? Jeff Compton | The REAL DEAL in Leadership Development™ INCLUDE_DATA

What is your emotional IQ?

For decades, a lot of emphasis has been put on certain aspects of intelligence such as logical reasoning, math skills, spatial skills, understanding analogies, verbal skills etc. Researchers were puzzled by the fact that while IQ could predict to a significant degree academic performance and, to some degree, professional and personal success, there was something missing in the equation. Some of those with fabulous IQ scores were doing poorly in life; one could say that they were wasting their potential by thinking, behaving and communicating in a way that hindered their chances to succeed.
One of the major missing parts in the success equation is emotional intelligence, a concept made popular by the groundbreaking book by Daniel Goleman, which is based on years of research by numerous scientists such as Peter Salovey, John Meyer, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg and Jack Block, just to name a few. For various reasons and thanks to a wide range of abilities, people with high emotional intelligence tend to be more successful in life than those with lower EIQ even if their classical IQ is average.

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19

07 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
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Dealing with Difficult Personalities

An office environment is just like any other situation where many people must work together in order to achieve similar goals. There are going to be natural leaders among the group along with natural followers. Some will be extroverted and firm in their convictions while others may be more introverted and easily swayed to the majority opinion on an issue. Every employee, from management to labor, brings with them personality traits that are unique to that individual. Some characteristics are most welcome, such as leadership ability or diplomacy in discussions. Other personality traits, however, can adversely affect the delicate interpersonal dynamics of the office environment. Dealing with these difficult personalities can be a challenge, but here are some ideas on how to identify five common disruptive personality types and how to deal with them on a daily basis.

The Chronic Complainer

The ‘chronic complainer’ is usually the co-worker that has worked for the company a few years longer than he or she might have expected. He or she may have once been a model employee, but a few shot-down ideas or confrontations with the boss later, they prefer to be the voice of doom for the office. If bad news is circulating, the chronic complainer will hear it first and enjoy breaking it to fellow employees. The chief effect of the complainer is a general lowering of morale and reluctance to initiate constructive dialogue with ‘the enemy’, the supervisors and higher management

The best way to handle a chronic complainer is to keep their views in perspective. Their opinions do not have to reflect those of the entire office. Whatever events triggered their obvious dissatisfaction are their own issues, and should not affect your own goals and relationships with key members of management. Forget about trying to change their opinions- concentrate on forming your own. Complainers are sometimes completely justified in their complaints, but still allow room for more objective facts concerning the issue involved.

The Office Gossip

This personality type lives for the controversies and disagreements that may arise in such close quarters. Although rarely a part of the official loop, the office gossip will routinely position themselves to ‘accidentally’ overhear privileged communications or intercept confidential memos and phone calls. The chief effect of the office gossip is misinformation and the loss of trust among peers. Some co-workers may establish a covert relationship with the office gossip, hoping to obtain information that will be useful to them. This is usually an unhealthy alliance, and one you should avoid at all costs. Deal with the office gossip by not dealing with them. Once you have identified a gossip, make an effort to avoid discussing anything remotely confidential near them. If they approach you with a new rumor, politely but firmly inform them that you are not interested in what they have to offer. Gossips tend to seek out only those who are eager to hear the latest.

The Information Miser

If you work in a business environment that uses a system of ‘nodes’ as their model, you may encounter the ‘information miser’. The nodes model relies on each element of the company working as a separate but equal ‘node’ or point on a grid structure. Accountants answer to an accounting manager, who compiles the information and waits until another node, e.g. marketing, makes a formal request for that information. Most of the time, this arrangement works well. Decisions in any one node do not have to be approved by an executive

Who may not be strong in that area? But on the human level, certain node managers realize that their information is vital, which gives them considerable leverage when bargaining for their own agendas. They will hold onto their information until they are satisfied that their own needs have been met. Dealing with the ‘information miser’ may be very difficult, because in a sense they do hold most of the cards. You need to keep a human face on your dealings with such people. As long as you represent ‘Marketing’, they can hold out as long as they need to. If you come across as “Bob, the nice guy who works in marketing”, then they are more likely to give you what you need. Acknowledge their power, but appeal to their human side.

Know-it-alls

Perhaps the worst scenario possible in the workplace can be the inevitable calling of the expert. You’ve done everything you know how to do to fix the situation, but now you must call in the reinforcements. Introducing… the know-it-all. The know-it-all may be a skilled repairman or a knowledgeable consultant

, but an absolute disaster as a co-worker. The chief effect of a know-it-all is a definite reluctance to call for such help ever again. Situations that could actually benefit from their expertise may go unaddressed for months, simply because no one wants to deal with the know-it-all. This is a difficult challenge if you want to maintain a good working relationship with this obviously talented and useful co-worker. Keep in mind that you won’t change their arrogance and overbearing ways overnight, if ever. Try to encourage some interaction away from the office environment- an invitation to the after-work wind-down or an informal party. Know-it-alls sometimes use their intelligence as a defense against personal intimacy with their fellow workers. They may not even realize that their sharp remarks and quick dismissals sound as harsh as they do. You may privately suggest to such a difficult co-worker that they use more discretion when dealing with their co-workers.

Mood-swingers

These are the people whose daily temperatures must be taken before entering into any conversation. They may be perfectly pleasant one day, then completely irrational the next. If they are in a supervisory position, their subordinates usually walk on eggshells in their presence. They are the mood swingers, a tribe unto themselves. Their most common effect on the office environment is an atmosphere of uncertainty and dread. Maybe they will be receptive to your idea, maybe they will laugh you out of their office. You just can’t tell. The best way to deal with a mood swinger is to strike while the iron is hot. Get as much work done with them on their good days, so the bad days won’t affect your own agenda nearly as much. You don’t really want to know all the reasons behind their moodiness and emotional outbursts, so don’t bother trying. Their bad days may seem to coincide with the days you need their input the most, so you may want to change your priorities. Save the bad news for their good days, when they are more likely to deal with it rationally. But by the same token, don’t confuse bad moods with an inability to function as your supervisor or co-worker. Sure, they are in a terrible frame of mind, but they did show up for work and they can still sign off on that project you’ve been working on. Their outbursts are rarely personal, even though they may seem that way while they are happening. As long as you can distance yourself from the brunt of their self-inflicted fury, you can survive the mood swinger fairly unscathed to deal with them on a daily basis.

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14

07 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
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Super Employee vs Supervisor

“There are 10 skills that every manager should know. What got them to where they are, will not take them to where they need to be.”

Most people do not start out as managers or supervisors; they start their careers as employees just like everyone else. If you are a supervisor, I assume this is how you started your career as well. But along the way, something happened to you. It’s like something clicked in your mind. You said to yourself… “I am going to be good at my job!” You came to work on time, kept the right attitude and did what it took to become very adept at your job. Like any other perfectionist, you worked hard to master your position. You tackled every problem and figured out the best way to solve each situation. You became so good at solving problems that your co-workers began to come to you with their own conundrums. Managers and supervisors would sneak in and say… “I need your help.” And in your mind you would think… “You sure do!”

You were no longer just a mere employee, a transformation had taken place. You went from being an employee like everyone else, to what I like to call a SUPER employee!

No problem was too difficult. For every situation, you had a method for dealing with that particular problem. One day the powers-that-be came by and said to themselves… “WOW! A SUPER employee! Let’s make ‘em a SUPERvisor.” But they forgot to tell you the big secret…

When you were a SUPER employee, 100% of your time was devoted to doing your job. You handled every problem with he greatest of ease. One the other hand, when you became a SUPERvisor, 80% of your time was now devoted to dealing with people. And dealing with people means dealing with their problems.

Most employees have a life of their own, and they tend to make bad choices from time to time. They will bring their problems to work with them, too, because it’s a part of their life. You could put up a big neon sign at work that read… “Please DO NOT bring your problems to work!” but they will walk right by that sign and think that it doesn’t apply to them.

Whose job is it to handle these problems at work so that your employees stay productive? Welcome to the world of supervisors: You’re It.

Human nature tells us that when we are faced with a problem, we are more likely to lean on what we are good at to solve that problem. What are you good at? You are good at being a SUPER employee. So you tend to lean on your SUPER employee skills to solve your SUPERvisor problems, and that is why you hear managers make statements such as… “By the time I show them how to do it, I can do it myself!”

Unfortunately, when you use a SUPER employee technique to try and solve a SUPERvisor problem, it just makes the problem worse. You see, for every problem there is a “technique” to solve that problem. This has been going on since the dawning of time. Early man grew tired of raw food so they developed “techniques” to master fire. In your life “techniques” have been used countless times. We use “techniques” to make our lives easier or to put it on autopilot.

You learned a lot of your “techniques” from your parents growing up. Your parents used “techniques” on you all the time. Do you remember when you were a teenager and you would go and ask your parents for money? This presented a problem for your parents. They did not want to give you their hard-earned money to go and blow on something trivial. This is when they would pull out some of their techniques to try and solve this problem. See if you remember any of these…

“Mom and/or Dad, can I have some money?”

Technique #1: “Money doesn’t grow on trees!”

Technique #2: “Go get a job.”

I would bet you have used those “techniques” on your children, as well. In management, there are “techniques” designed to solve the problems you encounter with your people.

There are people out there who are experts in the field of management and human behavior. Their job is to design and develop “techniques” that build productivity and reduce problems. These “techniques” are what you, the manager, should know and use on a daily basis. You should be well versed in these “techniques”.

For every problem in management there is a “technique” to handle that problem. When you get to the place where you have a “technique” for every situation and you can dispel problems with the greatest of ease, that is called a “skill”. The more “skills” you have as a SUPERvisor the more valuable you become to your company.

In my audio series “Strategic Management: The REAL DEAL on How to Supervise People” I talk about the top ten skills that companies feel make you the most valuable to them. You must master these skills if you are going to be a true SUPERvisor. These skills are designed to build productivity and reduce problems, and they are a necessity to every manager. Unfortunately, most managers are just Super employees masquerading as SUPERvisors. Make a commitment to learn these supervisory skills today, and increase your employee’s morale, watch your accomplishments soar, and add more value to your work- and you.

The REAL DEAL
Jeff Compton

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15

06 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in Leadership Development, Management, Supervising People, The REAL DEAL
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The Purpose of Wishful Thinking

I have always seen the glass “Half-Full”. I’ve gone farther in proclaiming that the glass is always full! Positive thoughts have been proven to bring positive results.  Just ask Rismond Exantus, he was the Haitian recently pulled from the rubble of a hotel destroyed by the devastating earthquake in Haiti. Rismond had been buried alive under 20 feet of wood and concrete for 11 days. Experts agree that after 72 hours the chances of survival begins to quickly diminish, yet Rismond Exantus told The Associated Press from his hospital bed soon after the rescue. “But every night I thought about the revelation that I would survive.”

Is positive thinking and wishful thinking the same? The answer is no. Positive thinking denotes an optimistic and healthy outlook on whatever life brings your way. This is good to have. Wishful thinking, on the other hand, is the process used by many, including myself; to gently pacify our minds as we wait for “someday” to come and give us our hopes and dreams. THIS IS NOT GOOD.

Wishful thinking robs us of our goals. I know this first hand. Many times I have implored the art of wishful thinking.  Using it like a heady drug to sooth my mind while I sit and do nothing to achieve my goals in life. As long as “someday” was coming, there was no need to do anything today. The regrets I have concerning my past always contained one common denominator, the element of wishful thinking.

Many of you have goals. There are things we all want to achieve in life. Motivational speakers are famous for saying that all you have to do is think positive thoughts and your goals will be achieved. They use the words positive thinking, but many of us have been caught in the trap of actually using wishful thinking instead. The fact is, no amount of positive or wishful thinking will achieve your goals. Achievement comes from action.

Action is the antithesis of wishful thinking. The act of writing down a goal and an action plan to achieve that goal is only the first step to success. The second step you take is the most important.  That is putting your plan into action! However, most skip the second step altogether, instead they rest on their laurels of having a good plan and goal, thus hoping the universe will deliver their dreams to them. This, by the way, is nothing more than wishful thinking. Action trumps wishful thinking! Taking massive action will give you massive results, but taking no action will give you NO RESULTS. It is one thing to be a dreamer, but an entirely different thing to be a daydreamer.

It is important to have positive thoughts but that alone will not achieve your goals. Rismond Exantus knew to think positive but he also took action. He said he survived initially by diving under a desk when the rubble started to fall around him. Trapped in such a small space, he had to lie on his back the entire time and survived by drinking cola, beer and cookies. “I would eat anything I found.”

The purpose of wishful thinking is to create regrets. The purpose of taking action is to create results. Next time you are sitting there cooing over your goals, ask yourself this question. “What have I done today to get me closer to achieving my goals?” If your answer is nothing… then that’s wishful thinking.

Jeff Compton, The REAL DEAL Speaker™

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24

01 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in The REAL DEAL
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The Sacrifice of Leadership

How do you become a STRATEGIC LEADER?  Strategic Leadership is using the right techniques and tools to change the perception of others in a way that they follow you.

Sacrifice

Sacrifice is a tool of every strategic leader. A true leader will know that every sacrifice and brings larger benefits in the future.
Prime Minister Winston Churchill, addressing the House of Commons on May 13, 1940, described the Nazi threat to Britain:

“I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many months of struggle and suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war by sea, land and air with all our might and with all the strength God can give us . . . That is our policy. You ask what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory-victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror-victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival”

(William Manchester, The Caged Lion, Michael Joseph, London, 1988, pp. 682-683).

Many have acknowledged the leadership of Winston Churchill. Sir Winston didn’t become a great leader overnight, but it was strategic. Churchill’s leadership, like that of many great leaders, was built on sacrifice-great ambition occasionally set back, risky decisions gone awry and jealousy from political opponents.

Sacrifice plays a role in providing an aspiring leader the opportunity to guide willing followers to success. Great leadership isn’t easy or cheap. Of himself and his call to lead his country, Churchill said:

“I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial”

Jeff Compton

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07

01 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
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Strategic Leadership: Time Management ~ New Years Resolution

Strategic Leadership: Time Management ~ New Years Resolution

Everyone has 24 hours to each and every day, so how come some manage to do more with their time than others?

The secret is simpler than you realize. Eliminating distractions that is the greatest challenge. The truth is that everyone is challenged by managing their time. It isn’t easy to juggle all your commitments. Everyone has their own challenges, be it business, or personal. Simply make an effort to change, and follow these simple tips, and you will immediately see a difference in your productivity!

Your priorities are in two areas; business and personal. Unfortunately, your personal priorities can change at a moments notice and impact your daily plans, so expect this, and if possible make allowances and plan ahead. It also helps your stress levels.

You will find that your priorities fall into two distinct zones, immediate and accumulating. Anything outside this is not a priority. These other tasks are adaptable, in that you can fit them in around your priorities whenever it suits them.

Don’t rely on your memory. It’s too easy, again, to be distracted and forget. Carry a small hardback notebook, or Personal Digital Assistance, and make notes of any ideas or thoughts of importance before you forget. How many times have you said, “I remember thinking I had to … but it slipped my mind.”

Each evening before you go to bed, empty your mind and spend a few minutes writing down and going over what you put in your notebook.

Now here’s the secret – prioritize everything, and do your absolute best to dispose of your top priorities the following day. Identify your accumulating priorities, and try to do something with them the following day, even if it is only a small amount of time. For example, if you are a one person operation, spend 5 minutes updating your accounts, rather than leaving them to turn into a top priority which requires days of addressing. Do this each night, and I guarantee you will sleep easier.

If you can, break down your tasks into areas, or modules, and delegate, or out-source if you can.

Schedule at least one 30 – 45 minute break somewhere in your daily schedule, above and beyond timeout for meals. Use this space for emergency rescheduling of appointments, working on your flexi-tasks, or as a stress buster break if you need it. If your child is unwell going to school, perhaps that emergency break should be before noon that day.

1. Eliminate distractions,

2. Prioritize everything, and

3. Plan for the unexpected. Time management is not easy, but it is relatively simple to take steps to make your day more enjoyable and productive.

I hope these tips will help you be a more “Strategic Leader”

Jeff Compton | The REAL DEAL in Leadership Development

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01

01 2010


by Jeff Compton
posted in Leadership Development, The REAL DEAL
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The REAL DEAL Speaker™

Leadership is nothing more than perception. It’s not the morals, character, bravery or knowledge of a person that makes them a leader. These are all good qualities, but it doesn’t make you a leader. The REAL DEAL is that you become a leader when others perceive you as a leader. A leader is someone who can change the perceptions of other to see them as a leader. Leaders are not born they are made; they are made through act of performing techniques designed to change perception.

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27

12 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in Uncategorized
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Goal Setting

Goal Setting

Just wanted to take a moment and post this wonderful article from Rick Crain on setting goals. Enjoy.

Goal Setting involves establishing specific, measurable and time-targeted objectives. On a personal level, setting goals is a process that allows people to specify then work towards their own objectives -which range from financial or career-based goals to personal development goals. When setting goals, there are a series of 12 mistakes commonly made that can hinder the goal setting process:

Mistake #1: Not focusing on Your Most Important and Audacious Goal


While it may be comforting to set small, easily-achievable goals instead of big audacious ones, this will work against you in the end. This is because setting large, seemingly impossible goals spurs your mind to think differently.

Mistake #2: Not having a clear timeframe or deadline

Deadlines are a great way to focus the mind and force yourself to make things happen.

Mistake #3: Not defining a clear measurement for achieving your goal

If you don’t measure how well you’re progressing toward your goal, you may never know how well you’re doing.

Mistake #4: Not defining your Compelling Reasons for wanting to achieve your goal

A common mistake people make when forming their goals is to never ask themselves why they really want to achieve it. This is vital, because once you put your subconscious motivations into words, it often sheds new light onto which approaches are best for achieving it.

Mistake #5: Not defining the Benefits You Expect to Gain

Mistake #6: Not defining the Consequences of Not Achieving Your Goal

In addition to making a list of the good things you’ll get from achieving your goals, also write down a list of the bad things you envision if you never achieve it.

Mistake #7: Not pre-defining the Obstacles to Achieving Your Goal

Obstacles are unavoidable. If there aren’t any obstacles to reaching your goal, it’s probably not a goal worth having. But you can get around these obstacles if you plan for them in advance.

Mistake #8: Not enough focus on the Solutions to Overcoming Your Obstacles

If you have defined the possible obstacles to your goal, your mind will suddenly perceive solutions where none existed before.

Mistake #9: Trying to do it all alone

Most goals we have are social goals that involve other people. Call upon family, friends, professionals, and anyone you think can help you reach your goal.

Mistake #10: Not setting clear milestones on your path to success

Break up large goals into a series of milestones. Otherwise, you may have problems assessing your goal, determining your progress, and taking corrective action.

Mistake #11: Not sharing your goal widely

If you keep your goal to yourself, then you’ve only got one person motivating and cheering you on to victory.

Mistake #12: Not visualizing with clarity what Your Goal will Look Like, Feel Like, and Sound Like

You will find that visualizing success as vividly as you can is a vital step to achieving and exceeding your biggest goals.

Question of the day:
What is your one, big, audacious goal in life? Share it below and reply back to me.

Rick Crain

Business Leader and Executive Coach

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14

12 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in Leadership Development
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Decoding Leadership

Here’s another great article on Leadership

by Norm Smallwood

The world doesn’t need another leadership theory. On Amazon, there are 480,881 books today that have to do with leaders as the topic. If you ask 30 leadership development experts to define leadership, you get 31 different answers. No wonder we’re confused.

This is a problem when trying to develop effective leaders- everyone has a different opinion and there’s no right answer. Progress can only be made when there’s agreement about what we’re trying to develop leaders to do.

I was in a meeting recently with a group of senior executives from the same company and started with the question: “What are qualities of effective leaders?” Here’s a partial list of their responses:

• Authentic
• Transparent
• Emotional intelligence
• Interpersonal effectiveness
• Servant-leader
• Humility
• Leaders not managers
• Know contingency theory by mapping response to situation
• Live the 7 Habits
• Build a vision
• Ensure customer centricity

And so on.

In other words, they had no clue. They could make a list but they did not have a point of view.

Dave Ulrich and I (along with our colleague Kate Sweetman) determined to synthesize this morass of ideas. We turned to recognized experts in the field who had already spent years sifting through the evidence and asked two simple but elusive questions:

1. What percentage of effective leadership traits are basically the same?
2. If there are common rules that all leaders must master, what are they?

Our respondents agreed that 60-70% of leadership is common for any effective leaders – from a bootstrapping entrepreneur to a leader at a large organization. By synthesizing their work we identified five rules to decode leadership:

Rule 1: Shape the future. This rule is embodied in the strategist dimension of the leader. Strategists answer the question “where are we going?” and make sure that those around them understand the direction as well.

Rule 2: Make things happen. Turn what you know into what you do. The Executor dimension of the leader focuses on the question “How will we make sure we get to where we are going?”

Rule 3: Engage today’s talent. Leaders who optimize talent today answer the question “Who goes with us on our business journey?” Talent managers know how to identify, build and engage talent to get results now.

Rule 4: Build the next generation. Leaders who develop the next generation answer the question, “who stays and sustains the organization for the next generation?” Talent Managers ensure shorter-term results through people while Next Generation Developers ensure that the organization has the longer-term competencies required for future strategic success.

Rule 5: Invest in yourself. At the heart of this Leadership Code – literally and figuratively – is Personal Proficiency. Effective leaders cannot be reduced to what they know and do. Who they are as human beings has everything to do with how much they can accomplish with and through other people.

This “Leadership Code” allows leadership development people to stop circling the drain by reinventing competency models that are essentially the same. It provides a grounded point of view about the fundamentals. Future time, energy and attention can be applied to figuring out the other 30% about what makes our leaders unique and how to build a deeper bench of qualified leaders at every level.

Norm Smallwood is the cofounder of The RBL Group and coauthor of The Leadership Code

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22

10 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in Leadership Development
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The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” by John Maxwell has become a leadership classic, found on every leaders bookshelf. John Maxwell is the founder and chairman of The INJOY and a world renown author of more than 30 books, with more than 7 million copies sold. Some of his best titles include:

Many of his titles have landed on the best seller list in publications such as the New York Times, Business Week, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and CBA Marketplace. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership surpassed the 1,000,000 shipped/sold mark early in 2003.

Overview

  1. The Law of the Lid – Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. Leadership ability is always the lib on personal and organizational effectiveness. Whatever you want to accomplish is restricted by your leadership ability.
  2. The Law of Influence – The true measure of leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less. If you don’t have influence you will never lead others. To change organizations you need influence. Leadership is not based upon holding position, leadership is about your ability to influence.
  3. The Law of Process – Leadership develops daily, not in a day.Leadership is learnt over time, it’s the capability to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers. Successful leaders are learners.
  4. The Law of Navigation – Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. Leaders have a vision for their destination, they understand what it will take to get there, they know who they’ll need on the team to be successful, and they recognise the obstacles long before they appear on the horizon.
  5. The Law of E.F. Hutton – When the real leader speaks, people listen. Don’t listen to the claims of the person professing to be the leader. Instead, watch the reactions of the people around him. The proof of leadership is found in the followers. “Being in power is like being a lady – if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” – Margaret Thatcher
  6. The Law of Solid Ground – Trust is the foundation of leadership. To build trust, a leader must exemplify these qualities: competence, connection, and character. Character makes trust possible. And trust makes leadership possible.
  7. The Law of Respect – People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. People don’t follow other by accident. They follow individuals whose leadership they respect. Followers are attracted to people who are better leaders than themselves.
  8. The Law of Intuition – Leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias. Leadership depends on more than just the facts. Leaders see trends, resources and problems, and can read people. The law of intuition is based on facts plus instinct and other intangible factors. A leader has to read the situation and know instinctively what play to call. Leadership is more art than science.
  9. The Law of Magnetism – Who you are is who you attract. Leaders are always on the look out for good people. In most situations you draw people to you who possess the same qualities you do. The better leader you are, the better leaders you will attract.
  10. The Law of Connection – Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. Effective leaders know that you first have to touch people’s hearts before you ask them for a hand. The heart comes before the hand. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. To connect with people in a group relate to them as individuals. It’s the leader’s job to initiate connection with the people.
  11. The Law of the Inner Circle – A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him. A leader’s potential is determined by those closest to him. All great leaders have surrounded themselves with a strong inner circle.
  12. The Law of Empowerment – Only secure leaders give power to others. The people’s capacity to achieve is determined by their leader’s ability to empower. “The best executive is the one who has the sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it” – Theodore Roosevelt.
  13. The Law of Reproduction – It takes a leader to raise up a leader. More than four out of every five of all leaders that you ever meet will have emerged as leaders because of the impact made on them by established leaders who mentored them. People cannot give to others what they themselves do no possess. The potential of an organisation depends on the growth of its leadership.
  14. The Law of Buy-In – People buy into the leader, then the vision. The leader finds the dream and then the people. The people find the leader, and then the dream. People don’t first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote worthwhile causes.
  15. The Law of Victory – Leaders find a way for the team to win. Leaders believe that anything less than success is unacceptable. And they have no Plan B. That keeps them fighting.
  16. The Law of the Big Mo – Momentum is a leader’s best friend. You can’t steer a ship that isn’t moving forward. It takes a leader to create momentum. Followers catch it. And managers are able to continue once it has began. But creating it requires someone who can motivate others, not who needs to be motivated. Getting started is a struggle, but once you’re moving forward, you can really start to do some amazing things.
  17. The Law of Priorities – Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment. Apply the Pareto Principle, If you focus your attention on the activities that rank in the top 20 percent in terms of importance, you will have as 80 percent return on your effort. As a leader, you should spend most of your time working in your areas of greatest strength.
  18. The Law of Sacrifice – A leader must give up to go up. Sacrifice is a constant in leadership. “When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself.” – Gerald Brooks
  19. The Law of Timing – When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go. Only the right action at the right time will bring success. If a leader repeatedly shows poor judgement, even in little things, people start to think that having him as the leader is the real mistake.
  20. The Law of Explosive Growth – To add growth, lead followers – to multiply, lead leaders. The key to growth is leadership. “It is my job to build the people who are going to build the company.” – John Schnatter. To go to the highest level, you have to develop leaders of leaders.
  21. The Law of Legacy – A leader’s lasting value is measured by succession. Just as in sports a coach needs a team of good players to win, an organisation needs a team of good leaders to succeed. A legacy is created only when a person puts his organisation into the position to do great things without him.

Recommendation

What I liked most about this book is that the leadership insights are practical and can be used daily to improve our leadership ability. I feel that this book should be the required reading for all of us who are striving to become practicing leaders. I found the book to be easy to read and the examples provided were good. I strongly recommend this book be read by leaders at all levels. The book creates a great foundation from which to build your leadership knowledge and begin your personal leadership journey.

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19

08 2009


by Jeff Compton
posted in DRIV Strategies
1 Comment

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