Teaching PLI: How to use Delicious in Your Leadership Class

General: Activities for Your Leadership Class (Part 4)

This is the fourth post in a new series sharing many of our favorite leadership activities we do with our audience members across the nation. Each activity has a proven track record since we actually present at over 300 conferences, retreats, school assemblies and corporate events every year and have for the past 20 years.  Enjoy and feel free to share via Facebook, Twitter or email with your network of friends, teachers, trainers, speakers or absolute complete strangers!  (We are @pli_leadership on Twitter.)

This Way/That Way

PLI Essential – Masterful Communication

Objective – To stand or sit based off of the answer to a question

Time Needed – 3-7 minutes

Material Needed – Open space if you want to change the game up and have them take a step forward or backward

When not to do it – If you do not have a predetermined list of topics

Debrief Possibilities – This is really just a fun mixer but it falls under the lines of masterful communication due to the listening aspect. It is also good to do as an opener to help students learn about one another.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. When a question is asked (all questions start with “do you prefer”) if you prefer the first object mentioned take a step forward (or stand up if there is no room) and if you agree with the second object mentioned take a step back (or sit down).

2. The questions should be a series of comparable objects that a student would prefer one over the other. i.e. “Do you prefer texting or talking”, “Do you prefer milk or orange juice” “Chevrolet or Ford” “MTV or ESPN” if they like the first object mentioned they can take a step forward or stand up and if they prefer the second take a step back or have a seat.

3. Have at least 10-15 things to compare but make sure they are things that each student could take a stance on.

4. Note: Stay away from political based or controversial topics.  These activities are designed to help us learn about one another not start a debate and/or riot.

One of our most popular curriculum pieces is The Activator.  It contains this activity, as well as 49 other effective leadership activities!

Purchase Activator Here

General: Activities for your Leadership Class Series (Part 3)

This is the third post in a new series sharing many of our favorite leadership activities we do with our audience members across the nation. Each activity has a proven track record since we actually present at over 300 conferences, retreats, school assemblies and corporate events every year and have for the past 20 years.  Enjoy and feel free to share via Facebook, Twitter or email with your network of friends, teachers, trainers, speakers or absolute complete strangers!  (We are @pli_leadership on Twitter.)


Balloon Toss

PLI Essential – Fostering Relationships, Wise Judgment, Goal Processing

Objective – For each team to keep as many balloons off the ground as possible

Time Needed – From 45 - 60 minutes

Material Needed – 12” round Balloons, Trash Sacks

Best Case Scenario – At least a few teams of 8 people and room to play

When not to do it – If there isn’t any floor space to work with

Debrief Possibilities – This activity teaches how to work with others, how to overcome challenges, how to recognize and work with human behavior patterns, how to communicate, how to plan strategically, and to not be satisfied with status quo

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Each team of 8 gets 1 sack of balloons (3 more balloons than people in the group, i.e. if there are 8 people in the group they will need 11 balloons) and 1 trash sack.

2. Each person must put their strongest hand behind their back and they cannot use it at any time during the activity (except for the feeder).

3. Each team selects a feeder.  The feeder holds the trash sack.

4.Blow up all the balloons and put them in the trash sack.

5.The team needs to figure out how they are going to keep the balloons off the ground by only tapping or nudging them.

6.The feeder will take a balloon out of the sack and feed it to the team at 10-second intervals.

7.Once a balloon touches the ground, the team must sit down and try again after all teams have been seated and the activity leader re-starts everyone. 

8.This process can continue as long as time allows or until the teams have completed the task.

One of our most popular curriculum pieces is The Activator.  It contains this activity, as well as 49 other effective leadership activities!

Purchase Activator Here

General: Activities for your Leadership Class Series (Part 2)

This is the second post in a new series sharing many of our favorite leadership activities we do with our audience members across the nation. Each activity has a proven track record since we actually present at over 300 conferences, retreats, school assemblies and corporate events every year and have for the past 20 years.  Enjoy and feel free to share via Facebook, Twitter or email with your network of friends, teachers, trainers, speakers or absolute complete strangers!  (We are @pli_leadership on Twitter.)

Super Shaper

PLI Essential – Integrity, Innovativeness, Fostering Relationships, Goal Processing

Objective – For each team to design all of the shapes using only their bodies

Time Needed – 20-30 minutes

Material Needed – List of possible shapes, Music

When not to do it – When the students aren’t in teams

Debrief Possibilities – This activity is primarily just a fun roller-coaster ride for the students, but it does speak to their integrity in playing the game since it is so hectic, it is very easy for the students to cut corners and not get noticed.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Have students in a team pick one runner and then sit in a tight circle on the floor.

2. Explain the rules: When the activity starts (music starts) each runner will come to the activity leader and receive their first shape.

3. The runner will go back to the team and tell them the shape.  The team must make the shape, using only there bodies and hold that position for 10 seconds.

4. After the 10 seconds is up, the runner will come back to the leader, tell the leader the shape they just made and receive their next shape…repeat as many times as desired.

Shape Examples

Square
Christmas tree
Barn
Stop sign
Airplane
Horse
Circle
Computer
Rectangle

One of our most popular curriculum pieces is The Activator.  It contains this activity, as well as 49 other effective leadership activities!

Purchase Activator Here

General: Activities for your Leadership Class Series (Part 1)

This is the first post in a new series sharing many of our favorite leadership activities we do with our audience members across the nation. Each activity has a proven track record since we actually present at over 300 conferences, retreats, school assemblies and corporate events every year and have for the past 20 years.  Enjoy and feel free to share via Facebook, Twitter or email with your network of friends, teachers, trainers, speakers or absolute complete strangers!  (We are @pli_leadership on Twitter.)


Clumps

PLI Essential – Fostering Relationships

Objective – To get into the right clump

Time Needed – 10-20 minutes

Best Case Scenario – An open area with 15 – 100 students

Debrief Possible – It teaches how people are different in many regards and how we shouldn’t judge people on their differences.  We should instead recognize and appreciate differences and find points of similarity to create mutual interests, points of conversation and friendship building blocks.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Everyone gets up in the open area.

2. The point of the game is to get in a clump.

3. A clump is a circle of people with their arms interlocked.

4. Participants know how to clump up based on the “descriptor” the activity leader gives.

5. Participants know which clump to get into based on communicating with others to find people that are like them.

6. For example, when the activity leader yells out eye color, all the blue eyes get in a clump, all the green eyes, brown eyes, etc.

7. There cannot be “split clumps.”  For example, if shoe size is the descriptor, all the 10’s have to be together, all the 9’s, etc.  There cannot be two clumps of 6’s or two clumps of 8’s, etc.

8. Once all the clumps have been formed, the activity leader will give another descriptor.

9. Numbers can also be used to form the clumps instead of descriptors.  The activity leader can say 5 and everyone gets in clumps of 5 people.

10. To take the game one step further, once the clumps are made, have everyone go around and briefly introduce themselves to the other people in their clump.  The brief intros can be name, hometown, and favorite hobby.

11. Once the leader feels like the game has gone long enough, a great way to end it is to have everyone get in one big clump (by using the descriptor of “who is here today”).  Once they are in one big circle, the leader can stand in the middle and talk about how everyone is different, but there are certain points of similarity.  Point out the fact that everyone in the room has what it takes to be a positive leader.  This is also a good time to preview what will happen next, as the leader will have their attention.

12. To add an element of competition to this game, have everyone get in a clump before the leader says Stop.  All the people who are not in a clump or are in an illegal clump (like a split clump) have to sit down.  So, the leader would say get in clumps by your age.  Then say go, let them scramble, and then say stop.  Everyone not in a clump has to sit down.  Keep going until the group has been narrowed down to 3 or 4. 

One of our most popular curriculum pieces is The Activator.  It contains this activity, as well as 49 other effective leadership activities!

Purchase Activator Here

Valuable Student Impact Lessons

All Impact Rules posts can be found at www.ImpactRules.com.  Thank you.

The Leader's Most Important Resolution

1. Learn.

Spend more time this year asking your team, clients, competition, peers and experts questions. Actively listen. Sharpen your behavior, approach, mind-set and strategies based on what you hear. 

Other important resolutions...

• Add variety to input streams
• Forgive 
• Invest in quiet time
• Purposefully develop others
• Hand write more personal notes of gratitude, appreciation or encouragement
• Listen to, watch or read amazing creative works
• Volunteer
• Fill meal times with one-on-one personal time with family, friends and team members 
• Organize electronic note taking system for ideas, projects, important thoughts/data
• Take action on "haven't been strong enough or willing to do" list

Emotional Maturity - The Attitude Experience

My speaking company trains thousands of students and professionals every year.  Every December we have over 1,200 Oklahoma FFA members for two weekends for the Made For Excellence conferences.  This year is The Attitude Experience. As you are winding down your year and preparing your 2012 leadership goals, keep in mind these four key lessons from our training:

1. The Rubber Band Principle - When you stretch a rubber band, you physically change its composition and it can never go back to its old size.  We are the same way - once we are stretched in life, we can never totally go back to who we once were. If you want to change your attitude, stretch yourself. Experience new things, travel to new places, read new books, meet new people, think about situations in a new way, etc. 

2. The Stages of Self-Confidence - There are three stages: be you, be okay with you, believe in you.  Our attitude about life grows from our own self-confidence. It starts with understanding who you are - your strengths, weaknesses, personality, values and beliefs. Then you must decide you are who you are for a reason and be okay with it.  Stop trying to be someone you are not and start owning yourself. If you are able to do these two things, you can get to the final stage - owning a sense of self-confidence and carrying a clean, powerful and positive attitude through life.

3. You Find What You Focus On - If you look for the bad in life, you will find it.  If you expect poor performance from others, they will be more likely to deliver it. Once you decide something or someone is boring or a waste of time, you have negatively changed the reality of your interaction with it.  People who carry a positive spirit do not have perfect lives, they have simply learned to look for, encourage, highlight, emphasize and thus grow the good. Our attitude is a garden.  If you let the weeds grow, they will choke out the vegetables.  And the opposite is true as well.

4. Challenges Fill the Gap - Most people are perfectly fine with living an average life, having average relationships and carrying an average attitude because excellence in life requires too much hard work.  Actually the gap between average and excellence in life is filled with challenges.  Failure, stress, difficult conversations and falling down (when handled correctly) are all building blocks to reaching an excellent life and an excellent attitude.

Good luck and happy holidays.

The Impact Rules Defined

All Impact Rules posts can be found at www.ImpactRules.com.  Thank you.

Fostering Relationships: The Biggest Team Mistake Leaders Make

The biggest team mistake leaders make is not delegating work properly.  This poor leadership tactic is also known as micro-managing or helicoptering.  It ranks as the largest team mistake for these seven reasons:

1. It has a large negative impact on quality of work, team culture and individual motivation. 
2. It is very common. Letting go and letting the team is not easy for many leaders. It requires a complex series of personal, strategic, team and repetitive efforts.
3. The reason we have teams is because there is too much work for one person to do or because the work requires specialized talents. A leader trying to do all the work on their own goes directly against the reason the team exists in the first place.
4. Team members need to feel valuable and needed. When their leader doesn't delegate work properly it robs them of this basic desire.
5. Since a young age we have wanted autonomy; to feel like we can "do it on our own." This is a driving force of leaders being dictators.  This is also why leaders must let go and not micro-manage the team. Your team needs you to train well, correct when needed, but let them do the work on their own.
6. The best ideas and highest quality work never materialize because the dictator leader is holding everyone and everything back due to their need for control.

The old parenting quote (that is applicable to the work place also) goes, "If you don't let me help when I'm not needed, then I won't want to help when I am needed." This quote sums up nicely the internal workings of team members regarding their need to engage with the team.  So, why do so many leaders fall prey to this poor leadership approach?  Here a few of the most common:

• Not trusting team members.
• Not understanding that the enemy of excellence is perfection.  
• Not letting team members try/fail/learn/re-try.
• Hold an inflated sense of self-esteem.
• Think that just because you can do something means you should do it (instead of letting your team do it.)
• Have been burned in the past and are super-imposing past mistakes of others on current team members.
• Haven't invested the time or resources to fully train the team.
• Are blind to the negative impact of their behaviors (because many of them are unseen, at least initially.)

If you recognize any of these patterns in your behavior or thoughts, it is time to change. Teams work best when five things happen - two of the most important are that the team leader is trusted and the team members are engaging their core strengths to do meaningful work.  Running your team like a dictator defeats both of these.  Make the change and you will see tremendous positive results.

Vision: Steve Jobs' Legacy

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Steve Jobs, 2005 Stanford University Commencement Address

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

His vision for how technology can help you change the world will live on.

Fostering Relationships: What Harley Riders can Teach us About Motivation

There are over one million loyal Harley Davidson motorcycle riders stretching from coast to coast.  These people are not just customers, they are fanatics.  I have a friend who waited 8 months for her special order "Hog". This product is the genesis for a family of people who ultimately only have one thing in common - they absolutely love cruising the open highway on their Softail, Dyna, Sportster, Touring or VRSC Harley Davidson motorcycle.

So, what is it about this bike that makes it such a communal product?  More importantly, what lessons can leaders glean from this commercial phenom to help their product, company, team, etc. produce such rabid loyalty?  The following seven qualities of the Harley experience not only give insight to why Hog lovers act like they do, but it also digs deeper into core human needs that just might transfer over to your world and help you understand how to inspire a stronger and more authentic bond with your people.

Why riders love their Harleys:

• Easily recognizable. We all have a need to belong; to connect with other humans. A motorcycle is a visual product. When one rider sees another rider on a Harley, they instantly cut through the chatter and know they can connect.

• Not everyone can or wants to do it.  A Harley Davidson can cost anywhere from $9,000 to $35,000.  They aren't cheap.  And motorcycles obviously are not for everyone.  This taps into our desire to be involved with something rather elite, private, VIPish. When you ride a Harley, you are a member of a club.

• There's a rebel feel to it.  Ever since rules were invented, humans were breaking them.  This rebel banner flies on Harleys every day.  The mild-mannered CPA by weekday suits up in black leather and a red bandana and speeds through the weekend.  This sense of collective rule-breaking or rule-bending unites riders in a very unspoken way. Movies have even immoralized this act.  The Wild Ones with Marlon Brando.  Hells Angels on Wheels with Jack Nicholson.  And Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator.  

• Different types of people come together. We have a need to belong.  We also have a need to bring people together.  Even though Harley riders enjoy their "superiority" over other bikes, they also relish their inclusiveness.  A pack of Hogs cruising down the road is probably an eclectic group of doctors, lawyers, mechanics, bankers, etc.  It does help grease the wheels of your growth when literally the only qualification needed for acceptance is the machine you are riding.

• Involves travel. We are nomads at heart. We love to travel.  When you are on the back of a Harley speeding down the highway, you have a feeling of freedom and movement that you can't get any other way. It's more intimate and exhilarating than any other form of transportation.  

• Involves masks. Especially those riders who really only have their Harleys for weekend rides or special trips, you can become someone else on a Harley.  Its all suits and ties during the week and then its leather and boots on the weekends.  Humans have a desire for anonymity. This desire is fulfilled to a certain extent on the back of a Hog. 

• Recognized as a cool group.  Harley riders think Harleys are cool and so do a ton of other people.  When you own a Harley, you are in the cool kids club.  Everyone wanted to picked first in dodgeball in grade school.  Everyone wanted to have a great date to the prom.  Everyone wants to be involved in some type of cool group even as adults. It helps shape, define and express our identity.

If your staff, team members, customers and/or volunteers are under-motivated, try cross pollinating this list with your set-up. If you aren't providing opportunities for travel, risk-taking, anonymity, elite status, inclusiveness, etc. then you shouldn't be surprised that you aren't creating loyal fans.

Emotional Maturity: 16 Ways to Preserve Your Battery Life

There are many tips on how to preserve your smart phone's battery - turn down the screen brightness, turn off the WiFi, stop playing Angry Birds all day, etc. But what about your battery? Leaders are called to do more, be more and produce more. Yet, your battery may be the same size as everyone else's. Therefore, your strategies for having the energy (i.e. battery life) to do life as a leader must be well-planned and they must work. Here are 16 time-tested physical, emotional, relational and mental tips for helping your battery stay charged.

Preserve Your Battery Life List

1. Get adequate sleep.
2. Consume nutritionally sound food and drink.
3. Maintain positive relationships.
4. Do meaningful work that aligns with your core values.
5. Have a hobby and do it often.
6. Keep harmful chemicals out of your body.
7. Remove the clutter from your vehicle, home, office space and life.
8. Stop the gossip.
9. Help others in need.
10. Stop making tiny issues into big deals.
11. Forgive others.
12. Create a cool memory often. (I.e. - new restaurant, road trip, date night, catch some live music, etc.)
13. Take vitamins daily, naps weekly and vacations yearly.
14. Clear your email inbox regularly.
15. Forgive yourself.
16. Listen to positive, uplifting music and human interactions.


Give your Twitter followers some positive messages this week:

Take vitamins daily, naps weekly and vacations yearly. @pli_leadership

Remove the clutter from your vehicle, home, office space and life. @pli_leadership

Do meaningful work that aligns with your core values. @pli_leadership

Skill Assessment: Components of Reaching Excellence

I enjoy the light travel load August brings for many reasons: family time, dedicated office time, space to work on writing songs and, most importantly, time to sharpen my iPad/iPhone game skills. One of the games filling my rec. time this season is called Aqueduct. It is a complexing puzzle challenge that takes time to move through and requires certain skills to master.

Isn't personal and professional success the same? The following list contains eight components necessary for reaching excellence in activities ranging from guilty pleasures like Aqueduct to meaningful pursuits like being great at your job.

The 8 P's of Reaching Excellence

1. Prior experience - Excellence today is a fruit growing on the tree of yesterday's hard work.
2. Passion - This hard work is fueled by a love for your craft. All actions have self-motivation at their core. All great actions have passion at their core.
3. Practice - The skills you need to rock to reach excellence in your area are muscles that need to be exercised. Greatness in the public is born from hours of practice in private.
4. Perfection - I actually believe perfection is the enemy of excellence. However, a game like Aqueduct is a reminder that in many pursuits there is a gold standard; a goal to be reached; a method for knowing whether you've hit success or not. Excellence can only be reached if you have identified what it looks like and go after it with perfection driving your journey.
5. Pliable - This skill is essential when you have firm performance metrics in place. Goals change, people get in the way, life happens, etc. Flexibility to adjust on the fly is critical for remaining on top of your game (and staying sane).
6. Produce - Although relatively assumptive, it is important to highlight that excellence isn't just something you are, it is what you do. You have to produce. You have to go to market. You have to get the deal done.
7. Patience - Success doesn't happen overnight and excellence doesn't happen "overyear". It takes (sometimes) many years of continual work to be exceptionally great at something. Also, this is an active patience. You aren't waiting on it to happen. You are just doing your job and doing growth right and excellence happens over time.
8. Pursuit - Focused, laser-focused pursuit. Steve Jobs, the Apple (now former) CEO, is a shining example of the power of focused pursuit. He led Apple with a dedicated pursuit of making products that spoke to our creative, functional, inspired, human and beautiful needs. Your excellence may not lead a $330 billion company, but that doesn't diminish it's importance - to you or the people and projects you influence.

If you have room to grow (i.e. - you are breathing), examine your life and see which of these eight components needs more of your attention.

Fostering Relationships: Motivate the V.I.P. in Others

To truly motivate someone, you need to learn about the V.I.P. in them...

Values + Interests + Personality

Then you design a motivation plan for them based on who they are. Essentially you are figuring out which "carrot" will work for them. This puts the individual at the center of your approach instead of the desired outcome or your perception of the individual. It is challenging and time-consuming if you have a large team, but it is time well spent.

Here are a few other posts with more motivation techniques:

http://pliblog.yournextspeaker.com/2007/03/emotional-maturity-inside-out.html

http://pliblog.yournextspeaker.com/2009/03/fostering-relationships-how-to-motivate.html

http://pliblog.yournextspeaker.com/2009/07/motivate-with-direction.html

http://pliblog.yournextspeaker.com/2007/06/skill-assessment-understanding.html

http://pliblog.yournextspeaker.com/2007/01/fostering-relationships-light-match.html

http://pliblog.yournextspeaker.com/2008/06/skill-assessment-doers-throughers-and.html

Good luck!

Teaching PLI: 10 Essential Leadership Questions

The PLI curriculum is built on the 10 Essentials of Leadership. If you are teaching the curriculum this year or if you are just wanting a guide for developing your own leadership abilities, the following 10 questions serve as a primer for gaining insight into the importance of each Essential.

Vision - What am I doing today to be where I need to be in 5 years?

Integrity - How am I helping my team trust me?

Innovativeness - What are the challenges I am facing today that require more "solution thinking"?

Wise Judgment - Who do I consult with before making major decisions?

Service Mindedness - Do I have enough volunteerism in my life?

Goal Processing - Do I have challenging goals that stretch and grow my abilities?

Skill Assessment - What is my core strength and have I put myself in the position to do that everyday?

Emotional Maturity - Do I handle struggles and "failures" with grace and a growth attitude?

Fostering Relationships - What is the condition of my most important relationship?

Masterful Communication - Do I listen to others with focus?

Now, print this post and invest time thinking about, writing down and working on your answers. Good luck!

General: Four Attributes of Great Leaders

There are four attributes of great leaders I challenge you to develop or grow for the purpose of being a solid model of leadership for others.

1. Great leaders believe in others more than they do.
2. Great leaders create positive interactions with others.
3. Great leaders carry a spirit of tested optimism.
4. Great leaders see different things by seeing things differently.

Great leadership is making a positive difference in people and situations to create value and growth. These four traits move leaders for this purpose.

Teaching PLI: Great and Awful Teacher Traits

Last year we set out on a mission to answer this critical question...

What are the commonalities of great teachers and awful teachers?

We heard from students, teachers, administrators, vendors, etc. The following lists contain the most frequent answers we found among the hundreds of responses.

Best/Most Effective Teacher Traits

• Organized
• Passionate about seeing students succeed
• Passionate about their subject
• Holds high expectations for students; challenges them to succeed
• Seeks out professional development
• Avoids using negative weapons - embarrassment, guilt, fear
• Invests in students beyond teaching the subject

Worst/Least Effective Teacher Traits

• Doesn't teach for understanding; only teaches for testing
• Does not understand subject
• Does not have effective teaching techniques
• Reads straight from textbook
• Doesn't make an effort to get to know students
• Talks down about other students not in the classroom
• Is vocal about not liking their job, the school, the staff and/or the students

This project was both inspiring and discouraging.  Many of the traits from the bottom list came directly from students.  They don't like teachers who take it easy on them or who only make the classroom fun.  They want to enjoy school, but also learn what they need to learn.  The study was also discouraging because of all the clearly awful teachers these students have to be around and these administrators/teachers have to put up with.  It is so difficult to remove a teacher from a school, the awful ones stay in the system even though they are clearly not fit for the task of inspiring, motivating and educating.

If you are a teacher and/or have influence over one, please share this list.  At the 2009 TED conference, Bill Gates said there are two major global issues he believes are not getting enough attention and, if fixed, would significantly improve our quality of life.  Figuring out how to make teachers great was one of those.  I am excited to be playing a part in this inspiring task at school faculty/staff in-services this year.   Teaching educators how to be great is a challenging, yet rewarding mission.

Skill Assessment: What Is Your Hole #3?

We all have strengths and weaknesses. It is a defining part of the human experience. However, certain weaknesses impact our ability to positively lead others more than others. These weaknesses can become our "Hole #3".

I used to play golf all the time. Ten years ago it wouldn't be uncommon for me to play 50-60 rounds per season. The last few years I was lucky to get 5-6 rounds played per year. 2010 was one of those years.
In October I dusted off the clubs for a round with my great friend and speaking partner, Kelly Barnes. It was a magical round... except for hole #3. It was a great day on the links. All pars and bogeys (great for me), except for one double-bogey and a disaster on hole #3. I scored a 13 on that one hole! It was a train wreck. It was so bad Kelly and I were not even going to score it - hence the scratches. If I had even bogeyed that hole, I would have scored a 79 and achieved something I have only done twice in my golfing career - breaking 80. Needless to say, I ended an otherwise great day of golf very, very frustrated.
As leaders, we are expected to deliver results - i.e. birdies and pars. However, if we have even one glaring weakness or shortcoming (one Hole #3), it can diminish our effectiveness and make many of our strengths irrelevant.

Fortunately, leadership (unlike golf) is a team sport. The best leaders are surrounded with people who are strong where he or she is weak. Yet, a Hole #3 type weakness can still hold us back and block our leadership's full power, scope and range. The following grid shows how you can have 9 of the 10 vital components of great leadership and still fall short of your potential.

Click to view larger version

The abbreviations are the PLI Leadership Essentials.

Examine your skills. Be honest with yourself. What is a weakness you possess that has a Hole #3 type meaningfulness? Find it and begin today working on growing, changing and improving. At the end of the day, a 79 might only be 7 strokes from an 86, but those 7 strokes might mean the difference between being a leader who is an "also played" and a leader who is a game-changer. One that is leaving a legacy of excellence, remarkable results and a life-changing score for those you serve.

Teaching PLI: The New Blog Label - Teaching PLI

When you have over 300 posts (which are essentially 300 additions to the PLI leadership curriculum), keeping everything organized is very important.  We have added another layer of organization for our PLI teachers and anyone else who reads our blog for the purpose of adding to their leadership teaching or learning!

We have a new label for our posts called Teaching PLI.  This label is applied to any post where the purpose is to give ideas, instruction, clarity of mission or tips/tricks on teaching leadership and specifically teaching the PLI leadership curriculum.  You can quickly access all of these posts by clicking on the Teaching PLI Posts link in the right-hand column. 

Enjoy!

Fostering Relationships: Watering Dirt

Anyone who has ever tried to motivate someone has experienced this struggle...

"Are we just watering dirt?"

I.e. - can we really do anything, say anything, offer any incentive that will nurture growth in this person or are we just wasting valuable resources?

It is a difficult and frustrating situation to be in. One that causes you to second guess your abilities, your strategies and ultimately your decision to have that person on the team.

When you find yourself in this position, talk through the following points:

1. Everyone has a price. You probably need to change the currency you are using with that person. Is she motivated by money, position, prestige, responsibility, autonomy, appreciation, social status, etc.? Find what works for her that also aligns with what you can give and give it.

2. Everyone needs their best inspired out of them. Even the most cynical person responds to words and acts of encouragement, appreciation and thanks. Some will never tell you, but this doesn't change the fact that it works.

3. Everyone is self-motivated. At the end of the day, people must move on their own. They will also do it on their own timeline. You can mandate her actions, but you can not mandate her BEST actions. (BEST - Better Every Single Time - Source: Kelly Barnes)

4. Everyone needs someone to believe in them more than they do. Sometimes it's a race to see who will give up first. If you throw in the towel before she does, you might miss something special. Give her your best and see what happens.

5. Everyone needs honesty from their leaders. Once you do all you can, if she is still not showing progress or living up to clear expectations, it is time to let her go. This could be just what she needs to make a change. Wake-up calls happen in life and serve as opportunities to see how our actions are pulling us down instead of lifting us up. If you care about her, be honest. Don't pass the buck or let her ignore what everyone can see except for her.

When done correctly and with class and spirit, these concepts will show you it was more than dirt you were watering - an unseen seed was waiting for you to help it grow.

Goal Processing: Nine Daily Habits of Leaders

Following are nine daily habits leaders use to put action to the Student Impact Model...



1. Quiet time
2. Eat healthy food
3. Physical activity
4. Connect with friends
5. Read positive material
6. Create something
7. Encourage someone
8. Move one step closer to a goal or fixing a problem
9. Help family

Self-audit your life and check to see how many of these habits are evident in your daily routine. Increase your ability to impact others in a big way through these small acts of awesomeness.

General: 4 Critical Leadership Skills for College Students

1. Build a powerful Failure Factory.

Life isn't fair. We all fall down. If you are a machine built for performance and excellence, your extreme approach to life will create intense highs and intense lows. Thus you need a Failure Factory built to process failure to ensure future success. People are inspired by, careers are built upon and dreams flourish by handling failure and disappointment with grace, patience, a growth perspective, boldness and a willingness to learn and change.

During a period of self-discovery and life changes like the college years, you must attack life with a well-established Failure Factory and put yourself out there regardless of how high or low the chances are for success. Ask for that job, call that recruiter one more time, run for that campus office, send twice as many resumes, etc. Approach the start of your career with zeal and no fear of failure. Life will have plenty of opportunities to try to steal those two things from you later.

2. Work to see things differently.

An approach to life that aids in the creation of a powerful leadership ability is always seeking out the new, the fresh, the unique, and the uncommon in everyday life. Your value in the workplace will seed from many sources. This is one that is hard to relate on a resume, will cause many "workplace veterans" to beat you down and is an extreme career builder. Practice sharpening this skill now. Approach your classes, college-life, job searching, networking, etc. in your own unique way. It is amazing how you see different things when you make an effort to see things differently.

A good example is your relationship with your professors, advisors, and other university personnel. If you wanted a job from me, the first people I would call aren't your references list (everyone white washes those). I would call the campus people who I know have worked with you. I would ask these people questions to learn about your key leadership indicators - work-ethic, social skills, like-ability, problem-solving skills, etc. Many of your peers don't give a second thought to the impression their actions leave on these important people. They skip class, listen to music in class, never seek sage counsel, don't mind their appearance, etc. You should see things differently and understand how many chances you have over the course of your college career to build a network of fans. You may never directly need them, but if you ever do they are huge allies to have.

3. Diligently repeat the Three C's every day.

Aristotle said we are what we do repeatedly. College is such a crazy, busy, fast-moving time that many college students forget to leverage the span of years it covers to slowly build more value than just a diploma. The job market beats down the status quo, but rewards the diligent souls who invest in their abilities. The Productive Flourishing blog did a post in 2009 illuminating three key "daily habits" college students should get into their routine.

Beyond these, there are industry specific items (based on your major) you should be working on. This is where a mentor, job shadowing and/or internships come in handy. You can pick-up clues about certain knowledge-points, competencies, etc. that will come in extra-handy not only on the job, but in the ever-daunting process of landing said job.

4. Be a servant of others.

Leadership at it's best is many things. Leadership at it's core is serving others. Invest time in college helping others (being a friend worth having), serving others (volunteering and/or running for office) and developing the muscles that enables you to lift others higher than yourself. College can be a very self-serving time. Its supposed to be - you are getting yourself built right so you can go out and get hired, start your career and change the world. Thus, it is impressive on many levels when you can travel through this selfish time with a focus on building others. Hopefully, it will be a mission that lasts a lifetime. The benefits of it certainly does.

Good luck and enjoy these days. They will prove to be some of the most spirited of your life.

iPhone users - Grab our free leadership app by searching for pliblog in the app store.

Service Minded: The Thunder Principle

This is the final post of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.

Thunder Principle
Have one face for the organization.

Our final principle comes straight from the chief customer service conductor of Oklahoma City's NBA team - the Thunder. I called my friend Pete Winemiller and asked him one important question, "What is the primary tool you and your team use to help create the fabulous customer experience at Thunder basketball games?" He said, "We carry one face for the organization."  He went on to explain that no matter who you work for (the Thunder, Coke, Pizza Hut, the NBA, etc.), it is vital for everyone to operate as one team in the arena when interacting with customers.

This principle is especially important for any organization with multiple vendors, project groups, buildings, stores, sites, etc. There is nothing more disheartening for a customer than to hear a team member talk down about or blame a member of their own staff.  It leaves a bad taste in the mouth and does nothing to enhance the organization's image or to improve the customer's experience.

Here are a few ideas on how to put the Thunder Principle into action to create a culture of team-oriented customer service excellence:

1. Always talk up team members, departments, etc. that aren't present
2. Move information, people, actions down the line in the most complete fashion possible
3. Take care of a problem if you can without just passing the buck
4. Be on time
5. Do your work
6. Think about how your actions impact a team member not present
7. Leave your area/project/etc. clean and prepared for the next crew

The Thunder Principle is the perfect manifestation of excellent customer service because it is based on the thinking that everyone is ultimately on the same team - me, my team mates and my customers. We are all wanting the same thing, we just have different approaches to get there and those differences can cause seemingly unsolvable problems. The "one face" mindset allows us to start on the same team and is the best way to end on the same team, as well!

Service Minded: The YourSpace Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.

YourSpace Principle
Your way + My way = Our Way.

The hallmark principle of excellent customer service is being others-focused. This manifests in many ways. One of the most powerful is the mindset of always seeking to understand where the customer is coming from, finding out their point of view, really listening to their opinions and concerns, etc. Then taking that data, combining it with the information you are armed with and acting out the YourSpace Principle - Your way + My way = Our way.

This isn't just pretending to listen for the purpose of making the customer feel heard. The YourSpace Principle is a methodology designed for four purposes:

1. Leaving the customer feeling appreciated
2. Gathering useful information from his or her side of the situation
3. Providing the customer a clear explanation of your side
4. Moving forward with a plan aimed at satisfying both sides' needs

Better information, empowered customers, collaborative decisions - all winning outcomes for excellent customer service interactions.

Next up, the Thunder Principle - Have one face for the organization...

Service Minded: Walking Billboard Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.



Walking Billboard Principle
You are the brand.

This is one of the simplest customer service principles to understand and one of the most difficult to pull off successfully and completely. The Walking Billboard Principle states, "You are the brand." This means that when the customer interacts with you, the are essentially interacting with your entire organization. If they like you, they like your company. If they are upset with you, they are upset with the institution. And vice-versa. They might be frustrated with you, even it is your company they are frustrated with.

This principle illuminates the fact that you must always be mindful of your words and actions. They don't live in a silo - isolated from making an impact beyond that one situation. They have a long tail. This is another reason why great customer service organizations are surgical when it comes to hiring people whose values and beliefs align with the organization's values and beliefs. It is easier to "be the brand" when you don't have to fake it.

Up next: The YourSpace Principle - Your way + my way = our way...

Service Minded: Toyota Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.



Toyota Principle
Enable and encourage problem solving right now.

Toyota adopted a new set of management principles (under the direction of management guru Peter Drucker) that set out to move away from their old controlling and rigid top-down structure and move closer to a true teamwork system. These changes created a culture of responsibility across all levels and gave each employee the autonomy to decide how to best reach a clear set of objectives. An example is a change on the production line that allowed anyone to stop the line immediately when they caught a mistake. The old way involved paperwork up and down the chain before any action could be taken. 

Are your people empowered to and enabled with the tools to serve your customers to the best of their ability? Do they feel like they can question processes and practices without retribution? Can they solve problems on their own or do they always have to "get permission"? When you enable and encourage problem solving in the moment not only do customers get served better, but your staff takes more ownership.

Up next: The Walking Billboard Principle - You are the brand...

Service Minded: Toddler Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.






Toddler Principle
Friendly first.

Our newborn loves to smile. Most babies do. However, our newest little one's frequency, consistency and intensity of her smiles are higher than most. It certainly makes for a fun parenting experience. When she smiles it is nearly impossible to not smile back. This raw, pure interaction serves as a reminder that we were born to smile and the best customer-oriented people live to smile.

Its not always on their face - that's not genuine or natural. However, it is their home base and they start there with customers. The Toddler Principle is about starting with a positive emotion and then moving forward from there. No matter what is going on in your world, when a customer enters into it - stop, make eye contact, smile and give a friendly greeting. It is amazing how many good things show up when you start with friendly first.

Up next: Toyota Principle - Enable and encourage problem solving right now...

Service Minded: The Fresh Air Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.

The Fresh Air Principle
Ask great questions.

When I am traveling my primary source of entertainment is my music and podcast library. One of my favorite podcasts is the daily radio interview show Fresh Air. Terry Gross is the host. Rarely does an episode go by without a guest making the comment, "That is a great question, Terry." She (and her team) script out excellent questions that get right to the heart of the matter.

Great customer service professionals love questions. They enjoy it when customers ask questions (because it is a sign of interest and because it provides an opportunity to solve a problem or serve a need for the customer) and they thrive on asking customers questions.  Here is a short list of questions you should be asking regularly:

• How can we help you today?
• How are you today?
• What concerns do you have?
• How can we make this better for you?
• What else can we do for you?
• What questions do you have?
• How did you hear about us?

Up next, the Toddler Principle - Friendly First...

Service Minded: The Irving Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.

The Irving Principle
Get clear on why you are successful.

The Vienna Beef Co. had a problem after they moved into their brand new production center in the Chicago area. Even with 40 years of experience, something was wrong - their hot dogs didn't taste the same. Same spices, same process, different taste. They spent 18 months researching the problem and discovered it was Irving's fault. Their previous plant was a cobbled together chain of old manufacturing buildings in Chicago. Irving was the man who pushed the cart of cold, newly formed hot dogs 30-minutes across the plant to the next step in the process. This trip was unnecessary in the new plant because the two steps were right next to each other for efficiency purposes. The only problem was that Irving's 30-minute walk allowed the dogs to warm up. This proved to be a critical step in creating their signature taste.

The Vienna Beef Co. had enjoyed success for years, but wasn't totally clear on why. Great customer service organizations are infatuated with learning why customers keep coming back. This, obviously, is a major reason why they do.  They understand it, embrace it, train against it and continually adjust for it.

Up next, the Fresh Air Principle - Ask Great Questions...

Service Minded: The Tony Bennett Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.

The Tony Bennett Principle
Have a veteran's expertise and a novice's energy.

A common affliction in the world of dealing with customers is atrophy of the attitude. We used to be excited to see customers, but with age/time/experience/challenges/etc. comes a dampened enthusiasm for work and customer interaction. The great standards singer, Tony Bennett, was once asked how he continually gives great performances after years of singing the same songs. He says that even though he has sung I Left My Heart in San Francisco thousands of times live, he imagines (and knows for a fact) that many of his audience members have never seen him sing it live. This allows him to have the energy and presence of a novice even though he has the years and expertise of a veteran. Apply Tony's lesson to your world and treat the 4,056th customer with the same spark and freshness you gave to the first.

Up Next, the Irving Principle - Gain Clarity on What Makes You Successful...

Service Minded: The Platinum Rule Principle

This is part of a series highlighting the 12 Excellent Service Principles.

Platinum Rule Principle
Do unto others like they'd like done unto them.

Fellow speaker and leadership consultant, Tony Alessandra, took the golden rule and added some leadership value to it.  He created the Platinum Rule - Do unto others as they'd like done unto them.  Although very important, the golden rule is rooted in " me first - you second thinking".  It states that I will treat you like I want to be treated.  The platinum rule takes the me out of the equation.  It says that I will treat you like you want to be treated because I have taken the time to learn about you and find out how you want to be treated. It is the ultimate act of leadership (being service-minded) and great customer service.

A few ways customer service professionals operate from the Platinum Rule are:  being more aware of others, mirroring body language to put the other person at ease, asking questions to learn about each customer's unique situation, etc.

Personalize.  Customize.  Humanize.

Up next, the Tony Bennett Principle - Have a Veteran's Expertise and a Novice's Energy...