Fostering Relationships: What is Your Texture?

What is the texture of your leadership style?  Is it abrasive - motivating people through fear, force and manipulation?  Or is it smooth - leading others with understanding, forgiveness and empathy?

Two big questions to consider here:

1. Do you know your style? If the answer is no, find out. Get feedback from the people you lead. Feedback is the grading system for professionals, especially leaders.

2. Is your texture too extreme one way or the other? You need to be yourself, but this need must not trump your attention to being flexible in how you deal with others. Think of your leadership style like sandpaper.  Each type of sandpaper performs basically the same function, but you wouldn't use a coarse paper on a delicate surface or on a job that doesn't require that much friction.  Your leadership style should be just as flexible and adaptable.

General: The Act of Pure Leadership

There are many different acts of leadership.  However, for an action to be a pure act of leadership it must require the leader to employ the following three personal characteristics:

Altruism - the act must be selfless and driven by a concern for others.
Tenacity - the act must involve a great challenge that requires discipline and grit to complete.
Vision - the act must push the envelope; bring to life a reality that others can't see or have refused to believe is possible.

Using this metric, ask yourself these three questions:

How often do I act entirely out of the selfless concern for others?
Am I working on projects and ideas that challenge me?
In what areas of my personal and professional life am I risking big?

Your answers to these three questions are a meaningful measurement of your leadership effectiveness and strength.

Skill Assessment: The Cult of Cultivation

As a leader for your organization/company/school, I challenge you to think about this question...

"How am I developing in others a passion for growth and excellence with what really matters?"

I have a new program series called the Cult of Cultivation that is designed to give you the eight "what really matters" training areas you should be purposeful about growing in others and ideas on how to do it.  These programs inspire an enthusiasm for growing a state of excellence for each topic area. The eight areas are:

1. Attitude Cultivation  
2. Culture Cultivation
3. Creativity Cultivation
4. Presentation Cultivation
5. Service Cultivation 
6. Stress Cultivation
7. Team Cultivation
8. Time Cultivation

Keep checking back over the next few weeks to learn more about how to cultivate properly in each of these areas. 

Cult - An interest followed with exaggerated zeal. 

Cultivate - Foster the growth of. 

Cultivation - A highly developed state of perfection; having a flawless or impeccable quality.  

General: 10 New Leadership Activities from CADA 2012

Just got home from another tremendous trip to California for the annual CADA state convention. What an amazing group of activities directors, teachers, administrators and staff. Thank you for allowing us to be a part of the CADA family.

Click here to download my handout from my Saturday Meet The Pros roundtable.  It contains ten of my newest leadership activities that I lead in my own keynotes, workshops, camps and conferences.

CADA attendees: click here to access the CADA-only page of our web site, including the links to purchase our PLI curriculum at a 20% discount.