Leadership Gratitude with a Twist!

It is the Thanksgiving Holiday in the USA. For those who think and write about leadership, it also time for the obligatory commentary about the importance of gratitude. Not to be left out I will, of course, be doing the same but I started thinking out loud about what I could say that would be different. In other words, gratitude with a twist!

So here is what I came up with. Instead of just reminding leaders WHAT they should be grateful for, I thought I would start with the WHY!

Let’s start with the WHY. Believe it or not, there is a whole body of research related to Gratitude Studies. Seriously, there are some very smart people out there with a lot of letters after their names who study this stuff! In general, here are some of the benefits of feeling and expressing gratitude:

Emotional Health – Robert Emmons at UC Davis and Michael McCullough at the University of Miami have demonstrated that individuals that consider what they are grateful for (vs irritated by) on a regular basis find that they are more optimistic and feel better about their lives. The good folks at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley find similar results in that grateful people are more compassionate and experience more positive emotions.

Physical Health – Emmons and McCullough along with the Greater Good Science Center found that grateful people exercised more, had fewer visits to the doctor, and have stronger immune systems. Psychotherapist Amy Morin who writes about the psychological aspects of business also found that grateful people sleep better. Who knew?!

Relational Health – Amy Morin went on to find that as you can imagine, grateful people have more opportunities for positive relationships and, accordingly, GGSC researchers found appreciative individuals feel less lonely.

So now that we have established the WHY, let’s consider WHAT leaders should be thankful for:

• Be thankful for your team, for it is they that both teach you and help you be successful.
• Be thankful that leadership is challenging, for challenges make you better!
• Be thankful that leadership can be learned and developed because that is what makes us ready for bigger opportunities.
• Be thankful that leadership is hard, because being able to lead effectively in this time of constant leadership “whitewater” makes you significant.

Here’s the important thing to remember, like leadership, a gratitude mindset can be a learned behavior. The researchers above agree that the best way to develop this mindset of thankfulness is to every day, focus a few moments on those people, experiences, skills, etc. that you are thankful for (vs what you do not have or think you are entitled to). Just do this every day for a week and let me know the outcome. I bet you will be surprised at the changes that result in you and the results that occur for you.  

I am grateful for the many blessings and people (often the same thing!) in my life. I am extremely appreciative, however, for those of you who read this blog and find it helpful.

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

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Young Professionals = Big Impact!

I have workshop called Young Professionals, Big Impact. It’s even on a Prezi just to prove how hip I am with the young people! The premise that I thought out loud about is that even if you are a young professional new in your career, you can make a huge impact from right where you are!

As more and more millennials enter their careers, they carry with them the desire to make a difference NOW, versus later. Whereas not a complete list, here are some suggestions on how to do that and EXCEED EXPECTATIONS:

First, PREPARE before you START. This means increasing your skill levels in communication, teamwork, leadership, and the specifics of your discipline. Practice daily disciplines such as punctuality, attending to detail, asking questions, personal organization, etc. Most importantly, as pastor and author Andy Stanley encourages all, you should PRE-DECIDE what can of leader you will be (i.e. ethical, supportive, proactive, courageous, etc.)

Next, MASTER the BASICS of the role. Make sure you learn and accomplish core tasks and procedures, meet timelines, anticipate issues, know the players, create networks, and always carry yourself as the professional you now are. As author Scott Fay says, you will be hired for what you know, but you will be retained (or not!) for who you are!

Then you are ready and able to MAKE an IMPACT! As A. Coleman and N. Blumenthal suggest, your sources of impact are you have the most up to date knowledge-base, your skills in social media and software use, your energy and drive to deliver a quick win, your willingness to jump into high visibility projects, and, most importantly, your learner’s mindset.

The point being, I want you to avoid the passive posture of observing, assisting, etc. but instead quickly add to your mindset and portfolio the following phrases:

I created

I lead

I implemented

I initiated

I managed

I changed

I improved

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

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Would you rather be Effective or Right?

This is concept was introduced to me by leadership expert and author, John Maxwell. Now on the surface the answer may be this is really one and the same. However, anyone married or in a committed relationship knows there is a very important distinction here! Let's say I am having a “discussion” with my wife. I may be "right" in my position or arguments but in the end that may not be the most "effective" strategy. Again for those in relationships, the clouds may be parting and you are starting to understand what I mean! This got me thinking out loud about how these two concepts impact how we lead others.

First there is the idea that may be many effective ways to get the same thing done. You may have a team member that accomplished something well, but did they do it the "right" way in terms of your ideas or preferences? As a leader this is a critical question. How you answer speaks to how well you empower others.

Second, as a leader we sometimes get in disagreements with colleagues. Again, you may hold the high ground terms of being "right", but would it be more effective if you gave a little? It may very well move us to a quicker solution if we were not trying to win every argument.

I often tell my team members there are many right ways to do something. Granted some ways may be more efficient than others but are they effective? I believe a true sign of a mature and “beyond you” leader is this capacity to bracket our reactions and preferences to give a staff member an important win!

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

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

There are Two Paths to Excellence – Getting it Right or Making it Right!

I am sure you all have had the opportunity to enjoy peak experiences. An experience like a conference, task, meeting, vacation, or even a dinner where everything just fell into place that made it memorable, impactful, and one for the books. Other times, what started out as a mediocre (at best!) experience became extraordinary. Recently I had the opportunity to visit The Breakers in West Palm Beach, FL. Known as one of the premier hotels in the world, The Breakers is the epitome of Getting it Right (they even have little caddies for their silverware so that the utencils do not touch the table - who does that?!?!?). This got me thinking out loud about what made the difference between the two. It all comes down to either GETTING it right in the first place or MAKING it right.

In terms of Getting it Right, we can think of all sorts of analogies. Why some sport teams always seem to triumph, why some hotel chains are synonymous with excellence, or why some products or services always top the list. I believe like most things, it all comes down to leadership. Getting it Right leaders have the following characteristics common to their success regardless of their industry:

PREPARATION –

This means starting out with MINDSET of quality in word and deed.

A KNOWLEDGE BASE that is intentionally developed to determine best practices.

A SKILL SET that is practiced and refined daily to meet needs or customer demands.

PLANNING –

This requires an ATTENTION TO DETAIL that covers all the bases.

Constantly asking, “WHAT ELSE?” in terms of what more can we do to add value.

Even better, as a road manager of a national touring act taught me years ago, the ”Stupid Idiot Check” that disciplines us to ask what are we missing!

EXECUTION –

An ENTHUSIASTIC implementation of the plan or initiative.

Being ADAPTABLE to changing conditions and situations.

Keeping the “MAIN THING the main thing” as leadership expert John Maxwell encourages us to do. In other words, not getting side tracked and distracted or even tempted to cut corners.

Sometimes, however, as leaders we need to MAKE it Right. This happens when we make the inevitable errors or when something even beyond our control prevents us from doing our very best. When that happens, leaders become problem solves and commit to the following:

• ADMITTING when the very best effort was not presented or offered.
• CORRECTING mistakes or errors or making up for the less than optimal conditions.
• EXCEEDING expectations when offering alternatives and consolations.

 Often I am more impressed by the leader who does these due to the sense of ownership in the services, product, etc. they offer.

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

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc

Is Your Leadership on Autopilot?

Admit it, we train and educate ourselves extensively for our professions, but rarely do we put as much effort in the part that eventually matters most – our ability to lead and influence others! It’s like we put our leadership skill building on auto-pilot and just hope we end up at the correct destination!

Recently I have been doing trainings for various groups of professionals entering specific medical fields. These are highly technical professions requiring extensive training and graduate work. During one of the sessions, however, I got to thinking out loud about how much we intentionally train and educate ourselves for the technical parts of our careers but we just assume that our leadership skills will grow by default! Again, we leave this to chance and put our leadership development on autopilot! And if we view our own development that way, how about the people we lead? Do we just hope they will somehow get better at being leaders in their own right?

The problem is that according to leadership guru John Maxwell, no one gets good at anything by accident! We HAVE to be just as INTENTIONAL about our leadership skills as any of our technical skills. According to master executive coach, Christian Simpson, we progress this way. We start out as Unconsciously Incompetent (we just don't know we are not good leaders). We then move to Conscious Incompetence (we begin to understand our current leadership skills are insufficient). Hopefully we arrive at Conscious Competence (we begin to work on it and make improvements). The important thing to understand is that this process can repeat itself every time we take on a new role or job with increased responsibilities.

So what do we need to do? Borrowing from Kurt Lewin's change strategy, we need to be continually engaged in a process of:

• UnFreezing - getting out of our former leadership mode and moving to another
• Movement - adding to knowledge and skills to our leadership tool box
• ReFreezing - consolidating those behaviors and evaluating for effectiveness.
• Repeat

Again, none of this will happen unless you are constantly evaluating what are you doing right and what needs to improve.

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

Visit our website at: www.outloudinc.com

Feel free to “LIKE” our FB Page www.facebook.com/outloudinc