How do you determine whether or not a person has leadership potential? It's simple ... watch what they do when they don't have to do anything. Last night at church we cancelled our children's program and adult classes due to a fierce snow storm that dropped on us. Within the span of about thirty minutes the street in front of our church building was snowed over and cars were spinning out trying to climb the hill. As I'm inside answering questions, three guys went out and began pushing cars. Even more amazing, one hadn't been at church but came when he noticed the snow storm. When I finally could, I went out and joined them. For the better part of almost 90 minutes, these three guys directed traffic, coached drivers, and crawled under cars. It was a sight to see! When we ask, "What does a leader do?" we're assuming…
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When I worked as the ecommerce manager for Blue Haven Pools and Spas Supplies Direct, our customer service manager turned our leadership team on to a book called "212°" (that's 212 degrees). Here's the basic concept of the book: “At 211°, water is hot. At 212°, water boils. And with boiling water, comes steam. And steam can power a locomotive. The one extra degree makes the difference.” We often think that transformational change (or success) is a matter of making a major overhaul. Could it be that the difference between where you are now and where you want to be is simply a matter of one degree?
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One of the things I love about the web is how one thing leads to another -- unintended consequences. While reading a blog on leadership, I came across a link to something called "The Cult of the Done Manifesto." It reminds us to stay focused on the "doing." In business or at church, we can easily get caught up in talking and never take action. This post reminds us to get things done! The Cult of Done Manifesto There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done. There is no editing stage. Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an…
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The Harvard Business Review published a list of traits that will derail a leader. Here they are: Lack energy and enthusiasm. They see new initiatives as a burden, rarely volunteer, and fear being overwhelmed. One such leader was described as having the ability to “suck all the energy out of any room.” Accept their own mediocre performance. They overstate the difficulty of reaching targets so that they look good when they achieve them. They live by the mantra “Underpromise and overdeliver.” Lack clear vision and direction. They believe their only job is to execute. Like a hiker who sticks close to the trail, they’re fine until they come to a fork. Have poor judgment. They make decisions that colleagues and subordinates consider to be not in the organization’s best interests. Don’t collaborate. They avoid peers, act independently, and view other leaders as competitors. As a result, they are set adrift…
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As a young leader, your influence will be determined in large measure by your ability to do the task at hand. In other words, are you competent? Can you perform at the level you are leading? As we grow and seek to expand our influence, competence alone is not enough. If we rely solely on our own competence, we become the bottleneck. Our influence expands only as far as we able to perform. To produce bigger and better results, the solo leader finds herself spinning more plates at faster revolutions. It's why many competent leaders burnout. The key to expanding your influence is to surround yourself with other competent leaders and let them lead. As we are handed greater responsibilities, our success will depend in greater measure on the teams we build. Having a skill set to accomplish a specific task is not satisfactory any more. That might be sufficient…
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