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12 Leadership Insights That Will Change The Way You Lead. Fotolia Billy walked into the Jason’s office with several questions. In one week he would take the reigns and run the organization. He would be the new CEO. Jason was stepping down. This was his last opportunity to speak with the outgoing CEO before the transition. Billy relaxed. Jason entered the office and gave Billy one piece of paper. “When we are done, I want you to file these 12 leadership insights away. “The first insight is….” People and People Without great people leaders are nothing. Leadership is about your people. Right and Wrong Focus on catching people doing things right. Why Be a values driven leader. Great Advice Take care of your people first.They will take care of our customers.Be driven by serving rather than being served.Earn respect and trust – forget power and authority.Be positive – crawl before you walk, walk before you dance.

Do this every day. Try These Out Be a visionary leader – set high standards for your people and yourself? Today and Next Year Common Ground Two S’s. 10 things I’ve learned about leadership. Div style=”text-align: left;” dir=”ltr”> I just recently finished my first semester as the Director of Curriculum and Personnel in the Union R-XI School District in St.

Louis, Missouri. The transition from a building level administrator to a central office administrator has proven to be quite the learning experience. The last several years have been huge in terms of my professional growth. Throughout this journey I have continued the practice of self-reflection and I have attempted to learn from my mistakes. Here is a little bit of what I've learned: ~ Pride is extremely important and is something we all need, but if you are not careful, pride will work against you and ultimately blind you from seeing and doing what must be done. To swallow your pride… knowing when to do which is key. ~ There is an ugly side to leadership and very rarely will anything be just black and white. . ~ Part of leadership is recognizing & accepting that making everyone happy is near impossible. . ~ Little fires are.

New Leader Tuesday-At Least 11 More Ideas to Help You Run Effective Meetings. Having fulfilled my lifetime quota of attendance at poorly run meetings, I’ve developed a bit of a crusade mentality to guide others on how to run these sessions effectively. This is a follow-on to a recent piece in my New Leader Tuesday series, entitled: 15 Ideas to Help You Tame the Meeting Beast. Here are my latest top 11 ideas for taming the meeting beast and actually getting something out of these infernal sessions. Readers, if you have some more ideas, tack on your contributions here and we’ll all be a bit wiser.

At Least 11 Ideas to Help You Run Effective Meetings: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. The Bottom-Line for Now: You’ll rarely see or hear the words: “good” and “meeting” next to each other in the same sentence. 9 characteristics of daring leadership. This is an excerpt from “Care to Dare: Unleashing Astonishing Potential Through Secure Base Leadership,” by George Kohlrieser, Susan Goldsworthy, and Duncan Coombe, published in 2012 by John Wiley & Sons. Secure Base Leaders engage in a high level of caring and also encourage a high level of daring. In this way, both the leader and their followers can reach the highest levels of performance and have the most positive impact on others.

We call that place the “sweet spot” of leadership. This sweet spot is of particular relevance to organizations focused on learning, innovation and change. Unfortunately, we can’t give you a precise recipe for the sweet spot. Secure Base Leaders mix together nine characteristics in just the right way, at just the right time, to provide just the right amount of safety and encourage just the right amount of risk. Stays calm Accepts the individual Secure Base Leaders show caring for the human being before focusing on an issue or problem. Sees the potential. How to Have Life Changing Conversations. Your job is bringing out the best in others by the way you interact with them. Well timed, well executed conversation change people’s lives.

First: Determine and affirm aspirations and goals. Never have conversations about an individual’s life, strengths, weaknesses, or potential until you understand their hopes and dreams. People open their hearts to people who understand their hearts. Second: Explore strengths and weaknesses in the context of aspirations. Ask: What strengths propel you toward fulfilling your dream? Tip: If you’re addressing weaknesses, try two questions at once.

Affirm strengths by explaining practical benefit and positive potential. Third: Address negatives without being a downer? Use positive qualities as foundations to discuss behaviors that need improvement. Fourth: Craft strategies with them not for them. After they identify strengths and weaknesses, craft strategies that better move them forward with them. Fifth: Focus more on positives than negatives. Like this: The 12 Toughest Challenges of Leadership. The challenges of leadership are inside leaders. Stop blaming organizations and others for your shortfalls and failures. Take the bull by the horns. You are the bull. The 12 Toughest Challenges of Leadership: Humility during success.Confidence during setbacks.Stepping back so others can step up.Putting plans into action – Follow through.

Experience shows up to 90 percent of strategic plans never achieve execution.Leading change. Leaders don’t just do things, they change things.Admitting mistakes. Situational or not: Leadership challenges always involve changing situations. Number 12: Leading yourself to build the team is the leadership challenge that produces the most fruit. How to spot top talent? Top talent wants to: Know where you are going so they can find alignment or not. Key qualities: Determine the nonnegotiable qualities you expect from your team members. What are the toughest challenges of leadership? What qualities do great team members possess? Like this: Like Loading... The Feedback Question that Changes Everything. When was the last time you received useful feedback? Everyone who craves excellence craves feedback. You need to know how you’re doing and how to improve.

You’ll never reach excellence without feedback. Honesty is problem one: The higher you go the more likely people say what they’re expected to say, not what they believe. Honest feedback is rare. Asking is problem two: Jim Kouzes said nearly two million people had taken their 360-degree feedback tool. You don’t receive feedback because you don’t ask. Asking: Great feedback begins with great questions. Specific performance feedback: What do you think I was trying to accomplish by the way I ______? Global role-feedback: Ask these questions without mentioning specific outcomes. What do you think/perceive I am trying to accomplish as a _____? The feedback question that changes everything uses behaviors to identify what’s really going on.

How can leaders invite feedback? What questions invite useful feedback? Like this: Like Loading... The Secret Power of Hearing Shadows. Listening is a skill. Making someone feel heard is a gift. My dad’s first words when I told him about my new job were, “It’s not very close to home.” I was a fresh college graduate in Missouri. He was back home in Maine and the job was in Pennsylvania.

I did the easy thing. Pennsylvania didn’t seem closer to him but it seemed closer to me. Today, it sounds silly that I heard the words but didn’t hear meanings. Now that my own children are out and on their own, I know what he meant. Words are partial truths. My dad didn’t say, “I want to stay connected with you.” Most of us say easier, less revealing, less vulnerable truths.

You connect more deeply by realizing words are shadows. Once in a while, dip below the surface and let those around you know you understand their concerns. The best times to hear are when: New tensions or stresses arise.Procedures change.Business is down.Achievements are enjoyed. Listen for and hear: Frustrations.Fears.Hopes.Aspirations.

Hearing: Like this: Like Loading... Jacqueline Novogratz of Acumen Fund, on Pairs of Values. 25 tips for managing your first direct reports. Congratulations, you’re now the boss! Welcome to the deep end of the pool — now it’s time to learn to swim. Managing your first direct reports is one of the most challenging transitions a leader will ever have to navigate. If I were to sit down over a beer or cup coffee and mentor a new first-time boss, here’s what I’d have to say (over a series of meetings, not all at once): 1. Be prepared. Granted, while in many cases it may be too late to prepare, it shouldn’t have been. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

Dan McCarthy is the director of Executive Development Programs at the University of New Hampshire. 13 New-Leader Screw Ups. Mistakes matter more when you’re the new kid on the block. Long-term relationships contextualize and soften occasional screw ups. 13 mistakes new leaders make: Forgetting your arrival stresses others, including those who hired you. The stress you feel, others feel too.Proving technical skill. Bonus tip: When you feel the need to receive honor, give it. Facebook contributors add their own list of mistakes new leaders make: Leadership Freak Coffee Shop (second question down the page) What mistakes have you seen new leaders make? How can new leaders avoid common new-leader mistakes? Like this: Like Loading... Setting Organizational Attitude and Tone. Circumstances don’t determine the atmosphere and tone of organizations, leaders do. Look around your office or leadership team. Is the tone positive or negative?

Now, look at yourself. How are you perceived? Organizations reflect leadership. Thursday, I reconnected with Shirzad Chamine, author of, Positive Intelligence. Fearful vs. Fearful leaders withdraw, limit, control, manipulate, and pressure others. Confidence fuels optimism; fear fuels pessimism. Tough circumstances test everyone, especially leaders. Optimism: Leadership-optimism isn’t pretending everything’s okay. Inspirational leaders face tough times with curiosity, exploration, joy, and confidence. Realistic: Leadership-attitude won’t solve tough times. (Check out Soren Kaplan’s book, Leapfrogging, for more on optimism.)

What’s the difference between foolish and realistic optimism? How can leaders set positive tones in organizations? Like this: Like Loading... 7 Sure-Fire Ways Great Leaders Inspire People To Follow Them. Handling Co-Worker Complaints and Backstabbing. Here’s a question from a recent workshop participant. “How do you handle someone complaining about a co-worker?” First, you want people to come to you. Some managers want challenges, problems, and people to go away. They hide in their offices, sneak to the elevator, or duck into the restroom to avoid facing tough conversations. Suggestions for dealing with co-worker complaints: Ask the complainer, “What can you do to solve this?” More suggestions: Withhold judgment.Never take sides.Clarify, is it personal or performance. Bonus tip: When you bring the two parties together and one of them had no idea there was a problem, you’re dealing with a backstabber.

Most importantly: Deal with interpersonal tensions because relationships are worth it. Read what Facebook contributors added: Leadership Freak Coffee Shop Note: I’m out of town and can’t check references. How do you handle complaints about co-workers? Like this: Like Loading... Do These 3 Common Sense Mistakes Limit Your Influence? In our leadership journey, it is easy to rely on common sense.

Unfortunately, some of our oldest and most cherished beliefs can limit our influence if we don’t examine them carefully. “It is the obvious which is so difficult to see…People say ‘It’s as plain as the nose on your face.’ But how much of the nose on your face can you see, unless someone holds a mirror up to you?” – Asimov 1) Is the Golden Rule Wrong? “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” In one form or another, you’ve probably learned this ancient wisdom and its call to treat others with value, dignity, respect, and compassion.

That’s good stuff…and good so far as it goes. Leaders Need More And yet…leaders who follow the golden rule can find themselves with unproductive and unmotivated teams. What’s going on here? People are unique. Examples: If you enjoy the big picture and love ideas, your team members who need to understand details will feel lost if you give them only the big picture you need. A New Rule Real Caring. Are You Sure You're Not a Bad Boss? - Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman. By Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman | 8:30 AM August 16, 2012 Conjure up the term “bad boss” and what comes to mind? Scenes of red-faced people berating subordinates in public. Smarmy souls taking credit for other people’s work or saying one thing and doing another. Cutting remarks. Yelling. This is iconic bad boss behavior — defining in our minds the very essence of what bad bosses do.

But, not so fast. When we analyzed the behavior of 30,000 managers, as seen through the eyes of some 300,000 of their peers, direct reports, and bosses on 360-degree evaluations, we found that the sins of the bad boss are far more often those of omission, not commission. We came to this conclusion from two directions: First in this group of 30,000, we focused on the 11,000 leaders who received the lowest aggregate scores on their 360 feedback reports — the bottom 1% and the bottom 10% — to see if we could spot any early warning signals that might have predicted their lack of success. Stepping Toward Excellence. Finding excellence requires passion, persistence, principles, clarity, direction, and more.

Excellence isn’t easy. Congratulations if you joined the pursuit. But there’s a key ingredient you’re likely missing that smooths the path and greases the wheels. The pursuit of excellence requires feedback that describes, affirms, and improves useful behaviors or exposes ineffective ones. However, feedback from employees suggests they seldom receive sufficient feedback. If you aren’t giving enough feedback,you aren’t getting enough, either. Research shows that of all behaviors leaders fail worst at asking for feedback. The pursuit of excellence demands leaders invite feedback. Two questions: How can you ask for feedback and not feel subservient to others? How can you ask for feedback without others feeling superior to you? Ask for and give feedback. Five feedback power tips: “How am I doing?”

What feedback techniques work best for you? What feedback disasters have you seen? Like this: Like Loading... Seven Ways to (Really) Engage People. Engagement Without the Ring. Bill Flemming of Skanska USA Building, on Leadership. Flipping the Switch that Develops Leaders. More Gravy from The Global Leadership Summit. Just the Gravy. 3 Things Great Leaders Know About Managing Change. How to get unstuck from repetitive conversations. In My View: John Spence on the 4 biggest challenges facing industry leaders. 21stcprincipal-23.jpg 960×720 pixels. Stephen Covey Quotes. 10 Proven Practices for More Productive Leadership. Modern education leadership from a high-school principal.