Before you judge anyone, try to understand their position and walk a mile in their shoes. In today’s world filled with divisions, separations and hidden agendas, it is easy to lose humanity and join others in this blame game. Instead, listen to understand and do your best to see the perspectives, experiences and ideas of others before you dismiss them …
Balancing empathy and decisions
As leaders, making decisions and taking actions fall among many responsibilities we are tasked with. However, creating the environment where all members of your team are treated with respect, support and are included in the process is of equal importance. Balancing empathy and understanding with decisions and actions is important and here’s what I think about it.
Invest in people first
People must come first in all you do and here’s why. If you invest time, attention, focus and financial resources into attracting, retaining and growing the best people you can afford you will be positioned adequately to improve and grow your business. It all starts with people first, then processes, policies, followed by technology and everything else in THAT order. …
How to make money: 4 major areas to focus on
One way or another, we all want to be compensated for the value we provide, for the work we put in. Whether this is a salary, a bonus, contract pay…your products and services should be valuable and therefore you should be paid for them. That’s simple enough. However, money on its own shouldn’t be your only or major objective as …
Be passionate, yet remain cool, calm and collected
Passion is one of the most important attributes that influences what we do and act on each day. Loss of your passion and your drive will unavoidably result in a decrease in commitment, attention and quality of output. Once you stop caring about a project, process, job, organization…you check out mentally and it is noticeable to those who are observant …
Best leaders are approachable and welcoming
If you were to take a moment and think about some of the great leaders you have worked with (hopefully you were fortunate enough to work for a few) what are some of their characteristics that were common across the board? One that comes to my mind, without a doubt, was their approach-ability and willingness to be there for staff. …
Be a leader, not a decision maker
Leadership is earned, not given and as such you need to justify your privilege to lead others. Your title alone is not enough to make you a leader. Your position as a CEO, CIO, CFO, CMO, President, Vice President…gives you an opportunity to make decisions, not necessarily lead people forward. To lead others you must win their hearts and minds, …
Don’t mistake kindness for weakness
Be kind and respectful to others, but don’t ever allow anyone to mistake that empathy for a weakness. People should be treated with respect, professionalism and common courtesy, but none of those gestures should be mistaken as a “free pass” by select individuals to perform outside standards, policies and processes that apply to all others.
Lead with your heart
Treat others the way you want to be treated. Show compassion, empathy, understanding and support. Now, this doesn’t mean be a softy all the time and let others take advantage of your kindness, but it means don’t go out of your way to make lives of others miserable and unnecessarily difficult. As a leader, one of your primary responsibilities is …
I’m stressed, help me!
Sooner or later, a time will come for most when they will feel overwhelmed, stressed and stretched too thin. It will feel like 24 hours in a day are simply not enough to accomplish it all. Well, when that time comes (or if it is already here) please note that you are not alone and that solutions exist. Focusing on …