How many leaders do you know personally? How many great leaders have you had an opportunity to work with? While experiences certainly vary, I am willing to bet that your list is small, very small. One of my passions and unwavering beliefs is that EVERYTHING ties to LEADERSHIP in one way or another which is why this trend of a …
Leaders are authentic and consistent
Leaders must not only be honest, truthful and knowledgeable, but the very best of them are authentic and consistent as well. If you make a decision, stand behind it across all challenges (both internal and external) and communicate authentically across the enterprise. People you work with must know why you made the choices you have made and they need to …
Don’t jump to conclusions
Our vantage points and perspectives differ and they matter when making decisions which is why it is important to do your best to understand as much of the environment as possible. Understand what and who influences decisions. As you progress in your career, your priorities and responsibilities will change and so will your decisions. It is important to do your …
How to plan your day, week, month, year (no more “to do” lists)
Planning our future and our goals is something we all do across both our personal and professional lives. Planning is good, but it is utterly useless without accompanying action. Lack of commitment to continuously making progress is the single largest cause of why most of us don’t reach majority of our major goals and keep postponing them year after year …
You are only as good as your team
Your team matters a lot, even more than some of you might think. They matter as much as you do (if not more in some instances) as their actions, values and contributions speak volumes about you, their leader. Your job is to select (attract and retain) the best people you can, provide them needed resources then get out of their …
Success requires both talent & hard work
Hard work is a prerequisite for nearly everything of value in life. However, while we all know this to be true, in practice we often behave differently. For some reason way too many of us over estimate our talents and under estimate the work it will take to reach our goals. Furthermore, we often attempt to go through business and …
Passionate people are indicators of your progress
Passion makes the world go round. Without passion, we won’t be as committed, as focused, or as determined to see our projects and responsibilities all the way through. We won’t care to put in 100% of our efforts and skills, but will rather only contribute as much as it is necessary to get a passing grade. As leaders, we must …
Do you know what motivates your employees?
Know your people, their hopes and dreams and do what you can to enable them to be successful. We are all motivated by different things and reasons that drive us to contribute and perform at exceptional levels. For some it is money, career advancement and growth; for others, work-life balance and more time with their families; for some people it …
Proactively recruit the best people
As I like to say, focus on people first, they matter the most. This is essential when leading your current teams and it is also of great importance when recruiting new employees. Don’t rely on the traditional way of hiring and finding talent. Posting a position on your HR website (in addition to few other websites) is no longer enough …
Leaders tell the truth
In all that you do, it is essential to remain truthful and honest with your staff. Your decisions won’t always be liked by all, but they should be understood and accepted by all and that is one of many responsibilities you need to address as a leader. You must consider alternatives, but once you’ve made a decision you need to …