Positive Leadership: Great Teams Are a Mix of Old and New

The best teams, we tend to think, are like a band of brothers. They have been together for a long time. They know each other extremely well. And they are more successful as a result. It’s common sense, right?

Well, it turns out that great teams — the most creative, the most innovative — are more temporary in nature than you would think. 

Take Broadway. The best productions, researchers have found, are made up of rag-tag groups — a mix of old and new faces. The old faces bring knowledge of the best processes and the best working methods, and the new folks bring a fresh creative spirit to the table. 

The most innovative companies work in similar ways, too. Ad-hoc teams form around a given project, then disband. But it’s not so easy pull off — in order for this to work, the entire organisation has to be diverse enough in order to make temporary teams a reality.

http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/09/why-the-best-teams-might-be-temporary/

Positive Leadership: Great Teams Are a Mix of Old and New

Positive Leadership: Being a Great Team Member

Good teams have the skill to win games; the great teams have the skill and the will to win games! The will to get through difficult times!

Deep down inside we all know we can't do it alone. We know that Cup Finals are not won by individuals. They are won by a collection of individuals who make a great team. It's the same with work and life. We are better together when we are surrounded by great team members.  Here are none ways to be a great team member.

1. Set the Example - Instead of worrying about the lack of performance, productivity and commitment of others you simply decide to set the example and show your team members what hard work, passion and commitment looks like. Focus on being your best every day. When you do this you’ll raise the standards and performance of everyone around you.

2. Use Your Strengths to Help the Team - The most powerful way you can contribute to your team is to use your gifts and talents to contribute to the team's vision and goals. Without your effort, focus, talent and growth the team won't accomplish its mission. This means you have an obligation to improve so you can improve your team. You are meant to develop your strengths to make a stronger team. Be selfish by developing you and unselfish by making sure your strengths serve the team.

3. Share Positive Contagious Energy - Research shows emotions are contagious and each day you are infecting your team with either positive energy or negative energy. You can be a germ or a big dose of Vitamin C. When you share positive energy you infectiously enhance the mood, morale and performance of your team. Remember, negativity is toxic and will sabotage teams. Complaining is like vomiting. Afterwards you feel better but everyone around you feels sick.

4. Know and Live the Magic Ratio - High performing teams have more positive interactions than negative interactions. 3:1 is the ratio to remember. Teams that experience interactions at a ratio equal or greater than 3:1 are more productive and higher performing than those with a ratio of less than 3:1. Teams that have a ratio of 2:1, 1:1 or more negative interactions than positive interactions become stagnant and unproductive. This means you can be a great team member by being a 3 to 1’er. Create more positive interactions. Praise more. Encourage more. Appreciate more. Smile more. High-five more. Recognise more. Energise more.

5. Put the Team First - Great team players always put the team first. They work hard for the team. They develop themselves for the team. They serve the team. Their motto is whatever it takes to make the team better. They don’t take credit. They give credit to the team. To be a great team member your ego must be subservient to the mission and purpose of the team. It’s a challenge to keep our ego in check. It’s something most of us struggle with because we have our own goals and desires. But if we monitor our ego and put the team first we’ll make the team better and our servant approach will make us better.

6. Build Relationships - Relationships are the foundation upon which winning teams are built and great team members take the time to connect, communicate and care to build strong bonds and relationships with all their team members. You can be the smartest person in the room but if you don’t connect with others you will fail as a team member. It’s important to take the time to get to know your team members. Listen to them. Eat with them. Learn about them. Know what inspires them and show them you care about them.

7. Trust and Be Trusted - You can’t have a strong team without strong relationships. And you can’t have strong relationships without trust. Great team members trust their teammates and most of all their team members trust them. Trust is earned through integrity, consistency, honesty, transparency, vulnerability and dependability. If you can’t be trusted you can’t be a great team member. Trust is everything.

8. Hold Them Accountable - Sometimes our team members fall short of the team's expectations. Sometimes they make mistakes. Sometimes they need a little tough love. Great team members hold each other accountable. They push, challenge and stretch each other to be their best. Don’t be afraid to hold your team members accountable. But remember to be effective you must built trust and a relationship with your team members. If they know you care about them, they will allow you to challenge them and hold them accountable. Tough love works when love comes first. Love tough.

9. Be Humble - Great team members are humble. They are willing to learn, improve and get better. They are open to their team member's feedback and suggestions and don’t let their ego get in the way of their growth or the team’s growth. If we're not humble we won’t allow ourselves to be held accountable. We won’t grow. We won’t build strong relationships and we won’t put the team first. There’s tremendous power in humility that makes us and our team better.

Positive Leadership: Being a Great Team Member

Positive Leadership: An Olympian's Guide to Leadership

Christie Rampone is one of America’s most successful and celebrated soccer players, and she will be leading the U.S. Women's National Team to the London Olympic Games. She has already won gold twice, once in 2004 and as the team captain in 2008. She has also played in four World Cup finals and is a mother of two young kids. Here, she opens up about what it really takes to be a leader.

'Whether in the world of soccer or business, leadership is simple.

It's about communication, honesty, and building confidence. That's it. You get that, and your team competes at its best. Period.

As the captain of the U.S. Women's National soccer team, it is my job to help the team understand what the coaching staff expects. I took over as captain in 2007 and had never thought about or prepared for a leadership role. At first, I tried to please everyone—but I soon learned that only leads to confusion and failure.  

So, I looked to former players like Carla Overbeck and Kristine Lilly for inspiration. They taught me the values of a good leader: to be honest with the players, care about their well being, and treat them with respect. They also showed me how to lead by example, put the team first, and keep things simple.

After five years, I have found that being a great leader boils down to a few no-nonsense principles:

1. Stop talking so much. A good leader is a good listener. My role is about less talk and more keen observation. You can often learn more about your team's dynamics by simply watching the team interact. As you watch, ask yourself:  Where are there issues? Who is helping the team the most? Who is hurting the team's morale?

In one-on-one conversations, a good leader really digests the information and, most importantly, won't blab it to other colleagues. This is the foundation of trust.

2. Don't gossip. In one-on-one conversations, a good leader really digests the information and, most important, won't blab it to other colleagues.

This is the foundation of trust between colleagues. For me, when a teammate expresses concern about an issue, I don't use her name and or exact quotes when I speak to our coaching staff.

This way, our coaches are addressing the issue, not a particular person. It also means I don't lose the confidence of my team. I'm a credible source, not a gossip or someone who blames others for problems.

Bottom line: If what you say has substance and integrity, your colleagues and whomever you answer to (and, face it, we all answer to someone) trust you.

3. Stop saying yes. I can’t afford to be a yes person. When the athletes come to me with ideas or problems, I have to weigh each and prioritise. Same goes for business: You can't just take on everything from everyone.

Sometimes saying no is harder in the short term (your team might not understand or agree), but if you know it's best for your team in the long run, it's worth it.

4. Roll up your sleeves. If you are constantly putting the group before yourself and doing the work each and every day, it makes it easier for the people around you to respect, appreciate, and buy into the process. 

Then, when you make a mistake or a controversial decision, your team will understand you are thinking of the big picture—that you are trying to accomplish something as part of a team. 

5. Walk the walk. Great leaders know body language is important. As a captain, my actions and demeanor need to enforce motivation and enthusiasm but also show plenty of poise. No matter what, I always want to show positive and controlled behavior, on and off the field, never any stress or worry.'

Positive Leadership: An Olympian's Guide to Leadership

Positive Leadership: How Healthy is your Organisation?

In this interview, author of The Advantage , Pat Lenconi shares great insight into helping you determine the health level of your organisation and provides some invaluable nuggets in how to move your organisation to the next level.



 

Positive Leadership: How Healthy is your Organisation?

Positive Leadership: 3 Steps to Building a Better Top Team

When a top team fails to function, it can paralyse a whole company. Here’s what CEOs need to watch out for:

1. Getting the right people on the team . . . and the wrong ones off.
2. Making sure the top team does just the work only it can do.
3. Addressing team dynamics and processes.

For more, see: https://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Three_steps_to_building_a_better_top_team_2743

Positive Leadership: 3 Steps to Building a Better Top Team

Positive Leadership: Attributes of a Great Team Member

Here are 5 characteristics of an excellent team member:

1. Needs very little direction – Catches on quickly, learning the leader’s expectations, having confidence in his or her ability, and knowing the vision of the organisation well enough to make routine decisions with little or no input from the leader.

2. Asks specific questions when unclear of an assignment - He or she doesn’t ask general questions, that require full explanations, but rather attempts to think through the issue on his or her own enough to ask specific questions. This saves everyone time and speeds progress.

3. Needs very little supervision – An excellent team member follows through on what he or she committed to do with limited oversight.

4. Recognises results as part of the reward – While fair compensation is necessary for the health of any team and most leaders can improve on giving praise, the excellent team player does the work to see the results of a project done well, not exclusively for recognition.

5. Considers the interests of the entire team - Excellent team members look out for good of the whole team…the entire organisation. He or she wants what is best for everyone, even if that means they have to personally sacrifice for the win of the team.

Positive Leadership: Attributes of a Great Team Member

Positive Leadership: Green Bay Packers' Unique Team Leadership

Before the recent NFC Championship game, President Barack Obama said he would only attend the Super Bowl if his hometown Chicago Bears earned a trip. The Green Bay Packers ended all hope of that after defeating the Bears.

After that game, Packers cornerback Charles Woodson took the comment personally, saying he planned on seeing President Obama anyway.

First, Woodson took a page out of Obama’s “One America” campaign, telling the Packers to remain unified—”Let’s be one mind, let’s be one heartbeat, one goal, one more game. One.”

Then the cornerback called out the president to motivate his team.

After his teammates listened quietly to the beginning of his speech, Woodson changed the tone and pumped up the volume: “The president don’t wanna come watch us go to the Super Bowl? Guess what?” We’ll go see him!”

After winning the Super Bowl, the team is usually invited to the White House to meet the president. The Packers made it clear they intended receiving that invitation. Last Sunday they did!  Watch below.

(More generally, as to Charles Woodson’s leadership of the Packers, see: http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/post_leadership/2011/02/super-bowl-green-bay-packers-leadership.html?hpid=smartliving )

Positive Leadership: Green Bay Packers' Unique Team Leadership

The Red Arrows Set The Standard Each Day At Every Level

The Red Arrows build every show around a focus or centre point, and build their team around shared values. Without shared values, peak performance is not possible. Team values must align with an organisation’s purpose, mission, and actions.

At what level does your team operate? It’s time to raise the bar.

Practice #1: Put the Team First

Teamwork isn’t a part time activity. Each member represents the team at all times. Putting teams first is a 24/7 commitment. Their ideas, their voice, their well-being, their efforts; these are most important. Significant and sustainable results follow empowered and cohesive teams.

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” ~ Henry Ford

Practice #2: Walk the Talk

Effective leaders are honest and transparent, and they lead by positive example. This, along with practice #1, forms the foundation of a successful team.

Successful leaders embrace the power of teamwork by tapping into the innate strengths each person brings to the table.

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, not so good when people obey and acclaim him, worse when they despise him….But of a good leader who talks little when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, ‘We did it ourselves‘. ~ Lao Tzu

What’s your level of trust in others? Are you aligned with your values? Do you walk the talk?

Practice #3: Maintain Peak Performance

Peak performance requires we take time to rest, reflect, and recharge our batteries.

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists of eliminating the non-essentials.” ~ Chinese Proverb

Practice #4: Communicate Vertically and Horizontally

Every member of the team requires clear and effective communication to accomplish their job. At this level of performance, there can be no questions or doubt concerning communication. Does your team communicate openly and honestly?

“All of us perform better and more willingly when we know why we’re doing what we have been told or asked to do.” ~ Zig Ziglar

Practice #5: Prepare to Win

Visualise yourself accomplishing the task at hand. Then do it together with your team.

“Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.” ~ Louis E.Boone

Practice #6: Capitalise on Synergy

Synergy happens when common people align around common goals. Making the team means doing what it takes to fulfill the mission. Each member has a role in the team’s success

“Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people.” ~ Stephen Covey

Does your team prepare to win? Do you?

Practice #7: Clarify procedures

Each team member must know procedures. Every situation requires a proper response. Success comes when preparation meets opportunity.

Practice #8: Foster Positive Attitudes

A can-do attitude make the impossible possible.

“I’m so optimistic I’d go after Moby Dick in a row-boat and take the tartar sauce with me.” ~ Zig Ziglar

Practice #9: Strive for Excellence

By confronting our failures we come closer to reaching perfection. Every team member must earn the right to wear the crest. When each team member accepts full responsibility and strives for excellence, both trust and performance increase exponentially and the team is ready to take off!

“If you did not care at all what anyone else thought about you, what would you do differently or change in your life?” ~ Brian Tracy

Practice #10: Attitude Leads to Altitude

Just in case you didn’t pick up on the importance of #8. You can do all the right things to make your team go, but without the fuel of an unwavering positive attitude, your team and your performance will never soar above the clouds.

“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our attitudes.” ~ Charles Swindoll

Is your team ready to take off and reach new levels of success? Are you?

The Red Arrows Set The Standard Each Day At Every Level

5 Team-Building Lessons from the NBA Playoffs

Experience Matters

Build a Deep Bench

Strive to Reduce Turnover

Compete Hard, and Follow Through

Maturity turns out to be a pretty potent competitive advantage. Just ask Derek Fisher of the Lakers who, even at the age of 35, has been a game-changer during the team’s playoff run. And he’s not alone. The average age of a player on the Celtics is 29 and on the Lakers, the average age is 28. And even the kids are pretty deep on experience. The youngest player on either team is Andrew Bynum; though he is 22, he has spent a full five seasons in the NBA.

In the USA, the National Basketball Association has just completed its season ending play-offs, with the Los Angeles Lakers beating the Boston Celtics in the final game of a 7 game series. 

Here are some team-building lessons from the play-offs:

Experience Matters

Managing Seasoned Teams Takes a Deft Touch

Build a Deep Bench

Strive to Reduce Turnover

Compete Hard, and Follow Through

Maturity turns out to be a pretty potent competitive advantage. Just ask Derek Fisher of the Lakers who, even at the age of 35, was a game-changer during the team’s playoff run. And he’s not alone. The average age of a player on the Celtics is 29 and on the Lakers, the average age is 28. And even the ‘kids’ are pretty deep on experience. The youngest player on either team is Andrew Bynum; though he is 22, he has spent a full five seasons in the NBA.

Managing Seasoned Teams Takes a Deft Touch

Build a Deep Bench

Strive to Reduce Turnover

Compete Hard, and Follow Through

Maturity turns out to be a pretty potent competitive advantage. Just ask Derek Fisher of the Lakers who, even at the age of 35, has been a game-changer during the team’s playoff run. And he’s not alone. The average age of a player on the Celtics is 29 and on the Lakers, the average age is 28. And even the kids are pretty deep on experience. The youngest player on either team is Andrew Bynum; though he is 22, he has spent a full five seasons in the NBA.

Accomplished veterans such as Fisher, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant require a different kind of coaching. When the Celtics find themselves down in a game, Doc Rivers is often seen in the huddle reminding players to play together; he focuses on the big picture, and trusts the veterans to follow through in their own way. Lesson: You need to pursue a low-key management approach with a veteran team if you expect to succeed.

Build a Deep Bench

Strive to Reduce Turnover

Compete Hard, and Follow Through

Maturity turns out to be a pretty potent competitive advantage. Just ask Derek Fisher of the Lakers who, even at the age of 35, has been a game-changer during the team’s playoff run. And he’s not alone. The average age of a player on the Celtics is 29 and on the Lakers, the average age is 28. And even the kids are pretty deep on experience. The youngest player on either team is Andrew Bynum; though he is 22, he has spent a full five seasons in the NBA.

Accomplished veterans such as Fisher, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant require a different kind of coaching. When the Celtics find themselves down in a game, Doc Rivers is often seen in the huddle reminding players to play together; he focuses on the big picture, and trusts the veterans to follow through in their own way. Lesson: You need to pursue a low-key management approach with a veteran team if you expect to succeed.

Your stars can only carry you so far, but your bench can sometimes surprise you by taking you farther still, as the Celtics learned in Game 4 against the Lakers. Glen Davis put up 18 points in 22 minutes, showing that even a 'sometimes contributor' can make a big impact at an important moment.

Strive to Reduce Turnover

Compete Hard, and Follow Through

Maturity turns out to be a pretty potent competitive advantage. Just ask Derek Fisher of the Lakers who, even at the age of 35, has been a game-changer during the team’s playoff run. And he’s not alone. The average age of a player on the Celtics is 29 and on the Lakers, the average age is 28. And even the kids are pretty deep on experience. The youngest player on either team is Andrew Bynum; though he is 22, he has spent a full five seasons in the NBA.

Accomplished veterans such as Fisher, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant require a different kind of coaching. When the Celtics find themselves down in a game, Doc Rivers is often seen in the huddle reminding players to play together; he focuses on the big picture, and trusts the veterans to follow through in their own way. Lesson: You need to pursue a low-key management approach with a veteran team if you expect to succeed.

Your stars can only carry you so far, but your bench can sometimes surprise you by taking you farther still, as the Celtics learned in Game 4 against the Lakers. Glen Davis put up 18 points in 22 minutes, showing that even a sometimes contributor can make a big impact at an important moment.

You may think that mixing things up on the talent front will help you succeed. But in fact, it takes time to get a team to gel. The Lakers and Celtics have enjoyed low turnover both on and off the court, and it shows. Doc Rivers has coached the Celtics for seven seasons while Phil Jackson has been at the helm of the Lakers since 1999 (save for a period in 2004 and 2005). Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, the Lakers back-court, have played together for eight seasons - and made seven Finals together.

Compete Hard, and Follow Through

Maturity turns out to be a pretty potent competitive advantage. Just ask Derek Fisher of the Lakers who, even at the age of 35, has been a game-changer during the team’s playoff run. And he’s not alone. The average age of a player on the Celtics is 29 and on the Lakers, the average age is 28. And even the kids are pretty deep on experience. The youngest player on either team is Andrew Bynum; though he is 22, he has spent a full five seasons in the NBA.

Accomplished veterans such as Fisher, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Kobe Bryant require a different kind of coaching. When the Celtics find themselves down in a game, Doc Rivers is often seen in the huddle reminding players to play together; he focuses on the big picture, and trusts the veterans to follow through in their own way. Lesson: You need to pursue a low-key management approach with a veteran team if you expect to succeed.

Your stars can only carry you so far, but your bench can sometimes surprise you by taking you farther still, as the Celtics learned in Game 4 against the Lakers. Glen Davis put up 18 points in 22 minutes, showing that even a sometimes contributor can make a big impact at an important moment.

You may think that mixing things up on the talent front will help you succeed. But in fact, it takes time to get a team to gel. The Lakers and Celtics have enjoyed low turnover both on and off the court, and it shows. Doc Rivers has coached the Celtics for seven seasons while Phil Jackson has been at the helm of the Lakers since 1999 (save for a period in 2004 and 2005). Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, the Lakers back-court, have played together for eight seasons - and made seven Finals together.

It’s sometimes fashionable to say that you should focus on your own business and forget about the competition. But sometimes getting in the competition’s face is both productive and satisfying. Case in point: Through the first six games of the Finals, the team that won the rebounding battle walked away with the victory in each game. Similarly, sales might be more fun than operations, but both are essential to the success of your business. Follow-through counts, and it counts for a lot.

5 Team-Building Lessons from the NBA Playoffs

Meg Whitman Builds a Team

Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman talks about leadership and the role of gender:

Meg Whitman Builds a Team

Leadership Means Getting The Best From Your Team

A team is a collection of individuals and the leader’s job is to create an environment for the team to achieve ever-greater things together.  While in theory it is a good idea to treat everyone the same, reality is quite different.  Everyone is special.

Some high-achieving individuals are giving you their best effort most all of the time. They are totally devoted to the company and have been known to work day and night to do their best, while others simply don't have that kind of dedication or self-motivation.  

So next time you stand in front of everyone in the company and implore the entire team to dig deeper and try harder, you stand a chance of pushing "Mr. or Mrs. Hard Driver" right off the cliff.  “What does he want from me?  I’m working as hard and as fast as I can.  I’ve devoted my entire life to this company.”  Meanwhile, “Mr. Low Achiever” is wondering what he is going to order for lunch and is minimally fazed by your exultation's. 

Oftentimes you need to spend one-on-one time helping over-achievers to throttle back the engine a bit.  They need balance in their life to keep performing at a high level and the leader is uniquely qualified to make certain they stay fresh and motivated as the high achiever is the last person you want to lose.  They will appreciate the extra attention and if you are going to focus on lifting the effort it is always best to lift the effort and spend valuable management time with your best employees.

That is why leaders need to choose their words with more care when they are speaking to large gatherings of diverse team members.  

Leadership Means Getting The Best From Your Team

Great Teams Should Always Have an Enemy

In addition to being an extraordinary CEO and marketer, Apple’s Steve Jobs is without a doubt one of the great pitch-men of our time … or any other time, for that matter. He can create a buzz like nobody’s business and he gives the most inspiring commencement speech, as we’ve noted in the past.

Recently, in an “employees only” town hall style meeting a few days after the iPad launch, Jobs demonstrated that he’s also a master motivator of employees.

This excerpt, as reported by Wired, is a stunning example of uniting the troops against a common enemy:

'Jobs, characteristically, did not mince words as he spoke to the assembled, according to a person who was there …

On Google: We did not enter the search business, Jobs said. They entered the phone business. Make no mistake they want to kill the iPhone. We won’t let them, he says. Someone else asks something on a different topic, but there’s no getting Jobs off this rant. I want to go back to that other question first and say one more thing, he says. This don’t be evil mantra: “It’s b***s***.” Audience roars.

In addition to taking some pretty pointed stabs at software-maker Adobe, mostly related to its notoriously buggy Flash software - which the iPhone still does not support - Jobs throws down the gauntlet when he challenges Android/Google to ”keep up with Apple’s iPhone updates.” '

In retaliation, the Google faithful are shooting back at Jobs, according to gawker.com’s Valleywag blog:

“I don’t know where people get the idea that competition is evil,” writes Paul Buchheit, the ex-Googler who invented “Don’t Be Evil,” along with Gmail and FriendFeed. One current Googler says he plans to tack up Jobs’ “very motivational” quote beside his monitor; another says Jobs myopically “sees all competition as zero-sum.”

Rivalries like this one, while appearing to be somewhat juvenile and over-the-top, can have a powerful impact by galvanising employee’s resolve to develop groundbreaking products and meet critical and often extremely challenging product deadlines.

While we hoist Apple’s Steve Jobs up on a superstar-CEO pedestal, one of his relatively unexplored talents is his ability to inspire groups of developers to great heights. For example, he told the first Macintosh design team that they were there to “make a dent in the universe.” And they did.

It should come as no surprise therefore that we think it is important that: “Great teams always have an enemy.”

Great Teams Should Always Have an Enemy

Why is Leadership so Important?

Understanding the importance of leadership is the key to your business success.

Leadership has so much influence in our lives because so often it determines whether we enjoy a particular experience. The US Army Leadership manual, FM 6-22, expresses the importance of leadership well:

'A leader is anyone who inspires and influences people to accomplish organisational goals; they motivate others to pursue actions, focus thinking, and shape decisions for the greater good of the organisation.'

Since we spend the majority of our day participating in some event influenced by a coach, teacher, or other leader, the person in charge has a significant impact on the experience. Consider any new activity or recall youth sports. The ability of the coach (leader) to inspire and motivate influences our interest and desire to stay involved.

When leaders are passionate and influence us in a positive way, we get excited and want to continue our involvement.

How important is leadership to you? Life is short -- why participate in an activity if we don't enjoy it, and if we participate, why not do so with all of our energy?

Leadership is about communicating and building teams so that everyone works together. The importance of leadership is a key ingredient to successful businesses and championship teams. Teams that have this synergy tend to be the ones on top.

Can you learn to lead?

The short answer is yes. It is hard work, but much easier if you are willing to set aside your ego, serve others, and strive to make your organisation a better place than when you arrived.

Find a good example; a coach, a teacher, or someone who made an impression on you as an effective great leader. Read everything you can about successful leaders with these key areas in mind and consider the following questions:

Leader

A leader is someone you trust and is knowledgeable, but not all knowing; speaks with purpose, but listens well; sets the example and lives the corporate values everyone is expected to follow.

Why do some people attract followers and others do not?

Can you learn to attract followers?

Teamwork

Teamwork establishes an environment that allows everyone to feel that they can be a part of something greater.

What is the importance of teamwork in your business?

Do you feel you are in an environment where you will be able to learn and grow?

Communication

Communication is about creating new or better awareness; achieving a common understanding.

What is the importance of communication in your business?

Does your team share the same values and support a common vision?

Leadership is a continual journey. When you understand the importance of leadership, you seek ways to improve and build teams who communicate well.

What is your definition of leadership?

Why is Leadership so Important?

Quiet Leadership

Arsenal manger Arsene Wenger has spoken out in praise of centre-back Mikael Silvestre, whose disciplined calm and experience has provided invaluable guidance for the club's younger players.

Silvestre has not been one of the Gunners' more high-profile performers this season, but Wenger is in no doubt about the positive influence he has exerted in the Emirates dressing room.

"Mikael is a quiet leader. He is highly respected in the dressing room," Wenger told The Daily Mirror.

"He’s a positive guy who helps the young players. The best help, of course, is if we can keep winning. For me, he doesn’t get enough praise for both his attitude and his quality.

"But he has a job of marshalling the team. He has an important role to play."

Quiet Leadership

Building a 'Leaderful' Team

Dr. Richard Ian "Ric" Charlesworth, M.D., was on the Australian hockey team for five Olympic Games, two of them as captain. He was also part of the team that won the World Cup in 1986. For more than a decade, many considered him the world's best hockey player. After his playing career ended, he went on to be head coach of the Australian women's hockey team, which under him won almost every top hockey contest in the world, including the Champion's Trophy, the World Cup, the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.

As a coach he has been a revolutionary in his way of building winning organisations, by developing what he calls the "leaderful team," in which every player is prepared, technically and psychologically, to step up to lead--or to step back to support, as needed. The idea is to maximise the potential contribution of every team member in a way never before attempted in sport.

Forbes magazine recently interviewed Ric Charlesworth in two sessions: "How Hierarchies Do Harm" and "How You Can Develop A Leaderful Team" :

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/16/charlesworth-hierarchy-hockey-leadership-ceonetwork-managing.html?partner=leadership_newsletter

and

http://www.forbes.com/2009/11/23/charlesworth-hierarchy-leaderful-leadership-ceonetwork-managing.html?partner=leadership_newsletter

The articles are well worth reading.

Building a 'Leaderful' Team

Why Would People Want to be Led By You?

In the book, Lessons from the Top: The Search for America's Best Business Leaders, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, made the following observation:

"I think it's very difficult to lead today when people are not really truly participating in the decision. You won't be able to attract and retain great people if they don't feel like they are part of the authorship of the strategy and the authorship of the really critical issues. If you don't give people an opportunity to really be engaged, they won't stay."

Here are five key traits that will help you become the kind of leader people love working for:

Key Trait #1: You must have a vision. We've all heard the saying "You must stand for something, or you'll fall for everything." But what does that really mean? Standing firm when it comes to your company's policies and procedures is all well and good, but it doesn't speak to having a vision. As a leader, you have to learn to communicate your vision or the vision of your company to the people you want to follow you. But how can you do that?

• Learn to paint a picture with words. Speak it, write it, draw it, touch it. Whatever methods you can use to create a picture, do it. As they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words."
• Ask each of the other managers in your company to tell you, in their own words, about the vision of the company. How close is it to what you thought they understood? Is your team on the same page as you?
• As you work, your company's vision should be in your mind every day, and you should reevaluate it occasionally so that it stays current with the changing times in which we live. And remember, your staff needs to be just as involved as you in keeping it up to date if you truly want them to buy in on the vision. Be sure to keep your key players involved.

Key Trait #2: You must have passion. Your employees want passion; in fact, they'll go to the ends of earth because of it, live and die for it. Think of the sailors who traveled with Christopher Columbus or Leif Ericsson to explore uncharted territory. Their leaders' passion inspired them to take on new and very dangerous challenges.

To build an extraordinary management team, you've got to light the "fire in their bellies," to get them to feel passion about the company and connect to the leader's vision. Passion is such a key part of being a great leader that if you don't have it, you simply can't be a great leader. Think of all the great leaders throughout the ages and try to name one that did not have passion.

And passion is infectious: When you talk about your vision for the company, let your passion for your vision shine through. Others will feel it and want to get on board with you. If you don't have passion for your vision, you need to recreate your vision or reframe your description of your vision so it's connected to your passion.

Key Trait #3: You must learn to be a great decision maker. How are major decisions made in your company? What is your process for making them? For instance, do you talk to your management team and create a list of pros and cons to help you make the best decision? Maybe you conduct a cost analysis. Or do you create a timeline for the implementation strategy, process and timing?

Some leaders have a set process, and others fly by the seat of their pants. But you don't want to be one of those leaders who consults no one before making a decision, announces the change the next day and then gets frustrated when no one follows it.

In fact, here's a system you can use to become a better decision maker. It's called the Q-CAT:

• Q = Quick. Be quick but not hasty.
• C = Committed. Be committed to your decision but not rigid.
• A = Analytical. Be analytical, but don't over-analyze (Too much analysis can cause paralysis.)
• T = Thoughtful. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but don't be obsessive.

When you use the Q-CAT, it'll help you to decide when to bring others into the process and what steps need to be taken to help you make better decisions.

Key Trait #4: You must be a team builder. To become a great leader, you must develop a great team or, one might say, a well-oiled machine. But how do you do that? You can start by handing off responsibility to your team and letting your team to run with it. Don't breathe down their necks and don't micromanage, but make yourself available if questions or problems come up. Teach your team to use the Q-CAT decision-making system and give them the freedom to work through their own decisions.

When projects aren't on track or your team is falling behind on deadline, it serves no one if you start pointing fingers. This is when you need to rise to the occasion and inspire confidence in your employees, to let them know you support them and ready to help. Be ready to alter plans and make new ones. Don't forget to use humour to keep your team's spirits up during a crisis. When an emergency hits, your team will look to you to be a tower of strength and endurance.

Key Trait #5: You must have character. Without character, all the other "keys" are for naught. That's because your innate character strengths and limitations play a critical role in your leadership style. The real question is, are you aware of just what role they play? All great leaders have taken steps to learn about their individual personality and what part it plays in their leadership style.

So are you a great leader? Or do you have the desire to become one?

Remember, a great leader is someone who has a clear vision and can turn that vision into a vivid picture that others can see. When you speak about your vision, it should be with a passion you feel in your heart, a passion that creates so much enthusiasm that your team will want to jump on board. When major decisions need to be made, you should encourage everyone to use the Q-CAT system and be responsible for his or her own actions. And you should be continually assessing your own character and never stop growing, personally or professionally. If you can apply the five keys to great leadership, you'll be well on your way to becoming a great leader surrounded by great employees!

Why Would People Want to be Led By You?

Brett Favre's Lessons on Leadership

Brett Favre is a 40 year old American football quarterback who now plays for the Minnesota Vikings. He was the starting quarterback for the Green Bay Packers between 1992 and 2007 and for the New York Jets in 2008.

He became the Packers' starting quarterback in the fourth game of the 1992 season, starting every game from then until his retirement in 2008. In 2008, Favre came out of retirement, was traded to the New York Jets, and continued his consecutive start streak. On February 11, 2009, Favre told the New York Jets that he was again retiring. He came out of retirement for the second time and signed with the Minnesota Vikings on August 18, 2009. This year, the Vikings are 7-1.

Favre is the only player to win the AP Most Valuable Player three consecutive times (1995–97). He led the Packers to two Super Bowl appearances, winning one (Super Bowl XXXI).

He holds many NFL records including: most career touchdown passes, most career passing yards, most career pass completions, most career pass attempts, most career interceptions thrown, most consecutive starts, and most career victories as a starting quarterback.

When asked about how he defines leadership, he says:

“It’s somehow getting 52 other guys to raise their level of play. To get them to believe in what we’re trying to do. You do that by setting an example, by doing things the right way. I’ve always shown up, I’ve always been prepared, I practice every day. I practice hard. I study. No matter what happens on the field, I never point blame at anybody else. Everything I do comes back to leadership, the example I want to set.”

Brett Favre's Lessons on Leadership

Leadership Essentials

Leadership is difficult to define. It’s an abstract concept that evokes as many different reactions as there are different kinds of people. Yet most of us know good leadership when we see it, and we can often tell when good leadership is missing by the way a team or organisation struggles without it.

At Positive Leadership, our leadership philosophy identifies the following areas as essential to quality, effective leadership:

• Mission. A clear mission helps the leader to focus the team so that they can ignore distractions and pay attention to what’s most important.
• Values. When a leader demonstrates values that are in sync with the company’s mission and the team’s goals, everyone benefits.
• Planning and goal-setting. With clear goals and effective planning, leaders make their expectations understood and team members know what to do at all times.
• Delegating authority. The job of leadership is usually too big to handle alone. By sharing responsibilities with the team, a leader instills a sense of purpose and empowerment.
• Team building. Establishing trust, playing to individual strengths, encouraging people to work together – all are important aspects of team building.
• Giving feedback. Constructive, concise and timely feedback is essential to each team member’s success, and to the success of the team as a whole.
• Coaching team members. A good leader must take on the role of trainer now and then, providing expert advice, encouragement and suggestions for improvement.
• Motivating people. By providing a good example, learning each team member’s needs and giving rewards and incentives when appropriate, a leader can inspire people to achieve higher levels of performance.
• Working for the team. Great leaders encourage participation, facilitate communication and provide an environment where team success is more likely to occur.
• Resolving conflict. Conflict between team members is inevitable, and not always a bad thing. A leader’s job is to resolve the conflict in a just and reasonable way so that productivity and morale do not suffer.

Leadership Essentials

Go Phillies! A Lesson in Positive Leadership

With the World Series in baseball due to start this week, it is interesting to follow the story of the manager of one of the teams in the Series, Charlie Manuel of the Philadelphia Phillies.

"Leaders in sports and business have one thing in common," said Bill McDermott, the Newtown Square-based president of global field operations for the software giant SAP. "They have committed followers. If you look at Charlie Manuel, his team is fully behind him."

"People always want to judge a book by its cover, and that was the case here with Charlie his first few seasons," said Kenneth Shropshire, director of the Sports Business Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School.

"The most important thing a management type can do is figure out what he does best and not change from that approach," Shropshire said. "Charlie looks like he's one of those leaders who says: 'Look, this is who I am, and this is who I'll always be. I'm not changing.' "

According to Shropshire and others, while Manuel might manage by the seat of his red-pin-striped pants, instinctively he's been true to the best management principles.

"The closest analogy in business management to what he's done might be what happens on Wall Street," said Peters, a management consultant, author, and Baltimore Orioles fan whose best-selling In Search of Excellence is a business bible. "The same sort of star mentality that exists in a baseball dugout is at work there. The best managers in both places know how to handle those stars."

With all the talent on the world champion Phillies, Shropshire said, there could easily have been crippling jealousies and feuds. "With someone less adept at managing people," he said, "it could have been a real disaster." Manuel's most valuable managerial asset, those interviewed said, was knowing both his players and himself. That self-knowledge especially, Shropshire said, was something only the most successful business managers ever achieved.

"One of the hardest things our management students face is the leadership assessment test, where we ask them to evaluate themselves as leaders," Shropshire said. "They all think they should be Donald Trumps. They don't see and can't identify their own strengths. "Charlie knows who he is. He revels in it, and he uses it to his advantage. He doesn't try to be anyone else. And his players grasp that. They respond to that. That's great management technique."

And this from one Philadelphia area blog:

'For several weeks now I have been thinking of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel as a model of excellent top management that can truly be called leadership, positive leadership.

Oh, Charlie can make the tough decisions when necessary. This year's Brad Lidge story should find its way into every management and leadership text. For those of you who don't follow sports, Lidge had one of the best year's in baseball history for a man at his position last year, and this year he had one of the worst. Manuel removed him from the most critical moments, but never lost confidence in him and now Lidge is nearly his old self. There are many more examples.

So I was surprised and pleased to see a front-page article on Charlie's leadership style in Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer in which a Wharton professor and an important Philadelphia-area CEO talked about what exceptional leadership and management skills Manuel has. Leaders who stay positive can accomplish much. Charlie's team is the current world champion that now is the first National League team in more than 30 years to return to the World Series the following year to defend the title.'
 
For more on this fascinating story, see - http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/65922642.html and http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/66285207.html

Go Phillies! A Lesson in Positive Leadership

What does it take to be an inspirational leader?

What does it take to be an inspirational leader? What are the behaviours, attitudes and strategies of truly outstanding leaders? Here are six characteristics:

1. Lead by Example

Inspiring leaders are invariably in a positive mood with lots of energy. They galvanise others into action through their energy. Typically they keep themselves fit and energised by doing exercise (riding or walking to work, regular gym). They look after themselves so they are in the best state to lead by example. Leaders need to keep mentally and physically healthy. That might mean getting a coach for yourself, or even having someone external to the business who helps you stay on track!

2. Project Your Passion

When you see a leader fully committed it makes others commit. Often being courageous, taking risks, taking time to talk to all the staff on a regular basis - these are the things that show passion. These people constantly seek opportunities to challenge themselves and others around them. You can see passion in the sense of fun they have, in their body language, in the way they take time to thank people. It's an ability to project excitement out to people they may not even know. Passion can be expressed in a range of ways - not just the formal large group speeches. It may be in the letters and emails, the phone calls, even the relationships and meetings. When people see and feel it they become passionate.

3. Drive Your Decisions

Good leaders are clear about the decisions, and they make decisions where others often hang back, paralysed by indecision. They know the key outcomes and what is best for their business, their staff and the future... and they make those decisions with strength and clarity. They may not always be popular decisions, but over time they are usually seen to have been the best decision/s at the time. It's having the courage to assess a risk and decide with what research is available that this is the best course of action. And then to have that ability to hold ground when others might attack a decision. Or to be able to know when a decision may have been the wrong one, and to make the necessary changes quickly and effectively. It's not always an individual decision by the leader. They know when and how to involve others in decisions, and can facilitate a brainstorming and then do the follow through to take. Mostly it's about having the courage to make it happen and manage any fallout.

4. Empower your champions

Great leaders enjoy giving people new challenges... encouraging people to rise to new levels. They are positive and inclusive. It's a pleasure seeing leaders who nurture their staff and give them the opportunities to grow. They see the potential in others often well before those people know it themselves. They believe in them and describe how they might develop in the future. They tell them what they believe they can achieve and then enjoy seeing them develop and build new skills. They find those enthusiastic staff, and they know not only how to nurture them but how to keep them challenged and motivated.

5. Reach your goals

Inspirational leaders set goals and provide a clear strategy that everyone can understand and follow. They are not afraid to ask for help or seek advice. They involve others and provide support and resources. They clear roadblocks and solve problems... and have enormous energy to stick it out and achieve their goals. And they're not afraid to have people hold them accountable. They are results driven, but they will care about their people along the way... so its not just results at the expense of others.

6. Give time and respect to your people

It's great to see leaders, who despite the pressures of work, plan for and make the time to spend it getting to know their people. They get involved in their teams and what's going on. They make sure that things are working properly and communication is going right. It's the simplest walk in every morning and saying a special "hello" to everyone. They know who's who and what's happening and what's going on around the business. Some even seem to create a "family" feeling. They are open and approachable - not just with lip service to the phrase "open door" policy. They make people feel important and give them credit for ideas and suggestions. They show respect consistently.

So test yourself. Do you:

1. Lead by example?
2. Project your passion?
3. Drive your decisions?
4. Reach your goals?
5. Empower your champions?
6. Give time and respect to your people?

What does it take to be an inspirational leader?