Friday, August 31, 2007

Ten Steps to Effective Leadership

Author: Mike Burstein

Ten Steps to Effective Leadership

Many people end up in a supervisory position or SOHO ownership almost by default. In today's workplace, if someone stays on their job long enough, they will probably be promoted as others more senior to them, or higher up the chain of responsibility, leave for other opportunities.

The prevalence of this type of promotion can lead to people with little or no leadership skills being promoted into positions of responsibility.

This type of promotion can have many unexpected and negative effects on the current work force if the newly promoted supervisor is lacking basic leadership talent. Since a supervisor's skill level is visible immediately to those under their stewardship, a lack of leadership aptitude can be catastrophic to the productivity of those now working for the new supervisor.

To help the inexperienced supervisor overcome some of the most common mistakes, the following list has been created from problems culled from a diverse field of industries. By simply avoiding these common errors of the newly promoted supervisors, a person's chances of becoming an effective manager and leader will be greatly enhanced.

1. Don't attempt to be buddies with your employees. The distinction between supervisor and friend needs to be clear-cut and meaningful.

2. Never hesitate to roll up your sleeves to help, if the situation warrants your participation.

3. Ivory tower managers usually are doomed to fail. Make sure not to isolate yourself from those that you directly supervise.

4. No one can know everything, but as a supervisor you need to learn as much as is humanly possible about your department's area of responsibility. Your employees will respect the fact that you know what their job really entails.

5. The ability to treat all of your subordinates fairly will be a critical factor in your success as a supervisor; never play favorites. Always give credit to an employee who is due recognition; never take credit for someone else's initiative.

6. Always take advantage of any opportunity to improve yourself as a supervisor. Seminars, adult education classes, professional certifications, online learning and a myriad of other sources exist just for this purpose.

7. To become adept at conflict resolution is an area the new supervisor must master to be successful. Never loose sight of the fact that there are always two sides to every story. Never make a decision based on just part of the story and you will earn the respect of your employees, even if the resulting decision isn't in their favor.

8. The ability to set meaningful goals will help steer your employees towards the objective you are trying to reach. Realistic goals, with the appropriate tools to reach them, will make everyone feel a part of the department's success.

9. Always solicit input from all of your employees as you plan new strategies to meet today's ever-changing marketplace demands. As long as your employees feel like they have had meaningful input in creating new plans, tweaking old ones and implementing changes, any such endeavor will be more likely to succeed.

10. You are a supervisor, not God! Make sure that you always follow the Golden Rule and your employees will follow.

About the author: Mike Burstein has been writing for the SOHO and Small Business market for over 10 years. He has helped countless small business owners solve start up problems, create best practices, automate their offices, get free publicity and dramatically increase traffic and sales.

Visit http://www.SOHOWiz.com for the latest FREE business tips. Email the Wiz at: SOHOWiz@SOHOWiz.com

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Developing the Art of Leadership

Author: Bea Fields

Many people are born leaders, yet the ability to lead is actually an art and an amazing collection of skills which can be learned and sharpened. The following top ten daily habits will help you and/or your clients grow as a leader personally, professionally, and spiritually.

1. Spend 30 minutes each morning looking for ""cracks"" in the major areas of your life.

Your depth of character is key to determining your success as a leader. It is easy for us to say that we are ""in integrity,"" but your actions are the real indicators of strength of character. Spend 30 minutes each morning looking at the major areas of your life: career, marriage, family, community, and spirituality. Write down any instances where you see ""cracks"" (you have cut corners, something is inconsistent, you have not kept your word, you have been dishonest, etc.) Do all in your power to repair those cracks by apologizing and dealing with the consequences of your actions. After facing up to past actions, begin a plan that will rebuild you and prevent you from making further mistakes.

2. Show up and be ten minutes early for every appointment.

Great leaders show up for every appointment, and they are always on time. Each day, practice not only showing up but being ten minutes early for each and every appointment. ""The early bird gets the worm"" has never been so true than when it applies to becoming a great leader that others want to follow.

3. Be dedicated to a high level of learning.

Great leaders are highly competent, because they are dedicated to a high level of learning, growth, and improvement. Spend 15-30 minutes each day devoted to learning something new. Do not settle for knowing ""how"" to do something. Dig deeper by asking the question ""why"" and then, go find the answer. Search the internet, interview an expert, or take a day trip to find the answer to a question that is on your mind or the minds of those who follow you.

4. Be simple and crystal clear in all communication.

As a leader, your communication should be simple, clean, and clear as a bell. Examine both written and verbal communication for simplicity and clarity. Use as few words as possible, and eliminate jargon and ""big words"" from your vocabulary. Express yourself in a way that your listeners can understand.

5. Surround yourself with great people.

One of the secrets of a great leader is great people. Hire the right staff, surround yourself with a strong inner circle, and spend time daily with people who have a variety of gifts. With the support of a strong circle of men, women and children, you will be ready for anything that comes your way.

6. Develop a sense of commitment and responsibility.

People do not follow leaders who are not committed and responsible. Commitment and responsibility can be measured by the hours you spend and how you spend them, the money you spend and how you spend it, and by what you do for others. Spend 15 minutes each day analyzing your time, your checkbook, and your volunteer work. Look closely at how much time you spend with family and friends as compared to work, how you spend your money, and how you give back to the community. You may be very surprised at what you find.

7. Develop a positive attitude by altering your mind.

It is very possible to alter your attitude by altering your mind. Saturate yourself daily with motivational literature, positive people, and inspiring music/art. By conditioning your mind to be more positive on a daily basis, you will find that winning will be a daily reward of your life.

8. Accept responsibility.

Great leaders never play the role of a victim. They recognize that part of being a great leader is being ultimately responsible for all successes and failures. On a daily basis, analyze your current projects, and ask yourself ""Have I done all that needs to be done? What have I not done that I should?"" Once you have analyzed each project, if you find a weakness, go the extra mile by working extra hours, hiring an outside expert, or getting really creative to repair the weakness or to turn it into a success!

9. Make self-discipline a part of your lifestyle.

What do you need to develop self-discipline? Following a better diet or exercise routine? Getting up one hour earlier? Being rigorous with your spending? Learning something new every day? Eliminate excuse-making from your life, and begin to develop habits that will invite self-discipline to become the foundation of your life. Hire a coach to support you during the development of a routine of self-discipline, and remove rewards until the job is done!

10. Develop courage by facing fear.

By a show of courage, you will inspire others to follow and to walk in your footsteps. Spend 15-30 minutes each day doing something simply for the sake of developing courage: speak to an audience, make a difficult phone call, learn a new skill, write an article or a top ten, or visit someone you have always wanted to meet. As Eleanor Roosevelt acknowledged: ""You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' You must do the thing you think you cannot do.""

About the author: This article was written and submitted by Bea Fields. Bea is a Business Coach, Consultant, Trainer, and Public Speaker. Her area of expertise is that of Environmental Design and Leadership Development for Executives, Managers, Small Business Owners, and Political Leaders. She may be contacted at bea@nonmanipulativeseduction.com or visited on the web at www.nonmanipulativeseduction.com

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Focus On Soft Skills: A Leadership Wake-up Call

Author: Carole Nicolaides

By Carole Nicolaides, Copyright © 2002, All Rights Reserved http://www.progressiveleadership.com The rules for succeeding in business are changing daily. Yet people are still asking for the magic formula that contributes to a successful organization. Is it talented, knowledgeable people plus innovative products? That's a great start, but something vital is missing from this equation. More and more corporations around the world recognize that, in order to gain a competitive advantage, they also need to make sure their people know how to handle themselves at work and how to relate with their customers and peers. From showing empathy and optimism to extreme self-awareness to knowing what's going on around them, these vital competencies are an integral part of a progressive organization. They fall under the umbrella of Emotional Intelligence (EI). These soft-skills, or emotional intelligence skills, revelations open the door to a lot of discussion. The western civilization and our traditional management theories tend to lead us in the direction of individualistic promotion. They display our strengths rather than the demonstration of our humanness. These ideas have been so tightly woven into our leadership mentality that they can be challenging to break. Unfortunately, most graduate schools don't teach you how to cultivate your soft skills. While courses such as Business Writing and Public Speaking are offered, I have never seen a course entitled, ""The Effective Art of Listening to Your Customer."" We live in a society that measures intelligence through quantifiable metrics. A professor will give you good grades once you know XYZ, but he or she will not increase your grade for being able to deal with a difficult situation, showing compassion, or solving an unexpected problem. Yet most compliments that you or your employees receive deal more with the use of soft skills than with your actual knowledge about a particular situation. Most customers appreciate a ""willingness to help"" and the fact that ""she listened to my complaint."" The use of these skills is what elevates your organization above the competition. You don't compete only with products anymore, rather with how well you use your people. Too often we focus on what employees need to ""know"" when evaluating and hiring them instead of ""who they really are."" I will illustrate this with an example. John was promoted to Technical Project Manager at his consulting company. Some people wondered why John had risen to this level of management. His educational level was lower than others in the firm and his degree wasn't in an area that pertained to consulting. However, one of the strengths that was nowhere on his resume was his ability to be positive in all situations and to naturally motivate people. He was quick to smile and see the positive side of every project. He was generous in praising people and was consistently happy. These were his strengths - his natural attributes. They made up the sum of who John was. These soft skills are just as important as what John knows. The challenge nowadays is to introduce a program that will allow your leaders to learn and capitalize fast on their soft-skills competencies. Soft skills are important and always have been. It seems we have laid them aside and opted to emphasize too much on expertise and credentials. Let's get back to our values and the basics of good internal and external customer service. Soft skills are the underlying principles that trademark a company for professionalism and excellent customer service. They provide differentiation between all the cookie-cutter look-alikes and play a vital role in customer loyalty. In today's working environment, where customers and employees are demanding more, instilling the use of soft skills in your team members is something you simply can't survive without. When it's time to focus on soft-skills training as a tool to improve performance, leadership potential, and bottom line organizational success, consider the following: 1.Start Slowly - Instead of getting a large number of people in a room and preaching to them about their soft skills - move slowly. Introduce the concept with an informative and fun workshop. The program should also be designed to enhance their skills. 2.Involve Your People From the Start - Involve as many employees as you can on the decision to create a program, what to include within the program, and how to maintain the program. People support what they help create. Engage them, give them the possibility to make changes with your training curriculum, do a pilot program with key people, and use the pilot program as an introduction to the group. 3.Hire Expert Help - Coaches and Organizational Consultants are experts in building rapport and establishing the right culture for these initiatives. With the right culture and the appropriate training, managers can continue the task of training and cultivating good relationships. 5.Recognize Individual Achievement - There is so much talk about teamwork today that we forget to emphasize how important it is to praise individual achievement as well. From time to time praise your stars. Recognizing personal contributions to the team is an excellent morale booster. 6.Discover the Group's Soft-Skill Identity - All people are not the same, so their soft skills and strengths are not the same either. Once you know who you have on your team, leverage their strengths and differences because these are the facts that will help distinguish you and your organization from the competition. Illustrate how they can leverage each other's strengths inside the team to develop a new group ""identity."" The essence of your business is your people. Making soft-skills development a priority will bring your team to a new level because it focuses directly on them. By allowing the human aspect of your employees to shine through, you are encouraging them to do what comes naturally to them. Don't overlook these all-important skills when evaluating areas of improvement for your team. Find a way to incorporate soft skills into your leadership development programs and see results immediately.

About the author: Carole Nicolaides is President and Executive Coach of Progressive Leadership Inc. who thrives on helping individuals and organizations achieve results by coaching them on how to discover and build upon their strengths and cultivate their soft-skill set. Visit http://www.progressiveleadership.com for more info & subscribe to her FREE Ezine.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

6 Key Elements to Leadership

Author: Steve Simard

6 Key Elements to Leadership

You are on your way to build a large organization in your primary network Marketing Company? It is important to establish yourself as a leader. The thing is that most people never got trained to manage people. Leadership is not about knowing everything, it's more about knowing how to distribute the energy of a group.

As your team keeps growing and growing, you'll notice that they have questions and rely on you 100 %. YOU are the leader... Are you?

Here are 6 words, 6 elements you need to master if you want to be recognized as a true leader.

1- Trust

As a Group Leader, you've got to establish confidence. Every member of your team must trust you. It is your responsibility to build that confidence towards you and towards every members of your team.

2- Coherence

You've got to walk your talk. What you say is what you do. Coherence between your teaching and your own actions will have a significant effect on your team : it will have a direct influence upon the trust of your team members towards you. The less your team trust you, the less your message will be heard.

3- Competence

No leader can survive incompetence. Knowing how to resource yourself and knowing how to surround yourself are 2 qualities that every leaders possess. What the leader don't know, he learns it or he makes someone who knows about it to execute the task.

4- Collaboration

The more successful people there will be in your team, the more success YOU will have but... BE CAREFUL.... As your member gets bigger and bigger, make sure they treat their downline with respect. Never let your people by themselves. Always bring them to their best. Be sure you make that statement duplicatable otherwise your downline will stop growing at some point making you lose maybe thousands of dollars. Make sure the heavy-hitters of your team know about this.

5- Competition

Drive your team towards excellence. Be sure your team understand the different levels in your company. Diamond level, group leader level, director level, presidential level.... whatever your company name it. You've got to drive the member of your team towards their next level. Let your team know the success of everyone. As soon as someone reach his own next level. Announce it to your team. This will favour the developpement of your group.

6- Contribution

This is the guard angel of the team spirit. If all the members of your team contribute to bring the best out of themself you will lead a group that has very good potential to hit hard....as a team. Every members must contribute in some ways. If they don't work their business, they will not make money and you won't make money. Help them build their business.

About the author: Steve Simard is a Business Entrepreneurs. He started to own his first asset with SFI Marketing group, a leading network marketing company. Steve will be coaching you at : http://www.free-home-business-factory.com You can watch a Video Presentation at: http://www.quickinfo247.com/8191563.58/overview

Monday, August 27, 2007

Ten Top Ideas about Art and Leadership

Author: Mahalene Louis

Is there a potent mission to being an artist at the time of the 9/11 and of a depressed economy? Could it be that troubled times are indicative of the tremendous societal need for visionaries to show up as leaders, and offer ecologically sound creative solutions to the current challenges humanity is facing? And if there is truth to the contemporary artist mindset appearing to be enslaved by its own conditioned beliefs and subsequent identities, how then can it be freed? This presentation will progress through ten ideas revealing a pathway for artists to travel. It will reveal how the creative power to be shifting reality can promote the success and acceptance for which artists have longed. It will stress how coming back to serving the community will "multidimensionalize" the process of art making and give it meaning. In this journey, the ten following principles build upon each other to illuminate what artists and leaders have in common: the fierceness of their vision.

1. Purpose

If communication is the main purpose of art disciplines, in what ways can one make it proficient? And if it is the artist's passion and raison d'être to express, how can he/she convey his/her message so that it will be perceived as accurately as possible and received as fully as may be? It has been said before that communication is not what is being said, but the result of what is being said. Mastering a skill, be it drawing, writing, sculpting, painting, dancing, acting, etc, is a beginning in optimizing the receptivity of what is being said. Although crucial, such mastery is not enough; it has to be fueled by the heart, which is the real transmitter of the message, enabled by its devotion to a higher cause. In effect, the heart (heART) knows that "This is not about me!"

2. Order

It appears that artists are repelled by the thought of order, and fascinated enough by chaos they have elected it as their domain. Yet in scientific terms, isn't chaos part of order? Why therefore settling for just a tiny part of the vastness? Maybe another reason why order is so unacceptable to the current artist mind is that it is traditionally associated to male and linear behavior. Interesting interpretation, as order was in ancient time revolving around the keeper of the hearth, a feminine role honored as the most beautiful role of all. Returning to it was more than a goal to every hunter, it was a true inspiration and the replenishing of his strength. Could it be that artists, by denying themselves order, also reject the nurturing, and the vitalizing properties of order? The practicality of order (finding stuff, gaining in productivity) joins to a spirituality of order (going from freeing physical space to mental space, and from shame and isolation to a greater social impact.)

3. Absence of self The question here is who is speaking? Is it the mature leader whose creative ability brings a solution, or is it the wounded child who monopolizes attention? How important is it to dress differently, or obey an atypical social code? One can easily confuse freedom with the rebellion of independence, which actually aims at dissociating and refusing to be dependent on anyone. In the end, this is not freedom, only a guise for freedom. Such response is contrary to the purpose of art, to communicate and therefore build bridges. Being different cannot be the issue, being authentic is! When connectedness is created, it won't trigger fear or rejection of those who follow their own drummer. Just like it makes sense to start with a blank canvas, it makes sense to relate to another after one has emptied the heart from any childhood pain. And although not being absorbed by societal sleep and indoctrination is essential to art, successfully delivering naturally follows simplicity (absence of self) and clarity (order)!

4. Innovation

What does it take to be innovative? Innovation requires that an individual move beyond his or her comfort zone, and be willing to fail. Thus it starts in an act of faith, and in a relaxation. Mind power is creativity: I create more of "that" by placing my attention on it. Therefore knowing how I can better control my attention becomes very important. Much has been said on the power of positive thinking, and little on its connection to relaxation and trust. If I trust my next play will be the most inspired, and choose to place my attention on that thought, it will be. Where there is trust, there is confidence, because something else, greater than me, is allowed to come in. Very possibly worrying about an outcome, and trying too hard prevents the solution to spontaneously occur. Just like a womb needs to be receptive to be fertilized, the mind has to be free of the possession of negative thinking (anxiety, blame, shame, depression, obsession) to be able to in-novate. The absence of the conditioned self, the doubter, the skeptic, the worrier, the hard worker, will then "close the deal," which explains how great geniuses always have their best ideas in the most unexpected situations, e.g. brushing their teeth, buying groceries. That is precisely the time when they are trying so little they allow another way of looking at it…

5. Commitment

Great leaders are highly competent, because they are dedicated to a high level of performance, learning, growth, and improvement. How can an artist espouse such curiosity and steadfastness? Picasso mentioned how he had to forget all the roses, before he could paint one. How then can one give up the thought that one knows something, and truly keep an explorer mind, a child mind? And if I think I know, what is the motivation behind my actions? Commitment, and courage go hand in hand, as they both require full engagement, no less. What is keeping me from deciding to do the next right thing, from marrying my own mission and vowing "I do?" People do not follow leaders who are not committed. Commitment and responsibility can be measured by the hours you spend and how you spend them, the money you spend and how you spend it, and by what you do for others. Spend a few minutes each day analyzing your time, your checkbook, and your volunteer work. Look closely at where your time goes, how you spend your money, and how you give back to community. You may be very surprised at what you find.

6. Integration Integration is the process by which to harmonize the disparate elements that emerged from the previous exploration. Thus awareness is a necessary ingredient to integration, and leads to active transformation. Concurrently, Art and leadership are akin to alchemy, to the mysterious merging of forces that ends in oneness. From this initiation, both the leader and the artist come to know that it is simultaneously all about me, all about you, and all about we. The "we" viewpoint allows for integration of all parts, you and me, creator and audience, leader and team. No separation. Think of your body, your emotions, your mind, and your soul as one team that can function amicably. See how much time you are giving to building your body (your buddy?) physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Use every "challenge," every stain on the canvas, every slip of the tongue, every error or mishap as a body/buddy building opportunity, and please, do not forget to rest your muscles, be they physical or emotional, thus bringing more integration to the workout life is giving you.

7. Integrity

From integration comes integrity… That is one way to look at it! It is the time when buttons all line up, when such wholeness, such candor, such impeccable honesty is attained, that authenticity becomes the spokesperson of one's promotion. This speaking is not efforting in any manner. As a matter of fact, it lives beyond words. It is an art and a science, generated by the natural responsiveness and response-ability of someone who has a vision, and no personal agenda. This quality of response and presence, this "purity" (no other word) makes that being irresistible and a magnet. There is where to account for the charisma of great leaders. Ask yourself: am I willing to take the responsibility for my present situation, and for all the decisions to come? The bad news is: you did it all! The good news is: you do it all! What do you choose to create?

8. Financial empowerment

A common understanding is that money is energy exchanged. You offer that service, which is valuable to me enough that I will pay for it… It is puzzling that artists would be in such financial survival, as they are so gifted, and so "rich" inside. It has been said that creating art is a constant act of generosity. So where is the hook? The image of a receiver comes to mind, where some channels are noisier than others. If turning a dial will make for a better reception, what dial can I turn to receive money more directly, i.e. more abundantly? That is a worthwhile question. Financial empowerment is directly related to integrity, as integrity is the filter, which wipes out any possible noise. It is the real energy behind the exchange, as it insures the buyer that the seller's heart is in the right place, and that his/her intents in all actions are for the good of all.

9. Community

That is really the foremost point: the good of all, the good of the community, the good of humanity. As a healing principle, it means that, in the moment you are experiencing a block, there is someone around you who needs you, just as you are. When caught up in self-attack, look for someone around you who is in even more in dire need of assistance. Think of people as the colors that populates your palette, or the notes that delineates your melody… Furthermore, if it weren't for people, why create art at all? Follows a question for the very courageous, a tough question… Are you ready? Here it is: do you really like people? Yes, is it true that you really, really like people? Even Aunt Martha? Even the sad looking cashier? And if you should come to recognize that, possibly, there are times when you do not like people, then how can you ask them to love you, and support your art? Com-passion is the key to com-munity. My remedy: I repeat to myself: just like me, this person has known loneliness, sadness and despair. Just like me, this person is seeking happiness for his or her life… Just like me…

10. Vision

Because art, science, or anything that is created for the benefit of community is born of inspiration from the abstract and imaginative realms, contemporary artists may come to recognize their task as a grounding and redirecting of those primeval patterns of apparent chaos through discipline into expressive simplicity. They may understand the joy and pure pleasure of committing to joining order and responsibility to those more etheric and ecstatic realms. Thus can the artist, the voice of art, earn trust and a hearing, as he and she will have come forth as a servant leader, and bear gifts as the steward of those gifts, rather than the owner. By doing so, a vision of love and beauty will be fulfilled, which is the ultimate and great work that unites artists and leaders, the passionate co-creation that dares thinking possible the emergence of an enlightened civilization.

This piece was originally submitted by Mahalene Louis, Inspiration Anchor, Artist, Author, and Speaker, who can be reached at mailto:mahalene@soulvision.com, via phone 512.632.8952 or visited on the web at http://www.soulvision.com. Mahalene Louis wants you to know: As an Inspiration Anchor, I offer an engaging e-zine, free teleclasses and Turn on the Light!, a unique program to assist the creative genius in you to express and market your gifts successfully. Turn on the Light! inspires you to show up as a stunning masterpiece of unbridled passion and creativity, and to evolve consciousness by acting in alignment with the powerful force you are.

About the author: Mahalene, a native of France, began her career as a journalist and teacher in Europe. She spent her first twenty years in the US as a self-supporting artist while soon consulting with people on self-empowerment. As she is in all accounts a "true artist," one of her greatest gifts as an inspiration anchor is to offer "a new way to look at it," which is greatly instrumental to increase chances of success, prosperity, and happiness.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

The Top 10 Ways To Improve Your Leadership Skills

Author: Ronya Banks

Whether you consciously aware of it or not, on some level you are continually leading yourself and others. As a result, it would only make sense that you strive to improve your leadership skills and get the most out of life for everyone in your sphere.

If you desire to lead a passion-filled life wherein you are a positive influence to everyone, you will enjoy incorporating the following practices to assist you in consistently living your life as a conscious and strong LEADER.

1. Have a clear vision of yourself, others, and the world.

Who are you? What do you stand for? What is your life purpose? How do you want to influence others? How do you want to contribute to yourself, your family, friends, colleagues, and the world? Answer these questions to formulate a concrete vision of yourself and your world. Then, start living your life as the leader who makes your vision a reality!

2. Know and utilize your strengths and gifts.

You have unique gifts that you were born with and personal strengths you've developed over your lifetime. Realizing and utilizing these gifts and strengths will assist you in being a formidable leader.

3. Live in accordance with your morals and values.

Making choices and taking actions out of accordance with your morals and values leaves you with a nagging "Bad" feeling. This feeling seeping you're your subconscious serves to hinder your success in your career and your relationships. On the other hand, making choices and taking actions aligned with your morals and values helps you succeed almost effortlessly. People sense integrity and will naturally respect your opinion and leadership.

4. Lead others with inclusiveness and compassion.

The greatest leaders are those who include everyone in their sphere of influence by recognizing each person's greatest value. To be one of these leaders, look beyond the obvious and see others with insight and compassion. Many of history's greatest leaders have admitted that they rose to the top because another leader recognized and harnessed their potential.

5. Set definitive goals and follow concrete action plans.

You have to know where your destination is before you can map out a plan to get there. To improve your leadership skills, first set specific life goals with appropriate timelines. Design your goals by moving backwards from the end of your life to the present week. Then, formulate action plans you can commit to that will get you to where you want to be.

6. Maintain a positive attitude.

No one respects a grumpy or negative person. With a positive attitude you are looking at the bright side of life. People are naturally attracted to you when you have a positive attitude. By being positive, you will lead a happier life, as well as be surrounded by other positive people. You will also magically attract exciting offers and possibilities.

7. Improve communication skills.

Having great leadership skills includes your being able to clearly and specifically communicate your vision, goals, skills, intentions, and expectations to others. This also includes your ability to listen to what other people are consciously or unconsciously communicating. To become a great communicator, continually strive to improve your verbal, nonverbal, and listening skills. 8. Motivate others to greatness.

A leader is as powerful as his team. As a leader, you will want to surround yourself with a powerful team by assisting others in recognizing and utilizing their strengths, gifts, and potential. Motivating others to their own greatness will improve the group energy, increase the vitality of your projects, and move you forward toward achieving your goals and vision.

9. Be willing to admit and learn from failures and weaknesses.

Face it – No one is perfect, and everyone has made a mistake or two in their lives! The most successful leaders know that the key to success is not avoiding falling or failing, but to learn from their mistakes. As a strong leader, you will also be able to communicate your weaknesses to your team, so that you and your team can appoint someone who excels at that particular task or activity.

10. Continue to educate and improve yourself.

Great leaders continue to improve themselves in every possible way. The person who thinks he is an expert, has a lot more to learn. Never stop learning. Be receptive to everyone's perceptions and information from around the world and beyond. Grow….grow….grow….learn….learn….learn more Mind Power Leadership success tips by subscribing to ezine newsletter at: http://www.livinginaction.com/newsletter.cfm.

About the author: As a Mind Power Leadership coach, trainer, and speaker, Ronya Banks has been teaching others how to become leaders and business owners since 1992. Frequently featured in radio, magazine and newspaper articles and interviews, Ronya helps people find the great leaders within by accessing the natural power of their minds. Discover more of Ronya's proven leadership success secrets at: www.livinginaction.com.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Posses Strong Leadership Qualities

Author: James Hunt

If you want to go far in the business world, you have to posses strong leadership qualities. In fact, you will find that having leadership qualities will get you much farther in every aspect of your life as well. From your job to your relationship, taking charge and radiating confidence will win you the respect and admiration from all that know you. Unfortunately, not many of us were born leaders. In fact, there are many shy and insecure people out there that would love to be able to lead instead of follow. That's where leadership training comes in. If you are the type that has always followed a step behind the crowd, it's time you learn to lead.

Leadership training can and will give you the self-assurance, know-how and ability to win reverence from all you know. A good leader must be fair, poised, educated, street smart, personable and driven. If you don't have any of these qualities, don't worry. They can and will be instilled during your leadership training. If you're wondering how you can go from your current state to leadership, don't worry. You will be taught by professionals how to take charge of your life and change the perceptions of people around you.

To find leadership training, look up classes and conventions in your city or country. Chances are, one is coming to a city near you very soon and you won't want to miss it. It's best to take a class that that goes on for a few weeks because it will take some time to change your thought process. Whether you're shy, self-loathing or just afraid of rejection, leadership training will help you. The cost will be a little high for these classes but think what you'll gain in the long run. Anytime you're spending money on improving your inner-self, it's money well spent.

About the author: James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest. Read more at www.leadership-central. info

Friday, August 24, 2007

A Leadership Map for the Future

Author: Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., CBC

A Leadership Map for the Future

© 2003 Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D., CBC Customized Newsletter Services Jan/Feb 2004 Article www.customizednewsletterservices.com

Predictions for the future can be stimulating and challenging, especially if one is a top executive in a business enterprise attempting to make strategic decisions. Our rapidly changing global environment presents problems never before encountered. No one knows what will be required of leaders in the future, but some speculation is worthy of our attention.

Predictions from experts in their fields have not always been accurate. Here are a few examples:

oIn 1899 the U.S. Commissioner of patents, Charles Duell, declared, "Everything that can be invented has been invented."

oIn 1905, President Grover Cleveland prophesied, "Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote."

New industries are already well on their way to becoming established products and services for the future: micro-robotics, machine translations in real time, urban traffic systems, bio-mimetic materials, machines capable of emotions, inference and learning, and bioremediation for cleaning up the earth's environment are a few.

Each of these opportunities is by nature global, with no single nation or region likely to control all the technologies and skills required to turn them into reality. Any firm wishing to become a leader will have to collaborate with and learn from customers, technology providers, and suppliers wherever they are located (Hamel & Prahalad, Competing for the Future, 1994).

To be sure, some leadership qualities will always remain the same: intelligence (emotional as well as cognitive), confidence, ability to articulate and inspire a vision, ability to motivate, unfaltering optimism, perseverance, resilience, and strategic decision making.

New research confirms several leadership competencies that will gain in priority over the next few years and into the future. 1. Thinking globally 2. Appreciating cultural diversity 3. Developing technological savvy 4. Building partnerships and alliances 5. Sharing leadership (Global Leadership: the Next Generation; Goldsmith, M., Greenberg, C. L., Robertson, A. & Hu-Chan, M.; FT Prentice Hall, 2003).

Harlan Cleveland goes so far as to say that leadership will be so shared that there will be Nobody in Charge! (John Wiley & Sons, 2002). With the flattening of hierarchies and dissolving of boundaries, the ability to galvanize attention and move disparate groups of people forward will require excellent negotiation and consensus-building skills.

Communicating across multi-cultural and multi-generational communities is becoming more important as a competency for leaders in the future. And, a lot more of managing and leading will have to be done virtually.

Only a few of the prominent business schools have begun to teach new and future leaders how to manage diverse cultures in a virtual environment. Yet this is a clearly emerging competency.

Even smaller companies will be required to work in a global environment. Expect to see an increase in diversity issues arise in leadership development programs. The use of executive coaches is expected to gain priority as a primary tool for developing competencies for leaders.

Patsi Krakoff dr-patsi-45475@autocontactor.com

About the author: Patsi Krakoff is a licensed psychologist and business coach specializing in creating customized newsletters and quality content for executive coaches/consultants. She can be reached at patsi@customizednewsletters.com, or through http://www.customizednewsletters.com. Send an email to dr-patsi-45475@autocontactor.com to receive a report The ROI for Coaching and other articles.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

The Seven Secrets to New Age Leadership

Author: JoAnna Brandi

Did you ever notice that In our American culture, we have the tendency to look outside of ourselves for leadership? That's a trap. Isn't it time we looked inside ourselves to see how we can be the leader we want and need to be in the 21st century? I certainly think so.

Leadership used to be about telling people what to do. We saw the manager as "hero." Managers were needed to solve problems, needed for their technical expertise and their know-how. They were needed to keep the ship running in tiptop shape!

All our old leadership models came from the military, where people took their command from a few people at the top. These models don't work in today's world. As the industrial age models rust, the power has shifted from the people who sell, to the people who buy.

Today's business leader needs to a master juggler, and a compassionate listener. She needs to be savvy and intuitive and sharp as a tack in business matters. Most of all today's leader needs to be able to mobilize HUMAN energy, align it and direct it towards a single goal – creating more value for the customer. This, in turn creates a more profitable company. Companies that have high levels of customer happiness and employee happiness outperform those who don't. It's pretty simple.

I believe there are seven traits of successful leaders for the 21st Century.

Creative thinker - Einstein said, "The world we have created is a product of our way of thinking" Nothing will change in the future without fundamentally new ways of thinking.

If we want to create a new world we have to first change our thinking and thinking patterns. 80% of the population thinks reactively. They take action to make something go away (usually a problem.) The other 20% are creative thinkers – they take action to make something come into being (the creation.)

Creative thinkers thrive on the question "What's Possible?" Reactive thinkers ask, "What's wrong?" or "Who's to blame?" Reactive thinkers live in reaction and response to circumstances. Creative thinkers go beyond circumstances.

The next quality of tomorrow's leader is "Change readiness." The Change-ready individual embraces change. They understand the process of change and how it affects most people, and is skilled at enrolling people in it with a minimum amount of fear.

Most people do resist change – that's because it forces us right out of our comfort zones. A leader knows how to move people out of their comfort zones with dignity and respect. He helps people share a "common understanding" of the past and why they need to change it and then provides them with a positive image of their future along with actions they can all agree will move them in the right direction.

A leader is a Landscape Architect. It's her primary job to build a living environment– called culture. Culture is the soul of the enterprise. Today's leader is a master "culture-crafter." He or she sculpts and crafts an environment that stimulates, excites and invites people to be the best they can be.

The architect leader knows that the ability to create a nourishing and challenging environment for people to grow in is more important than any technical skill she can possess.

Continuous Improvement - The leader of tomorrow will regularly challenge old beliefs and be passionate about learning and about applying that learning in the real world. She will often ask my favorite question "Who is doing something differently then I am and what can I learn from them?"

The New Leader is Authentic. How and who you are is just as important as what you know! Hold yourself to the highest standards – don't talk the talk unless you are prepared to walk the walk. Don't expect of others what you don't expect from your self. Be real, tell the truth. The leaders that are the most revered are those that let the light of who they are shine through in all they do. They are honest, forthright and clear.

Coach/Facilitator – A leader needs to be a coach not a commander. He needs to hold space open for things to happen. It is said that when leaders do their job properly people believe they have done it themselves. Leaders are there to help people see things from a different perspective, to provide questions that encourage learning and to help turn work experiences into learning experiences.

Our new leader is a Visionary. It's clearly documented that visionary leaders are successful at mobilizing human potential. A vision provides focus. It's a tool for aligning energy. Clear vision and purpose provide people with a framework from which to make decisions, it organizes action and effort.

Clearly a need for a new leadership style exists. Take a good look at your style and see if you are prepared for living and leading in the 21st century.

Want to find out more about how to be a powerful and compassionate leader 21st century leader - check out our weekly training program at www.customercarecoach.com

JoAnna writes a free email tip on customer caring. You can sign up at and

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Developing Your Leadership Skills

Author: Cecile Peterkin

Leadership = Influence. It is the art or process of influencing people so that they will strive willingly and enthusiastically. As human beings we all influence someone: parent to child, teacher to student, friend to friend, employer to employee, and coach to athlete. If you stop to think about it, the list is endless. Since we are all capable of influencing others, we all have the potential to be leaders. A leader is not necessarily the person at the head of the table or the one with the title. The next time you are in a meeting or a social function, see how quickly you can tell who the real leader is: it is the person others naturally watch, listen to, gravitate towards, and follow. Leadership is more than a position. Leadership is a skill. Because we all have areas in which we excel, from time to time we are all thrust into leadership roles. While these opportunities may seem uncomfortable at first, ask yourself a few important questions. Which skills do I have that are being called upon? What do I have to offer? Then, take the opportunity to use these skills to move the situation forward. Leadership takes time and experience to develop. Take advantage of these opportunities to develop your leadership skills.

About the author: Cecile Peterkin is the President of Cosmic Coaching Centre and publishes ""Recipe for Success"", a FREE monthly ezine. She is a certifiedd Career Coach, Retirement Coach and Speaker. Cecile works with Middle Managers, proving Career Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and Life Coaching, as well as Baby Boomers who wnat to plan a successful retirement

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

The Three Factors Of Leadership Motivation

Author: Brent Filson

Leadership Motivation by Brent Filson

Leaders do nothing more important than get results. But you can't get results by yourself. You need others to help you do it. And the best way to have other people get results is not by ordering them but motivating them. Yet many leaders fail to motivate people to achieve results because those leaders misconstrue the concept and applications of motivation.

To understand motivation and apply it daily, let's understand its three critical factors. Know these factors and put them into action to greatly enhance your abilities to lead for results. 1. MOTIVATION IS PHYSICAL ACTION. ""Motivation"" has common roots with ""motor,"" ""momentum,"" ""motion,"" ""mobile,"" etc. — all words that denote movement, physical action. An essential feature of motivation is physical action. Motivation isn't about what people think or feel but what they physically do. When motivating people to get results, challenge them to take those actions that will realize those results.

I counsel leaders who must motivate individuals and teams to get results not to deliver presentations but ""leadership talks."" Presentations communicate information.. But when you want to motivate people, you must do more than simply communicate information. You must have them believe in you and take action to follow you. A key outcome of every leadership talk must be physical action, physical action that leads to results.

For instance, I worked with the newly-appointed director of a large marketing department who wanted the department to achieve sizable increases in the results. However, the employees were a demoralized bunch who had been clocking tons of overtime under her predecessor and were feeling angry that their efforts were not being recognized by senior management.

She could have tried to order them to get the increased results. Many leaders do that. But order-leadership founders in today's highly competitive, rapidly changing markets. Organizations are far more competitive when their employees instead of being ordered to go from point A to point B want to go from point A to point B. So I suggested that she take a first step in getting the employees to increase results by motivating those employees to want to increase results. They would ""want to"" when they began to believe in her leadership. And the first step in enlisting that belief was for her to give a number of leadership talks to the employees.

One of her first talks that she planned was to the department employees in the company's auditorium.

She told me, ""I want them to know that I appreciate the work they are doing and that I believe that they can get the results I'm asking of them. I want them to feel good about themselves.""

""Believing is not enough,"" I said. ""Feeling good is not enough. Motivation must take place. Physical action must take place. Don't give the talk until you know what precise action you are going to have happen.""

She got the idea of having the CEO come into the room after the talk, shake each employee's hand, and tell each how much he appreciated their hard work — physical action. She didn't stop there. After the CEO left, she challenged each employee to write down on a piece of paper three specific things that they needed from her to help them get the increases in results and then hand those pieces of paper to her personally — physical action. Mind you, that leadership talk wasn't magic dust sprinkled on the employees to instantly motivate them. (To turn the department around so that it began achieving sizable increases in results, she had to give many leadership talks in the weeks and months ahead.) But it was a beginning. Most importantly, it was the right beginning.

2. MOTIVATION IS DRIVEN BY EMOTION. Emotion and motion come from the same Latin root meaning ""to move"". When you want to move people to take action, engage their emotions. An act of motivation is an act of emotion. In any strategic management endeavor, you must make sure that the people have a strong emotional commitment to realizing it. When I explained this to the chief marketing officer of a worldwide services company, he said, ""Now I know why we're not growing! We senior leaders developed our marketing strategy in a bunker! He showed me his ""strategy"" document. It was some 40 pages long, single-spaced. The points it made were logical, consistent, and comprehensive. It made perfect sense. That was the trouble. It made perfect, intellectual sense to the senior leaders. But it did not make experiential sense to middle management who had to carry it out. They had about as much in-put into the strategy as the window washers at corporate headquarters. So they sabotaged it in many innovative ways. Only when the middle managers were motivated — were emotionally committed to carrying out the strategy — did that strategy have a real chance to succeed.

3. MOTIVATION IS NOT WHAT WE DO TO OTHERS. IT'S WHAT OTHERS DO TO THEMSELVES. The English language does not accurately depict the psychological truth of motivation. The truth is that we cannot motivate anybody to do anything. The people we want to motivate can only motivate themselves. The motivator and the motivatee are always the same person. We as leaders communicate, they motivate. So our ""motivating"" others to get results really entails our creating an environment in which they motivate themselves to get those results.

For example: a commercial division leader almost faced a mutiny on his staff when in a planning session, he put next year's goals, numbers much higher than the previous year's, on the overhead. The staff all but had to be scrapped off the ceiling after they went ballistic. ""We busted our tails to get these numbers last year. Now you want us to get much higher numbers? No way!""

He told me. ""We can hit those numbers. I just have to get people motivated!""

I gave him my ""motivator-and-motivatee-are-the-same-person!"" pitch. I suggested that he create an environment in which they could motivate themselves. So he had them assess what activities got results and what didn't. They discovered that they spent more than 60 percent of their time on work that had nothing to do with getting results. He then had them develop a plan to eliminate the unnecessary work. Put in charge of their own destiny, they got motivated! They developed a great plan and started to get great results.

Over the long run, your career success does not depend on what schools you went to and what degrees you have. That success depends instead on your ability to motivate individuals and teams to get results. Motivation is like a high voltage cable lying at your feet. Use it the wrong way, and you'll get a serious shock. But apply motivation the right way by understanding and using the three factors, plug the cable in, as it were, and it will serve you well in many powerful ways throughout your career.

2004 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

About the author: The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. Sign up for his free leadership ezine and get a free guide, ""49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,"" at www.actionleadership.com

Monday, August 20, 2007

Leadership Skills for Challenging Times

Author: Ed Sykes

Leadership Skills for Challenging Times By Ed Sykes ©2003

We consistently face new and ever growing challenges in the workplace such as reorganizing, downsizing, and "left out sizing." We are faced with the question, "How do we lead in this storm of change?" It may seem difficult at times and the decisions we make define our short-term and long-term outcomes. I will share with you five leadership techniques guaranteed to keep you on track during these difficult times.

* Integrity. I put this first because the lack of integrity will make or break you as a professional, as a leader, as a person in the long run. The lack of this will turn yesterday's heroes in today's villains. For example, "MCI was the apple of the business community's eye. High revenues, high profits, and high growth; MCI was beating the competition hands down. Then it was discovered that there were gross accounting irregularities that accounted for the astounding profits. You see, management made a decision, "Do I continue to sustain good growth and be able to look at myself in the mirror or do I cook the accounting books and spend the rest of my time covering up this integrity deficiency? The real shame of the MCI situation was that AT&T, Sprint, and others in the industry had to cut costs and lay off thousands of employees to compete with MCI's false numbers. The lack of integrity at MCI not only affected the company but also the livelihood of thousands and the industry as a whole. I was recently speaking with a recently retired City Council member who is well respected in the community. I asked her what the secret was to her success while on the council? She mentioned that one of her political adversaries said to her, "While you were on the council, I didn't like the way you voted, but I respected the way you voted because you were consistent with your votes and had the city's best interest in mind." Ask yourself what decisions that you make are right for the long term? Be consistent in your actions, whether it is with management, your team, or your family.

* Knowledge. With change happening faster and faster every moment, it is extremely important that you gain the knowledge to master these changes. You owe it not only to yourself, but to your team and management. As I always say, "It's not having the right answer, it's that you have the right answer faster than before." Many times during my teambuilding programs a student will say, "I didn't know where to find the answer." Then I will say, "That is an unacceptable answer." Because part of being a leader is acquiring the skills to find the right answers. With the Internet, classroom and online training, mentors, etc., the knowledge is at your fingertips. Challenge your team members to use the same resources to acquire the knowledge to master their challenges. By acquiring this knowledge, you will be able to navigate your team through the ocean of change and achieve your goals.

* Decisiveness. You have seen them. They wait for information, then more information before making a decision. Then they need more information to support the information they already have. Then they need a committee to analyze the information. Then they wait for the perfect time to make the decision. Well, you know what I mean. Anyone you know? Make the decision! Good things happen when you take action; you grow, you adapt, and your team grows. There is no perfect time to make a decision. Leaders make decisions based on past experience, putting into action the decision, and staying and adapting the decision if needed. But make the decision. The worst quality you can show your team is indecision. What do you think your team sees when you can't make a decision? Make the decision and go for it.

* Vision. This is the ability not only to see what is the present - anyone can do that - it's the ability to see the future. Outstanding leaders can not only see their team for what they can do now, but what they can become, and paint the picture for them. These leaders are consistently communicating and coaching their team members to that vision. One of the best ways, and least used methods, to convey your vision is the team meeting (Teambuilding and Coaching Skills for Outstanding Results). Every meeting should start out with the team vision, mission, and goals; and the rest of the meeting should tie into the vision. For example, the motivation portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the information portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, the training portion of the meeting should tie into the vision, etc. Also, invest time to develop your team members' personal visions and show them how they can accomplish their personal goals by tying into the overall vision. By consistently communicating the vision, your team will move with purpose, feel they are personally making a difference, and achieve their goals sooner.

* Unselfishness Stephen Covey, in his successful book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, wrote that a true leader must be a servant to the ones he or she leads. The leader must be able to "give of oneself for the good of the team." In other words, be unselfish in words and action. Be unselfish in praise of others, in public, especially in front of management. Be unselfish in the ability to take time to listen, really listen to your team's concerns. A recent management survey said that the average time management invests doing "pure listening" to employees during the year is a mere two hours-just two hours! What was meant by "pure listening" time was listening with eye contact, acknowledgement, and not answering the phone while listening, not speaking with another person while listening, etc. Be unselfish in the ability to help your team. Whether it's the ability to readily assist with a difficult telephone call, jump in and remove road blocks for team members, or "be there" for a team member during challenging moments. Believe me, your team will remember those moments and excel for you. Now I challenge you to put into action just one of the leadership techniques I mentioned above to achieve your vision, your mission, and your goals in the future.

About the author: Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and success coach in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress management, customer service, and team building. You can e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at (757) 427-7032. Go to his web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter, OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, ""Empowerment and Stress Secrets for the Busy Professional.""

Sunday, August 19, 2007

CHANGE LEADERSHIP in EDUCATION

Author: Dr. Alvin Chan

The L.E.A.D.E.R. Way

INTRODUCTION

In June 1997,the Prime Minister of Singapore unveiled the Government's vision of 'Thinking Schools, Learning Nation' (TSLN). This vision was forged to improve Singapore's education system in the light of the rapid changes around the world. The Government foresees that Singapore, with its limited natural resources, can only continue to progress by nurturing a knowledgeable workforce that is adaptable to the changes in the world economy. More importantly, the Government realized that it had to start preparing the nation for these inevitable changes by revamping the education system in accordance with the vision of TSLN.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore, the state agency responsible for the undertaking of this vision, states the goals of TSLN as follows:

Thinking Schools ensure that we equip students with skills and knowledge and values and instincts to face future challenges, while Learning Nation aims to promote a culture of continual learning beyond the school environment. (MOE, 1998,p.16)

In order to realize the vision, the MOE has introduced changes to the curriculum, the training of teachers, assessment modes and the development of resource packages. Furthermore, all schools will have students spending at least 30% of their curriculum time accessing electronic resources and working on computers. (MOE, 1998,p.17) The changes in the curriculum include the infusion of thinking skills and the reduction in the contents of the curriculum. Schools are strongly encouraged to set up their own thinking programs and teachers are to enroll in courses to learn how to infuse thinking skills in their teaching.

With the restructuring taking place to realize the vision, most teachers fear that the changes will burden them by increasing their already-heavy workload and tight time schedule due to increased training hours. The principal, being the main disseminator of the MOE's mission of TSLN in the school, has the unenviable task to articulate this vision to overcome the resistance to the changes especially from the school's teachers.

The main objective of the paper is to explore the perceptions of teachers as to the effectiveness of principals in leading a change programs (in this case, a Thinking Programs). Since teachers are directly responsible for the learning outcomes of the students, their perceptions of their principals' effectiveness and concomitant actions are vital to the success of the vision of TSLN. As part of the paper, a case study of a primary school, which has embarked on a Thinking Programs, has been carried out.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

In the hope of improving the existing system, schools face many problems when introducing well-meaning changes. Restructuring would, inevitably, involve people within the organisation to absorb new ideas and ideals that usually result in many uncertainties (Heckman, 1990). A school's principal, thus, has the uphill task to manage the level of resistance to change and align the staff to work towards a common vision, amidst the turbulence.

To reiterate, the author is focussing on teachers' perceptions of their principal in leading change, more specifically, the process of creating a Thinking Programme for the school. The importance of teachers' perception of their leaders in the success of a school has been documented in various researches. Researchers (such as Bhella, 1992) suggested that teachers' morale is related to student achievement. And, in turn, the principal has the strongest influence on teachers' satisfaction in the workplace. (Vanderstoepe et al, 1994) From that perspective, the teachers' satisfaction and perceptions of the principal in leading the change process would directly have an impact on the success rate of the new programme of boosting students' achievement.

In the process of writing, the author discussed with many teachers on what they expect their leaders to do when introducing a new programs to their schools. The author has summarized the teachers' opinions for inclusion in this paper. Previous research and literature would be used to illuminate the factors that are critical to the success of a principal in leading a change programs. To further enhance clarity of exposition, I have presented systematically the ideas encapsulated in previous research by using the acronym of L.E.A.D.E.R as a model to elucidate the steps in leading a successful change programs in a school. The acronym of L.E.A.D.E.R stands for:

Leading by example

Empowering vision

Adaptive change

Developing people

Evaluating the system

Recharge

The above model does not try to be prescriptive or attempt to imply that it will cover all the salient factors of an effective change programme. Due to the prescribed length of the paper, the author hopes that the model will shed more light in the topic of research in a more methodical manner.

Leading by Example

In most organisations that have embarked on a change programme, one of the more common complaints by the employees is that the leader does not 'walk the talk'. In a school, if a principal is not willing to learn and adapt to changes, there are no compelling reasons for the staff to do so. The Scout's motto, ' Lead by Example', is a major criteria of what a principal must do to succeed in leading change.

In order to create a thinking and learning organisation, principal will become researchers and designers rather than controllers and overseers. They should also be a model of learning to the rest of the organisation and encourage the staff to be life-long learners. (Senge, 1990) More importantly, a principal must not merely communicate in words, but by deeds to convince the staff that the change is happening at all levels. These build a sense of esprit de corp in the school that will help in lessening the pressures that change brings to organisations.

In short, a principal has to be perceived to be capable in leading school educational development by his or her own example. (Dunning, 1993; McHugh & McMullan, 1995) Unless the staffs are convinced, they will not work co-operatively towards the success of the change programme.

Empowering Vision

A change programme requires a change of vision. According to Kotter (1995, p.10),

" A vision says something that clarifies the direction in which an organisation needs to move."

The Ministry of Education developed the vision of TSLN in the middle of 1997. In the schools, banners are put up to herald the vision of TSLN and school principals were expected to align the teachers towards this shared vision for the betterment of the schools. The principals are expected to modify culture through skill in communication of the necessary shared values for a changed vision. (Campbell-Evans, 1993).

Adaptive Change

In most organisations' change programme, the appropriate pace of change is often ignored. Most leaders are impatient to see results and thus apply unwarranted pressures on those involved in the process .In Singapore schools; such a situation is a commonplace. With the MOE's intention of creating a world-class educational system in Singapore, many new initiatives are introduced within a short period of time. Most of the initiatives will require much time and effort of the teachers, on top of their already-heavy load. Such a situation often causes distress and the principal has to address the issues.

A good leader, therefore, must be capable of regulating the distress by sequencing and pacing the work required of the change process. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most change programme. Most leaders start new initiatives without stopping other activities or they start too many initiatives at the same time. They overwhelm and disorient the very people who need to take responsibility for the work. (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997,p.180)

Developing People

The people who are directly involved in a change programme have to be suitably trained to meet the challenges. A good principal would ensure that the staff's potential is developed for many reasons. Firstly, if the staffs are not trained well to undertake the new responsibilities of the initiative, the programme will not be a success. Secondly, a principal who develops and empowers the staff in the concerned change programme will be more able to convince them to commit to it. By doing so, a principal can demonstrate leadership by sharing leadership with the staff in the school. Through empowering others, the principal can also elevate his/her status and power. (Blasé, 1987)

A principal can also develop the staff potential by opening up channels of communication within the school. Setting up committees and encouraging peer learning could do this. External agencies with expertise in the areas of change can also be consulted to help smoothen the process of change.

A principal who is a people developer would benefit as " solutions to adaptive challenges reside not in the executive suite but in the collective intelligence of employees at all levels."(Heifetz & Laurie, 1997,p.173) Thus, by doing so, the principal would have increased the level of success of the new initiative and also the hearts of his/her followers.

Evaluating the System

The principal must constantly monitor the process of a new school initiative. The initial enthusiasm that has been built up the principal may wane due to the lack of a good evaluation system .An effective evaluation system would allow the principal to see the flaws and to refine the programme due to changing circumstances. A good evaluation system for a thinking programme would consist of classroom observations on the teaching of the thinking tools and feedback from those who are involved in the change process. This includes the teachers, pupils and their parents. This is important as constant feedback allows the principal to refine the programme due to changing circumstances. (Hargreaves, 1995)

To further enhance the evaluative aspect of the programme, the principal could brainstorm with the staff on the criteria of what are considered to be desired outcomes of the new initiatives. To be more specific, an effective change leader would spell out what are the short and long-term desired results of the programme and base the evaluations on such targets. The evaluative process must be realistic and fair by including appropriate time frames for achieving them. This would calm down the fears of the teachers and to ensure that they would not resort to cosmetic measures in the process of change.

A principal must also be self-reflective and be able to take criticism if the programme is not moving according to plan. He or she must rely on the teachers who are directly involved with the pupils to give honest feedback. Though, this may raise questions of the credibility of the principal's initial plans, a good head would allow the subordinates to point them for further improvements to a new initiative. This is especially so if the head is seeking to create a thinking and learning organisation.

Recharge

An effective evaluation system would also be used to ensure the continuing momentum of a change programme. Most change programmes may start out enthusiastically but they usually lose steam at the end. The ability to maintain the initial enthusiasm and commitment to the vision is, thus, an important criterion of an effective principal. He or she must be able to recharge the interest of the teachers by constantly reminding them and encouraging them to achieve desired outcomes. In a thinking programme, a principal could hold monthly meetings to talk about the progress and to share success stories of the programme to maintain the interest of the teachers. If the interest and enthusiasm of the staff to the initiatives can be maintained throughout, more change programmes will be successful in schools.

CONCLUSION

During the process of writing this paper, the author felt that certain issues should be addressed. One of the main problems seems to lie in the pacing of new initiatives introduced by the Ministry of Education. Due to this, a principal is stretched for time and effort in juggling with the new initiatives. This, as shown in the case study, usually leads to other good school programmes going through a roller-coaster ride of enthusiasm. The principal would then resort to cosmetic efforts to convince the parents, visitors and the Ministry that a programme is in place as in this case study. The author hopes that this is just an isolated case but feels the Ministry should really look into the issue of whether principals are overloaded with the projects in progress before launching into another initiative.

Another issue connected to the above is the need to improve the evaluation and appraisal methods of the principals by the Ministry. At present, the evaluation tends to be inaccurate, as the Ministry does not really know the inner workings of the school. There should be a 360 degrees Feedback Survey whereby the staff (especially the teachers); pupils and parents are to evaluate the effectiveness of the principal in leading a programme. It may be considered time-consuming but it will ensure that principals do not adopt cosmetic measures to hide weaknesses of any new programmes. This also allows schools to be opened to ideas and suggestions for further refinements of the programme. In this way, the Ministry will have a more accurate picture whether the initiatives that had been introduced are articulated in a proper manner.

The author reiterates that the success of leading a change programme in schools is largely dependent on the principal's ability to influence the perceptions of the teachers. Trust, thus, is an important ingredient that has to be built up by the principal, as the principal-teachers relationship will have an impact on other future initiatives. The paper has also included a self-evaluation questionnaire (Appendix 3) for principals who are in the process of leading a change programme in their schools. In closing, the author wants to emphasise that in order to reap the full benefits, a change programme should be nurtured and not enforced.

About the author: Dr.Alvin Chan is an Innovation Research Specialist in Asia. Currently, Dr. Chan is the Senior Research Consultant at First Quatermain Centre of Collaborative Innovation (www.firstquatermain.com).Please email Dr.Chan at bizguru88@hotmail.com.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

CHANGE LEADERSHIP

Author: Dr. Alvin Chan

The L.E.A.D.E.R. Way

INTRODUCTION

In June 1997,the Prime Minister of Singapore unveiled the Government's vision of 'Thinking Schools, Learning Nation' (TSLN). This vision was forged to improve Singapore's education system in the light of the rapid changes around the world. The Government foresees that Singapore, with its limited natural resources, can only continue to progress by nurturing a knowledgeable workforce that is adaptable to the changes in the world economy. More importantly, the Government realized that it had to start preparing the nation for these inevitable changes by revamping the education system in accordance with the vision of TSLN.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) in Singapore, the state agency responsible for the undertaking of this vision, states the goals of TSLN as follows:

Thinking Schools ensure that we equip students with skills and knowledge and values and instincts to face future challenges, while Learning Nation aims to promote a culture of continual learning beyond the school environment. (MOE, 1998,p.16)

In order to realize the vision, the MOE has introduced changes to the curriculum, the training of teachers, assessment modes and the development of resource packages. Furthermore, all schools will have students spending at least 30% of their curriculum time accessing electronic resources and working on computers. (MOE, 1998,p.17) The changes in the curriculum include the infusion of thinking skills and the reduction in the contents of the curriculum. Schools are strongly encouraged to set up their own thinking programs and teachers are to enroll in courses to learn how to infuse thinking skills in their teaching.

With the restructuring taking place to realize the vision, most teachers fear that the changes will burden them by increasing their already-heavy workload and tight time schedule due to increased training hours. The principal, being the main disseminator of the MOE's mission of TSLN in the school, has the unenviable task to articulate this vision to overcome the resistance to the changes especially from the school's teachers.

The main objective of the paper is to explore the perceptions of teachers as to the effectiveness of principals in leading a change programs (in this case, a Thinking Programs). Since teachers are directly responsible for the learning outcomes of the students, their perceptions of their principals' effectiveness and concomitant actions are vital to the success of the vision of TSLN. As part of the paper, a case study of a primary school, which has embarked on a Thinking Programs, has been carried out.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

In the hope of improving the existing system, schools face many problems when introducing well-meaning changes. Restructuring would, inevitably, involve people within the organisation to absorb new ideas and ideals that usually result in many uncertainties (Heckman, 1990). A school's principal, thus, has the uphill task to manage the level of resistance to change and align the staff to work towards a common vision, amidst the turbulence.

To reiterate, the author is focussing on teachers' perceptions of their principal in leading change, more specifically, the process of creating a Thinking Programme for the school. The importance of teachers' perception of their leaders in the success of a school has been documented in various researches. Researchers (such as Bhella, 1992) suggested that teachers' morale is related to student achievement. And, in turn, the principal has the strongest influence on teachers' satisfaction in the workplace. (Vanderstoepe et al, 1994) From that perspective, the teachers' satisfaction and perceptions of the principal in leading the change process would directly have an impact on the success rate of the new programme of boosting students' achievement.

In the process of writing, the author discussed with many teachers on what they expect their leaders to do when introducing a new programs to their schools. The author has summarized the teachers' opinions for inclusion in this paper. Previous research and literature would be used to illuminate the factors that are critical to the success of a principal in leading a change programs. To further enhance clarity of exposition, I have presented systematically the ideas encapsulated in previous research by using the acronym of L.E.A.D.E.R as a model to elucidate the steps in leading a successful change programs in a school. The acronym of L.E.A.D.E.R stands for:

Leading by example

Empowering vision

Adaptive change

Developing people

Evaluating the system

Recharge

The above model does not try to be prescriptive or attempt to imply that it will cover all the salient factors of an effective change programme. Due to the prescribed length of the paper, the author hopes that the model will shed more light in the topic of research in a more methodical manner.

Leading by Example

In most organisations that have embarked on a change programme, one of the more common complaints by the employees is that the leader does not 'walk the talk'. In a school, if a principal is not willing to learn and adapt to changes, there are no compelling reasons for the staff to do so. The Scout's motto, ' Lead by Example', is a major criteria of what a principal must do to succeed in leading change.

In order to create a thinking and learning organisation, principal will become researchers and designers rather than controllers and overseers. They should also be a model of learning to the rest of the organisation and encourage the staff to be life-long learners. (Senge, 1990) More importantly, a principal must not merely communicate in words, but by deeds to convince the staff that the change is happening at all levels. These build a sense of esprit de corp in the school that will help in lessening the pressures that change brings to organisations.

In short, a principal has to be perceived to be capable in leading school educational development by his or her own example. (Dunning, 1993; McHugh & McMullan, 1995) Unless the staffs are convinced, they will not work co-operatively towards the success of the change programme.

Empowering Vision

A change programme requires a change of vision. According to Kotter (1995, p.10),

" A vision says something that clarifies the direction in which an organisation needs to move."

The Ministry of Education developed the vision of TSLN in the middle of 1997. In the schools, banners are put up to herald the vision of TSLN and school principals were expected to align the teachers towards this shared vision for the betterment of the schools. The principals are expected to modify culture through skill in communication of the necessary shared values for a changed vision. (Campbell-Evans, 1993).

Adaptive Change

In most organisations' change programme, the appropriate pace of change is often ignored. Most leaders are impatient to see results and thus apply unwarranted pressures on those involved in the process .In Singapore schools; such a situation is a commonplace. With the MOE's intention of creating a world-class educational system in Singapore, many new initiatives are introduced within a short period of time. Most of the initiatives will require much time and effort of the teachers, on top of their already-heavy load. Such a situation often causes distress and the principal has to address the issues.

A good leader, therefore, must be capable of regulating the distress by sequencing and pacing the work required of the change process. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most change programme. Most leaders start new initiatives without stopping other activities or they start too many initiatives at the same time. They overwhelm and disorient the very people who need to take responsibility for the work. (Heifetz & Laurie, 1997,p.180)

Developing People

The people who are directly involved in a change programme have to be suitably trained to meet the challenges. A good principal would ensure that the staff's potential is developed for many reasons. Firstly, if the staffs are not trained well to undertake the new responsibilities of the initiative, the programme will not be a success. Secondly, a principal who develops and empowers the staff in the concerned change programme will be more able to convince them to commit to it. By doing so, a principal can demonstrate leadership by sharing leadership with the staff in the school. Through empowering others, the principal can also elevate his/her status and power. (Blasé, 1987)

A principal can also develop the staff potential by opening up channels of communication within the school. Setting up committees and encouraging peer learning could do this. External agencies with expertise in the areas of change can also be consulted to help smoothen the process of change.

A principal who is a people developer would benefit as " solutions to adaptive challenges reside not in the executive suite but in the collective intelligence of employees at all levels."(Heifetz & Laurie, 1997,p.173) Thus, by doing so, the principal would have increased the level of success of the new initiative and also the hearts of his/her followers.

Evaluating the System

The principal must constantly monitor the process of a new school initiative. The initial enthusiasm that has been built up the principal may wane due to the lack of a good evaluation system .An effective evaluation system would allow the principal to see the flaws and to refine the programme due to changing circumstances. A good evaluation system for a thinking programme would consist of classroom observations on the teaching of the thinking tools and feedback from those who are involved in the change process. This includes the teachers, pupils and their parents. This is important as constant feedback allows the principal to refine the programme due to changing circumstances. (Hargreaves, 1995)

To further enhance the evaluative aspect of the programme, the principal could brainstorm with the staff on the criteria of what are considered to be desired outcomes of the new initiatives. To be more specific, an effective change leader would spell out what are the short and long-term desired results of the programme and base the evaluations on such targets. The evaluative process must be realistic and fair by including appropriate time frames for achieving them. This would calm down the fears of the teachers and to ensure that they would not resort to cosmetic measures in the process of change.

A principal must also be self-reflective and be able to take criticism if the programme is not moving according to plan. He or she must rely on the teachers who are directly involved with the pupils to give honest feedback. Though, this may raise questions of the credibility of the principal's initial plans, a good head would allow the subordinates to point them for further improvements to a new initiative. This is especially so if the head is seeking to create a thinking and learning organisation.

Recharge

An effective evaluation system would also be used to ensure the continuing momentum of a change programme. Most change programmes may start out enthusiastically but they usually lose steam at the end. The ability to maintain the initial enthusiasm and commitment to the vision is, thus, an important criterion of an effective principal. He or she must be able to recharge the interest of the teachers by constantly reminding them and encouraging them to achieve desired outcomes. In a thinking programme, a principal could hold monthly meetings to talk about the progress and to share success stories of the programme to maintain the interest of the teachers. If the interest and enthusiasm of the staff to the initiatives can be maintained throughout, more change programmes will be successful in schools.

CONCLUSION

During the process of writing this paper, the author felt that certain issues should be addressed. One of the main problems seems to lie in the pacing of new initiatives introduced by the Ministry of Education. Due to this, a principal is stretched for time and effort in juggling with the new initiatives. This, as shown in the case study, usually leads to other good school programmes going through a roller-coaster ride of enthusiasm. The principal would then resort to cosmetic efforts to convince the parents, visitors and the Ministry that a programme is in place as in this case study. The author hopes that this is just an isolated case but feels the Ministry should really look into the issue of whether principals are overloaded with the projects in progress before launching into another initiative.

Another issue connected to the above is the need to improve the evaluation and appraisal methods of the principals by the Ministry. At present, the evaluation tends to be inaccurate, as the Ministry does not really know the inner workings of the school. There should be a 360 degrees Feedback Survey whereby the staff (especially the teachers); pupils and parents are to evaluate the effectiveness of the principal in leading a programme. It may be considered time-consuming but it will ensure that principals do not adopt cosmetic measures to hide weaknesses of any new programmes. This also allows schools to be opened to ideas and suggestions for further refinements of the programme. In this way, the Ministry will have a more accurate picture whether the initiatives that had been introduced are articulated in a proper manner.

The author reiterates that the success of leading a change programme in schools is largely dependent on the principal's ability to influence the perceptions of the teachers. Trust, thus, is an important ingredient that has to be built up by the principal, as the principal-teachers relationship will have an impact on other future initiatives. The paper has also included a self-evaluation questionnaire (Appendix 3) for principals who are in the process of leading a change programme in their schools. In closing, the author wants to emphasise that in order to reap the full benefits, a change programme should be nurtured and not enforced.

About the author: Dr.Alvin Chan is an Innovation Research Specialist in Asia. Currently, Dr. Chan is the Senior Research Consultant at First Quatermain Centre of Collaborative Innovation (www.firstquatermain.com).Please email Dr.Chan at bizguru88@hotmail.com.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Exceptional Leadership Inspires the Best Effort in Others

Author: Michael Beck

There is a steady stream being written and taught about leadership these days. There are tips about leadership, courses about leadership, books, retreats, and continuing education – all focused on leadership. While all of this material is useful and can certainly enhance one's leadership knowledge, for the most part it avoids asking and answering two questions:

1. Why does better leadership make a difference? , and 2. How does better leadership achieve those differences?

We all know we're "supposed" to work to be better leaders, but why does it matter, what impact does it have, and how does this all work?

Whenever I ask the "Why" question, the answers that come to the mind of most people are something like "better leadership creates more productivity, higher profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, more loyalty… you get the picture. But these responses bring us to the real question which is, "How does better leadership create those things? How does being a better leader lead to more productivity, higher profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, more loyalty?" It is the answers to these two questions which elevate us from simply learning and understanding better leadership principles to pursuing a course of action which transforms us and our leadership abilities into something that really makes a difference.

I often suggest that my clients use their own experience as their best example. Ask yourself when, during your career, you felt the most satisfied, most productive, proudest, most focused, and most committed. When we reflect back on those times, most of us would acknowledge that we didn't feel like we did because our "leader" had made a good decision, or that they had gone through "leadership training" (That term is in quotes because leaders need to be developed, not trained.), or that their leaders were efficient, met their goals, or had success in the past. No, typically we felt the way we did (satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and committed) because of what we did – what we accomplished. It all comes back to us and how we felt. It's generally not about anything external – it comes down to our emotions. The key to exceptional leadership, therefore, lies within our ability to relate effectively with people and their emotions.

Imagine if everyone at work felt satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and committed! What would the consequences be? The consequences would be that everyone would create greater productivity, higher profits, lower turnover, greater job satisfaction, and more loyalty! The key then, to better performance, is helping people feel more satisfied, productive, proud, focused, and committed. Notice the absence of any technical or intelligence issues? Notice that we've haven't brought up the idea of "motivating" people? We haven't touched on motivating people for one simple reason… people can't be motivated! Trying to motivate someone is analogous to physically trying to get them to do something they don't want to do. You won't succeed. What really works is when we're self-motivated – when we do something because we want to. When we're inspired, we enjoy our work. We're productive and proud of our efforts. We remain focused and committed to the task at hand. In short, we put forth out best effort.

Exceptional leadership, therefore, is leadership that inspires people to give their best effort. Although, for a leader, being productive and having good time management skills are important and necessary, they are not sufficient. Having good judgment becomes increasingly important the higher in an organization we rise, however it too is insufficient for truly effective leadership. Exceptional leadership is about relating to people in such a way as to inspire them to give their best effort – for themselves, their organization, their community, their family, and/or their world.

How is this accomplished? The foundation of exceptional leadership – of inspiring others – comprises thee areas - Effective Leadership Philosophies (for yourself and your organization), Effective Purpose, Mission and Values, and Effective People Skills.

* EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHIES

Leading by Example - Whether we acknowledge it or not, we always lead by example. In our words (what we say or don't say), in our actions (what we do or don't do), and in our expressions (what we show or don't show). The things we do and say, during moments of "apparent insignificance", make an impression on those around us.

Servant Leader Philosophies - In our leadership workshops, I'll ask participants who the most important person is to a company. The answer, of course, is the customer. The question that follows next is, ""Who is the most important person in the company to that customer?"" Most people get that the person most important to the customer is the one they come in contact with - the ""frontline"". The question that follows is the real key to a better understanding of servant leadership. This question is, ""What, then, is the job of the manager of those frontline people?"" The job of the managers of the frontline folks is to make their job as easy and as effective as possible so that the customer has the best experience possible! If this leadership philosophy is adopted throughout an organization, it ends up with an organizational chart that looks like an inverted pyramid. It is an organization that acknowledges the importance of the frontline and reflects the philosophy of service throughout.

* EFFECTIVE PURPOSE, MISSION AND VALUES

An organization which inspires the best effort in its people will attract the kind of employees it wants and needs, and will retain them. It has a Purpose, a Mission, and a set of Values that it lives by, it effectively communicates them, and it measures its actions and decisions against them.

- Purpose is the ""WHY"" of the equation. It defines why we do what we do. Each decision and policy should take the company closer to achieving its ""WHY"". When a company has a clearly defined purpose it begins to act as a magnet, attracting the kind of people who will further the purpose; people who are like-minded. Not only will having a purpose attract the right people, but it will also act to retain them.

- Mission is the ""WHAT"" of the equation. It defines what the company will be doing to achieve its Purpose. A mission can be fairly narrow or be somewhat broad. However, one that is too narrow can unduly restrict an organization from considering opportunities that would otherwise be an excellent fit and one that is too broad offers no guidance at all.

- Values are the ""HOW"" of the equation. Values define how the Mission will be carried out in an effort to achieve the Purpose. They define the "rules of the game". Some of them will come to mind quite easily, things like honesty, courtesy, kindness, and ethics. But some other important values will only surface when brainstorming takes place - when different perspectives and voices are heard.

* EFFECTIVE PEOPLE SKILLS

I'll often ask clients or workshop attendees for the traits of the best boss they ever had and the traits of the worst boss. Inevitably, I'll get answers like: (Best) respected my ideas, worked to develop me, challenged me, listened, empowered me and let me make my own mistakes,… and (Worst) micro-managed, was overly demanding, poor communicator, mistrustful, … What's interesting is that in no case were the technical skills or the intelligence of a boss either praised or condemned. All the notable traits, both good and bad, had to do with people skills. The goal of effective people skills is good Relationship Management. Relationship Management encompasses the ability to develop others, inspire others, influence others, resolve conflict, and build teamwork and collaboration.

CONCLUSION

The essence of exceptional leadership is the ability to inspire the best effort in others. When people choose to give their best effort, satisfaction increases, pride develops, innovation is born, productivity improves, stability prevails, and profitability increases. The keys to a highly performing organization are creating an inspiring environment and personally becoming an exceptional leader. We can create an inspiring environment by adopting effective leadership philosophies and clarifying a Purpose, Mission and set of Values. We can personally become a more effective leader by honing and acquiring effective people skills. Become a leader who inspires the best effort in others.

About the author: Michael Beck is President of Exceptional Leadership, Inc., a leadership development and executive coaching firm dedicated to creating exceptional leadership for higher profits and greater job satisfaction. Michael can be reached at 877-977-8956 or mbeck@XLeaders.com, and you can learn more about the company and these ideas at www.XLeaders.com.