Inspire - #4

We continue our ten part series on Leadership Characteristics based on a Harvey McKay weekly blog.

The research for these ten words came from a four-year series of executive seminars conducted by Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group/Learning systems.  This list first appeared in Management Review Magazine).  These thoughts are my own creation.

Leadership Trait #4

Inspire

One of the great skills in leadership is the ability to inspire an individual, team or a company. 

One of the synonyms for inspire is “arouse”.

An inspiring leader arouses the character traits already inside of a person and helps channel them for the cause. 

Do you see the good and wholesome characteristics already lying dormant in your team, and can you bring those to the light of day for a good and worthy cause?

Then perhaps you are an inspiring leader.

Inspiring leaders are not just rah-rah cheerleaders.  I don’t find much merit in a pep rally in which we get pumped up and then it fizzles before we hit the playing field.

When I am recognized as a viable player, when my own individual effort is recognized, or a past or present contribution of mine is recognized, then I am more inspired and ready to go out and do the job again. 

Do you want to lead with inspiration?

~Walk beside me.

~Show me that you believe in me.

~Show that you care.

~Show that I am an equal and that you aren’t interested in just the top rank players.  You need the whole team, not just the super-stars.

Inspire all of us. 

       Look us in the eye. 

              Believe in us, each of us.

Inspire is to “breathe into”. A great leader breathes into his/her team.  And the most important ingredient you can possibly breathe into anyone is a sense of self-belief. 

These words motivate me:

“You can do it.  I believe in you

and I’m going to do whatever it takes

to help you succeed.”

Breathe into your team today.

INSPIRE!

For more reading on this topic, follow this link.

 Belief

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Forward-Looking #3

We continue our ten part series on Leadership Characteristics based on a Harvey McKay weekly blog.

The research for these ten words came from a four-year series of executive seminars conducted by Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group/Learning systems.  This list first appeared in Management Review Magazine).  These thoughts are my own creation.

Leadership Trait #3

Forward-Looking

When we think about someone who is forward-looking as a leader these ideas come to mind.

Pathfinder

   Trail blazer

      Entrepreneur

         Visionary

The phrase “Work on the business, not in the business” first came to my attention while reading The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.

The essential idea here is that a leader needs to be a forward-thinking individual, and the best way to accomplish that is to work on the business, not in the business.  Michael does an excellent job of illustrating this and I encourage you to revisit his book.

When one works in the business, it is difficult to see over the counter, or past the stack of potato chips, or even past your family vacation. 

Families need someone working on the family also.  How are we doing?  Are we communicating?  Are we doing good and wholesome activities?  Are we operating according to the family norms we've established as important?

Leadership is a forward-thinking sport.  Effective leaders think of the next year to ten years, not next month’s profit and loss spreadsheet. 

What are you doing to be a visionary and predict the future of your enterprise? 

Someone needs to be the visionary.  Dream up the wings you need to fly to new vistas and then set your creative team loose to build those wings once they've been visualized.

Remember this:

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Competency - #2

Leadership Trait #2

We continue our ten part series on Leadership Characteristics based on a Harvey McKay weekly blog.

The research for these ten words came from a four-year series of executive seminars conducted by Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group/Learning systems.  This list first appeared in Management Review Magazine).  These thoughts are my own creation.

Leadership Characteristic #2

Competent

Can you or can’t you?

Will you or won’t you?

Everybody wants competency in every form and variety.  Competency begets competency.  And when it comes to leadership and whether we will follow a leader, we surely want to be convinced of one’s competency rating.

Here are some synonyms for this study:

  Capability

    Ability

      Aptitude

        Proficiency

          Experience

              Expertise

If you lead, can you add the above synonyms to your resume? 

If you can’t score 100%, what is your competency strategy for reaching a 100% score?

Competency begins with self-understanding and your own skill set as an executive.

Are you competent?

Are you a learner?

What are you learning?

Where do you turn to gain extra knowledge?

Competency in people skills is perhaps the second most important ingredient. 

Always remember:

Your employees can tell whether you care or not.

Questions to ponder:

-Do I trust those in my charge?

-Do I set the kind of example they need to follow?

-Am I reliable?

One of the significant quotes I found for this subject is this one:

“Employee loyalty begins with employer loyalty.  Your employees should know that if they do the job they were hired to do with a reasonable amount of competence and efficiency, you will support them.”

~Harvey Mckay

Always remember, first you manage people - not money, or projects, or the corporate bottom line.  All of these “things” are affected first by the people you manage.

Show your competency! 

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Honesty - #1

Ten Leadership Characteristics

Today we begin a ten part series on Leadership Characteristics based on a Harvey McKay weekly blog.

This research came from four years of executive seminars conducted by Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group/Learning systems.  This list first appeared in Management Review Magazine)

Leadership Characteristic #1

Honesty

Who isn't in love with the Honesty gene?  We want so desperately to believe in the honesty of our leaders.  We stake fortunes on a person’s word about their honesty.  We elect leaders with this in mind. 

What is honesty?

  Sincerity

    Truthfulness

      Integrity

        Frankness

          Candor

            Openness

All are good words – all “honest” words. 

And how do we demonstrate honesty?

Axioms come to mind first.

My word is my bond.

“I pledge …”

“I promise …”

“Read my lips … no more ___”

I love this Albert Einstein quote:

“Whoever is careless with the truth

in small matters cannot be trusted

with important matters.”

Wise words for all of us

     -as leaders

     - as followers

     -as citizens of this world

Question:

? 

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

A Few Words about Stress

I found this a while ago and unfortunately can’t remember the source.  It is a worthy read.

A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water.  Everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?' 

She fooled them.  "How heavy is this glass of water", she inquired with a smile?

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem.  If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm.  If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "And that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again.  When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced.

So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment. Relax; pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"

Pretty great advice I’d say.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

First Impressions Revisited

We can never get too far from knowing and understanding the value of first impressions. 

Everyone is affected by first impressions.  I believe in “the

first 30-second to two minute rule.”

Simply put, this is how long it takes for a new acquaintance to determine the key essentials about each of us. 

~Do they like us?

~Will they trust us?

~Will they listen to us?

~Will they believe us?

And if we sell … will they buy from us?

Here are 10 tips to help all of us create a good first impression which will lead to rapport, which will lead to a long-established social relationship.
1. Dress well enough to impress the other person.
2. Smile when you first see the person.
3. Establish and maintain eye contact that is appropriate for the situation and the cultures included.
4. Be the first to say ‘hello’ and extend your hand.
5. If the meeting is in your office or home, greet the person at your door.
6. Deliver a sincere greeting.
7. Use the person's name appropriately.
8. Adjust your speaking volume to the locale.
9. Do any necessary homework about the person you are meeting.
10. Listen more than you talk.

First impressions matter most!

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Authenticity

Let’s talk about authenticity.  The key synonym we want to focus on is “genuineness”.

Become a genuine article – no fake, nothing phony, no imitation.

Let’s put this into a relationship box.  What do people think of you?  What labels are attached to you and are they true? 

When we cultivate authenticity, we let go of what others think of us and we become authentic. 

Authentic – a whole person, true to our innate identity and we own our own set of morals, our own standards, and we align with our own sense of integrity. 

I love the analogy I learned from Denis Waitley, motivational speaker.  In old Italy, if a tourist wanted to be assured of buying a statue without cracks and without wax to fill the cracks, they would look for the signs stating “Sine Cera" – without wax.

To be a person of authenticity you are a person without wax.  You are a whole and complete individual and you are what your words and your life say you are.

Cultivate authenticity – Let go of what others think and live your own true blue life.

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Can You Believe Impossible Things

There is a passage from Alice in Wonderland that is worth revisiting.

‘There’s no use trying,’ said Alice ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’

‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’

~Lewis Carroll

Oh to believe in the possibility of things thought impossible.

I have a quote just to my right that says this:

We are creative human beings with an amazing ability to think and reason and create.  Our minds are such powerful organs. 

“The only place where your dreams

become impossible is in your own thinking.”

~Dr. Robert Schuller

I choose to believe 

in the possibility 

of the possible.

Did you notice you have the power to choose?

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Check Your Seeds

Let me tell you a story.

There once was a farmer who was famous for his prized corn.  Every year his corn was the talk of the county. 

Time passed.  His farm grew.  He hired more workers.

One year, he entrusted the planting to a new hire, who, unfortunately could not read.

Instead of choosing corn seeds, he chose radishes. 

The end.

Lesson learned?

Check your seeds.  What are you planting?  What qualities are you passing along to your followers, be they children, employees, or citizens of this world?

As surely as the four seasons arrive, the seeds we sow will sooner or later crop up, and we will get what we sow.

So, sow good and accurate seeds. 

Seeds of

  Kindness

    Truth

      Integrity

        Concern for others

       Love

     Nurturing

   Wisdom

  Humor

 Good will

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words Web Site

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time