Taming Type A and Other Such Myths!

I get to work and interact with amazing people. Recently I was having a conversation with one of them who just so happens to be the “poster child” for the “Type A” personality type. I will honor their confidentiality and not state their name but you know exactly who you are! Now I am more of a “Type B” so during the course of the recent interaction, the inevitable and humorous clash got us laughing to the point where we realized the lens by which we view and interact with the world sometimes creates interpersonal hiccups. This got me thinking out loud if it were possible to tame the Type A and bring them to the light of Type B! But then upon later reflection, which us Type B’s are prone to do, Type A’s know they are Type A and it is even a point of pride for them; thus why the idea of taming Type A is just plausible as the existence of Bigfoot, the lost continent of Atlantis, and other such things you see on the History Channel.

For those not familiar with the theory of Type A and B personalities, it was first developed by two cardiologists, Friedman and Rosenman. In their research, they determined the following characteristics of each style:

Type A’s

• Rigidly organized (my associate has a merit badge in this!)
• Impatient
• Overextended
• High Achieving

Type B’s

• Work Steadily
• Creative
• Reflective
• Like to achieve too, but do not stress over it

Now each Type has value, and we need both in any organization. You probably thought I was going to suggest we have a 12 Step Program for recovering Type A’s but I really do value Type A’s and besides, I know you would find a way to make it a 6 Step program anyway! Seriously, the issue becomes when we lack the awareness to determine when our predominant type is an asset or is becoming a liability. John Maxwell in his 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership tracks levels of awareness in the following order:

I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know

I Know that I Need to Know

I Know what I Don’t Know

I Know and Grow

I Go Simply Because of What I Know

I favor this progression because even when we become aware, people usually react in two ways – they either don’t care or they get better (and I always vote to “get better”!). So, what type are you? What is your level of awareness as to your personality Type and how that impacts how you view the world, people, and situations? When does your style give you an advantage? When does it become an asset or liability in your leadership life?

As always, if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

www.outloudinc.com

www.facebook.com/outloudinc

A leader worthy of being followed -

It is my ever present goal to be a leader worth of being followed. Ever since I heard that challenge and encouragement from speaker and author Andy Stanley, it has gotten me thinking out loud about what that means and how I can do that better? One way is to identify and observe leaders whom I feel have mastered how to do that.


Recently I attended a birthday celebration for a former member of congress my wife used to work. He was a member of congress for many years and during the course of the evening I was struck how generations of staffers flocked to attend this event. Near the end of the evening these individuals who are now incredibly successful in their own right (many are now consultants, campaign professionals, and even a US congressman) were seated in a circle around him and were telling stories of both times of challenge and triumph. I was so impressed by how they shared what he did and how that made them better, that I started to take notes on my phone.


Just in listening and, often laughing, here is what this leader so worthy of being followed did:

• He built his DREAM TEAM – surrounding himself with the right people that helped him realize his goal of winning his congressional seat
• He INVESTED in his people – obviously corrected where needed (the funniest stories there) but also cared about their lives
• He was able to IDENTIFY TALENT – these were incredibly accomplished people that went on to do even bigger things
• He ENCOURAGED people to be their BEST – and from the sound of it, they were the kind of people that wanted to anyway
• He raised up FUTURE LEADERS – as stated, everyone there had even bigger careers after he retired

All of this comes right out of the sound and time-tested leadership principles taught by John Maxwell. They are just that universal!

Most impressive, you would think that a gentleman of such a distinguished career would just sit back and enjoy his grandchildren. Not this guy! During the evening he talked about how he could use the wire frame of political action (that both US political parties have in common) to move beyond politics and focus on significance. To use local political organizations and volunteers to solve common (and often non-political) problems at the most local level. This illustrates one more thing that leaders worth following do . . . they don't stop doing it!

As always, if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

www.outloudinc.com

www.facebook.com/outloudinc

The 3 Power Words of Leadership.

Words have meaning. Words have influence. Words can be powerful. Words move us from one place to another. Words have launched everything from ships to businesses to nations! This got me thinking out loud about the words that leaders should use to move their teams from average to great. Here is where I landed.


EveryoneNot just someone, not just anyone, but everyone. When leaders use the word everyone, it is all inclusive. It means we are all in this together. It means everyone is important and that everyone has value. This not just includes you and your team, but your clients, your vendors, and your colleagues.


EverydayEveryday speaks to intent. Everyday we will do our best. Everyday we will exceed expectations, Everyday we will focus on quality and not just some days. Everyday we will try to do better than we did the day before. This requires a lot of words by the leader because it is important you remind people what is important and why they matter. Author and speaker Patrick Lencioni refers to this as the leader often must become the "chief reminding officer!


EverytimeOK, so I made that one word! Regardless, this word speaks to frequency of effort. Do we just exceed expectations when we feel like it? Gallop shares sobering statistics about this. Essentially, the researchers discovered that 80% of a workforce will not meet expectations. 15% will just meet expectations and ONLY 5% of a team will actually exceed expectations! This is remarkable if not concerning. Perhaps if leaders stressed these three words and helped them live in their team, these statistics would change.
So let me ask you:

• Does EVERYONE on your team know they matter? Do they know your expectations?

• Do you stress quality and exceeding expectations as an EVERYDAY proposition?

• Do we strive for excellence EVERYTIME or only when it is convenient to do so? What does extra effort really cost us? I can certainly speculate on what NOT meeting expectations costs our efforts.

All of this has to do with building the culture you want because culture eats vision for lunch as speaker and author John Maxwell correctly states.


As always, if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

www.outloudinc.com

www.facebook.com/outloudinc

High Impact People & High Impact Experiences = Common Denominators for Growth

One of my most favorite activities to do in class or with a group is to ask participants to list their Top 5 (that they can share publically!) life experiences that shaped their growth and development. The answers fascinate me but inevitably they come down to two things:

1. High Impact People
2. High Impact Experiences

High Impact People are usually those people that come into our lives that support us, lift us up, challenge us, love us and pour into us. These are people such as mentors, coaches, teachers, college professors, people of faith, etc. High Impact Experiences are usually those experiences that we immersed ourselves in that were totally out of our comfort zone. This could involve living in another country, that first job, volunteering in a place or with people that were completely unfamiliar to us. I am sure you can add so much more to my lists but you get the idea.

This got me thinking out loud about how we as leaders could or better yet should replicate both to accelerate development and growth in others.

Let’s start with high impact experiences. One of my favorite is the off-site retreat or training. Such opportunities remove people from their day to day routine and helps them focus on learning. Throw in a Ropes Course or other type of challenge experience then you are really cooking! Another example may be taking your team on a service project. I have a team leader who does this to very strong effect. No work conversations, just being together and helping others. I am sure you can think of a variety of ideas but the point is this. In order for an experience to have High Impact it must have a delegate balance of both intentional and organic experiences that challenges but does not overwhelm team members.

Next, is exposing people to other high impact people. Establishing a cadre of trained and able mentors and coaches (vs whoever just volunteers!) can have enormous impact, especially on younger leaders. Bringing in outside speakers with a relevant message for your team can also start someone on the path to growth and increased effectiveness. Here’s another high impact person you can introduce into the lives of others – YOU! You can be that high impact person and I bet you are right now but do not even know it! But what if you established yourself to do so intentionally?

Whatever you choose (and I vote both!) keep this mind. Providing High Impact Experiences is a monetary investment. Becoming a High Impact Person for someone else requires a personal investment! Make very certain that you are resourced to do both!

As always, if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

www.outloudinc.com

www.facebook.com/outloudinc