the pain of stagnation resulting from my self imposed limitation.

 

One day at a seminar, I had the words ‘You need no title to be a leader’ and the proverbial penny dropped. I can lead without a tittle! It occurred to me that if I was going somewhere with my life I might just move this department forward and in the process move the organisation forward.

 

Leadership is about you going somewhere and inspiring others by your actions.  

You are a leader and you do not need to be the chief executive to make a difference. You can make a difference where you are.

 

In his book The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in Life Robin Sharma tells the story of Ann, whom he described as a lovely woman who has a strong understanding of what it means to be a leader and lead without a tittle. Three things from Anna’s story that could help you in your job:

 

  1. With the power of choice, Anna made a decision to give nothing less than the very best to her job.
  2. Anna considered her work to be deeply important and essential to the smooth running of her organisation.
  3. Every day, Anna finds ways to challenge herself and make her job into something really meaningful to her and valuable to her employers.

You too can take charge,  to take responsibility and to take action.

To take charge demands courage conviction and confidence. Yes you can make a difference, yes you can impact the lives of others for good and yes you can go forward with your dreams.

 

To take responsibility requires you to fully understand that it is your action or inaction that got you where you are and it will be your action that will get you where you want to be.

 

To take action makes talk cheap. Now is the time to make it happen. Remember Noah didn’t wait for it to rain before he built an ark. Neither should you wait for anyones permission. Begin today to take the necessary steps to build the life that up till today you have only dreamed about.

Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.’~ Abraham Lincoln

Here are three things to remember as you go into this week.

  1. Take charge and be the leading influence in your life.
  2. Take responsibility and acknowledge the gap between where you are and where you want to be.
  3. Take action and begin to move in the direction of your dream. 

What steps will you take this week to move in the direction of your dream?