Intentional leadership is no accident!

Whenever I wonder about the impact I am having, I refer to a tweet from @DavidRoads that states “you were born with the ability to change someone's life - don't ever waste it.” This got me thinking out loud about how often do we realize this is true in how we lead others? Do we really know and understand the impact we DO and CAN have on others? Such questions highlight both the privilege and responsibilities we have as leaders. In other words, we can no longer leave the impact of our leadership to chance. We have to be intentional about it.

I recently finished reading a book by John Maxwell (no surprise there!) entitled Intentional Living: Choosing a life that matters. The premise of the book is that if we live and lead our lives by DESIGN as opposed to by DEFAULT, then not only will be successful, we will become significant in the lives of others!

So if you agree that your leadership makes an impact, what should your response be? I have a few suggestions:

• Understand the reach of your leadership impact – keep in mind this will reach far beyond your immediate circle of direct reports and associates. They know other people too, don’t they?

• Understand your influence as a leader in that your words and actions (for better or worse) will just weigh more!

• Understand what it is you want to be intentional about – what is your vision or intention for those that you lead? Do you want them to grow as professionals, become more productive, or understand their own influence and impact on others?

• Understand the huge responsibility of your leadership when viewed in this light. I believe that if you take this concept to heart, then every conversation, interaction, or decision takes on a new level of significance.

I encourage you to reflect about the statements above as you head into the new week. Bases upon that reflection, what could or should you do differently? Finally, I offer another encouragement from @DavidRoads: Be someone who makes someone else look forward to tomorrow.

If you would like to learn more about John Maxwell’s new book on Intentional Living and participate in a virtual MasterMind on its content, please email me. 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

There is no wasted EFFORT, just missed OPPORTUNITIES!

The other night I attended a hockey game. Trust me, there is something a little surreal about going to hockey game in south Florida. Seriously, I have to bring something warmer to wear in the arena than I do outside! Unfortunately the home team lost but after looking at the game stats, this got me thinking out loud about effort and results.

You see, while looking at the score board, the opposing but winning team had more “shots on goal” than the home team. Keep in mind, all those shots did not result in a scoring goal, it just means the eventual winning team made more successful efforts.

Lots of time, you will hear people (maybe your own team members or maybe even yourself) say “that was just wasted effort”. I used to say that myself but I now know better. Just like the hockey metaphor, every effort toward a goal is never wasted. True, you may not meet your goal every time but you learn something every time you take your shot! You learn what works well and what is not as effective. You learn that your first approach was not completely successful but parts of it were. History shows us that Thomas Edison made thousands of attempts in his efforts to create the light bulb. When asked about this by a reporter, he said “I did not fail thousands of times, I just discovered thousands of ways of how not to do it!”

The point is this. There is no such thing as wasted effort, just missed opportunities. Just like in hockey, conditions will rarely be ideal. You may not have all the resources you need. The perfect team may not be assembled. None of that, however, should stop you from making the attempt! The more effort extended, the higher the probability of successful results. Failure only comes when we don’t take advantage of the opportunity to take a shot!

I would wager you took a risk or two to get where you are today. You bet on yourself or one of your ideas when others were skeptical. Just keep taking those “shots on goal” and don’t miss your opportunities!

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

Success = Paying the Fiddler!

One of my favorite bands from one of my home towns (I’ve moved around a bit!) is Jupiter Coyote. One of their songs talks about the old proverb of “Paying the fiddler for the dance.” In his tongue and cheek way, the songwriter reminds us you always have to pay to play! This got me thinking out loud about how this very concept is fading from modern society where so many expect success to come easily, cheaply, and quickly! The simple fact is success takes hard work, requires us to pay a price, and it will not occur over night!

In fact, lasting success only comes from sustained and intentional growth. In his 15 Laws of Growth, John Maxwell captures this very concept in his “Law of Consistency”. Specifically, success only comes from targeted and consistent growth efforts. The trick is to focus on growth FIRST and then goals. You see, while Goals may challenge you, a Growth orientation changes you! Goals are finite in their impact but Growth is infinite in its potential.

To set you on this path of personal expansion and growth, John’s encourages you to answer the following four questions:

• WHAT do you want to improve or expand upon in terms of your capabilities, knowledge and skills?
• HOW will you go about growing in this areas? This involves picking strategies and mediums that match how you like to learn (visually, verbally, by doing, etc.)
• WHY do you want to improve? What are you missing that you want to gain? What gaps in your performance do you want to fill and for what reasons?
• WHEN is the best time start? I will give you hint, it’s called RIGHT NOW!

Here is the good news. Growth, like any good investment, compounds on itself. It never loses value! So if you want to succeed in this dance of life, you have to pay the fiddler! Dreams and ambitions do come true, but they don’t come free! Make the best investment you ever will . . . invest in yourself because you are more than worthy of it and more able to capitalize on 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 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

For a BEYOND YOU leader, “end of the table, back of the room, and last in line” makes perfect sense!

I love the concept of a “Beyond You” leader and this was a conference theme of a great speaker event called Leadercast. One of the regular speakers is Andy Stanley who shared “If your leadership is NOT ABOUT YOU, its reach and impact will live far beyond you. If your leadership is ALL ABOUT YOU, it will last only long enough to be someone’s bad example.” This got me thinking out loud about what are the qualities of a BEYOND YOU or Servant Leader.

Last week I had the privilege of coordinating the attendance of over 200 collegiate attendees from 5 different colleges and universities to attend the World Leaders Conference in West Palm Beach Florida. It was an amazing two days of some of the most dynamic, nationally known speakers and authors with SERVANT LEADERSHIP as its primary theme. While waiting for the students to arrive for one of their lunch sessions, I started to think about what typifies a “Beyond You” or Servant Leader. Here is where I landed.

End of the Table:

“Me First” leaders love being at the front of the table, either as the seat of authority or as close to it as possible. They want to be close to the “cool kid(s)” so that others will think they are one, too!

“Beyond You” or servant leaders let others have that opportunity. They are secure and confident enough in themselves that they neither need nor desire such recognition. They know their work will always speak for itself. Now don’t get me wrong, you still get to eat! This isn’t “be a martyr” leadership for goodness sake!

Back of the Room:

Many in the leadership development world believe that it is all about being in the front of the room and have others dig on you for an hour and a half! Taking credit and accolades all at the same time.

Now whereas there is a time and place for being in front of others, it should not be our consuming passion. When I advised student groups and they put on programs and events, I loved seeing them on stage in front of everyone. My role was to be there for support, not the main attraction! Perhaps the best example of this was during the 1980 Winter Olympics when the underdog USA hockey team beat the powerhouse Soviets. After the inspiring victory, US Coach Herb Brooks retreated to a hallway in the arena while his players and the crowd celebrated their victory. He know it was time for the players to shine, not him. He clearly was a “Beyond You” leader. This is important to understand. The BEST leaders work for success of others, not their own!

Last in Line:

“All About Me” types insist on being first in line. They will shove, elbow, body check, etc. their way to the front both literally and figuratively. They are the ultra-competitive types. They somehow feel entitled to it due some perceived special role or status.

Servant Leaders on the other hand have enough emotional maturity to know how little such things matter. Often they are too busy creating their own lines for higher purposes! Author and YouTube sensation, Simon Sinek, shared at the Leadercast event that the culture of the US Marine Corps is just this way. It has been a long standing tradition that still happens to this day that at meal time, the most junior enlisted ranks eat first and the most senior general officers eat last. This is the epitome of servant leadership when the most experienced and decorated officers still look out for the needs of their people before theirs!

So here’s a quick test to tell whether or not you are a servant leader. Just notice where you find yourself at any given time – at the table, in the room, or waiting in line!

For more information about the conferences I mentioned, go to:

www.leadercast.com

www.worldleadersconference.com

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