This website blog is designed to confront the need for Powerful Leadership both in the church /business and in the community changing our world today



The Power of Leadership - Teamwork!

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

On - The - Job Leadership Tips

Expanding Your Leadership Care in the 21 Century



Sometimes for busy business leaders the best way to strengthen leadership ability is to intentionally exercise simple, on-the-job self-improvement strategies. Provided below are dozens of self-directed exercises that you can do as you move through your regular work day. For best results, keep the following in mind:

Do each suggestion with a clear purpose in mind.

Approach these exercises with a spirit of experimentation. Not all will work equally well and some may have to be adapted to meet your unique needs and situation;

Take time to reflect on how well each exercise went. Consider questions like the following… What changes did you see? How did you feel about each exercise? How did your reports react? Etc.

The developmental exercises are grouped into nine different categories:


A leader builds meaningful relationships

A leader motivates


A leader is strategic


A leader is a coach


A leader is values driven


A leader builds trust


A leader conducts productive meetings


A leader clarifies issues


A leader promotes a clear vision




Building Meaningful Work Relationships

Write a thank you note or “job well done” memo everyday for a week. Be certain your notes are sincere and specific. Make note of how recipients react.

Offer at least one sincere compliment a day.

Practice common courtesies: apologies, hallway greetings, thank you cards, get well messages, sympathy notes, etc.

Increase visibility by maintaining a visibility log. Use this log to keep track of the percentage of your workday that you are out of your office and talking to team members.

Make a point to ask team members more about themselves, not only about work related interests but also about their outside interests.

Make a list of ten questions about work performance that interest you. Then make a point to ask all ten over the course of a two-week period. The point is to engage your team members in personal and meaningful conversation.

Identify the team members who you have the most trouble with or who you know the least. Make a point to engage in a friendly one-on-one conversation with each of them.

Make a list of the traits that you believe interfere with your management relationships. Work to “correct” each one as you interact with others.

Identify team members with whom you have your strongest relationships. Make a list of traits that the relationships have in common. Work to nurture these traits with others.

Go a full day listening without interrupting once.


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Paper Clip Accountability

Place five paper clips in one pocket. Each time you compliment or meaningfully connect with a team member, transfer one paper clip to another pocket. At the end of the day all the paper clips should have moved.


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Motivate Others

Write an “open letter” in which you extol the achievements of your team. Be certain to use specifics.

Establish peer coaching partnerships to help inexperienced or stressed team members.

Arrange open forums in which volunteers exchange ideas and encouragement in order to support and motivate one another.

Design and administer a team “morale” survey.

Initiate a simple rewards program that offers prizes or recognition—even if you just draw names out of a hat. Explain that the process symbolizes how you appreciate their hard work. Note that the prizes can be humorous or donated by team members. It is the symbolism that counts.

Go a full work week without using attacking or discouraging language when dealing with your team members.

Strategize for Improvement

Work with a small group to create a “stop doing list.” These are procedures, actions, or policies that are outdated, cumbersome, redundant, or annoying.

Set a few minutes aside each day to reflect on how things are going professionally. You may want to ask a few team members to reflect with you.

Make a point to recognize team members who successfully implemented positive change.

Make a list of procedures, functions, and/or policies. With a committee of key players, grade each from A to F. Then talk about improvements.

Make a point to talk to numerous team members one-on-one and ask them the following two questions: What is quality?” and “How do we achieve quality?” Take notes.

Review your current process of delegating. Then develop a list of guidelines for the delegation of tasks. Ask yourself how you can do it more effectively.

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Coach Others

Give selected individuals short but pertinent readings on professional strategies. Ask them later what they thought of the reading.

Meet with individuals and identify personal goals. Ask them how you can help them achieve their goals.

Form “new hire” focus groups to discuss “workplace excellence.”

Form Learning Circles.

Conduct open meetings—no agenda, just open talk.

Don’t forget the easiest strategy of all—ask team members … “How are things going?”

Help Drive Positive Work Values

Engage team members in casual conversations around the question…”What is a values driven team?”

Discuss ethical standards with your team members.

Develop a matrix that shows the relationship between your values and your management behavior.

Research managerial ethics. Report your findings to the team.

Identify and clarify team norms or rules of professional interaction.

Link professional behavior to workplace values.

Write down the workplace values that define your approach to leadership. Share them with your team members.

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Building Trust

Work with a small group and identify “trust busters.” Discuss ways to avoid or eliminate trust busters.

Identify three team members who you trust the least and list those things that you distrust about them. Are there some common threads in all three? What is it that drives you to react to them cautiously? Over the next few weeks try at least one strategy to build a positive connection with each of the identified team members.

Find a short article on trust and give a copy to each of your team members. Ask them to discuss it with you over lunch or before or after work.

Establish a feedback group in which you discuss the level of trust on your team. Identify positive things that you can do to build trust.

If you made a leadership mistake, admit it and discuss it with your team. Note how the team reacts.

Define authentic behavior for yourself. Set some standards for authentic behavior and hold yourself accountable to them.

Make a short audio tape in which you affirm your commitment to building stronger levels of trust. Listen to this tape periodically for motivation and affirmation.

Survey your leadership peers to discover what they do to build trust with their teams.

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Conducting Better Meetings

Develop a list of things that you can say to let meeting latecomers know that tardiness is unacceptable.

Complete the following metaphor: “My style as a meeting facilitator is like _______________________________________.”

At your next meeting tell the participants that you are working on one or two meeting facilitation skills. After the meeting ask the group how you did with each. Ask for suggestions.

Identify three to five adjectives that define your style as a meeting facilitator. Then ask selected team members to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a meeting facilitator. Any Patterns? Similarities? Surprises?

At your next meeting stop mid way and ask the participants how the meeting is going. Ask for suggestions to improve your meeting facilitation.

Establish an assessment group and identify ways to keep meetings focused and on track.

Make a list of ways to replace meetings with other forms of communication.

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Clarify Issues
Create a committee clearing house to identify, define, and prioritize team issues.

Carry a small notebook to jot down information, opinions, and ideas that you hear from team.

Identify a personal mentor or coach who you can meet with regularly to talk openly about leadership issues.

Establish a feedback group to get insights into your leadership style and behavior.

As you gather opinions and viewpoints on an issue, make sure you get a diversity of ideas from diverse people.

Stop on occasion and identify those things that you feel are working well and those things that are causing stress.

List the major issues that you have confronted over the last two years. Is there a pattern? Is there a type of issue that keeps emerging?

Keep a log of the time it takes you to handle an issue. Determine if you are handling issues in a timely and efficient manner.

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Vision

Hold informal “round tables” to discuss the future of your team.

Keep a professional journal in which you focus on four aspects of visionary thinking: needs, wants, desires, and dreams.

Write out the “best case” scenario for what you want your team to become. Give it to your team and ask for responses and additions.



Published By: http://www.workshopexercises.com/

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Leadership Persuasion Principle Types for Business - Be Aware!





Much of persuasion and other forms of changing minds is based on a relatively small number of principles. If you can understand the principles, then you can invent your own techniques. It thus makes sense to spend time to understand these principles (persuaded yet?).


* Alignment: When everything lines up, there are no contradictions to cause disagreement.


* Amplification: Make the important bits bigger and other bits smaller.


* Appeal: If asked nicely, we will follow the rules we have made for ourselves.


* Arousal: When I am aroused I am full engaged and hence more likely to pay attention.


* Association: Our thoughts are connected. Think one thing and the next is automatic.


* Assumption: Acting as if something is true often makes it true in ones mind.


* Attention: Make sure they are listening before you try to sell them something.


* Authority: Use your authority wisely and others will obey.


* Bonding: I will usually do what my friends ask of me, without negotiation. Because friends should always have my best interest at heart, and if they don't. Their not friends.


* Closure: Close the door of thinking and the deal is done.


* Completion: We need to complete that which is started.


* Confidence: If I am confident, then you can be confident.


* Confusion: A drowning person will clutch at a straw. So will a confused one.


* Consistency: We like to maintain consistency between what we think, say and do.


* Contrast: We notice and decide by difference between two things, not absolute measures.


* Daring: If you dare me to do something, I daren't not do it. But speak to my mind, and then I will do it if it's within reason, morality, and integrity.


* Deception: Convincing by trickery. Damaging, dangerous, and deadly.


* Dependence: If you are dependent on me, I can use this as a lever to persuade you in some or most cases.


* Distraction: If I distract your attention, I can then slip around your guard. Be careful at all times of these types.


* Evidence: I cannot deny what I see with my own eyes.


* Exchange: if I do something for you, then you are obliged to do something for me within the realm of a contract or verbal agreement.


* Experience: I cannot deny what I experience for myself.


* Fragmentation: Break up the problem into agreeable parts.


* Framing: Meaning depends on context. So control the context.


* Harmony: Go with the flow to build trust and create subtle shifts.


* Hurt and Rescue: Make them uncomfortable then throw them a rope. This is not a good method at all.


* Interest: If I am interested then I will pay attention.


* Investment: If I have invested in something, I do not want to waste that investment.


* Involvement: Action leads to commitment.


* Logic: What makes reasonable sense in most cases must be true.


* Objectivity: Standing back decreases emotion and increases logic.


* Obligation: Creating a duty that must be discharged.


* Ownership: I am committed to that which I own.


* Passion: Enthusiasm is catching.


* Perception: Perception is a persons current reality until changed. So manage it.


* Persistence: In all things, persistence pays.


* Pull: Create attraction that pulls people in.


* Push: I give you no option but to obey.


* Repetition: If something happens often enough, I will eventually be persuaded.


* Scarcity: I want now what I may not be able to get in the future.


* Similarity: We trust people who are like us or who are similar to people we like.


* Social Proof: When uncertain we take cues from other people.


* Specificity: People fill in the gaps in vague statements.


* Substitution: Put them into the story.


* Surprise: When what happens is not what I expect, I must rethink my understanding.


* Tension: I will act to reduce the tension gaps I feel.


* Threat: If my deep needs are threatened, I will act to protect them.


* Trust: If I trust you, I will accept your truth and expose my vulnerabilities.


* Uncertainty: When I am not sure, I will seek to become more certain.


* Understanding: If I understand you, then I can interact more accurately with you.


* Unthinking: Go by the subconscious route.



Published By: http://www.changingminds.org/  
Edited By: Pastor, Bryant McNeal

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Discovering Leadership Traits

In psychology, a trait is a stable characteristic--potentially lasting throughout one's entire life. Coming up with an exact list set of leadership traits is difficult due to:

1. Culture - What works in the West does not work in the East, a trait that works in France will be less successful in America.

2. Context - What trait is appropriate depends on the context one finds oneself.

3. Paradox - Leadership is paradoxical. It defies logic due to unconscious factors and emotions.

4. Means and Ends - Leadership is both a means when it focuses on process and behaviors and an end when leaders focuses on goals and outcomes.

Having said that an exact list in impossible to come up with, does not mean that leadership traits are not important in leadership development. It simply means that different experts will come up with different lists, so a certain amount of confusion will need to be tolerated.

It's reasonable to assume that certain personality traits are associated with leadership, while others are not. Take out time to research articles which talk about traits associated with leadership success and failure.

> Leadership Traits Associated With Failure:
Many times we focus on leadership traits associated with success, but it is interesting to understand failures of leadership as well. This article mentions 6 "warning signs." or traits associated with leadership failures. This includes:

* A Shift in Focus. It discusses when leaders forget the big picture and shift focus on the little things. Like making money or fixating on fame as the reason why they are doing what they are doing.

* Poor Communication. Great leaders understand that followers don't read minds. Great leadership is about communicate ideas.

* Risk Aversion. This trait talks about the fear of failure and how past successes can be a treasure.
* Ethics Slip. There has to be a close relationship between what a leader does and what he/she is.
* Poor Self-Management. It's very important that the leader takes care of him/herself to be able to achieve goals. (Physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual needs)
*Lost Love. Leaders have to remember the vision that brought them there. Stay on track—stay the course.


> Five Enemies of Effective Leadership:
This area talks about how employees don't want to be managed, but need to be lead. It covers five "enemies" to successful leadership that include:

* Selfishness. here we focus on what we want and don't consider what other people want and need.
* Power Struggles. as leaders, we have to learn to serve, not demand.
* Poor Communication. If we don't communicate well, our message will be misunderstood, misinterpreted and misplaced. We often use wrong words, tone of voice, or our body sends a different message than our mouth.
* Behavior: we need to know ourselves and what are the things that get us out of control, we need to learn when we have to delegate.
* Jealousy. we need to learn that more does not always lead to happiness.


> Six Air Force Leadership Traits:
The Civil Air Patrol is a organization brach of the U.S. Air Force. The organization lists 6 traits important to success in a military context. They are:

* Selflessness
* Decisiveness
* Energy
* Commitment
* Loyalty
* Integrity


> Leadership Traits According to the SBA:
Leadership traits are a subset of personality traits. According to Raymond Cattell, a pioneer in the field of personality assessments, good leaders have these personality characteristics.

* Emotional stability
* Enthusiasm
* Conscientiousness
* Tough-mindedness
* Self-assurance
* Compulsiveness
* Dominance

Please Discover More By Reading The Publisher!
Published By: http://www.legacee.com/