Success Blog

I recently read an article eloquently written by Phyllis Weiss Haserot, a generational expert and internationally known consultant, coach, writer, and speaker on navigating the challenges of the multi-generational workplace. The article published on www.accountingweb.com caught my attention, led me to Ryan Healy’s blog, Employee Evolution, and both individuals will now be credited in many of my upcoming training sessions!

Below is an excerpt from Phyllis’s article – or read the full article.

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We will be debating for some time whether it’s life-changing determination, a clear-eyed vision, naiveté, or the arrogance of youth: A significant number of Gen Yers are convinced they will dramatically change the world of work.

As a faithful reader and sometimes commenter on the Employee Evolution blog, I found myself following and making multiple comments on blog founder Ryan Healy’s post in May 2008 (and still receiving new comments), “10 Ways Generation Y Will Change the Workplace.” Well written with seemingly no doubt in his mind, Healy described the 10 workplace transformations to come from Gen Y / Millennials. They will:

1. Hold only productive meetings 
2. Shorten the work day 
3. Bring back the administrative assistants (to relieve Gen Y of minutia) 
4. Redefine retirement (many short “retirements” along a career path)
5. Find real mentors 
6. Restore respect to the HR Department 
7. Promote based on emotional intelligence 
8. Continue to value what our parents have to offer
9. Enjoy higher starting salaries 
10. Re-invent the performance review

Bravo Phyllis and Ryan! – I agree on all parts and am excited to see what the future holds. For those reading my blog, I would love to hear your comments, so please comment!

This entry is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell, Leadershp Wired.

Talent grips us. We are overtaken by the beauty of Michelangelo’s sculpture, riveted by Mariah Carey’s angelic voice, doubled over in laughter by the comedy of Robin Williams, and captivated by the on screen performances of Denzel Washington.

However, we live in a world of upsets. The most talented do not always end up as celebrities, and those with less talent often do. Upsets are written into our history and occur around us every day. A ragtag army of revolutionaries defeated the British Empire to free the American colonies and to found a new nation. As a startup company, Google outwitted and outperformed entrenched search engines which had far more capital and name recognition.

Why are the most talented not always the best? What enables the less skilled to be, at times, far more successful?

The goal of this issue is not to minimize talent, but to emphasize qualities independent of talent which, when practiced, add value to others and ourselves. While the four traits I’ve highlighted in this lesson are not comprehensive, they are among the most prominent qualities that do not rely upon talent.

Teachability – The desire to listen, learn, and apply is not innate, but when cultivated, it aids the growth and development of a leader.

Look for and plan your teachable moments. Intentionally ask questions to draw out the depth of experience and knowledge in those around you. My best friends are my best teachers. I love to learn, and I am fascinated by individuals who have a wealth of wisdom to share. Find teachable moments, and make them count. Live to learn and you will really learn to live.

Initiative – Initiative is the inner drive that propels leaders to achieve great dreams. Leaders with initiative have an eagerness to make things happen. They have a positive restlessness that prevents them from being content with average. A person with initiative accepts responsibility for his or her own life. Such persons author their own history. Initiators incline themselves toward action.

Passion – Passion is a faultless predictor of success. How many high achievers lack enthusiasm? How many great leaders do you admire who are indifferent? A dispassionate person will not go far before they give up hope of achieving big dreams. On the other hand, a person of passion will move mountains to see their dream come to fruition. Passion long outlasts talent for a leader in pursuit of a vision.

Successful individuals prioritize their commitments according to their passion. They refuse to be dissuaded from living out the dream inside of them. When troubles come, they don’t have to artificially generate perseverance – it sweeps over them like an ocean wave.

Courage – Courage is an every day test. We often think of courage as a quality required only in times of great danger or stress, but courage is an everyday virtue, needed to live a life without regrets. In the words of James Harvey Robinson, “Greatness, in the last analysis, is largely bravery. Courage is escaping from old ideas and old standards and respectable ways of doing things.”

Summary – There is no substitute for talent, but there are several supplements that can transform even modest talent into greatness. Teachability, initiative, passion, and courage are a sampling of qualities that endow talent with effectiveness and spur average skills sets into extraordinary success stories. Don’t minimize talent, but magnify the qualities that can accompany it, and build them day by day.

The following is another great article I recently ran across by Dr. John C. Maxwell. 

Leadership is about change. If you need no change, you need no leader. In times of change, people seek out more and better leaders. Those successful sought-out leaders embrace the following thought: “The best reformers the world has ever known are those who began with themselves.”

Mahatma Gandhi said,

“We must be the change that we envision.”

Tolstoy said,

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”

The following comments are about personal change:

1. One person cannot change another person.
   When I started as a young leader, I thought that a leader could change the people; and boy, did I work at it. I said, “All right, I’m going to give them thoughts, ideas, and principles; and I’m going to change people.” After several years, I awakened to the thought that the only person who can change himself or herself is himself or herself. You can change yourself, but I cannot change you. You see, I am responsible to you but I am not responsible for you; and there is a world of difference between those two. I am responsible for teaching you good leadership, I am responsible for sharing things that can help add value to your life; but you are the only one who can take responsibility to change yourself, and that is what this whole article is about.
2. Most people need to look at the way that they look at change.
   How many times have you heard somebody say, “I sure hope things will change.” The only way things will change for me is when I change. It has nothing to do with hope. You can’t just say, “Well, I just hope things will change around me,” and expect results. The only way that things will change for me is when I change. I have also heard this before, “I don’t know why I’m this way.” Well, you are the way you are because that is the way you want to be. Let’s expose it for what it really is.
3. When you make the right personal changes, other things begin to turn out right.
   So when people say, “I’d like things to turn out better for me, I’d like things to turn out right, I’d like things to turn out better in the organization, or in my family,” I say to them, “Start by changing yourself.”

In June, the Kevin Eikenberry Group, identified 10 blogs that focused on some portion of leadership to be among the very best leadership blogs on the web. At that point, he asked readers and those interested in leadership to tell us which of these was the best blog of all.

Check them out at: http://www.kevineikenberry.com/surveys/best_blogs.asp. Also, if you haven’t picked up a copy of Kevin’s book, “Remarkable Leadership,” I recommend you do it today!

And, we know we didn’t make the list, but it’s definitely something to strive for next year!

I recently ran across this article by Dr. John C. Maxwell, founder of InJoy.com in a recent edition of Leadership Wired.  Below is an excerpt from the full article, if you like it and want to read more, you can subscribe to Leadership Wired by clicking here.

From 1996 to 2007, manager Joe Torre led the New York Yankees to the playoffs every year – winning an astounding 17 series in the post-season. Over those same 12 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers did not win a single playoff series. This past season, Torre departed New York to coach the Dodgers. The result? The Dodgers won their first post-season series in 20 years, while the Yankees missed the playoffs altogether.
Ask Yankees and Dodgers fans, and they will tell you that Joe Torre’s leadership matters. However, they may not be able to tell you exactly why Joe Torre is an excellent leader. What’s true of the fans in New York and Los Angeles is true for many of us. We experience the effects of leadership without understanding the cause.

I hope to make plain why the best leaders are the best leaders. In a nutshell, remarkable leaders give their best to their people, and get the best from their people. Let’s look at how this happens.

The Best Leaders Give Their Best to Their People By…

1) GROWING – People naturally follow leaders they respect as being more advanced than they are. For this reason, personal growth is directly proportional to influence. If you desire to gain followers, then pay the price of getting better.

2) SERVING – Serving others is an attitude issue. Unfortunately, many leaders operate under a king-of-the-hill mentality. They attempt to pull down anyone above them in order to secure the top spot for themselves. In doing so, they clutch at power, grapple for control of company resources, and strive to dominate others. Seeing relationships as win-lose propositions, they ultimately burn bridges and isolate themselves.

3) MODELING – Growing leaders have something to share; serving leaders have something to give; modeling leaders have something to show. As V.J. Featherstone said, “Leaders tell, but never teach, until they practice what they preach.” The best leaders embody their values. Their passion exudes from every pore and demands respect.

The Best Leaders Get the Best from Their People By…

1) LISTENING – The smartest leaders realize the limitations of their wisdom, and they listen to their people in order to capture invaluable insights. However, leaders don’t just listen to gain knowledge; they also listen to give their people permission: permission to challenge the process, permission to test assumptions; and permission to take risks.

2) RELATING – Leaders touch a heart before they ask for a hand. To touch a heart, a leader has to be open to disclosing his or her identity by sharing personal stories and owning up to professional weaknesses. Mysterious or aloof leaders may be successful decision-makers, but they won’t get the heartfelt loyalty that comes from authentic relationships.

3) TEACHING – Gifted teachers have a way of making students out of disinterested bystanders. The best leaders have an infectious thirst for knowledge, and they take pride in cultivating knowledge of their craft and awareness of their industry.

4) DEVELOPING – The best leaders understand the differences between training people for tasks and developing people to be better leaders. The best leaders view their people as appreciable assets and prioritize investing in the talent on their teams.

5) MOTIVATING – Sustained motivation comes by creating the right environment for your people and by doing the right things consistently to nurture them. Consider a flower. It cannot grow in the Arctic; it requires a climate conducive to growth. Yet, even in the right environment, the flower must be planted in hospitable soil, exposed to sunlight, watered, and freed of weeds.