Which is worse - A or B?
A. A person with intelligence and without integrity.
B. A person with integrity and without intelligence.
Basically, if you only had these two options, would you rather have a team full of Lex Luthers or Forrest Gumps?
PLI Teachers/Trainers - Have your students discuss this question within the context of the current U.S. economic crisis. The part of Lex Luther is played by Wall Street traders/analysts and SEC officials and the role of Forrest Gump is played by your average, everyday investor and middle to low income home buyer. Key terms to research: sub-prime mortgages, credit default swaps, and AIG.
Good follow-up questions:
1. Which is rewarded more in today's society, Lex or Forrest and why?
2. How do we create leaders that are strong in both intellectual and moral prowess? Provide historical and local examples of leaders who had/have both.
3. Why is it so difficult for humans to be strong ethically when large sums of money come into play?
4. How have they personally been impacted by the current recession our Lex Luther Leaders put us in?
5. Who should ultimately be held most responsible for the crash of the mortgage industry? Lex for creating such a risky environment or Forrest for choosing to live in it (knowingly or unknowingly)?
This blog has been written since 2007 by Rhett Laubach, professional speaker, leadership expert, owner of YourNextSpeaker, LLC and Co-Founder of PLI, Inc. Ryan Underwood, CEO of TRI Leadership, LLC and Co-Founder of PLI, Inc., is a contributing author. The purpose of this writing is to help you develop leadership and life skills.
3.31.2009
Integrity: Lex Luther vs. Forrest Gump
3.22.2009
Skill Assessment: Your Career Insurance Policy
1. A hard worker.
2. Fun to be around.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. Why is hard work always touted as a key to success? Produce at least one historical case study and one case study from your circle of friends, family members and/or community members.
2. Is "being fun to be around" really valuable if you are involved in serious projects, activities, jobs, etc.? Defend your opinion.
3. What careers have historically been the most "recession-proof" over the past 50 years? Which ones will be over the next 50 years? Site your sources.
4. How are you personally on the TRAX Scale with being a hard worker and being fun to be around?
3.11.2009
Skill Assessment: Shining a Light on the Torchbearer Concept
(Third places include hobbies, associations, volunteer efforts, etc. Anything not directly associated with their home life or their work life. Starbucks if you will.)
The list below breaks down the seven defining characteristics of a Torchbearer and includes strategies for moving your staff, volunteers, or student leaders away from the dark side and closer to the bright light of the Torchbearer world. Some of them are pre-filters (I.e. - while picking your people, look for these qualities.) Some of them are developmental in nature.
A Torchbearer...
1. Is thirsty for helping organization grow.
Powerful Torchbearers are servants. It is in their nature to help others for the sake of helping others. Although the basic behaviors can be taught, the internal "servant compass" is developed from a young age. Look for people who have it.
2. Owns a strong allegiance to organization.
Pure allegiance is a powerful force. Think soldiers. Think father-daughter relationships. Think a person of faith. You want people who will stick with your organization through the good, bad and ugly. The mechanisms of allegiance include self-interest, loyalty to relationships, shared experiences and common values and beliefs. These are all emotional elements. How are you making an emotional connection with your people?
3. Values and fosters relationships within organization.
Of all the allegiance elements, the relationships piece is the most powerful. People may join organizations because of material gains, but they voluntarily commit blood, sweat and tears because of relationships. If you are trying to mobilize a volunteer staff, don't send out a form letter to the membership body. Get ten inner-circle folks to each call thirty Torchbearers-in-Training they either have a relationship with or are willing to form one with.
4. Gains part of identity from organization.
Where do you see this in every day life? An NFL football game in Pittsburgh with thousands of fans waving their Terrible Towels. 3:00 pm at a middle school with every mini-van plastered with stickers announcing their children's academic accomplishments or sports team affiliation. Anyone accessorized in clearly designer bling-bling. These folks are all visually and vocally proud of their connection with their sports team, 13-year old or Prada shoes. You need to ask yourself, what are the personal benefits a member of your organization would receive from being vocal and visual with their affiliation with you and have you provided them the means to do so? I.e. - how can you be upset about no one shouting your message when you keep all the megaphones in the closet?
5. Clearly understands role in organization.
One of the simplest ways to get someone engaged in your organization - give them something to do. The clearer the instructions and the amount of time/money/skills they will need to do it, the better.
6. Knows and believes in organization's core values.
If we refer back to the allegiance elements, we see that common values and beliefs is a driving force in getting people to go to battle with you and for you. Common values and beliefs are so foundational to the DNA of an organization, that many times we forget to shout them from the rooftop. If you are going to really get the best from your Torchbearers, you need to constantly remind them of the deeper, wider and more significant reasons why your organization and their work for it are, not just important, but vital.
7. Speaks positively about organization, its leadership and members.
This final characteristic is very similar to the servant-minded one - either someone is in the habit of talking positively or they aren't. Research actually states that our optimist/pessimist nature is both ingrained in our DNA and a function of the environment of our early developmental years. Find people who are built with a positive bent. A price cannot be placed on the value of the subtle and forceful work they do to bring other people into the fold. However, even the most positive soul needs something to say. It is your job to continually push the good news of your organization and ideas on how to use them.
Google the books The Tipping Point, Tribes and Bowling Alone for even more great info on this topic area.
Processing Questions for PLI Teachers/Trainers:
1. What are organizations are you a member of and do you know: why they exist, who formed them, when they were formed, what are their greatest strengths, what are their great shortcomings, and what role you play in each? List all six answers for each of your organizations.
2. When we think about "organizations" in the context of Torchbearers, why do we include not only tradition school-based, community-based organizations, but also peer groups, your family, your hobbies, etc.?
3. Read one of the above mentioned books, write a 5-minute speech on the biggest lessons you learned from it and deliver the speech in class.
2.25.2009
Emotional Maturity: The Copernicus Solutionicus
As leaders of others, we need to take a lesson from ole Nic and take our own little world out of the center of the universe and put the true source of our power there - the people who, by choice or chance, are following us.
The Copernicus Solutionicus - Stop being so self-centered and get to thinking about your people more.
Some strategies -
* Let your first interaction with people be asking them questions to get them talking about their world.
* Don't make assumptions (which are based primarily on your perspective) and go straight to the information source.
* Ask for help more often. Being the leader doesn't mean you have to know all the answers or are supposed to be right all the time.
* Adapt your leadership style to the situation. Being one-dimensional in how you deal with people is very self-centered.
* Think about the full impact range of each decision you make. As the leader, your words and actions make bigger ripples on the pond.
* Make time to get to know your team members. This will also provide space for them to get to know you.
* Publicly (or privately, depending on each person's preference) celebrate big and small accomplishments. Unlike the Sun, your source of power is not always self-powering. They need you to fuel their motivation and attitude.
* Ditch the Golden Rule and follow the Platinum Rule - "Do onto others as they would have done onto them." (Google Platinum Rule for source - that one's not mine. I would, but I am driving right now and driving while Googling is extremely harmful to the environment.)
* Make personal sacrifices for the benefit of the team. And I mean "above and beyond the call of duty" ones.
* Above all, be your team members' biggest FAN - be Fair, be Aware of others and be Nice.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What is one thing that you do on a daily basis that is solely for the purpose of benefitting someone other than yourself?
2. Why is it sometimes difficult to put others’ interests before your own?
3. Why is it easy to think only about our own needs and wants?
4. Why is it important for a leader to be selfless?
5. Would you rather be under the leadership of someone who is selfless or someone who is selfish?
6. Who is an example of a selfless leader in your school/ community/ workplace?
7. What does it mean to have a one-dimensional leadership style? And what can you do to develop multiple leadership styles?
8. Name 3 things that you can implement into your daily routine that would help those around you.
2.13.2009
Skill Assessment: Guts
Your People
2.01.2009
Skill Assessment: Five Skills to Practice Today
1. Talk up about people not in the room. It will build trust with those that are in the room.
2. Talk more about solutions than challenges. Your primary job function as a leader is to creatively solve problems (seen and unseen).
3. Smile more and be nice to people. One of the main purposes of your leadership should be to be an encouraging and uplifting force.
4. If you are a talker, listen more. If you are a listener, talk more. Be balanced.
5. Tell your team about the high expectations you have for them. People will only give you their best when they know A) What the best looks/feels like, B) They have someone consistently helping them get there.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. How often would you say you practice these skills?
2. Why is important to have an enumerated list of skills to practice each day?
3. What are some ways to practice being an encouraging and uplifting force to group members?
4. Do you consider yourself a talker or a listener?
5. How can you create a balance between the two?
1.26.2009
Fostering Relationships: Are you a Team, Group or Troop?
Group - A set of individuals.
Troop - A set of young individuals identified by matching outfits and either selling cookies or setting something on fire McGyver style.
There are five clear characteristics of an actual working team:
- A trusted leader.
- An agreed upon goal.
- An agreed upon decision-making system.
- The creation and revisiting of big memories.
- Each individual is engaging their core strength.
Take a look at your "set of individuals" and cross-reference your experience with these five characteristics. The secret to your group becoming an actual team probably lives in this list.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. Which of the three do you consider your members to be classified as?
2. If you were to ask an outside source which of the three you should be classified as, what would their response be?
3. How would you feel about that response?
4. What are some actions steps you can take toward becoming a true team?
5. If you already consider yourself to be a team, then what can you do to ensure your team continues to function accordingly?
6. What “big memories” has your team made over time?
7. What qualities does your leader possess that deems them “trusted?”
8. What core strength do you contribute to a team in your life?
1.20.2009
Skill Assessment: Little or Big Legs?
- Going from the car to Wal-Mart with the two little ones - 4 and 2 (Blue Leader 1 and 2, respectively).
- I am striding easily.
- Blue Leader 1 is in a lope (define: jog or slow pace of running).
- Blue Leader 2 is flat out running.
It was much harder for little Blue Leader 2 to get from the car to the door. However, her struggle had nothing to do with her - it had to do with her in relation to her older sibling and her dad. To help her in her walk, we had to...
- Be sensitive to her needs
- Recognize that just because we could do it easily didn't mean she could
- Adjust our behavior accordingly
2. What is the difference between setting an example of leadership and setting the pace of leadership?
6.15.2008
Integrity: The Thank You Note Investment
At a recent training, a student noted that his letter was probably the longest letter of any type he had ever written. Ever.
A) As a leadership trainer that is a pretty cool thing to hear. That he (and a ton of other students) put in that much effort into something as simple as writing a thank you letter. It reinforced my belief that our work as leadership trainers, especially in the student market, is more meaningful than just helping leaders learn how to lead their team or organization. Most of the skills and concepts we handle at leadership conferences are highly valuable life skills that, when properly applied, will enable the students to be great at whatever they do.
B) A very cool leadership lesson popped up after the students turned in their letters. It was nine at night. The students were wore out from a full day of high-energy training on how to serve their organization effectively during their term. They had just turned in their thank you letters (again, some of them took almost an hour to complete.)
I held up the pile of letters and asked the group how would you feel if I just took the pile and threw it away? They responded with, I would cry, I would be very mad at you, I would feel like I just wasted a ton of time, etc.
I asked why? Of course they said because they spent so much time and what they said and who they said it to were both very important to them.
I then asked them to remember that feeling when they are half way through their year and they are thinking about not applying or acting on the concepts and tools we spent all day talked about. Not doing something with the learning from the day is just like me throwing away the letters (which I didn't do.) However, in order to do that, you have to care about what you are doing and saying as a leader like you care about what you put in your letter. Maybe it won't be the same level of caring (our personal relationships should always be more important to us than our professional associations), but it should be the same style of caring - passionate, important, meaningful, a guiding force in your life, etc.
It was a very cool moment. Thanks to the elected student leaders of the Oregon Career and Technical Student Leadership Organizations (FFA, FBLA, DECA, SkillsUSA, HOSA, FCCLA and AOFC) for creating it.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. When was the last time you put so much time and effort into thanking those around you who have supported you and helped you achieve your goals?
2. What are the advantages of writing thank you notes?
3. What sacrifice does a writing thank you note require?
4. Is the sacrifice worth the debt of gratitude that is paid with a thank you note?
5. If you could thank 5 people in your life for supporting you and helping you to achieve your goals, who would they be? And Why?
6. What obstacles are keeping you from writing those thank you notes?
3.27.2008
Integrity: Don't Serve It
In my favorite hotel's kitchen, there's a big sign on the way out to the dining room:
"If you're not proud of it, don't serve it."
This is true for all of us in the context of what we are called to serve everyday - a speech, a conversation, a clean floor, a taught student, a completed project, etc.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What is the quality of what you are “serving” everyday to those around you?
2. If you had to rate what you are “serving” on a scale of 1 to 10, what would you rate it?
3. Why is it so easy to recognize poor qualities in others, rather than in ourselves?
4. What is more important- recognizing poor qualities in others? Or in ourselves?
5. If you could upgrade one personal quality, what would it be?
6. What can you do on a daily basis to improve this quality?
3.18.2008
Vision: How to Inspire Your Performance
Any high performer, whether in the leadership world or not, knows they reach a point where they have to make a commitment move to inspire their performance to the next level. My good friend and fellow speaker Stewart Kennedy tells the story of a rock climber who has seemingly climbed as high as he could. He has reached a point where the next hand hold is just out of reach. To go higher he has to literally let go of where he is and leap for the next hand hold.
This is a great example of the first step out of four high performers must make to inspire their personal performance - they must take a risk. It is also a metaphor for step two, which is aiming for something. I have found myself in a similar predicament as of late. I have been growing our speaking business and doing great work, but I feel like it is time to aim for something new, something more challenging, and something higher. As high performers, we have to have something to aim for. A project or idea or proposition that truly inspires us.
Step three is to leverage our relationships to get there. We all know life is a team sport. Things get done through people, not systems or emails or silos. If you are struggling to reach a higher level, start tapping people who are at or near that level already. Learn from them. Lean on them. Help them (if you can.) If the relationship is authentic, they will learn, lean and help back.
The final step is to examine where your energies are directed. Energy is one of those unique resources that is not finite like time or money. Energy comes from the weirdest and sometimes most unexpected sources. If you need to go to the next level, you will need to redirect your energies to new places and you will need to create energy from new sources. This is not easy, but it is attainable. The toughest thing about energy in the context of reaching higher is how much it takes to get there. As a high performer, you are more than likely on auto-pilot in a number of areas. This auto-pilot has to be disengaged and you must take over the wheel again.
It is exhausting, but if you are fully committed to taking the risk, if your "something" is worth the aim and if the relationships are leveraged properly, you will be creating more energy than you expend.
Be rare. Go higher. Someone in your immediate circle and an infinite number of people in new circles need you to go there. They will be inspired to do the same. And that is what Personal Leadership Insight is all about. Inspiring others t
hrough your inspiring work.3.09.2008
Masterful Communication: Listening Like a Leader
We can run through all the basics of listening, but I suspect you have heard them all before...
- Maintain eye contact
- Lean forward
- Mirror their body language
- Give response body language
- Don't interrupt
- Don't just wait to talk, but actually listen
- And on and on
If you want to get better at listening, you need more than the old standby suggestions. You need something more tangible, relevant, and, frankly, interesting.
So, let's look at listening not from a "how do I get the information better" stand point, but rather take a look at how you can get better at processing the information you do get.
It starts with listening like a leader. The leader behavior patterns relevant to information processing are providing value, changing things for the better, serving others, making the most of every interaction, respecting the viewpoints of others, knowing they don't know everything and being available to others. Adopting these behavior patterns will allow you to listen like a leader and process information more effectively.
1. Providing value - As you listen, look for ways to provide value to the other person. I'm not saying you need to always provide feedback or try to improve upon what they are saying (this could hurt the conversation more than help it), but by adopting this mind set you are putting your attention fully in their world.
2. Changing things for the better - There are times when your expertise is necessary and the situation is ripe for that expertise to be given. Take the initiative to listen intently, find the gaps your expert opinion can fill and fill them. If you are offering critical advice to their situation, they have no doubt you are listening.
3. Serving others - Stop what you are doing. Provide full attention to the other person. Ask questions to get them talking about things they are concerned with. All these say you are interested in them more than yourself. One person listening fully to another is a powerful example of service-mindedness. You are giving everything about you to that person at that moment in time.
4. Making the most of every interaction - Start your conversations, either with friends, peers or perfect strangers, like you were already in the middle of a conversation with them. Let your guard down and be you from the very start. It is amazing how quickly people will open up to you. Which is why most people don't do this - they don't want others to open up. They are not interested in listening like a leader - they would rather just move on with their life. My wife always points out service folks (toll booth collectors, drive-thru attendants, etc.) are always telling me their life story. The reason is because I am natural and authentic with them from the very start. And I ask questions and respond to their answer.
5. Knowing they don't know everything - This is the simplest pattern to recognize and sometimes the hardest to adopt. People who think they know everything (and you know at least two or three) are passively and actively encouraging others to not talk. They send signals that turn people away from them, intellectually and physically. They don't listen like a leader. When you get ok with knowing you don't know everything, you get ok with saying you don't understand something (giving someone else the chance to share their expertise), you end up listening more (giving someone else the chance to talk more) and you appear (because you are) more authentic, natural, imperfect, etc.
6. Being available to others - This last point taps into a leader's desire to mentor others. Being available to others doesn't mean you have to set up formal mentoring relationships. It does mean in order to listen like a leader, you have to put yourself in situations, seek out situations, encourage situations and fully commit to situations where you are providing value to someone else just by being an ear to lean on. Say yes when someone asks to bounce an idea off you. Say yes when a younger and/or less experience peer asks for a little of your time. Be available to share what you can.
Come to think of it, if you model these six behavior patterns, you won't just be listening like a leader, you will be living like a leader. Good luck.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What are some ways that you can provide value while listening?
2. How can you, listening like a leader benefit those around you?
3. How can it benefit you?
4. What are some of the common distractions that take our attention off of the other person?
5. How can you remind yourself to make the most of each interaction?
6. What are some meaningful ways you can show that you are available to others?
3.04.2008
Vision: Three Giant Jumps Every Great Student Leader Takes
Before we look at the jumps, let's examine the structure.
Each jump has three elements:
1. The starting place
2. The ending place
3. The leap from one to the other.
All three are critical components of that particular leadership lesson. However, the leap itself is where the magic lives. It is rather simple to recognize the importance of each starting and ending point. How a great student leader makes each jump is the secret ingredient. The "how" is a moving target because it is different for each person, but our purpose here is to kick out into the open a few guiding dynamics for any student desiring to be a great leader.
Jump 1 - Self to Self-Aware
Our first starting place is all about authenticity and trust. Being ok with being you. Not putting a front on for people or being one person in one situation and another person in another. Mastering the "self" starting point is the foundation for trust - the core component of effective and healthy leadership. Every good student leader is comfortable in their own skin.
The ending point is being very self-aware. Recognizing your strengths and your weaknesses. Understanding your personality, behavior patterns, emotional triggers, learning style, core talents, etc. If you are going to be successful, you have to first know who "you" is.
The giant jump in the middle requires tools for examination, disciplining your attention to keep looking, asking, examining and a routine of repeating certain processes each year. This is one reason why involvement in student organizations is so beneficial. Most of these organizations host annual leadership conferences and provide other leadership development opportunities where you have the chance to learn about yourself, challenge yourself and expand your understanding of yourself.
Jump 2 - MySpace to YourSpaceOur second starting place is about the power of being a highly-specialized success agent that owns a "brand" or a MySpace. This doesn't mean you actually have to have a MySpace page, that is just the metaphor. It does mean you have spent time building a reputation that people trust, recognize and know. Every good student leader is branded with personal success.
The ending point is living in YourSpace and supercharging your agent status by being service-minded. It is amazing how many people could jump straight into a leader status just by getting this one thing right - by getting out of their own little world and put their focus on helping others.. Pretty self-explanatory. It involves thinking about how your behavior will impact those around you before you do it. Thinking about the ripples in the pond before you throw the stone, so to speak.
The giant jump in the middle takes Emotional Maturity. This one trait is so important it is one of the Ten PLI Essentials. It is challenging to master, but worth the effort. The best definition of maturity I have ever heard is "when a person thinks more of other's welfare than they do of their own."
Jump 3 - Cause to Because
Our final starting place takes us into the real world and is about how real value is created by student leaders. The cause in this case could be any project, mission, event, etc. that engages your talents, skills and experience. Every good student leader has a purpose for their leadership.
The ending point is all about understanding. Why is your cause important? What difference does it make in the world? What is your role in the cause and how do you bring value to the table?
The giant jump in the middle is an exercise in perspective and connections. Great student leaders have connected the dots between their actions and the actions of their peers and the impact those actions make in the world. They not only see the how (what do I do next as a leader), but they also see the why (what is the real change my next action will create).
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What are you all about?
2. What about you do you need to still discover?
3. What are some of the resources available to you right now that can help you challenge and understand who you truly are?
4. We build our brand every day, what is something you can do on a daily basis to strengthen yours?
5. What is one thing you can do to help others today? This week? This month?
6. What are you passionate about? What is your cause?
7. Why is it important? What difference will it make in the world?
8. What is your role in the cause and how do you bring value?
2.28.2008
Service-Minded: 33 Ideas for Being a Positive Influence
Following is a list of actual actions a population of students do on a regular basis to be a positive influence on the world around them. The students were anywhere from 9th graders to adult students who attended our SLAM (Serious Leaders And Movers) workshops on Tuesday at Francis Tuttle Technology Center in Oklahoma City (Rockwell Campus). SLAM meets once a month on one of the three FT campuses in Oklahoma City - Rockwell, Reno and Portland campuses.
The question is: What is on your list?
- Working hard at my job
- Being involved in school clubs
- Volunteering in the community
- Working with people with addictions
- Having good hygiene
- Baby-sitting my little sister
- Working with senior citizens
- Going the speed limit
- Started church youth choir
- Courteous driving
- Holding door open for people
- Being involved in the Special Olympics
- Controlling emotions
- Helping out with military troops with hugs
- Teaching people how to dance
- Recycle
- Talk to shy people
- Encouraging others
- Having a positive attitude
- Respect others property
- Cleaning up after myself
- Listening to others
- Helping even when I don’t have to
- Smelling the flowers
- Being responsible
- Giving money to homeless people
- Not tailgating
- Keeping some all white Nikes
- Church group involvement
- Not littering
- Staying in school
- Not smoking
- Mentoring
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What are three actions you do to be a positive influence on the world?
2. How do these actions positively influence those around you?
3. In what ways can you move others to positively influence the world?
2.18.2008
Fostering Relationships: Three Ideas for Bringing the Best Out of Others
If you are in charge of leading others, the following list highlights three practices to maximize performance.
You need to decide whether or not your people are in the right job. Knowing this requires an intimate understanding of the person and the job responsibilities. My mother was a high-level leader in a hospital for years. A lady worked for her that was a hard worker, but consistently under-performed. Mom found out she was in the wrong position. This lady was an introvert and was working in a very social position. Once mom placed her in a more solo position, she thrived. She was able to give her best because her best was asked of her. When you have people in the wrong type of position, they are asked to engage a weakness every day. Only when people are asked to engage a strength can they perform at a high level.
You also have to make job placement about the table, not the person. It's about the position and the behaviors they demonstrate in that position. Don't make it about them personally. Talk about the duties of the job and what it takes to succeed in it. This will result in everyone being able to keep a non-personal point of view. There are enough reasons for personal squabbles in the workplace - whether someone is in the right position or not doesn't have to be one of them.
This decision is about clarity and expectations. People can naturally give their best when they know what their best should look like, feel like and move like. As a leader, you have to decide what "an amazing job" is for each individual. You then have to put language to it and get them talking about it. Get things out in the open. Keep an eye on their progress and then guide them through the gap between average and amazing. This is where high level leaders and performers live.
Once you get the gap between average and amazing identified, work with your team on getting one percent closer to amazing. Start small. Start with one skill. One process. One job. Figure that out, perfect it and then move on to another. Before you know it, you and your team will be much closer to amazing than average. Just make sure you, nor they ever feel like amazing has been reached. This can be just as dangerous as never reaching for it at all. (See my post on the dirty little secret of high performers.)
I did a post a few months ago about the difference between MySpace leaders and YourSpace leaders. To bring the best out of others, you have to care about them. You must have a genuine interest in seeing them personally and professionally succeed and then communicate this by asking questions, learning what is good with them, what is a challenge for them, etc. These interactions need to be positive in nature, even when helping them improve. Again, make it about the behavior or the job, not the person. Always coach up (here are a few suggestions on coaching strategies) and look for the good. The bad will reveal itself immediately. The positive is sometimes more elusive to find. It is your job to recognize the positive and emphasize i
t daily.Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
Decision 1
1. How can you better position others so that they can thrive?
2. What are the strength and weaknesses of the people on your team?
3. Who would benefit from a slight change in focus?
Decision 2
1. What is your image of an amazing job? Give Specific Details
2. What is one thing you can do to show them what an amazing job looks like?
3. What is the one skill that will move you 1% closer?
4. How can it be improved?
Decision 3
1. What are some steps you can do to make sure you are always coaching up?
1.31.2008
Integrity: Inspect What You Expect
Leaders check-in on what they expect to improve. Not for keeping score or ego-boost purposes, but because improvement is at the core of what effective leaders do and they make it a priority to stay on top of things.
A few weeks ago we conducted the first of five speaking skills conferences in the month of January for members of the Oklahoma FFA Association. The great little town of Dover hosted this first training. A good friend of mine is a Dover High School administrator and he came over to say hi. I thanked him for hosting the event and for stopping by. He replied with a very leaderly statement...
"Well, I expect good things today and I always inspect what I expect."
Ask yourself this question, what are you expecting from others today and what is your system for tracking goals, actions, improvement and/or decline?
Regarding your expectations, keep them high, look for the good and remember to separate the person from the performance.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What are 5 aspects about your leadership skills, team, or life in general that you are expecting to improve?
2. How can you inspect these expectations?
3. Why is it important to revisit, inspect, evaluate, and adjust expectations over the course of time?
4. What does it mean to separate the “person from the performance?”
5. What can you do to ensure that you are always expecting realistic results?
6. As a leader, why is it important to inspect what you expect from others?
1.10.2008
Wise Judgment: How a Millionaire Makes Decisions
A man walked into a bank in New York City and asked for the loan officer.
He told the loan officer that he was going to the Philippines on business for two weeks and needed to borrow $5,000. The bank officer told him that the bank would need some form of security for the loan.
Then the man handed over the keys to a new Ferrari parked on the street in front of the bank. He produced the title and everything checked out. The loan officer agreed to accept the car as collateral for the loan. The bank’s president and its officers all enjoyed a good laugh at the guy for using a $250,000 Ferrari as collateral against a $5,000 loan.
An employee of the bank then drove the Ferrari into the bank’s underground garage and parked it there. Two weeks later, the guy returned, repaid the $5,000 and the interest, which came to $15.41.
The loan officer said, “Sir, we are very happy to have had your business and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multi-millionaire. What puzzles us is why you would bother to borrow $5,000. The millionaire replied, “Where else in New York City can I park my Ferrari for $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?”
That's how the majority of the wealthy people in America get and remain wealthy. They know a ton more about money management than the average person and they use this specific knowledge to make better financial decisions.
Making better choices is mainly about getting great information and then disciplining yourself to use it.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. The Millionaire came at the problem of parking his Ferrari from a different direction then most would. What is an area of your life that could benefit from attacking the problem from a different direction?
2. What are the advantages of attacking a problem from a different direction?
3. What are some ways you can discipline yourself to use the information you have to make better choices?
12.14.2007
Innovative: Get In The Box
Pick up the January 2008 copy of the magazine Fast Company and flip to Chip and Dan Heath's monthly article (Made to Stick authors).
Basically they are making a point for getting in the box instead of getting out of the box when you need to get specifically creative. The secret is to just pick the right box.
I experienced this recently with the phenomenal student leaders known as the Wisconsin and Indiana FFA State Officers. Every fall I work with FFA leaders to create content and sharpen their delivery skills for spring banquet talks. These students will reach thousands of FFA members traveling their respective state.
Part of the training includes helping the students develop their speech topic, their main points and a list of potential supporting material. This creative process is exactly what Chip and Dan are talking about. Any moments of inspiration and innovative content creation came from working on a specific part of a speech. The inspiration didn't come from staring at a blank sheet. It was born from thinking about how to say this word better or that concept in a new way.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What area or project in your life needs some innovative or creative thinking?
2. What time and environment will allow you to just focus on this task?
12.12.2007
Innovative: Fish Smoking
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. What is one topic or issue that people talk about so much that it gets ignored by most?
2. Come up with ways to express that topic or issue in a new way that grabs people’s attention.
12.04.2007
Fostering Relationships: 25 Cent Fundraising
1. He asked. Seems simple, but how much money has your organization lost simply because you haven't asked for it.
2. He asked for exactly $.25. You don't want to limit what people could possibly give, but it helped your transaction tremendously when he said he only needed a quarter. An unclear amount expectation can be a big wall.
3. He is a friend. Your relationship with your buddy applied the grease that made the transaction run quicker, smoother and with very little friction.
4. He had a very specific need. You knew exactly where your money would go.
5. You could relate with his need. Your friend was thirsty; a state of being you have been many times. This personal experience allowed you to sympathize for him and made it more likely for you to give.
6. You had the quarter on you and could hand it to him. This is about logistics. Dealing with if your potential givers will give is important and so is can your potential givers give?
7. You trusted he would use the $.25 to actually buy a coke. Why should your target market trust you? How have you built this trust? How will you continue to foster trust?
Master these dynamics and you are on your way to knowing how to get people to give you and your cause money.
Processing Questions for PLI Curriculum Teachers/Trainers:
1. Who have you been forgetting to ask?
2. What amount do you need or are looking for?
3. What are some ways that you can begin to build relationships with potential sponsors?
4. What value can you add to this relationship with your potential sponsors?