Leaders on Leadership: November 2008

How To Delegate: One Key Step Towards Leadership

Author: Paul Lemberg

You've made an unusual discovery - there's not enough time left at the end of the day. The corollary, of course, is your list of important things to do never gets smaller. In any company, the CEO's to-do list has the potential to grow infinitely.

What's a senior executive to do?

This is not simply a personal problem. Your company's future depends on what you do next. As you drive your organization beyond its current plateau, you must change the way you relate to your work. There are three stages to making the transition from chief-cook-and-bottle-washer (CC&BW) to CEO (source of the management and direction of the business). They are:

Understanding your highest value contribution to your company and focusing on that role. Recognizing your position as a leader and owning the job. Delegating everything else, and holding others accountable. Previous articles, Time Well Spent, deals with transition one; Visions of Leadership addresses transition two. This article examines the problem of delegation - giving the work away.

The Issue

You have doubtlessly concluded your next level of company performance requires a managerial change. And hopefully, you have realized the changes necessary are with you. As CEO (or, on a divisional or departmental level - senior executive) your jobs include holding the vision; inspiring your senior management and your staff; fostering key relationships with customers, vendors, investors and the public, etc.

You now need to let go of some cherished things like product design, hiring, perhaps day-to-day sales - many things you handled in the past, often out of necessity - and focus yourself on your role as CEO. What about all these things you used to do? Delegate them. Assign the job to someone else. This doesn't sound like a big deal, why write a whole article on it?

Do you delegate? Of course you do. But do you delegate the important things? The things you ""know"" you could do better? The things you are ""best"" at? Probably not. The question is, should you?

Your highest value contribution

Think about your highest value contribution to your company. Which of your activities generate the most revenue, profit, market share, etc.? Where do you get the most bang for the buck? Like most chief executives, your greatest leverage is in mobilizing the forces around you - your senior staff and your employees, plus key customers, prospects and vendors. Everything else becomes secondary to that in terms of impact.

So the answer is yes. You should give away even the things you are ""best"" at. And then make sure they are done right. Make sure they are up to spec and delivered on time.

The cost of holding on

Now, the thorny part. Many executives refrain from delegating responsibilities they've labeled ""critical"". They fear the job won't be done correctly. Or no one else can do it as quickly, and it won't get done on time. Or the right attention won't be paid. Or something. Or something else.

Give it up! The growth of your organization will be stifled to the extent that you hold on to critical functions. Your company will suffer in the exact areas where you think you are the expert!

Product design? You hold up the development of a key component, because you are the expert, yet you are away at a customer meeting. Staffing? Two engineers can't be hired because you haven't signed off and are out of town at a meeting with investment bankers. Sales? Negotiations on an important deal are held up because you are in Asia meeting with a vendor.

You become the choke point on each of these vital functions. And you feel - of course - ""I have to be involved."" No you don't. To the exact degree you have not developed your staff to assume these functions, the growth of your company will be retarded.

Aside from fear the job won't be done as well, there is another, more insidious reason senior executives (particularly entrepreneurs) do not delegate. If you aren't doing the ""important"" stuff, you become redundant. Dead weight. Overhead. If you have a great VP of Sales, or a Chief Technologist, what will you do?

You feel this way because you haven't completed transitions one and two: you haven't taken the trouble of understanding how you personally create value in your company, and you haven't fully assumed the role of leader. Once you make these transitions, you won't have time for the rest. Delegation, not abdication.

Many executives delegate like this. They say, ""John, would you take on this project? It has to be done by next Thursday. Thanks."" That's it. Then, when the job comes back incomplete, they are infuriated. What happened? They left out accountability. They neglected the structure for making sure things happened according to plan.

There are four components to successful delegation.

1. Give the job to someone who can get it done.

This doesn't mean that person has all the skills for execution, but that they are able to martial the right resources. Sometimes the first step in the project will be education. Maybe your delegate has to attend a seminar or take a course to get up to speed.

2. Communicate precise conditions of satisfaction.

Timeframe, outcomes, budget constraints, etc.; all must be spelled out. Anything less creates conditions for failure. It's like the old story about basketball - without nets the players don't know where to shoot the ball.

3. Work out a plan.

Depending on the project's complexity, the first step may be creation of a plan. The plan should include resources, approach or methodology, timeline, measures and milestones. Even simple projects require a plan. 4. Set up a structure for accountability.

If the project is to take place over the next six weeks, schedule an interim meeting two weeks from now. Or establish a weekly conference call, or an e-mailed status report. Provide some mechanism where you can jointly evaluate progress and make mid-course corrections. This helps keep the project, and the people, on track.

4. Get buy in.

Often timeframes are dictated by external circumstances. Still, your delegate must sign on for the task at hand. If you say, ""This must be done by next Tuesday,"" they have to agree that it is possible. Ask instead. ""Can you have this by Tuesday?"" To you this may seem a bit remedial, but the step is often overlooked. Whenever possible, have your delegate set the timeline and create the plan. You need only provide guidance and sign off. As General Patton said, ""Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.""

If you skip any one of the above steps, you dramatically reduce the likelihood things will turn out the way you want them to. On the other hand, if you rigorously follow the steps, you greatly increase the odds in your favor. Isn't this more work than doing it myself, you ask. No - it isn't.

The time it takes to

1) establish the goals, 2) review the plan, and 3) monitor the progress,

is not equal to the time it takes to execute. That is how you gain leverage. This is how you multiply your efforts.

(Occasionally it does take longer to communicate something than to do it yourself. Delegate it anyway. The next time will be easier.)

Above, I've referred to projects. This is not to say delegation is reserved for discrete tasks and problems. You also delegate ongoing functions. The process is the same in each case.

As an exercise, ask yourself, what am I unwilling to delegate? Make a list of the reasons why not. (Use our worksheet to identify projects and functions to delegate. E-mail for a free copy.) Identify the best person in your organization - not you - to take on this project or function. Then call a meeting. Begin the meeting with step one, above.

If there is no one to whom you can give away key functions, you have to look carefully at your staff situation. It may be time to hire the right people. If you don't have the revenues to support the staff additions, consider what is restraining your growth.

Review your relationship with your assistant or secretary. Have you let them take on there fair share of the workload? Are you giving them sufficiently sophisticated work to do? Are they ready to upgrade?

Some situations call for you to dive back in. Perhaps you are the only one in your company with some particular technical knowledge, or your insight will accelerate the design process, or you have the long-standing relationship with a vendor or customer. Go ahead, dive. Do your thing - briefly, complete the project and resume your leadership position.

Oh, one more thing.

The only point to delegating something is if it frees you for things which create greater value for your company. Don't give away the hiring function if you are spending your time fiddling with the corporate web site. Don't hire a Sales VP, if you are spending your time on purchasing. The greatest leverage you have is in leading your company. Lavish your time on that.

About the author: Business Coach and Strategist, Paul Lemberg is the President of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program designed to create More Profits and More Life™ for entrepreneurs.

Novell Continues Linux Market Leadership in China

Author: Dave Gosine

WALTHAM, Mass., USA -- Novell holds a 25.1 percent share of the Linux market in China, surpassing other local and international Linux distributors. Novell's success in China reflects a strong commitment to Chinese open source development and to Novell's growing customer base in this rapidly expanding market.

""Looking back at China's Linux Market in 2005, we can see that Novell was no doubt the biggest star,"" said Qian Lei, Computer & Software Analyst, CCID Consulting. ""Novell has gained good results from its investment in China's Linux market. In 2005, Novell revenue topped the Linux market in China with a total market share of 25.1 percent, illustrating strong competitiveness for Novell in China.""

CCID Consulting's research looks at Linux market dynamics and development trends, and includes forecasts for the next five years. CCID Consulting's report finds Novell with a Linux leadership position in China, outpacing both local Chinese Linux distributors as well as other global Linux vendors in adoption by Chinese customers. Novell strengthened its position in China in 2005, establishing new research and development, technical support and training facilities, fortifying partnerships with CS2C, Hua Wei, ZTE, Neusoft, and Skybility, and serving customers like People's Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications Shanghai Branch, and the China Meteorological Administration. Novell also launched a Chinese language version of its openSUSE project at openSUSE.org.cn, the first global Linux distributor with a dedicated Chinese site. To date, there have been nearly 100,000 visitors to Novell's openSUSE site in China.

""Novell has made a strong commitment to China,"" said Sen Ming Chang, managing director of Novell's East Asia region. ""With our new R&D Center and a local support facility, our localized version of our community distribution, openSUSE.org.cn, and expanded offices, our investment is paying off in a growing customer base here. We will continue to lead through superior delivery of a complete customer experience.""

About: Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers Software for the Open Enterprise(TM). With more than 50,000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With over 20 years of experience, more than 5,000 employees, 5,000 partners and support centers around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environment while reducing cost. Novell is a registered trademark, and openSUSE and Software for the Open Enterprise are trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries. * Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

About the author: Webbolt provides an on-demand, dynamically presented, tailored, total information solution with increasingly complex and global content. Webbolt continually updates and expands its free news in 22 key topic areas.

How To Delegate: One Key Step Towards Leadership

Author: Paul Lemberg

You've made an unusual discovery - there's not enough time left at the end of the day. The corollary, of course, is your list of important things to do never gets smaller. In any company, the CEO's to-do list has the potential to grow infinitely.

What's a senior executive to do?

This is not simply a personal problem. Your company's future depends on what you do next. As you drive your organization beyond its current plateau, you must change the way you relate to your work. There are three stages to making the transition from chief-cook-and-bottle-washer (CC&BW) to CEO (source of the management and direction of the business). They are:

* Understanding your highest value contribution to your company and focusing on that role. * Recognizing your position as a leader and owning the job. * Delegating everything else, and holding others accountable.

Previous articles, Time Well Spent, deals with transition one; Visions of Leadership addresses transition two. This article examines the problem of delegation - giving the work away.

The Issue

You have doubtlessly concluded your next level of company performance requires a managerial change. And hopefully, you have realized the changes necessary are with you. As CEO (or, on a divisional or departmental level - senior executive) your jobs include holding the vision; inspiring your senior management and your staff; fostering key relationships with customers, vendors, investors and the public, etc.

You now need to let go of some cherished things like product design, hiring, perhaps day-to-day sales - many things you handled in the past, often out of necessity - and focus yourself on your role as CEO. What about all these things you used to do? Delegate them. Assign the job to someone else. This doesn't sound like a big deal, why write a whole article on it?

Do you delegate? Of course you do. But do you delegate the important things? The things you ""know"" you could do better? The things you are ""best"" at? Probably not. The question is, should you?

Your highest value contribution

Think about your highest value contribution to your company. Which of your activities generate the most revenue, profit, market share, etc.? Where do you get the most bang for the buck? Like most chief executives, your greatest leverage is in mobilizing the forces around you - your senior staff and your employees, plus key customers, prospects and vendors. Everything else becomes secondary to that in terms of impact.

So the answer is yes. You should give away even the things you are ""best"" at. And then make sure they are done right. Make sure they are up to spec and delivered on time.

The cost of holding on

Now, the thorny part. Many executives refrain from delegating responsibilities they've labeled ""critical"". They fear the job won't be done correctly. Or no one else can do it as quickly, and it won't get done on time. Or the right attention won't be paid. Or something. Or something else.

Give it up! The growth of your organization will be stifled to the extent that you hold on to critical functions. Your company will suffer in the exact areas where you think you are the expert!

Product design? You hold up the development of a key component, because you are the expert, yet you are away at a customer meeting. Staffing? Two engineers can't be hired because you haven't signed off and are out of town at a meeting with investment bankers. Sales? Negotiations on an important deal are held up because you are in Asia meeting with a vendor.

You become the choke point on each of these vital functions. And you feel - of course - ""I have to be involved."" No you don't. To the exact degree you have not developed your staff to assume these functions, the growth of your company will be retarded.

Aside from fear the job won't be done as well, there is another, more insidious reason senior executives (particularly entrepreneurs) do not delegate. If you aren't doing the ""important"" stuff, you become redundant. Dead weight. Overhead. If you have a great VP of Sales, or a Chief Technologist, what will you do?

You feel this way because you haven't completed transitions one and two: you haven't taken the trouble of understanding how you personally create value in your company, and you haven't fully assumed the role of leader. Once you make these transitions, you won't have time for the rest. Delegation, not abdication.

Many executives delegate like this. They say, ""John, would you take on this project? It has to be done by next Thursday. Thanks."" That's it. Then, when the job comes back incomplete, they are infuriated. What happened? They left out accountability. They neglected the structure for making sure things happened according to plan.

There are five components to successful delegation.

1. Give the job to someone who can get it done.

This doesn't mean that person has all the skills for execution, but that they are able to martial the right resources. Sometimes the first step in the project will be education. Maybe your delegate has to attend a seminar or take a course to get up to speed.

2. Communicate precise conditions of satisfaction.

Timeframe, outcomes, budget constraints, etc.; all must be spelled out. Anything less creates conditions for failure. It's like the old story about basketball - without nets the players don't know where to shoot the ball.

3. Work out a plan.

Depending on the project's complexity, the first step may be creation of a plan. The plan should include resources, approach or methodology, timeline, measures and milestones. Even simple projects require a plan.

4. Set up a structure for accountability.

If the project is to take place over the next six weeks, schedule an interim meeting two weeks from now. Or establish a weekly conference call, or an e-mailed status report. Provide some mechanism where you can jointly evaluate progress and make mid-course corrections. This helps keep the project, and the people, on track.

5. Get buy in.

Often timeframes are dictated by external circumstances. Still, your delegate must sign on for the task at hand. If you say, ""This must be done by next Tuesday,"" they have to agree that it is possible. Ask instead. ""Can you have this by Tuesday?"" To you this may seem a bit remedial, but the step is often overlooked. Whenever possible, have your delegate set the timeline and create the plan. You need only provide guidance and sign off. As General Patton said, ""Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.""

If you skip any one of the above steps, you dramatically reduce the likelihood things will turn out the way you want them to. On the other hand, if you rigorously follow the steps, you greatly increase the odds in your favor. Isn't this more work than doing it myself, you ask. No - it isn't.

The time it takes to

1) establish the goals, 2) review the plan, and 3) monitor the progress,

is not equal to the time it takes to execute. That is how you gain leverage. This is how you multiply your efforts.

(Occasionally it does take longer to communicate something than to do it yourself. Delegate it anyway. The next time will be easier.)

Above, I've referred to projects. This is not to say delegation is reserved for discrete tasks and problems. You also delegate ongoing functions. The process is the same in each case.

As an exercise, ask yourself, what am I unwilling to delegate? Make a list of the reasons why not. Identify the best person in your organization - not you - to take on this project or function. Then call a meeting. Begin the meeting with step one, above.

If there is no one to whom you can give away key functions, you have to look carefully at your staff situation. It may be time to hire the right people. If you don't have the revenues to support the staff additions, consider what is restraining your growth.

Review your relationship with your assistant or secretary. Have you let them take on there fair share of the workload? Are you giving them sufficiently sophisticated work to do? Are they ready to upgrade?

Some situations call for you to dive back in. Perhaps you are the only one in your company with some particular technical knowledge, or your insight will accelerate the design process, or you have the long-standing relationship with a vendor or customer. Go ahead, dive. Do your thing - briefly, complete the project and resume your leadership position.

Oh, one more thing.

The only point to delegating something is if it frees you for things which create greater value for your company. Don't give away the hiring function if you are spending your time fiddling with the corporate web site. Don't hire a Sales VP, if you are spending your time on purchasing. The greatest leverage you have is in leading your company. Lavish your time on that.

About the author: Business Coach & Strategist, Paul Lemberg is the President of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program guaranteed to help entrepreneurs create More Profits and More Life™.

21st Century Leadership Empowers Leaders at Every Level

Author: Wayne Messick

Historically a new-hire moved from learning the required tasks of their particular job to eventually understanding the goals, strengths, and weaknesses of the business in an orderly way - often having as much to do with their getting older as with their getting better, smarter, or more capable.

They were then promoted from actually doing the work as a productive part of the organization, to supervising others who are on their way up.

Much later, if the politics of birth, etc. were right, he moved from telling selected people what to do, to the head of the business where he now taught what he knew to the people who were telling the others what to do.

That went on until it was time or past time for him to be let out to pasture.

That was then, ""Doing it Right"" is now and the future.

""Doing it Right"" is based on the principles of right action, the right people doing the right things in the right way and for the right reasons.

For instance, in 2006 a new-hire may know as much or more about the right way as the old man.

The right way to do things is only the right way if it results in pushing us in the right direction.

The old man has valuable insights the new-hire needs to understand, sooner rather than later, about what really is the right direction. And the people in the middle add value to those below and above them.

Contributions to future success come from all levels of the enterprise - and its not just the boys any more.

The problem in many companies is that everyone has their picture of the right ways, the right directions, and the right reasons. They assume their picture is what everyone else is seeing.

A few years ago there was a lot ink dedicated to the revolutionary idea of the ""flattened hierarchy"" style of management, where bureaucratic organizations were eliminating some if not most of the levels within their organization.

The idea was to get ideas, strategies, etc. from the top to the very bottom in 2-3 steps. This was supposed to enhance communications, efficiencies, innovations, etc. This was so obvious. What was the big deal?

The vast majority of all businesses already had that sort of organization in place. And they were not any better at doing things right. Just because they did not have the money to have more levels of management did not mean they were more productive.

Today companies are successful not because of their organization charts but because of an internal attitude that supports the principles of doing it right.

The 21st Century version of the flattened hierarchy is to empower individuals wherever they are in the organization to step outside their defined boxes and contribute.

It is about an atmosphere of learning, doing, and teaching simultaneously by everyone to everyone for the benefit of everyone.

When the machine operators, supervisors, managers, and owner/operators (you fill in your job descriptions) effortlessly pass information and respect up, down, across, and around the organization, they've got it.

If a new-hire thinks they know best about how things should be done, they should be taught why, in terms of the organizations mission to help them confirm to themselves and others that their idea are valid.

Or to teach them more about the direction we are headed to make sure their how will actually take them that way.

The old man needs to know what to look for when putting on more new hires and promoting more people into the roles of a successful 21st Century company.

The more he knows about what is really going on out there on the floor, in the community, and the industry, the better choices he can make.

The people in the middle, the supervisors and team leaders, traditionally being pushed from one direction and pulled from the other, need to learn how to effectively turn this pressure into steam that drives the organization.

So, what is my point? Well it is not your dads or granddads business environment any more. And if that is true how can everyone contribute as team members, cooperate as team players, to create a winning team?

First an atmosphere free of traditional labor vs management must be present. In the 21st Century long-term interdependent relationships based on this old model will not survive.

There is more external competition than we can stand already, we do not need it inside the organization too.

Second the people at the top must admit that they do not know everything and that just because their partner's daughter is twenty three and has been there four months, does not mean she doesn't have excellent/valid input into the way things ought to be.

Third everybody else must admit that just because the boss is old (55+) does not mean he ""just doesn't get it"" and that he will ""never change."" Both groups have so much to offer the team and being able to offer it without fear of criticism is mandatory.

And finally there should be a structured way of systematically reinforcing the right actions we understand, learning the ones we don't, and communicating them within the organization.

Human nature keeps drawing us back to where we are comfortable, so we need a continual push until the new place is more comfortable than the old.

The introduction and reinforcement of right action strategies is the purpose of ""Doing it Right,Realizing Your Company's Potential.""

It dovetails with existing task oriented training to provide the framework for overall actions.

It provides a context for sponsoring organizations, trade associations for example, to better serve their constituencies by providing a framework around their existing educational programs.

The principles of right actions are vital for you personal and business success ""Doing it Right"" may offer you the best way to establish and maintain those right actions.

And now, its content is available online at no charge. There will be no more excuses for not doing it right.

About the author: Wayne Messick wants to interview

business owners positioning themselves for success in the 21st Century. Click here for cutting edge leadership strategies for your business.

Conflict, Leadership, And The Leadership Talk

Author: Brent Filson

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 739

Summary: All leaders have to deal with conflict. The author cites three essentials you must adhere to in your dealings and describes a powerful leadership tool that will help you manifest those essentials.

Conflict, Leadership And The Leadership Talk by Brent Filson

Conflict comes with leadership as the sparks fly upward. If you don't want to deal with conflict, leadership is not your thing.

Being a leader is not about IF you will tackle conflict but HOW. In fact, no other ability (other than being able to get results) so shapes people's careers as the ability to deal with conflict.

Conflict and leadership go hand-in-hand because leadership involves challenging people often to do what they don't want to do. If people did what they wanted, leaders wouldn't be necessary. Great results don't drop like manna from heaven. Achieving them involves people having to get out of their comfort zones, make troublesome decisions, and engage in disconcerting new actions. Leadership helps guide and motivate people to do those things.

There are countless books, articles, etc. devoted to conflict resolution. But let me give you one tool that I've been teaching leaders of all ranks and functions worldwide for more than 22 years. It's the Leadership Talk.

Because the Leadership Talk is results-oriented and deals with fundamental human dynamics, it can be an unmatched way to help you deal with the inevitable conflicts you'll face.

(The many books and many other articles I've written on the Leadership Talk can be seen on my website.)

Here are the three essentials you must adhere to in dealing with conflicts and how the Leadership Talk can help you manifest those essentials.

1. Establish a deep, human, emotional connection with the people you're dealing with. When in conflict, keep in mind that the message is not just the message, the message is the messenger. HOW you deal with conflict and WHO you are in dealing with the conflict are as important, if not more, than WHAT the conflict is. Abraham Lincoln explained the importance of HOW and WHO: ""If you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere friend ... Assume to dictate to his judgment, or to command his action, or to mark him as one to be shunned and despised, and he will retreat within himself, close all the avenues to his head and his heart; and tho' your cause be naked truth itself ... you shall no more be able to reach him than to penetrate the hard shell of the tortoise with a rye straw.""

The Leadership Talk helps you deal with not only the WHAT of the conflict but also the HOW. It is a clear, practical pathway to winning the hearts of the people you are in conflict with simply because its driving principle is Lincoln's imperative of convincing the other side of your good will and sincerity.

2. Be guided by and empowered through process. It's important for your career to have a simple, clear conflict-resolution process to guide your thoughts, speech, and actions. You may not follow it exactly in every case, but it can help you better deal with the countless varieties of conflicts that you'll come to face.

The Leadership Talk is a powerful conflict resolution process because it engages the human aspects in practical, structured ways. For instance, one of its processes it called the Three-trigger Motivational Process. When you face conflict, you should ask three questions. If you say ""no"" to your answer to any one of those questions, you can't give a Leadership Talk. The questions are: 1. Do you know what the audience needs? 2. Can you bring deep belief to what you're saying? 3. Can you have the audience take action?

3. Stay focused on results. Since leaders do nothing more important than get results, the fruits of how we deal with conflict should be evaluated by whether we are obstructing or promoting results.

In leadership, it's not enough to resolve conflicts, we must also in the process achieve increases in results. Forget about trying to achieve ""win/win."" That can be a tender trap. In fact, in many cases, a win/win objective might impede results by keeping people from going to the next step, the results-generating step.

The Leadership Talk sees conflicts you are engaged in terms not simply of conflict resolution but results generation. Furthermore, its focus is not just about achieving ordinary results but more results, faster results on a continual basis.

Since conflict will always be with you as a leader, you should welcome it as an opportunity to get increases in results. When you're using Leadership Talks, you'll find yourself getting those results consistently.

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. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 21 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: ""49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,"" at ht

Empowered Leadership

Author: Kim Olver

It seems that every decade or so there is some new fad the runs through the business world in terms of supervision and in the world of diversity management, downsizing, outsourcing, generational work conflicts and the information age, things are even more complicated than ever before.

No longer does a one size fits all leadership model really work. We can't treat everyone the same and expect that everything will just ""work out"" somehow. Managers and leaders must have a framework with which to manage their workers in a way that honors everyone's unique and specific position on the job.

Empowered leadership is the way to do just that. Empowered leadership shares the power between management and the workers, thus empowering both groups.

Conventional wisdom tells us that when those in power relinquish some of that power by sharing it or giving it to their employees, then they would lose something when in actually, they gain.

Think about it. When people rule with an iron hand, they generally instill fear in those who work for them. Do you do your best work when you are afraid? I don't know about you but I will attempt to comply because I want to avoid negative consequences but it certainly won't be my best work. The absolute best a manager can hope for with coercion is compliance. If compliance is enough, then coercion might work.

However, I will gripe and complain and quietly wait for opportunities to get even. I won't have a kind thing to say about my employer and at every available chance will seek corroboration for how I feel from my co-workers, thus spreading an ""us"" versus ""them"" mentality.

When leaders and managers seek to empower their workers, they will gain their loyalty. Workers want to give their supervisor their best when they are listened to and respected. Without fear, their minds can be creative and innovative.

When managers are willing to accommodate special requests and it doesn't interfere with product or service delivery, then their employees will be sure to give back their best in return. Giving away power only increases a manager's power.

Now, I am not talking about being a total pushover and only advocating for what employees want. As a manager, you have a two-fold job--you are to represent your employees' desires, opinions and suggestions to management while at the same time communicating management's issues, concerns and expectations to your employees. This is not an easy line to walk.

You will never get the best from your employees if they don't respect you. You cannot be a doormat for your employees to walk over. If they believe you have no bottom line or nonnegotiables, then they will never be satisfied and always asking for more. You will feel used and abused and the truth is, you asked for it.

As a manager, you must hold the bar high. Expect great things from each and every one of your workers. If you only expect mediocrity, mediocrity is exactly what you will get. Set the standards and lead by example. If your workers see you giving it your all, it will be difficult for them to perform below standard.

You must have production goals you are attempting to meet for either products or services. Always enlist the help of your employees to set the goals, with the underlying premise being continual improvement.

And as a manager, you have the responsibility to create a need satisfying workplace for yourself and your workers. You cannot emphasize one to the exclusion of the other without there being undesirable consequences.

When you focus on production only and forget the human capital, you will end up with resentful, resistant, angry workers. On the other hand, when you only focus on the people end and allow production goals to be compromised; you will have workers who do everything they can to take advantage and to get out of doing the work. After all, if you the manager don't value production, why should they?

Somewhere in the middle, when you are walking that very fine line between relationships and production goals, you are practicing empowered leadership and that's where you will get the most from your employees.

About the author: Kim Olver has over 20 years experience in staff development and supervision and is an expert in leadership skills, staff relationships and diversity. Certified in reality therapy/choice theory/lead management/quality school concepts, she works with counselors, schools and businesses to apply these ideas. Visit http://www.coachingforexcellence.biz

Leadership Today

Author: Carl Hoffman

The most important thing you do is LEAD your people. Every productive activity on your daily agenda is leadership, regardless of what you call it. You manage, advise, teach, decide, and direct. The list goes on but it's all leading.

The most valuable commodity of any great organization is the quality of good people. They deserve the most inspired caring leadership you can provide.

Leaders seize the opportunity and use it properly to attain excellence.

A critical factor in the exercise of leadership is the adaptability of the person in charge. Whenever any of the variables change, the necessarily ""right"" style must change. The leader must then adjust his or her approach. The style that worked yesterday may not work tomorrow--but the leader will adapt. It takes time for a new leader to identify the ""right"" style of leadership. By the time that leader discovers the correct approach he or she may have damaged his or her credibility. The leader may then have established a pattern of behavior that will stick with him or her for the rest of their lives.

Another component of good leadership is caring. Good leaders care about and take of their people. They help them deal with stress that arise both from the job and from external sources. Leaders never let the pressure of their job interfere with taking care of their people.

What your members of your team or organization say is important. Without exception every group complains to some degree. But this is not always bad. Quality of leadership must be assessed by looking at where the irritants lie. If discussions generally dwell on internal issues within the team or organization, leadership might need improvement. If they focus instead on internal issues at a higher level such as company or corporate headquarters, there is a chance your people are satisfied with your leadership.

Equally important in the assessment of leadership is how participants interact in sensing sessions. This is commonly seen as an indicator of morale--how they feel about themselves. It is also a broad indicator of how they feel about their organization.

Cooperative groups generally come from good environment. They talk about anything. At times they even complain but they also frequently recommend solutions. The tone and body language of these group suggest that they are basically satisfied with their leadership. The willingness to recommend improvements suggest confidence in their leaders to listen to opinions and to act on recommendations.

Vocal, hostile groups generally come from poor environments. These groups use sensing sessions to vent their frustrations. They don't sense that their leaders understand or care enough about them to deal with their problems. In most cases, these groups see their leaders adding more to their burden than they take away.

Reticent groups also generally come from poor environments. They hesitate to say anything. These groups demonstrate the resignation that sets in when they feel no one cares about their problems. Alternatively, they may respresent teams that work under repressive leadership that is intoleratnt to ""whiners"" or threatens retribution for complaining. A good senior leader can do things to overcome poor leadership below them. The converse is not true . Even the most inspired junior leaders cannot compensate for the ""wrong"" style imposed upon them and their team from above.

So far we've dealt with selection of leadership style, based on individual and organizational varibles. Another way to look at leadership is to consider how it is used. We will explore the leader's selection of the ""right"" approach to running an organization in my next edition on leadership.

About the author: Carl Hoffman is a retired Army Sergeant Major who has over 20 years of sales and marketing experience. He has many online ventures and author of many articles on sales, leadership and marketing.

Looking for a online business or building upon an existing one visit him at: http://www.CEHoffman.com

Mastering the Art of Leadership

Author: Vicky Pope

How Can You Tap into Your Latent Leadership Potential?

The answer to this is simple. Through leadership development. Why? Because good leaders are made and the process itself is a continuous process of improvement. Here are seven ways to begin developing your leadership right away. Develop your hard skills through formal education. A master's degree can be very helpful or at least try some schools of continuing education provided by your local university. Read -- aim to read a wide array of books, constantly, and attend management seminars and workshops. Take a formal leadership development program. If your organization is offering one in-house, I advise that you take this route because the design is likely to have been customized for your leadership environment. If your organization does not offer one, check out the Center for Creative Leadership (www.ccl.org) and VIPCG, Inc. ( http://www.thevipcg.com ) Get an executive coach. A good executive coach can ensure that you are on your game as a leader. Executive coaches provide situation-specific guidance and are really useful for when you have to deal with the challenges that present themselves in your day to day functioning. Perhaps the most important skill that you must have as a leader is emotional competence. This skill helps you to achieve maximum results by working effectively with people (superiors, peers, and subordinates). You develop awareness of your personality and the personality of others, learn to manage your behavior and attitude, and develop a habit of taking intentional action. You need the help of a professional to assess your emotional competency levels and provide the guidance for development. Because of some confusion around the boundaries between management and leadership, we have some mental constructs that can affect our effectiveness as leaders. One such issue is confusing formal positions with leadership. The way this affects us is that we get stuck in formal authority roles which we call leadership. This is neither good for you nor the organization. Take a look at your life plans and make sure that you have a ""next station"" plan built in. Put a boundary on how long you will be in your current leadership role, and what you hope to have achieved by the expiration of the period. You can do this by yourself or with your executive coach. Take control of your potential as a leader by engaging your personal leadership. Despite your present external circumstances, you can succeed beyond your wildest dreams because of the potential you have. But you will need to ascertain what your life purpose is, develop a vision of what your life can become, and take action on your strategies. Remember you can't lead others without first leading yourself. Conquer the demon of inappropriate attitude that leads to unproductive behavior that leads to undesired results. Remember you carry with you the environment in which you live, so begin to build positive attitudes for good results. Take responsibility for the leader that you are today and take charge of the leader you can become tomorrow.

VIPCG, Inc. We Transform the Way Leaders Lead.™ http://www.thevipcg.com

About the author: Vicky is the President and CEO of VIPCG, Inc. http://www.thevipcg.com

Specialization

She specializes in leadership development, executive coaching, and using innovative technologies to transform entire systems in organizations. Vicky also specializes in emotional competence, and developing collaborative work cultures and is an expert in cross-cultural development.

Leadership Techniques for Anyone: How Kermit Shared Five Leadership Secrets with the World

Author: Ed Sykes

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the funeral of my friend Kermit. A pleasure, you ask? Yes, a pleasure and a honor, because it was a great celebration of Kermit's life and the passion and spirit he brought to living it.

Usually, when I go to funerals, the spiritual leader (pastor, minister, rabbi, cleric, etc.) goes on and on about the deceased, a person he barely knows; and maybe one or two friends or associates might say something about the deceased. Well, Kermit's funeral was special. The pastor spoke briefly, a singer sang a hymn, and then the pastor asked for comments from the audience. That's when the funeral became really special. After one and a half hours later, over forty people had gotten up and shared their positive experiences and what Kermit meant to them. People from their 20's to well over 60-year-old people from different spiritual, ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds stood up to make comments. People who served with him in the Navy (Kermit retired as a Commander) stood up and spoke about how Kermit changed their lives.

There was story after story about how Kermit made the speakers overcome obstacles and made them believe they could do better, and did this with passion. Some of them were as follows:

1. Past ballplayers talked about Kermit's cowbell as a rallying cry at their ballgames.

2. A woman told of having a flat tire on a busy roadway and Kermit, whom she didn't know at the time, stopped and helped her fix the tire; and then they became friends.

3. A businessperson talked about how Kermit volunteered his time to help him launch a business that is still going strong after ten years.

4. A previous player described how he was motivated by Kermit to make something of himself. He went to college and is a very successful basketball coach teaching the same principles that Kermit taught him.

5. A man explained that he was going through a divorce and bankruptcy and was thinking of committing suicide. Kermit heard about his troubles, called him, and helped him through these dark times. Now this person helps others through their challenging moments in life.

Wow! It moved me. Here are five leadership and success secrets Kermit shared with us. How can you apply them to become more successful and outstanding leaders?

1. What is Your Cowbell? Create Passion! Kermit truly enjoyed working with people to make them better. It was not just the cowbell, but the emotion and excitement he experienced when seeing other people succeed. The cowbell was just the tool that Kermit used to show his passion so that others became passionate. Let your passion show. Let people know that you are excited about their accomplishments, and the passion will multiple.

2. Expect the Best. Excellence Will Take Care of the Rest. It was said about Kermit that when meeting people, he never met a stranger. In his mind they were already someone he knew. Kermit always expected the best when interacting with people, and they eventually rose to his expectations.

Expect the best out of people, and they will rise to your standards.

3. Understand So That You Are Understood

Kermit's conversations were always centered on understanding the other person. For all the years I knew him, I never knew he was a commander in the Navy. He didn't make his title the focus of the conversation. You see, it wasn't about him; it was always about the other person's interests, needs, etc. Because of this, people naturally wanted to become involved in Kermit's projects and help Kermit make other people successful.

So my question is: How well do you understand your employees?

Take the time to understand their goals, wants, needs, hobbies, etc. The more you take time to understand them, the more your employees will want to help you succeed.

4. Give of Yourself

Kermit always gave his time, energy, and passion without ""keeping score."" In return, the people he helped not only helped him, but went on to make a difference in other people's lives.

Take the time to go the extra mile to see how you can help your employees, your team, and/or your organization without ""keeping score."" Your employees will feel that you care, and then they will go to a new level of caring.

5. Share the Knowledge

Kermit took the time to share his knowledge with others so that they become more successful. Whether it was coaching a sports team, helping a friend start a business, or sharing his experiences to get a person through a difficult time, Kermit took the time to share his knowledge with others. Because Kermit shared his knowledge, other people became more successful and they shared their knowledge with others so that they could be more successful.

What special knowledge do you have that can help others succeed? Don't hoard your knowledge, share it. By sharing your knowledge, you multiply yourself and become known as a developer of people. Your knowledge, once you share it, will live on after you are gone.

Apply these five leadership techniques and create success in your business, with your team, in your community, and your life. Just like Kermit, you will also see instant results.

Thanks for sharing, Kermit, and making the world a better place.

About the author: Ed Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and leading expert in the areas of leadership, motivation, presentation skills, customer service, and team building. You can e-mail him at mailto:esykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call him at (757) 427-7032. Goto 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.""

William Shakespeare's Leadership Lesson: Crowns For Convoy

Author: Brent Filson

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 660

William Shakespeare's Leadership Lesson: Crowns For Convoy by Brent Filson

As a leader, you'll inevitably be faced with people wanting to leave your team or organization. Learning how to deal successfully with the challenge is a vital skill that can have a major influence on your career. And one of the best ways of developing the skill comes from Shakespeare's Henry V.

The stirring speech of Shakespeare's Henry before the battle of Agincourt contains many leadership nuggets. But commentators who recount the speech usually overlook a particularly valuable one. They focus on the speech's ""band of brothers"" aspects but neglect the fact that Henry also said that if any of his soldiers would rather not fight, he'd give them passport and ""crowns for convoy"" back to England.

Henry was aware that some of his soldiers were reluctant to fight; for he led a rather bedraggled army. History recounts they had marched 260 miles in 17 days. They were short of food. They were drenched by two weeks of continuous rain. Many of them were suffering from dysentery contracted from drinking fetid pond water. And they were facing the flower of French knighthood, knights who were rested, better equipped and eager for battle. So there were probably many soldiers who wanted to avoid battle, get quickly to the coast and board ships for England.

Shakespeare has his Henry respond to these leadership challenges in a telling way. Instead of trying to cajole those who wanted to leave into remaining with him, or on the other hand, punish them, he did something much more effective: He actually offered them passports and money to go.

""Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host, That he which hath no stomach to this fight, Let him depart; his passport shall be made, And crowns for convoy put into his purse; We would not die in that man's company That fears his fellowship to die with us.""

Now, apply this lesson to those people who tell you they want out. Their attitude may seem negative; but you have an opportunity to get positive results by reshaping your relationship with them in productive ways and boosting your leadership effectiveness with the people who remain.

Granted, if somebody wants out, your knee-jerk reaction may be to say, ""Good riddance! Don't darken my door again."" But let's examine this. When somebody wants to leave, two facts apply. One is that, clearly, that person - for whatever reason - is dissatisfied and is looking for satisfaction elsewhere. And two is that you have a relationship with the person. It might be a good relationship. It might be a bad relationship. But here's the point: You don't want to get the two facts mixed up in a bad way. Because that relationship will continue in one way or another even if you don't set eyes on each other again.

A bad relationship with an employee that left your organization can come back to haunt you in many unforeseen ways, such as poisoning your relationships with the people who remain behind.

Whether people want to leave because they want to or because you want them to, do this one thing: offer ""crowns for convoy."" In other words, give them the tangible means to depart. Put aside any rancor or frustration you may feel and become genuinely interested in and actively involved in solving the problems associated with their leaving.

For instance, let the person take charge of their leaving. Help the person draw up an action plan of their own choosing that will facilitate their departure in the best way possible. Support those actions in precise ways - as long as they are reasonable and won't harm your organization and the people who are remaining in it. Provide milestones and ways that you and the person can evaluate and monitor progress in carrying out the plan.

By having the person take charge, by showing good will, and lending concrete assistance, you'll be creating an opportunity to change your relationship with them. You'll set the stage for your working together in a positive way irrespective of whether you'll ever see again. Thus you'll help mend bad feelings that might have otherwise grown unnecessarily worse.

CROWNS FOR CONVOY is all about giving people control of their leaving in an environment of free choice, action, helpfulness, and good will.

In doing so, you may transform a potentially bad situation into a beneficial one. And who knows? Maybe, like Henry, you may achieve an unexpected surprise.

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. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: ""49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,"" at www.actionleadership.com

About the author: The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's most recent books are: THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. http://www.actionleadership.com

A Powerful Leadership Tool: Delighting In The People You Lead

Author: Brent Filson

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 685

A Powerful Leadership Tool: Delighting In The People You Lead by Brent Filson

Leadership entails getting results, and getting results entails human relationships. The more closely the people and the leader bond, the more results will usually accrue.

However, most leaders and the people they lead look at those relationships as a one way street: charismatic leaders being commonly defined by sentiments bestowed on them from the people. But great leadership is really a two-way street, also involving sentiments going from the leader to the people.

We never know how good we are as leaders until we are delighting in the people we lead and, through that delight, leading them to get continually better results while they become continually better as leaders and as people.

For instance, I recently received an email from my old company commander inviting me to a reunion. He wrote, ""I was the luckiest rifle company commander in the Marine Corps when I was surrounded by the best group of infantry officer lieutenants I ever knew. And they were all in our company!""

I had not heard from him in many decades, but I remember not so much what I did but what he did. He went against the grain of the leadership style and conduct of some officers I knew -- officers who got the job done by being pretty much focused on themselves and their careers. My ex-company commander, however, got the job done by being inspired by the troops, not by himself.

Out in civilian life, I've seen other leaders take a similar delight in and be inspired by the people they lead, and I have come to realize that this penchant is really a powerful, though rarely used, leadership tool.

However, to use the tool properly, three things must be kept in mind.

1. Delight must happen within the context of high results-expectations. In your delight, don't be hampered by the bigotry of low expectations. My company commander was known for having his men undergo the most difficult training and take on the toughest assignments. He delighted in his troops not just for what they wanted to do but what he challenged them to do. After all, leadership is not about having people do what they want to do. If they did want they wanted, you wouldn't be needed as a leader. Leadership is about having people do what they may not want to do and be committed to doing it.

2. Delight must be truthful. Don't try to manipulate people through your delight. When the circumstances called for it, my company commander was brutally honest with us. If we weren't measuring up to his high standards, we'd know about it from him in forceful and vivid ways. His honesty was a leadership lesson: have the troops see themselves as they should be seen, not as they want to be seen. Sure, he riled us up many times. But because his honesty helped the troops become better Marines, it was eventually accepted and even welcomed.

3. Delight must be practical. My company commander was always linking the delight he found in the troops with lessons learned in accomplishing missions and best practices that came from the lessons. His delight wasn't meant to have people feel good about themselves but to motivate them to take actions to be continually better. In that striving to be better and, getting better in the striving, we bonded. Clearly, going where we had to go and doing what we had to do, we were often miserable; but through it all, there was, in the back of my mind at least, the compulsion not to let him down -- and not to let each other down.

You may not have thought about delight as a leadership tool, but it is one of the most effective because it goes right to the heart of getting results through the cementing of right relationships. Keep these three factors in mind when expressing your delight, and your leadership will be blessed daily with new opportunities.

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. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 21 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: ""49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,"" at http://www.actionleadership.com

About the author: The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's most recent books are: THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. http://www.actionleadership.com

Leadership For Deep Results: A New Look At Your Career

Author: Brent Filson

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 1200

Summary: Standard results, though necessary, are far less important than deep results. Here's how to define them and how to achieve them.

Leadership For Deep Results: A New Look At Your Career by Brent Filson

I've challenged all leaders I have worked with during the past two decades to achieve ""more results faster continually.""

They can get on track to start achieving such results not by working harder and longer but by slowing down and using Leadership Talks on a daily basis.

However, I also tell them that getting on the more-results-faster-continually track is not an end but a beginning. They must then begin focusing not just on the quantity and speed of results but the kind of results they aim to achieve.

There are roughly two kinds of results, standard results and deep results. Most leaders understand standard results but fail to come to grips with deep results. In fact, these leaders go through their entire careers getting the former, but they don't have a clue about the latter. Of course, standard results are necessary. But in the long run, they are far less important than deep results.

We know what standard results are. They are the results we must get in our jobs, such as: speed, productivity, operations efficiencies, sales closes, sales leads, sales to new customers, failure prevention, health and safety advancements, quality, training, quality control, logistics efficiencies, marketing targets, new revenue streams, sales erosion, price calibrations, cost reductions, demand flow activities and technologies, inventory turns, cycle time reductions, materials and parts management, etc.

Whereas achieving standard results enables us to do a better job and have a better career, deep results are different. Deep results are about being better leaders and human beings.

Of course, being a better leader will have a positive impact on your job and your career. But there is something else involved: Being a better leader means being a better person. Who we are as a leader and who we are as a person should be the same thing. If they're not, we diminish both our leadership and the person we are.

Look at it this way: Standard results are about ""doing""; deep results are about ""being"". Our most important achievements as leaders are not just what we achieve but who we become in that achieving.

For instance, if we don't get standard results in our job, we fail in that job or at least in that particular aspect of the job.

But in the realm of deep results, such failure might lead to success if in that failure, we find a better way to lead, a way to be better.

Here are some ways deep results differ from standard results.

--Deep results emerge over longer periods of time.

--Deep results encompass wider circles outside your job, usually impacting your family, friends, and relatives.

--Deep results are often not conventionally successful results. They can come in the guise of failure.

--Deep results can't be quantified. They're usually a quality of living or being.

--Deep results are often not immediately apparent. Usually, you become aware of them after they appear and sometimes long after they appear.

--Deep results are formed in your inner life and the choices you make over the things you control, your opinions, aspirations, and desires.

--Deep results shape, and are shaped by, character. How does one go about getting deep results? There are many paths up this mountain. But one path is straight and steep and clear. That is the path of the Leadership Imperative.

I WILL LEAD PEOPLE IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE TOGETHER NOT ONLY ACHIEVE THE RESULTS WE NEED BUT THEY ALSO BECOME BETTER AS LEADERS AND AS PEOPLE.

The Imperative has two parts: one is results-accomplishments and the other is self betterment.

You are never more powerful as a leader as when, in getting results, you are helping others be better than they are -- even better than thought they could be. Guided by the Leadership Imperative, you'll find yourself realizing deep results.

Deep results are not a measurement or a direction. They are not a central purpose. They are a process of being. They are not something achieved. They are an achieving -- taking place not at a special place in a special time but at every place at all times.

You are deep results before you know that you are. Though deep results are easy, though often they do not come easily.

The task that we shoulder reveals our heart to the world. Deep results show our soul to the world.

Examples of deep results:

--With the disasters of the Franco-Prussia War tumbling down upon Paris, a remarkable event took place, the word of which spread like wildfire through the city. The great author Victor Hugo, exiled for 19 years, had come back to Paris. Traveling through German lines, through the war-ravaged countryside, he had come into the city on virtually the last train. He had come to share the sufferings with the Parisians in their darkest hour when his arriving meant virtual imprisonment in the city. Throngs gathered at the station to applaud him. One man shouted over the crowd, ""If defeat brings us Victor Hugo, we couldn't be better rewarded!"" - deep results.

--Doug Collins, member of the '72 U.S. Olympic team that ultimately lost the gold medal on a disputed call to the Soviet Union, describes the dramatic moments at the end of the game. We're losing by one. The Soviets have the ball. The clock's running out. I hide behind the center, bait a guy into throwing a pass, knock it loose and grab it. A Russian goes under me as I'm going up for the lay-up. I'm KO'd for a second. The coaches run to me. John Bach, one of the assistants, says, 'We gotta get somebody to shoot the fouls."" But coach Hank Iba says, 'If Doug can walk, he'll shoot.' That electrified me. The coach believed in me. I can't even remember feeling any pressure. Three dribbles, spin the ball, toss it in, same as in my backyard. I hit 'em both and got the lead. I didn't know what I was made of until then."" -deep results.

--Herb Rammrath, a General Electric client of mine in the late 1980s, told me this. ""I was a young Naval officer reporting with many other new sailors aboard an aircraft carrier. The captain met us in a formation on the flight deck. He shook my hand and went down the line greeting many other sailors. I didn't think anything of it until several weeks later when he passed by me in a passageway. He said, 'Hi, Herb!' I never forgot that. He remembered my name despite the fact that he had met scores of new sailors that day. It's made a tremendous impact on me till this day."" -deep results.

--Seeing abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison dragged with a rope down a Boston Street, Wendell Phillips became so outraged that he joined the abolitionist movement and became one of its most effective activists. -deep results.

Many people go through their careers ignorant of deep results. But when you view your career as a whole, don't you think that the ultimate yardstick of your life should be deep results?

Deep results are not about getting but giving, not about doing but becoming, not about material accumulation but about self-enrichment and the enrichment of human relationships. From now on, when thinking about getting results in your jobs and your career, think too of the deep results you should achieve.

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. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: ""49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,"" at www.actionleadership.com

About the author: The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's most recent books are: THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. http://www.actionleadership.com

MLM Training- The 5 MLM Leadership Team Building Questions

Author: Doug Firebaugh

MLM Training- The 5 MLM Leadership Team Building Questions

by Doug Firebaugh

We all go through it. The inevitable. We get some folks in our group and we get all excited and we think:

""This is gonna ROCK!""

And they turn into a Rock.

Lifeless. Listless. Immovable. Sets there. Duds. All of them.

Sound familiar? And you get to the point that you wanna sream...AAAGGGHHHH!

Been there?

Well... I got some good news and some not so good news. The not so good news is it's partly your fault. The good news is, is that it can be fixed in a lot of cases.

There are what we at PassionFire call the ""5 Downline Reality Questions"" and they reveal what you really need to take a look at when this happens.

INFERNO Secret:

If you are in Network Marketing it WILL happen to you in some shape or form. It's all part of Leadership in this business.

As a Leader, and sometimes it's tough being the Leader you need to be, you must ask yourself these questions and be honest with yourself. I taught this in our group and sometimes we are more focused on blaming others for our weaknesses than ourselves.

""I have a weak downline!"" ""I have a bunch of Losers."" ""I cannot believe I lucked out with such a sorry downline.""

I have heard it all and even said some myself. We all get frustrated in this business and it is the Leader that is not afraid to ask these questions that can turn it around in a lot of instances.

Here they are:

1) ""What are you NOT doing?""

A lot of times, we look at what our downline is NOT doing...and not us. and in reality, they are duplicating us. We get into a ""management"" mode and expect the folks to go out while we sit on our ""buts.""

INFERNO Secret:

it's the ""buts"" in this Network Marketing business that will kill you.

Are you Prospecting? Are you Contacting? Are you doing Presentations? Are you Following Up? Are you Getting the Decisions? Are you Training your people? Are you providing a growth Environment for your folks? Are you siitng on YOUR Behind too? Take a look at what YOU are NOT doing, and then see if You have been duplicated in most instances you have.

2) ""What is Missing?""

What is missing in the MLM Success Formula? Prospects? Activity? Focus? Belief? Follow Up? Resiliancy? Does your downline have adequate training? Does your downline have adequate support from you? Does your downline have the Tools they need? Does your Downline have the system they need to recruit? Does your downline SEE YOU and HEAR YOU in All Out Massive Action YOURSELF? Oh I understand. You are too busy ""helping"" your downline to LEAD THEM.

INFERNO Secret:

You LEAD in this business by setting the MLM Success Model and Path and Role so they can do what you do.

Are they missing in their business what you are? Most of the time when a downline is NOT doing anything: What is missing is NOT them getting off their behinds, or getting them to DO More.

It is your MLM LEADERSHIP.

3) ""Do they have 'Focus Targets'?""

What is that? Anything that Focuses your group to work towards something. It is a Target to shoot at and aim for.

It can be:

An Event. NOTHING focuses distributors like a Major Event.

INFERNO Secret:

It gives them a REASON to focus and energize their activity.

A Major Conference call.

These are AWSOME! Schedule one with a successful upline or someone from corporate, and have them congratulate the up and coming stars.

A National Conference.

INFERNO Secret:

If you can get someone to a National Conference, they will be a YEAR ahead in this MLM business than where they are now. I know from experience.

INFERNO Secret:

This is a business of ""Event Marketing.""

You market all events as the most IMPORTANT event. Whether conference calls, or Live Super Weekend events or the weekly event. Those that understand that and engage it get incredibly successful.

4)""Are you 'locking arms' or 'letting go'""?

If you are going to get your group SIZZLING, you must Ignite the Fire.

INFERNO Secret:

Average distributors in MLM recruit someone and WAIT for something to happen. Leaders in this business recruit someone and MAKE something happen!

You need to Lock Arms and get into the trenches with your people and create a Sense of ""Success Destiny"" in this business, NOT Let Go of them after on training and expect them to figure it out. Paint Word pictures of Success in their minds and keep them there!

Create a ""Power Path"" for them. A Step by Step Pattern to follow. ALL PassionFire training is based on a Sequential Model of MLM Success.

INFERNO Secret:

If left to figure out this business, 95% of your folks won't. Have you left them to figure it out or locked arms with them to create figures on a paycheck?

5) ""Are you making them Co-Dependent?""

A lot of ""Leaders"" in this business need to be the ""star"" and do everything that needs to be done for their people and what happens is they become not INDEPENDENT but Co-Dependent on each other.

You need them to make you feel like a star and they need you to create them a paycheck and do the business.

INFERNO Secret:

There IS a REASON why the agreement you signed is called the ""Independent Distributor"" agreement in Network Marketing.

Here is a MILLION DOLLAR Secret:

The Wealthy in this business create and develop Independence IN their people and then they stand behind the spotlight and keep it aimed ON their people.

You must through Leadership foster and build Independence in your group. That is why we have the Leadership programs and Tape Re-Sources to train you on how to create an OnFire Army of Independent Maniacs that go out and Ignite the World while you lead them to Success!

That is why we put together the MLM Library Pages together on the site and in the ebooks.

That is why we provide training calls. That is why we are constantly letting you know about new ezines and trainings.

To STOKE the Fire!

What better scenario can you have?

If your downline is not doing anything, you can do 2 things:

1) You can provide the Leadership and Support they need and then get in the trenches and work with those who DESERVE it.

or...

2) If you have done that, and they still are lifeless go get new people.

INFERNO secret:

It is a whole lot easier to give birth, then raise the dead.

http://www.passionfire.com

http://mlmnetworkmarketing.blogspot.com

About the author: Doug Firebaugh is one of the top MLM Network Marketing Trainers in the world. Over a million people a month read his training ezine. He spent the last 7 years traveling the world speaking and training on Success. He lives in Birmingham Michigan, and you can receive a FREE subscription to his training ezine- The MLM Success HEAT- at: http://www.passionfire.com/pf_heat_9.html http://www.passionfire.com

Instant Leadership Talks

Author: Brent Filson

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 1600

Instant Leadership Talks by Brent Filson

An extraordinary feature of the human heart is its capacity to be profoundly changed in an instant. Experiences that take place in the blink of an eye can propel individuals to radically alter their behavior and even the course of their lives.

Making use of this inherent quality of the heart can boost the effectiveness of your leadership. For it is in the realm of heartfelt words and actions that great leadership results accrue.

For the past 22 years, I've been teaching a process to leaders of all ranks and functions in top companies worldwide, a process that can help you take advantage of the heart's great potential. It's called The Leadership Talk.

The Leadership Talk is a way of making deep, emotional connections with the people for the purpose of achieving great results. Specifically, the Leadership Talk motivates people to choose to be your cause leaders. Only cause leaders can achieve great results consistently. To prompt people to take leadership for your cause, you must develop a special relationship with them. After all, one may do a task and get average results; but to get great results, one should take leadership of that task. Taking on leadership for your cause will require they embrace higher levels of expectations and achievements. So it is not a commitment people will make easily or lightly. Your giving a Leadership Talk -- i.e, saying those things that will motivate the people to help lead your cause -- can take any length of time. I've seen people give a successful Talk in just a few minutes. I've seen people give a series of Talks over days and weeks before their audiences would make the choice. However, because of the heart's extraordinary dynamics, a Leadership Talk can be done in a moment. Here are a few ""instant Leadership Talks."" Note that sometimes no words were involved. Words are not absolutely necessary when it comes to giving Leadership Talks.

--Seeing abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison dragged with a rope down a Boston Street by a pro-slavery mob, Wendell Phillips became so outraged that he joined the abolitionist movement and became one of its most effective activists.

--When anti-French passions were sweeping England in the late 18th century, Voltaire who had been living in London for several years was set upon by an angry mob. ""Hang the Frenchman! Hang him!"" shouted the rabble.

Voltaire responded, ""Men of England! You wish to hang me because I'm French? Isn't NOT BEING BORN ENGLISH PUNISHMENT ENOUGH?"" The crowd laughed and cheered and escorted him back to his quarters.

--Doug Collins, member of the '72 U.S. Olympic team that ultimately lost the gold medal on a disputed call to the Soviet Union, describes the dramatic moments at the end of the game. . ""We're losing by one. The Soviets have the ball. The clock's running out. I hide behind the center, bait a guy into throwing a pass, knock it loose and grab it. A Russian goes under me as I'm going up for the lay-up. I'm KO'd for a second. The coaches run to me. John Bach, one of the assistants, says, 'We gotta get somebody to shoot the fouls."" But coach Hank Iba says, 'If Doug can walk, he'll shoot.' That electrified me. The coach believed in me. I can't even remember feeling any pressure. Three dribbles, spin the ball, toss it in, same as in my backyard. I hit 'em both and got the lead. I didn't know what I was made of until then.""

--a General Electric client of mine told me this. ""I was a young Naval officer reporting with many other new sailors aboard an aircraft carrier. The captain met us in a formation on the flight deck. He shook my hand and went down the line greeting many other sailors. I didn't think anything of it until several weeks later when he passed by me in a passageway. He said, 'Hi, Herb!' I never forgot that. He remembered my name despite the fact that he had met scores of new sailors that day. It's made a tremendous impact on me till this day.""

--In the first December of the first World War, Admiral Beatty received a radiogram from Sir George Warrender from his ship. ""Scarborough being shelled. I am proceeding to Hull."" Lord Beatty replied, ""Are you? I'm proceeding to Scarborough.""

--King Henry II and Thomas Becket, his archbishop of Canterbury, quarreled for years over the rights and powers of the church and the state. When Becket remained steadfast in his excommunication of Henry's appointees, the Bishops of London and Salibury, Henry, celebrating Christmas in Normandy, raged, ""Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"" Four knights, members of his household, answered the question. They crossed the Channel, rode to the Cantebury Cathedral and killed Becket at the altar. Eventually, the Cantebury Cathedral became a shrine, Becket was canonized, and Henry was made to atone by walking barefoot in a sack-cloth through the streets of Cantebury being flogged by eight monks with branches.

--At a public meeting during which he was censuring the recently dead Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev was interrupted by a voice in the crowd. ""You were one of Stalin's colleagues, why didn't you stop him?""

""Who said that?"" Stalin roared. There was a painful silence in the room. ""Now,"" Khruschev said, in a quiet voice, ""you know why.""

--A year and a half after the battle of Yorktown, the Continental Army was becoming increasingly rebellious. Many of the troops hadn't been paid in two years. Their promised pensions were not forthcoming. The troops and its officer corps contemplated overthrowing the Continental Congress and installing a military government. On the Ides of March in 1783, dozens of officers, representing every company in the army, met in a log hut to vote on taking this action when George Washington suddenly and unexpectedly walked in. He gave a speech denouncing the rebellious course they were on. But it wasn't the speech that carried the day, it was the Leadership Talk at the end of the speech. Witnesses report that Washington's speech left many officers unconvinced, and when he was finished, there was angry muttering among them. To bolster his case, the general pulled out a letter he recently received from a member of the Continental Congress. As he began reading, his usual confident air gave way to hesitancy. Then, unexpectedly, he drew out a spectacle case from his pocket. Few officers had ever seen him put on spectacles. Usually a severely formal man, he said, in a voice softened with apology: ""Gentlemen, you will permit me to put on my spectacles, for I have not only grown gray but almost blind in the service of my country.""

The deep, human, emotional power of that moment electrified the officers. Here was their commander who had never taken a furlough during his eight years of command, who had faced storms of musketry fire, who through his daring and intelligence had kept the Army in tact in what most of the world thought was a lost cause, here was George Washington modestly asking his officers to bear with him in an all-too-human failing. It was an astonishing turning point.

As Maj. Samuel Shaw, who was present, put it in his journal, ""There was something so natural, so unaffected in this appeal as rendered it superior to the most studied oratory. It forced its way to the heart, and you might see sensibility moisten every eye.""

After Washington left the hut, the officers unanimously voted to ""continue to have unshaken confidence in the justice of the Congress and their country ...."" The result was that the Continental Army disbanded without incident and thereby set in motion the relatively peaceful events that led to the creation of the Constitution.

There are countless more examples of a moment's action or words having a great effect on people's lives.

--Winston Churchill: ""We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.""

--John Kennedy: ""Ask not what your country can do for you ....""

--Muhammad Ali making history in 1967 at an Army recruiting station in Houston, Texas when he refused to take one step forward with a group of fellow inductees to indicate his willingness to be drafted, a refusal which led to his being stripped of his heavyweight championship title.

--Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 exhorting the knights of Europe to set off on the First Crusade to capture the Holy Land, ending one of the most important speeches in all of history with this rousing cry: ""Deus vult!"" (""God wills it!"")

--Ronald Reagan: ""Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!""

--Samuel Alito's wife fleeing the hearing room in tears and prompting the Democratic leaders to sheathe their critical knives and end their verbal assault on the judge, paving the way for his appointment to the Supreme Court.

I am not saying that every instant Leadership Talk will work. The time has to be right, the situation right, the speaker right, and the audience right. However, when the right things come together, all it takes to trigger great change may be -- like a diamond cutter's single blow precisely cleaving the gem -- a momentary Leadership Talk. As we've seen, that Talk can be a few words, one word or no words at all.

Because of the heart's capacity to be changed in an instant, the length of time you interact with someone to gain their heartfelt response is irrelevant. When you master The Leadership Talk, you can make that impact consistently with many people throughout your entire career. 2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 21 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: ""49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,"" at http://www.actionleadership.com For more on the Leadership Talk: http://www.theleadershiptalk.com

About the author: The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's most recent books are: THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. http://www.actionleadership.com

Leadership Talent: Winning The Succession Wars

Author: Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D.

The demand for leadership talent greatly exceeds supply. If economic growth continues at a modest 2 percent for the next 15 years, there would be a need for one-third more senior leaders than there are today. Who will replace your retiring executives, and how will you keep your company's leadership pipeline full?

The demand for leadership talent greatly exceeds supply. If economic growth continues at a modest 2 percent for the next 15 years, there would be a need for one-third more senior leaders than there are today.

Baby boomers have already started to retire. Most large companies will have to scramble to meet gaps in senior leadership talent. Who will replace your retiring executives, and how will you keep your company's leadership pipeline full?

To make matters worse, the global and more dynamic economy of the 21st century requires executive talent with a more complex skill set:

* Greater technological literacy * A sophisticated understanding of global marketplaces * Multicultural fluency * Relationship savvy, with extensive networks of alliances and stakeholders * Leadership skills over a delayered, disaggregated and virtual organization

Succession Planning in the 21st Century

In response to these challenges, organizations have a renewed interest in succession planning systems. While these systems functioned merely as replacement charts in the past, and were HR executives' function, there are two critical differences today, emphasizing:

1. Leadership development at all levels (not just senior executives)

2. Responsibility and involvement for leadership development within the work group, with the person's manager and team members (and no longer an HR function)

Distinct Leadership Levels

Most development models fail to consider leadership requirements at all levels. As a person is promoted from line manager to business manager to functional manager, skills and requirements change.

Companies mistakenly focus on leadership traits, styles and technical competence. They commit a major error when promoting successful individuals without acknowledging required skill set differences at different levels of leadership responsibilities.

The Leadership Pipeline

Hiring gifted people makes sense as a tactic, but not a strategy. Companies need to build leaders, not buy them. Research and experience demonstrate that potential is not fixed. The more people achieve, the more they learn. Their willingness to tackle new challenges increases. To capitalize on potential, companies must define the true work requirements at each key leadership level. Succession planning systems must spell out what's needed to make a successful transition from one layer of leadership responsibility to the next.

Succession Planning to Fill the Pipeline

The following five-step plan will facilitate succession planning:

1. Tailor a leadership pipeline model to fit your organization's succession needs. 2. Clarify standards for performance and potential, in your own language. 3. Document and communicate these standards throughout the organization. 4. Evaluate succession candidates through a combined potential-performance matrix. 5. Review plans and progress of the entire pipeline frequently and seriously.

About the author: Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D. writes articles for business and executive coaches and consultants. She provides articles on leadership and executive development for sale, and formatted into customized newsletters. Get Patsi's Secrets of Successful Ezines 7-Step Mini-Course to learn what you need to know to publish a successful ezine. http://snipurl.com/Ezine_MiniCourse

A Leadership Secret: Appreciating The Difficult People

Author: Brent Filson

PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com

Word count: 1117

A Leadership Secret: Appreciating The Difficult People by Brent Filson

For decades, every summer, welcoming his scholarship players, Alabama coaching legend, Paul ""Bear"" Bryant, asked: ""Have you called your folks to thank them? No one ever got to this level of excellence in football without the help of others.""

Bryant didn't just appreciate the importance of other people in the development of a young athlete; he wanted the athletes to appreciate it too. Such appreciation is also a lesson in leadership. Nobody becomes a successful leader unless others want you to be; you need help; and part of your growth as a leader is to recognize and show appreciation for that help.

But you'll give your leadership and ultimately your career a real boost by extending your appreciation not just to the people you like and who are on your side but also to the people you may dislike: the difficult people in your life, those people who for right or wrong reasons cause you grief.

One of the most effective ways of dealing with them is to appreciate them. I mean truly appreciate them. When you do, you may find that you are dealing with them in surprisingly productive ways.

The word ""appreciation"" comes from a Latin root meaning ""to apprehend the value."" In other words, your appreciation of difficult people must be centered on your genuine understanding of the value they offer you and your organization.

You are not just understanding their point of view. You are actually appreciating it; and you are using that appreciation as a tool to get more results, more results than if the difficult people had not entered your life. Otherwise, your appreciation, at least as far as leadership is concerned, is a waste of time.

Here's a four step process to make appreciation a results-generator.

(1) Team up. To get appreciation rolling, know that you must be a team, you and the difficult person, in the development of it. Mind you, you're not trying to get the difficult person to appreciate you. You have little control over the other's appreciation. You do, however, have control over yours. So, focus on cultivating yours. That cultivation happens only in a relationship -- a team relationship with the other person, not necessarily a personal relationship. In a team-relationship, you don't have to like the other person. You simply have to work with them -- actively and wholeheartedly, irrespective of personal feelings. And the goal of your team is to forge out of the difficulties you're having with one another a leadership process that achieves results.

(2) Identify. When you're dealing with a difficult person, you're often entangled in strong emotions. The first thing to do is, with the person's help in a face-to-face meeting, get at the precise causes of the difficulties. Try to remove yourself from your emotional entanglements. ""Break down"" what's happening the way football coaches break down the plays of opposing teams studying game films. This breaking down is a collaborative process, and it should go like this: First, have the person describe the exact moments when you were having trouble with each other. It's important to keep focused simply on the physical facts of those moments. What were the specific actions and words that triggered the emotions? When the person gives h/her side of the story then and only then can you give yours. Only when both of you are clear as to those moments and agree on what took place can you start to talk with each other about your feelings connected to those moments of physical action.

For instance, that person may contend you are not listening to what h/she says to you. Have the person describe the exact moment when you were not listening. Where were you? What was being said? Precisely, what gave that person that impression?

(3) Agree. You and the person must agree on what is important in regard to the difficulties you are having. A gap between what you think is important and what the other person thinks must be closed. The test in closing it is results. Does the difficulty you are having with the person go right to the heart of the results you need to achieve?

The person says you don't listen. Do you agree? Is that person's perception important? Until you can come to agreement as to whether you were or were not listening and the importance of that, you'll continue to have difficulties. Which means you won't be able to go to the next, and most important, step.

(4)Transform. Transform the specific into a results process, a process that will get you increases in results. Without such a process, the previous steps are useless. For instance, let's say you both come to an agreement that you need to be more attentive when the person is speaking. Then, you might develop a ""listening process."" Such a process may involve applying ""continuers."" This is a process taught in medical schools to help overbearing doctors be more empathetic with their patients. When interacting with patients, the doctors are taught to say, ""uh huh"" three times when the other person is talking before saying a word.

Of course, ""continuers"" are one of many listening processes you can draw on. And clearly, ""not listening"" is one of many problems one might have with the people you lead. Whatever process you come upon in whatever difficulty you are having with people, that process must achieve specific increases in results -- more results than if you had not used the process.

As for the ""not listening"" example: You may pick out one actionable item from what was being said that can lead to results increases. I worked with a leader who did this. Several people he led accused him of ignoring them, and consequently those people were bucking his leadership. They all sat down around a conference table and went through this four-step process. They developed a process to actively and systematically listen to one another and come to agreement on what was spoken and what was heard. Then they selected actionable particulars that came out of their communication. They made sure they followed through on implementing those particulars to achieve increases in hard, measured results.

Like the poor, the people who cause us difficulties will always be with us. No matter how experienced and successful you are as a leader, difficult people will always be lined up outside your door, wanting into your life. Moreover, there are probably a lot of them inside the door too, trying to cut you down to size, thwart your plans, besmirch your reputation.

Instead of clashing with them or avoiding them, try appreciating them. When you use this process, you may find that they're not liabilities but assets.

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. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. - and for more than 21 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: ""49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results,"" at http://www.actionleadership.com

About the author: The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's most recent books are: THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. http://www.actionleadership.com

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Friday, November 28, 2008

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Thursday, November 27, 2008

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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

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Monday, November 24, 2008

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

Mastering the Art of Leadership

Saturday, November 22, 2008

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Friday, November 21, 2008

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Thursday, November 20, 2008

A Powerful Leadership Tool: Delighting In The People You Lead

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Leadership For Deep Results: A New Look At Your Career

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

MLM Training- The 5 MLM Leadership Team Building Questions

Monday, November 17, 2008

Instant Leadership Talks

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Leadership Talent: Winning The Succession Wars

Saturday, November 15, 2008

A Leadership Secret: Appreciating The Difficult People

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