Posts Tagged ‘leadership’
Experts, Patti Johnson - Wednesday, May 8, 2013 9:00 - 19 Comments
Why the “Right” Answer May Not Be Your Answer
Are you looking for the “right” answer or your answer?
As children we are well-trained to find the right answer. We are rewarded for A’s, the honor roll and acing the test. Our education trains us to follow the rules and deliver the expected answers. When we do, the stickers, accolades and congratulations follow.
Yet when we grow up, it gets a little harder. Life and careers don’t have tests with an A if we get the “right” answer.
I recently had coffee with a college student about to graduate. She is struggling with what she wants for her career. She wants her parents to be proud of her and to continue the success she has had in school. She also talked about other students in her graduating class who are set to do “some big things,” like graduate school and working for impressive companies.
Yet she wasn’t sure of the right answer for using her degree. She said that deep down she was hoping that someone might give her the answer. I understood her feelings of self-doubt and uncertainty, because I felt the same at that time in my life.
We discussed that it comes down to not looking for the right answer, but her answer. The grown-up definition of the “right answer” and where we get it is different than when we were in school.
- Great Resilience in Challenging Times
Each week, it seems the sports world captures our attention and sends us on an emotional rollercoaster worth the price of admission. But this week’s thrill ride inspired me to focus on perspective. Under what lens would you view emotional moments of failure, tragedy or triumph? If you were Baylor’s 6-foot-8 women’s basketball sensation Brittney [...]
- Don Yaeger: Super Bowl Siblings
The storyline has gotten a lot of attention these last couple of weeks, but as most anyone who follows sports knows, this weekend’s Super Bowl will be the first ever pitting two brothers against each other as head coaches of the competing teams. Jim Harbaugh’s San Francisco 49ers are slight favorites over older brother John [...]
- Don Yaeger: Lombardi Time
As the NFL Playoffs continue to take us further from the regular-season routine and closer to Super Bowl dreams, I can’t help but tap into my appreciation for the iconic figure who won the very first Super Bowl in NFL history. Back in January of 1967, Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi captured the [...]
- Rudolph: One of the Great Leaders of All Time!
The holiday season merrily provokes the decking of halls and the jingling of bells. There’s something about Christmas that programs our brains to focus on questionable sweater patterns and multicolored light decorations. Beyond Yuletide carols and roasted chestnuts, the Christmas spirit gives us the chance to tap into the purity and passion of our childhood [...]
- Take My Mantra, Please!
By the time my taxi reached the portico of the elegant colonial mansion where I’d be running an executive communication workshop with 40 international bankers, I’d chosen my mantra. I repeated it to myself as I bumped my drag bag up the broad front stairs. Inside the bag were 40 copies of my book on [...]
- Don Yaeger: 5 Things We Can Learn from the Downfall of the Boston Red Sox
My grade school teachers severely undersold the lessons on compound words. While “downfall” fits the grammatical parameters of a compound word, its definition in the business world is complex mostly because it is often the result of a series of compounded mistakes. I often look to sports for lessons that can be useful across a [...]
- Leadership Lessons from Summer Camp
It’s time again to sign the kids up for summer camp. It’s the highlight of most kids’ summers—no mom or dad, wearing the same clothes three days in a row and candy every night before bed. What could be better? Last summer when we were at parent pickup, I realized that they are doing some [...]
- What A Presidential Campaign Teaches Us About Leading Change
Let’s set aside politics for whom you support in the 2012 presidential election. You can learn a lot from presidential campaigns about how to lead change in your team or organization. A presidential campaign is designed to convince voters that their candidate is the one you should choose on Election Day. Likewise, in organizational change [...]
- Peyton’s Place: How One Person Can Elevate A Team
I’m sad to see it end, but so glad it was handled with such class. Last week, the incomparable Peyton Manning, after sitting out a year with injury, was released by the Indianapolis Colts. His exit press conference, with the team owner that was cutting him standing just feet away, should be the standard for [...]
- The 8 Items on a Leader’s To-Do List
John C. Maxwell says leadership is just as much about developing your team’s talents as it is about nurturing your own leadership skills. The best-selling author of Talent Is Never Enough reminds us that growth is modeled after and expected from leaders. As a successful leader, you must do eight things. 1. Find your own [...]
- Assaraf: 6 Hats of Managing a Successful Business
When I started my first business, I tried to do everything myself. There are so many things to do—so many hats to wear—that it’s impossible to do everything (and do them well) by yourself. You must focus on the roles that match your abilities. Watch the video below to learn about the six hats of running a business to determine which ones fit your skill set.
- Flip Flippen: Integrity Is the Leadership Advantage
What if there was a competitive advantage that you and many others often overlook? It’s not related to a certain degree or training, nor is it about time management or managerial skills.
It’s a trait we’re familiar with, but few of us have truly mastered: integrity. Do you think that integrity and honesty are a competitive advantage in today’s marketplace? Last week, I sat with many of the leaders of Wall Street as this was discussed in a very candid format. The answer was a resounding YES! Every person on the panel agreed that integrity and honesty were an advantage.
- Hardy: Listen Up!
Contrary to what many might think (and many practice), the most important job of a leader is not to speak, preach, direct or advise…. The most important job of a leader is to listen.
In a recent interview I did with management guru Tom Peters, he revealed the four most important words in business leadership are
- Sharma: How Exercise Affects Leadership
You know I’m an evangelist for the idea of being ultrafit if you want to be the best of breed. Getting into world-class physical condition is one of the smartest moves you can make. Exercising will make you look better, feel stronger and fill you with boundless energy. Staying fit will even make you happier.
- Flippen: You Can Learn a Lot While Standing in Sewage
One of the most defining behaviors of consistent high performers that we study such as Gary Kelly, president and CEO of Southwest Airlines, is internal drive. I know that may not surprise you, but let me tell you how critical it is. On our proprietary executive assessment tool, Gary’s self-assessment and his 360-degree assessments were above the 90th percentile, which means he is well above average on his need to accomplish tasks, to go above and beyond, and to spend his time wisely.
- Sharma: How to Do World-Class Work
Leadership no longer has to do with the title on your business card. In this age of deep disruption, the new way to lead has everything to do with how powerfully you influence, how brilliantly you work and how superbly you collaborate. Your position matters less than your passion. Your rank matters less than your willingness to go the extra mile in all you do, and to wow each of the stakeholders lucky enough to cross your path.
- Sharma: Leadership 2.0 The New Way to Win
The old model of leadership is obsolete. Businesses that were once admired have crumbled. Leaders who were once revered (in fields ranging from commerce to sports) have lost face. The respect for Wall Street has been replaced by a renewed passion for Main Street. And with it, has come a completely new way to lead.
- Overview: Become the Leader You Want to Be
Welcome to the Robin Sharma leadership blog challenge! Here are the exclusive details for this exciting six-week challenge that’ll take place March 22-April 29.
- Four Core Values that Guarantee Success
At a British Columbia leadership conference at which I recently spoke, former United Nations Ambassador Alan Keyes gave a brilliant speech and challenged the audience with this idea: the only way people, businesses, organizations, and even countries make a lasting impact is by operating from core values and bedrock principles. This got me to thinking [...]
- Flip Flippen: Separate Great Leaders from Typical Leaders
There I sat, listening to a business friend who had not received the promotion that he had hoped and worked for. He was obviously disappointed and seriously considering a move to a different organization. He made it clear that the person the board had chosen was not qualified to lead. In fact, my friend was [...]
- Become the Leader You Were Meant to Be
When it came time for Robin Sharma to carve out a life for himself, becoming a lawyer seemed right. Although he had loving parents, there was never abundance during his childhood, and he was determined to find a way to prosper as an adult. His life as a litigation lawyer provided money, status and all the trappings of the success he envisioned. But Sharma felt something was missing—that a vital part of him was silently starving to death.
- The Unpopular View of Leadership
I have observed that one of the most overlooked but important qualities of great leadership is one’s courage and willingness to do what is unpopular. Unarguably, one of the greatest leaders in history, at the time of his leadership, continually suffered vehement opposition and may have been one of the most unpopular people ever to [...]
- The Advantage of Being Quiet
I couldn’t believe he wouldn’t stop talking. I had been in his office for a full 45 minutes, and he had not stopped once to ask anyone else’s thoughts or to even get a response. Finally, the meeting came to a close and I had the fortunate or unfortunate opportunity to meet with him one [...]
- Creating Safety in Your Organization
Did you know that when people feel safe, they perform better? Have you ever stopped to think that if you could help people feel safe with you, they would perform better for you? That does not mean that you lower your expectations or accept sub-par performance or that you start every meeting with Kumbaya. You [...]
- Four Key Questions for Identifying Key Talent
We have some real superstars in our company. As company president, I hope I know who they are! How do you find talent within your organization? We have a few questions we ask each of our success center directors each year. First, we go through each employee in their team and ask, “Would you enthusiastically [...]
- Leadership: The Great Calling of Life–The Grand Challenge for Us All
What does it mean to be a leader? Leaders are those who can turn a struggling, ragtag army freezing at Valley Forge into a force that topples an empire. Leaders are people who reach out to friends in pain to help them topple their fears and recapture their confi dence. A leader can take a [...]
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