Small Business Owners Increase Productivity and Profitability Utilizing Free Leadership Tools and Resources Available Online

Author: Sidorov Petja

High quality leadership tools and resources have historically been cost prohibitive for small to mid-sized organizations. This resource problem has now been remedied by Leadership-Tools.com (www.leadership-tools.com).Leadership-Tools.com founder Richard Gorham said, ""Our focus is to empower today's leaders with leadership development and sales management tools that effectively assist organizations in growing their business and maximizing the quality of their results. The mission of Leadership-Tools.com is to become the premier provider of free and low-cost leadership tools, information and resources.""Visitors to Leadership-Tools.com enjoy a user-friendly tour of a wide assortment of products that are easily accessible to online visitors at no cost. The site is visited often by graduate students such as Natalie Wright who states, ""The 360-degree feedback leadership survey is excellent. This is exactly what I was looking for.

I am completing a leadership portfolio for a graduate course, excellent information."" Dana Coale, a United States government employee went on to say, ""The information that is provided on this website is extremely beneficial in continuing the pursuit of developing leadership within myself and those around me.""Small business team leader Rosie Hardy recently utilized the free performance appraisal tool and endorsed its effectiveness stating, ""Excellent, it gives you a clear outline of what is needed as well as what is expected. I greatly appreciate the free resource.""Some of the more popular downloadable tools include a 360-degree feedback leadership survey, leadership assessment, management development training assessment, succession planning and performance appraisals - and a free 800 page e-book entitled ""Pushing To The Front"", a self-help classic written by the late Dr. Orison Swett Marden. Gorham says he has a long list of value-added tools currently in process that he plans to add to the website throughout the coming weeks and months.Leadership-Tools.com also offers a free monthly newsletter entitled Leadership Tools Monthly News (http://www.leadership-tools.com/leadership-tools-monthly-news.ht ml). Each issue is concise and to the point, offering a compelling leadership lesson that is supported by an exercise that assists team leaders in developing his or her respective team members.

The newsletter also provides insightful leadership quotes and inspirational stories that supports and motivates its expanding subscriber base.In today's highly competitive working environment, where good jobs are going to persons with more specialized skill-sets, it's more important than ever for people to take ownership of their individual training and ongoing education. Highly effective leaders are constantly seeking to grow in their knowledge and expertise. Leaders who don't continue to grow their arsenal of leadership tools and resources, soon find themselves trailing behind their industry peers. As a result, Leadership-Tools.com is one quality resource anyone can utilize to learn and grow, both personally and professionally.For additional information, visit www.leadership-tools.com . Richard Gorham can be contacted directly via the ""Contact Us"" link.About Leadership-Tools.com:Founded in September, 2002 by Richard Gorham, Leadership-Tools.com is dedicated to providing free tools and resources for today's aspiring leaders.

About the author: Internet marketing expert Petja Sidorov is the author of Power Linking 2005.

Collaboration: An Important Leadership Development Skill

Author: Stephanie Mead

Even with the best and most skilled managers, organizations must be able to tap into the varied skills and wider perspectives of other employees. So it is essential that leaders know how to collaborate and develop effective partnerships with others. It is one of the elements that makes a manager a true leader. Collaboration is the vehicle for sharing responsibility and combining knowledge, creativity, and experience of others. Through extensive research and observation, CMOE has found that the ability to collaborate is essential in an organization's Leadership Development or Transitioning into Leadership training program.

Establishing collaborative relationships is not always natural or easy, particularly because people have different lifestyles, backgrounds, and experiences. Effective leaders know how to collaborate when it isn't easy. The benefits of doing so can be significant. Leaders who believe in the power of collaboration can produce extraordinary results, while maintaining a healthy team environment. Fundamentally, collaboration starts with the leader because they must be willing to let go of some control. However, time demands and urgency can be a major stumbling block in opening up collaborative channels. Andrew Carnegie said: ""No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit for doing it.""

One of the most important things a leader needs to be able to do to collaborate with his/her team members is create a culture where members value and listen to alternative views and seek out win-win objectives. This can be accomplished by clearly identifying common needs and objectives; and certainly should occur on multiple occasions over time.

A leader can also foster collaboration by encouraging active involvement and the free exchange of information. The leader, also, must set the tone by keeping an open mind to different ideas. Furthermore, when the team members engage in collaborative activities, it is essential for the leader to validate and reinforce the collaboration in order to sustain the behavior.

In CMOE's Leadership Development books, programs, and workshops, we delve into the specific skills of collaboration and other important aspects of leadership. Leadership development topics such as this will expand collaboration in organizations and will be reflected in the organization's results and the commitment of its people.

For more information on how CMOE can help your organization create a powerful and successful Collaboration or Leadership Development program, please contact a CMOE representative. You can reach them at (801)569-3444.

About the author: Stephanie Mead is the Operations Manager for CMOE and has assisted organizations such as Pfizer, Delta Airlines, Cargill, and others in the area of collaboration and leadership development .

Building Trust in the Workplace: A Valuable Topic for Leadership Training

Author: Richard L. Williams, Ph.D

Trust is the foundation of all successful interpersonal relationships, both personal and business. Trust is the confidence or belief a person feels toward a particular person or group. Trust is, therefore, one of the primary binding forces in any interpersonal relationship. It permits people to overcome doubts and unknowns and enjoy peace of mind. The absence of trust causes confusion, worry, inaction, and fear. When interpersonal trust is present, a person feels a confidence that everything will somehow work out. In the workplace, trust is a prerequisite for effective interpersonal communications. Without trust, employees may feel uncertainty, worry, and a sense of insecurity. No relationship, personal or business, can exist for even a short period of time if some element of trust is not present. Trust is an essential leadership training ingredient that binds any human relationship into an effective, working partnership.

Even though trust is fundamental to human relationships, it is actually misunderstood by many people. People use trust, or the lack of it, to explain good and bad relationships with others. Consider the cliché phrases: ""Don't worry, you can trust me"" and ""Just trust me."" Trust has become both a buzzword and an excuse in our society. Trust is as much abused as it is used in today's business world. It is used to define and explain; yet few leadership training programs have seriously considered what it is and what it is not.

Psychologists are just beginning to learn how trust really works. Research suggests that trusting relationships are predictable, caring, and faithful. When a manager's behavior is consistent over a period of time and another person can reasonably predict that behavior, trust is possible. By contrast, it is difficult to trust a person whose actions are inconsistent or unpredictable.

Caring in a relationship involves actions that express consideration toward the other person. Through effective leadership training, a caring supervisor knows when final exams are scheduled at the local college and asks employees who will be taking the tests how much time off will be needed to study. A caring supervisor finds out about a birth, death, anniversary, graduation, or sickness and sends a card to the employee's home.

Faith is the belief that an employee's behavior will be in direct response to the trust placed in that relationship. Faith can be demonstrated by communicating clear expectations and then telling the employee, ""I know you and I believe you can accomplish this assignment."" Managers who have difficulty demonstrating faith in others typically have difficulty trusting them as well. Trust as a leadership training component can help change this.

Building trust in the workplace is vital for a long-lasting, satisfying, rewarding, and successful relationship. Leadership training helps effective managers practice behaviors that promote and build trusting relationships. They learn to do this with consistent actions each day. In return they obtain the benefits of high-trust employee relations. These benefits include higher morale, increased initiative, improved honesty, and better productivity. All are important aspects of a profitable and rewarding business experience. It's not uncommon for people to use the word ""trust"" to describe a feeling they have regarding some interpersonal relationships. Trust does not magically appear in a relationship without certain elements preceding it over time. And once trust has been breeched it is difficult and sometimes impossible to establish once again.

Three steps pave the path before enduring trust begins. The first step is effective communications. When we communicate effectively with another person we have an opportunity to move that relationship to the second step, which is real understanding. That is when two people have communicated to the point of honest and deep understanding. This can lead to the third step in the relationship of mutual respect. A respecting relationship demands that each person contribute enough respect that it can be reciprocated back from the other person. Unilateral respect in relationships is temporary and superficial. Mutual respect that can lead to trust is much deeper and must come from communicated understanding. Once a relationship has experienced mutual respect it is possible for the participants to experience enduring relational trust. This is a feeling that binds people together over time and through trials.

The four steps are dependent upon the actions or integrity of the individuals involved. Integrity is not only keeping agreements, but it is also ""walking the talk."" If, for example, a person communicates deceitfully, how much understanding will there be? And how much respect will the other person have? Ultimately trust will be lacking.

Enduring trust is a leadership training process that takes time and effort. It is clearly the essence of what fuels meaningful relationships.

Test your Trust. Answer the following five statements on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is not true and 5 is completely true.

1. My actions each day demonstrate that I trust my employees.

2. My employees can trust me with sensitive or private information.

3. I would never betray a trust with an employee.

4. I keep confidences and would never share confidential information inappropriately.

5. I am able to trust my employees.

Tally your scores from the five items. A total score of 20 to 25 would indicate that you and your employees probably share an atmosphere of trust. A score of 15-19 would indicate that trust is present, but not in abundance. A score of 14 or less probably means that some additional leadership training efforts in building trust would be appropriate.

To learn how leadership training programs and building trust in the workplace can help your organization, contact a CMOE representative at (801)569-3444

About the author: Dr. Richard L. Williams has conducted more than 6,000 workshops to more than 250,000 managers and executives.

He specializes in building trust in the workplace, leadership training and development, performance coaching, and quality improvement.

Modern Managers Need Leadership Skills

Author: Mihaela Lica

Managers and Leaders - Are They Synonyms?

A manager is the person in charge of commanding and running a business or a project. Leadership deals with the interpersonal relations. Managing means planning, developing and organizing. In the contemporary society leadership qualities along with managing abilities are a must.

If there is one thing I've learnt during my career as a military TV redactor in the Romanian Ministry of Defence, that is that leadership has never been simple. In this day and age even military leaders are confronted with many challenges including bureaucracy, media influence, internationalisation and changes of cultural and economic patterns.

One thing is so far clear: a leader is not a ruler or a despot. His role is to guide, to inspire, to communicate, to build trust and to direct toward the achievement of goals.

Many managers consider themselves leaders. Well, that's not entirely accurate. When a manager is able to persuade a team to complete some objectives without forcing his authority, then he is demonstrating leadership qualities. While a leader can be a manager, a manager is not necessary a leader.

Make no confusions: to be in charge of a team doesn't automatically make you a leader. People choose their leaders naturally, based on personal feelings, most of the times subjective evaluations. There are some traditional patterns people look for in a leader: physical appearance, social and personal traits. Studies prove that tall and handsome men make charismatic leaders. Education plays a significant role, but not as important as individual qualities such as charisma, magnetism, reputation and tact. Such leaders have to be self confident and able to listen to their followers. While physical appearance cannot be changed, but slightly improved with the right clothing, other behaviours can be trained.

Leadership Training - Is That Really Necessary?

My answer is yes. Leaders are made, not born. There is no such a thing as a natural born leader - this is just a label used to describe a person able to influence others easily. Because everyone has a natural born capacity to lead, becoming a leader is not so difficult. To achieve this goal training and learning go hand in hand.

What should a leader learn? The art of communicating a message across effectively and clearly is a vital part of being a successful leader. Speaking is not enough. Important factors, such as understanding and using body language, listening and writing, fuse to generate the lifeblood of good communication.

A leader should learn to overcome other's people barriers when delivering a message. There are three basic rules to achieve this goal: be clear in your mind, deliver the message in plain language and make sure that the idea has been understood.

Cultural differences can make it difficult for some people to communicate effectively. Germans and Nordics are more restrained in gesture than many Latin nations, while Americans and Australians can say exactly what they mean. A ""be yourself"" approach can work - there is no better marketing than telling the truth. Be honest, but not impolite. Do not try to be anyone else or copy another one's style.

You've heard that often: first impressions are very important. In business and media that's a proven theory: the first five seconds of a meeting are more important than the next ten minutes. A faultless look, even if informal, makes always a good impact: matching decent colours, impeccable shoes and garments, a proper haircut and no exaggeration with cologne will not err.

Certainly there's more to leadership training than one can write in a short article: from learning the secret of clear communication both within the team and with the media, to understanding and using gestures; from learning how to listen to recognizing and overcoming prejudice (ground rule: think about the words you hear, not the person saying them); from reading efficiently to taking notes and improving memory; from using the phone to writing letters and much more.

Because the contemporary society is continuously changing, modern managers and leaders need to improve their skills constantly and to gather knowledge vital for their organizations.

Leadership Theories In 1960 the Douglas McGregor described two behavioural theories, ""Theory X"" and ""Theory Y"", in his book ""The Human Side of Enterprise"".

Theory X represents the idea of ruling by controlling, the so-called ""stick and carrot"" philosophy of management. According to Freud people are naturally lazy and need to be controlled or punished in order to work effectively. Some managers do believe these affirmations. In the modern society such approaches lead nowhere: employees get frustrated, feel uncomfortable at work, tend to introvert, perform just because they are afraid of some consequences and not because they are motivated. As long as this theory - you can find a better description of it on the web by typing Douglas McGregor in any search engine - will influence managers, the real potentials of an employee will remain hidden.

McGregor's Theory Y gives prominence to communication and human interrelations. Managers who create a harmonious working environment motivate workers. The idea is that a satisfied team will achieve goals faster and more proficient than a frustrated, fearful team. Adepts of the Theory Y give confidence to their followers, know how to listen and how to reward them and support initiative and creativity. The individual and organizational goals can be integrated. This is the kind of approach the modern society longs for. People need to be respected and valued for what and who they are. Although there are common traits for us all, it's a wrong approach to generalize.

Why Motivate?

Treat your workers as individuals and soon you will be able to harvest the fruits of their work. And don't forget: a ""thank you, well done"" motivates and wins a heart and a won heart means a step towards attaining loyalty.

To motivate means to understand human nature. Motivation is an essential factor in the existence and success of a company and it is a skill which must be learnt. Forget the idea that money is the prime motivator. Nowadays security is a major stimulus: unemployment determines workers to appreciate the security of a job. Well, sure employees will act positively to a raise or a money prize, but if they don't like the job, the company or (yes!) the manager is unlikely that they will perform at their best.

Conclusion

As people have a normal predisposition to follow certain attitudes, modern managers and leaders should be careful and conduct by example. In order to avoid the perception of inconsistency within the management team, training their leadership skills is a necessity.

About the author: Mihaela Lica is a skilled journalist and PR consultant, founder of Pamil Visions - http://www.pamil-visions.com/

Previously she used to work as a military TV redactor for Pro Patria and the Military Media Trust within the Public Relations Directorate of the Romanian Ministry of Defence.

The Listening 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: 900

Summary: The Leadership Talk is an important tool for leaders of all ranks and functions. But some of the most effective Leadership Talks are not what leaders say but what the people they lead say. Here are three ways to give what is often the best kind of Leadership Talk, the Listening Leadership Talk.

The Listening Leadership Talk by Brent Filson

For more than 20 years, I have taught the Leadership Talk to thousands of people worldwide. And maybe the most important thing I've taught isn't about talking -- at least the leader's talking.

I've taught there is a hierarchy of verbal persuasion. The lowest levels, the least effective, are speeches and presentations. The highest levels, the most effective, are Leadership Talks.

I've taught that speeches/presentations communicate information; Leadership Talks, on the other hand, have leaders establish deep, human, emotional connections with audiences -- indispensable in achieving great results.

Of course, the Leadership Talk is by definition about talking. But often there's a more effective dynamic to employ: listening. Not passive listening -- but listening for one purpose, so the other person gives you your Leadership Talk.

After all, it's not what you say that's important in a Leadership Talk but what your audience does after you have had your say.

And if they do the best thing not after you speak but after you listen, then you have given one of the most effective Leadership Talks of all -- a Listening Leadership Talk.

The Listening Leadership Talk focuses on what other people are invariably interested in, themselves. (Who isn't interested when they themselves are talking?) But here's the key: their simply talking is useless to your leadership. It is only useful when their talk is the talk you need for them to give.

Moving people from talking their talk to talking your talk -- and ultimately walking your walk --is the art of the Listening Leadership Talk. Here are a few tips to make it happen.

(1) Use question marks. Asking questions encourages people to reflect upon and talk about the challenge you face. After all, we can't motivate anyone to do anything. They have to motivate themselves. And they best motivate themselves when they reflect on their character and their situation and are also given the opportunity to talk about their reflections.

You may not like what they say; but often their answer is better in terms of advancing their motivation and your results than your full-stop sentence.

Furthermore, their answer may prompt them to think they have come up with a good idea. People tend to be less enamored of your ideas than they are of their own.

However, be aware of the difference between asking a question of somebody and questioning them. When asking a question, you communicate you're interested in the answer the person wants; when questioning, you communicate you're interested in the answer you want. And if the people you are interacting with think you are there not for them but for yourself, you damage the environment a Listening Leadership Talk can thrive in. (2) Create a critical convergence. This will help you avoid the ""herding cats"" syndrome. Once you get people talking, they may be all over the map, talking about everything but what you want to have talked about.

Keep things on track by establishing a critical convergence, the joining of your enthusiasms and theirs so they're as enthusiastic as you about meeting the challenges you face. Do that by understanding their needs as problems and seeking to have them voice solutions to those problems, solutions that advance your leadership concerns.

For instance, at a police academy classroom, the instructor passed a note to one of the recruits. It read, ""CLEAR THIS CLASSROOM OUT NOW!"" The recruit started shouting, ""Everybody out of the room!"" People looked confused. A few left. The remainder stayed. The instructor gave the note to another recruit, who pleaded, ""Please, everybody out."" Still, people remained there. Then the instructor gave a note to a third recruit, who developed a Listening Leadership talk by creating a critical convergence. He asked, ""What time is it?"" ""Quarter to twelve,"" someone answered. The recruit with the note simply shrugged and in the silence, let the idea emerge. ""Lunch break!"" the recruits called in unison and quickly cleared the room. Creating a critical convergence establishes and environment in which the Listening Leadership flourishes.

(3) Develop a Leadership Contract. This may be written -- from a few ideas scribbled on a scrap of paper to a more formal typed version calling for your signatures -- or the Contract may simply be an oral agreement, sealed with a handshake. Clearly, it's not a legal instrument -- nor should it embody legalese. It's just a spelling out of the leadership actions you both agree must be taken to accomplish your goal.

Here's the key: The best way to get that agreement is first to have them talk about actions they propose to take. Make sure they describe precise, physical actions. And not just any actions but leadership actions. Discourage them from talking about how they'll be doing tasks. Instead, encourage them to talk about how they'll be taking leadership of those tasks. (There is a big difference in terms of results generated between doing and leading.) Then ask how they need to be supported in those actions. Finally, ask them how those actions should be monitored and evaluated. In getting answers to these questions, you'll be putting together a Leadership Contract by giving a Listening Leadership Talk.

The Leadership Talk is the greatest leadership tool. But the tool has its gradations of effectiveness. Often your talking is not as effective as your audience's talking. When your Leadership Talk comes out of their mouths, not your mouth, you may find you are raising your leadership effectiveness to much higher levels.

2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Home-Based Business Leadership Skills

Author: Mark Shaner

Home-Based-Business Leadership Skills

By Mark Shaner

Home-based-business leaders make decisions quickly and change their minds slowly.

This has been my experience throughout my entire thirty-two years of managing my own businesses. Let's face it, there is an element of leadership needed in any home-based-business, and especially in income opportunity programs, as an individual must overall, stand ""head and shoulders"" above the crowd in their efforts in order to overcome the competition and generate maximum revenue.

This doesn't mean, however, that leadership is something that someone must be ""born with"". Quite the contrary. I have found that many great business leaders are made, not born. They take the lessons that life brings to them, incorporate it into their overall thinking and approach to life, and eventually become leaders in their business endeavors. Many great business leaders are simply ordinary people who have discovered how to be extraordinary!

So, how exactly does one become a leader and see more success in any home-based-business? While there are really no hard and fast rules, some guidelines can be established:

1. Practice! Honestly, this is a more worthwhile technique than others assume. Practicing making decisions quickly while still weighing all facts will soon become a habit if done on a continuous basis. It can start with simple things, like purchasing needed home-based-business supplies or even joining an income opportunity program and then move up to the larger decisions, such as hiring employees, and then delegating chores to these employees!

2. Employ the Power of Positive Thinking. That's right, much of what we say to ""ourselves"" in our own thoughts, does indeed turn into a reality! If you constantly catch yourself engaging in negative thought processes, negativity will surround you. If, on the other hand, you engage primarily in positive thought processes, positive outcomes will follow. Always be a ""can do"" not a ""can't do"" in the recesses of your mind.

3. Find a Mentor. This is perhaps the best method of developing home-based-business leadership skills. A good mentor will speed up the process and point out any shortcomings that an individual may have. A good mentor doesn't even have to be a flesh and blood person. Mentoring can successfully be accomplished through self-help manuals and other self-help mediums such as courses, CDs and videos. These types of materials abound in libraries and online, so avail yourself of them whenever possible. Some income opportunity programs also provide older members and support materials that help coach and consult the newer members, and this is a priceless offering.

4. Observe Others. This is a simple technique that can reap huge rewards. Find a home-based-business leader you admire/respect and observe their actions if you can. Pay close attention to how they present themselves, their mannerisms, and their overall interplay with others.

5. Overcome Shyness. Many times, being shy in certain areas of our lives holds us back. It prevents us from taking the risks we must to succeed. It's easier said than done, though, to simply decide we will stop being shy, and takes a determined effort to overcome any shyness. Small steps here, which take us outside our own comfort level work better than trying to will ourselves to do it all at once. An example: If you are terrified of public speaking, try speaking to a small group of friends and relatives first, before moving on to huge presentations in front of a large group of strangers. The same with phone shyness or other types of shyness. Start ""within"" your comfort level and slowly move outside it. Also, set up scenarios within your mind, of different situations that cause shyness, and work through these mentally first, keeping in mind how you will adapt to each situation as it happens.

6. Enlist Others as Backup. No man (or woman) is an island and no one can exist in a void. Having the input of others we admire and respect, whether it's family, friends, or other business people will make our decisions all the more balanced and lead us to the point where we have the greatest faith in our own decisions.

Well, there you have it, what I consider the six prerequisites to home-based-business leadership success. I practice all of these myself and have done so for decades, and encourage anyone reading this to try these as well. They have led to my success in my own income opportunity program and my own businesses and will undoubtedly propel others on the road to success!

About the author: Mark Shaner is a successful businessman who owns www.HomeBusinessPartners.com. He offers advice to home business owners after attaining 35 years of experience. He may be contacted at marketing@homebusinesspartners.com. His website can be found at www.homebusinesspartners.com.

Six Leadership Conversation Principles

Author: Judith Richardson

Six Leadership Conversation Principles Judith Richardson Leadership is an interactive conversation that invites people to explore personal responsibility, passion, accountability and commitment. Here are 6 principles to guide these capacity-building conversations:

1. In an authentic conversation change happens. Effective collaboration, discovery and coaching can happen on the dance floor of conversation.

2. Begin a conversation with questions that set the tone for a respectful exchange. Just ask to-the-point information-seeking questions, like: 'What is our intention? What are you here for? How do you want to spend our time together?' Be clear of your intention prior to the conversation.

3. Conversations are not meant to be structured. Be open to conversations that you are unprepared for and focused on the interests of the other person (not your purpose). You know all about yourself already - get curious about the other.

4. Collaborate with potential rather than colluding with issues. Rather than getting pulled into solving problems that may not matter to the other person, allow time for the person to get to what's really important. Provide spaces where they can express their doubts and fears by being a thoughtful listener--without taking on the responsibility to fix or debate the issue. After all, you have invited the person to talk about what matters to her or him, not you, so allow time for the articulation of those thoughts and feelings.

5. Personal transformation happens when the right questions get asked--not by providing answers. When you invite people to answer their own questions, they discover what they were not aware of---and what is needed to move forward. When you focus on the solution, you are trying to sell the person something. Personal discovery is capacity building. Personal transformation leads to corporate transformation--one person at a time. 6. Claim value for the conversation. Articulating what you value from the conversation and inviting the other person to articulate what was valuable for them, creates a space of appreciation and acknowledgement. It also provides for reflection on the value of exploring ideas with others - building capacity for collaboration.

About the author: Recipient of International Coach of the Year and Canadian Progress Club Women of Excellence Award as Entrepreneur and Innovator, Judith works and plays across North America, Europe, Jamaica, Siberia, Australia, Sweden, Israel and Russia. A gifted speaker, teacher, organizational consultant, and executive coach, Judith Richardson combines exuberant, loving optimism and play with seriously-honed skills, limitle

REAL LEADERSHIP - STABILITY IN A SEA OF CHANGE

Author: Bruce Prokopets

Civil war in Africa. This simple four word phrase seems to sum up the perception of most outsiders throughout the world when asked about the state of affairs on the African continent, the birth place of mankind. In the last 40 years twenty countries, or almost 50 percent of all nations south of the Sahara, have experienced at least one period of civil war. This state of affairs has stereotyped Africa as a doomed continent rife with ethnic and tribal conflict.

Though many attribute the source of these various conflicts to ethnic and tribal differences, researchers at The World Bank concluded, after a careful study, that failure at both a political and economic level are at the root cause of most civil conflicts. Ibrahim Elbadaur and Nicholas Sambanis wrote that political and economic development can effectively reduce or eradicate political violence in Africa.

Enter Gabon, which seems to be at the eye of this tumultuous African storm. Gabon is one of the few countries in Central Africa that has never -- since its independence from France -- been affected by an armed conflict. Gabon, an oil-rich Central African nation, with a population of 1,300,000 and a geographic area of 26,700 square kilometers, is considered one of the most stable in the region.

For almost 40 years, El Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba has served as President of the West African coastal country of Gabon. Under his leadership, Gabon has become one of Africa's wealthiest and more prosperous countries fueled in part by the discovery of oil. According to the World Fact Book, Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa.

Critics attribute much of Bongo's success to his strong arming of the political system and his use of patronage throughout his own political party. It is hard to argue with his success however in keeping Gabon out of armed conflict with rival factions within the country.

Bongo rose quickly within the leadership structure of Gabon. He entered civil service in 1958, was promoted to Minister of Information and Tourism in 1966, and was named Vice-President in 1967. He took over the office of President a year later at the age of 32 after Leon M'ba, the country's first president, became ill and died suddenly.

Despite the troubles in the headlines of papers throughout the world concerning Gabon's neighbors like Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, and Zaire, Gabon has been a rock of stability. Although the country was initially constituted around a one party system in the early 60's, Bongo prodded the country to a multiparty democracy by 1990. Although it would have served him to maintain the single party system, Bongo legalized opposition parties at that time and Gabon has been a model for the rest of Africa since. Many have attributed the success story of Gabon's unprecedented peace, stability and economic status to Bongo's experience and leadership.

In the upcoming elections, in 2005, there has been some controversy about the nature of the election process itself. The opposition, headed by a former ally of President Bongo, Zacharie Myboto, has been critical of the two day election process. He points out that the military will be voting first, alluding to the fact that this could somehow sway the general electorate. However, the mere fact that the opposition can speak out against Bongo, without fear of recrimination, is a testament to budding democracy that is forming in Gabon under President Bongo's political leadership. Bongo is quick to remind his detractors that it has taken the U.S. over two centuries to develop a legitimate election process. He also points out that many Americans still have concerns over the fairness of both statewide and national elections.

President Bongo has not solely focused all his efforts on political change. He has also been a true early adopter where the rights of women in his own country are concerned. Due to the actions of Gabon's President real social reforms have occurred focused on equal opportunity for women. Bongo institutionalized the observance of women's rights and parity. He instituted compulsory schooling of all girls age 6 to 16 years. He created a Ministry for the Family, child welfare and promotion of the woman, and the protection of widows and the orphans. ""Where the men have failed the women must succeed"", stated Bongo on many occasions.

The President of Gabon has also been credited for his efforts to restore peace and stability throughout Central Africa, in particular the Republic of the Congo, Chad, the Central African Republic and Sao Tome and Principe. In October 2001, the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, serving as mediator in the political and ethnic crisis of Burundi, entrusted Bongo with the mission to pursue negotiations with the armed movements of Burundi. Mr. Mandela has great respect and appreciation for President Bongo as Bongo was one of the few who supported him financially during his exile.

Recently Bongo, co-chaired the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, alongside Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, which was held in September, 2005. Bongo opened the event with an appeal for worldwide action to prevent conflict and genocide. Bongo also focused his efforts on the plight of Africa, seeking more support for the promotion of human rights and conflict resolution. The 38 year president of Gabon, echoed the sentiment of Sweden's Prime Minister, calling on the Summit to ""act together to give our future generations a better world.""

The leader of Gabon has always had a strong interest in the welfare of those of African decent who now reside in the United States. Bongo, though a practicing Muslim, sought the assistance of Rodney Sampson CEO of The Intellect Group and founder of the World Christian Times, to develop a presence in the US whereby the Gabonese President could effect change in the lives of many Americans. The Living Legacy Foundation, a US non-profit organization based out of Atlanta and chaired by Bongo, has now been launched to train and raise up one million young leaders in the US, Africa and around the world.

The announcement of the organization has received broad support from a number of world leaders in politics, faith and business, including Bishop Mike Jocktane of France and Gabon and Bishop Carlton Pearson of the US. ""After I was approached by President Bongo's senior advisor Bishop Mike Jocktane, about representing and advising the President in North America and Gabon, my firm conducted extensive due diligence on both President Bongo and his country."", states Sampson. ""Simply put, Bongo gets things done and facilitates real change. This global leader doesn't just talk a good game, he delivers - locally and abroad. That is refreshing when talking about any head of state"".

Living Legacy will target the pop and hip hop culture within the US. ""We will accomplish our goals and objectives through a number of high profile international events, ""train the trainer"" training techniques, organizational partnership and strategic outreach,"" said Rodney Sampson. ""Our first major event, Leadership 2006, will be held next year in Atlanta.""

In direct contrast to how President Bongo's political opposition in the upcoming election portrays him, Bongo's inaugural event for the Living Legacy Foundation, LEADERSHIP 2006 is a major highly progressive global leadership event bringing together prominent leaders in business, politics, religion and government from all faiths, creeds and disciplines. Some dignitaries, celebrities and other prominent figures that have been invited to participate are: Former South African President Nelson Mandela; former US President Bill Clinton; Reverend Jessie Jackson; The Honorable Minister Lewis Farrakhan; Rick Warren; John Maxwell; actor Chris Tucker; Bono; and Kanye West. This divergent group will converge in Atlanta to exchange, contribute and plan the execution of real ongoing activities for cultivating tomorrow's leadership.

Despite criticism from his opponents, it seems that President Bongo's growing legacy is one of ""stable change for the better"". It is not always the loudest in the group that gets the most done. Sometimes the person who has been around the longest is the one who can get results in the real world. That about sums up Gabon and the leader of this Island of Tranquility, Omar Bongo.

Bruce Prokopets Executive Editor Press Direct International

About the author: Bruce Prokopets is the Executive Editor of Press Direct International

Paddles, Portages And Pings On Leadership

Author: Kerri Salls

After 3 long days of a very intensive workshop in Toronto, a group of us decided to go canoeing for a day, up in Barre, Ontario (an hour north of Toronto) on the Nottawasaga River. It was a warm day, the water was warm, and no one else was on this pristine flat-water river winding through a protected swamp.

We had idyllic moments out of time, we had mishaps and laughs, and we had the slogs of carrying canoes and gear (called a portage) around logjams in the river more than a few times, as well the insufferable companionship of mosquitoes.

Why am I sharing this with you? I want to share some of the pings of the day, and the pings were all about leadership and the dynamics of leadership. It was reassuring and inspiring to see leadership arise from a number of different people in the group adding strength and depth all around.

Great leaders are always working on themselves. In this case, the leaders never stopped paddling. They led by example. In spite of the mosquitoes, they stayed focused on the objective of the day, 19 km through utter wilderness.

Exemplary leaders don't push or manage a lot. They problem solve, then inspire and motivate the team. You can be a strong leader without being impolite. When a canoe capsized, a leader didn't wait for the organizer to suggest it, a leader just handed people life jackets and said ""Put it on"", because it was the right thing to do. Another leader figured out how to recover, right and empty the canoe.

Leadership means learning to be bold without being a bully. To build your influence, you've got to walk the talk in front of your group, team, or clients. You've got to tackle the first problem, seize the moment and make quick decisions. In our case, it was a leader choosing the portages.

Leadership also means learning to develop humor - but without folly. It's OK to be witty but not silly, to have fun and be funny without being foolish. A leader's response to the first person getting dunked in the river was to put a positive spin on the slight mishap -- just like we all do for a baby learning to walk or a child learning to ride a bicycle. This leadership skill was brought out in many of our leaders later on the trip when we kept sinking into the mud, or shoes got stuck in the mud. One leader unabashedly sang old songs on the portages as a distraction from mosquitoes feasting on us.

Leaders are good at dealing with reality. They accept life as it is. This is not fatalism or the opposite of optimism. It's practicality. It's a constructive approach to the truth. On the river, when the mosquitoes and logjams got to us all late in the day, there was a dramatic switch in group dynamics. Leaders recognized what had to be done, picked up the pace and just did it without discussion, negotiation or complaining.

In the end, I think we had more fun and the adventure was more memorable because of the challenges that brought out the strengths in each of us. As leaders, we want to inspire the people around us to bring out their strengths too. So what adventure will you organize to inspire the people around you?

About the author: Kerri Salls, MBA runs a virtual business school to train, consult and coach small business CEO's and entrepreneurs in 10 key strategies to make more profit in less time. Learn more at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/products.html or sign up for a free weekly newsletter at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/newsletter.shtml

Leadership Power Stress: (Part 2) Three Keys to Renewal

Author: Patsi Krakoff, Psy. D.

"Power stress is part of the experience that results from the exercise of influence and sense of responsibility felt in leadership positions." - (Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee, Resonant Leadership, Harvard Business School Press, 2005)

Leadership requires the exercise of influence or power. It involves responsibility for the organization, and it requires the sacrifice of personal needs for those of company. Leaders are under continual scrutiny and evaluation. All these things increase the pressure and leads to power stress.

Without awareness of power stress, and what is needed to renew oneself, leaders are vulnerable to burnout and dissonance with the people they lead.

The Leadership Paradox

Daniel Goleman, authority on emotional intelligence in organizations, calls this the leadership paradox: "For leaders, the first task in management has nothing to do with leading others; step one poses the challenge of knowing and managing oneself."

This includes:

- Connecting with the deep values that guide us

- Imbuing our actions with meaning

- Aligning our emotions with our goals

- Keeping ourselves motivated

- Keeping ourselves focused and on task

When we act in accord with these inner measures, we feel good about what we do. Such emotions are contagious. When we as a leader feel positive, energized, and enthusiastic about our work, so do those we influence. But we can only maintain high effectiveness when we are able to manage the cycles of sacrifice and renewal.

Three Keys in the Renewal Process

Step one is to be vigilant and aware of when we are out of touch with ourselves and those we lead. We can't know this without having a highly developed sense of self-awareness and other-awareness, two key elements of emotional intelligence.

Honing the skills of awareness leads to mindfulness - becoming aware of what's going on inside and around us on several levels. Mindfulness is living in a state of full, conscious awareness of one's whole self, other people, and the context in which we live and work.

Two other elements contribute to recuperation and renewal: hope and compassion. Hope enables us to believe that the future we envision is attainable. Closely tied with an attitude of optimism, hope helps us to move toward our goals and visions while inspiring others.

The third critical element for renewal is compassion. Connecting with other people's wants and needs gives us another source of energy and recuperation. Compassion lifts a leader out of the small-minded worries that center on oneself. It expands our world by putting the focus on others. It is such connection and compassion that will prevent leaders from falling into the trap of arrogant self-absorption. That shift allows leaders renewal of spirit. And renewal of spirit is not only crucial for leaders in sustaining themselves, but also for maintaining the efficacy of leadership.

The Brain and New Age Rhetoric

Before you dismiss the concepts of mindfulness, hope and compassion as being new-age rhetoric, pay attention to the research. Recent studies in management science, psychology and neuroscience all point to the importance of the development of mindfulness and the experiences of hope and compassion. These practices are supported by scientific evidence.

It boils down to the brain. The brain processes information and sends signals to the sympathetic or parasympathetic nervous systems. These two systems create bodily reactions of either fight, flight, or relaxation and calm.

Optimal functioning involves both systems, those that lead to action, and those that lead to recuperation. Unfortunately, in organizations little emphasis or encouragement is given to renewal and recovery activities.

Here are some common recovery rituals that involve the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for renewal:

Meditation

Walking (also a way of meditating)

Yoga and stretching

Sports (either team or individual, competitive or not)

Dancing and singing

Humor and laughing

Listening to music

Seeing films

Reading books (novels as well as business related)

Doing volunteer work

Teaching classes

Participation in religious or philosophical groups

Hobbies

Family projects

Of course, each of these activities involve the whole body and both nervous systems. The key is in one's attitude. It is possible to let ambition and competitiveness interfere with the relaxation and recovery processes at any time. Again, the key is in being aware and mindful of how we manage our thoughts, our bodies and our spirits.

There is a big difference between good leadership practices that can be defined and tracked, and trendy, empty words commonly found in popular magazine articles. These ideas - that leadership power stress can be managed by employing mindfulness, hope and compassion for renewal - are not only logical, but validated by scientific research.

As relevant practices, they are also applicable. They not only make sense, but they can be easily adopted in the context of a leader's work world. There are several exercises one can engage in to develop self and other-awareness, to increase mindfulness. Like many leadership development tasks, it is best to engage the services of a qualified executive coach.

This is part 2 of a 2 part article on Leadership Power Stress by author Patsi Krakoff. In part 1, we examined the causes of power stress.

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/Ezi ne_MiniCourse

Three Key Elements To Improving Leadership

Author: Kerri Salls

Great leadership is the key to success. Great communication is the key to great leadership. Think of any great leader in modern time: Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr, and John F. Kennedy come to mind immediately. They were powerful leaders because they could inspire people to follow them. It was their ability to articulate their vision that made them successful in achieving their goals.

In your organization you must be the leader who inspires the team to great heights. To get them to follow you, be sure they are listening to your values and your vision, and then establish the right environment for them to thrive and grow.

Values

When I mention values, everyone nods their heads as if of course, Kerri, that's obvious. But, when I check up on this piece, I find the last time they discussed their values - personal and professional - with their team, was often in the interview before their people were even hired.

You must clearly know your personal values and your organization values to lead effectively. For example, do the answers to these questions come readily to mind?

Personally:

1. What do you stand for? 2. What is most important to you? 3. What would you like your life to demonstrate? 4. What is your personal mission in life?

Professionally:

1. What do you stand for? 2. What are you willing to do to get new business? 3. What are you not willing to do? 4. Do you have a professional mission statement?

Quality leaders don't change their values over time or to achieve short-term success. Consistent core organizational value systems form the strong foundation for long-term success.

A simple definition is that your values are the rules by which you play the game. A well-defined value system makes all decisions easier and encourages your team to go where you lead.

Vision

It's easy to say you have a vision for your business. It's your lifeblood. You know it inside out. Writing it down is the next step. Sharing it widely with your team is imperative too. Even more importantly, your vision for the business must provide a unifying picture so that everyone on the team - regardless of job function - can see exactly where you're going and the importance of their role in getting there. Therefore, the clearer the concept and the clearer (i.e., short and simple) the message is, the more likely you, and your team, can achieve the goal. Your vision needs to answer three questions. And it must answer those three questions for everyone on the team.

1. What do we do? 2. How do we do it 3. For whom do we do it?

As Jim Collins proved in his book, From Good to Great, this is not a 30 minute, one meeting exercise. This requires 100% participation. It can't be a top-down decision. It must be iterative and inclusive.

Environment

Andrew Carnegie said: ""You must capture and keep the heart of the original and supremely able man before his brain can do its best."" When you understand what is at the core of your team members, you can serve them and allow them to reach their full potential. Value their uniqueness. Your team members are your internal customers. You must treat them at least as well as your external customers. This is the highest level of customer service.

Shape the right work environment and you'll have loyal team members to lead. That means, you have to create a work environment that respects each person, appreciates them and rewards their effort, and encourages an openness to change. Make it a safe environment, one which encourages trying new ideas. When you unleash personal creativity, each team member has a stake in the outcome. It's an environment that promotes growth at all levels. Combine all three elements and you have a formula for inspiring greatness and leading to breakthrough success. Do it now!

About the author: Kerri Salls, MBA runs a virtual business school to train, consult and coach small business CEO's and entrepreneurs in 10 key strategies to make more profit in less time. Learn more at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/products.html or sign up for a free weekly newsletter at http://www.breakthrough-business-school.com/newsletter.shtml

Do You Have The Leadership Trait In You To Pick The Right Player For The Right Job? Learn To Be an Ace with Mind Mapping

Author: Dr. Vj Mariaraj

An important aspect of leadership is having the ability to choose the right people for the right job. This is a vital role that leaders will invariably be called upon to perform. In any team sport, a great deal of time is spent in picking the right players for the game. Selection is done keeping these factors in mind as player's skill, form, the right place in the team and the likely opposition that the team will confront. As in sports, in business too, leaders need to select the right team and players for a particular job, assign them specific tasks in line with their skills and proficiencies. To field a match-winning team, you first need to understand the game to be played and the skills and abilities required to play it. A football team cannot play baseball if you aim to win at the top. Also, you have to place the right player at the right position.

In order to make the right choice, you first need to simplify the broader team goals into specific, individual tasks. You can write down the task list and rank them in the order of priority. You then have to analyze the competencies required to undertake each task. Weighing the competencies of each team member and assigning tasks that matches their competencies, will help you in selecting the right candidate for the right job.

However, more often you will find that a person may excel in certain areas but may be found wanting in others. Or you may find an employee at a lower rung exhibiting similar skill power. You may find such gaps and overlaps, revealing the need for providing training in those areas where they are deficient. Having back-ups for important tasks in case you lose key people, and ensuring to have a diverse team than with similar background are other critical factors involved in the process of selection.

Thus it will be obvious to you that recruitment is often an elaborate process that begins with advertising, screening resumes, administering test, interviewing candidates, selecting the best candidates and giving them needed training. But the whole set of tasks can be made simpler by using Mind Map.

Using Mind Maps you can clearly outline the specific job position under a main heading and note down all the tasks that the job entails under it. You can then explore at length the traits that will be required for each of the tasks relating to the job assignment. You can use particular color to distinguish fundamental abilities/traits from the general qualities.

Similarly, you can frame a simple outline on those skills and traits for testing the candidates. Highlighting these in a different color, you can decide on the possible methodology that will best bring these out from the candidates, in order to make a proper evaluation. You can then have the basic criteria, not just in terms of test ranking, but also in the soft skills that the candidate brings in, such as communication abilities, confidence level, attitude, disposition, etc.

Matching the hardcore competencies of a candidate with the soft skills, you can set a minimum standard to be eligible for interview. Ranking the candidates on all criteria and choosing the best among them can be greatly facilitated by using Mind Map. Utilizing symbols you can group all those candidates revealing the need for training, and those excelling in most areas for direct task handling.

When you integrate all these entire process of recruitment into one major Mind Map, you will, at a glance, gain a comprehensive picture of the full procedure involved. You will have complete grip over your recruitment process of picking the right person for the right job. Whenever you have new thoughts or ideas on a particular aspect, you can easily incorporate them and comprehend the links and associations between the various stages of recruitment. All these and much more are possible with Mind Map. Mind Map helps you to fine tune your recruitment process and ensure you are on the right track to pick the right candidate for the right job.

About the author: Dr. Vj Mariaraj is a Mind Map enthusiast and has been using Mind Maps for the past twelve years. He has created over 5650 Mind Maps. To learn more about mind mapping send an email to freemindmap@aweber.com . He is the founder of BusinessBookMindMap.com that creates Mind Map Summaries of Businees Books. To learn more visit http://BusinessBookMindMap.com/mind-map.php?go=14

Leadership Formulas

Author: Mike Beitler

Do we really believe outstanding leadership is so simple that we can boil it down to a simple formula? Could any single formula explain the likes of Gandhi, Jack Welch, and Bill Gates? Of course not.

Individual human beings are amazingly complex. Interactions between individuals and groups are even more complex. Leadership represents one of the most complex forms of human interaction. In any given leader-follower relationship countless things are happening simultaneously: ego needs, security needs, needs for power, needs for approval, needs for affiliation, needs for achievement, etc., etc.

Nevertheless, many authors continue to offer simple formulas for leadership success. John Maxwell alone has written enough leadership books to fill your garage. Maxwell's ideal leader would, no doubt, be effective in the church where he is the pastor. But, could you imagine a Maxwell-like leader being taken seriously in the business world or in the military?

Jim Collins, after writing his extraordinary book ""Good to Great,"" decided to simplify the leadership phenomenon to a few paradoxical combinations: humble and willful, or shy and fearless. He calls these paradoxical combinations Level Five Executive Leadership, ""a necessary requirement for transforming an organization from good to great.""

Collins uses Abraham Lincoln as an example of a Level Five Executive Leader. While we all admire Abe Lincoln, could you imagine Lincoln as CEO of Microsoft or Amazon.com?

In my own articles and books, I offer a leadership model that is more complex than the ""pop"" models. It is more complex, but it also offers some practical guidance. My leadership model considers the characteristics of the leader, the characteristics of the followers, and the characteristics of the task.

In any leadership situation, of course, we want to look at the characteristics of the leader. My argument with the leadership characteristics described in the ""pop"" literature is against the tendency to be overly simplistic.

We must also consider the follower characteristics in a leader-follower relationship. An interesting body of literature about follower characteristics emerged several years ago. Unfortunately, this type of study has not been very popular because it does not appeal to the people who seek simplistic ideas about leadership success.

Finally, in my work, I have urged individuals and organizations to consider the characteristics of the task at hand. The highly effective tank commander in combat situations may not be the best choice to lead the new Sunday School at your church.

Leadership will continue to be a fascinating topic. Some of the best research on leadership is being conducted right here in Greensboro, North Carolina (where I live) at the Center for Creative leadership (CCL). The findings of CCL's research may not be found at the top of the New York Times bestseller list, but reading CCL's research is well worth the investment of your time.

About the author: Dr. Mike Beitler is the author of ""Strategic Organizational Change."" Read 2 free chapters of the book right now at http://www.strategic-organizational-change.com/

Your Leadership Style

Author: Eric Garner

If you want to succeed as a leader, you need to be comfortable with moving around the spectrum of leadership styles. Sticking with just one style means that you become predictable and hence, as a leader, dispensable. It also means that your style of leading may not fit the needs of the team or task. So, learn what the 4 leadership styles are and develop yourself to become skilled in each of them.

1. The Directive Style. The directive leadership style is the style most people equate with ""strong"" leadership. When people say they want more leadership, they usually mean they want more direction. In military terms, this is leading from the front or by example. Although the directive, -- or command-and-tell -- style, is out of favour today, it is still the style you must use in new, unfamiliar, or critical situations when the team face a threat.

So, if the directive style is not your natural style, how do you become more effective at it? Here are 7 quick clues:

1. put more effort into planning so that you look ready

2. look the part: dress confidently; make every move count; avoid hesitation

3. rehearse your performance so that you look authoritative in front of others

4. master assertive language: talk clearly and a little louder than normal

5. keep your communication short and to the point; cut out the use of descriptive adjectives.

6. get active; look busy; be a good time manager

7. be decisive; make up your mind and go with it.

One other useful pointer: it is easier to start with a hard impression and soften it later than to start with a soft impression and harden it later.

2. The Consultative Style. If the directive style puts task before team, the consultative style puts team before task. This is the style you'll use when you need to talk to the team, hear what they have to say, understand them, and take them with you. If the directive style calls for a typically masculine approach, the consultative style calls for a typically feminine approach: hard versus soft.

To master the consultative style, you need to master team meetings. Use the following approaches:

1. get the team together, if necessary, off site

2. avoid too many meetings with individual team members or you will create mistrust and suspicion

3. involve the team in the planning of meetings

4. be prepared to hear things you don't like 5. decide where on the scale you want to be: at one end, the purely consultative in which you listen and then decide; or at the other end, the consensual where you and the team decide together

6. practise concentrated listening

7. give everyone a chance to talk. Notice who doesn't speak readily. Find a balance. Seek contrary views to the loudest.

3. The Problem-Solving Style. The problem-solving style of leadership goes under various names. Ken Blanchard calls it the ""selling"" style (in contrast to ""telling""). Other writers call it the participative style or negotiating style or the win-win style. If the directive style is top-down (ie from you downwards) and the consultative style is bottom-up (ie from them upwards), then the problem-solving style is sideways: us together as equals working things out. The problem-solving style is the right style to use when there is conflict in the team.

Here are some techniques to use to make you a better problem-solving leader:

1. believe that in every conflict with the team, there is a solution in which both sides (you and the team) can get what you want

2. state your own position clearly and consistently. Listen carefully to theirs.

3. focus on issues not personalities

4. find the emotional blocks such as their fears and anxieties. These often result in people playing games. Knock these down by building trust.

5. seek common ground

6. battle on to find a creative solution based on principles

7. summarise frequently.

4. The Delegated Style. For those who are not used to the delegated style of leadership, it first looks like an abdication of leadership. It's the style where you take a back seat and appear to do nothing. In reality it is one of the hardest of styles to use. It means letting go of control so that the team can make their own decisions. You trust them and first time round that can be hard.

Here are some ways to develop your delegating style:

1. Make it safe for the team to try things out. 2. focus on them: ""What would you do?"" ""What do you think?"" ""What do you feel we should do?""

3. resist the temptation to jump in and rescue them when things go wrong; they can learn so much more by sorting it out themselves.

4. move gradually. If people aren't used to this style, they may suspect your intentions.

5. praise every success

6. find the right distance: not too close that you are seen to be checking them, not too far away that they feel abandoned.

7. check back regularly that things are OK.

Your ability to move around these four styles, and the shades in-between, will tell others just how good a leader you really are. You won't always get it right. Sometimes, you'll call the team for a chat when they want decisiveness. Sometimes, you'll try to sell your ideas when what they want is for you to leave them alone. But as you develop your reading of situations, you'll come to know instinctively just what your best action should be.

About the author: © Eric Garner, ManageTrainLearn.com

For instant solutions to all your management training needs, visit ManageTrainLearn and download amazing FREE training software. And while you're there, make sure you try out our prize quiz, get your surprise bonus gift, and subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter. Go and get the ManageTrainLearn experience now!

How to Easily Unlock Your Leadership Genius

Author: Daegan Smith

In psychology, a famous doctor said the mind is like an iceberg with only a tip visible above the water and the larger part is submerged. Studies show that humans only use 10% of the brain in doing the various tasks everyday. The other 90% is just kept in storage.

Can one imagine what would happen if people had the ability to tap the unused resources? That person can do miracles and itís not only about getting rich.

People who are leaders in the respective industries thrive because of attitude. If a person strongly believes that one will succeed, it will happen. If the person feels negative even if given an opportunity to shine, it will end in failure.

So how does one go about unlocking this potential inside? The answer is simple and that is to first have confidence.

Everyone has the potential to succeed in life. By taking charge and responsible for all the actions one does instead of blaming others for things that didnít happen, the person understands that the ball is in the individualís hand and it is the choice of the individual what will be the outcome in life.

The next thing a person needs to do is to be open in learning new things. People who have succeeded in life always have a role model to look up to. In a way, it is having a mentor who taught, inspired and checked on the person to succeed.

In the corporate world, one can enhance this thirst for knowledge by participating in seminars and trainings given by consultancy firms and pursuing a masterís degree where lessons are done based on case studies and experiences which are shared among students.

The entire time, one must enjoy and love what the person is doing at work. Any person who stays a year or more in any job continues to do so not because of the money but because that person is having fun. It is hard to do anything if one does not have the heart or passion for it.

In team sports, the group has a common goal. This is shared among family and friends who also show support. If the person has a specific goal in mind, one can share it so others can help out a long the way which may make it easier for the person to succeed.

When there is an opportunity at work to show ones potential, the individual should seize the moment. This will make other people see the ideas one has and if these are good, one will be encouraged to do more.

Geniuses are born and not made. This is the reason why everyone has the potential of becoming one. All it takes is for that person to unlock it then showing it to the world.

On the part of the individual, the brain needs exercise to keep it sharp. This can be done by reading books, solving puzzles and other brain teasers. It takes time for one to excel in any endeavor. By starting out small then applying the lessons learned from experience and other people, a person can do wonders.

Inventors create new things because these people see a need. By overcoming these and not losing track of the goal, one will eventually succeed. It took the Wright brothers more than 4 years before the airplane flew into the air. If people gave up after the first failure, the world would not have airliners today making it easier for everyone to travel.

Sometimes, the answers to questions are not available in an instruction manual. This will need a little ingenuity on the part of the person. The individual must rely on gut feel or instinct which is the little voice in oneís head that sometimes tells the person to do something. This is the similar to people who survived a plane crash and will do whatever it takes to make it out alive and be rescued.

There are many ways in solving a problem with many possible answers but there is only one answer that will bring out the best result. With that, one should sometimes think out of the box in getting the job done.

About the author: Daegan Smith the owner of Net MLM Articles and the leader of the fastest growing team of successful home business enterpernuers on the net. Find out how we're creating financial freedom all across the globe and how to get in on the action FREE => http://www.comlev.com

A Monster Of A Leadership Challenge: The Creature That Ate 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: 815

Summary: All leaders experience fear, failure and self-doubt many times throughout their careers. The author combines the three into one creature he calls Ghidora. Ghidora is the name of the three-headed movie monster that engaged Godzilla in a titanic struggle. You're not a Godzilla, of course, but you can go a long way in defeating this beast through tips provided here.

A Monster Of A Leadership Challenge: The Creature That Ate Your Career by Brent Filson

In the 1964 movie, ""Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster"", King Ghidorah was a gigantic, dragon-like creature that came from outer space. It had three heads on long necks, bat-like wings, no arms, and twin tails. It terrorized Tokyo until Godzilla, in a role reversal as protector rather than destroyer, defeated it in a terrible battle and chased it back into outer space.

As a leader, you don't have to go to the movies to face Ghidorah. You do it every day. Ghidorah is the three-headed monster of fear, failure, and self-doubt. How you deal with the triple threat will determine to a great extent how your career develops.

Though fear, failure and self-doubt are each separate, they cannot be separated: The prospect of failure can lead to fear of failure, and fear of failure can lead to self-doubt, which closes the cycle by leading back to fear of failure.

Of course, this is not strictly linear. Three-headed Ghidorah is comprised of any number of combinations. For instance, self-doubt may lead to failure or failure may lead to self-doubt, which leads to fear.

Don't concern yourself with the combinations that can afflict you. Concern yourself instead with how to deal with Ghidorah. The first thing to understand about how to deal with the monster is that if you're NOT dealing with Ghidorah, you're doing something wrong. Leadership is not about living an easy life for ourselves but a hard life for other people and for the organizations you serve. Fear, failure, and self doubt are a natural outcomes of good leadership.

That's especially so for leaders who are trying to motivate people to meet extraordinary challenges.

You'll never know how good you are as a leader unless you are motivating others to be better than they think they are. In that endeavor, you'll inevitably get at least some of the people angry.

Most people are settled into a comfortable status quo and resist and resent being challenged to break out.

But if you aim to get great results, people not only have to be pushed but more importantly, they must be challenged to push themselves.

So, if you're not getting some people angry with you over the pushing, you're doing something wrong as a leader, you're not challenging people enough.

The second thing is that if you face Ghidorah head on, you'll find that fear, failure and self-doubt are your benefactors; for Ghidorah can be your partner in achieving limitless results.

For instance, I worked with the CEO of a company that proved results are limitless. In the 1930s, the company was making tea bag paper. Over the years, they kept changing and improving their products so today they are making high tech thermoplastics. Going from making tea bag paper to high tech thermoplastics involved innovation, hard work, and great leadership. My bet is that fear, failure and self-doubt were driving factors in that three-generation, results-are-limitless evolution.

Don't simply overcome Ghidorah. Instead, use Ghidorah -- use fear, failure and self-doubt as your results-partner. To do so, you need to cultivate your inner, submerged strengths.

An assault by Ghidorah is an opportunity for us to manifest strengths we did not know we possessed.

""I'm afraid I might fail."" - We can manifest perseverance.

""I doubt if I can do this."" -- We can be innovative.

""I have failed."" -- We can evince patience, tenacity, and resilience.

My leadership processes, which today may look simple, clear, and robust, were developed with my grappling countless times with Ghidorah. There is not a process I teach that did not have its birth in a failure of one kind or another. Often, I really didn't understand the process until I first failed in trying to put it into action. I have to give Ghidorah much of the credit for their success.

Over time, as we keep manifesting our strengths in the face of Ghidorah's assaults, we tend to avoid getting carried away by appearances or our mercurial desires but instead will gradually actualize a centered leadership. The more we assess our strengths in times of affliction, the more easily assessable those strengths become.

But that's not all. Here's the final secret: We manifest these strengths not just for ourselves but also for the people we lead; for when we face Ghidorah, we show others the path; and in doing so, help them tap into their own inner strengths, creating a motivational bond between you..

King Ghidorah was brought to life on the movie screen by a stunt actor inside an elaborate costume, with a team of puppeteers controlling the beast's many appendages. When tough challenges call forth Ghidorah in your leadership, you may see that the creature is, similarly, not substance but the dazzle of our minds and emotions, reminding us that leadership begins not when we grasp at outward appearances but when hold to our center and the resources flowing from that center.

2006 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

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

Eight Leadership Techniques for Outstanding Teams

Author: Ed Sykes

Apply the following eight leadership techniques to create highly motivated, self-directed, and extremely productive employees and teams:

1. Provide Clear Expectations

Winning organizations know where they are going and what is required to get there. Employees constantly need to know what they need to accomplish. Communicating expectations in a clear, concise manner is important. It's also important to communicate your expectations on an individual, department, and organizational level. Continue communicating your expectations on an ongoing basis. Whether one-on-one, through memos, or in a team meeting, keep communicating your expectations.

2. Give Your Employees the Tools for Success

New computers are acquired, but no training is provided for the computers; or worse, the training doesn't meet the need of the employees to be successful. The policies are not implemented or followed, so employees are hindered by barriers. Time and time again I hear from employees in my workshops that management doesn't give them the necessary tools for success. Here's the secret: Ask your employees what they need, and then give it to them.

3. Recognize Good Work

Take the time to recognize good work. Recognize employees for finding solutions, failing less, learning more, taking initiative, working with others, creating outstanding customer service solutions, sharing ideas; and the list goes on. You get the idea. Take time to give a sincere compliment for work well done and you, your organization, and your employees will reap the rewards.

4. Get Interested in Your Employees

Take the time to find out what interests your employees. Find out what their passions are in life. Is it their families? Is it a sport or hobby? Is it a vintage car or boat? Is it that they want to accomplish the next level in their education? Is it a career goal? Whatever it is, the great leaders take the time to find out how to help their employees accomplish their goals. Leaders know that by helping their employees succeed in life, the employees will have more passion about helping their leaders accomplish their goals.

5. Value Their Opinions

Employees want to be involved in the process at work. Giving their opinions is one way to accomplish this. Take the time to really listen to what your employees are saying. Take the time to ask questions. Take the time to acknowledge their opinions. Will all employees give opinions in a positive way? No. Our job as a leader is to set the parameters for giving opinions in such a way that states a positive outcome for all. You might say, ""Mike, you have a lot of valuable ideas and I appreciate that you take the time to share them. So that everyone gets the most out of your ideas, please communicate them with a positive outcome in mind."" Now you have set the tone for giving opinions. Also take the time to really listen for the ""gold nuggets"" of information when an employee gives you an opinion. They are sharing an idea, a concern, or an emotion that you may be able to address to help take your organization to the next level.

6. Grow Your Employees

Encourage your employees to develop themselves. Encourage them to take classes, delegate tasks and challenging assignments, and then provide support. I say this because I run into employees who tell me the following:

""The company wants us to take additional classes and even offers tuition reimbursement. However, when I ask my manager to approve my request or when I actually take the courses, he/she makes comments inferring that these classes might interfere with work. That's not fair.""

No, it's not fair. If your employees want to develop themselves, support them. Be the Captain of Progress and remove the barriers to development. Don't worry about losing your employees. Once you do this, they will become even more loyal to your goals and word will quickly spread that you are the person to work for because you develop your people for success.

7. Communicate the Progress

Many times I will ask the participants in our team building program, ""How often does your manager, supervisor, or vice president sit down with you and give you a progress report, informal evaluation, or job evaluation?"" The majority of the participants will say once or maybe twice a year during the formal review progress.

This should never happen! Outstanding leaders realize that ongoing communication is the key to outstanding performance and that employees yearn for this feedback. Outstanding leaders make sure their followers constantly know where they stand. They are constantly communicating with their employees in relationship to the overall goals. They are constantly recognizing their employees' stellar performances and coaching them in ""areas of improvement."" Empathy, consistency, honesty, and a positive attitude when giving employees feedback are important to the way the employees receive the feedback.

8. Make Partners of Your Employees

Once we get past the money reason as to why people work for you, we realize that one of the reasons why employees work for your organization is the following: ""I want to make a difference."" Time and time again you will find people working for organizations when they could easily be compensated elsewhere far more than what they are actually receiving; but they enjoy working for that organization because they believe in the organization's mission, values, and goals and believe they are making a difference in that organization.

Make your employees your partner in achieving your goals. Communicate the mission, values, and goals and ask them how they see themselves in relationship to these goals. Ask your employees for feedback on how to better accomplish these goals. Involve them in the decision-making process and let them have a vested interest in the success for the project.

Take these leadership steps today to take you, your employees, and your teams to the next level of success.

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

2 Essentials of Leadership

Author: Arthur cooper

2 Essentials of Leadership by Arthur Cooper (c) Copyright 2006

http://www.arthurcooper.com/

There are many human qualities that make a leader. Leadership is an amalgam of skills and attributes of all sorts, some more tangible than others.

There are, however, two essentials that every leader must possess, without exception. These are Vision and Communication Skills.

All leaders must have a vision of what they want to achieve and what they want to do. No one can hope to lead others if they don't themselves know what they are going. It is the essential first element. It is what sets the tone. It is what fires up the necessary drive and desire. The vision of the end result is what keeps the leader driving on towards his goal throughout difficulties and setbacks. A leader, then, must be a visionary.

But to be a visionary is not enough. A visionary can see the future as it could be. He can see the result vividly in his mind's eye. He can point the way to others. He can even set off on his own to go there himself. But none of that makes him a leader. A leader takes others with him.

The have been plenty of visionaries in history who have predicted and foreseen advances to science and technology. There have been visionaries who have imagined better societies. In business there have been visionaries in the form of inventors of new and better ways of doing or making things. Many of these had wonderful visions of what could be achieved. They were brilliant people, but were they leaders? Did they persuade others to follow in their dreams? Did they have the power to communicate their vision to others?

Some certainly did and were the leaders of their time. Others did not. Their vision was never achieved in their lifetime, or indeed ever, despite the fact that the vision was sound and the goal achievable. They failed because they failed to convince others of the rightness of their cause. They failed to turn their vision into reality because they could not convince others to share it. They lacked the communication skills to convince others.

In business this is seen as the man or woman with a host of ideas of how to do things better, or cheaper, or with a vision of where the company should be going, but to whom no one listens. His ideas may be brilliant and his vision may be wonderful, but he cannot convince others that he is right. To be a leader you must persuade with argument and logic, certainly, but you must do more if you want to bring you ideas to fruition. You must fire people up. You must enthuse them and excite them if you want to lead them forwards.

Leadership is about communicating your vision to others to the point where they too want to see it fulfilled. They too want to go where you want to go. They see you as a visionary and want to follow you as their leader. You lead and they follow, but they have already been convinced and won over to your cause. They too share the enthusiasm to overcome obstacles and difficulties. They too have the will to keep on when times get hard. They keep pressing on because they want to and not just because you tell them to.

If you can use you communication skills to transmit your vision, then you job as leader becomes infinitely easier. You no longer have to drag people along with you. You just have to point the way.

About the author: Arthur Cooper is a writer and publisher. For his mini-course 'Better Management' go to: h ttp://www.barrel-publishing.com/better_management.shtml

The Secret Building Blocks of Leadership

Author: Daegan Smith

What does it take to be the perfect leader? Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a perfect leader. This is the reason why many good leaders try to be better by self-studying, undergoing training workshops or mentoring. Others do the trial-and-error method, committing mistakes and learning from these errors.

What does it take to be an effective leader? Below are 11 principles, or secret building blocks, of leadership.

1. You musk know yourself first and self-improve.

Before you become a great leader, ask yourself first. What do I have that makes me capable of leading? What are my values? What are my attitudes and goals? Studying oneself either through self-reflection or interaction with other people will help you reassess your values and skills needed for leadership. After seeking your attributes and harness them.

2. Know your tasks.

Being a leader does not mean you go bossing around other people, commanding them to do things that you yourself do not know or cannot do. You, of all people, should know your job and your followersí (co-team playersí in others words) as well. Knowing yours and your groupís tasks will guide your ability to accomplish a task.

3. Responsibility is the key.

When you did something wrong in your group or organization, do not blame other people for your mistakes. Mistakes happen all the time and it depends on us on how to improve and not do them the next time they happen. When something goes awry, analyze the situation. Do a corrective measure. And then try not to do it the next time. 4. Good decision-making skills.

A good leader knows how to and does make timely and sound decisions. He or she does that by assessing a problem or task, weighing the pros and cons of a decision, implements it, and evaluates. A good leader also tries to improve his methods in problem solving and decision making so that a situation rises, he or she doesnít panic and make mistakes.

5. Be an example.

If you come to presentations unprepared, what would your subordinates or co-team players think of you? You should lead by example. Address tasks promptly and proficiently. They want to see that you could also handle your responsibilities well ñ and not just them.

6. Look out for your people.

Remember: You work with people. These are not robots, working emotionless. If somebody is very sick, then probably it would be nice if you tell him or her to take a day off. Or when you successfully clinched a deal with a client, donít you think your subordinates would think of you highly when you give them bonuses or some form of reward?

Understand, that like you, they are also people. Know them and appreciate their efforts. Sincerely care for your subordinates.

7. Provide your subordinates with information.

Update your subordinates of the projects that your company or group is currently doing. Tell them your assessments, so that they would also feel your reasons for finishing certain tasks. Let them understand where youíre coming from, so that, in the end, they would also have the same motivation as you when it comes to accomplishing a certain goal.

8. Instill the value of responsibility among your subordinates.

Help your subordinates develop good working habits and character traits. These in turn will help your co-team players handle their responsibilities at work.

9. Communication channels should be open between you and your subordinates.

Communication is the key. You should inform your subordinates your expectations from them. If they have problems, tell them that they can ask you.

10. You are a team.

Remember that you are there with your subordinates to work, as efficiently as possible, to accomplish something.

11. Harness your organizationís capabilities.

If you develop your teamís spirit, you will work as one and by doing so, you will be able to maximize the full potentials of your team.

Remember: Anyone can be a leader. Anyone that is willing and determine to accomplish a goal can be a leader. One can improve his or her traits by focusing on his desirable ones and channel these to defeat the unhealthy traits. That is why there is no such thing as a perfect leader ñ every leader has his or her share of unhealthy traits. Instead, better leaders, try to harness their desirable traits and overcome their ugly ones.

About the author: Daegan Smith the owner of Net MLM Articles and the leader of the fastest growing team of successful home business enterpernuers on the net. Find out how we're creating financial freedom all across the globe and how to get in on the action FREE => http://www.comlev.com

Leadership and Overcoming Adversity: Senator Orrin G. Hatch story

Author: Dr Howard Edward Haller

Leadership and Overcoming Adversity: Senator Orrin G. Hatch story, United States Senator (R-Utah)

By Howard Edward Haller, Ph. D.

This groundbreaking leadership research by has received extensive endorsements and enthusiastic reviews from well-known prominent business, political, and academic leaders who either participated in the study or reviewed the research findings.

You will discover the proven success habits and secrets of people who, in spite of difficult or life threatening challenges shaped their own destiny to become successful, effective leaders. The full results of this research will be presented in the upcoming book by Dr. Howard Edward Haller titled ""Leadership: View from the Shoulders of Giants.""

The nine initial prominent successful leaders who overcame adversity that were interviewed included: Dr. Tony Bonanzino, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, Monzer Hourani, U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye, Dr. John Malone, Larry Pino, U.S. Army Major General Sid Shachnow, Dr. Blenda Wilson, and Zig Ziglar.

The data from the above nine research participants was materially augmented by seven other successful leaders who overcame adversity including: Jack Canfield, William Draper III, Mark Victor Hansen, J. Terrence Lanni, Angelo Mozilo, Dr. Nido Qubein, and Dr. John Sperling.

Additionally, five internationally known and respected leadership scholars offered their reviews of the leadership research findings including: Dr. Ken Blanchard, Jim Kouzes, Dr. John Kotter, Dr. Paul Stoltz, and Dr. Meg Wheatley.

This is a short biography of one of the principal participants who generously contributed their time and insight for this important research into the phenomenon of how prominent successful leaders overcome adversity and obstacles.

This Senator Orrin Hatch's story: Orrin Hatch is the surviving son of a lower middle-class Mormon pioneer family from Utah. During the Depression, his family, though penniless, moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Orrin's older brother was killed in Europe while serving in the Army Air Corps in World War II.

Orrin noted, ""I was always someone who was kind of strange to them, in that sense, but they still liked me, because I was a good student, and a good athlete. But there were things I just wouldn't do."" Orrin and his family belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as ""Mormons,"" which was a relative rarity in Pittsburgh at that time. ""I had to prove myself, always being kind of a 'square.' I had to set certain things aside, because of my religious beliefs. I never drank, I never smoked, I never caroused, [and] I never committed sexual sin.""

Orrin said, ""My parents scraped together a little money, bought a wooded acre of land, and then purchased secondhand materials, including partially burned lumber . . . and built their home, board by board with their own two hands."" His father was a ""union-card carrying"" wood lather.

Orrin learned his father's trade and worked as a wood lather while still in high school. Later, Orrin worked his way ""through Brigham Young University as a janitor."" He interrupted his education at BYU to serve a two-year unpaid mission for the Mormon Church. He then returned to BYU, got married, graduated, and returned to Pittsburgh to work at his union construction job.

He got a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh, College of Law, and worked his way through law school while providing for his growing family. When Orrin was in law school, he said that he and his ""wife and children literally lived in a converted chicken coop"" behind his parents' home.

Hatch and his young family returned to his parents' home state of Utah so that Orrin could accept a corporate legal position. Shortly after arriving in Utah, Orrin left that corporate job and opened a law firm in Salt Lake City, Utah, as the senior partner.

Although he had absolutely no political experience, Hatch decided to pursue the Republican Party nomination for the United States Senate race in 1976. He was up against an experienced Republican politician. Hatch won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senator.

Now the difficult part began, as he ""ran a campaign against a well-entrenched Democratic incumbent, U.S. Senator Moss."" Senator Hatch shared with me that his ""confidence was not improved"" by the fact that in 1976, ""Moss was a three-time incumbent who could not be beaten. U.S. News and World Report that year had said that Senator Moss' seat was the 'most safe' seat in the Senate."" But Orrin won the battle against the incumbent Senator, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976. Senator Hatch has since been re-elected by his adopted state of Utah four times.

It is customary for new U.S. Senators not to speak out in their freshman terms, but Senator Hatch did not follow that custom. In his first term in the U.S. Senate he led a filibuster to defeat a major labor bill that was heavily backed by the Democrats.

The proposed labor bill, before the U.S. Congress, was critical to the union movement of the late 1970s. ""Union membership was starting to decline, and this bill would have legislatively forced more union membership."" Hatch was very concerned about what some had referred to as the most important labor union bill in four decades. The bill was strongly supported by George Meany, head of the AFL-CIO, and was supported by President Jimmy Carter, as well.

Hatch took on the defeat of this bill as his own ""personal cause."" He said, ""I strongly felt that the proposed labor bill was not in the best interest of the country and would be very detrimental to the U.S. economy, which was already starting to see high inflation entering the picture in the late 1970s."" Hatch added, ""I believed that if this labor bill passed that millions of workers could be forced to join unions and inflation would skyrocket.""

Since 1976, Orrin has been a key member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He has served on that Committee during his entire tenure in the United States Senate. Senator Hatch and his wife Elaine live in Vienna, Virginia, and Salt Lake City, Utah.

The Hatches are active in their Mormon faith; they are happily married with several children and many grandchildren. Orrin, a returned Mormon missionary, also served as a Bishop in the Mormon Church before being elected to the U.S. Senate.

His insightful and informative biography, ""Square Peg: Confessions of a Citizen Senator"" (2002), provides a unique inside perspective of Capitol Hill.

Copyright 2006 © Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D.

Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D. Chief Enlightenment Officer The Leadership Success Institute

www.TheLeaderInstitute.com

About the author: Howard Edward Haller, Ph.D. is the Chief Enlightenment Officer of the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho based The Leadership Success Institute. His Doctoral dissertation in Leadership Studies at Gonzaga Univ. included interviews with prominent US leaders in business, politics & education. He is turning is leadership Doctoral dissertation into a book titled- Leadership : View From the Shoulders of Giants""