When Motivating Others, Add CAUSE to CONTENT!

John Maxwell is a master communicator both on-stage and in his writings. I recently heard him say that the success of his books (and he has sold millions of them!) is based upon gathering his information but then focusing on IMPACT! This got me thinking out loud about how we as leaders can use that simple formula to motivate others!

Often when we are attempting to motivate or influence others, we rely often on our data, reasoned arguments, well researched content, etc. The problem is that we often stop there. I believe the best leaders use good data but they attach that to even better CAUSES. As Simon Sinek of YouTube fame proposes the WHY (or CAUSE) is always more powerful than the WHAT. Stated another way, effective leaders stress WHY something is important. WHY efforts are worthy of both our time and best efforts. WHY it matters!

Whereas not an exhaustive list, here are some strategies that help propel you from simple information to impact:

Tell Stories – stories are critical – I was listening to the Wharton School Radio (totally geeking out on that channel these days!) on SiriusXM. One of their guests was stressing the importance of telling stories of great customer service and the positive impact it had on improving his business. It created an atmosphere of friendly competition where his staff wanted to share their stories. Stories paint word pictures of the CAUSES that are most important to you!

Keep It Interesting – Author and speaker Omar Periu shared, “until you make it interesting, you are just someone’s interruption!” Find new and different ways to communicating content. Maybe simple signs instead of PPT. Bring in guests or clients to share what is important to them. Remember that people learn best in their own ways. Some are visual, some are auditory, some are tactile, and some need time to reflect. Mix you media and methods to motivate others.

BE Sincere – are you truly passionate about your CAUSE? Share what is most important to you. Talk more about what you are for versus what you are against. People (especially the millennials now in the workplace) like to feel they are part of something big and meaningful – give that to them!

Call to Action – Finally, as John Maxwell shares, it is important to always let others know what you want them to KNOW and what you want them to DO! A clear call to action helps generate focus that leads to the results you are looking for.

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 email me or 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

Principal Consultant – 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

What are you DESIGNED to DO?

Recently I finished a great book by my virtual mentor, John Maxwell. The book was entitled Intentional Living: Choosing a Life that Matters. In this book, John focuses a lot on “finding your WHY.” You see, once you find your WHY, or the reasons why you believe you were placed on the planet, the WHAT and the HOW takes care of itself. Put another way, your WHY will fuel the WHAT you want to do and then HOW you will be able to do it! This got me thinking out loud about further defining my own purpose and significance in the life of others.

I spent some time last week thinking a lot about this and came across a great article in SUCCESS Magazine by Stephanie Wood. Stephanie outlined a great activity to help you find your meaning or your WHY and I thought I would share it with you.

First, make a list of your personal qualities (i.e. honest, hardworking, playful, creative, etc.)

Second, list all your talents (e.g. public speaking, organizing, motivating, etc.)

Third, think about those activities that you find yourself repeatedly doing (e.g. volunteering, mentoring others, fixing computer problems, or creating a marketing campaign).

Fourth, list your true desires. What do you want to be doing with your life? Do you want to travel, work for a cause, help others develop capital, or lead a high functioning team?

Finally, take a look at your respective list and circle the one word or phrase that best captures your personal characteristic of each category above.

Now it is time to complete the following sentence:

I, (fill in your name) was DESIGNED to (fill in your most valued personal quality) who can (insert strongest talent) because I find myself (fill in the activity that repeats itself often in your life) because I am SUPPOSED to (fill in your truest desire).

Once you do this once, it is OK to refine it a bit but I believe you will be very surprised by the result. You see, I believe each one of us was intentionally DESIGNED to do something important in this world. Something no one else can do but YOU! It is my hope that with that understanding comes the self-realization of just how important and valuable you are!

Here is where I landed in this activity:

I, Bill Faulkner, am designed to Empower Others because I can Communicate Effectively which allows me to Teach important lessons for now because I am supposed to produce leaders for life!

You can find Stephanie’s full article in the December 2014 edition of Success Magazine.

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 email me or 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

You are SERIOUSLY in charge!

Perhaps the strongest leadership lessons come from the U. S. military. I am currently reading a great book by two former Navy SEALS turned corporate trainers, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, who declare that at the core of leadership is “extreme ownership” (thus the title of their book!). This got me thinking out loud about what that concept means.

According to Willink and Babin, the best leaders don’t just take responsibility for what is in their job descriptions, the best leaders take extreme ownership over everything their job entails. This includes the:

Strategy

People

Purpose

Values

EVEYTHING . . . that your enterprise is about.

This does not mean micromanagement, however, it means aligning all of the above to work in harmony with the mission before you. It means a deep attention to detail and proactively anticipating both challenges and opportunities. It means modeling that behavior for your team and colleagues so that they will take ownership as well. Stated another way by Dr. Henry Cloud, as a leader, you are ridiculously in charge!

The sad thing is that such a serious approach to leadership runs counter to the “cover your but, I’m not responsible for my actions” parts of our culture. Too often we see politicians, athletes, celebrities, and entertainers rationalizing their actions and receiving minimal to no consequences for behavior that would land most of us in jail or at the very least, out of a job!

So how do you know if you are the type of leader who takes your responsibilities and obligations seriously to the point where you have extreme ownership? It all depends on how you answer these two questions below:

When things go well, do you keep the credit or share it?

When things go bad, do you share the blame or own it?

So what is required of a leader who is SERIOUSLY IN CHARGE?

• Serious Self-Leadership – you have to understand you have to lead yourself and the responsibilities of your leadership seriously before asking others to do the same.
• Moral Courage – I will be the first to admit that taking such extreme ownership is not easy nor is it a lot of fun. I have had serious “ouch” moments in my career when I have had to admit to mistakes and make corrections. That required I stick to the “true north” of my moral compass.
• Commitment in Choice – being seriously in charge requires a deliberate choice to do so. It will not normally happen on its own. It requires us to evaluate our actions against the results.
• “In Spite Of” Responsibility – Even when it is not clear or there are lots of circumstance or reasons surrounding why something did or did not happen, you have to eventually take the responsibility for the final outcome in spite of the confusion, people issues, etc. that surround it.

 Here is the good news. When a leader handles his or her self in this seriously in charge manner, your credibility with your team, colleagues, and even supervisors sky rockets! Further, you will earn a lot of leadership credits with those around you. Finally, you will maintain your own self-respect which I believe in priceless.

If you want to learn more, I would recommend:

• Extreme Ownership: How Navy SEALS Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and being ridiculously in charge by Dr. Henry Cloud

One of my most favorite workshops to facilitate surrounds this issue of leading with integrity and I would greatly enjoy the opportunity to discuss more with you. 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 email me or 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