Listen

 

Preaching the virtues of listening is not new to the MMM. It is a favorite topic of mine and a critical aspect of leadership and life. There is nothing more powerful than giving someone your undivided attention and listening. I recently came across another great quote regarding listening…

“You ain’t learning nothing when you’re talking.” *

Think about it! Learning requires listening.

*This statement is often attributed to Lyndon B. Johnson, but it also reportedly hung in the office of the Chief of The United States Secret Service, U.E. Baughman from 1948 thru 1961.

Listen with Your Eyes…

 

Effective listening is essential to good leadership. Many MMMs have focused on the importance of attentive, interactive listening when others are speaking. But that’s not the only kind of listening that matters. It’s also critical to listen with your eyes.

You can learn a lot by observing how people interact with one another. Watch their body language and their attitudes. Look for team members who are exerting positive or negative influence at work. Pay attention to changes in someone’s mood or behavior. Watch closely how your coworkers respond to one another in meetings.

This doesn’t come naturally to me. I’ve been caught off guard more than once by something that was happening right in front of me, something I should have noticed. But I’m working on being more aware. I’ve come to realize how important this kind of listening is to my leadership.

You can learn a lot when you open your eyes and close your mouth. Great leaders understand the power of listening with their eyes.

Leadership

We do not have to be right. We must get to the right place. 

Think about it. As leaders, we should be striving to get to the right place, not just to be right. There is a right place or solution in all situations, one that serves the organization’s best interests, supports long-term success, and benefits the team. How often do we find ourselves fighting to be right? We often want to be “The” author of the solution. Our being right is not what matters. Finding the right answer is the key to getting to the right.

Volume

 

Does it help for anger and frustration to be expressed through increased volume? Do strong leaders become loud to convey important facts? Is yelling truly a better way to communicate urgency? I suggest the answer to all of these questions is no.

 

Yet, despite knowing this, I do not always live that way. It is a very human reaction to “get loud” in certain circumstances. Other than large crowds or great distances, and of course sporting events, what good is loud screaming? The person you are communicating with was probably hearing you just fine before you got emotional and turned up the volume.

 

Sure, voice inflection and some degree of volume change can be used in communicating a message, but outright yelling? Not at all. Communication with excess volume can foster anger and disrespect. It can undermine good leadership. It is demeaning and degrading to the listener. Next time you feel the urge to get loud, pause and ask yourself if it really necessary?

Leadership and Delegation

 

Great leaders understand the power and importance of delegation. For me, it is something I am still learning. But we cannot delegate everything. As leaders, we do not delegate responsibility. Projects, initiatives, organizations, and businesses are the responsibility of leaders. That responsibility remains ours and it should never be abdicated. We can delegate tasks. We often delegate decisions. Action items and implementation are delegated. Ultimate responsibility remains with the leader.

Delegate tasks, decisions, and action items. Never delegate responsibility.

Leadership

 

We are all leaders. Some are formal leaders with titles, others are informal leaders with influence. We lead at home, church, in our community and at work.  We lead our children, our peers, and our employees.  If you do not consider yourself a leader, you are ignoring an opportunity to influence those around you.  Embrace these leadership points and do your absolute best to be a great leader! 

 

·        Hope - Great leaders give people hope for a better tomorrow.

·        Consistency - When followers never know what to expect from a leader, they will stop expecting anything.

·        Influence - People do not respond well when pushed, forced or directed.  They respond best when influenced by leaders they respect. 

·        Honesty & Trust - Trust and honesty are established when words and actions match up.

·        Accountability - Leaders understand that followers need to see leaders who are willing to be accountable. 

·        Humility - As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not if we are right. 

·        Respect & Caring - People do not care what you know until they know that you care. 

 

Leadership

 

One of the most critical attributes of a great leader is consistency.  If you know me well, you know how I feel about consistency. This is not the first MMM devoted to the topic.  Steady and consistent leadership develops loyal followers. It maintains calm and stabilizes expectations. Consistency means that when the question is the same, the answer is the same, no matter if the names and places change. The answer is the same no matter the emotional, financial, or legal implications. Dependable answers and consistent responses create a stable environment where expectations are clear. This does not mean that different times may not require different responses. It does not mean that business circumstances can’t dictate changes in policy.  However, it does mean that people know what to expect from their leader. 

 

John Maxwell says, “If people do not know what to expect from a leader, they will come to expect nothing.”  As leaders, we should want people to know what to expect from us. 

 

Great leaders have sound values and convictions. Those things do not change and therefore they are consistent in their leadership. A great leader is the rock of consistency for their team, followers, business or family.

 

Nineteen Years of the MMM!

 

The Monday Morning Minute was born on November 21, 2004. This Tuesday will mark the nineteenth year of sharing leadership thoughts and challenges with you all on a weekly basis. I hope somewhere along the way you have found something motivating, encouraging or challenging, maybe all three.

 

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving and a great start to the holiday season.  Be blessed my friends…  

Leadership is a Burden

 

Leadership is not easy, and not always fun. Good leadership can feel like a constant weight on your shoulders. The successes can be exhilarating, and the accomplishments awesome, but it is hard work.

Leadership requires intentionality, and if you are good at, it is a burden!

“If leading and serving people isn’t both your greatest gift, and your greatest burden, you probably aren’t doing it right.”

-          Craig Groeschel

Leadership is a Process

 

“The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk
the language of the visionary and the idealist.”
--Eric Hoffer        

 

I do not know Eric Hoffer, but in this quote, he has nailed one of the key challenges of leadership.  Great leaders must be able to relate to all types of people and personalities.  They are capable of thinking and communicating in styles other than their natural personalities.  I consider myself a very practical and pragmatic leader.  That makes it my challenge to relate well to visionaries and non-detail people.  In order to be a good leader, I must be able to understand people who think and see the world differently than I do.  Great leaders adapt their style.  Static leaders become non-leaders. 

 

What are you doing to adjust your leadership style to situations and personalities?

 

Leadership

 

Many people can lead in times of stability. It is times of crisis where things change. True leaders emerge during challenging times. The status quo is not demanding on leaders. Pressure situations are demanding.

In times of trouble, people don’t follow a plan, they follow a leader.

Think about it…

Followers…The True Test of Leadership?

 

Any worthwhile discussion of leadership will focus on the concept of willing followers. There has been much written about leadership skills, qualities, methods, and systems, but the true test of leadership is followers. There is an old leadership proverb that says… “He who thinks he leads but has no followers is only taking a walk.” Excellent leaders are marked by willing followers. Willing followers are not subordinates who have no choice but to follow. True followers are those who follow when they have the freedom not to. We are all followers in some roles in our lives and leaders in others. Think about what causes you to follow certain people, and then consider those traits in your leadership roles. I don’t know about you, but when I am in a leadership role, I do not want to be just taking a walk! The true test of quality leadership is committed followers.

 

Have a blessed week!

Eighteen Years of the MMM!

 

The Monday Morning Minute was born on November 21, 2004.  Today marks eighteen years of sharing leadership thoughts and challenges with you all on a weekly basis. I hope somewhere along the way you have found something motivating, encouraging or challenging, maybe all three.

 

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving and a great start to the holiday season.  Be blessed my friends…  

Leadership Is Responsibility

 

All the effective leaders I have encountered – both those I worked with and those I merely watched – knew four simple things: a leader is someone who has followers; popularity is not leadership, results are; leaders are highly visible, they set examples; leadership is not rank, privilege, titles, or money, it is responsibility. Effective leaders delegate, but they do not delegate the one thing that will set the standards. They do it.

 

Point: Don’t expect to retain the respect of your employees if you completely delegate the central function of your enterprise, whether it is healing patients or selling bonds.

 

Today’s MMM was taken entirely from the thoughts of Peter Drucker in the book, “The Leader of the Future”.

Trying Times (Two Years Later)

 

Last Friday, March 11^th, marked two years from the date the NBA and The Houston Rodeo both shut down.  It was the beginning of a shutdown of businesses across most of the country. A lot has taken place, and a lot has changed since then. Are these still trying times? Sure they are, in some similar ways and some new and different ways. Great leadership is still in high demand and hope is still our focus. Below is the MMM from March 23, 2020.

  

Trying Times

These times will test our souls.  Our faith will be tested, but it will become our rock.  Our resolve will be stretched but it will support us. Our businesses and economy will be damaged, but they will survive.  Our friends and families may be separated, but we will hold them tightly. 

Leaders are purveyors of hope.  Now is the time for us to step up.  Our employees, friends and followers need to see hope in our eyes and positivity in our voices.  It will not be easy.  They need to hear us say the things above.  They need to know there is an end to this and better days will come.  They need to know this is survivable.  It is time to instill hope.  It is time to step up as leaders.  It is time for us to pass the test of leadership.

Let’s do this together. Take one day at a time and lead with hope!   

Presidents’ Day

 

The MMM frequently focuses on leadership and the traits that make quality leaders.  It suffices to say that many of our presidents have not possessed those qualities.  In fact, their behavior in their capacity as President, as well as in their personal lives, was often contrary to the behavior we associate with good leaders.  Certainly, we have had great leaders in the White House.  Those men likely mastered leadership before moving into 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Others have depended upon the title to gain respect, support, and followers.  Respect should come with the Office, but trust, support and a following of the people must be earned. 

The title of President does not guarantee followers, just like your title at work does not guarantee you any true followers.  Titles just give us the opportunity to earn the trust and support of potential followers.  Some of the greatest leaders I know are influencers who have no official title.  By influencers, I am not referring to the social media kind. I am referring to people who positively influence others and lead them to a common goal.

Don’t expect too much from your title.  Demand more of yourself as a leader. Happy Presidents’ Day!

Leadership - Honesty & Trust

The great guitarist Bo Diddley once said, “Don’t let your mouth write a check that your butt can’t cash.”  Others must believe in you before they are going to follow you.  They need to know that you are going to do what you say you are going to do.  They need to believe that you are honest and can be trusted.  They need to know that your check is not going to bounce!   Honesty and trust go hand in hand with great leadership.  People must experience the leader as believable, credible and most of all, trustworthy.  Trust and honesty are established when words and actions match up.  You don’t build trust by talking about it.  You build it by achieving results, always with integrity and in a manner that shows real personal regard for the people with whom you work.  Honesty is a key to integrity and the trust building process. Trust is what other people invest in you, based on your integrity and honesty.  Trust is their absolute confidence that you are truthful and reliable.  Great leaders are honest and trustworthy! 

Leadership – What is right?

 

As leaders we should be concerned with what is right, not being right.  What a great world it would be if we were all more concerned with what is right than who is right.  We spend a lot of time defending our position, arguing our viewpoint, and building our own individual case.  Is our position always what is right?  That seems doubtful.  There are times we may be arguing for what is right, but often we are just concerned with being right.  Sometimes we even know that we are not right, but we just cannot bring ourselves to admit that we are wrong.  It should not be about being wrong; It should be about what is right.  This is a tough one for many leaders.  Oftentimes, leaders think they are supposed to be right and always have the answers.   

 

Leadership is not about being focused on oneself and always being right.  Leadership is about thinking about the big picture, and what the right answer is for the situation.  Think about what is right, not being right.

Leadership

Many of you know that leadership is one of my favorite discussion topics.  Here is another interesting quote regarding the challenge of leadership.

He who thinks he leads but has no followers is only taking a walk.

That statement places leadership in a little different perspective to me.  Leadership is not leadership without followers.  What is a leader without followers?  Well, they likely are not a leader at all.  In our different leadership roles, we should think about “Being a person that others will want to follow.”   We are not leaders in all the roles in our lives, we are followers in some and leaders in others.  The key is that when we are in our leadership roles to not forget the viewpoint of the follower.  I don’t know about you, but I would like to think that I am here for more than just a walk!

The lost art of the “blinker”

There is a nifty feature on automobiles and trucks that allows one to indicate, by a flashing light, their intention to turn or switch lanes.  These turn signals were invented in the early 1900’s and patented in 1938.  By the 1960’s they were pretty much standard on all cars produced in the US.  There is one in your car, I am sure of it.  Yes, I said 1960, which is over 50 years ago.  I find it interesting, okay frustrating, that this device has been in place for this long and it still has not gained total acceptance within our society.  It is so simple to indicate to those of us around you, your directional intentions while driving.  In my experience the act of turning and switching lanes without the use of a “blinker” happens all too often.  Do we think that some people do not understand how to use the device?  Or are they simply too inconvenienced to flip their wrist or just a finger?  (Maybe they are on just their phone!)  I am thinking there may even be a law requiring the use of this device…

The use of the blinker, a lost art indeed…

Not your typical leadership challenging MMM, and it is a repeat of a previous publication.  I know that the MMM cannot change the world, but I was hoping for some local improvement on this topic.  Recent drives through The Woodlands and into Houston would indicate there has been no change in behavior.