Positive Leadership: Unlocking The Power Of Values To Mobilise Your Company And Build Your Brand

Every crisis presents opportunities for innovation and new thinking. And while the world seems to be facing a fresh crisis every day, whether man made or by a force of nature, there is one crisis that presents an opportunity that every company should explore: the crisis of values. 

This post addresses one simple challenge to businesses and their leaders: examine your values and what you believe in, make them meaningful, and then put them to work inside and outside your company because you have a responsibility and a significant opportunity for the changes we are seeing in the world.

Have you defined what you believe in? Examine and define your values as a company so that they are meaningful, memorable, and support your purpose.

If a vision articulates the change a company hopes to make in the world, and the mission is how it plans to get there, values define the character of an organisation, and they act as the principles that direct behaviour during the journey.

After paying the price for an explosive growth strategy, Starbucks lost its way and ended up in a serious crisis. One of the first things Howard Schultz did on his return as CEO was to re-examine the company's soul and its reason for being. He made sure the mission and the values were refreshed and bought back to life. When Bono spoke at an all-company meeting to announce the roll-out in New Orleans, he said, "Some people say, markets are not about morals, they are about profits. That's old thinking and false advice. Great companies will be the ones that find a way to have and hold on to their values while chasing their profits, and brand value will converge to create a new business model that unites commerce and compassion, the heart and the wallet." Today the company is refocused and refreshed, with its share price at an all-time high. Everything it does ladders back to its mission and is guided by living and meaningful values. 

Engage your team by sharing the values with every department in the company to build ownership and engagement.

Companies with unclear values leave the engagement of their people to chance, whereas values-driven companies are organic and human communities that function with passion and focus. As individuals, we are what we believe in and companies are what their people believe in. Values that live on a wall in a conference room are often lengthy and forgettable, but shared values that are alive and authentic drive conviction, consistency, and clarity. Integrating values and a connection to human needs into a company's business model, and throughout each department, presents significant opportunities for innovation. Values connect and motivate people, and can super-charge teams with energy and commitment in tough times. They are the lifeblood of a culture, the buttons when pushed that brings a company to life. Do you know what your company and brand values are? Have you shared the values your company lives by?

Operationalise your values in every department to challenge them to develop action-based plans. Having a clear set of values provides a common communications platform and a set of routines that help connect all departments and reduce organisational complexity. It gives people a basis for collaboration--a common vocabulary, a common language, a common set of principles for decision-making. While the world might be changing, values that remain constant provide a foundation for stability and growth. Values people care about inspire them to look for new problems to solve and to keep anticipating change. Have you shared your values with each department in the company that have to develop plans to bring them to life?

Develop simple methods to measure the impact of living values and find appropriate ways to celebrate them regularly.

We know that when people buy products they build emotional connections with brands. For brands to make connections they have to express meaningful values. Like the dynamics of a deep and lasting friendship, these connections are made stronger when common values are clear and present. Values are people-centred beliefs that connect people, groups inside of a company with different skills in different departments, and consumers outside with the brand. Shared values that are demonstrated in choices and behaviours from a company create opportunities to engage and inspire people inside and outside of the organisation.

Have you celebrated your values and the impact they have on the company's culture and its performance? If not, now is the time to start.

Positive Leadership: Unlocking The Power Of Values To Mobilise Your Company And Build Your Brand

Positive Leadership: Why Top Talent Leave Their Jobs

Positive Leadership: Why Top Talent Leave Their Jobs

Positive Leadership: Self-Belief and Success

Have you ever looked back on something that you achieved and wondered why you were so successful? When you look back at your successes and the things you've achieved in your life and you look for the reasons why you succeeded, you'll find that most often it wasn't just luck. Some, if not all, of the following were involved:

Knowledge, Skill, Commitment, Motivation, Energy, Confidence, Resilience, and a belief in yourself and what you were doing.

It's not hard to see why we succeed. What is hard is explaining why we don't succeed all the time. Quite often people will say, "Oh, that would be too hard for me," or "That would take too much effort." But would it really? Because the truth is that each one of us has a wealth of abilities, energy and skills, but most of the time we only use a fraction of this wealth. This incredible wealth of untapped resources is called "Human Potential." How much we use of it depends, more than anything else, on our belief system.

If we believe there is no way around a problem, we close our minds to possible solutions. But if we believe we will find a way, then it doesn't matter what obstacles we run into. We get very creative. We see things we wouldn't ordinarily see, and we hang in there and get others to help us until we do find a way.

Remember, the most powerful thing you can do to change your life is to change your beliefs about life and begin to act accordingly. 

Positive Leadership: Self-Belief and Success

Positive Leadership: Reducing the Cost of Workplace Stress

Stress at work is a major issue. Brain cells "talk to each other" by means of chemical messengers. When a person is exposed to too much stress, chemical communication in the brain begins to fail. When these messengers fail, a person suffers from sleep disturbance, aches and pains, depression and anxiety. Mental illness costs UK employers an estimated £26bn a year.

One way of helping to deal with stress is to consider magnotherapy as a way of helping to improve sleep patterns.

What is magnotherapy?

Human bodies are electromagnetic in nature and this fact is closely allied to the chemical balance of the body which can be in either a healthy or an unhealthy state.

It is now known scientifically that a healthy body contains fluids that are slightly alkaline and that an unhealthy body is acidic. A poor diet can make the body acidic and in this state all sorts of diseases will thrive. It is also known that at damaged sites in the body, exists a positive electrical charge which affects both the chemical balance and the electrical balance in the area, resulting in pain. In order to effect healing, the body’s own systems send a negative electrical charge to the area. This healing action of the body is easily restricted by poor diet, lifestyle, alcohol, drugs etc. There is also considerable evidence of something called “Magnetic Deficiency Syndrome” being a major contributor to restricting the body’s ability to respond to illness.

It is now firmly established that a negative magnetic field, provided by a geomagnetic north pole magnetic field (the same as the Earth’s North Pole), is the most natural way of providing much needed support for the body’s own immune system.

Negative magnetic fields oxygenate and alkalise by aiding the body’s defences and helping to relieve pain. Further, they combat inflammation and infection and enhance deep restorative sleep. This latter point is extremely important. 

In order to combat maladies that result from the stress of our current lifestyles, the correct amount of good quality sleep is essential. 

Combine this with the possibility of at least reducing the amount of powerful drugs taken and what results is a completely natural complementary therapy. Given the correct choice and placement of magnetic device, this is probably the most effective alternative therapy available. Magnet therapy can be applied by you whenever and wherever needed. Modern materials technology has produced small powerful inexpensive magnets which can be used anywhere on the body and can be moved about to find the best positions.

For further information on magnets which might help you alleviate the symptoms of stress, please go to www.bioflowsport.com

The magnets developed by Bioflow use a strong, multi-directional force of magnetism called ‘Central Reverse Polarity’ also referred to as ‘CRP’, to mimic the expensive professional equipment used by physiotherapists. Molecules that exit a CRP field are more efficient than those produced by standard magnets. This technology is patented to Bioflow and no similar method exists. Bioflow bracelets and wristbands contain only the highest quality neodymium magnets - the strongest type of permanent magnet known. Bioflow products are also credited as a Class 1 medical device in the United Kingdom.

Positive Leadership: Reducing the Cost of Workplace Stress

Positive Leadership: Masters of the Universe

It isn't easy being an alpha male. Getting to the top and staying there takes a physical toll.

The latest evidence comes from wild baboons in Kenya's Amboseli basin. Researchers from Princeton and Duke universities studied 125 males in five groups over nine years and found that while the alpha males got the best food and the most mates, they experienced far more stress than the beta males just beneath them in the hierarchy, based on the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in fecal samples.

The beta males had almost as many mates and got just as much grooming from others, but they didn't have to spend as much time fighting or following females around to keep other males away.

"Being an alpha is exhausting. I'd rather be a beta," says Laurence Gesquiere, lead author of the study that appeared in the journal Science in July. 

For more, see: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903532804576566553268698820.html

In the work world, alpha males are ambitious, assertive, confident and competitive. Here's a quiz that helps define who's an alpha male:

Alpha Strengths

1. No matter what, I don't give up until I reach my end goal.

2. I always say exactly what I think.

3. I have no problem challenging people.

4. I make the decision I believe is correct, even when I know other people don't agree.

5. I seldom have any doubts about my ability to deliver.

Alpha Risks

6. I believe that my value is defined by the results I achieve.

7. I don't care if my actions hurt people's feelings, if that's what's required to produce results.

8. When people disagree with me, I often treat it as a challenge or an affront.

9. If I have a good idea and I'm asked to hold off and listen to inferior ideas, I can quickly become visibly annoyed.

10. People say I become curt, brusque, or frustrated when I have to repeat myself.

Scoring:

If all or nearly all of your responses to statements 1 to 5 were "yes," you are probably an alpha with many of the strengths that make alphas such dynamic and influential leaders.

If all or nearly all of your responses to items 6 to 10 were "yes," you mostly likely have some alpha risks that deserve your attention.

Don't be confused if you scored high in both categories. Because alpha liabilities are mainly alpha assets taken too far or applied inappropriately, that is to be expected. (The exceptions to the rule are healthy alphas who have worked hard to reduce their negative tendencies.)

Source: Kate Ludeman: Adapted from the 'Alpha Assessment' at www.WorthEthic.com

Positive Leadership: Masters of the Universe

Positive Leadership: Performing with a Purpose

People perform amazing feats when they have a purpose.

Here are the five higher benefits of having a quest:

1. Focus

Every person—those who conceive, design, build, buy and talk—have the same focus. People at every level are able to decide what works because everyone knows where we're going and why we're going there.

2. Peak performance

On a quest, we're either in 100%, or we're not. On a quest, we sort who's good at what. People who are in 100% are valued and their strengths are matched to the cause. People who are valued invest more, do more, and go further for the work we love.

3. Energy and tolerance

We have more patience, time and energy for problem-solving when we directly reap the benefits. What leads people to achieve greatness isn't money. In fact, Peter Drucker proved that money is a disincentive…it has the most effect when it’s not there or too small. Greatness is found in the payoffs that a loyal community offers: acknowledgment, sense of purpose, support, feedback.

4. Compelling value

What’s more appealing than working with someone who’s not only good but also loves his or her job? Bringing logic and emotion together in a business outdistances the world view of logic alone. Competence and great execution are expected. A loyal engaged community builds in added value in how they tell the story, how they treat the product and the customers who buy it, and how they talk about the company as a value in their lives.

5. Total differentiation

A thinking culture of passionate leaders who love their job attracts others who share those values. The respect of a loyal community shows in everything it does. The values become both brand and barrier to entry. Community builds authority. We value what we earn and what we love. That value telegraphs itself. It’s contagious. Customers, vendors and partners pick it up as well.

Nothing beats the 360 degree investment of brains, money and dreams all in the same direction. Every company that wants to grow should have some of that. The value of a thinking, job-loving employee community shouts ROI and makes solid business sense.

Positive Leadership: Performing with a Purpose

Positive Leadership: Fix the Problem and Not Just the Symptoms

This interview with Joseph Jimenez, chief executive of Novartis, the pharmaceutical company, was conducted by the New York Times:

‘Q. What are the most important leadership lessons you’ve learned?

A. One occurred when I was a division president of another company. I was sent in to turn the division around after four years of underperformance.  It was a declining business.  And when I got there, I completely misdiagnosed the problem.  I said: “Look.  We’re missing our forecast every month.  What’s wrong?”  I brought in a consulting firm, and we looked at what was wrong.  And the answer was that we had a bad sales and operations planning process, where salespeople, marketing people and operations people were supposed to come together and plan out the next 18 months and then forecast off of that.  So I said: “O.K.  We’re going to fix this.  We’re going to have the consulting team come in and help us make that a better, more robust process, with more analytics.”

And it turned out it wasn’t at all about analytics.  Because once we did that, and we put that new process in place, we still continued to miss forecasts.  So I thought, “Something’s really wrong here.”  I brought in a behavioural psychologist, and I said: “Look, either I’m misdiagnosing the problem or something’s fundamentally wrong in this organisation.  Come and help me figure it out.”  She came in with her team and about four weeks later came back and said: “This isn’t about skills or about process.  You have a fundamental behavioural issue in the organisation.  People aren’t telling the truth. So at all levels of the organisation, they’ll come together, and they’ll say, ‘Here’s our forecast for the month.’  And they won’t believe it.  They know they’re not going to hit it when they’re saying it.” The thing she taught me — and this sounds obvious — is that behaviour is a function of consequence.  We had to change the behaviour in the organisation so that people felt safe to bring bad news. And I looked in the mirror, and I realised I was part of the problem.  I didn’t want to hear the bad news, either. So I had to change how I behaved, and start to thank people for bringing me bad news.

Q. That doesn’t mean letting them off the hook, though.

A. Right. It’s more a chance to say: “Hey, thank you for bringing me that news.  Because you know what?  There are nine months left in the year.  Now we have time to do something about it.  Let’s roll up our sleeves, and let’s figure out how we’re going to make it.”  It was a total shift from where we had been previously.  So after that experience, I always ask all of my people, and I always think to myself: “Are we really fixing the root cause of this problem, if there’s any problem?  Or are we fixing the symptoms?”

For more, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/business/joseph-jimenez-of-novartis-on-finding-the-core-of-a-problem.html?_r=1

Positive Leadership: Fix the Problem and Not Just the Symptoms

Positive Leadership: Learning From Steve Jobs

Positive Leadership: Learning From Steve Jobs

Positive Leadership: Commitment To Excellence

Commitment To Excellence

Positive Leadership: Commitment To Excellence

Positive Leadership: Some Thoughts on Leadership

• “It begins with people.  Life is people.”
• “If we get the right ‘whos’ on the bus, we get the right outcomes.”“
• Try to change every ‘what’ to a ‘who’”
• “It is not about personality, it is about humility.”
• “Humility is burning ambition channelled to do good outside yourself.”
• “Hubris is outrageous arrogance that inflicts suffering on the innocent.”
• “Bad decisions with good intentions are still bad decisions.”
• “True innovation comes from empirical creativity.”
• “The only mistakes you learn from are ones you survive.”
• “The signature of mediocrity is chronic inconsistency.”

Positive Leadership: Some Thoughts on Leadership

Positive Leadership: Be a Yardstick of Quality

 

Positive Leadership: Be a Yardstick of Quality

Positive Leadership: Accept the Facts

Accept The Facts from Nick Bollettieri on Vimeo.

Positive Leadership: Accept the Facts

Positive Leadership: Playing to Win

Play to Win from Nick Bollettieri on Vimeo.

Positive Leadership: Playing to Win

Positive Leadership: Creating Harmony

When a leader tunes his or her instrument first and ensures that each instrument in the orchestra is tuned, harmony is created and people are drawn to see and hear what the organisation has to offer.

Positive Leadership: Creating Harmony

Positive Leadership: Sharing Accountability

Uncertainty necessitates the need for finding more wisdom within our organisations. This can only be accomplished by creating a leadership mindset throughout the entire organisation. It is shared accountability. Any leader that thinks that they can do it alone is indulging their own ego.

Do not assume that no one else on the premises can match our own ambition, competence, and vision. We have to accept the fact that there are many points of wisdom within our organisations and a wise leader will engage them. Too many leaders are not accustomed to accepting input from junior members no matter how valuable it is. This creates a lack of trust and openness. The currency of leadership is relationships and a wise leader would do well to encourage input from as many sources as possible and especially not from the usual suspects.

The concept of distributed leadership will keep you in touch with the environment. If you want to prepare people for this environment, you have to get leadership further down the organisation. We generally tend to drive managing down the organisation, but not leadership. However, in order to maximise the opportunity for success, we have to prepare for acts of leadership further down the organisation – even if it feels like an unnatural act to people sitting at the top.

Leadership needs to be the expected norm at all levels. 

Positive Leadership: Sharing Accountability

Positive Leadership: Building a Positive Work Environment

16 ways to build positive work environments:

• Develop people.
• Know what they do best and leverage it.
• Clearly define expectations.
• Trust them to act.
• Support them when they fail.
• Always give credit and take blame. No one likes seeing a blamer.
• Believe in them – you’re on their team.
• See opportunities more than problems.
• Help find solutions.
• Keep out of the way.
• Encourage, enable, and inspire.
• Protect from bureaucracy.
• Value them as individuals.
• Don’t talk about yourself, too much. Let people know you, however.
• Don’t talk on and on ….
• Make people feel listened to by asking more than stating.

Bonus: Give others what you wish others would give you.

Positive Leadership: Building a Positive Work Environment

Positive Leadership: Would You Want to Report to Yourself?

This is an extract from a New York Times interview with David Barger, president and chief executive of JetBlue.

Q. How do you talk about leadership within the company? 

A. We teach principles of leadership on a regular basis, to supervisors and above. The module I teach is, “Inspiring Greatness in Others,” and we talk a lot about how we each have a silhouette that comes to life. And, as the silhouette comes to life, it’s as much about what you’re doing, the body language, as what you’re saying. There’s a lot of lessons to be learned by watching others make a mistake. And I’ve certainly seen that, in the past. It could be leaders coming in and the next thing you know they’re not visiting the cockpit, they’re not saying hi in the galley, they’re not going to the baggage service office, they’re not stopping by the ticket counter. It doesn’t take a lot. People know you’re there. Go see them. Be present.

Q. What are some other takeaways from your session?

 A. There are several, but here’s a few more: Be mindful that there is incredible leadership all around you. Go find it. Go tap it. Go mine it. And here’s a key question: would you want to report to yourself? It’s little things, too. When you say hi to somebody, do you mean it, or is it just a casual comment?

Q. Any leadership insights you’ve gained in the last couple of years?

 A. We have executive coaches we’ve used over the last couple of years. The message was, enough consensus building. When it’s time to make a decision and your team’s not making the decision, make the decision. I don’t think I ever was reticent in terms of making a decision. But, as I look back, there were plenty of examples where the team was looking at an issue but not getting a final decision. I think it’s probably the most formative feedback I’ve been given — that it’s fine to be the consensus builder, and I know that’s where I lean in terms of my leadership DNA, but now I am more comfortable saying, “This is what we’re going to do. Next topic.”

For more, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/25/business/early-access-as-a-fast-track-to-learning.html?_r=1

Positive Leadership: Would You Want to Report to Yourself?

Positive Leadership: Encouraged vs Discouraged

Events do not cause what we feel, but what we tell ourselves about these events does cause what we feel. 

Many people may seem to be unmotivated but they are really discouraged.  Perhaps they have come to believe that, no matter what they do, the results will not be there, so what is the use?  They should remember that discouragement is more a result of what they are telling themselves as opposed to being about the event itself.

Discouragement is a style of thinking which focuses on end results and a self-counselling of our fears. Encouragement is a style of thinking that focuses more on the process and on possibilities.

Try and avoid talking to yourself about results and fears (again, never counsel your fears) as opposed to process and strengths.  Develop a "go to script" for pressure situations: "Trust," "Read and React," "No judgment. With these phrases you are having audible, observable thoughts that encourage yourself. 

How do you talk to you?  Do you discourage you?  Do you say that this undertaking cannot be done?  Do you say, "I have to win?"  Or do you encourage yourself step by step?  Do you talk yourself through the process?

Here are two of the best encouragement phrases:

• ‘The bamboo encouragement principle’ - If you water bamboo one, two, three years, you get nothing.  But then the fourth year, the bamboo grows nine feet in six weeks.
• 'Keep planting grass; don’t pull weeds'  - Paying attention to the weeds is counselling your fears.  Planting grass is encouraging your strengths.

Your greatest enemy when under pressure is mental fatigue and discouragement.  But if you can keep from growing weary, in doing well in due season, you will reap if you faint not.  Keep on fighting weary until finding renewed energy.  Talk to you, out loud if you have to, saying, "Keep planting grass; don’t pull weeds."  Or "Keep watering the bamboo."  Or maybe "I am just too stubborn to give up, so weary I hear you knocking, but you can’t come in."   Whatever you do, just keep on keeping on.

Positive Leadership: Encouraged vs Discouraged

Positive Leadership: Achieving Greatness

What is the difference between mediocrity and greatness? Possibly not as much as you think.

You know, it really takes very little to make a big difference in our lives and in the world. In professional baseball in the USA for example, most batters hit for an average of about .250, which means that they get one hit for every four times at bat. Anyone who hits .300, three hits out of ten, is considered a star. By the end of the season, there are only about a dozen players out of hundreds in the leagues who have maintained a .300 average, and these are the ones who get the big contracts, the acclaim, and the TV commercials.

In other words, the difference between the great players and the ordinary players is only one hit out of twenty! This slim margin of greatness in baseball symbolises the dynamics of greatness in life, because when we use just a tiny bit more of our potential, we become outstanding human beings.

Now, the purpose of being outstanding is not to win acclaim or glory, but to be more of what we can be. If you accept the idea that most of your present limitations are not based on any unchangeable reality but are rather the result of beliefs you hold about your reality, then the next step is to deliberately and systematically change those beliefs.

It’s called possibility thinking, and it’s a skill you can learn quite easily. 

Positive Leadership: Achieving Greatness

Positive Leadership: What Makes A Leader

'What Makes A Leader?' was the title of the 1998 article Daniel Goleman wrote in the Harvard Business Review that the review calls one of its ten “must-read” articles of all time. He wrote about three abilities that distinguish the best leaders from average: self-awareness, which both lets you know your strengths and limits, and strengthens your inner ethical radar; self-management, which lets you lead yourself effectively; and empathy, which lets you read other people accurately. You put all those together in every act of leadership.

For more, see: http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2011/09/15/daniel-goleman-on-leadership-and-the-power-of-emotional-intelligence/

Positive Leadership: What Makes A Leader

Positive Leadership: The Importance of 'You'!

A "Crash Course" on LEADERSHIP

The 10 most important words:

“What can I do to help you be more successful?”

The 9 most important words:

“I need you to do this, and here’s why…”

The 8 most important words:

“That’s my mistake and I will fix it.”

The 7 most important words:

“My door is always open to you.”

The 6 most important words:

“Let’s focus on solving the problem.”

The 5 most important words:

“You did a great job!”

The 4 most important words:

“What do YOU think?”

The 3 most important words:

“Follow my lead.”

The 2 most important words:

“Thank You.”

The MOST important word:

“YOU”

Positive Leadership: The Importance of 'You'!

Positive Leadership: Inspirational leadership secures #WalkerCup

If north-east Scotland had not been buffeted by strong winds and rain squalls at the week-end, might the US have won the Walker Cup again? The question is relevant following Great Britain and Ireland’s narrow victory in a thrilling match at the stunning Royal Aberdeen golf club because winds gusting up to 30mph and intense rain squalls were certainly less familiar to the visitors than to the home team.

The answer to the question though is that Great Britain and Ireland confounded all known form, including the current world amateur golf rankings not to mention almost all the pre-match predictions and were so ably led by Nigel Edwards that they won this biennial contest for only the eighth time. They probably would have won under calmer conditions. But it is also true that luck favoured Edwards. Had the wind dropped on Sunday morning so that the second day could have been played in a calm, when the Americans improved, then matters might have been different. In fact, perhaps it was Edwards’s performance that tipped it for Britain and Ireland. The third Welshman to captain Great Britain and Ireland, Edwards, 43, became the second to win, after Clive Brown’s victorious captaincy at Royal Porthcawl in 1995.

Edwards stands comparison with Colin Montgomerie in last year’s Ryder Cup in the way he coaxed and cajoled his men to victory. Just as Montgomerie looked into every detail, even the smallest and least significant, so Edwards did much of the same. His self assurance, his eye for detail, his elaborate preparation and his knowledge of the competition as well as his passion for it, simply overwhelmed Jim Holtgrieve, the eminent American golfer. Holtgrieve is a sturdy man from the mid West, a superb and successful amateur and a less successful professional who returned to the amateur ranks. But he is 63 and his rather casual style of captaincy and the age gap between him and the rest of his team made him look out of touch at times. His captaincy also highlighted an obvious question: why is the United States Golf Association in the business of giving captaincy of this competition to former players as a reward?

The 43rd Walker Cup was rather like an old Ryder Cup. Holtgrieve gave the impression of leaving much of it to his players, believing he had the best amateurs in the world who were sufficiently experienced to be able to look after themselves. Edwards, by contrast, could not do enough for his men, from taking them twice to Aberdeen for practice week-ends, to showing motivational films and continually making sure that he was in the right place when he needed to be. Most of all, he was able to speak from the experience of winning and losing in Walker Cups because he had played in two winning teams as well as two that narrowly lost. In this he was rather reminiscent of Bernhard Langer at Oakland Hills in the 2004 Ryder Cup. While Hal Sutton progressed around while wearing a cowboy hat that, frankly, made him look rather silly, Langer concentrated on popping up on the tee of every short hole, always ready to give advice and pass on information.

Edwards looked as though he knew precisely what he was doing at all time; Holtgrieve didn’t. Edwards looked on top of his job; Holtgrieve didn’t. Edwards is certain to be asked to captain GB and I at the National Golf Links on Long Island, New York in two years. Holtgrieve probably will be asked because the convention among American teams is that captains are given a home and an away match, but he may not actually deserve it.

You make your own luck. “Prepare properly and you get your just rewards” Edwards said. He did and he and his team won. Holtgrieve didn’t and so he and his team lost.

Posted by John Hopkins

Positive Leadership: Inspirational leadership secures #WalkerCup

Positive Leadership: Crisis Leadership

On September 11, 2001 we witnessed both the destructive power of evil leadership and the resilient power of heroic leadership by FDNY, NYPD, and countless others.

One figure who stood tall as an example of effective leadership during the crisis is former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

Regardless of your political leanings, Guiliani's leadership during the 9/11 tragedy is something leaders from all walks of life can learn from.

In his book titled Leadership, Giuliani writes, "It is in times of crisis that good leaders emerge."

Giuliani demonstrated that during times of crisis, leaders must do four critical things: be highly visible, composed, vocal, and resilient.

1. BE VISIBLE

Giuliani writes, "While mayor, I made it my policy to see with my own eyes the scene of every crisis so I could evaluate it firsthand."

During a crisis, leaders must be out front rather than running or hiding from the ordeal. They must go to the scene of disaster and stand front and centre - to accurately assess the situation as well as show their concern, while also demonstrating confidence that the group will persevere.

Business author Tom Peters writes of Guiliani's courage to be visible: "Rudy 'showed up' - when it really mattered, on 9/11. As one wag put it, he went from being a lameduck, philandering husband to being Time magazine's 'Man of the Year' in 111 days. How? Not through any 'strategy,' well-thought-out or otherwise. But by showing his face. By standing as the embodiment of Manhattan's Indomitable Spirit."

As a leader, be sure you don't retreat when faced with a crisis. Rather than hide from the chaos and confusion, be sure to step in to sort things out and find a solution.

Again, political preferences aside, the importance of being visible during a crisis can also be learned from George W. Bush's presidency. Like Giuliani, Americans rallied around President Bush when he went to Ground Zero and grabbed a bullhorn amid the rubble to reassure the nation.

Contrast that with President Bush's lack of a timely response to Hurricane Katrina. Bush was noticeably absent during the first few days of the crisis and his poll numbers took a big hit.

Bottom Line: Step up during a crisis to survey the scene and be there for your people.

2. BE COMPOSED

Guiliani writes: "Leaders have to control their emotions under pressure. Much of your ability to get people to do what they have to do is going to depend on what they perceive when they look at you and listen to you. They need to see someone who is stronger than they are, but human, too."

No matter how difficult things may seem, you must maintain your poise under pressure. People will look at your face as well as tune into the tone of your voice to determine whether they should panic or remain calm; to give in or maintain hope.

As Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski reminds us in his book Leading with the Heart, "A leader must show the face his team needs to see."

Bottom Line: Be sure to show your team that you are calm and in control, even though you may not exactly feel that way at the time. Your calm demeanour will go a long way toward helping your team think clearly and react appropriately during the crisis.

3. BE VOCAL

Giuliani writes, "I had to communicate with the public, to do whatever I could to calm people down and contribute to a orderly and safe evacuation [of lower Manhattan.]"

In addition to being visible and composed, leaders must step up in an effort to calm people down and communicate with them.

Bottom Line: You must speak up and take charge of what people are thinking and feeling at the time. You must reassure them and give them a simple yet specific plan that will get people through the crisis. Outline important action steps that they can take immediately to help themselves and the team.

4. BE RESILIENT

As difficult as the crisis can seem, remind people that there is hope.

Giuliani writes: "I am an optimist by nature. I think things will get better, that the good people of America and New York City will overcome any challenge thrown our way. So in the face of this overwhelming disaster, standing amid sixteen acres of smouldering ruins, I felt a mixture of disbelief and confidence... that Americans would rise to this challenge."

While your athletic challenges pale in comparison to 9/11, they can still discourage, distract, and debilitate those on your team.

Bottom Line: Give your team a sense of hope. Let them know that they have the ability to make it through the crisis.

9/11 was undoubtedly a horrendous day in the USA’s history. Yet, in the course of this tragedy, countless leaders emerged to help the nation through.

Positive Leadership: Crisis Leadership

Positive Leadership: Talent is Not Everything

Do you know people who talk about children who can learn and ones who can’t? Or, children who can be helped and ones who can’t? Well, they are wrong, and we will tell you why.

Some 30-odd years ago, the great Japanese teacher, Dr. Suzuki, who taught over 20,000 children to understand and play the violin like virtuosi, had some words of wisdom to share with us. He said, “People today are like gardeners who look sadly at ruined saplings and shake their heads, saying the seeds must have been bad to start with – not realising that the seed was all right, and that it was their method of cultivation that was wrong. They go on their mistaken way, ruining plant after plant. It is imperative that the human race escape from this vicious circle.” These words have value even today.

You see, Dr. Suzuki did not believe that some children were gifted while others were not. He believed that every child could be superior, and that every child could be educated. Talent, he believed, was no accident of birth, but a purposeful effort, a powerful creation.

Let’s teach our children to understand that when they see someone of ability, they see a person who has been carefully taught, and who has worked hard to realise their unlimited potential. Let’s teach them that they have the same unlimited potential. And let’s teach them to believe in sustained effort, self-discipline and self-determination.

We have the opportunity and the ability to raise an entire generation of superstars every day. Why would we settle for less?

Positive Leadership: Talent is Not Everything