Tag: Soft Skills

Exceptional Leaders… Make Contingency Plans 

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have highlighted the need for leaders to make contingency plans should unlikely but potentially negative events occur.

Exceptional Leaders know that bad things happen quickly while good things generally happen slowly. While no one can precisely predict the future, those who plan for the unexpected certainly fare better than those who don’t.

Having a plan gives comfort now. Having a plan means avoiding the panic caused by not being in control. Having a plan means recovering more quickly.

After being shut down when the World Trade Center was attacked, Merrill Lynch moved their operations to backup locations in New Jersey. Within five days their technology was up and running with employees at their desks. This required extraordinary prior planning.

Thought Provoker

Have you thought through all the potential consequences of unexpected but potentially negative future events?

Do you have plans in writing to account for those consequences?

Do you have all the insurance that is prudent and that you can reasonably afford? What risks are not covered?

Do you have primary and secondary backups for all your electronic information that is vital to the operations of your business?

Do you have alternatives for quickly acquiring resources that are vital to the operations of your business? This could include suppliers as well as employees who are vital to your business.

Exceptional Leaders know how to measure and manage risk. This includes developing the needed contingency plans for dealing with improbable but potential external events.

We would love to hear your comments. Please email or contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

Copyright protected by author Bruce M. Anderson. Reprinted with permission. Sorrell Associates, LLC.  Thinking Partners Inc.

Want to Be a Successful Leader? Stop Reading About What They Do and Start Applying These 5 Success Habits Instead

Are you tired of reading the same leadership clichés in leadership books and online articles? Most of the “helpful” information and tips that you have read are all based on common sense and ideas that have been installed in your head since elementary school.

When you’re ready to become a successful leader, it’s time to follow the five actionable practices documented by Dr. John Stahl-Wart. These practices can be found in successful businesses and organizations around the world.

1. Have a Vision

Having a compelling vision is the foundation of becoming a great and successful leader. Getting your team to buy into your vision will inspire and motivate them to bring their 100 percent day in and day out. Nothing motivates us more than a compelling purpose that we can get behind and work towards.

2. Set the Bar High

Establish a set of core values that you strive to implement at every level of your organization. These values will help define the level of work you expect your team to reach on a daily basis. By setting the bar high, you’re holding your team accountable to do everything in their power to reach it.

3. Break Down Barriers

Let your team and your customers know you’re willing to go above and beyond to get what the customer values most. Clarify what it is that your team does that customers value most. After that, demonstrate that you’re willing to remove any and all barriers between your product or service and your customers.

4. Optimize Your Teams Strength

A successful leader knows his team’s individual strengths. By knowing these strengths you can better delegate work to people who love doing and who do it well.

This can ensure the best work possible while also keeping your team engaged in the work that they are doing.

5. Flip The Pyramid Upside Down

A successful leader can flip the top-down pyramid to help establish a healthy leader-leader culture in their organization. By doing this, you can help your team reach their full potential. It’s important to get rid of the unhealthy dependency on individual leaders.

Be a Serving Leader

A successful and well-respected leader is in the trenches with their team. Follow by actions and not words, and your team will follow you through thick and thin. These five practical actions can help you become a successful leader.

We would love to hear your comments. Please email or contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

These 5 Words Make the Difference Between Success and Failure

It’s no secret that Tom Brady is a successful person in the spotlight. He recently gave a statement talking about how he handles the stress and excitement of football games. People questioned him on his methods of staying calm when there’s so much going on around him.

Brady gave 5 important words he that uses in his life. “One play at a time” are five words that make the difference between his success and failure. Here are a few reasons why these words matter.

The Power Of Focus

These words can serve as a mantra in anyone’s life. Regardless of how someone views this statement, you can’t deny that these words are powerful. They bring focus and perspective in life situations.

While you may not have a busy football career, chances are you deal with stressful situations every day. Taking life events “one play at a time” trains your brain to slow down and focus on one situation at a time.

You CAN Shut Out Fear of Failure

Life is stressful enough without the added fear of failure. If you’re constantly worried that you’ll fail, you’ll have a hard time pressing forward. If you don’t press forward, you’ll never reach your goals.

Choosing to take things “one play at a time” forces you to check your goals. Take time to celebrate each milestone regardless of how small it is. Determine to keep moving forward no matter how afraid you are.

Dealing With Emotional Balance

These five words help you manage your emotions and learn from your mistakes. Don’t let yourself believe you can’t keep trying. Use these words to motivate you toward success and away from failure.

If you’re the type of person that slows down in stressful situations, stop and focus on “one play at a time.” Let those words motivate your pace and accomplish whatever tasks you have.

Learn From Past Mistakes

A big difference between success and failure is learning from your past mistakes. Focusing on “one play at a time” helps you avoid the same mistake and succeed the next time. It’s important to live in the present and not focus on past mistakes.

The most successful people analyze their mistakes and try again until they succeed. They don’t stop when something goes wrong. They press forward toward their goals.

Try using these five words in your life to move you away from failure and toward success.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

Why Great Employees Leave “Great Cultures

From the outside, a company may look like “the place to work,’ but constantly they are having to hire new personnel when their employees leave. The culture of the company may not actually align with their core values which make for an unhappy workplace. So how can this all be changed? Let’s first understand what a great culture is versus what it’s not.

What is Great Culture?

While some might think having a great culture is all about parties or free gifts or company sponsored workout classes, having a great culture is so much more than that. When a company’s behaviors, systems, and practices all align with their core values, great culture is the largest by-product.

A majority of employees leave great companies when gaps form between the three elements and core values.

For example, if a company says they “promote from within”, but even the top performers in the company never get a promotion.

To fix a failing culture, the best place to start is by reviewing the behaviors, systems, and practices in place to see where improvements can be made.

Behaviors

Employees want to know exactly what behaviors will get a promotion or raise. When there are clear expectations, employees can focus on working on those behaviors to get ahead in their career rather than worrying if they are doing the correct things.

Another thing that will bring down the culture is an ineffective leader that doesn’t follow expected behaviors. Employees will become confused if what they need to do to get a promotion isn’t consistent with the behaviors of leaders already in place in the company.

Systems

Every system that is in place in a company, such as job titles or technology used, can lead to a company’s culture excelling or declining. A few key systems that must be correctly working towards a better culture include assessments, rewarding, and goal setting.

Assessments: Knowing how frequently assessments will be given and how feedback will be provided on them is important.

Rewarding: Employees need to see there is a true system in place for gaining a promotion. They will lose trust and faith in a company when this is perceived as random.

Goal Setting: Having employees included in the process of creating goals will give clear expectations and guidelines.

Practices

Practices, such as meetings, feedback sessions, or company events, must change as the company grows or faces setbacks. Evolution is the key to success when showing employees that the company is willing to work on maintaining a great culture.

We would love to hear your comments. Please contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

Forget Hiring Great People Until You Fire Your Lousy Managers

We’ve all been there, working for a company that you love, but you just can’t stay. Why? Because of how ineffective your manager’s skills are or how undermining they can be. Here’s a shocking statistic: more than one in two Americans have left a job to get away from a toxic boss to find happiness elsewhere, according to a Gallup poll.

Instead of allowing fear and resentment to build in your employees, acting quickly to change the situation is a must. There’s no need to worry if the entire team will fall once the manager is dealt with. In most circumstances, employees will work harder and be happier once the manager that has brought them down for so long is gone.

Qualities of an Ineffective Manager

Sometimes recognizing a lousy manager can be easy, while other times it will take employees speaking up for you to see the problems. Below are a few examples of how managers can change the dynamic of their team and effectively put a damper on your company.

Micromanaging

Most newer or recently promoted managers don’t realize they are micromanaging their teams until it is too late. Instead of providing guidance and allowing their team to produce, they will pick apart every ounce of work or take over and finish the work themselves.

Closed-Minded

An effective leader will listen to the opinion of their team and, where possible, implement useful ideas for the better of the company. When a manager believes only their opinion matters, the views of others will be of little interest to them. It can cause disagreements throughout the team dynamic and potentially lead to a hostile environment.

Doesn’t Set Clear Goals

A team without clear expectations from their manager will not be able to work cohesively towards a goal. They will either be working in whatever direction they think is best or barely working at all without any direction.

What To Do Next

Now, the only two options you have are to either work with the manager to try to improve the situation or release them. If you choose the first option, have an in person meeting with the manager to discuss what you see that isn’t working and train them to become a more effective leader. Be sure to periodically check with their team to see if there has been any improvement by utilizing employee engagement surveys or asking them directly.

If no improvements have been made, the time will come to either demote or fire them. Not only is it bad for business to keep them in a power position, but your reputation can decline too. The best businesses only have the best leaders.

Contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

8 Traits of the Most Successful Business Leaders

As an entrepreneur, you might find yourself wondering about those highly successful companies. Just how do they do it? How do they take their company from bottom feeders to positioning themselves as global leaders in just a few short years?

To answer that, we must take a look at their leaders. If you study the behaviors of the top performing companies, then you will see they all have one thing in common: others-centric and unpretentious leaders. In fact, if you study the CEO’s and other persons in upper leadership roles of all the top performing companies, you will see they all have the same skill set.

Here are the top 8 things that exceptional leaders do to drive their companies to the top.

They do not impose

They will sit back and allow their employees to work. They have extended trust to their team and will allow them the freedom to work without the boss coming in and taking over.

They let others talk

They are able listeners who allow others to take the credit. They are confident enough in their own abilities to take a back seat and let their employees step up and get the glory.

They admit when they are wrong

In a true sign of humility, good leaders will openly admit to being wrong and let their employee know that they were right. They are not the type that always has to be right and they are open to other perspectives. In fact, they embrace other’s ideas.

They give their team all the glory

Humble leaders take the skill of encouragement to a new level and allow their team to bask in the glory and receive all the credit.

They seek out input from others

They squash every bit of pride and not only seek out from others how they are doing but they take their critiques to heart. They have a genuine care for self-reflection and continually want to know how they are doing in their leadership role.

They are straightforward

They aren’t people pleasers and you find them sugar coating things to make themselves look better. They make decisions solely based off their values, not to lift themselves up or make others happy.

They are teachable

Humble leaders value the views of others and welcome new ideas. They ask questions and are genuinely interested in the answers. They thrive on learning from those around them.

They create a safe environment

Successful leaders are able to cultivate an environment of trust with their team. They create an atmosphere in which their employees feel safe to take risks, to fail, to come to them with concerns, and to feel confident enough to be part of major decisions.

What kind of leader are you?

These types of leaders don’t just wake up one day and find success. One common denominator is that integrity is just a part of who they are, humility comes naturally to them. If you are a self-centered and arrogant leader, you can try to fake your way to humility but eventually, those around you will find you out.

In this self-focused society, you can see how embracing humility and a genuine care for others will bring you to the top. In this ever changing and corporate world, sometimes the nice guys actually finish first.

We would love to hear your comments. Please contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.

The Surprising Power of Questions

Asking the right questions can get you the answers and information that you need. However, it’s often forgotten how big of a role questioning plays in our everyday interactions. Rather it’s a conversation with your parents or with a potential client, questioning helps build the foundation of our personal and business relationships.

Get The Information You Are Looking for

The best way to get the information you are looking for is to ask for the information you seek. Questioning can help build an ongoing rapport that makes people more comfortable sharing information and ideas. This creates an environment where the exchange of ideas and information becomes regular.

The more comfortable we are with someone, the more likely we are to share information.

Asking the right questions at the right time can help establish the trust necessary for information to be exchanged.

That’s why important to know the information you’re looking for before opening up a dialogue.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

Sometimes the answers you’re looking for go beyond a simple yes or no. Knowing when to keep questions open-ended is a critical skill when it comes to questioning. The right open-ended question can help find hidden, unexpected answers that weren’t thought of before.

However, it’s also important to know when an open-ended question is less optimal. Sometimes the answers you need are either yes or no and in a negotiation, an open-ended question could lead to the other party keeping their cards close to their chest. It’s important to try and map out your conversation before you have it to try and decide what questions should be open-ended.

Know What to Ask and When to Ask it

Sequencing is one of the most important aspects of question asking. The optimal order of your questions greatly depends on the type of conversation you’re having. Studies have shown that during tense encounters, your conversational partner is more willing to open up if asked the tough questions first.

If you are trying to build a trusting relationship, your sequencing should have the opposite approach. Asking easy questions first can help build trust, making your partner more likely to open up to more difficult questions later on. It’s important to know the type of conversation you’re having so you can gauge when to ask the right questions.

Question Everything

Questions are one of the most important pieces in conversations. An environment that encourages questioning also encourages an active flow of ideas and information. Know when and how to ask the right questions and you could hold the power in conversation.

Contact us today!

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professional.