SG Leadership NextGen

ASK YOURSELF, AM I REALLY TEACHABLE?

All the good advice in the world won’t help if you don’t have a teachable spirit.
To know whether you are really open to new ideas and new ways of doing things, answer the following questions:

1. Am I open to other people’s ideas?
2. Do I listen more than I talk?
3. Am I open to changing my opinion based on new information?
4. Do I readily admit when I am wrong?
5. Do I observe before acting on a situation?
6. Do I ask questions?
7. I willing to ask a question that will expose my ignorance?
8. Am I open to doing things in a way I haven’t done before?
9. Am I willing to ask for directions?
10. Do I act defensive when criticized, or do I listen openly for the truth?
I
f you answered no to one or more of these questions, then you have room to grow in the area of teachability. Remember the words of John Wooden: “Everything we know we learned from someone else!”


teachable mindset, continuous learning, growth mindset, leadership development, humility in leadership, personal development

INITIATIVE

Are you an initiator? Are you constantly on the lookout for opportunity, or do you wait for it to come to you? Are you willing to take steps based on your best instincts? Or do you endlessly analyze everything? Former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca said, “Even the right decision is the wrong decision if it is made too late.”
To improve your initiative, do the following:

Change your mind-set. If you lack initiative, recognize that the problem comes from the inside, not from others. Determine why you hesitate to take action. Does risk scare you? Are you discouraged by past failures? Do you not see the potential that opportunity offers? Find the source of your hesitation, and address it. You won’t be able to move forward on the outside until you can move forward on the inside.

Don’t wait for opportunity to knock. Opportunity doesn’t come to the door knocking. You’ve got to go out and look for it. Take stock of your assets, talents, and resources. Doing that will give you an idea of your potential. Now, spend every day for a week looking for opportunities. Where do you see needs? Who is looking for expertise you have? What unreached group of people is practically dying for what you have to offer? Opportunity is everywhere.

Take the next step. It’s one thing to see opportunity. It’s another to do something about it. As someone once quipped, everyone has a great idea in the shower. But only a few people step out, dry off, and do something about it. Pick the best opportunity you see, and take it as far as you can. Don’t stop until you’ve done everything you can to make it happen.


initiative, proactive leadership, opportunity mindset, leadership development, decision making, growth mindset

BREAK LARGE TASKS DOWN INTO SMALLER ONES

Many times, large tasks overwhelm people, and that’s a problem because overwhelmed people seldom initiate. Here’s how I suggest you proceed in breaking an intimidating goal into more manageable parts:

Divide it by categories. Most large objectives are complex and can be broken into steps for functions. Begin by figuring out what skill sets will be required to accomplish the smaller tasks.

Prioritize it by importance. Don’t be driven by urgency. When the urgent starts driving you instead of the important, you lose any kind of initiative edge, and instead of activating your talent, it robs you of the best opportunities to use it.

Order it by sequence. Dividing the task according to its categories helps you to understand how you will need to accomplish it. Prioritizing by importance helps you to understand why you need to do each part of it. Ordering by sequence helps you to know when each part needs to be done. Create a timetable, give yourself deadlines, and stick to them.

Assign it by abilities. Very specifically answer the who question. As a leader, I can tell you that the most important step in accomplishing something big is determining who will be on the team. Assign tasks to winners and give them authority and responsibility, and the job will get done.

Accomplish it by teamwork. Even if you break a task down, strategically plan, and recruit great people, you still need one more element to succeed. Everyone has to be able to work together. Teamwork is the glue that can bring it all together.



goal setting, project management, productivity, teamwork, strategic planning, ex*****on excellence

PUT OTHERS FIRST IN YOUR THINKING

When you meet people, is your first thought about what they’ll think of you or how you can make them feel more comfortable? At work, do you try to make your coworkers or employees look good, or are you more concerned about making sure that you receive your share of the credit? When you interact with family members, whose best interests do you have in mind? Your answers show where your heart is. To add value to others, you need to start putting others ahead of yourself in your mind and heart. If you can do it there, you will be able to put them first in your actions.

But how can anyone add value to others if he doesn’t know what they care about? Listen to people. Ask them what matters to them. And observe them. If you can discover how people spend their time and money, you’ll know what they value.

Once you know what matters to them, do your best to meet their needs with excellence and generosity. Offer your best with no thought toward what you might receive in return. President Calvin Coolidge believed that “no enterprise can exist for itself alone. It ministers to some great need, it performs some great service, not for itself, but for others; or failing therein it ceases to be profitable and ceases to exist.”


servant leadership, people first leadership, emotional intelligence, relationship building, leadership influence, employee engagement

THE RIGHT PICTURE OF SUCCESS

The picture of success isn’t the same for any two people because we’re all created differently as unique individuals. But the process is the same for everyone. It’s based on principles that do not change. After more than twenty-five years of knowing successful people and studying the subject, I have developed the following definition of success:

Success is . . .
• Knowing your purpose in life,
• Growing to reach your maximum potential, and
• Sowing seeds that benefit others.

You can see by this definition why success is a journey rather than a destination. No matter how long you live or what you decide to do in life, you will never exhaust your capacity to grow toward your potential or run out of opportunities to help others. When you see success as a journey, you’ll never have the problem of trying to “arrive” at an elusive final destination. And you’ll never find yourself in a position where you have accomplished some final goal, only to discover that you’re still unfulfilled and searching for something else to do.

Another benefit of focusing on the journey of success instead of on arriving at a destination or achieving a goal is that you have the potential to become a success today. The very moment that you make the shift to finding your purpose, growing to your potential, and helping others, successful is something you are right now, not something you vaguely hope one day to be.


success mindset, purpose driven life, personal growth, achieve your potential, meaningful success, self development

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JUST PRACTICING

In The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork, I wrote about pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh, mentioning that even his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean was really a team effort, since he had the backing of nine businessmen from St. Louis and the help of the Ryan Aeronautical Company, which built his plane. But that doesn’t take away from his personal effort. For more than thirty-three hours, he flew alone and covered an incredible 3,600 miles.

That’s not the kind of task a person just goes out and does. He has to work up to it. How did Lindbergh do that? A story from his friend Frank Samuels gives insight into the process. In the 1920s, Lindbergh used to fly mail out of St. Louis. Occasionally he would go out to San Diego to check on the progress of his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis, which was being built there. Samuels sometimes went along with him, and the two men would stay overnight in a small hotel there. One night Samuels woke up shortly after midnight and noticed that Lindbergh was sitting by the window looking at the stars. It had been a long day, so Samuels asked, “Why are you sitting there at this hour?”

“Just practicing,” answered Lindbergh.
“Practicing what?” asked Samuels.
“Staying awake all night.”

When he could have been enjoying a well-deserved rest, Lindbergh was putting forth the effort to improve himself. It’s an investment that paid off for him—and it can do the same thing for you.


deliberate practice, continuous improvement, self-discipline, success habits, peak performance, personal excellence

SOLUTION ORIENTED

Most people can see problems. That doesn’t require any special ability or talent. Someone who thinks in terms of solutions instead of just problems can be a difference maker. A team filled with people who possess that mind-set can really get things done.

Your personality type, upbringing, and personal history may affect how solution-oriented you are naturally. However, anyone can become solution-oriented. Consider these truths that all solution-seeking people recognize:

Problems are a matter of perspective. Obstacles, setbacks, and failures are simply parts of life. You can’t avoid them. But that doesn’t mean you have to allow them to become problems. The best thing you can do is to meet them with a solution-oriented mind-set. It’s just a matter of attitude.

All problems are solvable. Some of the great problem solvers have been inventors. Charles Kettering explained, “When I was research head of General Motors and wanted a problem solved, I’d place a table outside the meeting room with a sign: ‘Leave slide rules here.’ If I didn’t do that, I’d find someone reaching for his slide rule. Then he’d be on his feet saying, ‘Boss, you can’t do it.’” Kettering believed all problems were solvable, and he helped to cultivate that attitude in others. If you want to be solution-oriented, then you must be willing to cultivate that attitude in yourself too.

Problems either stop us or stretch us. Problems either hurt you or help you. Depending on how you approach them, they’ll stop you from succeeding or stretch you so that you not only overcome them, but also become a better person in the process. The choice is yours.

problem solving, solution mindset, critical thinking, growth mindset, leadership mindset, resilient leadership

DO FOR OTHERS WHAT THEY CAN’T DO FOR THEMSELVES

Ambassador and poet Henry Van D**e observed, “There is a loftier ambition than merely to stand high in the world. It is to stoop down and lift mankind a little higher.” What a great perspective! Doing for others what they can’t do for themselves is really a matter of attitude. I believe that whatever I’ve been given is to be shared with others. And because I have an abundance mind-set, I never worry about running out myself. The more I give away, the more I seem to get to give away.

No matter how much or how little you think you have, you have the ability to do for others what they cannot do for themselves. Exactly how you do that will depend on your unique gifts, resources, and history.

Nearly twenty-five years ago, Professor C. Peter Wagner of Fuller Seminary invited me to speak to audiences of pastors around the country about leadership. He put me on a national stage for the first time and gave me credibility that I didn’t possess on my own.

Few things are of greater value to a prepared person than an opportunity. Why? Because opportunities increase our potential. Demosthenes, the great orator of ancient Greece, said, “Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.” An opportunity seized is often a source of success. Help people win by giving them opportunities, and you will win with them.


servant leadership, employee empowerment, leadership development, mentorship, opportunity creation, people development