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(8961, 243, '2013-02-23 21:04:01', '2013-02-24 03:04:01', '<em></em>Leaders care.\n\nOne thing I care about is that I not do nothing. When I see something that needs to be done, especially in the leadership space, I don\'t want to be a tourist, trying something a little and then going back where I was. What we do should impact us and change us as well as changing those around us.\n\nSo when I decided to get involved in social media and leadership development, I wanted to see what would happen. I didn\'t want to show up, look around, check a box and go back to who I was. Rather than simply taking a trip, I planned to relocate.\n\nIt also matters to me that we not lead the way we always have. It matters to me that more and more people step up and make a difference. That\'s not unique to me or to Lead Change, but those of us who shared a common passion about leadership also cared that others share that passion too. Lead Change started out as a \"a few, caring.\"\n<blockquote>\"Caring is the key emotion at the center of the tribe. Tribe members care what happens, to their goals and to one another… If no one cares, then you have no tribe. If you don\'t care - really and deeply care - then you can\'t possibly lead.\" Seth Godin.</blockquote>\nWe cared. In those early days we showed up on Twitter and LinkedIn. We read each other\'s blogs. We had conference calls and Skype calls and tweet chats. We joined each other in blog post series. Fifteen of us even met face-to-face in Florida in February, 2010.\n\nWe didn\'t all care about the same things and we weren\'t all available at the same times. But over time, people started collaborating on their own. I was energized because I\'d see people who connected through Lead Change go on to create something together. Slowly, we began to create some momentum, some economy.\n\nToday, I\'m aware of dozens of collaborations that started in Lead Change. I know people who did websites for others, promoted books, coached others, created training and content; referred coaching assignments, speaking gigs, and even people who have been hired for contract work through Lead Change. Individually, we could have made those things happen too. But in actuality, we did them together. We made the commitment to do something different.\n\nWhat about you? Will your 2013 be 2012 part 2 or 2010 part 4? Or will this year be different? What are you doing to make sure 2013 is a different year? Care to share?\n\nOur Instigators still care.  We get together and collaborate. We\'ve become friends. In 2013 we will have a series of collaboration calls and a series of calls on forming local leadership development communities. We want to make a difference and we\'re willing to commit a little time and money to the effort. What are you willing to do in 2013 to ensure you make a bigger difference than you ever have before?\n\n<em>This is the seventh part of a series on the origins of the Lead Change Group based on one of the key books that inspired me to take action: <a title=\"Tribes by Seth Godin on Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842336/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;creative=390957&amp;amp;creativeASIN=1591842336&amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;amp;tag=elevate-20\">Tribes by Seth Godin</a>. For links to all the posts, check out this page.</em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Who Cares? - The Origins of the Lead Change Group Part 7', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'who-cares-the-origins-of-the-lead-change-group-part-7', '', '', '2013-02-23 21:04:01', '2013-02-24 03:04:01', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=8961', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(9086, 243, '2013-02-28 12:09:31', '2013-02-28 18:09:31', 'Teams bring energy to life. Well, at least good teams do. Sometimes teamwork can be a real drain. We\'ve all been part of a team that asked more from us than it delivered or failed to ask anything of us at all. Like most things, the greater the potential, the greater the disappointment that results from missing the mark. Great teams are great. Good teams are good and everything else is very painful.\n\n<a href=\"http://j.mp/Wfu9Ni\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-9087\" alt=\"The Secret of Teams | Lead Change Group\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/secretofteams.jpg\" width=\"183\" height=\"275\" /></a>So Mark Miller\'s book, <a title=\"The Secret of Teams on Amazon.com\" href=\"http://j.mp/Wfu9Ni\" target=\"_blank\">The Secret of Teams: What Great Teams Know and Do</a> provides an engaging story around a team and their search and discovery of the secret of great teams. In a fable format, you follow Debbie and her not-so-exciting team as they search for the secret of great teams both within and without their organization.\n\nThe book is filled with discoveries of the characteristics of great teams. You\'re given the ideas around great teams from different perspectives and then you listen as the team processes the learnings and cooks those learnings off to some key thoughts.\n\nSeveral ideas or keys are developed. In the chapter titled The Big Idea, the team processes through their first 3 interviews and massages the key learnings from the interviews into 3 Key Ingredients for a High Performance Team: Talent, Skills and Community. The discussion flows around the importance of focusing on people-first and making sure you have a right fit (Talent). Talent is closely followed by having the right behaviors (Skills) which are learned and developed. These are both brought together and take on new meaning and power in an environment where people are known and where they genuinely serve and care for each other (Community).\n\nOne key principle later in the book relates to different leadership styles and team structures. They talk about how the more traditional leadership structures fall short of being able to create and sustain a high-performing team. A high-performing team needs a particular leadership model. The old style Command and Control model where the leader is in charge and telling everyone what to do won\'t do it. And the \"Quarterback\" model where the leader must be in the center of all of the activity won\'t be sustainable either. So the final outcome is a team that can perform without the leader, leaving the leader free to, well, lead.\n\nThe book, while short, is packed with many great ideas. You will gain from the brief time reading this book and may come back to it over and over again for different ideas and thoughts. Please be sure and<a title=\"The Secret of Teams on Amazon.com\" href=\"http://j.mp/Wfu9Ni\" target=\"_blank\"> check it out</a> soon.', 'The Secret of Teams by Mark Miller', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-secret-of-teams-by-mark-miller', '', '', '2013-02-28 12:09:31', '2013-02-28 18:09:31', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9086', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(9153, 251, '2013-03-11 06:09:58', '2013-03-11 11:09:58', 'Many leaders fall into the quicksand of believing they can fix what’s wrong with other people. Some are motivated by a sincere desire to help people be their best. </span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Other leaders have an ego-driven<i> I can fix\'em</i> mentality. They’re motivated by an internal desire to be known as the hero who saves the day. </span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The ideal position is for leaders to embrace their responsibility to develop people yet balance that with tough empathy and a focus on getting the job done. We fix cars or processes or machines; leaders don\'t fix people — people fix themselves (and only if they want to be \"fixed\"). </span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So, to be a character-based leader who develops team members <i>and</i> who gets the job done, how do you get to the sweet spot between caring too much and seeing yourself as the white knight? </span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Lay the groundwork</b></span></span>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A part of each leader’s job is to provide resources and remove barriers. Assure that you\'ve given well-defined instructions. Make sure you’ve spelled out observable and/or measureable objectives or behaviors to be achieved. Provide lots of in-the-moment coaching, feedback, guidance and direction. Make certain there\'s no lack of tools or equipment. If you\'ve done all this and there\'s still no change in performance, you\'ve done all that you can do.</span></span>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>No one enjoys addressing others\' deficiencies. But failure to do so sends the message that people are on track when they really aren\'t. And that may be the greatest disservice a leader can do to someone else. </i>~Eric Harvey</span></span></p>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Allow room for flexibility</b></span></span>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Do you want to fix people who aren\'t doing things<i> your</i> way? Your way may not be the only one. Step back; provide autonomy while defining the outcomes you want. Usually there are many paths to the end goal; let people find their own way as long as they produce the specified results. What\'s right for them may be different than what\'s right for you...and that doesn\'t make <i>their</i> way wrong.</span></span>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>I want to caution you against the idea that balance has to be a routine that looks the same week in and week out.</i> ~Kevin Thoman</span></span></p>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Ferret out your fears</b></span></span>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sometimes the interest in fixing others stems from trying to hide one\'s own feelings of incompetence. Understand if your motives in seeking to develop the skills of others are to deflect your inner questions about your own qualifications. </span></span>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop.</i> ~Usman B. Asif</span></span></p>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Explore  motives</b></span></span>\n<span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Are you in it for \"me\" or for \"you?\" Helping people improve their skills is ongoing work that\'s focused on them, not a singular event focused on you. Assure that you want what\'s best for your team rather than angling to get yourself in the spotlight.</span></span>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>Anytime there is a struggle between doing what is actually right and doing what seems right, then your ego is interfering with your decision.</i> ~Darren L. Johnson</span></span></p>', 'Finding balance in building', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'finding-balance-in-building', '', '', '2013-03-11 06:09:58', '2013-03-11 11:09:58', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9153', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(9187, 252, '2013-03-12 06:10:48', '2013-03-12 11:10:48', 'I finished a training series recently.  On the evaluation forms I suggested a variety of topics that we could do next.  Among topics like Managing Stress and Managing Change, I added “Managing Up.”\n\nThis topic provoked the most interest, far and away.  I followed up with an anonymous survey to get really specific as to what this meant to my participants.  I got a number of responses like this:\n\n“I want to…”\n<ul>\n	<li>Understand my supervisor\'s needs and how to address those needs.</li>\n	<li>Communicate with my boss better.</li>\n	<li>Influence my supervisor to eliminate obstacles to doing my job well.</li>\n	<li>Learn what actions I can take to be viewed as a more valued and trusted associate.</li>\n	<li>Understand the type and level of communication upper management wants.</li>\n	<li>Garner support for ideas.</li>\n	<li>Be more successful and make the company more successful.</li>\n</ul>\nThough some responders expressed <b>t</b>he wish to advance, along with this I observed a humble desire to simply do a good job.<b>  </b>I was surprised and heartened by the comments.\n\nAs a manager, you might be surprised if you received this feedback.  You might be thinking, “You mean my employees don\'t already know this?  And if they don’t, why aren’t they asking me?”\n\nWho knows?  But we’ve identified a gap here where you might be able to help them improve their performance and help you.  They want to.\n<h3>Clue your employees in about managing up.</h3>\nIt’s so easy to get caught up in day-to-day business and compartmentalize what is needed for this presentation or that project, rather than step back and set the foundation of:\n<ul>\n	<li>How “we,” in the supervisor-employee relationship, work best together.  Consider questions like, “What do I expect of you and what do you expect of me?”</li>\n	<li>The type of approach, responsiveness, and leadership needed to be considered valued and trusted.</li>\n	<li>How the employee’s approach, etc. needs to shift when communicating to upper management.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3><a href=\"http://www.reimaginework.com/youd-think/\">You’d think they’d know</a>.</h3>\nOne of my training participants told me he remembered the day his supervisor spelled out to him the process for how a promotion happens.  Beyond the required performance and development, the supervisor described how it’s brought up, who’s involved, the buy-in and sign-off that’s necessary, the kind of discussions that takes place with other managers, etc.  My participant said that day he felt like he was going home from work with a golden nugget of a gift.\n\nYour employees want to hear how things work, from you.\n\n<em>How did you learn about “managing up” and what would you want to pass on to others?</em>\n\n<span style=\"color: #888888;\">Image: commons.wikimedia.org</span>\n\n&nbsp;', 'Help Your Employees to Manage Up', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'help-your-employees-to-manage-up', '', '', '2013-03-12 06:10:48', '2013-03-12 11:10:48', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9187', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(9197, 325, '2013-03-13 05:15:35', '2013-03-13 10:15:35', 'The phrase “corporate culture” describes the specific and unique sense of community that is created within a company. There is a clear difference between a company that has a bad atmosphere, and one that has built a good corporate culture within its walls. When your company has a good corporate culture, employees love their work and the people they work with. This encourages productivity and increases employee retention. Building a corporate culture is part of being a good leader, and caring about your company and the people in it.\n<h2>Mission Statement</h2>\nIf all of your employees understand the vision of the company and what you want to achieve, they are more likely to understand the “why” behind why they are doing what they are doing. So if your company does not have a mission statement, now is a good time to create one. Once you have come up with your company’s overall mission, publicize it to all of your employees, and come up with smaller, more specific goals that will help you all to work together to reach your mission.\n<h2>Create a Relaxed Environment</h2>\nOf course you want high levels of productivity and disciplined employees, but one of the ways in which you can make this happen is to create a relaxed work environment. Stress and tension do not facilitate good results, nor do they encourage an effective corporate culture. You can create a relaxed work environment through the design of your offices, regular office parties, or any number of other techniques that will help people to feel excited to go into work each morning.\n<h2>Reward Your Employees</h2>\nOne of the best ways to foster a good corporate culture is to create a rewards program for your employees. <a href=\"http://www.octanner.com/what-we-do/celebrate-careers\">Service awards</a> show your employees that you appreciate the work that they do. Things such as parties, paid-for lunches, and friendly competitions help to develop a sense of camaraderie and friendship between workers.\n<h2>Communicate with Your Employees</h2>\nAn open channel of communication is crucial for the growth of a healthy corporate culture. You do not want your employees to see you as unapproachable, and you also need employees to be able to communicate well with each other. This is the foundation for a well-run business. Share the goals of the company with your employees, listen to their feedback, and use social tools to create an online community for the company.\n<h2>Hiring Process</h2>\nTo create a good corporate culture, you must have the right people working for you. Try to let your corporate culture seep into the hiring process, hiring only people who are passionate about their work and the company. Make sure that there are sufficient opportunities for employees to grow and progress within the company, and you will find that you also have a better rate of employee retention.\n<h2>Be Open to Change</h2>\nYour corporate culture might not be at the stage that you desire just yet, but that does not mean that you cannot get there. If you are open to change and new ideas, it will happen. It might take longer than you want, but it is worth it to achieve the results that you need.', 'Putting the &#034;Cult&#034; Back Into Corporate Culture', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'putting-the-cult-back-into-corporate-culture', '', '', '2013-03-13 05:15:35', '2013-03-13 10:15:35', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9197', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(9207, 318, '2013-03-14 06:23:59', '2013-03-14 11:23:59', '\n\nYou\'ve served up regular  recognition cocktails of programs, plaques, bonuses, and fun.  In fact, you would consider a few of your creative  recognition programs to be \"best practices.\" Perhaps you\'ve even written a blog post or two about them. You\'ve spent lots of money... you\'ve put in heartfelt effort. And then... the employee survey results come in. It\'s not enough. They want more.\n\n<em style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\"><strong>What if your recognition cocktails don\'t work?</strong></em>\n\n<img title=\"More...\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://letsgrowleaders.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif\" />\n\nYou think...\n<blockquote><strong>\"How are we missing the mark?  Let\'s ask the team.... \"</strong></blockquote>\nAnd so you form a task force to come up with even more creative cocktails of programs, plaques, bonuses, and fun...  and the cycle continues.\n\n<strong><em>Recognition isn\'t always shiny.</em></strong>\n<h2>Imagine There\'s No Programs</h2>\nLet\'s get a little John Lennon here.\n\n<em><strong>What if there were no formal recognition programs?</strong></em>\n\nWhat else would you do?\n\n<strong>Here are some thoughts... please add yours: </strong>\n<ul>\n	<li>Ask each person how they would like to be recognized</li>\n	<li>Say \"thank you\" more frequently</li>\n	<li>Write more hand written notes</li>\n	<li>Publicly celebrate and share more best practices</li>\n	<li>Provide more developmental assignments</li>\n	<li>Go out-of-the-way to spend time at the beginning of each meeting celebrating success</li>\n	<li>Understand which accomplishments mean the most to the individuals on the team</li>\n	<li>Slow down and really understand the nuances and challenges of what your team members are working on?</li>\n	<li>Connect</li>\n	<li>Bring in more bagels?</li>\n	<li>?</li>\n</ul>\nFormal recognition programs have their place... and can be vital to the overall health of organizations. But... it\'s never enough. Imagine all the people...\n\n<em><strong>And then again, I just created another task force... </strong></em>\n\n<strong>Leadership is never handled.</strong>\n\nSee Also:\n\n<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/5-reasons-your-recognition-is-backfiring/\">5 Reason\'s Your Recognition is Backfiring\n</a><a title=\"Why Isn’t This Incentive Program Working?\" href=\"http://letsgrowleaders.com/2013/01/18/incentive_programs/\">Why Isn\'t This Incentive Program Working?\n</a><a title=\"Recognition Power Words:  The Phrases that Mean the Most\" href=\"http://letsgrowleaders.com/2012/09/08/recognition-power-words/\">Recognition Power Words:  The Phrases That Mean the Most\n</a><a title=\"Cheer in the Next Gear:  How to Make Your Support Count\" href=\"http://letsgrowleaders.com/2012/10/25/how_to_make_your_cheering_count/\">Cheer in the Next Gear</a>', 'Why Doesn&#039;t My Team Feel Recognized?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'why-doesnt-my-team-feel-recognized', '', '', '2013-03-14 06:23:59', '2013-03-14 11:23:59', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9207', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(9272, 316, '2013-03-15 06:33:05', '2013-03-15 11:33:05', 'In the February 19th Tuesday Science Section (one of my favorites), the New York Times ran an article titled “<a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/picasso-used-common-house-paint-scientists-say.html?_r=0\">Picasso’s Masterpieces Made with House Paint</a>.” Using high-tech X-rays, scientists discovered that Picasso used plain old common house paint!  They analyzed the pigments on Picasso’s canvases and compared them with samples of house paint from the same time frame concluding that it contained the same chemical composition.\n\nTo the dismay of art snobs, some of the greatest masterpieces of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century were created with the same paint you buy at Lowes or Home Depot to paint your house or shed.  The ingredients are not unique, the human being is.\n\nThis seems to epitomize, at least to me, our leadership situation today.  We are looking for all the right tools, programs, processes, books, speakers, training, guidelines etc. to make us great leaders or ‘create’ great leaders.  We are looking everywhere but where we should.\n\nThis may seem a bit heretical for a blog on leadership, but I think we are glamorizing leadership into a ‘boutique’ industry – just like fine art, and fine art supplies.  Some of our greatest leaders, probably most, never had leadership training, never read a book about leadership, never went to a conference on leadership. They learned how to lead from their parents, teachers, friends, bosses…they learned leadership in the equivalent of the everyday aisles of a hardware or grocery store from everyday people. Abraham Lincoln, Golda Meir, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, John Wooden, etc. didn’t have formal training – they used basic everyday ‘paint’ to lead.\n\nPerhaps the problem is that we’ve lost the ability to use everyday paint anymore. Perhaps we weren’t raised and/or taught, and I’d posit are not raising/teaching the coming generations, to be leaders through everyday experiences and examples. Perhaps we weren’t held to the same behavioral standards, once normal typical standards of common decency that are now deemed ‘exceptional.’  We have to write posts about how to say thank you, how to show appreciation, how to ‘do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.’  The golden rule is now the exception.\n\nIn the coming week, would you consider trying something? Would you use some common, off-the-shelf paint every day this coming week – thank two people a day, smile a lot, ask a few people how their weekend was, ask a few people how their spouses or kids are, ask someone if you can help them, hold the door open for the next person, offer to get someone a glass of water or cup of coffee. Just give it a shot – and perhaps you can turn plain old paint into a masterpiece.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPhoto credit: WPClipart.com\n\n&nbsp;', 'Maybe We Just Need to Stick to Basics…It Worked for Picasso!', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'maybe-we-just-need-to-stick-to-basicsit-worked-for-picasso', '', '', '2013-03-15 06:33:05', '2013-03-15 11:33:05', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9272', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(9305, 310, '2013-03-18 06:07:15', '2013-03-18 11:07:15', '“Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.” --</i>Aristotle\n\nThis quote is timely and true. For most of us the best and worst of our professional and personal lives have probably been hitched to our right decisions and defining failures.\n\nI’ve gleaned insight on both situations from one of my favorite childhood experiences, involving fun, making choices, playing in the ditch.\n\n<i>“</i><i>Let’s just go across.” “I bet you can’t make it.”  “Jump!” </i>\n\nA two-foot deep ditch ran parallel to the house I grew up in my hometown of Waverly, Virginia. On the other side of the ditch was the entrance into the woods that my playmates and I ventured into for our jaunts of discovery. Normally we would just hop across this divide and head out to explore the woods for the day, but we also loved when it rained because the ditch then filled with water—inventing for us another choice for some fun.\n\nInstead of going into the woods we’d just jump back and forth across the ditch. The game was to see who could make it without falling down the embankment into the water. Sometimes the jumper would get bold and make running leaps across the ditch. This action presented more of a challenging risk. The other element of fun was that whoever wasn’t jumping could ‘egg you on,’ creating either an annoyance or a cheer. Weighing the pros and cons we knew once we jumped we couldn’t change our mind mid-stream, so to speak. One of us occasionally misgauged the distance, our ability or got distracted and fell in the water-swollen ditch. Then you were left to deal with the wet and muddy consequences. You also knew that a whipping from one of the adults might be awaiting you when you slogged back into the house—for getting your clothes and the floor dirty.\n\nWhen the water level in the ditch was high and we didn’t want to play the jumping game, there was another choice for us to get into the woods. My grandfather gave us long boards to lie across the banks so we could still go on to play. We didn’t always have to jump across. The source of our fun was up to us for that moment— jump or just go.\n\nThere were some questions for us to consider. What was our immediate priority? How did we want to enjoy our time? Where was our consequence quotient needle pointing?\n\nWe face these same questions as adults. As we journey on in time, we’re provided with different options at critical points. What we choose follows us throughout our lives, showing up in successes or setbacks in our careers, family, relationships or faith.\n\nThis list sometimes changes minute by minute. Acts of our lives play out in ways we are pleased with at times or not so happy with at other times. The decisions we’ve made chart our moments of sacrifice or indulgence and how they ultimately line up with what’s important to us —our values. Additionally, the status of the economy and other societal or personal issues will at times dictate our steps and determine how fast we have to move on any dilemmas that are before us.\n\nWhen I attended Army Officer Candidate School in 1979, during one of the leadership exercises, a tactical offer yelled in my face, “Make a decision candidate, right or wrong, make one…”\n\n<i>What did he mean?</i>\n\nAct in the moment. Be aware of the critical data that’s available to do what is necessary <i>when</i> it’s necessary while assessing advantages and disadvantages of the action. “Your or your buddy’s survival might depend on it, Candidate Parker!”\n\nThere are instances when we will have time to decide and other times when a sense of urgency demands an instant commitment—right or wrong, good or bad.\n\n<i>Will our decisions stand or fall?</i>\n\nIn leadership roles from my work, family and community, there’ve been times I’ve fallen in deep based on bad choices and came out covered with consequences I thought I’d never recover from. I’ve made good leaps that sent me to unimagined benefits.\n\nAll of our choices don’t come out as we’d like. Obscurities can make us reluctant and unsure, but sometimes we have to take the plunge. And know if we have a back-up plan.\n\nThe planks of confidence await—to keep us steady in deciding.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nExcerpted from my motivational autobiography, Navigating Life’s Roadways: Stories of Insight from My Odyssey and Inspiration for Your Journey <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FQDPYE\">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FQDPYE</a>', 'Becoming A Decisive Leader – Lessons from Playing in the Ditch', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'becoming-a-decisive-leader-lessons-from-playing-in-the-ditch', '', '', '2013-03-18 06:07:15', '2013-03-18 11:07:15', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9305', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(9321, 270, '2013-03-19 12:05:15', '2013-03-19 17:05:15', 'How often do you play video games?  What is the first thing you do when you are playing a new game?\n\nWhen I sit down to play a new game that is filled with scenery and objectives, every part of my being wants to explore and experiment.  I’m curious how far I can wander before the screen freezes; I want to see where the path leads; I’m in awe of the creativity of the designers, and I want to know what happens when I push certain buttons!  (I drive my husband crazy, because he wants to achieve as much as possible as quickly as possible!)\n\nIn the debate about Social Media and business, some say it is the future and it must be explored!  Others say it is a source of information and connections and a critical marketing tool.   While another group says it is a waste of time, a risk and that it must be tightly controlled!\n\nRead more<a href=\"http://consultgiana.com/social-media-and-networking/\"> here: </a>', 'The Secret Sauce: Social Media and Networking', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-secret-sauce-social-media-and-networking', '', '', '2013-03-19 12:05:15', '2013-03-19 17:05:15', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9321', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9334, 309, '2013-03-19 06:17:21', '2013-03-19 11:17:21', 'You are heading full steam toward your goals and vision. You endure small setbacks and obstacles. This is all part of the leadership challenge you face each day. Undeterred, you rally your team to focus on the vision for inspiration, and the projects at hand for the momentum. You are confident that your plans and efforts will pay off. And then…\n\nA key client pulls their account with no explanation. One of your key leaders resigns. You are hit with some discouraging financial reports from your CFO. And it’s only ten in the morning. You feel your stomach twist into a knot and a warm feeling starts to creep up the back of your neck. It’s stress time.\n\nMany leaders I know actually <i>like</i> this kind of pressure. It’s a kind of rite of passage for them to test their mettle. The hotter the fire, the stronger they come out of it. At least, that’s what they show on the outside. On the inside, when they are honest with themselves, they admit there are times of discouragement and doubt. Feelings of hopelessness and futility bounce in the space between their ears fighting against the confidence they normally feel. The war for a leader’s mind has begun.\n\nI have felt this kind of pressure in my own leadership with some of the teams I have led. I have felt this kind of stress when I was on the wrong end of a merger negotiation. I experience this war for my mind as I continue to pursue the vision for my leadership company. Maybe it’s because I am a different kind of leader that I struggle a bit more deeply with these issues. Maybe it’s my personality. But to win this fight in my mind, and ultimately for my company, I have determined to fight with “defiant faith.” It’s easy to believe in my cause or vision when the path is clear. It is a different story when I can no longer see the way to my destination. This critical juncture in my leadership journey will deepen my convictions and resolve or weaken me to ineffectiveness. The choice is mine; and my choice is to <i>believe</i>.\n\nI will believe that the path I am on is leading me to the right destination even though I cannot see it. I will believe that my leadership decisions will produce the outcome I am working for even when there is no immediate feedback to support this belief. I will defiantly believe, even though I have no evidence to assure me that I will succeed. All I have is the vision and the confidence I have in my skills and abilities. Oh, and a support network helps too.\n\nI have a group of guys I regularly meet with, all of whom are great leaders in their own right. I have found wisdom and confidence with them in times of uncertainty. They have given me invaluable advice to guide some of my key decisions. They have challenged my thinking when it has gone awry. They have stretched me, sharpened me, and made me a better leader. The consistency from this group is a large part of why I am able to attack my latest challenge with this defiant faith. You see, they believe in my vision too, even though they are not associated with my company in any way. They believe in my vision because they believe in me. I will triumph through this trial. I will overcome. I will prevail. How about you?\n\n<b>What have been some of your greatest leadership challenges? How did you respond to them? Do you have a support network to make you a better leader? What leadership challenges are you facing now? How can you respond differently than in times past? What will you do this week to strengthen your mindset, leadership, and support network?</b>', 'Defiant Faith and Leadership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'defiant-faith-and-leadership', '', '', '2013-03-19 06:17:21', '2013-03-19 11:17:21', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9334', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(9342, 307, '2013-03-20 06:24:06', '2013-03-20 11:24:06', '\n<h2>What Does It Mean?</h2>\nYou could see it from the road…\n\nThe image of a lizard chipped into the stone\'s desert varnish.\n\nIt\'s nearly three feet long, over 1,000 years old, and probably took the artist several months to complete.\n\nStanding on that hot windswept ledge with my wife and daughter in the Utah desert, many miles from the nearest person or car, looking at an ancient masterpiece, it was hard not to think about legacy.\n\nWhy is it there? What did the artist mean to communicate? What does it have to say to us?\n\nMany of these answers are lost in antiquity. We simply don\'t know whether the images had spiritual significance, were ancient billboards, or were artistic displays meant to celebrate their subjects and the artists\' ability.\n<h2>What Will Survive You?</h2>\nEvery day you go about your work: you work with your team to make things, or sell things, or learn things, or work with clients and customers.\n\nIf you are especially talented or fortunate, you may make something that endures and changes the world…maybe.\n\nBut even if you do make, learn, or sell something amazing - how long will it endure? How long will it have significance? (The petroglyph lizard is very cool, but no longer has its original significance.)\n\nLong after you are finished with your reports, spreadsheets, fundraising, meetings…long after the organization you started or work for has closed, sold, or you have left it…long after your daily work is forgotten…\n\nWhat will survive you?\n\nIt isn\'t the \"stuff\" - the products, the sales, the decisions…many times, it\'s not even the organization. These things are no guarantee of a legacy.\n\nIt\'s the people.\n<blockquote>Long after everything else fades away, your influence, your relationships, and how you impact the people around you…these things endure.</blockquote>\n<h2>21 Ways To Leave a Legacy With Your Team</h2>\n<ol>\n	<li>Treat yourself as a human being - Create room in your life to laugh, to love, and to grieve. Invest in relationships that connect you to yourself and to life. It\'s hard to treat others with human dignity if you don\'t first do it for yourself.</li>\n	<li>Listen - hear the joy, grief, frustration, and enjoyment in others. Learn their values, what motivates them.</li>\n	<li>Create times to share life with your team. Something as simple as a meal and a discussion of dreams and accomplishments connect you to the people around you.</li>\n	<li>Do not take yourself too seriously. The engineers sending astronauts into outer space factor in some margin of error - you are permitted to make mistakes. Learn from them. Then try it again.</li>\n	<li>Invest in healthy conflict - from Crucial Conversations: when you\'re upset with someone, ask yourself why a reasonable, rational person would do such a thing, find out what part of the story you\'re missing, focus on solving the problem AND building the relationship</li>\n	<li>Make eye contact, greet people, wish them well. Ask \"how are you\" and wait for the answer.</li>\n	<li>When team members are struggling, ask how you can help.</li>\n	<li>When you screw up, apologize.</li>\n	<li>Acknowledge tough decisions - don\'t sugarcoat difficult truths. Be upfront about suffering and appreciate individual and team sacrifice.</li>\n	<li>Be sincere. If you can\'t talk about something, say so.</li>\n	<li>Once you\'ve trained and equipped people, get out of their way.</li>\n	<li>Celebrate success. Celebrate failed experiments. Celebrate the past, celebrate progress, celebrate present persistence.</li>\n	<li>Expect excellence, practice fairness. Firm, but fair.</li>\n	<li>When someone\'s spouse or child is very sick, send them home.</li>\n	<li>Say thank you.</li>\n	<li>Imagine yourself in the other person\'s situation. How would you want to be treated?</li>\n	<li>Always, always, always treat people with dignity. Even when terminating employment, you are talking to another human being. Your own humanity is at stake. Don\'t compromise it.</li>\n	<li>People are never problems. They may not be a good fit. They may have stolen something. They may be quarrelsome. You may have to remove them from the team - but those are problem behaviors. People are not problems.</li>\n	<li>Give opportunities - to stretch, to grow, to tackle a new challenge.</li>\n	<li>Nurture strength - be on the look out for talents, ability, and passion. Invest in it. Provide opportunities for others to learn more and work out of their strength…even if it means they leave your team.</li>\n	<li>Every day acknowledge the beauty, skill, or competence in someone - and include yourself!</li>\n</ol>\n<h2>Your Turn</h2>\nHow do <i>you</i> ensure that no matter what you make, sell, or do, your impact on people outlives you?\n\nTake care,\n\nDavid M. Dye', '21 Ways to Leave a Lasting Legacy No Matter What You Make, Sell, or Do', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '21-ways-to-leave-a-lasting-legacy-no-matter-what-you-make-sell-or-do', '', '', '2013-03-20 06:24:06', '2013-03-20 11:24:06', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9342', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(9389, 251, '2013-03-21 20:00:34', '2013-03-22 01:00:34', 'CCL’s Nick Petrie writes, “Hindsight does not lead to foresight since the elements and conditions of the system can be in continual flux”?\n\nIf so, it’s time to hang up on heroic leadership — the notion that a single person has all the answers — and embrace a new orientation to leading yourself and others: flexibility.\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2013/03/21/how-to-develop-a-flexible-leadership-style/\">here</a>:', 'How to develop a flexible leadership style', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-develop-a-flexible-leadership-style', '', '', '2013-03-21 20:00:34', '2013-03-22 01:00:34', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9389', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(9399, 307, '2013-04-04 12:18:35', '2013-04-04 17:18:35', '\n<h2>Déjà Vu All Over Again</h2>\nI sat across from the Executive Vice President and made my case…\n\nI suggested the company change the way it handled a specific process and made my five part case why it was a good idea.\n\nThe VP listened, grimaced, and then grinned. “If only it were that easy.”\n\n“But it is that easy,” I challenged, “it’s just a matter of having the will to do it!” (I was young – and eager.)\n\n****\n\nFast forward thirteen years.\n\nA new staff member stood on the other side of my desk – standing in the same place I had once stood…\n\nPresenting the same case I had made thirteen years earlier.\n\nBut this time, she was speaking to me! Now that <i>I</i> was the executive, things would be different, right?\n\nTo find out what happened, keep reading…\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">[</span><a style=\"font-size: 13px;\" href=\"http://trailblazeinc.com/2013/03/what-to-do-when-a-leaders-behavior-is-damaging-self-defeating-or-ineffective/\">Read More...</a><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">]</span></h2>\n&nbsp;\n\nTake care,\n\nDavid', 'What To Do When a Leader&#039;s Behavior is Damaging, Self-Defeating, or Ineffective', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'what-to-do-when-a-leaders-behavior-is-damaging-self-defeating-or-ineffective', '', '', '2013-04-04 12:18:35', '2013-04-04 17:18:35', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9399', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9404, 282, '2013-03-27 06:06:06', '2013-03-27 11:06:06', 'I\'ve never been caught in a riptide, but I\'ve read stories from those who have. It\'s terrifying. Swim as hard as you can for the shore, only to see yourself getting farther away with each stroke.   Sometimes as leaders we face similar struggles, wrestling against the tides of public opinion, conflict &amp; other challenges in our lives...  Stories abound about those who were caught in a powerful riptide eventually drowned as a result. More stories still are written about those in leadership who\'ve been overwhelmed by \"riptides of life.\"  If only swimmers AND leaders had known a few simple, important facts about riptides, maybe their lives would not have been overwhelmed by the tide and ended so tragically.\n\nThe circumstances of our lives can be a lot like the ocean... Beautiful calm days, the sun in our face and we\'re enjoying the peaceful sound of the crashing waves. But there are other days when we feel like we are caught up in the riptides - the riptide of doubt, of fear, of hopelessness. It seems that no matter how hard we swim, we just can\'t seem to break free.  The beauty of the beach and the soothing sounds of the ocean are replaced with panic and with desperation.  How do you cope?  How do you survive the riptides of your life?\n\n<strong>Riptides are incredibly powerful, so deny the reflex to fight the flow. </strong>Even the strongest swimmers are no match for the strength of a powerful riptide. The best efforts of an Olympic swimmer are no match for the overwhelming power of the ocean, so the average beach bum doesn\'t stand a chance. It\'s just too powerful. Fighting the flow is exhausting, and when the swimmer finally lifts their head, it seems like they\'ve not only failed to reach the beach, but they\'ve even lost ground.\n\nLife throws us dangerously similar, almost overwhelming tide of circumstances, from time to time. Our reaction is to fight, to struggle, to grasp for help as we gasp for air. When we finally do lift our heads, it may seem our situation is worse and hope is farther away than before. Overwhelmed by the tide of chaos &amp; consequence? Don\'t panic. Resist the urge to overreact and fight against it. Take a moment, take a breath, pray... do whatever it takes to face and accept the circumstances without desperation or fear. Fighting the flow seldom works, whether it\'s water or worry.\n\n<strong>Riptides are narrow, so swim across the current. </strong>Panic is the most common reaction of someone caught in the overwhelming power of a riptide, and the fear that this current will carry them so far from shore they will never be able to make it back. So they swim, hard, with every ounce of energy against the flow that bears the strength of the partnership between ocean, moon and geography that have partnered to create the riptide. But they swim in vain if they swim straight against it. But most riptides are very narrow, so if the swimmer will swim parallel to the shore, eventually they will come out of the riptide, and be able to make it safely back to solid ground.\n\nLikewise, for many strong leaders, when we are confronted with a challenge, a problem or a culture that pushes us around, faster, farther from our goal, there is an innate, gritty reflex to swim against the tide... any tide.  Call it a rogue spirit, the love of a challenge, the desire to be different.  Defend it as passion, explain it as personal expression but you too may soon become exhausted.  Maybe every battle ISN\'T worth fighting.  Some problems are meant to be faced, that is true.  But keeping the option to \"swim around it\" as a viable choice may have a huge bearing on your success or even your survival in leadership.\n\n<strong>Riptides are draining to the swimmer, so call for help.  </strong>It\'s embarrassing to yell for the lifeguard.  It means we\'re in over our head, that somehow we\'re not good enough to swim in these waters.  What will the kids building sandcastles think?  What will the hot chicks sunbathing whisper to each other?  Call for help... the last thing you want them saying over your body on the beach is, \"Is he dead?\"  Swimmers who survive riptides many times are those who didn\'t wait to late to ask for help.\n\nYour business, company, family &amp; life all go through seasons.   Sometimes these ups and downs, good times and bad, are influences by your choices and actions. Other times it\'s just life.  Be sensitive to when you may be coming to the end of your strength.  Burnout &amp; fatigue are real enemies to effective leadership. Ask your boss for help.  Ask your coworker for some support. Ask your wife to pray with you. But whatever you do, ask for help.\n\n<strong>What are some of the \"riptides\" you\'ve faced in the past few years, and how would you encourage others facing those same \"riptides\" to survive and thrive past them?</strong>\n\nLife can be a beach... or life can be a, well, you know... don\'t let the riptides of your life ruin your days in the sun.', 'Swim Strong or Swim Smart?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'swim-strong-or-swim-smart', '', '', '2013-03-27 06:06:06', '2013-03-27 11:06:06', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9404', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(9406, 243, '2013-03-23 17:04:33', '2013-03-23 22:04:33', 'About once a week, I get a request to guest post on the Lead Change Group website. You may have decided to read this post because you\'ve considered the very same idea, or I may have sent you to it in an email response.\n\nYou can\'t do it. We don\'t allow guest posts.\n\nWasn\'t that easy? Sound extreme? Let me explain.\n\nWe believe leadership is changing. A revolution is underway.\n\nRevolutions divide. Either you\'re <em>for</em> the revolution or you\'re <em>against</em> it. There is no middle ground; no innocent bystanders; no non-combatants. Either you believe leadership comes from <em>who-you-are</em> or you don\'t. We call character-based leadership leading from who you are, and not from your power or position. Your actions don\'t make you a leader.  Who you are defines your leadership, not your position, wealth, or your ability to coerce or manipulate. Pretty simple, right?\n\nIf you agree, you\'re one of us, and you\'re welcome to write. Simply register as a free member of this group and complete this form and we\'ll send you the latest iteration of the blog guidelines. Of course we retain rights to use the content you publish here on the blog. Also we ask that your actual word-for-word content must be first published on the Lead Change blog (unless you want to become an Instigator, and then we\'ll link to your content elsewhere on the web).  We reserve the right to decline your stuff if we\'d rather not post it or if it needs major editing, it must not appear to us to be a sales pitch, and it should be about leadership. More details are in the Blog Guidelines document we\'ll send you.\n\nWriting for Lead Change is a great way to associate yourself with the revolution.  So if you believe you have something to say and you agree with the idea that leadership comes from the inside, please join us and write. Please add to the dialogue.  Your post will sharpen us as we sharpen each other.\n\nAlso, the most engaging people are often very engaged already. So consider sharing and commenting on other posts and the other authors will likely comment and share yours too. At the time of this writing, we get around 1200 visits a business day. So don\'t just write, share, comment and share some more. The whole world knows leadership is changing. They just don\'t know what to do about it. If you have ideas, interested people will connect.\n\nThis leadership revolution is global and huge. We want to organize the combatants and mobilize people who share our ideals.\n\nSo now you know why we don\'t allow guest posts. There are no \"guests.\" You\'re either in or out. Which is it?\n\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">Photo © karelnoppe - Fotolia.com</span>', 'Guest Posting for Lead Change Group', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'guest-posting-for-lead-change-group', '', '', '2013-03-23 17:04:33', '2013-03-23 22:04:33', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9406', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9431, 277, '2013-03-28 06:38:05', '2013-03-28 11:38:05', '<img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-9433\" alt=\"Managers: How well do you listen?\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mpb-leadchange-listeningphoto-032313-300x139.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"139\" />Be honest. When an employee asks to speak with you, where’s your head? Do you…\n<ol start=\"1\">\n	<li>Think, “Great. I don’t have time for this.”</li>\n	<li>Agree to “listen,” but find your mind wanders ahead to your next appointment or mentally drafts your next email.</li>\n	<li>Fidget, knowing intellectually that listening is the right thing to do, but you secretly wish the person would go away so you can get back to your to-do list.</li>\n	<li>Say “uh huh” every so often so the employee thinks you are listening, but you cannot recall details of what the person is saying.</li>\n	<li>Put everything down, turn off your phone, and feel truly eager to hear the employee’s thoughts.</li>\n</ol>\nEvery manager knows the \"right\" answer, but few actually live it every day.\n<h3><b>Many managers are distracted listeners.</b></h3>\nYou may be physically present in a conversation, but are you truly attentive?\n\nManagers are stretched thin in many organizations. They face competing demands on their time and daunting to-do lists. For a manager who prizes efficiency and task completion, spending time on conversations may feel like a colossal waste. But it is the single most important activity you can do to increase employee engagement and your effectiveness as a manager.\n\nConsider these employee comments:\n<ul>\n	<li>“When you listen to me, you are saying I am important to you. When you don’t, you\'re saying I\'m not.”</li>\n	<li>\"Just slow down and listen to me. It\'s the most important thing you can do to have a good relationship with me. I will want to work harder for you. I will listen better to you, learn more from you, and accomplish more for you.\"</li>\n	<li>\"When I am with someone who doesn\'t listen, I become angry and close down. When I am with someone who\'s interested and responsive---a good listener---I am energized and come alive.\"</li>\n</ul>\nA manager’s listening doesn’t just benefit the employee. You <b><i>need</i></b> their input. Your employees are at the front lines. They understand your customers—perhaps better than you do. They can tell you where your organization’s processes, rules, and tools are helping, and where they are interfering with getting great work done. They are like radar.\n\nImagine being an air traffic controller. How well could you do your job if the radar suddenly stopped working? You would be missing important inputs that help <b><i>you</i></b> know the best course of action.\n<h3><b>Managers who don’t listen are like air traffic controllers without radar.</b></h3>\nVery few schools teach listening, and we don\'t have a natural way to reward it. Simultaneous talking is epidemic. On TV, sports and political panels, people constantly yell over each other for airtime. In business meetings, even if the talk is sequential and orderly, the second speaker is rarely responding to the first.\n\nGood communication between just two people can be problematic. I speak in my own code (meanings of words), which is different from yours in some or many respects. Before the message reaches you, it passes through your decoder (or filters), including your memories, perceptions, biases, attitudes, expectations, emotional triggers, past experiences, values, feelings, language and vocabulary. And the “power” difference between a manager and an employee can affect word choice and hinder mutual understanding. It’s relatively rare when the message a manager intends is the message an employee hears, and vice versa.\n<h3><b>Listening is an active quest to understand the knowledge, concerns, insights and ideas your employees bring to the table.</b></h3>\nSuppose you had <i>only one</i> management task: to understand what is being said when an employee comes to talk to you. Your strategy would likely involve the following components:\n<ol start=\"1\">\n	<li>Pay full attention to the employee.</li>\n	<li>Avoid distractions (i.e. phone, texts, IM, HipChat).</li>\n	<li>Ask for clarity when something is unclear.</li>\n	<li>Watch for non-verbal clues accompanying the employee’s spoken words.</li>\n	<li>Recognize and repress the urge to interrupt or argue.</li>\n	<li>Give up the interest in yourself and step into the experience of the speaker.</li>\n	<li>Resist the reflex to judge quickly what the speaker should do.</li>\n	<li>Slow down your pace and your desire to “be done” with the issue.</li>\n	<li>Learn the positive intention or motive behind the employee’s communication; what challenge is he/she trying to solve?</li>\n</ol>\nCommit to practicing these nine skills.\n\nWhen employees voice suggestions, they have invested emotional energy to prepare to talk to you. If you take the time to hear them thoroughly and ensure your own understanding of what they are trying to convey, you increase your chances of an on-target response and a motivated work force. Employees want to feel heard. They need to know that you value their input. And you need their data to do a good job. Listen.\n\n<i>Listening is one of five skills required to Relate well with employees (the others are Asking, Including, Coaching, and Encouraging). To find out how well you Relate, there’s a free assessment at <a href=\"http://www.managingpeoplebetter.com/\">www.ManagingPeopleBetter.com</a>. </i>\n\n<i></i><i>Photo credit: </i><i>©iStockphoto.com/wildpixel</i>\n\n&nbsp;\n<h6></h6>', 'Managers: How well do you listen?', 'When employees come to speak with you, do you put everything down, turn off your phone, and feel truly eager to hear their thoughts? Few managers actually do this on a daily basis, and as a result, they are like air traffic controllers without radar. Listening is an active quest to understand the knowledge, concerns, insights and ideas your employees bring to the table, and you need this information to do your job well. ', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'managers-how-well-do-you-listen', '', '', '2013-03-28 06:38:05', '2013-03-28 11:38:05', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9431', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(9499, 317, '2013-04-01 06:10:14', '2013-04-01 11:10:14', 'Are you a leader? Or a boss? Do you know the difference between the leader and the boss? In this article, you will be able to differentiate between the two and distinguish if you are a leader or you are acting as a boss.\n\nLeader, the role of the leader is to lead the people. They develop their people and teach good values, how to be a good employee, support them in their work, help whenever the employee is having difficulty. Also, a leader serves as a friend and guides the team to be successful.\n\nSo, what is the boss? The boss is the one who takes control over his employees. Who demands all his needs met right away.\n\n<strong>6 Distinctions between Leaders and Bosses:</strong>\n\n1. The leader addresses “we” but the boss addresses “I.”\n\n2. The leader teaches but the bosses criticize.\n\n3. The leader serves for a purpose towards success but the boss manages to an end.\n\n4. The leader says “Let’s go” but the boss says “Go.”\n\n5. The leader enables but the boss disables.\n\n6. The leader shows humility, while the boss shows pride.\n\nAs the famous quotes says; <b>“The leader leads and the boss drives.”</b>  Theodore Roosevelt\n\nThe leader does everything to teach team members or employees to become better in their work, event to become a better leader someday. They inspire and motive their people to work hard in order to reach their goal.\n\nWhat can you do to make sure you’re acting more like a leader and less like a boss?       v<b></b>', 'The Leader and the Boss', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-leader-and-the-boss', '', '', '2013-04-01 06:10:14', '2013-04-01 11:10:14', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9499', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(9510, 326, '2013-04-03 06:19:00', '2013-04-03 11:19:00', 'When it comes to people working for my company, I made a promise when I first started to be true to myself and my values and to model “loving and kind” actions in dealing with my staff.  We became the company of <b>“loving and kind” people.</b>  And no, we’re not a bunch of “touchy feelys.”  We simply believe in the value of every individual and in honoring what they bring to our company. We don’t all think alike nor do we have the same skills or knowledge, but it takes a well-rounded, cohesive team to succeed.\n\n<b>So what does this mean?</b>\n\nYour employees are watching… They see what you do <b>every day</b>.  They read your emails, corporate memos and hear your hallway<i>, bathroom,</i> and lunchroom conversations with others.  They listen intently to see if what they were told is the same “line” being told to everyone. People yearn for truth and want to trust their peers and leaders.  And just as important, they want to trust that “what they see is what they get.”  I’ve always told my employees that “I’m not that deep.  Take what I say at face value and know that you can bank on it.” After all, life is way too long and my memory is way too short to remember different tales of the same incident. Better to be transparent and honest all the time!\n\n<b>This sounds good, huh?</b>\n\nWell, there was a short time in our company history where I was deceived by a leader who was keeping up appearances but wasn\'t modeling the loving and kind behavior defined in our core values.  All had been going well.  Business was clicking along, and I thought we were winning on the “happy employees” scale. <b>Unfortunately with growth comes hiring new people – and sometimes they just don’t fit with your culture.</b>\n\nWe had hired a new instructional design manager – let’s call her Mary.  She was uber qualified with degrees, experience, and a smile in the interviews that drew me in.  She knew the right words to fill my trust meter. I believed what she told me was truthful and that what she was saying to me was the same as she was telling/instructing her direct reports – our talented, committed employees and contractors.\n\n<b>Here’s how it played out:</b>\n\nMary was business-like and very organized. After only a short time, she attended our 1-on-1 meetings prepared with all the appropriate paperwork completed and ready to bring me up to speed on the projects in her area.  She said all the right words that led me to believe that everything was fine with the projects and our people. I’m a type A, get to the bottom-line kinda gal, so I was feeling very comfortable with how our meetings were going.\n\nUnfortunately, after a few months went by, the unspeakable happened.  I realized that I had stopped walking among the troupes to keep communication open among us! I was just listening to Mary.  Luckily, on the Friday of Mary’s last day of PTO, her direct reports felt “safe” to come and speak with me.  Whew - glad they still believed in me!  Yep, NOT just one, but EVERYONE from the instructional design department lined up in the hallway next to my office waiting for their turn to tell me how the “real Mary” was nothing like I thought. In their own words, they explained that Mary was verbally abusive, unforgiving of mistakes, rude, and just plain mean. She didn\'t have a sense of humor and simply didn\'t fit in with our cultural morals.\n\nA person of action, I immediately called an emergency meeting of all employees.  I knew everyone in that meeting well.  They were honest, hard-working professionals that liked working in our “loving and kind” company.  They would not have chosen such a dramatic way to get my attention had they not tried to solve the issues on their own. Yep, they had talked with Mary, pleaded and even cried in her office, but Mary was just a tough nut to crack that didn\'t believe in “loving and kind.”\n\nOur HR Director and I took care of her firing – with Mary screaming and threatening us as we walked her out of the building. Let’s just say she showed me her true colors – enough that I called the authorities to make sure my employees were safe!\n\nDon’t ding us for this quick fire...\n<ul>\n	<li>It was the right decision for keeping our company healthy.</li>\n	<li>We ALWAYS play by the rules and it was a legal fire.</li>\n	<li>We’re a small, limber company that is fair to a fault.</li>\n	<li>It would have done more harm to keep Mary around.</li>\n	<li>We could have given her time to try and change her ways, but we have lost many of our esteemed colleagues as they would not work for her any longer.</li>\n	<li>Mary’s management style just didn\'t fit.</li>\n	<li>She was simply a bad hire.</li>\n</ul>\n<b>The moral of this story:</b>\n\nStay true to your values and trust your employees.  Keep your doors open and keep communication two-way with as many people in your company as possible. Provide an environment that PROVES it’s safe to speak up. If you model the behavior you want, your people will thrive and help you keep your corporate values alive and well!\n\n<i>Jonena, <a href=\"http://tbdconsulting.com/\" target=\"_blank\">TBD Consulting</a>\n</i>\n\n<a href=\"http://tbd-consulting.typepad.com/jonena_l_relth/\" target=\"_blank\">Leadership Trends and Today’s Realities Blog</a>\n\nHealthcare Talent Transformation Blog', 'When Trust is Broken - Lessons Learned', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'when-trust-is-broken-lessons-learned', '', '', '2013-04-03 06:19:00', '2013-04-03 11:19:00', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9510', 0, 'post', '', 8),
(9591, 276, '2013-04-05 06:12:12', '2013-04-05 11:12:12', '\n\nA few months ago, my former colleague <a href=\"https://twitter.com/RichieEtwaru\">@RichieEtwaru</a> Group Vice President, Clouding and Digital Innovation at <a href=\"http://www.cegedim.com/Pages/default.aspx\">Cegedim Relationship Management</a> shared his idea Human as a Service (HuaaS).    For more information on HuaaS, please visit <a href=\"http://etwaru.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/human-as-a-service/\">#brainfood</a>.\n\nRichie described Human as a Service as human capacity clouded (a verb) and delivered as a Service.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><i>“Business leaders interested in the future of IT should stop thinking of ‘the cloud’ as a noun and start thinking about ‘clouding’ as a verb. When we discuss cloud computing, we’re describing a set of efficiency principles applied to once stateful compute and store resources that are now stateless and liquid referred to as the cloud (a noun). Clouding (as a verb) everything enables the Everything as a Service phenomenon.</i></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><i></i><i>Clouding is not entirely new. One could argue, for example, that condominiums and hotels were early multitenant housing clouds. Similarly, </i><a href=\"http://www.zipcar.com/\"><i>Zipcar</i></a><i> and </i><a href=\"http://www.getaround.com/\"><i>Getaround</i></a><i> are car clouds, offering Transportation as a Service. In the clouded world, everything is debatable as a Service, including Human capacity.” (Etwaru, 2012)</i></p>\nAs I ponder on this concept, I decided to share my thoughts on leadership in the context of HuaaS.\n\nIn this competitive environment, every company is constantly seeking new ways to improve their competitive advantage.  Innovation has been a key differentiator in the last five years and continues to be; it means companies who innovate are able to develop solutions or services that make them the market leaders. New or enhancement of existing products or services enable companies to sustain their market share.\n\nWith the introduction of HuaaS, we need to flip the model of managing our people on the side and determine the most suitable approach to ensure efficient and effective management of our most important resources. The change in resource management requires a different form of leadership. Here are some of the things leaders must learn:\n<ul>\n	<li>Adapting to change – fundamentally speaking the reference to change in this context is not just organizational structure. It means a shift in the mindset of how we adapt to the new model. Leaders must empower others to help facilitate the change.</li>\n	<li>Losing control – I refer to this as losing absolute control over how, when, or where to secure their resources, but understanding the need to get the job done and the work need to be fulfilled. The demand for resources met with the appropriate supply using a cloud-based matching process. In the end, the employer can filter and approve the recommended list.</li>\n	<li>Evangelize – believing in the model comes by adapting to change. For it to work, the leader must share the vision of HuaaS.  What does it mean to the current employee?   How are they being impacted?  Also, explaining the way forward.</li>\n	<li>Broad and inclusive thinking - this means that leaders must think broadly of the effect of HuaaS to the organization. Having a narrow focus on task or people could lead things to go wrong. It also means that numbers cannot be the only measurement of success.  The key to being inclusive is having an appropriate balance on task and relationship and is essential to the success of the leader.</li>\n	<li>Think governance – proper guidelines and governance is needed to ensure that the adaption goes smoothly. Frequent audit and measurement of your progress is essential to the success of the adaption.</li>\n	<li>Empowerment – leaders often know that they don’t need to do it alone. In this case, they need to let those who are familiar with HuaaS carry out the implementation. Empowering the subject matter of HuaaS will lead to proper and efficient rollout of the program.</li>\n</ul>\nTo succeed in leading HuaaS adaption it is important that the leader immerse him/herself and understand the value it brings. The leader plays an important role in evangelizing and hiring resources who can execute the strategy. Success can only be achieved providing adequate support that facilitates the change.  Celebrating the success is an essential step in letting people knows that it is not a fad, but a program that is meant to last.   In the end, the adaption rest squarely on the shoulder of the leader.\n\n&nbsp;', 'Leadership in Human as a Service (HuaaS)', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leadership-in-human-as-a-service-huaas', '', '', '2013-04-05 06:12:12', '2013-04-05 11:12:12', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9591', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(9596, 316, '2013-04-24 12:30:36', '2013-04-24 17:30:36', 'Have you ever noticed how when someone tells us how they\'ve been really busy with work, we automatically interpret this as being a bad thing?  Certainly, no one associates having a lot of work to do with sunshine, love, happiness or any other positive experience.\n\nIn many ways, this is a natural product of both our schooling and work experiences, where we\'re not guided and supported to use our genius, creativity, and talents in order to do the work we should do.  Rather, what is the more common experience is being funneled through a system that puts us into neat slots like gears in a complex piece of machinery.\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/3/25/its-time-we-develop-a-new-relationship-with-work.html\">here.</a>..', 'It&#039;s Time We Develop A New Relationship With Work', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'its-time-we-develop-a-new-relationship-with-work', '', '', '2013-04-24 12:30:36', '2013-04-24 17:30:36', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9596', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9602, 316, '2013-04-18 12:29:46', '2013-04-18 17:29:46', '<img class=\"alignleft\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://cs.dogpile.com/ClickHandler.ashx?du=http%3a%2f%2fb-i.forbesimg.com%2frobertamatuson%2ffiles%2f2013%2f04%2fReinventing-You-197x300.jpg&amp;ru=http%3a%2f%2fb-i.forbesimg.com%2frobertamatuson%2ffiles%2f2013%2f04%2fReinventing-You-197x300.jpg&amp;ld=20130404&amp;ap=1&amp;app=1&amp;c=info.dogpl.t6.1&amp;s=dogpile&amp;coi=372380&amp;cop=main-title&amp;euip=76.7.124.220&amp;npp=1&amp;p=0&amp;pp=0&amp;pvaid=9114942876ac4d00b323e64c72f4fb9e&amp;sid=1830193568.1631620854243.1365073215&amp;vid=1830193568.1631620854243.1365073215.1&amp;fcoi=4&amp;fcop=results-bottom&amp;fct.uid=4290f204bee74cc2bcbdbf6d1b1f758e&amp;fpid=2&amp;ep=1&amp;mid=9&amp;hash=CBCD0DB0A2C7F637BAA560425D062674\" width=\"142\" height=\"216\" />\n\nWe are in an age of immense disruption: industries, societal codes, politics, demographics, you name it.  If we are going to handle this continually changing the world, we have to adapt ourselves.  All we can really control is how we react, and more importantly, pro-act to our world.\n\nWhile we should hold our principles and values dear, we need to reinvent the how, where, and why we live those out. <em>Reinventing You</em> is a book of truth and practical advice, based on Dorie Clark’s experiences and those of others she shares in the book.\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/3/28/how-to-stay-relevant-have-impact.html\">here.</a>', 'How To Stay Relevant &#038; Have Impact', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-stay-relevant-have-impact', '', '', '2013-04-18 12:29:46', '2013-04-18 17:29:46', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9602', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9624, 327, '2013-04-09 06:06:13', '2013-04-09 11:06:13', 'On March 6 and 7, I attended the World Leaders Conference 2013 in West Palm Beach, Florida. This was my second time attending this dynamic conference focused on defining the philosophy and practice of servant leadership. As I listened to the speakers discuss their experiences in servant leadership, I realized that everything I had learned about servant leadership I learned from serving children who have incarcerated parents.\n\nFor the last fourteen years, I have worked to develop unique, faith-based social service programs at the <a href=\"http://www.peacemakers.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Peacemaker Family Center</a> in Miami, Florida. The most challenging program that I have helped develop and one that is also the closest to my heart is the <a href=\"http://www.childrenofinmates.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Children of Inmates (COI)</a>. Six years ago, I was one of five, founding executive directors who initiated the COI concept. We wanted to find a way to begin serving the more than 15,000 children in Miami-Dade County, Florida who have incarcerated parents. The prospect of engaging and serving these children seemed daunting, but we were determined. For the most part, their needs go unnoticed and unmet.\n\nTo date, we have touched the lives of more than 1,500 children of these children. One of the services we provide is a quarterly Bonding Visit. The goal of Bonding Visits is to increase the number of positive attachment and bonding experiences that the children have with their incarcerated parents. In the last six years, we have taken children and their caregivers on 120 Bonding Visits to correctional facilities across the State of Florida. The philosophy and practice of servant leadership converged and became real to me as I travelled with these families.\n\nThree things I have learned about the characteristics of a servant leader are:\n\n* <strong>A servant leader serves people.</strong> No matter how wonderfully crafted our collaborative team\'s program design is, if the children and their families are not being beneficially served, we adjust the program. The program is merely a tool to serve people.\n\n<strong>*A servant leader loves people.</strong> I was surprised at how many pre-conceived ideas I had about prison, inmates, and our COI families. To be a better servant leader, I continually challenge myself and my team to look beyond externals and serve the human beings in front of us with love.\n\n<strong>* A servant leader willingly goes the extra mile to serve</strong>. On one Bonding Visit, we were informed by the Department of Corrections that one of our incarcerated moms had been moved to another correctional facility two hours away the day before. Even though we had already driven five hours, two of our team members drove our \"emergency\" car the additional two hours so that the toddler, the incarcerated mom, and the grandmother could have a quarterly visit.\n\nI have found that servant leadership is the most challenging aspect of being a leader. Yet, these same challenges have helped me become a better leader and a better person.\n\nWhat have you learned about being a servant leader from serving others?\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Everything I Learned About Servant Leadership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'everything-i-learned-about-servant-leadership', '', '', '2013-04-09 06:06:13', '2013-04-09 11:06:13', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9624', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(9746, 244, '2013-04-29 12:19:52', '2013-04-29 17:19:52', 'People always have a choice even when they do not see that they do. A critical role of every leader is to bring people to choice.\n\nYou can be a victim of your circumstances or you can choose who you are going to be in the face of them. There are even times when you can choose new circumstances. As a leader, if you really want to empower someone, the best way to do that is to guide them in seeing the choices they do have and support them in choosing for themselves.\n\nLeading others to make their own choices is the ultimate source of empowerment. <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/the-ultimate-source-of-empowerment/\">Read More</a>', 'The Ultimate Source of Empowerment', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-ultimate-source-of-empowerment', '', '', '2013-04-29 12:19:52', '2013-04-29 17:19:52', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9746', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9751, 244, '2013-04-16 12:37:46', '2013-04-16 17:37:46', 'If you want to be adaptable you must be willing to let go of the need to know the answer.\n\nWhy? Because there is rarely one answer: that single right answer to the questions you are being asked and are asking or the right path through the challenges you face.\n\nThe problem with needing to know “the” answer is the questions we are asking today are more often than not about an unknown future rather than a known past. The book is essentially not yet written.\n\n<a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/the-key-to-being-adaptable/\">Read more</a> to discover why you must accept your role as author.', 'The Key to Being Adaptable', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-key-to-being-adaptable', '', '', '2013-04-16 12:37:46', '2013-04-16 17:37:46', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9751', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9839, 245, '2013-04-24 06:16:40', '2013-04-24 11:16:40', 'My daughter’s Little League recently held their Field Clean-Up Day. This event takes place at 9:00 AM on a Saturday in the middle of April. We live in Michigan, so the weather is usually windy, rainy and the air temp hovers near 40 degrees Fahrenheit.  This year, it snowed.\n\nOstensibly here’s what’s supposed to happen: each softball team is assigned a segment of the Little League grounds to clean up debris and spread fresh sand onto the diamonds. Each area has anywhere from 10 – 15 families assigned to it, so the process should be brief. Every year we get an email reminder from the League Director: “Many hands make the load light – please be sure to show up.”\n\nHere’s what actually happens – there is a 50% turnout rate. Of the people in attendance, half are young kids, who aren’t physically strong enough to lift wet leaf bags or break large branches in two.\n\nSo guess who does the large share of the work? Yep, the five or six parents who bothered to show up. For several years, when both of my kids were in Little League, my husband and I would “divide and conquer” – me showing up to Field Clean-Up Day with one kid, him with the other at a different location. One year, the coach remarked to me, “Wow, Jennifer, I’m so impressed – we rarely see the moms here on Clean-Up Day.”\n\nTo which I replied: “We have a job to do. We were asked to show up. So I showed up.”\n\nI have a bad back and an overall aversion to hard physical labor, so Field Clean-Up Day isn’t my favorite part of Little League season. In this situation, my aches and pains are irrelevant. It’s really very simple – you show up to do the work, even if the task is difficult or distasteful. The team needs you.\n\nJust as parents, who are leaders on the Little League field, must show up and role model “doing the work” even when it’s not fun, so must leaders in organizational life show up.  Many years ago, one of my first supervisors told me, “Jennifer, I will never ask you to do something that I wouldn’t do myself.”  People who lead with character do so in a way that demonstrates “I’m not above this; I’m here to help.”\n\nOf course, that’s not to say that leaders must do everything themselves; that’s not feasible. But they must be willing to show that <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">all</span> work has value. If the work doesn’t have value, then why are you doing it? On the Little League field, unsavory tasks like raking wet leaves in the rain lead to a field ready for the more fun pursuits of game day. In the work world, it’s no different - all work is valuable, if it leads to valuable outputs.\nImage credit: <a href=\"http://www.123rf.com/photo_10758652_blue-rake-over-yellow-dried-leaves-with-space-for-your-text.html\">ilposeidone / 123RF Stock Photo</a>', 'Leaders Show Up Even When It’s Not Fun', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leaders-show-up-even-when-its-not-fun', '', '', '2013-04-24 06:16:40', '2013-04-24 11:16:40', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9839', 0, 'post', '', 9),
(9893, 323, '2013-04-19 06:12:01', '2013-04-19 11:12:01', 'The movie <i>42 </i>tells the story of how Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier to become the first African American man to play Major League Baseball.  Amidst continuous racial discrimination and taunting from fans and players alike, he led his team to a National League pennant in his first season. Robinson earned Rookie of the Year, paved the way for other African American players the following season, won a second National League pennant two years later, and went on to win four more National League pennants and a World Series with the Brooklyn Dodgers.\n\nParalleling his position as the first African American player in the MLB, he was also the first inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Robinson\'s life story is regularly taught to children as part of the curriculum on civil rights, and is now, for the second time, an inspirational story being played out on the silver screen.  No question that Robinson was a trail blazer.  He was a great leader.\n\nBut this movie opened my eyes to another great leader. Someone I didn\'t learn about in school. I\'m certain I\'ve never heard this name before because it is the kind of name one remembers. Branch Rickey.\n\nRickey was the General Manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1943 to 1950. He orchestrated Robinson\'s entry into Major League Baseball in 1947 and led the charge toward its integration. Robinson was a true leader. Few, if any, would argue that.  But, what about Rickey? If what <i>42</i> portrayed about Rickey\'s actions is true, I\'d say Rickey is a great leader from whom we can draw two inspirational lessons about leadership.\n\n1. Set a daring vision\n\nPrior to seeing <i>42</i> I had this idea that Jackie Robinson broke the MLB color barrier because someone somewhere saw him play and said \"I must have that player on my team; I don\'t care what color his skin is.\" Perhaps I\'m alone, and maybe this was a naive perspective.  But, either way, I know now that I was wrong.  According to this movie, Jackie Robinson was not on Rickey\'s radar when he made the courageous decision to bring a black man into his baseball organization. Rickey made this decision on his own.\n\nRead what is written on Rickey and you\'ll find that his motivations are contested. Was it money? Was it his desire to right a wrong spurred by the racist treatment of a black teammate from college? Was he driven by his religious convictions? Or was it all three?  I think his motivations for making this decision are less important than the fact that he made it. Because, whatever the motivation, that was one risky decision.  So risky that his collaborators in the movie begged him not to do it.\n\nWhat we believe about character-based leadership is that it manifests from within. Character-based leadership also requires having the guts to transcend the status quo, and having an idealized vision that dares to be different. Rickey courageously and aggressively scouted African American talent for his Dodger organization.  That is when he met Jackie Robinson, and the rest is history.\n\n2. Cultivate talent\n\nSince watching the movie I\'ve learned that Rickey was also credited for developing the farm system in professional baseball.  A farm team provides experience and training for young players, with the understanding that successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point.  In <i>42</i> we see Robinson first signed to play with the Montreal Royals, the farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Once he proved himself, both on the field and off, Rickey brought him up to the big leagues.\n\nRickey knew how to choose talent. In Robinson he didn\'t want just a great ball player. He wanted a great ball player who could also withstand the added pressure of being the first black ball player. That sort of scenario required a special combination of skills. Rickey knew that, and he found it in Jackie Robinson.\n\nAbout the farm system, Rickey is quoted as saying the following: \"We controlled the instruction and discipline, and we had a much better idea of a player\'s major-league ability than if we had gone blindly into the open market.\"\n\n- -\n\nBranch Rickey is not a household name like Jackie Robinson.  But, what a great name for leaders to learn. Rickey could set a vision and Rickey could cultivate talent. Maybe we should try leading like Rickey.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPhoto image: <a href=\"http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;frm=1&amp;source=images&amp;cd=&amp;cad=rja&amp;docid=ZRum8q_IL55CvM&amp;tbnid=XT6ZQ8w3KWggIM:&amp;ved=0CAQQjB0&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fotopedia.com%2Fitems%2Fflickr-398433721&amp;ei=fBZuUcu1D4nn2AX0s4GYCg&amp;bvm=bv.45368065,d.aWc&amp;psig=AFQjCNE8YZJxnxOpYqq7aR2PIHIYVFnJXg&amp;ust=1366255411678805\">www.fotopedia.com</a>', 'Leading Like Rickey', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leading-like-rickey', '', '', '2013-04-19 06:12:01', '2013-04-19 11:12:01', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9893', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(9945, 244, '2013-05-14 12:11:26', '2013-05-14 17:11:26', 'Have you ever been frustrated by a conversation (or a series of them!) that seems to go nowhere no matter how hard you try?\n\nProgress can be illusive at best when two or more people are in a conversation in which they are not committed to the same outcome. Yet even when you are seemingly on the same page about the purpose of a conversation, it can still be difficult when you encounter someone who is like a magician making clarity, focus, and progress evaporate in an instant.\n\nThe key to productivity lies in how well you prepare for the next conversation. In this post, discover 3 things you must do to prepare for a productive and satisfying conversation.\n\n<a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/how-to-get-past-conversational-smoke-and-mirrors/\">Read More.</a>', 'How to Get Past Conversational Smoke and Mirrors', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-get-past-conversational-smoke-and-mirrors', '', '', '2013-05-14 12:11:26', '2013-05-14 17:11:26', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9945', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9951, 243, '2013-04-20 15:44:00', '2013-04-20 20:44:00', '<blockquote>Remarkable visions and genuine insight are always met with resistance. Seth Godin, <a title=\"Tribes by Seth Godin on Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842336/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;creative=390957&amp;amp;creativeASIN=1591842336&amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;amp;tag=elevate-20\">Tribes</a></blockquote>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"></span>Our world is marked by a pull to the ordinary. Anything exceptional looks different. We claim to applaud the different, but many things, in fact most things we really like the new, but not necessarily different.\n\nLook at just about any area of our world and you\'ll see it. Teens struggle to be different than their parents but similar to their peers. We can\'t look too different or we\'ll be shunned. The same goes for our pizza or our music or our clothing.\n\nAnd our communities. I felt a tremendous pull to do what everyone else was doing. \"Mike, you should get a bunch of people to help you create a great curriculum and sell it to people.\" Or, \"You should charge dues and create a group like a professional association.\" Many friends suggested that I repeat a path that other organizations or businesses had followed. And maybe I should have done just that.\n\nI felt like I\'d wasted a lot of effort after our first face-to-face meeting in 2010. I admit feeling like a failure when hundreds of people didn\'t sign up to pay a premium membership to the group. Or when thousands didn\'t register for our webinars or when they didn\'t purchase our book. Yes, each effort does a little better but nothing to date has set the world on fire. (We have exceeded my most honest expectations on just about everything, but we\'re not over the hump.)\n\nFor me, this isn\'t about selling something. Membership in Lead Change isn\'t transactional. If you change from reading a free copy of our book, in the end, that\'s exactly why we wrote it. If your leadership improves because we\'re connected, that\'s exactly why we\'re involved in Lead Change to begin with. Lead Change is about mobilizing character-based leaders to make a positive difference. It\'s about impact. If we look like everyone else, let\'s stay home. If we\'re going to be another whatever, let\'s forget it.\n\nCharacter-based leadership is about being your best you. We\'re the Lead Change Group. We want to mobilize leadership revolutionaries. If someone else is doing that, join them, and we\'ll do something else.\n\nBut if not, then check this group out and see if you can maximize you\'re life\'s impact.  You may even help someone else maximize theirs. Don\'t lose another opportunity to make your world better.\n\n<em>This is the tenth part of a series on the origins of the Lead Change Group based on one of the key books that inspired me to take action: <a title=\"Tribes by Seth Godin on Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1591842336/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;camp=1789&amp;amp;creative=390957&amp;amp;creativeASIN=1591842336&amp;amp;linkCode=as2&amp;amp;tag=elevate-20\" target=\"_blank\">Tribes by Seth Godin.</a> For links to all the posts, check out this page.</em>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">Photo © maxmitzu - Fotolia.com</span>', 'The Forces of Mediocrity - Origins of Lead Change Part 10', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-forces-of-mediocrity-origins-of-lead-change-part-10', '', '', '2013-04-20 15:44:00', '2013-04-20 20:44:00', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9951', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(9966, 310, '2013-04-23 06:07:56', '2013-04-23 11:07:56', '<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>“We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch - we are going back from whence we came.”-- </em><strong>John F. Kennedy</strong></p>\nI was blessed with a last-minute vacation to Maui for my student of life spring break. Over the Easter weekend my body and spirit had let me know it was time to renew. Things had been hectic with business and books. Change the scenery was a driving message.  So in two days, all came together for me to make it so, with timeshare availability and frequent flyer miles scheduling to leave on April 6. My method of preparation was intentional and prayerful.\n\n<b>Lesson 1</b>: <b>Things line up when they’re supposed to. </b>The trip was beautiful, accommodations wonderful and travel without major incident.  Waking up early on this enchanted island, first to get some work done, then out for a morning beach walk, was amazing. The long flight and time zone adjustments were worth it from my east coast abode. I enjoyed people watching and eating, as well as participating in educational talks at the resort. This was my 2<sup>nd</sup> time on Maui; a previous stay here was during Christmas week 12 years ago, where I ventured up to the volcano Haleakala and watched the sun rise. Very illuminating and spiritual!\n\nOne of the most engaging activities of my time in Hawaii was with the Pacific Ocean, wading my feet, immersing my body, and playing in the waves. Signage at every vantage warns of the danger of this powerful body of water. I’m not a great swimmer so I found the safer beach spots that allowed me to soak in the healing salty sea. Observing the old and the young venture further out to snorkel, paddle and surf, I envied them their no fear passion as they indulged the ocean.  But my comfort level grew at times as I gained a better understanding of the shifting currents. I welcomed a few big waves and I dived in, the waters subsiding in time for me to stand up and regain my footing.\n\nSo what did I learn from participating and watching in those beach moments?\n\n<b>Lesson 2:</b> <b>When the big one comes, whatever that is in life, lean in and take it on</b>. In the midst of adversity, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and panic .The human body responds to our instinctual command of the situation. Let body and mind work in tandem.\n\n<b>Lesson 3: A sense of balance allows us to do move toward great things</b>. Those who paddled or surfed found ways to center themselves on those boards while using their hands to give them direction in riding the tides. Finding our core and rhythm can help us navigate smartly to succeed in our purpose.\n\n<b>Lesson 4:</b> <b>Know when to stop</b>. As I was having fun and jumping in the water, there were points I felt like I was ten years old again. However when I felt a twinge in my side or leg, the realization struck that I’m not ten, but actually a few decades beyond that.  My fill quotient for the day was done.  We have limitations and knowing them also keeps us safe.\n\n<b>Lesson 5: Stand firm in your shore. </b>One of the resort talks I attended covered the history of Hawaii<b>. </b>The speaker proudly shared her ancestral story of their journey thousands of miles across the Pacific in canoes using the stars along with their knowledge of the sea to point the way and help them survive. Her words were powerful. I could relate. We all look for shores in life, a place to hold on to.\n\nMy vacation was well rounded- energizing, reflective, educational and grounding.  I remain grateful for the opportunity to be able to do this type of travel.\n\nWhat anchors you on your voyage?\n\n&nbsp;', 'The Ocean Teaches: 5 Lessons From My Hawaiian Vacation', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-ocean-teaches-5-lessons-from-my-hawaiian-vacation', '', '', '2013-04-23 06:07:56', '2013-04-23 11:07:56', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9966', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(9980, 316, '2013-06-18 12:16:53', '2013-06-18 17:16:53', '<img class=\"alignleft\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://mills-scofield.com/storage/Marcie_Muehlke_web.png?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1366488211182\" width=\"170\" height=\"247\" />\n\nMarcelia Muehlke, one of the great young <a href=\"http://www.celia-grace.com/\" target=\"_blank\">entrepreneurs</a> I get to hang out with. She\'s just your \'average\' 20-something creating an international supply chain in the fashion industry, and succeeding.  In the spirit of \'and/both\' instead of \'either/or\', Marcie doesn\'t accept the 20th century cut throat culture of the Garment District.\n\nThis is a wonderful story, with lessons for all of us! Marcie started a fair trade wedding dress company that cares about the workers, working conditions and the environment. Making eco-socially-responsible wedding dresses requires a very special international supply chain and lets her combine a background in international development with her MBA.\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/4/20/lessons-in-cambodian-silk-supply-chains.html\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.', 'Lessons in Cambodian Silk Supply Chains', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lessons-in-cambodian-silk-supply-chains', '', '', '2013-06-18 12:16:53', '2013-06-18 17:16:53', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9980', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(9986, 328, '2013-04-29 06:09:22', '2013-04-29 11:09:22', 'To encourage is to be a leader who makes a difference by manifesting a positive belief in others.\n<blockquote><em>“Humans need encouragement as much as plants need water. We constantly encourage or discourage those around us and thereby contribute materially to their greater or lesser ability to function.”</em><strong> Rudolf Dreikurs</strong></blockquote>\nThe value of encouragement is often taken for granted or sometimes missed because it tends to be communicated in private rather than public.\n<div>The encouraging leader builds people up. They focus on the resources that can bring contribution to their organizations. Encouraging leaders remove the blocks to develop their teams and make everyone a winner.</div>\n<h2>4 ways to help leaders become more encouraging</h2>\n<h3>Identify positive potential in every person and every situation.</h3>\nTo be more encouraging, we have to see the potential in others. Everyone has something unique about them that we need to discover on a daily basis. It requires an effort and interest on our part as leaders as we begin the journey of learning more about our team\'s potential.\n\nIt begins with a mind-set that says “I want to learn more about this person.” Encouraging leaders have a positive outlook toward life and what other people bring to life.\n<h3>Communicate recognition, progress and contributions.</h3>\nOne of the great ways to uplift the morale in any organization is to communicate how much we value other people’s contributions. We must also continuously recognize any progress and development toward the company mission.\n\nIf we take the time to communicate and recognize our teams, we communicate how much we care. We communicate how much they mean to us because we can not succeed without them.\n<h3>Communicate in a language of collaboration and cooperation.</h3>\nLeadership today is about how we share power together with others. How do we share it responsibly? We facilitate open, honest communication to create better collaboration and cooperation.\n\nEncouraging leaders understand the power of We. It is the power of a team. Leadership by encouragement happens when people want to share ideas together and build relationships with another.\n<h3>Encouraging leaders are committed to coaching and 360 degree feedback.</h3>\nPart of building people up is on-going dedication to be a teacher, a guide to our teams. We set valuable time to develop and mentor through our commitment to their success.\n\nThis is a great way to add value to your team as you can show how much you want your team to flourish. In addition, encouraging leaders welcome feedback from everyone on their team to help build trust and encourage open feedback all the way around.\n\nHow are you encouraging someone today on your team?', 'The Four Pillars of Encouraging Leadership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-four-pillars-of-encouraging-leadership', '', '', '2013-04-29 06:09:22', '2013-04-29 11:09:22', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=9986', 0, 'post', '', 11),
(10025, 328, '2013-05-06 06:30:37', '2013-05-06 11:30:37', '<b><i>“People go farther than they thought they could when someone else thinks they can.” John Maxwell</i></b>\n\nWebster’s defines encouragement as the <b>“the act of inspiring others with renewed courage renewed spirit or renewed hope.”</b>\n\nThink of a time of when you had a problem and you needed to talk to someone. Who was the person you thought about? Why did you choose that person and what did they do to help you?\n\nWe call these people encouraging leaders. The next time you are around a group of people, take the time to reflect on who is the encouraging leader among them. What qualities do they have?\n\nLeadership can be very challenging but at the same time very rewarding when you encourage and uplift someone to a higher ground. <strong>By encouragement, we bring a light to someone’s life. We become the messengers of hope and courage to lead the people we care about.</strong>\n\nEncouraging leadership is a process that focuses on the individual’s strength and contributions in order to drive their motivation and performance to a higher level. When people are encouraged, they feel valued and cared for.\n\n<strong>Encouraging leaders bring the best in other people</strong>.  Each one of us needs an encouraging leader to be around us when we need a lift. The encouraging leader adds value through believing in our potential and provides resources to help us achieve better results.\n\nOne of the best ways to think about encouraging leaders is the way <strong>they build rapport and facilitate open communication with their teams</strong>. People feel they can make a positive difference in their organization as leaders encourage more and more. Human behavior is a social behavior which is influenced by the relations with others.\n\n<strong>People want to be part of something bigger than themselves.</strong> People believe they are fulfilled, valued and self- actualized when they feel encouraged to be part of a worthwhile journey. To be an encouraging leader, we must learn the ways in which people feel accepted. People can only get a feeling of acceptance by belonging to something they value through their daily contributions.\n\nTo be an encouraging leader, it is crucial that you have meaningful and motivating beliefs about human behavior. You begin to notice as you<strong> help individuals move from “I can’t” to a more powerful state of “I will.”</strong>\n\nMany people are unhappy and sometimes discouraged. They lack the ability to grow and the courage to face the challenges in front of them. Encouragement helps someone to take risks toward a positive change because humans have the capacity for constructive change in their lives.\n\n<strong>Encouragement  always makes a positive impact on someone’s life.</strong> A word of encouragement  can have powerful last impact to drive better commitment and help people reach their full potential.\n\nWhen encouraging leaders help people feel more valuable, capable, and motivated, <strong>we see their lives change for the better and reach their potential.</strong>\n\nIf you would like to know more about how to be an encouraging leader, please visit my<a href=\"http://habitsoftheheartservice.blogspot.com/\"> blog</a>.\n\n<em>\"You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life<strong>.\" Zig Ziglar</strong></em>\n\n&nbsp;', 'How to be an Encouraging Leader?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-be-an-encouraging-leader', '', '', '2013-05-06 06:30:37', '2013-05-06 11:30:37', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10025', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(10080, 268, '2013-05-12 08:46:04', '2013-05-12 13:46:04', '<img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10099\" alt=\"6 self-reflection questions for every working mother\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/iStock_000008507141XSmall-1-200x300.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" />“It completely rips my heart open when my baby is reaching for me saying ‘Mama’ and I can\'t pick her up because I have to go to work. Here\'s hoping the day goes by fast.”\n\nA Facebook friend posted this status recently, and it tugged at my heart, too. Every working mom I know—whether full-time, part-time, corporate or self-employed—occasionally (or often) feels some level of guilt related to the blend of work and parenting responsibilities.\n\nNo matter how flexible the work situation, conflicts inevitably arise. A child gets sick on the day of an important meeting. The preschool Mother’s Day Tea is at 10:30 a.m., smack in the middle of the business day. A meeting runs long, and you must scramble to find someone to pick up your child, because you can’t get to the school on time. An urgent business call comes in at 8 p.m. as you are reading your child’s bedtime story.\n<h4><b>Whether you feel a chronic guilt in your dual roles, or just an occasional pang, this post is for you. </b></h4>\nGuilt can be a vague and crippling emotion. It can occupy your thoughts, sap your energy, reduce your productivity, and even cause you to be less emotionally available. Yet it can be difficult to pinpoint the exact cause.\n\nFrequently, it relates to a “should.” For example, I should spend more time with my kids, and less at the office. I should love my kids more than my job, but I don’t. I should bake for my kids’ Valentine’s party instead of sending store-bought cookies.\n\nBut often, the “should” is nonspecific. “I feel as if I should be doing something different, but I don’t know what.” It’s worth digging deep to identify the should’s and disarm the guilt. Energy spent on self-condemnation can interfere with getting great work done and being an effective parent.\n\nHere are a few questions to jumpstart your self-reflection. Pick one or two and jot down your thoughts on these topics. You will likely spot some things you can do to make a big difference in your outlook and reduce the feelings of guilt.\n<h4><b><i>What are your goals for parenting, relationships, and work?</i></b></h4>\nFeelings of guilt can crop up when you have a goal (realistic or not, spoken or unspoken) and know that your actions conflict with the goal. Here’s an example: deep down, a single mother might want be a full-time, stay-at-home mom, but reality requires bringing home a paycheck. Instead of feeling guilty, one strategy is to ask, “What would I be able to do as a stay-at-home mom that I’m not currently doing?”  Then, figure out how to build some of those activities into your life.\n<h4><b><i>What or who are you serving through your work?</i></b></h4>\nYour children? A thirst for achievement? A fear of poverty? Your marriage? Your employer? God? Guilt can creep in when you believe you should be serving one entity, but through your actions, you are serving another. Consider this example: You profess that family comes first, but you also have a very strong drive to achieve. You find yourself frequently saying to your child, “Shhh. I need to finish this report. Go play quietly until I get this done.” Two hours later, you still are not done. Your child has complied with your request for quiet, but at what expense? Are you conveying “family first” through your actions? If not, what adjustments can you make to bring your actions in line with who/what you value most?\n<h4><b><i>How present are you with your children?</i></b></h4>\nIn 2009, a mom wrote a priceless blog, “<a href=\"http://onboardinggeny.com/the-gift-of-undivided-attention/\">The Gift of Undivided Attention</a>.” Read it and reflect on the anecdote she shares regarding the marble run. Zinger. How often is your mind elsewhere as you engage with your kids? What do you need to change in order to become fully present in your parenting interactions?\n<h4><b><i>Do you Relate and Require well?</i></b></h4>\nRelating refers to relationship-oriented behaviors: asking, listening, including, coaching, and encouraging. Requiring encompasses results-oriented activities: creating expectations, focusing on goals, insisting on excellence, setting appropriate controls, asserting your views, and confronting problems.\n\nJust as good managers use both skill sets in the workplace, so do effective parents. In the busyness of navigating work and parenting, it’s easy to rush or even overlook the Relating activities. And out of guilt, some parents avoid Requiring. They want their limited time with their kids to be pleasant and conflict-free, so they skip confronting poor behavior or enforcing expectations about bedtime or media use.\n\nSometimes, guilt stems from knowing we should be Relating or Requiring with kids more or differently from what we’re doing today. If you manage people at work, consider completing the free assessment at <a href=\"http://www.managingpeoplebetter.com/mpb/index.html\">ManagingPeopleBetter.com</a> to look at how well you Relate and Require with your employees. As you answer the questions, think about how the topics apply in your parenting and jot notes about what you can do differently at home.\n<h4><em><b>Do you rebalance your work/life “portfolio” every quarter?</b></em></h4>\nInvestment experts suggest looking at your asset mix periodically to make sure your financial portfolio continues to meet your goals. The same holds true for your work/life “portfolio.” A schedule that worked when your kids were in preschool may need revamping as they age. Some moms assume parenting gets easier as the kids get older, but that’s not always the case. You may find the teen years require more of your attention. Also, how well are you taking care of yourself and your relationships? It’s all too easy to say, “I’ll exercise next week after this project is over.” But then something else comes up next week, and the exercise never happens.\n<h4><em><b>Are you or your children experiencing isolation?</b></em></h4>\nDoes your schedule have a mechanical task orientation without much time for pleasantries? Are you conveying to your kids that you value task completion and achievement over relationships? Do you make time for date nights with your spouse, Scrabble with your girlfriends, board games with your kids, and community service with your family? Do you ensure that your children have ample time with friends? Or do you regularly reply to their requests for playdates, sleepovers, and hangout time with, “We’ll make that happen soon, but today doesn’t work” (and soon rarely materializes)? Be purposeful about scheduling people time.', '6 self-reflection questions for every working mother', 'If you ever feel \"working mother guilt,\" this post is for you. No matter how flexible your job, conflicts inevitably arise. A child gets sick on the day of an important meeting. The preschool Mother’s Day Tea is at 10:30 a.m., smack in the middle of the business day. A meeting runs long, and you must scramble to find someone to pick up your child, because you can’t get to the school on time. An urgent business call comes in at 8 p.m. as you are reading your child’s bedtime story. ', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '6-self-reflection-questions-for-every-working-mother', '', '', '2013-05-12 08:46:04', '2013-05-12 13:46:04', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10080', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10125, 328, '2013-05-13 06:07:48', '2013-05-13 11:07:48', '\n\nEverything you do and say communicates SOMETHING. In fact, the most effective leaders know that their team’s performance hinges on being a great communicator.\n\n<b><i>“Since we communicate whether we want to or not, it\'s in our best interest to get good at it” David Grossman Communication Expert.</i></b>\n\nWhen a leader communicates effectively, everyone understands the vision and the values of the organization’s culture. As leaders we find ourselves “out in the field” trying to communicate our messages day in and day out to inspire our teams toward important shared goals. Improving your communication skills with your team is a journey we all must take to motivate and inspire others.\n\nLeaders have a vision. Great leaders articulate and share their vision through their daily interactions by working on their communication skills. I think communication sometimes can be underestimated considering the world we live in. We are globally interconnected with almost every faucet of technology, but we have yet to connect on a level of understanding and articulating a better world.\n\nEffective leaders recognize their ability to achieve results from their teams by generating engagement. If leaders want to inspire and motivate, they must get their teams in the right direction – often succeeds or fails based on their ability to communicate with everyone.\n\n<b>Here are five things that will help you become a better leader-communicator:</b>\n\n<b>Build rapport and get to know your people</b>\n\nPeople communicate best when they feel safe and trusted around their leader. Rapport isn’t a one-time thing in the day to day interaction with people. It’s a continuing process of building relationships and cultivating shared perspective.  When rapport becomes a priority in your culture, people sense they can approach their leader and have an open dialogue. Without getting to know people on their level, it becomes a hit or a miss to communicate effectively with them on a regular basis.\n\n<b>Take time to explain</b>\n\nAs leaders, we tend to assume everyone knows as much about the subject as we do. Yet, this is not always true. Take the time to explain and give a brief background to the subject at hand. Taking time to explain may take additional efforts on your part but in the long run, it helps to know you covered all bases with your team. In one way or another you are setting your team up for success because you wanted to ensure everyone gets the message clearly from the very beginning.\n\n<b>Create a culture that shares feedback</b>\n\nAs leaders we must ask for honest feedback from the people around us. We need to create an environment of where people feel safe to share their thoughts with you and vice versa. It’s an on-going process to create moments of truth and accountability in your organization. When people feel appreciated for their feedback, they know they can come back and share more of their struggles, frustrations and aspirations.\n\n<b>Act on the feedback you hearing</b>\n\nFeedback is only good if people are acting on it.  Leaders have a great opportunity to learn and grow through the communication feedback. It teaches us that we need to act on the needs of others in our organization. Great teams act on what everyone is sharing so they can get better results. By listening to all perspectives and taking the information in, we are able to make better decisions for the future.\n\n<b>Face time is valuable</b>\n\nFace time in communication can be underestimated at times. Technology is a great resource to reach many people fast in today’s world. We want to reach our teams all across the world in the most efficient way possible. However, we have gotten away from face to face connection that should not be replaced with videoconferencing. Let’s get out of the office and communicate eye to eye. Let’s build those relationships by a human connection.\n\n<b><i>“Shared experiences and the give and take of communication are the greatest ways to promote team growth.” John Maxwell</i></b>\n\n<b>What additional suggestions do you have to be a better leader-communicator?</b>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'Five ways to improve communication with your teams', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'five-ways-to-improve-communication-with-your-teams', '', '', '2013-05-13 06:07:48', '2013-05-13 11:07:48', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10125', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(10154, 294, '2013-05-03 12:19:50', '2013-05-03 17:19:50', '<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/deming_66.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10155\" alt=\"deming_66\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/deming_66-200x300.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" /></a>(This is the first in a 12-part Series on the Origins of Lean in the U.S. and my role as one of its pioneers.)\n\nThose who have read my book, Business at the Speed of Now, and who work with the great team at Mass Ingenuity, rarely hear us talk about Lean. Even though the principles we believe in and the tools we work with are totally Lean, I stopped talking about Lean many years ago for two reasons: 1. I, along with many others, found the Japanese terms to be a turnoff and so I created an American version of it. 2. Lean has become so misunderstood and so misapplied over the years I did not want us to be associated with its malpractice. That said, we believe in Lean, and the Now Management System® is the application of Lean to the work of management, work that leads to creating a successful Lean enterprise.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/2013/04/02/the-tour-that-inspired-the-lean-movement-in-the-united-states/\">Read More....</a>\n\n&nbsp;', 'The Tour That Inspired the Lean Movement in the United States', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-tour-that-inspired-the-lean-movement-in-the-united-states', '', '', '2013-05-03 12:19:50', '2013-05-03 17:19:50', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10154', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10157, 294, '2013-05-10 12:24:44', '2013-05-10 17:24:44', '<em>(This is the second in a 12-part Series on the <a title=\"Origins of Lean\" href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/blog/series/origins-of-lean/\">Origins of Lean</a> in the U.S.)</em>\n\n“Go find the best management practices in the world!” That was the challenge that Omark Industries’ president gave the task force I was assigned to in late 1981. It was a broad and exciting charter, one that would significantly alter my career path.\n\nSome of the team members went to Japan, while others traveled the U.S. in search of best practices, which if implemented would ensure Omark was functioning at a world-class level. We travelled in teams to gather data, insights, ideas and tools.\n\nFor me one of the most memorable tours was going to Marysville, Ohio to the Honda Gold Wing manufacturing plant where we saw many Lean principles in action. Their production line was simple and clean with little inventory around. We studied several dozen companies such as Lincoln Electric, read a bunch of books, and compiled our learnings. Then we met back in Portland to pore through what we had learned.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/2013/04/09/leans-u-s-origins-the-seed-of-change-is-planted/\">Read More....</a>', 'Lean’s U.S. Origins: The Seed of Change is Planted', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leans-u-s-origins-the-seed-of-change-is-planted', '', '', '2013-05-10 12:24:44', '2013-05-10 17:24:44', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10157', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10161, 294, '2013-05-17 12:41:52', '2013-05-17 17:41:52', '<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Shingo-TPS.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10162\" alt=\"Shingo-TPS\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Shingo-TPS-194x300.jpg\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" /></a>(This is the third in a 12-part Series on the <a title=\"Origins of Lean\" href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/blog/series/origins-of-lean/\">Origins of Lean</a> in the U.S.)\n\nTo get the Omark revolution underway, in early 1982 we bought the first 500 copies of Shigeo Shingo’s <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Study-Toyota-Production-System-Engineering/dp/0915299178\" target=\"_blank\">A Study of the Toyota Production System</a> that were imported into the U.S. Because it was the first edition, it was poorly translated from Japanese into English. However, we had no choice but to form book study teams to see if we could understand what Shingo meant.\n\nBy the way, the second edition, published in 1989, is a far better translation. If you check it out on Amazon you will find the following description of the book:\n<blockquote>“This is the ‘green book’ that started it all — the first book in English on JIT, written from the engineer’s viewpoint. When Omark Industries bought 500 copies and studied it companywide, Omark became the American pioneer in JIT.”\n\n<a href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/2013/04/16/lean-germinates-the-u-s-pioneer-of-lean-spreads-the-knowledge/\">Read More....</a></blockquote>', 'Lean Germinates: The U.S. Pioneer of Lean Spreads the Knowledge', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lean-germinates-the-u-s-pioneer-of-lean-spreads-the-knowledge', '', '', '2013-05-17 12:41:52', '2013-05-17 17:41:52', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10161', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10164, 294, '2013-05-24 12:35:59', '2013-05-24 17:35:59', '(This is the fourth in a 12-part series on the <a title=\"origins of Lean\" href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/blog/series/origins-of-lean/\">origins of Lean</a> in the U.S. and my role as one of its pioneers.)\n\nBy 1984 Omark was gaining wide recognition as one of the best companies in America. The company was featured in what I believe was the first book written in the U.S. on the application of Lean methods brought back from Japan. Dr. Richard Schonberger’s 1982 book, <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Japanese-Manufacturing-Techniques-Lessons-Simplicity/dp/0029291003/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1364302217&amp;sr=1-4&amp;keywords=Richard+Schonberger\" target=\"_blank\">Japanese Manufacturing Techniques: Nine Hidden Lessons in Simplicity</a>.\n\nWe appeared in many articles and delivered results that were hard to beat. In 1984 we reported an increase in sales of 18 percent over 1983 (from $252 to $297 million) and our net earnings were up a whopping 115 percent (from $6.8 to $14.6 million. Things were going well.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/2013/04/23/lean-blossoms-the-u-s-pioneer-of-lean-spreads-the-knowledge/\">Read More....</a>', 'Lean Blossoms: The U.S. Pioneer of Lean Spreads the Knowledge', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lean-blossoms-the-u-s-pioneer-of-lean-spreads-the-knowledge', '', '', '2013-05-24 12:35:59', '2013-05-24 17:35:59', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10164', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10167, 294, '2013-05-31 12:33:48', '2013-05-31 17:33:48', '(This is the fifth in a 12-part series on the <a title=\"origins of Lean\" href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/blog/series/origins-of-lean/\">origins of Lean</a> in the U.S. and my role as one of its pioneers.)\n\nIt was clear that employees in Japan were engaged. Toyota was famous for <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andon_(manufacturing)\" target=\"_blank\">andon</a>, a manufacturing term used to describe a system whereby employees could “pull the cord” and alert management and engineering that there was a quality problem. Pulling the cord resulted in the production line coming to a stop and causing all resources to be focused on resolving the problem all the way back to its root cause.\n\nYouTube: <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_nSvN_L4hc\" target=\"_blank\">Why Buy a Toyota – Andon Cord</a>\n\nIn the U.S. we used inventory to hide these kinds of problems. If there was a problem with a part we had an extra batch of parts around and would set the bad one aside for the quality department to analyze. But in Japan a quality problem caused immediate focus on problem solving and a drive to eliminate all quality problems at their source. It was a philosophy of “build quality in” versus an “inspect bad quality out” approach.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.massingenuity.com/2013/04/30/quality-circles-the-u-s-false-start-to-lean/\">Read More....</a>', 'Quality Circles: The U.S. False Start to Lean', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'quality-circles-the-u-s-false-start-to-lean', '', '', '2013-05-31 12:33:48', '2013-05-31 17:33:48', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10167', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10215, 326, '2013-05-08 06:27:25', '2013-05-08 11:27:25', 'As an avid Leadership “learner,” I’m a fan of Marshall Goldsmith, PhD. In his book<i>, <a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/whats-got-you.jpg\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10218\" alt=\"whats-got-you\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/whats-got-you-300x175.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"175\" /></a></i>he’s spot on when it comes to explaining which traits work and which ones to avoid at all costs, if you want to be effective. You can view Marshall in this <a href=\"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7UJVYM9n0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY7UJVYM9n0\" target=\"_blank\">YouTube video</a>.<b> </b>\n\nMarshall points out in his book that some behaviors can help us become successful yet inhibit our rise to the top.  This sounds counter-intuitive until you see his list. While all the points resonated with me, this one hit me between the eyes: <b><i>The higher your level of success, the more destructive your bad habits become.</i></b>\n\nAs a mother and a business leader, I struggle with one of the bad habits: <b><i>Adding too much value </i></b>(i.e., adding my two cents). As with most leaders, it’s what I\'ve learned over the years that has helped my career.  However, that same trait of being a life-long learner can be destructive to my growth and to those around me, if not handled correctly.  It’s tough just saying, “good idea” and stopping there. For some reason, my brain always flashes forward to how I can make the idea better or more complete. I\'ve been working on this lately in my business role, but it’s a bit harder still when I hear a “stupid” idea from my grown kids.\n\nYep, I’m human, but I’m guessing most people are. I admire women who are soft-spoken and think before they “blurt.” I’ll never be that demure woman, but I’m determined to control my tongue.  Marshall’s advice to stop <i>adding too much value</i> improves two-way communication, soothes the verbal waters and helps build your employees’ confidence in their abilities.\n\nHere’s what he suggests:  <b><i>Before you speak, stop, breathe and ask yourself, is it worth it?</i></b>\n\nWe need to get past our first impulse to add value (blurt out a comment) to whatever anyone else says.  By always adding value to others’ suggestions, we lower the value of their ideas, thus seriously lowering the chance of them implementing the idea – perhaps by 50%.\n\nAs we work to change our behavior to listening quietly and internalizing instead of jumping in with an added thought or suggestion, we will see our employees coming to even better conclusions than the ones we had “percolating.”  They may take a bit longer to reach a conclusion than you would, but it’s their idea and thus has better buy-in and action.\n\nYikes, what a great way to grow your people!\n\nI’d appreciate hearing stories of how you\'ve learned to curb your tongue!\n\n<i><em><a href=\"mailto:jonena.relth@tbdconsulting.com\">Jonena</a></em>, <a href=\"http://tbdconsulting.com/\" target=\"_blank\">TBD Consulting</a>\n</i>\n\n<a href=\"http://tbd-consulting.typepad.com/jonena_l_relth/\" target=\"_blank\">Leadership Trends and Today’s Realities Blog</a>\n\nHealthcare Talent Transformation Blog', 'Yikes, What a Great Way to Grow Your People!', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'yikes-what-a-great-way-to-grow-your-people', '', '', '2013-05-08 06:27:25', '2013-05-08 11:27:25', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10215', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(10233, 270, '2013-05-07 06:01:48', '2013-05-07 11:01:48', 'Earlier this week I spoke with a friend that has an extraordinary gift, and an opportunity to use that gift at a much higher level.\n<ul>\n	<li>If she chooses to pursue that opportunity she has to push through whispers of doubt that her mind is already generating about all that she is not.</li>\n	<li>She must push through her own comfort zone and perhaps the comfort zones of her friends and her family.</li>\n	<li>And then, she will have to risk being vulnerable to the people that will decide if her gift is what they need right now.</li>\n</ul>\nWhen we spoke about that opportunity, I encouraged her to pursue this with all of her heart. I believe that she was given this gift for a reason, that she will inspire others, and that her choice to take the risk is something her children will always remember.\n\nAs I think about the decision she has to make I am reminded of the movie The Lion King. There is a scene in the movie where Simba has been away from home for a long time because his evil uncle convinced him that he was responsible for his father’s death. After years of running away from the pain and trying to cover it up with play, his father appears to him in a vision and says, “<i>Simba…  You have forgotten who you are, and so forgotten me. Look inside yourself Simba, you are more than you have become!  …Remember who you are…”</i>\n\nThis morning, I opened Google+ and watched  Botlahle, an 11-year old girl, audition for South Africa’s Got Talent. (Thank you Ande Lyons for sharing!)\n<iframe src=\"http://www.youtube.com/embed/BPszAxLjFSs?rel=0\" height=\"315\" width=\"560\" allowfullscreen=\"\" frameborder=\"0\"></iframe>\n\nWhat strikes me in this video is that this young lady knows who she is. When she speaks the beautiful words of another poet, she brings her unique light and style and instantly engages the audience. Then when she is asked to share her own words her light becomes even brighter…\n\n<strong> Please share:  How do you remember who you are?  And what are you doing with your gift? </strong>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nView related posts here:\n\n<a title=\"Courage:  The Testing Point of Every Leader\" href=\"http://consultgiana.com/courage-the-testing-point-of-every-virtue/\">Courage ~ The Testing Point of Every Leader</a>\n\n<a title=\"Accepting the Tension between The Vision and The Reality\" href=\"http://www.slideshare.net/CheryGegelman/accepting-the-tension-between-vision-reality\">Accepting the Tension between The Vison and The Reality</a>\n\n<a title=\"Leading from who YOU are\" href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/leading-from-who-you-are/\">Leading from who YOU are</a>\n\n<a title=\"Will you lead from who YOU are?\" href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/invitation-2013-will-you-choose-to-lead-from-who-you-are/\">Will you lead from who YOU are?</a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\nPhoto Credits:  iStockphoto', 'Remember Who You Are...', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'remember-who-you-are', '', '', '2013-05-07 06:01:48', '2013-05-07 11:01:48', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10233', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(10266, 251, '2013-05-10 06:19:07', '2013-05-10 11:19:07', 'When Amy, my business partner at Braithwaite, and I decided to add elearning to our services two years ago, we had a business plan full of charts and projections. We\'d both worked at Fortune 500 companies so we knew the drill. Former bosses would have been proud.\n\nWhile we were planning rich, the elearning business didn\'t unfold for us as we had expected. Our logic was undeniable, yet what we hadn\'t counted on was serendipity, the outside chance.\n\nFor us the outside chance became the new core - a \"mad genius\" happenstance that turned our business plan upside down. It was something we could have easily missed had we viewed our original plan as the be-all-and-end-all. Today our elearning efforts have come and gone, replaced with a different kind purposeful work that motivates us daily.\n\nWe learned so much from this experience!\n\n<strong>Re-invention is both art and science</strong>. Sometimes two plus two equals four, and other times it equals five depending upon the circumstances. We learned to not get so caught up in the process that you miss the magic.\n<blockquote><em>The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper</em>. ~W.B.Yeats</blockquote>\n<strong>Be the water.</strong> Patience may sound quaint in these days of instant gratification and fast-everything, but it\'s a great skill to nurture.\n<blockquote><em>Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day</em>. ~Winnie-the-Pooh</blockquote>\n<strong>Leave room for possibility.</strong> Many times we\'re so focused on the specified outcomes that we nearly miss that we\'re shooting at the wrong target. Amy and I had to hit the reset button to achieve what Seth Godin calls \"the reinvention that changes the game.\" We needed to have structure and direction yet remain open to ambiguity and the serendipity it can bring.\n<blockquote><em>You do not need to know precisely what is happening, or exactly where it is all going. What you need is to recognize the possibilities and challenges offered by the present moment, and to embrace them with courage, faith and hope.</em> ~Thomas Merton</blockquote>\n<strong>Trust</strong>. Amy and I trusted one another enough to face the bumpy (and uncertain) ride of our journey. Sure we wanted quick, positive results just like any other corporate refugee. But we\'d had bad experiences in the corporate America jungle where trust was low and the big dogs were quick to eat the little ones when results went awry. Been there, done that, and don\'t want to be that.\n<blockquote><em>The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.</em> ~Ernest Hemingway</blockquote>\n<strong>Just try it</strong>. Sometimes you just have to throw the spaghetti against the wall and see what sticks. It\'s disorderly. It\'s time consuming and produces results you learn don\'t/won\'t work or aren\'t what you want. All this muck is OK. We had to learn to not fall into the trap of thinking the whole process was a failure because course corrections were needed.\n<blockquote><em>Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker</em>. ~Zig Ziglar</blockquote>\n&nbsp;', 'Leave room for possibility', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leave-room-for-possibility', '', '', '2013-05-10 06:19:07', '2013-05-10 11:19:07', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10266', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(10290, 308, '2013-05-09 06:17:41', '2013-05-09 11:17:41', 'As a leader I have encountered a diverse number of leaders each characterizing certain leadership styles. Some of these leaders have been effective, some not so effective, and some have been extraordinary. What type of leaders have I encountered? Here are a few that come to mind:\n<ul>\n	<li>“<strong>Gung-ho</strong>” leaders who lead zealously and are overly enthusiastic</li>\n	<li>“<strong>All about me</strong>” leaders who are domineering and controlling</li>\n	<li>“<strong>Do like me</strong>” leaders who expect followers to do it their way and no other  way</li>\n	<li>“<strong>Not me</strong>” leaders who are reluctant to step up and lead</li>\n	<li>“<strong>Laissez-faire</strong>” leaders who have no vision and mission and allow confusion and chaos to reign</li>\n	<li>“<strong>Take all the credit</strong>” leaders who selfishly accept recognition for the work of others</li>\n	<li>“<strong>It is not my problem</strong>” leaders who pass the buck and fail to accept responsibility</li>\n	<li>“<strong>I care for you</strong>” leaders who spend all their time focusing on caring for, supporting, and nurturing others to the detriment of achieving results</li>\n	<li>“<strong>Entitled</strong>” leaders who see themselves as the anointed ones</li>\n	<li>“<strong>Please like me</strong>” leaders who seek the approval of all and do not want to upset anyone</li>\n</ul>\nThere are other leadership styles not listed and I am sure that you could add many more to the list. As I wrote the list I initially thought of the leaders who were not so effective and did not exemplify particularly good leadership. These leaders consistently utilized only one style and used it exclusively to lead or in most cases, not really lead. However, when I revisited the list and envisioned specific leaders I worked with, I realized that the more effective leaders, the extraordinary leaders, were leaders who demonstrated an assortment of character styles, attributes, and actions to lead. I would call these leaders <strong>cocktail leaders, leaders who blend, combine, and brew an effective leadership concoction.</strong>\n\nUpon reflection therefore, perhaps this list is not too bad. I must confess that I have at one time or another displayed each of these leadership styles and have utilized a number of actions and strategies to lead. I have learned through many struggles, trials, failures, and some success that there is not one single way to lead others and that <strong>leadership is convoluted, it’s complex, it’s messy and it’s situational.</strong> <strong>Leading others requires many ingredients to obtain success. There is not one magic ingredient to “stir a successful drink.” </strong>\n\n<a title=\"Leadership Essentails\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Essentials-Multiplying-Influence-Character/dp/0830810978/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1367944477&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=Leadership+Essentials\" target=\"_blank\">Greg Ogden in Leadership Essentials</a> states that successful leadership is not defined by displaying a certain leadership style or way. <strong>He proposes that influence is the basic ingredient to effective leadership. Ogden defines effective leadership as “gathering individuals and teams around a common mission or vision in order to combine their gifts to accomplish something bigger than they could do on their own.</strong>” Ogden’s definition of effective leadership succinctly summarizes the primary ingredients to multiply influence and lead. It is about <strong>teaming up with others and utilizing the strengths and talents to collectively tackle a task, an assignment, a project or idea and do this in community.</strong> When I reflect back on the most effective leaders I had the good fortune of working with, they:\n<ul>\n	<li>Personified team</li>\n	<li>Honoured and respected team members</li>\n	<li>Affirmed and utilized the strengths of the team members</li>\n	<li>Shared responsibility and tasks</li>\n	<li>Defined their vision</li>\n	<li>Were flexible</li>\n	<li>Displayed humility</li>\n	<li>Extended trust</li>\n</ul>\nThese leaders did this not with a certain style in mind and the outcomes they achieved did in fact multiply influence. In fact, these extraordinary leaders used a collection of personal ingredients to brew a successful leadership cocktail. A drink that everyone contributed to and could enjoy.\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>What other leadership styles have you encountered in your leadership journey? What are other attributes that you could add to describe extraordinary leaders?</em></strong></p>', 'Brewing A Leadership Cocktail', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'brewing-a-leadership-cocktail', '', '', '2013-05-09 06:17:41', '2013-05-09 11:17:41', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10290', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(10338, 327, '2013-05-14 06:30:45', '2013-05-14 11:30:45', 'Over the last few weeks, I have been working together with a team to prepare a proposal in response to The Children\'s Trust (TCT) Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) \"Safe and Supportive Communities: Place-Based Service Partnerships for At-Risk Populations.\" The purpose of this competitive solicitation is to identify 16 place-based service partnerships to address child abuse prevention, truancy prevention, and violence by providing multiple supports to at-risk children and families in Miami-Dade County, Florida.\n\nAt the core of this work is the creation of collaborative partnerships between non-profit organizations, grassroots organizations, faith-based organizations, local schools, parents/caregivers, government agencies, and other stakeholders who touch the lives of at-risk children. I believe that these collaborative partnerships are desperately needed, but can only be successful if the partners utilize collaborative leadership principles.\n\nCollaboration can be challenging in the non-profit world. This is due primarily to the fact that non-profit organizations compete with each other for funding and community influence. Yet successful collaborative partnerships can yield many community benefits. One important benefit is that collaborative partnerships focus the attention, energy, and strengths of diverse organizations on a persistent community problem.\n\nAnother benefit is that collaborative partnerships reduce duplication of effort and services, thereby making the work more cost-effective. In the last few years, the majority of our funders have expected collaborative partnership to be a characteristic of the programs they fund. Unfortunately, not all collaborative partnerships are successful. W. Roger Miller and Jeffrey P. Miller explore the challenges and traits of successful non-profit collaborative partnerships in their paper <a href=\"http://www.leadershipeducators.org/resources/documents/conferences/fortworth/miller.pdf/\" target=\"_blank\">\"Leadership Styles for Success in Collaborative Work.\"</a>\n\nMy best experience working in a non-profit collaborative partnership has been with the <a href=\"http://www.childrenofinmates.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Service Network for Children of Inmates (COI)</a>. In fact, everything I learned about collaborative leadership I learned through hands-on experience with COI. Our partnership was formed six years ago and we intentionally chose to employ collaborative leadership principles. Ten diverse organizations form COI. Not only are our organizations diverse in our missions, the executive directors are diverse. We are multi-ethnic, multi-faith, male and female. We bring to the table our organizations\' strengths, as well as our own diverse talents and unique personalities. There are five key aspects of collaborative leadership presented by Miller and Miller that we chose as our foundation:\n\n1. Collaborative leaders welcome the points of view and expertise of their partners.\n\n2. Collaborative leaders rally around a concise, shared vision.\n\n3. Collaborative leaders are <a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/everything-i-learned-about-servant-leadership/\" target=\"_blank\">servant leaders</a>.\n\n4. Collaborative leaders build strong professional and personal relationships with their partners.\n\n5. Collaborative leaders are accountable to their partners for program outcomes.\n\nCollaborative partnerships are hard work to build, but yield benefits to the communities they serve as well as strong relationships between community leaders. What aspects of collaborative leadership have you found to be most effective in building collaborative partnerships?\n\n(photo credit: Linda P. Freeman. <em>Collaboration</em>. May 3, 2013. Flamingo Gardens, Davie, Florida.)', 'Everything I Learned About Collaborative Leadership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'everything-i-learned-about-collaborative-leadership', '', '', '2013-05-14 06:30:45', '2013-05-14 11:30:45', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10338', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(10390, 325, '2013-05-16 06:23:07', '2013-05-16 11:23:07', 'Good businesses are run by good people. You can throw around as many buzzwords as you like, but when it all comes down to it, it is the people who make the company. A good leader recognizes that, and knows that whatever they do, they are nothing without their employees. In fact, the way that a company works is somewhat cyclical. A good group of employees is needed to lay the groundwork, but a good leader is needed to transform that group of employees from a group of individuals into a cohesive team. Neither can work without the other, and both are needed to produce the results needed to create any successful business.\n\nSo to run a successful business, you need both a leader, and some people to be led. But how do you create an environment of mutual respect and recognition? When you are the boss, it can be hard to know how to strike that all-important balance between being liked, and respected. How then, do you create the sort of atmosphere that is result-driven, but also amicable and relaxed? It is a hard task to take on, but quite simple to accomplish.\n\n<strong>Service</strong>\n\nService. The word itself evokes a number of meanings, all of which can be applied to a professional setting. Selflessness, hard work, dedication to a cause; all of these words are typified by “service.” In order for any business to be successful, service needs to be at the heart of the company’s mission statement. Every employee needs to be dedicated to the cause of the company, and put everything that they have into their work, and it all starts at the top.\n\nServing your company requires passion and commitment. That kind of dedication is something that often cannot be built from just a company name. Loyalty to a company often grows from loyalty to the people with whom you work. When you can put a name behind the logos and paperwork, that is when you find something that you truly care about, and a company for which you want to give your best effort.\n\n<strong>But How?</strong>\n\nGood businesses have spent years perfecting the best ways to create an atmosphere of service into their work environment. For most employers, this means regularly showing your employees that their hard work is appreciated. This doesn’t have to be forced or condescending. It can be as simple as offering good employees regular raises, promotions, or other <a href=\"http://www.octanner.com/what-we-do/celebrate-careers\">service awards</a>. In return, dedicated employee service is borne out of this kind of show of appreciation. Once again we see how the successful running of a company is comprised of mutual respect and appreciation.\n\nIt cannot be overstated. Good leadership is the accumulation of a number of skills and an open mind. But if you really want a company to be successful, you had better make it one for which people want to work. That is the secret recipe behind the success of most fortune 500 companies. Just ask Google, or Facebook, or Starbucks, or...well, you get the idea!', 'Employee Appreciation: Good Leadership Through Service', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'employee-appreciation-good-leadership-through-service', '', '', '2013-05-16 06:23:07', '2013-05-16 11:23:07', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10390', 0, 'post', '', 1);
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(10426, 316, '2013-05-21 12:30:17', '2013-05-21 17:30:17', 'Isn’t it amazing how we complain about our federal government’s lack of guts to do anything about the entitlements and yet we do nothing about it in our own organizations. Have you looked at your own organization lately?  I’ve looked at a bunch of them – and the sense of entitlement, the ‘right’ to not perform because so-and-so criticized my project, the machine was down, the internet was down, the coffee machine was down – is simply astounding! Well, I’d like to challenge orthodoxy and make the case for entitlement as a necessary ingredient for innovation, not a necessary evil.  Let me explain. Read more <a href=\"http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/05/13/innovation-a-case-for-entitlement-really/\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.', 'Innovation: a Case for Entitlement (really!)', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'innovation-a-case-for-entitlement-really', '', '', '2013-05-21 12:30:17', '2013-05-21 17:30:17', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10426', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10433, 316, '2013-07-02 12:12:51', '2013-07-02 17:12:51', '<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-10434\" alt=\"change-the-world-text\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/change-the-world-text-300x128.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"102\" />I bet you’re asking yourself if I’m nuts. I am. And I’m happily addicted to these kids too! The stereotype of Gen-Y/Millennials is one of entitlement. There certainly are those who fall into this category and I’d submit there are plenty of Baby Boomers too (hum…look at Washington DC’s problem openly discussing Medicare and Medicaid!). I see this all the time in corporations with people of all ages. You may say my heroes are self-selecting and I’m limiting my scope. You may be right. That doesn’t diminish the hope and encouragement they provide for our future. Read more <a href=\"http://switchandshift.com/who-are-my-heroes-young-millennial-leaders\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.', 'Who Are My Heroes? Young Millennial Leaders', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'who-are-my-heroes-young-millennial-leaders', '', '', '2013-07-02 12:12:51', '2013-07-02 17:12:51', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10433', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10448, 290, '2013-05-23 12:32:31', '2013-05-23 17:32:31', 'Collaboration is the <em>new</em> way to work. Walls are being removed and collaboration points are being designed into workplaces. Though collaboration isn\'t new, it is being revived.\n\nIn a world of extreme connectedness, collaboration is rising as a strategic and practical way to gain a competitive advantage.\n\nAt the core of collaboration is trust. Without trust, collaboration falls apart quickly and, sometimes, irreparably.\n\nSince trust is so crucial, there needs to be a clear focus on how to protect it while still allowing it flourish. The four principles outlined in this post will ensure effective collaboration while fostering trust.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.thindifference.com/2013/04/24/in-collaboration-we-trust/\">Read More</a>', 'In Collaboration We Trust', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'in-collaboration-we-trust', '', '', '2013-05-23 12:32:31', '2013-05-23 17:32:31', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10448', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10453, 244, '2013-05-28 12:45:12', '2013-05-28 17:45:12', 'There are a lot of things that “sound great in theory.” Yet knowing the theory doesn’t always tell you how to implement the theory in real life.\n\n<strong>Why does there so often seem to be such a big gap between theory and action?</strong>\n\nI’ll suggest it is because to apply the theory we have to first change the way we think. Just because a concept makes sense to us intellectually doesn’t mean we have embraced the new thinking or beliefs and integrated them into our mindset.\n\nYour thoughts, which are always based on your personal context, mental models, beliefs, etc., are the source of all of your actions. Change the way you think and you will change the way you act.\n\n<a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/it-sounds-great-in-theory/\">Read More</a>', 'It Sounds Great in Theory...', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'it-sounds-great-in-theory', '', '', '2013-05-28 12:45:12', '2013-05-28 17:45:12', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10453', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10458, 244, '2013-06-03 12:02:16', '2013-06-03 17:02:16', 'Have you ever been touched deeply by someone you barely knew?\n\nOn May 1, 2013 a man named Wally Collins passed away. A few short years ago I sang at his wedding as he married one of the people I hold most dear, Mary McClean. They shared a brief, but beautiful love. It was moving to witness. Wally fought hard to stay on this earth to be with Mary and his family as long as possible. He defied the odds over and over right until the end.\n\nI had known Wally for only 4 of his 89 years. Yet somehow he had touched my life deeply.\n\n<a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/what-legacy-will-you-leave/\">Read More</a>', 'What Legacy Will You Leave?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'what-legacy-will-you-leave', '', '', '2013-06-03 12:02:16', '2013-06-03 17:02:16', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10458', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10471, 290, '2013-05-16 14:33:28', '2013-05-16 19:33:28', 'We are entering the time of commencement speeches. Some may go viral while others will evaporate as soon as the words are spoken. It is an important time, nonetheless, as a younger generation enters the next phase of their life and leadership path.\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2013/05/16/the-reverse-commencement-speech-to-leaders/\">here</a> on SmartBlog.', 'The reverse commencement speech to leaders', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-reverse-commencement-speech-to-leaders', '', '', '2013-05-16 14:33:28', '2013-05-16 19:33:28', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10471', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10478, 270, '2013-05-22 06:31:31', '2013-05-22 11:31:31', '\n\nHave you ever considered this...?  <strong>\"<i>A Veteran, whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve, is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America, for an amount up to and including his or her own life.</i><i>\"</i> </strong> Unknown\n\n<b> Did you know that many studies indicate that 92% of military families felt that the civilian population doesn’t understand or appreciate their sacrifices?</b>\n\n<b>The month of May is Military Appreciation Month...</b>    In honor of the men and women that have written a blank check for their lives in exchange for our freedom, I asked several friends to help us understand their choice…  Four veterans and the mother of a veteran shared some powerful thoughts and several ideas about how civilians can understand and support veterans and their families at a higher level in a post on my blog earlier this week.  <a title=\"Willing to Exchange Our Lives for Your Freedom\" href=\"http://consultgiana.com/willing-to-exchange-our-lives-for-your-freedom/\"><strong>\n</strong></a>\n\nAfter the post was scheduled one of the veterans I had reached out to, responded.  (He had debated about sharing his thoughts and finally agreed, if I promised not to share his name.)\n\n<i>\"I am proud to have served in the United States Army from 2004 to 2008. I have been part of both the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The most obvious reason for my service was to our Country.  I really wanted to free people from oppression. Living in suburbia was unexciting and I wanted to be part of something bigger. </i>\n\n<b><i>The hardest thing about my term was war.</i></b><i> War is an entity that only those who experience can understand. War changes your brain function to a constant survival mode. You often wonder if every day will be your last.</i>\n\n<b><i>What I learned is a new value for life. No matter what the circumstance you can find beauty in everything</i></b><i>. I remember spending a night out on the border of Afghanistan, having a moment to pause and look up to the heavens above me outside my night vision goggles. Because of the complete lack of light pollution I witnessed to this day the most profound view of the stars I will ever see. I will never forget that image. Even amidst all that is around you, God can still show His beauty.</i>\n\n<b><i>It is often a hard experience for us to bring to understanding for civilians.</i></b><i> We do our best, but it is partially one of those things where, “You just had to be there.\" We greatly appreciate all the support. I hate to bring this fact to light but the phrase, “thank you for your service,\" becomes a bit repetitive. It does not go unappreciated. None of us did it for glory, at least the ones I know. It may sound bad but it becomes a greeting from soldier to soldier in mockery. It might be because we hear it so much, and I stated don\'t take this the wrong way. </i>\n\n<i><b>Although putting even the small amount of energy into expressing even simply, “Thank you for what you have done for this country, It means a lot to me and my family,\" does wonders more.</b> It is similar to the act of prayer. It is one thing to just pray for something, it is another to put energy into it with your prayer. It seems like the phrase, \"You are in my prayers\" gets thrown out there often. Not everyone but sometimes people just say this phrase to express concern and don\'t even pray. I believe prayer is not only asking or being thankful, it goes along with doing what you can to put energy behind it or show it.\"</i>\n\n<strong><a title=\"Willing to Exchange our Lives for Your Freedom\" href=\"http://consultgiana.com/willing-to-exchange-our-lives-for-your-freedom/\">Please see the full post for more suggestions about how civilians can support our military men and women and their families at a higher level...</a></strong>\n\nPhoto Credit:  Microsoft', 'Willing to Exchange Our Lives for Your Freedom (Part 2)', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'willing-to-exchange-our-lives-for-your-freedom-part-2', '', '', '2013-05-22 06:31:31', '2013-05-22 11:31:31', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10478', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10487, 318, '2013-05-27 06:09:31', '2013-05-27 11:09:31', 'You\'re distracted. Multi-tasking. Getting work done. You\'re trying hard to give everyone the attention they need. It\'s hard. If you\'re like me, being spread too thin leads to distracted focus.\n\n<em><strong>Distraction speaks louder than words.</strong></em>\n<h3>What Your Team Hears When You Can\'t Hear Them...</h3>\n<ul>\n	<li>You are not that important to me</li>\n	<li>Others matter more</li>\n	<li>Your project is not my priority</li>\n	<li>Your project is not important</li>\n	<li>I don\'t respect your opinion</li>\n	<li>I don\'t really care about you</li>\n	<li>I\'m not invested in your success</li>\n</ul>\nWhen we fake it, folks know. I learned a lot from the comments on my <a href=\"http://letsgrowleaders.com/2013/03/25/effective_listening/\">Effective Listening: Necessary But Not Sufficient</a> post (click to read more).\n<blockquote><em>Often, especially when things are busy, we make a judgment in a few seconds and wait politely for a break in the speaking to deliver it. The speaker generally senses any impatience on our part and either speaks faster, uses different words to say the same thing over, or both to ensure they have made their point. It can be a downward spiral from here, ending in both parties thinking they have just wasted their time. That’s a pretty negative outcome and these incidents can be stressful for both parties. Sometimes it can be more efficient to ‘give yourself’ to the conversation when you are the listener. We all know when someone isn’t really listening, so doing the basics of listening we have all learnt in workshops will help</em>. - Dallas Dye</blockquote>\nOr as another subscriber shared:\n<blockquote><em>I\'m a terrible technical listener: My kids know to say \"blueberry pie\" to get my attention and my teams know to catch my eye and make sure my hands have stopped before trying any sort of real communication.  So I\'ve often asked myself, why do they still bother trying to talk to me at all?  I\'m pretty sure the answer is: they know that I care about them as people and they know that their \"voice\" matters to me.  How we listen doesn\'t seem to be as important as how we act on what we hear - that speaks volumes!</em>  - Eric</blockquote>\n<h2>Beyond Distracted</h2>\nIf you\'re distracted, don\'t pretend. Teams see \"distracted\" and draw their own conclusions. Repeated distraction spurs even stronger conclusions. Some distraction-freeing starters:\n<ul>\n	<li>\"This sounds important.  I can\'t talk right now, but let\'s find a time when I can fully focus.\"</li>\n	<li>\"Is there something that you need from me right now, or can I get back to you when I can give you my undivided attention?</li>\n	<li>\"You sound really concerned about this.  I want to ensure I give you all the help you need.  Can we meet at 4pm?\"</li>\n	<li>\"I\'m really pressed for time today. Can you summarize the main points and your suggestions in a few bullet points, so we can discuss later this afternoon\" (this one works well for the ramblers)</li>\n</ul>\nHonor the relationship. Reassure importance and interest. And as Eric shares, act on what you hear. Your team will respect your approach, and likely come more prepared for a productive discussion.\n\n<strong>How do you communicate you care amidst distraction?</strong>', 'Distraction Speaks Louder Than Words', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'distraction-speaks-louder-than-words', '', '', '2013-05-27 06:09:31', '2013-05-27 11:09:31', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10487', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(10516, 288, '2013-05-23 06:24:04', '2013-05-23 11:24:04', 'With spring well underway, many people have started their annual home spring cleaning ritual. Have you ever thought about doing a spring cleaning for your business? Spring is a great time for business leaders to examine routines, learn from past mistakes, and make improvements to create a more productive and successful company.\n\nClean out your business’ cobwebs this spring with the following tips.\n\n<b>1. Revamp Your Company Vision</b>\n\nWhen most businesses start, they create a company mission statement that embodies their core values and purpose. Spring is a great time to revisit your company vision and to communicate the importance of the vision to the entire company. Check that your mission and vision are still aligned with your goals.\n\n<strong>2. </strong><b>Talk to the Team</b>\n\nWhen you’ve held a position for a considerable amount of time, it can be easy to get so consumed with your own tasks that you become unaware of the issues that are affecting other areas of the company. Talk to team members and get their points of view on what processes are working and what areas need improvement. Ensure that each team member feels comfortable communicating even the negative feedback, has the <a href=\"http://www.dalecarnegie.com/\">leadership training</a> they need, and that each person feels engaged in the entire “spring cleaning” process.\n\n<b>3. Evaluate Your Competitive Advantage</b>\n\nIn every company, there will always be room for improvement. Even if your company is seemingly outperforming the competitors, it is important to constantly look at the market to see how your products and services compare to those of the competition. Use spring cleaning as a chance to evaluate your competitive advantage and ensure that you are staying ahead of the curve.\n\n<strong> 4. Review &amp; Modify</strong>\n\nReview strategies and practices that were used in the past year, and evaluate what techniques worked well for your business. Find weak spots within your business strategies and make modifications to improve and streamline processes. Maybe you can improve your <a href=\"http://www.dalecarnegie.com/sales-skills-training/\">sales training</a> strategies or best practices for organizing internal documents. Also, review the goals that you set for yourself and your business. Find any obstacles that stopped you from achieving certain goals and create solutions to help you accomplish them. Be sure to also pay close attention to employee and customer retention rates and strategies.\n\n<b>5. </b><b>Declutter</b>\n\nJust like your home, your business can greatly benefit from a thorough cleaning. Review files and properly dispose of those that are no longer needed. Create an archive where you can put files that are needed for record-keeping purposes, but are not frequently used. Organize files as well as your email inbox.\n\nSpring represents a new beginning. How do you plan on creating a fresh start for your business?\n\n<i>Image courtesy of Ambro at FreeDigitalPhotos.net</i>', '5 “Spring Cleaning Tips” for Business Leaders', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '5-spring-cleaning-tips-for-business-leaders', '', '', '2013-05-23 06:24:04', '2013-05-23 11:24:04', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10516', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10548, 282, '2013-05-22 12:30:22', '2013-05-22 17:30:22', 'It was the worst case of déjà vu ever.  A massive and fierce tornado bearing down on city of over a million people. We were here as a state, in this same city, only 14 short years ago. \nCould this really be happening again?\n\nAnd still the tornado came to Moore, Oklahoma. In the wake of destruction left behind were broken buildings and battered bodies. Some would emerge from their storm cellars to find nothing but an empty foundation. Others would hear the news that the school where they had left their little ones early in the day was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Jubilation erupts as a child is pulled crying from the wreckage, and overwhelming sorrow as others retrieved the limp and lifeless bodies of other children on the same site.\n\nLifetimes of memories decimated in an instant, and businesses that had taken a lifetime to build leveled in less than a minute. First responders rush in to rescue people and pets alike, offering aid, safety and consolation wherever they find a need. The adrenaline rush of everyone involved pushes them to do anything and everything  possible to help, regardless of the difficulty or the horror they encounter.\n\nAnd now it is the day after. The devastation of entire neighborhoods left in the wake of the mile wide cyclone looks like a war zone. The death toll rises, then drops, then rises again.  Reality begins to set in on this southwestern city that although what happened was a nightmare, it was so very real.  The tragedy of moment is overwhelming to both victims and emergency workers.  All else seems trivial but this moment, this horrible experience in time.\n\nNearly everyone has faced a devastating circumstance in their life.  Lessons for those of us outside of Moore, Oklahoma can be learned by watching the brave citizens of this town, and of the rest  of my home state of Oklahoma. One of our first reactions is to ask, \"Why did this have to happen?  Why did it happen to me, or to my loved ones?\"  It\'s an honest question, asked many times like this one through tears, anger and despair.\n\nI don\'t have an answer. I don\'t trust anyone that does. It happened. But through my own crises in life, and by watching the brave survivors of the 1999 tornado that ravaged this same city, I\'ve learned an important but hard lesson. \"Now what?\" is much better question than \"Why?\" It is because \"why?\" points us to the despair of the past. \"Now what?\" points us to hope for the future. So let those still wrestling with the pain of loss have their time to deal with it in their own way. But when the time comes, offer hope by helping them see the hope of a better time to come by asking \"Now what?\"\n\nTimes like this separate people into two very simple categories- 1)Those who are doing something to help, and 2)Losers. It\'s really that simple. It sounds melodramatic and trite to say that everyone can do something. It\'s more than that- everyone MUST do something. Do something to help. Anything. Donate money to disaster relief, send supplies, hold a fundraiser to help the survivors, pray- you can, and you should do something.\n\nWe occupy our spots on this globe for only an instant in the span of time and space. Leaders, people like you, make this place better while we\'re here. Several Oklahoma companies have donated over a million dollars. Kevin Durant of the OKC Thunder has donated a million dollars to the relief efforts as well. It\'s what they could do. What can you do?  Do something.\n\nThe graphic at the top of the page is one of the most gripping images from the debris left in the wake of the tornado.  The sign probably used to decorate a wall or entryway in a home that is now leveled.\n\nIts message is simple- \"The most important things in Life are not things.\" Does it really take a disaster of this magnitude for us to see that, believe that, live that truth? I hope not. But now is a time for not only our dear friends in Moore, Oklahoma to take stock in their life, but for you and me to as well.  Houses, vehicles, all of the \"stuff\" we work so hard for can be gone in a blink of an eye.\n\nWhat matters most in times like these are the lives of our family and friends and their safety.  Everything else takes a backseat.  We want to know they are OK, they are cared for, and that they know they are loved. Do that today with your loved ones. Make sure they know just how much you care, and invest in their lives with the things that matter most- time, your presence, and most of all your love.\n\nI can\'t imagine waking up yesterday morning and sending off my little one to school, and then as I lay my head down to sleep last night, knowing I\'d never hold him or her again. I\'m not sure I would know what to say to a mom or dad who was facing that fact right now. I just know they need our help.  They need our love, and they need our prayers. Would you pause and make a decision about what you will do? I thank you, and my fellow Oklahomans thank you.\n\nBelieve me, we won\'t take it for granted or forget it. God bless you, and God bless Oklahoma, whose message is simple - \"The most important things in Life are not things.\"  Does it really take a disaster of this magnitude for us to see that, believe that, live that truth?  I hope not.  But now is a time for not only our dear friends in Moore, Oklahoma to take stock in their life, but for you and me to as well.  Houses, vehicles, all of the \"stuff\" we work so hard for can be gone in a blink of an eye.\n\nWhat matters most in times like these are the lives of our family and friends and their safety. Everything else takes a backseat. We want to know they are OK, they are cared for, and that they know they are loved. Do that today with your loved ones. Make sure they know just how much you care, and invest in their lives with the things that matter most - time, your presence, and most of all your love.\n\n<a href=\"https://www.redcross.org/donate/index.jsp?donateStep=2&amp;itemId=prod10002\" target=\"_blank\">Donating money</a> or time to the American Red Cross can always help. Donate online or by phone at 1-800-RED CROSS.You can also make tax-deductible donations to the <a href=\"http://www.okdisasterhelp.com/donate/\" target=\"_blank\">Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief online</a> or call 405-942-3800.', 'Disaster... What Will You Do?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'disaster-what-will-you-do', '', '', '2013-05-22 12:30:22', '2013-05-22 17:30:22', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10548', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10567, 316, '2013-06-07 12:15:39', '2013-06-07 17:15:39', 'MOOCs (Massively Open Online Courses) are a very hot topic in higher education and corporate training. <a href=\"http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/mooc_sourcing_for_social_good\" target=\"_blank\">Nabeel Gillani </a>started <a href=\"http://coursolve.org/\" target=\"_blank\">Coursolve.org</a> to connect organizations using MOOCs with students around the world to solve real world problems.  <a href=\"http://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/Media/Darden-News-Articles/2013/UVa-Darden-Strategy-MOOC-Enables-Students-to-Help-Entrepreneurs-and-Nonprofits/\" target=\"_blank\">UVa’s Darden School of Business</a> and <a href=\"https://www.coursera.org/course/datasci\" target=\"_blank\">University of Washington</a> are finding unexpected value and learning by using Coursolve.  We are in a new age of education, and just leave it our students to make sure they are front and center! Read more <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/5/20/innovating-higher-education.html\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.', 'Innovating Higher-Education', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'innovating-higher-education', '', '', '2013-06-07 12:15:39', '2013-06-07 17:15:39', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10567', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10571, 316, '2013-07-15 12:05:51', '2013-07-15 17:05:51', '<img class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-10572\" alt=\"CThompson small\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/CThompson-small.jpg\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" /><a href=\"http://twitter.com/ccarsonthompson\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Thompson</a> is one of the most passionate people I know about innovating in the civic space where government, non-profit and for-profit intersect. \"Many of us who work in the civic arena – that wonderful yet perplexing place where the public, private, philanthropic and nonprofit worlds intersect – are frustrated by the lack of innovation that results in sustained positive change. While the pace of innovation is driving unprecedented change in the private sector – including communications, finance and even how we eat -- not enough has changed in how communities address education, economic, environmental or public health challenges and opportunities.\"\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/5/17/innovation-in-complex-civic-environments.html\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.', 'Innovation in Complex Civic Environments', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'innovation-in-complex-civic-environments', '', '', '2013-07-15 12:05:51', '2013-07-15 17:05:51', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10571', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10577, 309, '2013-05-29 06:19:19', '2013-05-29 11:19:19', 'I started the season with great anticipation. This was my first time coaching soccer in a league with over 6000 kids. I decided to get involved in coaching this season (like many fathers) as a way to connect with my third grade daughter. I felt a strong pull, not only for her, but for the other girls on the team to help encourage and train them in a fun sport. I was assigned as an assistant coach to an already established, dual head coach, husband-wife team, and as I said, I started with great anticipation. Or, more precisely, I started with a set of expectations and hopes.\n\nWhen I met one of the head coaches for the first time, I asked if we should get together to plan out the season, what we wanted the girls to learn, etc. The answer was ‘no,” it wasn’t that formal or necessary and that we would discuss it at the first practice. I wasn’t too worried as this was a recreational league. The emphasis was on learning the skills of the sport, not so much on the competitive side of the game.\n\nAs the season went on, I found that I was not really utilized for my skills. In fact, I was never asked what my background or skills were. I was never consulted or asked what my thoughts were regarding training and developing the girls, where I saw strengths and positioning in the players, or what strategy we should take in the actual games. I was not included in assigning the players at game time or what we needed to do during the games to encourage and leverage our players. I was pretty much ignored.\n\nNow some would say I needed to be more aggressive and make my thoughts known. Perhaps, but as an assistant to two other head coaches, I felt that might be out of place. I was looking to them to take the lead and give direction to strategy or at the least asking for team (the coaching team) input for the direction. The effect on me was more internal as I didn’t want to show the girls any disunity among us as coaches. I began to feel under-valued and not needed. I felt that my presence at the practices and games was not really necessary to the other two coaches – almost as if it didn’t matter to them one way or the other.\n\nI did my best to teach the girls about position, technique, and so on. A huge disconnect came up when I would teach the girls one thing only to have one of the head coaches tell them the opposite on game day. There was no communication from the other two coaches to me regarding skills teaching, and therefore, created considerable confusion with the players. This too had an effect on me. I began to teach less and say less to the players as they were on the field on game day. It was the players, not me, who were getting yelled at for doing what I told them to do when it was in opposition to what the other coaches were saying. I felt bad for the girls, so I stopped telling them what to do.\n\nI didn’t agree with some of the ways the two head coaches coached – in practice and the games – as I saw the ineffectiveness. I finally had a talk with both of them to express my feeling disconnected as a coach with them and how we might change to better our effectiveness as a coaching team. I utilized all my techniques that I have learned over the years to resolve conflict, such as, using “I” statements to describe the situation, talking about “we” when discussing solutions, and so on. The conversation went well, I thought, and seemed to have an actionable plan for moving forward. However, what I thought had been communicated was apparently different than what was actually heard. In fact, during the next practice, I was almost completely ignored by the other two coaches. They only spoke to me because I said something to them. It was everything I could do to not just walk off the field right then and there. I was frustrated, angry, and had no desire to continue putting effort into the rest of the season.\n\nNow, before you think I am stuck in a whine-fest, I detailed my thoughts and feelings so that you, as a leader, can gain a better understanding of what your leaders and direct reports think and feel as a result of your communication and actions. If you are unaware of how your words – or lack of words – impact your team, your organization will become increasingly ineffective.\n\nHere are the Learnings:\n\n<strong>1. Expectations</strong>\nEveryone begins a job or leadership position with a set of expectations and ideas of how that job or position will play out. Some of those expectations may be unrealistic, but they are there nonetheless. Part of leadership is managing those expectations on your teams. The first step in doing that is learning what those expectations are. This only happens by asking. So meet, ask, discuss, and get everyone on board with the reasonable expectations of the job and organization. You will need to revisit these expectations occasionally as time goes on. People will forget what was said and default back to their original impressions and expectations. Discussing what expectations were agreed to helps to realign and re-energize the leader or team member.\n\n<strong>2. Get to know your leaders</strong>\nYou can’t align your resources if you don’t know them. If you are forming a team for the first time to work together, or you have just taken a new position, aligning your resources, both people and material, is foundational for success as a team (and ultimately, you as a leader). Spend time talking to your leaders and team, discover their strengths and weaknesses, and align them so your team compliments each other. You have to go beyond casual conversation here. You need to ask questions that delve deeper into the values of the team member or leader, their world view, their goals, their expectations, and so on. Depending on the length of the project or permanence of the team, a variety of assessment tools may be of use. Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, DISC assessments, Strengths Finder, and other leadership assessment tools can give valuable insight to how you and your team will interact with each other and the organization as a whole.\n\n<strong>3. Involve the leader or team member in Strategic Planning</strong>\nIf you are leading leaders, you better be engaging them in their skills and strengths or they will go elsewhere. Today’s leader has a short tolerance for being overlooked and under-utilized. They have ideas. They have experiences that are beneficial. They have creative solutions to the challenges you and your organization face. Tap into that creativity. Engage your leaders on a deeper level. The momentum and energy you will see in them will trickle down throughout the organization in the teams and leaders they lead. Effectiveness will increase as will productivity, loyalty, and unity to the vision.\n\n<strong>4. Create a team culture</strong>\nNothing kills a team faster than a leader who doesn’t foster an atmosphere where ideas are solicited, considered, and acted upon when appropriate. A mature and wise leader does not need to elevate himself or show everyone else he is the only source of answers for the team.  Everyone has a different perspective that is worth considering. The more you create this culture in your organization, the more open your leaders and team members will be to share their thoughts, perspectives, ideas, and solutions. In short, they will share more of their best because you are consistently showing you respect and value their best.\n\n<strong>5. Stay keenly aware of the pulse of your team</strong>\nWhen conflict arises – and it will – you need to be keenly aware of how your team is feeling and functioning relationally as a team. People don’t always share their feelings openly, but their body language is an indicator of what is going on inside. If you have a vigorous exchange of ideas and words in a team meeting and one of your normally vocal team members is suddenly less out-spoken, there may be something deeper going on. If you notice this same person looking down at the conference table more and less into the eyes of his cohorts, there is something going on that needs to be explored. Sometimes you need to investigate it right then and there. Sometimes it is better taken off-line. One thing is for sure, if you do nothing as a leader to address when a team member crosses a line, the team will eventually self-destruct into a group of individuals more concerned about their turf and numbers than the health of the organization as a whole. It is your job to keep your team functioning at its peak. It is your job to train your leaders to do the same with their teams. As you continue to improve your “awareness” skills, it will become very obvious to you when one of your team members or leaders is shutting down, even if the rest of the team doesn’t see it.\n\n<em><strong>Look at the five learnings above. How would you rate yourself as a leader in these areas? How can you improve in these areas? Choose one to work on this week.</strong></em>\n\nOriginal post at: http://www.indemandleadership.com/blog/posts/leadership-lessons-from-coaching-3rd-grade-girls-soccer/', 'Leadership Lessons From Coaching 3rd Grade Girls Soccer', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leadership-lessons-from-coaching-3rd-grade-girls-soccer', '', '', '2013-05-29 06:19:19', '2013-05-29 11:19:19', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10577', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(10581, 266, '2013-05-24 06:16:13', '2013-05-24 11:16:13', 'Thought: Everyone makes mistakes or acts selfishly occasionally, yet by and large, you can trust someone you view as dependable – and that includes you.\n\nThought: Your word can create the most beautiful dream, or your word can destroy everything around you. Impeccability of the word only creates beauty, love, and heaven on earth.\n\nTwo pretty profound thoughts that have occurred randomly in my day today, April 18, 2013,  in a week filled with violence, disasters, and watching how much our country is struggling in its ability to care for those who are unable to care for themselves in a myriad of situations.\n\nI’ve been stuck on blog/article ideas lately. My deepest thoughts have been centered around peace, caring for each other, and joy over the last several months, not necessarily connected with leadership as we know it. On the other hand, how can they not be connected with leadership? I know that I am an idealist. And, I know that my reality is an illusion, as is everyone else’s. Our world is what we make of it – our thoughts, our perceptions, and what we pay attention to.\n\nKnowing that, how do we get to “truth” – not your truth, or my truth, or the truth held by members of Congress, or the President, or the leader of North Korea, or even the bombers in Boston? How do we look upon our world from that “truth”? When I ask myself that question, I go back to my spiritual beliefs – that we are all one. At the very core of things you are me, and I am you. Think of it as a holograph. I can step out of the holograph, but I am still reflective of the whole – I am not my own separate piece.\n\nTherefore, if I view my world in that light, how might I change my words? How might I build my trust in humanity? How might I be a better leader?\n\nAs I asked myself these questions today, I came to one conclusion. I need to stop second-guessing myself. I need to look at leadership as a key part of my purpose in life. From the perspective of the whole, not from my viewpoint or your viewpoint, or my government’s viewpoint. I need to do my part to show what is possible when you are impeccable with your word. I need to show that I am trustworthy by being dependable – doing what I say I will do, and not passing judgment on myself or others. I need to do my best in every situation with the knowledge I have – and know that I will make mistakes and I will be selfish. And so will everyone else.\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"Trust your instincts. You are right on. Don\'t second guess yourself.\" href=\"http://www.searchquotes.com/quotation/Trust_your_instincts._You_are_right_on._Don%27t_second_guess_yourself./441241/\">Trust your instincts. You are right on. Don\'t second guess yourself.</a> - Unknown\n\n</div>\nWhen I do all things from this perspective, anything is possible.  Even peace, non-violence, and the courage to live life without fear.  When I am living on purpose, and I allow source to work through me, as me, I know that I am connected to all that needs to be present in that day.\n<p align=\"center\"><b><i>What is your purpose? What happens when you stop second-guessing yourself?</i></b></p>\n&nbsp;\n\nPhoto credit: Copyright (c) <a href=\"http://www.123rf.com\">123RF Stock Photos    </a>', 'Stop Second-Guessing Yourself', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'stop-second-guessing-yourself-2', '', '', '2013-05-24 06:16:13', '2013-05-24 11:16:13', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10581', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(10590, 243, '2013-05-25 13:47:41', '2013-05-25 18:47:41', 'Have you ever had a wild idea? Have you ever ventured out on something everyone else you knew thought was a crazy idea? Do you remember the phrase, \"crazy like a fox\"?\n\nI believe you have had many wild ideas. Some you simply discarded as irrational whether they were or not. Many simply faded into distant memory. But one or two (or more) just won\'t go away. They seem crazy, even stupid, but they won\'t go away. I can list mine and I bet you can list yours, can\'t you?\n<h2>The Catalyst</h2>\n<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609070097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1609070097&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=elevate-20\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10591\" alt=\"powerofstupid\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/powerofstupid.jpg\" width=\"186\" height=\"271\" /></a>My stupid ideas inspired me to jump at the chance to review <a title=\"The Power of Starting Something Stupid at Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609070097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1609070097&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=elevate-20\" target=\"_blank\">The Power of Starting Something Stupid: How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen and Live Without Regret by Richie Norton with Natalie Norton</a>. At best, I would come away energized to continue to pursue my dreams and my highest purpose without regret. And at worst, I would learn another perspective on my belief that action is at the core of any excellent result.  Great results always begin with action, any action. A great idea remains nothing until someone acts. So would the Power of Stupid make that connection?\n\n<a title=\"The Power of Starting Something Stupid at Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609070097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1609070097&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=elevate-20\" target=\"_blank\">The Power of Stupid</a> delivers on my hope. The author does a wonderful job of writing in an engaging way.  You easily connect to his train of thought and I remained excited to get to the next page or section.  He draws you in with stories and his examples help you believe you are able, you must, engage your stupid ideas. He presents his treatise and makes a wonderful argument beginning with Gavin\'s Law and how stupid is the new smart. He argues convincingly how the new smart is worth the effort. He helps you focus by using exercises designed to help you focus on your highest, best, stupid idea.  One focus exercise is related to the Jeff Bezos test: Are you willing to zoom forward to age 80 and consider how you will feel if you never pursued your idea? What actions or ideas will produce the most regret if you fail to take action? He also mentions the other obstacles we will face like analysis paralysis, fear and the T.E.M. (time, experience, money) Gap.\n<blockquote>Experience is the opposite of being creative. Paul Arden</blockquote>\nThere is much more to the book, including the importance of \"START\".  But don\'t read any further <em>about</em> the book.  Just read the book. <a title=\"The Power of Starting Something Stupid at Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609070097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1609070097&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=elevate-20\" target=\"_blank\">Go get it</a>.\n<h2>My Stupid Idea</h2>\n<a title=\"The Power of Starting Something Stupid at Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609070097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1609070097&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=elevate-20\" target=\"_blank\">The Power of Stupid</a> challenged me to execute on my stupid idea: to give books away.  I\'ll give you this book. If money is keeping you from reading this book or any other good* leadership book, please let me know and I\'ll get you a book. Would you like to offer a book?  Would you like to help me raise the money to add a section to this website where we can match book donors to book recipients?  Share your ideas below.\n\nOr share about your stupid idea.  If you can articulate a stupid idea, you can do something about it TODAY! Don\'t wait! Don\'t let the Resistance and the status quo get you. Don\'t let fear or anxiety crush your ideas. Don\'t let anything keep you from pursuing your idea. You have an idea. Your idea is proof you ARE a leader. You can influence others from who you are. Your idea is proof that you\'re here for a purpose.\n<blockquote>Your idea is proof you\'re a leader.  You can, and should improve, but you\'re not disqualified and you don\'t need permission.</blockquote>\nIf nothing else, please share your idea below.  Share the book you\'d like to have below. Or recommend a book below.You can also check out and do the same over on our Free Books page. Soon it will be a section, but we won\'t wait until we have a section. We can start now. We can do something, so I\'m doing it.  What about you? Are you in?\n\nNote: check out the conditions on our Free Books page.\n\n&nbsp;', 'Leading and The Power of Starting Something Stupid', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leading-power-starting-stupid', '', '', '2013-05-25 13:47:41', '2013-05-25 18:47:41', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10590', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(10629, 290, '2013-05-29 12:25:53', '2013-05-29 17:25:53', 'Last week, we had our monthly luncheon in Dallas. Although we call it <a title=\"Dallas Lead Change Meetup\" href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/dallas-lead-change-meetup/\">Authentic Leadership Dallas</a>, Lead Change is the rallying and centering organization for our gathering.  It is the principles of character-based leadership that bring us together, and it is the efforts of Mike Henry and others joining together to make things work in local communities.\n\nSocial media communities deliver a lot of value in learning, connecting, and sharing. It is a whole new experience to sit across from other individuals and share stories of challenge, opportunity, and success. Leadership is real and situations stare back at us as we listen and offer ideas. It is in our leadership stories we learn, coach, and grow.\n\nDuring our last meeting, we had a new mix of people, and I believe we have a core of eight people now. It is exciting to see the momentum gain with this group. While it has not been an immediate success, many things are not. It takes time to build relationships and consistency to put a foundation in place.\n\nOur meeting flow was simple. Introductions are always a great place to begin, but we then went into a discussion of a core belief for each leader. In exchanging our core beliefs, we naturally went to how these work at work or how to make them work in our work. It was an engaging, thoughtful conversation and I believe each of us left with some new insights and appreciation for the challenges we lead through.\n\nThe last part of our meeting was spent discussing how to continue our conversations next month. The consensus was to focus on a single question for part of our exchanges and then share unique situations we are working through. The reality may be this group is a mutual mentoring community. Isn’t that how leaders get better after all?\n\nAs we move into our June meeting, we will explore one moment of authentic leadership we each experienced. We will also open time to share what is happening in our workplaces and looking for ideas on how to enhance what we do.\n\nThis is our Lead Change journey in Dallas. Real conversations. Real people. Real leadership stories and opportunities for growth.\n\nIf you are in Dallas, join us. Check out our <a title=\"Authentic Leadership Dallas\" href=\"http://www.meetup.com/Authentic-Leadership-Dallas/\" target=\"_blank\">Authentic Leadership Meetup group and RSVP</a>!', 'Authentic Leadership Dallas: Gaining Momentum', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'authentic-leadership-dallas-gaining-momentum', '', '', '2013-05-29 12:25:53', '2013-05-29 17:25:53', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10629', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(10642, 243, '2013-06-06 06:12:04', '2013-06-06 11:12:04', 'I read another article today on the difference between leadership and management. The writer, someone I appreciate, but from the industrial revolution, talked about leadership as a position. People in positions of leadership need the skills of leadership, vision setting, communication, etc. I don\'t disagree.\n\nHowever our free-agent age or our <a title=\"Importance of Leadership Development in the Individual Age\" href=\"/importance-leadership-development-individual-age/\">age of the individual</a> has created a new need in relation to leadership. Rather than comparing leadership to some other talent within the organization, we need people throughout the organization with diverse talents who <em>are</em> leaders. Do you feel particularly gifted in management, administration, finance, engineering, marketing, sales, logistics, or operations?  Your organization needs your ability in those positions.\n\nBut if we are going to make a difference in our world, we need more character-based leaders in each of those positions. We need leadership to stop being something \"other than\" management, administration, engineering, etc. We need managers, administrators, engineers who <em>are</em> leaders at their core.  This is why I often equate leadership with responsibility.\n\nIf you tend to think of leadership as a position, you probably just bristled at my last sentence. You might have instantly thought \"Everyone can\'t be the leader\" and you\'d be right. Everyone can\'t \"be responsible.\" Everyone can\'t be in the position of leadership. But is a leader simply a position?\n\nA leader is someone who develops a vision, takes responsibility, finds solutions, provides an example, influences by their actions. A character-based leader does this as a result of who-they-are. You can\'t stop them. Their core being causes them to be the type of person who brings emotional energy to a situation, solves for the good of the many, and inspires others by their actions. It\'s who they are, not their position, that produces this behavior.  Who would argue with the idea that we need more people to behave that way regardless of their position in any organization?\n\nSo why then do we insist that leaders be something other than managers (or engineers, secretaries, technicians, truck drivers, speakers, preachers, farmers, politicians, engineers or individual contributors of any kind)? When will we get over the idea that we must stop being something to be a leader? When will we see that we need a world of leaders, responsibly bringing their best energy to solve problems for more than just themselves.\n\nCare to comment? Do you disagree? Let me know. Do you catch yourself thinking of a particular type of job that isn\'t performed better by someone who brings energy and commitment to it? Do you really want people who aren\'t leaders doing anything? Really?\n\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">Photo © Gabriel Blaj - Fotolia.com</span>', 'Leadership Or...', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leadership-or', '', '', '2013-06-06 06:12:04', '2013-06-06 11:12:04', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10642', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(10655, 290, '2013-06-04 06:18:30', '2013-06-04 11:18:30', 'In the <a title=\"Lead Change Google+ Community\" href=\"https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101604474820777716727\" target=\"_blank\">Lead Change Google+ community</a>, we host a Question of the Week. It is a time for people to stop, think, write, and exchange ideas and insights. It is an<a title=\"It Takes Leaders to Be a Community\" href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/it-takes-leaders-to-be-a-community/\"> amazing community</a> thing! A recent question was:\n<blockquote>“In looking back, which teacher or professor made the biggest difference or impact in your life? It would be great if you can give their name and the reason why they made a difference.”</blockquote>\n<h2><b>Who was your favorite teacher?</b></h2>\nThe answers flowed and highlighted below are some edited samples.\n\n<b><a title=\"@lindaAWI \" href=\"https://twitter.com/lindaAWI\" target=\"_blank\">Linda Fitzgerald</a>:</b> Miss Baker, 3rd grade, who built my confidence as a young woman with a talent for writing; and Miss Hopkins who taught me about humanity!\n\n<b><a title=\"@joy_guthrie\" href=\"https://twitter.com/joy_guthrie\" target=\"_blank\">Joy Guthrie</a>:</b> Edward Deavers was a very influential high school teacher. He gave me my first big confidence boost by casting me as a lead in an extraordinarily difficult play, \"The Insanity of Mary Girard.\" He taught English and introduced me to several classic and thought-provoking books.\n\n<b><a title=\"Ryan Setter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/RyanSetter\" target=\"_blank\">Ryan Setter</a>:</b> Every single teacher that I\'ve ever had has impacted me in some way or another - good or bad. In either case, I think that it has had the same net result - made me a better, stronger, or smarter. If I were to name just one, I would have to say Mrs. Anderson - my 3rd grade teacher who was always so encouraging, always saw the potential in me, and taught me to do the same towards others.\n\n<b><a title=\"@AlliPolin \" href=\"https://twitter.com/AlliPolin\" target=\"_blank\">Alli Polin</a>:</b> The top of the list has to be Dr. Harold Bershady.  He was one of my sociology professors in college. Harold showed me that learning happens through conversation and connection. He didn\'t just teach from a textbook but created a powerful learning environment. Harold cared deeply about his students and sparked a passion for learning and showed me how sociology connected to my innate curiosity about people and the systems they work in.\n\n<b><a title=\"@elbiddulph\" href=\"https://twitter.com/elbiddulph\" target=\"_blank\">Eleanor Biddulph</a>:</b> My 11th grade U.S. Government teacher, Mr. Stanley, challenged and inspired students to think, question, debate and never, ever accept the status quo. More recently, Prof. John Kengla taught the \"Senior Year Experience\" class I took. He taught us the power of keen observation by having us write very detailed narratives about cherished memories; then made us rewrite them with even greater detail.\n\n<b><a title=\"@LaRaeQuy\" href=\"https://twitter.com/LaRaeQuy\" target=\"_blank\">LaRae Quy</a>:</b> The one teacher that I frequently think about was one who challenged me and pushed the boundaries of my thinking. His name was Mr. Anderson and though I didn\'t like him, I respected him. He\'d ask me a question and if my answer was too predictable or lightweight, he\'d come right back at me. Often I was embarrassed, but I was so furious that I became determined to not let him get the best of me . . . as a result, I became a more critical thinker.\n\n<b><a title=\"@BonniesSquires\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BonniesSquires\" target=\"_blank\">Bonnie Squires</a>:</b> My teacher was Mary Wheeling; she taught first grade and showed her kindness to me. I all so ended up living with her and was amazed at the fact that she had 12 children. She taught me how to turn old junk into new things. I was treated like one of her family members.\n\n<b><a title=\"@BLDWhatMatters\" href=\"https://twitter.com/BLDWhatMatters\" target=\"_blank\">Barry Smith</a>:</b> I think the ones that I remember are the ones that were authentic. They cared about us as people and not just students, taking an interest outside the classroom, i.e. showing up at sporting events etc. \"People don\'t care how much you know until they know how much you care.\" <i>John Maxwell</i>\n\n<b><a title=\"@CDMorelli \" href=\"https://twitter.com/CDMorelli\" target=\"_blank\">Claudio Morelli</a>:</b> For me it was Bob MacKay, PE teacher and coach in grade 11 and 12. He inspired me to work harder to meet the potential he saw in me. He had a huge impact on me entering the teaching profession. Interestingly enough, I saw him at an education conference about 5 years ago and shared with him how grateful I was for his influence.\n<h2><b>Teaching is leading.</b></h2>\nYes, it is. Just look at the leadership traits that pop from the stories. They include:\n<ul>\n	<li>Confidence booster</li>\n	<li>Potential identifier</li>\n	<li>Curiosity encourager</li>\n	<li>Thought provokers</li>\n	<li>Critical thinkers</li>\n	<li>Kindness</li>\n	<li>Authentic</li>\n	<li>Coaching mindset</li>\n</ul>\n<h2><b>Leading is teaching.</b></h2>\nThere is a distinction. Leading is not telling someone what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. Teaching is encouraging, guiding, coaching, and giving opportunities to lead and grow. Maybe the next question should be: Who was your favorite leader in the workplace and why? My hope would be the stories would flow as quickly and sincerely as these did. After all, isn’t this one of the key tests of our leadership impact?\n<h2><b>Join in the conversation.</b></h2>\nJoin our <a title=\"Lead Change Google+ Community\" href=\"https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101604474820777716727\" target=\"_blank\">Lead Change Google+ Community</a> and participate in future questions and exchanges. Conversations make us stronger leaders, too. We will continue to highlight other conversations from our questions. Join in here now with your answer to: <b><i>Who was your favorite teacher and why? Answer below!</i></b>', 'Teaching is Leading', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'teaching-is-leading', '', '', '2013-06-04 06:18:30', '2013-06-04 11:18:30', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10655', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(10681, 302, '2013-05-31 07:12:39', '2013-05-31 12:12:39', '<h3>“I say it has to be done rapidly and it has to be bold!”</h3>\n[caption id=\"attachment_10683\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"173\"]<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/headshot-288x300.jpg\"><img class=\" wp-image-10683 \" alt=\"Marilyn Jacobson\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/headshot-288x300.jpg\" width=\"173\" height=\"180\" /></a> Marilyn Jacobson[/caption]\n\nThose words reverberated through me like a bolt of lightning when I heard them spoken to me by Marilyn Jacobson. She is the author of the recently published book <em>Turning the Pyramid Upside Down</em>. I immediately felt the energy and power of the words. They were spoken by a remarkable woman whom I interviewed for my interview series on leading strategies for change and improvement at <em>5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success.</em>\n\nMarilyn is a professor of management and a consultant to scores of major businesses. In the book, Marilyn shares many personal stories of how she has personally influenced many of today’s most forward-looking companies to turn the pyramid upside down to gain and secure competitive advantage in a global marketplace. The stories are fascinating and riveting.\n\nMarilyn states the challenge and the opportunity in the introduction boldly:\n<blockquote>“Leaders must partner and collaborate with their employees to respond to escalating complexities and inspire new thinking and discovery of fresh ideas. The continuous pressure for innovation and new technologies means involving others at all levels within the organization. Employees cannot simply be instruments to achieve leaders’ goals; they must be allowed and even encouraged to participate in the decision-making and be fully engaged in achievement of organizational goals.”</blockquote>\n<h3>Why We Need Bold Leadership Now</h3>\nI\'ve written about the dismal track record of most change efforts in other posts here at Lead Change Group and at <em>5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success</em>.  Marilyn addresses this challenge head on. She believes that “most change efforts sponsored at the top fail because the organization has become preoccupied with incremental improvement, there is uncertainty that the effort will stay the course, or the organization is already running at full capacity.” Although turning the pyramid upside down may be seen as too radical by many leaders, she believes we are now at a real impasse and bold leadership is required and the clear choice to make. She states in the book:\n<blockquote>“To be competitive in the new global economy, the magnitude of leadership change necessary defies any possibility that it be incremental. Escalating complexity due to such factors as technology and globalization, along with the continuing need to make the numbers while becoming ever more innovative, requires a kind of organization capable of extraordinarily high levels of purpose, commitment, and synchronicity.”</blockquote>\nAnd further clarifies why leaders are responsible for this impasse:\n<blockquote>“This impasse has come about because leaders do not provide the kind of information and inclusion in decision-making that would produce thought leaders or in any way ensure an engaged workforce.”</blockquote>\n<h3>Self-Leadership</h3>\nIn my work at <em>5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success</em>, I am writing and speaking more frequently about the notion of self-leadership. From my perspective, we simply don’t have enough enlightened leaders at the top that are leading the change that’s needed. One response is for more of us to decide to be the change and start to influence the conversation and events to bring about change.\n\nIn my interview with Marilyn and in her book, she has a lot to say about the role of self-leadership. She shares how it can be activated and how new leaders emerge when the pyramid is turned upside down:\n<blockquote>“Self-leadership is something that happens the most in organizations where the environment is collaborative and where employees are encouraged to continuously improve. Not only in respect to their personal performance, but whatever they can learn about the industry, the economy, the competition, the world. Understanding and living in a world of change helps them to know when there is an opportunity, and in turn they can then be a leader in seizing that opportunity.”\n\n“In a sense, when the opportunity arises, they then emerge. Although it is also been my belief and I have seen it happen — actually it is part of a chapter in the book — that when the company, and this was one that was in major trouble at the time of a recession, some of the people that were in the group started to realize how they could make a difference and how they could help. Leaders started to emerge where before there were none or where leadership had no reason to think that they would. That changed them. The important relationships developed through a matrix structure. The matrix then put them into teams, and in teams they functioned as leaders. That was very exciting to watch.”</blockquote>\n<h3>Learn More</h3>\n<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/TurningthePyramid_Cover-194x300.jpg\"><img class=\"wp-image-10682 alignright\" alt=\"TurningthePyramid_Cover-194x300\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/TurningthePyramid_Cover-194x300.jpg\" width=\"116\" height=\"180\" /></a>I highly recommend Marilyn’s book for reading by all leaders. The stories of how she influenced one leader at a time to instigate bold change are truly inspiring.\n<ul>\n	<li>More information on Marilyn and her book can be found at her website <a title=\"marilynjacobson.com\" href=\"http://marilynjacobson.com/\" target=\"_blank\">marilynjacobson.com</a></li>\n	<li>I recently interviewed Marilyn at 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success. She shares her best strategy for improving organizations and much more in Turning the Pyramid Upside Down by Instigating Culture Change at the Top</li>\n	<li>Marilyn’s book is a captivating read filled with nuggets of wisdom. I captured and published all my book highlights and Tweets at <a title=\"Highlights and Tweet from the book: Turning the Pyramid Upside Down\" href=\"http://5minutespisuccess.com/highlights-and-tweets-from-the-book-turning-the-pyramid-upside-down/\" target=\"_blank\">Highlights and Tweets from the book: Turning the Pyramid Upside Down</a>.</li>\n</ul>\n<h3>Questions</h3>\nPlease share your opinion and experience with rapid and bold change by leaving a comment.\n<ol>\n	<li>Should organizations be using a rapid and bold approach more frequently?</li>\n	<li>How can we get more leaders to pursue a strategy of rapid and bold change?</li>\n	<li>Are organizations overlooking a tremendous opportunity by not creating an environment conducive to self-leadership?</li>\n</ol>', '“I say it has to be done rapidly and it has to be bold!”', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'i-say-it-has-to-be-done-rapidly-and-it-has-to-be-bold', '', '', '2013-05-31 07:12:39', '2013-05-31 12:12:39', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10681', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10742, 251, '2013-06-10 06:24:20', '2013-06-10 11:24:20', '\nIsn\'t it lovely when accolades come our way? It’s so rewarding when our work is publicly acknowledged and praised.\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">But what happens when <i>you</i> don’t deserve all the applause? When that “I” you used is really a “we?”</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Five of us had worked for almost a year on a project to improve morale, increase performance, and reduce turnover in one of our company\'s locations. This assignment had been layered on top of already full task lists; however the work was a labor of love for many of the project team members. We were drawn by the lure of having the freedom to create whatever was needed to achieve our goals.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Several months into the project, improvements in metrics started trickling in, then surged. Employees were smiling again. Recruiters were less frenzied.  The project team was – as they say in corporate America – \"cautiously optimistic\" that our mix of solutions had generated the right alchemy for a turnaround.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Then came the company leadership meeting. The day when “I” slammed into “we.”</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">In his opening remarks, the president showered rave reviews on a woman from the project team, highlighting all her great efforts in turning around a troubled facility. He read the email she had sent to him. The email was full of “I” phrases:  I discovered, I researched, I thought, I did, I, I, I. There was no mention of her other four team members. She beamed; the rest of us were crushed.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Could this be you? Have you tooted your horn yet forgotten the orchestra that accompanied you?</p>\n\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\"><b>4 rules for taking credit</b></h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Take solo credit under these circumstances:</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">1) You single-handedly completed all the work to successful results with zero assistance from anyone else.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">2) The good work you did was all your idea.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">3) You executed your idea, and the outcome crashed and burned...big time.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">4) You\'re a boss, your team executed an assignment at your bidding, and the end result was awful.</p>\n\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>How the goblins will get you if you steal credit</strong></h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">1)  Now there\'s a mere four-and-a-half degrees of separation between us in an ever-connected world. You just never know when a new boss was one of those poor slobs whose work you stole.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">2) Be prepared to always work alone<b>.</b>  No one wants to partner up with or help a glory-grabber because there\'s no  point in signing on to be invisible.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">3) Your reputation is toast. It doesn’t get any more powerful than word-of-mouth praise — or condemnation. You’re in the driver’s seat as to which story people will tell about you.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">4) The crows come home to roost. Someday when you least expect it, your boss or some other big shot will ask you – in a very public venue – for details of “your” terrific work. That’s when your credibility and career path hit a dead-end.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Taking and sharing credit: it’s your choice, your story, and your character.</p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">And you’re in control.</p>\nImage: <a href=\"http://winkingcatcomics.wordpress.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Winking Cat Comics</a>', '4 rules for making sure you deserve the credit', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '4-rules-for-making-sure-you-deserve-the-credit', '', '', '2013-06-10 06:24:20', '2013-06-10 11:24:20', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10742', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10757, 326, '2013-06-07 06:09:52', '2013-06-07 11:09:52', 'No matter what anybody says, CHANGE is difficult.  Yes, for all of us, because we all deal with CHANGE  on our own time schedules.  The reality is that CHANGE is a way of life in 2013 that causes stress all around us - both good and less-than-stellar stress.\n\nSo take a minute to ponder. When you hear, \"Change - Accept it or else...,\" what thoughts and/or  feelings  does that congure?\n<ul>\n	<li>Are \"them fightn\' Words\" to you?</li>\n	<li>Do you get the fight or flight instincts?</li>\n	<li>Does your blood pressure soar?</li>\n	<li>Do you feel helpless or frustrated?</li>\n</ul>\nOr, do you:\n<ul>\n	<li>Take the news in stride by trying to control your negative emotions?</li>\n	<li>Direct your thoughts towards more healthy ways to cope?</li>\n</ul>\nI\'m guessing we would all like to believe that we have our emotions intact, but the skyrocketing sales of antidepressants and muscle relaxers tell a different story.\n\n<img title=\"More...\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://www.leadershiprealities.com/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif\" />\n\n<strong>Let\'s take this a step further:</strong>\n\nAccording to the<a href=\"http://www.leadershipletters.com/2000/07/18/helping-people-through-change/\" target=\"_blank\"> Leadership Letters</a>, \"Even when a major change is clearly necessary and beneficial, it is stressful and painful for people. Change causes adjustment, discomfort, disruption and dislocation. A vital part of the process of implementing change involves motivating and supporting people.\"\n\nAs leaders need to be aware of how the changes we are  implementing and simply discussing in our companies are affecting our employees and contractors.  After all, without them, we wouldn\'t be in business!\n\nWhen I first started out as a trainer, one of my projects was to teach a stress and burnout workshop for a Fortune 100 financial firm. Green behind the ears, I didn\'t realize what a huge benefit it was for those employees to work for a company that valued them enough to teach them how to recognize negative stressors in their personal and professional lives and learn techniques for managing stress in positive ways. We taught them how to breathe, control their thoughts and change activities that negatively impacted them physically and mentally.\n\nThe company had an in-house gym with personal trainers who were there for the benefit of the employees. Yeah, healthy employees make for healthy companies, so it was a win-win for all concerned.\n\nAssignment:  Take time each week to speak with your people.  Find out how they are doing and if/how they are dealing with the changes in your company.\n\nFind out if they are :\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>Accepting</strong> of changes around them,</li>\n	<li><strong>Adapting</strong> to changes around them, and</li>\n	<li><strong>Adopting</strong> the changes in their worldview.</li>\n</ul>\nFor the people who are Accepting, Adapting and Adopting - Great.\n\nFor the people who are struggling with CHANGE, make time in your schedule to help them if you can.  Simply sending the message to accept it or else ... won\'t cut it!  For our companies to succeed, we need everyone involved and invested in change in a healthy manner.\n\nThanks for listening.  I\'d appreciate hearing your change stories - successes and failures.  Remember:  Most of us learn more from our mistakes, but we don\'t all have to make the same mistakes if we learn from each other!\n\n<i><em><a href=\"mailto:relth277@gmail.com\">Jonena</a></em>\n</i>\n\n<a href=\"http://leadershiprealities.com\" target=\"_blank\">Leadership Realities Blog</a>\n\n<a href=\"http://healthcaretalenttransformation.com\" target=\"_blank\">Healthcare Talent Transformation Blog</a>', 'Change - Accept it or else...', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'change-accept-it-or-else', '', '', '2013-06-07 06:09:52', '2013-06-07 11:09:52', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10757', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(10778, 316, '2013-07-30 12:18:15', '2013-07-30 17:18:15', '<img class=\"alignleft\" alt=\"\" src=\"http://mills-scofield.com/storage/SKHeadshot.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1370463889730\" width=\"157\" height=\"182\" />My nice blue iPhone <a href=\"http://mrked.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mrked</a> case is the brainchild of 3 kids - yup, kids. Just your average college kids yet again deciding it\'s their <a href=\"http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2013/05/13/innovation-a-case-for-entitlement-really/\" target=\"_blank\">right to change the world</a>.  15% of the revenues from Mrked goes to teach young girls in emerging markets how to read.  \"<em>Three sets of parents migrated from South Asia in order to provide their future children an opportunity to access better education.  The struggles our parents endured to make it in America motivated us to excel in our academic journeys.  This as well as our want to provide an opportunity for people, like you, to better the world we live in developed into the driving force behind <a href=\"http://mrked.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Mrked</a>.</em>\"\n\nRead <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/6/5/will-you-leave-a-mrk.html\" target=\"_blank\">more</a>.', 'Will You Leave a Mrk?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'will-you-leave-a-mrk', '', '', '2013-07-30 12:18:15', '2013-07-30 17:18:15', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10778', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10779, 328, '2013-06-11 06:36:31', '2013-06-11 11:36:31', '“The task of leadership is to be intentional about the way we group people and the questions what we engage them in.</i><b><i>” Peter Block</i></b>\n\nFor as long as we have lived in human community, great conversations have been the source of fresh ideas. <b>Conversations engage us with the rest of the world and embrace relationships with others. </b>Conversation is our human way of discovering new meaning that shape our future.  Through conversations that matters we continue to develop collective thinking that serve the world for a better future.\n\nAll of us have, at some point of time or another experienced a conversation that had <b>a magical impact that sparked a new insight</b> or helped us see a situation in a new light. Through conversations, we discover what we value and what we share together. Great conversations create spaces for <b>authentic dialogue and an effective collaboration across generations</b> that act as a catalyst for change and innovation across the world.\n\n<b>What is conversational leadership?</b>\n\nConversational leadership begins with the philosophy of embracing <b>collective brainpower - </b>the appreciation that we can be smarter, more creative, and more capable together than we could alone. The challenges we face are global and complex to solve alone. Conversational leadership takes place when leaders see their organizations as webs of conversation and consider a conversation as a core process for effective positive change. <b>Great leaders use conversational leadership by cultivating intentional collective intelligence needed to create business and communal value</b>. By initiating, convening, and holding a conversation that matters, leaders have unparalleled ways to tap everyone’s collective intelligence which can guide action towards a shared vision.\n\n<b>Conversational leadership requires leaders to be connectors </b>- people who can cultivate and nurture diverse point of views inside their organization or community.\n\nAs leaders we make meaning though the language we communicate. Most importantly, it’s the stories we share together for a collective meaning. When we embrace a conversation through leadership, we take time to understand and listen deeply to all that matter. <b>Each generation has important skills and wisdom from their own life experiences which we need to honor and recognize</b>. Every leader should ask, \"<b>How we can honor and utilize each other unique contributions and gifts to foster collective wisdom and co-create our future</b>?\"\n\nThe leader’s ability to facilitate leadership conversations that enhance trust will become important leadership skills. To succeed, leaders will need to work on their communication skills in the use of dialogue and other approaches that deepen collective inquiry. Leaders have the responsibility to create and host spaces for dialogue and engagement that encourages others at all levels to develop insightful conversations.\n\n<i>“A leader these days needs to be a host, one who convenes diversity, who convenes all viewpoints in creative process where our mutual intelligence can come forth.</i><b><i>” Margaret Wheatley</i></b>', 'Developing Conversational Leadership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'developing-conversational-leadership', '', '', '2013-06-11 06:36:31', '2013-06-11 11:36:31', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10779', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(10831, 243, '2013-06-12 06:12:55', '2013-06-12 11:12:55', '<em>Each month in our newsletter, we feature an interview with one of our Instigators. The interview for May was with Chery Gegelman, president of Giana Consulting LLC.  Chery is a speaker, author, consultant, and first-time expat. Get in touch with her at www.consultgiana.com.</em>\n\n<strong><a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/meet-instigator-chery-gegelman/chery-g/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-10862\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10862\" alt=\"chery g\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/chery-g.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" /></a>What is your background in leadership?</strong>\n\nI am an ordinary person that has had a passion for understanding others for my entire life.\n\nFor more than 25 years I’ve lead organizational development projects in organizations of various sizes. (Although it is important to mention that for many years I did not know I was doing organizational development.  I just enjoyed solving problems, and finding ways to add value to the people and the organizations I was employed with.) Eventually I had opportunities to lead system-wide changes for companies with a national footprint and for clients in private and public organizations.\n\nMy “cells dance” the most when I get to help people and organizations understand and  unleash their strengths at a higher level!\n.\n<strong>What do you do to engage in leadership?</strong>\nRead\nThink\nPray\nDiscuss\nPlay\nListen - Up, down, sideways, inside and outside!!!\nAsk, “Why” and “What if?”\nSummon courage\nTake action\nPersist\nWrite\nSpeak\nCoach\nAsk for feedback\n\n<strong>Do you have a book or person that particularly influenced you?</strong>\nHow do you pick just one???   There are so many!!!\n\nBeep!  Beep! <em> Competing in the Age of the Roadrunner</em>: The book provided an instant clarity about who I have always been, a deep understanding about why I had struggled in organizations that operate like a pack of coyotes and painted a clear vision of what “could be.” Paired with an opportunity to go to work for an organization that was intentionally choosing to operate like a flock of roadrunners I had the authority to make that vision a reality! <a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=88e3df55615dff895482011dc&amp;id=4501b1b824&amp;e=6e18075e0a\">This link</a> will take you to a post about that experience!\n\n<strong>What would you like to get out of your membership with the Lead Change Group?</strong>\nI’ve been a member of The Lead Change Group for 3 years. <strong>The reason I joined is the reason I am still a member - Iron sharpens iron! </strong> There have been so many opportunities to make new friends, to learn from others, to build a large network of caring professionals with diverse backgrounds from all across the United States and the world. I’ve had opportunities to blog, to learn social media at a higher level, to collaborate, to speak, to co-author a book…  And the list goes on!\n\n<b><img class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-10861\" alt=\"chery g book cover\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/chery-g-book-cover-125x125.png\" width=\"125\" height=\"125\" />Chery is offering a complimentary copy of her Instigating Change Checklist to Lead Change Subscribers.  If you are seeking to instigate change, or to support the change agents in your organization at a higher level this tool is a great resource!  Just click on the <a href=\"http://consultgiana.com/\">link</a> to her blog for more information.  </b>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n\"If you\'re registered on this site and you don\'t get this newsletter each month, please click here to subscribe to the newsletter.\"', 'Meet Instigator Chery Gegelman', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'meet-instigator-chery-gegelman', '', '', '2013-06-12 06:12:55', '2013-06-12 11:12:55', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10831', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10843, 244, '2013-06-19 12:20:44', '2013-06-19 17:20:44', 'In 2012 the average attention span was 8 seconds according to the Associated Press. That is 3 seconds less than reported in 2000 – a 25% decline.\n\nIt is now official that our attention span is LESS than the attention span of a goldfish!\n\nWe are bombarded daily with a staggering amount of information. Truth be told I love all that input, including my beloved social media streams, most especially Twitter.\n\n<strong>But is it really a problem?</strong> Said more personally, do I have a problem? Do you? <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/are-you-an-input-junkie/\">Read More</a>', 'Are You an Input Junkie?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'are-you-an-input-junkie', '', '', '2013-06-19 12:20:44', '2013-06-19 17:20:44', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10843', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10851, 244, '2013-07-03 12:22:52', '2013-07-03 17:22:52', '<img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10852\" alt=\"honesty\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/honesty-251x300.jpg\" width=\"251\" height=\"300\" />Few would argue with the importance of open and honest communication in healthy relationships.\n\nExcept being honest doesn’t always go so well. It is easy to be honest when you have something nice or positive to say. Yet when honesty involves delivering a potentially hard to hear communication, many of us experience some degree of stress when either delivering or receiving it.\n\nThis doesn’t mean that honesty is not a good policy. It’s just that honesty alone is not enough to ensure honesty is always the best policy. The key is to focus on being straight vs. honest.\n\nUse this 3 C\'s \"test\" to determine if your communication is going to be straight. <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/honesty-is-not-the-best-policy/\">Read More</a>', 'Honesty is NOT the Best Policy Unless...', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'honesty-is-not-the-best-policy-unless', '', '', '2013-07-03 12:22:52', '2013-07-03 17:22:52', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10851', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10873, 328, '2013-06-18 06:12:57', '2013-06-18 11:12:57', '“Mindfulness lets us absorb the richness of the moment instead of going through life with half of our attention on the past or future or our own mental chatter.” Wisdom Commons</i></b>\n\nAs leaders, we are accountable for creating environments in which our teams are nurtured and energized. Our culture innovates and flourish, and our communities are respected and guided.\n\nWhen we think about mindful leadership, we think about leaders that are present and aware of their communication with others. Mindfulness is a courageous undertaking because it is trusting that we have it in us to hold and accept the feelings of others, to grant them hospitality by becoming aware how these feelings serve the people around us.\n\n<strong>We become mindful when we discover the strength within us that endures leadership through the discovery of other people\'s human potential.</strong>\n\nThe word mindfulness is from a translation of Sanskirt words meaning “Attend” and “Stay.” Thus mindful leaders pay attention and stay with someone through insightful dialogue in the present. Leaders have to accept by letting go of their authority as the first step to give away control and allow freedom to let others discover who they are.\n\nMindfulness requires a healthy ego - surrendering our assumptions and opinions of the people we lead and being completely attuned to their feelings and emotions.\n\nMindfulness leadership is required for your growth as a leader and a person who wants to leave the world a better place.\n\n<b><i>As leaders, how to do we engage better with others through a mindful heart?</i></b>\n\nOur purpose is to inspire people to reflect deeply and think together about who we are, what we are about, and what we want to be.\n<ul>\n	<li><b><i>What I heard you say that I appreciated is</i></b>…. A great way to allow others inside the leadership circle because we want to recognize their strengths. We take the time to spot their abilities and gift. We communicate and appreciate  their contributions as the highlight of the day.</li>\n	<li><b><i>What I heard that challenged my thinking is</i></b>….As mindful leaders, we must stay open when we are positively challenged by other people thoughts and perspectives. We welcome all feedback as part of our leadership and on-going self-discovery.</li>\n	<li><b><i>To better understand your perspective, I’d like to ask you</i></b>…Mindful leaders make every effort to listen and understand  people by asking questions to clarify and make a meaningful connection.</li>\n	<li><b><i>Where do we need more clarity?</i></b> Mindful leaders seek clarity and work toward simplicity as our world becomes more and more complex and challenging. We need to reach the clarity together when everyone is clear on the path to leadership.</li>\n	<li><b><i>What has been your learning insight so far?</i></b> What have you learned as a mindful leader? What were your take aways from discussion and leadership conversations?<b><i></i></b></li>\n	<li><b><i>What have you heard that had real meaning for you?</i></b> Finally, what conversation or discussion made the most impact to you when you practiced mindful leadership today with the people around you?</li>\n</ul>\n<b><i>“I have found my greatest moments of joy and peace just sitting in silence, and then I take that joy and peace with me out into the world.” Holly Mosier</i></b>', 'The Mindful Heart - Leading ourselves and others mindfully', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-mindful-heart-leading-ourselves-and-others-mindfully', '', '', '2013-06-18 06:12:57', '2013-06-18 11:12:57', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10873', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(10884, 325, '2013-06-13 06:07:02', '2013-06-13 11:07:02', 'LinkedIn recently rewarded all of their employees\' hard work by giving each of them an iPad mini on Valentine\'s Day. Not only was this a great way to reward their employees for their hard work, but this provided LinkedIn with a lot of free publicity, as well as no doubt encouraging more people to apply for jobs with the company. <a href=\"http://www.octanner.com/what-we-do/celebrate-careers\">Service awards</a> are great ways to show employees that they are appreciated. Such regular reward programs can also encourage employee retention and really give your company a real boost. But LinkedIn is not the only company that has realized this. Here are six other ways in which some well known companies have rewarded their employees.\n<h2><a href=\"http://www.businessinsider.com/google-bonus-and-raise-2010-11\">Google</a></h2>\nGoogle has become famous for treating its employees right, but at the end of 2010 they went above and beyond, reportedly rewarding every single employee with a $1000 cash bonus, and a 10 percent raise. But then again, when you work in a place that is already equipped with slides and ball pits, who needs cash?\n<h2><a href=\"http://www.fastcompany.com/3004953/how-sas-became-worlds-best-place-work\">SAS</a></h2>\nAnalytics company SAS has made it their business to make their employees comfortable, rewarding them with access to a free gym with tennis and basketball courts, a weight room, and a heated pool. There is also an on-site health care clinic, staffed by physicians, nutritionists, physical therapists, and psychologists. Employees are also treated to free snacks and treats.\n<h2><a href=\"http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/snapshots/5.html?iid=bc_lp_arrow2\">Wegmans</a></h2>\nWegmans has an employee turnover that is surprisingly low for a grocery store chain, at just 3.6 percent. Part of the reason for this is that they reward their employees regularly with gift cards for good work.\n<h2><a href=\"http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2013/snapshots/6.html?iid=bc_lp_arrow1\">NetApp</a></h2>\nWeb storage company NetApp has a long list of rewards and benefits that it offers its employees, but on of the most impressive is that the company\'s vice chairman will ask for recommendations of people who are doing a good job, and then he calls 10 to 20 employees every day to thank them for their good work.\n<h2>Hilcorp</h2>\nEnergy company Hilcorp has made a promise that they will reward every single employee with a check for $100,000 if they reach their goal of doubling their production rate by 2015. If you do not think that they will follow through, consider that they have already rewarded 400 employees with $10,000 towards a new car.\n<h2>Ultimate Software</h2>\nUltimate Software rewards its employees regularly with a range of benefits, including fully paid-for health and dental plans, a massage service, dry-cleaning service, indoor basketball court, exercise and salsa classes, Weight Watchers group, birthday celebrations, inter-departmental bowling contests, periodic breakfast, lunch, and ice cream treats, and a holiday every two years, all on the company\'s dime.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', '6 awesome ways that companies have rewarded their employees', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '6-awesome-ways-that-companies-have-rewarded-their-employees', '', '', '2013-06-13 06:07:02', '2013-06-13 11:07:02', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10884', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(10916, 329, '2013-06-19 06:12:21', '2013-06-19 11:12:21', '\n\nLearning involves taking risks--experimenting with new ideas and skills.  And, who’s going to deliberately look foolish in front of the “writer of the performance appraisal?”   How can the “boss at the blackboard” encourage learning when simply “being the boss” puts power, control, and “play it safe” in the “classroom?”  Below are four tips:\n\n<b>Be open and authentic</b>!\n\nIf you want learners to take risks, they must see you do likewise.  Create a level playing field by acting as open and real as possible.  Put your energy into acting normal, not being perfect.  Ever notice how someone gets up to speak in front of a group, and their voice sounds “ teachery?”  Just talk <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">with</span> your learners, not <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">at </span>them.  If you make errors, smile and move on.  Take your content serious, but don’t take yourself serious.  If you lighten up and have fun, so will they.\n\n<b>Ask before you tell</b>.\n\nTeachers sometimes think they have to prove their expertise by having all the answers.  Remember, your goal is to help people learn, NOT demonstrate your smartness.  If they <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">discover</span> the answer through your questions, they will remember it a lot longer than if you<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> tell</span> them the answer.   Respond to their questions by saying, “I have some ideas on that, but what do YOU think?”  Teach through questions, not lectures.  You are a facilitator (meaning “to make easy”) not a professor (meaning “to profess to others”)!\n\n<b>Steer clear of controlling gestures</b>.\n\nWe all have keen antennae for signs of power and control.  Facial expressions which communicate judgment, disapproval or disbelief do not encourage learners to experiment and grow.  Subtle non-verbals such as hands on hips or a pointing finger, position you as a “school marm” rather than coach or mentor.  If you need to gesture, use palms up rather than a pointing finger.  Put your hands in your pocket or by your side, rather than on your hips.\n\n<b>Be a role model</b>.\n\nIt is important your classroom behavior match what you want your employees to learn.  If, for instance, you are teaching communications, demonstrate your content through the ways you communicate.  As cowboy humorist Will Rogers said, “People learn from observation, not conversation.”  And, while he was talking about politicians, the concept fits the classroom.  Always make sure your message and your actions are a matched set.\n\nThe definition of mentoring is “a sensitive, trusted advisor.”  When you are a “boss at the blackboard,” the sensitive part of the definition is key...especially if you want employees to “trust your advice.”  Remember, learning begins with risk; risk happens if there is safety; and safety will not mix with power.   Take off your “boss” hat when you pick up the chalk…or magic marker!!\n\n&nbsp;', 'Mentor Primer:  Bosses at Blackboards', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'mentor-primer-bosses-at-blackboards', '', '', '2013-06-19 06:12:21', '2013-06-19 11:12:21', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10916', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10940, 306, '2013-06-26 12:37:55', '2013-06-26 17:37:55', 'Sociologists of the future will likely look back at the period we are living through right now, labeling it as a time of profound change in the way humans communicate.  Each year, new methods, modes, and media are introduced... morphing the way information gets shared. Lines among formerly distinct forms of communication are now blurred, creating innovative, next-generation opportunities.\n\nFor example, what’s the alternative to boring instruction? Edutainment: the blend of education and entertainment. When is a book not a book? When it’s an enhanced ebook that links to the worldwide web? And what’s the future of the long-standing interview format? <a href=\"http://www.33voices.com/\">33Voices</a>.\n\nFounded by visionary Moe Abdou, this ‘global conversation about things that matter in business and life’ goes far beyond the traditional audio file. I had the pleasure of participating in the 33Voices ‘next generation’ interview - a robust, focused conversation that’s then ‘visualized’ and boiled down to big ideas and a netted out slideshare deck. (You can see - as well as hear - it here.)\n\nInnovations like what’s happening at <a href=\"http://www.33voices.com/\">33Voices</a> will continue to inspire new and different blends, blurred lines, and next generation options than we can’t even yet imagine.', '33Voices', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '33voices', '', '', '2013-06-26 12:37:55', '2013-06-26 17:37:55', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10940', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(10969, 307, '2013-06-24 06:09:46', '2013-06-24 11:09:46', '\n<h2>K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Sam)</h2>\nI like simple.\n\nWhen things get crazy, organizations go nuts, and life is difficult, it\'s time to focus on fundamentals.\n\nUnder all the complexity of the systems you build, your employee attraction, retention, and motivation strategies, salaries, evaluations, progressive discipline, titles, promotions, job descriptions and all the other clutter we use to organize our personnel processes…\n\nUnder all of that is one simple truth:\n\nEveryone\'s a volunteer.\n<h2>What About Their Paycheck?</h2>\n\"Wait a second, David - we pay our employees. How can you say they\'re a volunteer?\"\n\nTo show you what I mean, let\'s do an experiment.\n\nHold your breath.\n\nGo ahead…I\'ll wait.\n\nDone?\n\nGood - how long did you make it? 30 seconds? 1 minute?  (The world record is almost 20 minutes.)\n\nHere\'s the point: there are only two things in the world you <em>must</em> do - breathe and eliminate waste.\n\nYou can control both for a little while, but eventually your body will force both of these things to happen.\n\nEvery other behavior is a choice.\n\nYou don\'t have to eat or drink if you don\'t choose to. (It\'s painful and you\'ll die if you do it long enough, but it\'s a choice you can make.)\n\nYou can come to work and give it your best or you can show up and slack off - it\'s a choice you can make.\n<h2>Volunteers</h2>\nYou have a choice about how you show up every day…and so do your employees.\n\nEveryone is a volunteer…because everyone has a choice.\n\nYou simply cannot force anyone to do anything.\n\nEven if they don\'t recognize their choice - from now on you\'ll know that every day they choose whether to be there and how much effort to give.\n<h2>Gifts</h2>\nThis fundamental truth - that everyone is a volunteer - will change your leadership forever.\n<ul>\n	<li>Every person on your team becomes a gift.</li>\n	<li>Every action they take is a freely given gift.</li>\n	<li>Every ounce of energy they expend on a project is a gift.</li>\n</ul>\nYour work as a leader shifts from force to invitation, from control to influence, from fear to gratitude.\n\nEveryone is a volunteer.\n\nLead with gratitude.\n<h2>Your Turn</h2>\nWith <a href=\"http://trailblazeinc.com/2013/04/the-most-important-decision-you-make-to-motivate-your-employees/\">employee engagement rates</a> as low as 1 in 4 and 2/3 of US employees saying they\'d take a better boss over a raise in pay, employee motivation can feel complex.\n\nYet, the zen of employee motivation is straightforward.\n\nWant a motivated team?\n\nStart leading as if everyone on your team is a volunteer and the only resource you have available is influence.\n\n(To master the essentials of influence, keep reading Lead Change and you might <a href=\"http://trailblazeinc.com/blog/\">subscribe to my blog</a>. You live in an age of wonders - there is more information available to help you succeed as a leader than at any time in history!)\n\n<strong>How would \"everyone is a volunteer\" change your day-to-day leadership decisions or your personnel systems?</strong>\n\nI\'d love to hear your thoughts - leave a comment and let us know what you think (even if it\'s to radically disagree!)\n\nTake care,\n\nDavid', 'The Zen of Employee Motivation', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-zen-of-employee-motivation', '', '', '2013-06-24 06:09:46', '2013-06-24 11:09:46', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10969', 0, 'post', '', 15),
(10983, 302, '2013-06-21 06:16:28', '2013-06-21 11:16:28', '\n\nLast week I signed up to write this blog post, and I knew exactly what I wanted to write about. I wanted to write a book review on <i>The Outstanding Organization</i> by Karen Martin. Although I read the book several months ago, Karen’s work has really resonated with me and has made a lasting impression. It\'s not only a book about how to create an OUTSTANDING organization, the book itself is an OUTSTANDING and a passionate creation that reflects the heart and soul of the author. The book recently received the 2013 Shingo Research Award, which in no small way recognizes the brilliance of this work and the author.\n\nI interviewed Karen about two months ago for 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success, but because of our busy schedules we had not finalized the edits yet. Enter serendipity. Instead of writing the book review I had planned to write at the beginning of this week, I was now busy getting the interview ready for posting. And as I always do when I publish a new interview, I explore the interview for nuggets of gold to tweet. Karen’s interview was filled with so many kernels of goodness and wisdom, it really reminded me what a great book it is, and that I’d only be able to scratch the surface of it here.\n\n<b>Are We Drowning in Chaos?</b>\n\nA key theme in the book is that we have become so accustomed to internally-produced organizational chaos we don’t even recognize it any longer. Chaos shows up in a number of ways including: “shifting priorities, unclear direction, unstable processes, unhappy customers, and disengaged employees.” What comes up for you when you think about these conditions in your own organization or life?\n\n<em>The Outstanding Organization</em> explores these sources of chaos in depth and offers sound and proven ways to address it. It\'s probably worth repeating here again, Karen believes organizational chaos is so pervasive we don’t even see it or notice it. It’s like air. It’s everywhere and we really don’t see it. In fact, it’s so significant it frequently undermines all other improvement and transformation efforts we undertake.\n\nIn the book, Karen states:\n<blockquote><i>“If you want to break this cycle and start getting consistently excellent results—to be an outstanding organization—you have to start not with methodologies or tools, but by creating the conditions that allow for consistency and excellence. You can’t start by attempting to build a skyscraper on a cracked foundation. You have to start by fixing the foundation.” </i></blockquote>\nIn my opinion, that’s exactly where most organizations go wrong. They start with a methodology or tool and most fail repeatedly. Then the next new thing shows up and there’s no shortage of people who are happy to jump into the abyss again. The pattern repeats itself. So how long has this been going on… twenty, thirty or more years? I’ve seen or heard of it enough times to cry out in despair.\n\nKaren uses an ingenious way to make chaos in the form of lack of clarity more visible. She calls it Percent Complete and Accurate (%C&amp;A).\n\nQuoting Karen from my interview:\n<blockquote>“When I work with clients, we use a metric: Percent complete and accurate (%C&amp;A), to quantify the degree of clarification going on and add this rework time to the task’s process time. When you have the real process time, when you include all the clarification, it sometimes ends up being double, triple, or even quadruple the time it would take to do the work if the work came in “clean” to begin with. When you think about the great opening that an organization can have and the free capacity they could experience by just simply having clearer information being passed on in a chain, it’s significant. Even a two-minute clarification task done many, many times a day can add up to large performance-sapping numbers. It’s an expensive, yet common, problem.  Plus rework is frustrating, soul-sapping work. It’s not creative, it’s not moving product forward, it’s not serving the customer. And every worker doing it knows it.” <b> </b></blockquote>\n<b>The Outstanding Organization in Five Minutes</b>\n\nThere is so much more greatness and awesomeness in this book that I can hardly do it justice here in this short post.  In fact while writing this blog post the wild idea occurred to me that wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could shift our focus away from bottom line numbers to what really counts and that’s creating an environment where greatness and awesomeness are encouraged and allowed to blossom. The numbers will take care of themselves and soar in a place where all are encouraged to be who they really are and express their greatness. You will find many great ideas to lead your organization in this way in this book.\n\nI hope my words will motivate you to explore <i>The Outstanding Organization</i> further. If you’d like to get a five minute overview of the book in Karen’s words, I’d encourage you to explore my interview with Karen at the link below.\n\nIn closing, I’d like to thank Karen for writing such a great book and for leading us in how to create OUTSTANDING organizations!\n\n<b>Learn More</b>\n\nI highly recommend every leader pick up <a title=\"The Outstanding Organization\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/The-Outstanding-Organization-Eliminating-Foundation/dp/0071782370/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>The Outstanding Organization</i></a> and discover amazing ideas for reducing chaos and leading change.\n<ul>\n	<li>More information is available on the book at: <a title=\"The Outstanding Organization\" href=\"http://www.ksmartin.com/the-outstanding-organization/\" target=\"_blank\">The Outstanding Organization – 2013 Shingo Research Award Recipient</a></li>\n</ul>\n<ul>\n	<li>I recently interviewed Karen at 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success. She shares her best strategy for improving organizations and much more in: Create a Collective View of the Future that Everyone Can Relate to with Value Stream Mapping</li>\n</ul>\n<b>Questions</b>\n<ul>\n	<li>How significant of a problem is internally-produced organizational chaos?</li>\n	<li>What are your ideas on how we can best address it?</li>\n</ul>\n&nbsp;', 'Creating Conditions that Allow for Consistency and Excellence', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'creating-conditions-that-allow-for-consistency-and-excellence', '', '', '2013-06-21 06:16:28', '2013-06-21 11:16:28', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10983', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(10997, 306, '2013-07-02 06:12:12', '2013-07-02 11:12:12', 'Leaders have a great deal riding on them. Their employees, bosses, customers, and organizations need and expect a lot. For many, this breeds an intense experience of pressure. A belief that there’s no room for error. That everything’s got to be perfect. That they must get it right. For many, this transforms healthy persistence into the unhealthy expression of perfectionism.\n\n<img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10998\" alt=\"perfection grasscropped\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/perfection-grasscropped.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"210\" />Perfectionism is a frequently noted derailer across industries and leadership levels. And it’s damaging to all involved. The perfectionistic leader can experience stress, isolation, procrastination, and risk-avoidance that hurts himself and the business. Those who report to perfectionistic leaders suffer as well in terms of morale, motivation, and job satisfaction.\n\nAnd here’s the tough part. Most perfectionistic leaders don’t recognize this about themselves. They describe themselves with words like ‘quality,’ ‘standards,’ and ‘excellence.’ But taken to an extreme, this starts to look a lot like perfectionism.\n\n<b>How are You Doing?</b>\n\nWhat about you? This list describing the two sides of the  perfectionism/persistence coin may help you to conduct an honest evaluation of yourself.\n\n&nbsp;\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\"><b>Perfectionism</b></p>\n</td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\"><b>Persistence</b></p>\n</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Demanding</p>\n</td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Inspiring</p>\n</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Controlling</p>\n</td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Empowering</p>\n</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Directing</p>\n</td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Developing</p>\n</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Criticizing</p>\n</td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Coaching</p>\n</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Defending</p>\n</td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Learning</p>\n</td>\n</tr>\n<tr>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Repeating</p>\n</td>\n<td valign=\"top\" width=\"319\">\n<p align=\"center\">Risking</p>\n</td>\n</tr>\n</tbody>\n</table>\n&nbsp;\n\nThe perfectionistic leader is driven by an unrelenting need for things to meet a frequently unrealistic standard. This need drives his own behavior and treatment of others. To surpass his extraordinarily high bar, he tends to give orders, issue demands, and dictate not just the ‘what’ but also the ‘how’ of a task. Because failure is not an option, he may avoid risks. And his attention gravitates toward any gap (no matter how small) between what is and how he needs it to be.\n\nThe persistent leader, on the other hand, can set and pursue high standards without the emotional toll on himself or others. He is willing to experiment and to take intelligent chances and risks. Mistakes and set-backs are perceived as opportunities to learn. He engages others and demonstrates trust in their capacity... and understands that growth can be messy and is rarely perfect.\n\n&nbsp;\n<p align=\"center\">Are you consistently disappointed with the performance of those around you?</p>\n<p align=\"center\">Do you offer criticism more than praise?</p>\n<p align=\"center\">Are others afraid to share mistakes or problems with you?</p>\n&nbsp;\n\nIf so, you may be struggling with perfectionism.\n\n<b style=\"font-size: 1.17em;\">Bridging the Distance</b>\n\nThe good news is that perfectionism is not a life sentence. The perfectionistic leader who is committed to making a change can take steps in the direction of healthier persistent leadership. And he will likely find that the shortest distance between perfectionism and persistence is <i>presence</i>.\n\nPresence refers to that conscious, intentional quality of awareness - a cognizance of one’s thoughts, reactions, and feelings. Perfectionism generally comes from a lack of presence as a leader responds unconsciously to memories, experiences, fears, or anticipations. Comments from a critical teacher or parent may play in the back of his mind, triggering reactions and motivating unproductive behavior.\n\nWith presence, leaders can acknowledge those triggers and motivators - a pre-requisite for diligently working to avoid reacting to them. Presence allows leaders to take into consideration the current situation, responding to it alone. They’re able to put things into perspective, suspend irrational fear, and work with others in a constructive fashion.\n\n<b style=\"font-size: 1.17em;\">Cultivating Presence</b>\n\nThe most successful leaders - the ones who demonstrate persistence rather than perfectionism - have learned to cultivate and conjure up presence in their lives. Some practice mindfulness techniques like mediation and centering. Others engage in visualization and journaling. Yoga, walking, and even the simple act of conscious breathing can support leaders in bringing presence to their work and to their interactions.\n\nLet’s face it: perfection is an unattainable standard and unconsciously seeking it leads to burn out - for leaders and their employees alike. Persistence, on the other hand, is sustainable, allowing others to develop and grow while delivering long-term business results. Presence can be the vehicle for leaders interested in moving from one to the other.\n\n<strong>What about you?</strong> <em>Is your leadership style characterized more by perfectionism or persistence? How is perfectionism hurting your business? What techniques do you use to bring more presence into your life?</em>', 'Perfectionism vs. Persistence', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'perfectionism-vs-persistence', '', '', '2013-07-02 06:12:12', '2013-07-02 11:12:12', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=10997', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(11005, 252, '2013-06-20 13:29:41', '2013-06-20 18:29:41', 'When you try to have meaningful conversations with your employees, the outcome can be hit-or-miss. Let’s say you are interested in what motivates them and how they like to be rewarded. This is important and well intended, but they may not be completely open with you until they have more experience with you.\n\nAnother way to say this is that they are not going to share what is close to their hearts unless they know they can trust you.\n\nYet when you think about what takes to develop the openness to have significant conversations, it can seem overwhelming. Trust doesn’t come instantly. You know you can accelerate building the relationship with more time spent with each other, like one-on-one meetings, but this can feel too contrived and time-consuming.\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2013/06/20/managers-meet-with-your-employees-to-show-you-mean-business/\">here....</a>', 'Managers, meet with your employees to show you mean business', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'managers-meet-with-your-employees-to-show-you-mean-business', '', '', '2013-06-20 13:29:41', '2013-06-20 18:29:41', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11005', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11017, 288, '2013-06-26 06:12:03', '2013-06-26 11:12:03', '<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Sales managers are some of the most critical leaders at a company. A high performing sales team needs great managers not only to cultivate other great sales leaders within the company, but to also help create successful strategies for the business and push the sales team to perform at its best. Without great sales managers, it is difficult for any company to truly reach its sales goals. Use the following tips to improve your sales leadership skills.</p>\n<b></b><b>Tips for Sales Managers</b>\n<ol>\n	<li>To be an effective sales manager, you must first work on yourself. One important characteristic that sales managers need to actively be conscious of is their attitude. Sales managers should strive to always maintain a positive attitude and have a proactive approach to people and situations to foster an overall positive work environment which creates a successful sales team. Leaders must continuously work toward becoming better leaders.</li>\n	<li>When in a leadership position, it can be easy to become overwhelmed and burned out. Don’t be afraid to utilize others within the company for ideas, help, and support.</li>\n	<li>Remember that not everyone is a natural salesperson. Offer <a href=\"http://www.dalecarnegie.com/sales-skills-training/\">sales training</a> for those who may be new to sales or who need assistance. Learn how to recognize when an employee is not a good fit for a certain position or customer. If you feel that someone is struggling, set up a meeting with them and discuss their goals and qualifications to try to find a different position for that individual. Leaving someone in a position where they are failing causes the business and the individual to suffer.</li>\n	<li>As with all leadership positions, communication is extremely important. Effective communication successfully connects people and processes. Effective leaders should focus on creating real understanding. Be engaging and approachable. Have an open door policy with your team members and constantly talk to them about any people, policies, and processes that may be creating roadblocks to their success. Ask probing questions to get a full sense of the real picture. Be responsive and understanding, and show that you value their opinion by attempting to resolve problems immediately.</li>\n	<li>One critical role of managers is to develop talent and coach the team. Spend time focusing on helping others. Your representatives look to you to be not only a role model, but for advice and guidance. Help your team become the best they can be by showing them ways to improve and giving them the confidence they need to be successful.</li>\n</ol>\nWhat are other important attributes that you feel successful sales leaders must possess? Remember: every role plays an important part in creating a successful company, and <a href=\"http://www.dalecarnegie.com/\">leadership training</a> can help increase this success. Make the commitment to develop the skills and qualities you need to effectively lead a sales team within your company!', '5 Important Tips for Successful Sales Leadership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '5-important-tips-for-successful-sales-leadership', '', '', '2013-06-26 06:12:03', '2013-06-26 11:12:03', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11017', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11026, 243, '2013-06-27 06:12:19', '2013-06-27 11:12:19', 'I recently wrote a post titled <a title=\"5 Ideas To Direct Your Best Energy Toward Your Greatest Purpose\" href=\"/5-ideas-to-direct-your-best-energy-toward-your-greatest-purpose/\">5 Ideas To Direct Your Best Energy Toward Your Greatest Purpose</a>. We need to mobilize leaders. Personally, I want to hate my laziness,  television,  surfing, and anything keeping me from impact.  I hope to connect with a movement of leaders who are driven to make a positive difference.\n\nMany people don\'t want to pursue a great goal. Change forces us to expend energy and take risk. Always what we have, our current state, serves as either a weight to drag us down or a counter-weight that launches us into the future. If we\'re content enough, we never pursue change. We risk elevating our purpose and making our greatest impact. But if we\'re miserable enough our current state can launch us into new and greater impact.\n<blockquote>Change requires leadership. We don\'t need anyone to lead same.</blockquote>\nI often say that the key to change is misery. You can solve any problem in the world if you can find someone with the solution and make them as miserable as the people with the problem. Lack of misery enables status quo. Comfort lulls us to sleep and to emptiness.\n\nIn fact, I thought of 6 things that we tend to hang on to rather than pursue a greater life. See if any of these ring a bell with you:\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Fear of the unknown -</strong> \"What\'s going to happen?\" Do you find yourself thinking of the negative outcomes of a new venture or the positive ones? Many people can find the obstacles, few can find the path. Be a pathfinder.</p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Risk of loss</strong> (like power, authority, or money) - \"That won\'t work for me!\" Often closely related to a fear of the unknown and a negative predisposition, we often take the bird in the hand rather than seeing what\'s out there for us. In the end, whatever we hold can sink us or elevate us. It\'s your choice.</p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Risk of embarrassment</strong> - \"What if it doesn\'t work?\" Lack of confidence and fear of others\' opinion of us can be paralyzing. My plan each day is to screw up early and get it over with. The first failure each day is the hardest. From then on, I\'m free to pursue the grandest and stupidest ideas I might have.</p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Plain old laziness</strong> - \"I don\'t care.\" Often this results from the lack of a compelling mission. Most of us have things that we care for greatly. Your place in the world is where your greatest passion intersects with the world\'s greatest need. When you get there, you won\'t be lazy. Keep looking.</p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Passivity or Apathy</strong> - let someone else do it. Similar to laziness. Focus on the benefit. Give everything you have for the greatest possible outcome. Passivity and laziness and the status quo are so boring in comparison.</p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><strong>Chaos (or the unsettled state of change)</strong> - \"Why mess with it?\" Or \"How does that help?\" Often this is a desire for comfort, closely related to Laziness or Passivity. Desire for comfort is my greatest weakness. I most constantly rehearse the feeling I\'ll have when my dreams are realized.</p>\nCan you think of others?  Please take a minute and share your thoughts.  What tempts you to embrace the status quo?\n\nThe status quo is a liar. It\'s never better than what can happen when committed people serve others. Don\'t let the these 6 forces resist your path to a life of impact.\n\nRelated posts:\n<ol>\n	<li><a title=\"5 Ideas To Direct Your Best Energy Toward Your Greatest Purpose\" href=\"/5-ideas-to-direct-your-best-energy-toward-your-greatest-purpose/\">5 Ideas To Direct Your Best Energy Toward Your Greatest Purpose</a></li>\n	<li><a title=\"War With Apathy | Lead Change Group\" href=\"/war-apathy/\">War with Apathy</a></li>\n	<li><a title=\"5 Harsh Truths Every Aspiring Leader Needs To Know\" href=\"/5-harsh-truths-every-aspiring-leader-needs-to-know/\">5 Harsh Truths Every Aspiring Leader Needs to Know</a></li>\n</ol>\n<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\">Photo © Tony Campbell - Fotolia.com</span>', '6 Forces Resisting Change', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '6-forces-resisting-change', '', '', '2013-06-27 06:12:19', '2013-06-27 11:12:19', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11026', 0, 'post', '', 10),
(11037, 310, '2013-06-25 06:10:26', '2013-06-25 11:10:26', '<p align=\"center\"><b><i>\"Let him that would move the world, first move himself.\" --  </i></b><b><i>Socrates</i></b></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">“<i>Rev it up!” “ I’m pumped!”  “Shake it loose!”</i></p>\nWhere does this type of energy come from?\n\nIn the rural section of Waverly, Virginia, where I grew up, there was no running water in the homes. Instead we had a community well with a pump sitting on top.  To get water you would take your bucket, with a little water in it, with you to the well. Once you arrived, you’d pour your little bit of water out of the bucket into the mouth of the pump, then sit the bucket under it—while moving the handle up and down really fast to activate the water flow. The pump’s suction power would take over and you could hear a coughing-like sound as the water would come gushing out into your bucket.\n\nHow did this work?\n\nThe pump needed a little help to give up the water. A mix of internal and external mechanisms was necessary to get the yield. Sometimes this process was fast— the water coming out immediately. Other times your arm would hurt from having to pump the handle for longer periods of time to get some water. Maybe a part was missing? Then someone from the neighborhood needed to come and take the pump apart to fix it.\n\nDo we feel at times something is missing that we need to keep us going?\n\nOn a daily basis many of us focus on what helps us to get out of bed to do what we need to do. Understanding what is solid and sure in driving those energies can be an enigma. What is this force? Where does it come from? How does it draw suction for our choices in life or work? Does this energy come from within ourselves or do we get it elsewhere?\n\nIn a learning activity for my classes dealing with the topic of motivation, I use a handout which lists 20 known motivators we might cling to in work or life. Challenges, helping others, money, flexibility, security, autonomy, making a difference, and benefits, are some of the motivators listed, drawing from a mix of  what’s known in theory as “intrinsic or extrinsic factors (inside of ourselves or given by the outside). The instructions provided on the handout ask participants to review this list and then rank their motivators with an A, B or C.  Those that motivate you the most get an A, ones that motivate you moderately get a B and items that motivate you very little or not at all get a C.\n\nSome participants look perplexed— reluctant to choose. They seem to be thinking, <i>This is work. I get paid to be here so what else matters?</i>  Others may be smiling and going through the list at a rapid-fire rate. Once everyone has completed the assessment, I lead several discussions following the ease versus difficulty of determining your motivators. Thought-provoking quotes like, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” spark dialogue within the group. Inquiries regarding inspiration versus motivation surface and opinions continue. The final question to the class is, “How have your key motivators shown up in your job and life?”\n\nMotivation sparks our movement along life’s path. Whether it comes from within or outside of ourselves, one way is not better than the other—it’s just nice to know what’s pumping us forward.\n\nSome days it may take some priming to get us going. Getting a handle on what the ignition is and turning it to the max can get us good suction in sticking to our paths.\n\nThere’s an overwhelming sense of accomplishment in ‘giving it all we got.’ When it shows up, draw from it in how we engage work and life every day!\n\nWhat primes your pump?\n\n&nbsp;', 'Staying Motivated: How to Prime Your Pump', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'staying-motivated-how-to-prime-your-pump', '', '', '2013-06-25 06:10:26', '2013-06-25 11:10:26', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11037', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11050, 243, '2013-07-01 06:12:10', '2013-07-01 11:12:10', '<h2>Have a book on us!</h2>\nWell, here it is... our list of books we will sponsor to anyone who asks.  That\'s right. If the cost of a book stands between you and becoming a better leader, let us know what book that might be and if we agree it\'s a good leadership book, we\'ll get you a copy. The only catch is that you come back here, or go someplace public, and share your thoughts on the book once you\'ve finished it.\n\nYou can even add books to this list if 1) you\'d like that book, or 2) you\'re willing to sponsor that book.  If you simply have an opinion about a book, please share that in the comments.  Feel free to vote on your favorites too.  More info on this whole idea is available on the page Free Books.\n\n[listly id=\"5cE\" layout=\"full\"]', 'Favorite Leadership Books', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'favorite-leadership-books', '', '', '2013-07-01 06:12:10', '2013-07-01 11:12:10', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11050', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(11063, 243, '2013-06-28 06:23:07', '2013-06-28 11:23:07', '<i>Each month in our newsletter, we feature an interview with one of our Instigators. The interview for May was with Jacob Kache, who works as a consultant for <a href=\"http://www.octanner.com/\">O.C. Tanner</a>, a company dedicated to developing employee recognition and rewards programs that help companies appreciate people who do great work. Connect with Jacob either on <a href=\"http://www.octanner.com/\">their website</a> or follow <a href=\"http://twitter.com/octanner\">@OCTanner</a> on Twitter.\n</i>\nWhat is your background in</strong><strong> leadership?</strong></div>\n<div>I have 10+ years experience in a managerial position. I have developed and implemented rewards programs that have not only increased moral, but productivity. I have received several accolades for the success of these rewards programs, which are focused on being able to improve performance, highlight talents and skills, boost moral and increase motivation.I have been an active leader in the Boy Scouts of America Program as a strong advocate of teaching the boys that leadership isn\'t about what they have done-- it\'s about what they have helped other people do.</div><p>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>\n<div><strong>What do you do to engage in leadership?</strong>\nHave and show a genuine interest in each person: find out each individual’s aspirations, needs, interests, talents, concerns, etc.Engage people to find meaning in their work: help them to understand that their work is important and worthwhile.</div>\n.\n<strong>Do you have a book or person that particularly influenced you?</strong>\nI have both. The Carrot Principle is a great book all people in a leadership position should read. It is about \"how the best managers use recognition to engage their people, retain talent, and accelerate performance\" (which also happens to be the sub-title).Robert Cordray is someone I have started following a lot over the past few months. He isn\'t super well known but has written for some very prominent sites  (i.e. business.com, resourcenation.com, hr.com, etc). He is a retired business guru who now does private consulting. His focus is in employee recognition and leadership coaching. His Twitter handle is @robertcordray.\n<div></div>\n<div>\n\n<strong>What would you like to get out of your membership with the Lead Change Group?\n</strong>I would like to both provide informative, rich content as well as become apart of a community of leaders who share their insights around the universal human need to create value.\n\n</div><p><p><p>\nIf you’re registered on this site and you don’t get this newsletter each month, please click here to subscribe to the newsletter.”', 'Meet Instigator Jacob Kache', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'meet-instigator-jacob-kache', '', '', '2013-06-28 06:23:07', '2013-06-28 11:23:07', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11063', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11096, 328, '2013-07-03 06:12:28', '2013-07-03 11:12:28', '<em><b><a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Leadership.jpg\"><img class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11099\" alt=\"Compass Pointing the Way to Leadership in Business\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Leadership-300x115.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"115\" /></a></b></em>\n\n<em><b>“We all have the capacity to inspire and empower others. But we must first be willing to devote ourselves to our personal growth and development as leaders.” Bill George</b></em>\n\nOver the past several years, people have developed a deep distrust of leaders. From politicians to business executives to community leaders, people are finding it difficult to be inspired and follow someone they believe in. Many people are yearning for more transparency and authenticity.\n<ul>\n	<li><b>Authentic leadership</b> begins with the knowledge of oneself and being true to oneself.</li>\n	<li>It requires authentic valuation of your strengths and areas of growth.</li>\n	<li><b>Authentic leadership</b> requires personal integrity and elevated self-awareness.</li>\n	<li><b>Authentic leadership</b> development involves ongoing processes whereby leaders and followers gain self-awareness and establish open, transparent, trusting and genuine relationships.</li>\n	<li><b>Authentic leaders</b> do not phony their leadership. They do not pretend to be leaders just because they are in a leadership position.</li>\n</ul>\nKnowing our true selves requires the audacity and honesty to open up and examine our experiences. Leaders who become authentic are more humane and willing to be vulnerable.\n\n<b>Relational Authenticity</b>\n\nAuthentic leaders value and strive for openness and honesty in all relationships. They bring candor to every conversation.  They develop relational authenticity that involves an active process of openness and mutual trust. In authentic relationships, one must be genuine and truthful with other people. Relational authenticity also leads to positive and meaningful relationships with others.\n\n<b>Trust</b>\n\nAuthentic leaders are more likely to experience unconditional trust as they interact with followers with openness and truthfulness while earning their confidence by shared values and consistent engagement. It requires the leader to be willing to hold oneself open to inspection in order to achieve accurate feedback required to learning.\n\n<b>Self-Awareness</b>\n\nAuthentic leaders are more likely to have positive relationships with their followers. They understand it’s critical to build authentic relationship with people that will lead to greater value congruence and follower exchange that is consistent with authentic leadership values.\n\nAuthentic leaders develop better self-awareness which will reflect a mindfulness of trust in our own personal characteristics, value, motives, feelings and thoughts.\n\n<b>Internal Compass</b>\n\nAuthentic leaders have a strong internal compass that reflects on who they are, what do they believe, and what is the right thing to do. They believe they can restore and build optimism by the guidance of their moral convictions. They develop themselves and others by restoring confidence and hope for the future.  They encourage transparent relationships and decision making that builds trust and commitment among followers.\n\n<b>They share life stories</b>\n\nLife stories provide authentic leaders with a perspective that can be expressed through their leadership influence. Authentic leaders can relate their life stories as valuable life experiences to share and relate as “lessons learned.” A leader life story conveys the leader qualities. The journey to authentic leadership begins with how you understand your leadership life story. What values did you learn and want to share from your leadership experiences? What stories can you tell others about your strengths and weaknesses?\n\n<b>“To become authentic, each one of us has to develop our own leadership style, consistent with our personality and character.” Bill George</b>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'The journey to your authentic leadership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-journey-to-your-authentic-leadership', '', '', '2013-07-03 06:12:28', '2013-07-03 11:12:28', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11096', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(11107, 243, '2013-07-08 06:12:37', '2013-07-08 11:12:37', '<blockquote><em>In a battle between two ideas... the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.</em> Seth Godin, <em>Tribes</em></blockquote>\n<a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609070097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1609070097&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=elevate-20\"><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-10591\" alt=\"powerofstupid\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/powerofstupid.jpg\" width=\"186\" height=\"271\" /></a>I recently completed <a title=\"The Power of Starting Something Stupid at Amazon.com\" href=\"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609070097/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=1609070097&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=elevate-20\" target=\"_blank\">The Power of Starting Something Stupid</a> by Richie Norton with Natalie Norton. As the authors state in the subtitle, starting something stupid is a great way to crush fear, make dreams happen, and live without regret.\n\nThis July, I\'m reminded of another stupid idea. In the years leading up to 1776, a group of thinkers in the British Colonies and others throughout the west were re-thinking (shifting, even hacking) government. Up until that time, governments were somewhere on a continuum that began with powerful tyrants and ended with benevolent monarchs. The British Parliament received its power from the crown. All power came from the top. Structure varied little beyond the personality and behavior of the monarch. Leadership was a birthright. The benefits and the power of the position were inherited at best or usurped at worst. All government was a situation where the few constrained, controlled, and confined the many.\n\nBut on July 4, 1776 government on the planet changed forever. The change wasn\'t fully implemented until the Constitution of the United States was drafted in 1787 and ratified in 1789. The change was underway. The \"Representatives of the United States of America\" separated themselves from the \"British Crown\" and set about both completing the separation and establishing their own government.\n\nThe stupid idea was set forth in the <a title=\"Declaration of Independence transcript\" href=\"http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html\" target=\"_blank\">Declaration</a>. \"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,\" and \"whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.\" The words \"these ends\" refer to the \"unalienable Rights\" mentioned earlier in the paragraph.\n\nA mutual commitment to the idea that people could self-govern changed the world. That commitment is alive today thanks to the thousands who gave their lives then and now in its defense.\n\nCan you imagine making the decision to declare war? Can you imagine having to consider the consequences of your idea? Is your idea worth dying for? Have you ever had an idea worth dying for?\n\nThis week, let\'s remember there are greater ideas and battles than our own. Great people make tremendous sacrifices every day to defend the idea of self-government. As individuals, may we remember to thank those who served, and sacrificed. May gratitude replace our sense of entitlement. And may we live in a way that honors the ideal of self-government.', 'On Stupid Ideas', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'on-stupid-ideas', '', '', '2013-07-08 06:12:37', '2013-07-08 11:12:37', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11107', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11120, 265, '2013-07-05 06:21:04', '2013-07-05 11:21:04', '<em><a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/declaration-of-independence-the-fundamental-question-of-freedom/declaration/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11134\"><img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-11134\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" alt=\"Declaration of Independence\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/declaration-300x192.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" /></a>Is it better to suffer the misfortunes of the mistakes of a free people or to live in the luxurious prison of a tyrant?</em>\n\nThat is the question at the heart of what we celebrate on Independence Day.\n\nThe greatest challenge to freedom has never been the political hubris of aristocrats, bureaucrats, or those who would abuse their authority. It doesn\'t come from the threat of military retribution or financial ruin. The greatest temptation of liberty is to abandon the responsibilities of freedom for the comfort of letting someone else lead.\n\nThey are some of the most famous words ever written, \"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.\" Many have memorized this sentence. But what is often forgotten are the parts of the Declaration that come next. Consider this -\n<blockquote>\"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the <em>consent of the governed</em>, --That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.\"</blockquote>\nThe last sentence is the most telling. People have a predisposition toward the comfortable prison of the status quo. We give in to the gravity of what is known. It cuts to the heart of what it means to be a character-based leader. <em>Will you take responsibility for your own destiny or will you allow others to set your limits for you?</em>\n\nAs our Declaration states, freedom is not about casting off restraint. It is every individual taking responsibility for their choices and allowing the logical consequences of those choices to run their course.\n\nThe challenge of our day is that we\'ve come to value the pursuit of happiness more highly than life or liberty. We esteem survival more greatly than sacrifice. This was certainly not the case for the authors of the Declaration. They clearly defined the price they would pay for freedom.\n<blockquote>\"And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.\"</blockquote>\nThis is a grand statement that illuminates several ideas.\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>Freedom</strong>, self-leadership, has a price. It is nothing less than our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.</li>\n	<li><strong>Independence</strong>, the ability to choose for one\'s self, finds it\'s greatest strength in selflessness rather than selfishness. The commitment of the Founding Fathers was their mutual pledge to one other.</li>\n	<li><strong>Liberty</strong>, the removal of arbitrary restraints, is a risk worth the sacrifice and the reward.</li>\n</ul>\nWhen I consider the history of our nation and the sacrifices of those who gave what Abraham Lincoln called, \"the last full measure of devotion,\" in order to secure our freedom I am challenged to continue in this heritage of faithfulness.\n\nDo you stand ready to live in the responsibilities of freedom? Will you value liberty worthy of sacrifice? Will you pledge to those you lead and those you serve your life, your fortune and your sacred honor?', 'Declaration of Independence: The Fundamental Question of Freedom', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'declaration-of-independence-the-fundamental-question-of-freedom', '', '', '2013-07-05 06:21:04', '2013-07-05 11:21:04', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11120', 0, 'post', '', 3);
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(11139, 290, '2013-07-09 06:12:19', '2013-07-09 11:12:19', 'Yes. <a title=\"6 Forces Resisting Change\" href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/6-forces-resisting-change/\">If change was easy</a>, we would all do it. Standing still will not move us forward. Limiting our learning will not create a growth mindset. <a title=\"Pocket Change Leadership: How Do You Use Your Change?\" href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/pocket-change-leadership-how-do-you-use-change/\">Change is required</a>. It just isn’t always easy to do.\n\nA few weeks ago in the <a title=\"Lead Change Google+ Community\" href=\"https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/101604474820777716727\" target=\"_blank\">Lead Change Google+ Community</a>, the question of the week was:\n<blockquote>“For you personally, what helps you make change stick? What practice(s) has helped you change a habit, adopt a new habit, or change an attitude or mindset?”</blockquote>\n<h2>Community Insights: Making Change Stick</h2>\nThe Lead Change Community jumped in with real, practical insights. Here are some edited snippets:\n\n<a title=\"Joy Guthrie - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/joy_guthrie\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Joy Guthrie</b></a>: Two things, I think, have been most helpful in making change stick for me. 1) Repetition of the new behavior and process; and 2) The Buddy system, being involved in a change with someone else.\n\n<a title=\"Brian Rensing - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/_bpr_\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Brian Rensing</b></a><b>: </b>For me, I always look for the thing that will put me \"on the hook\" in a way that I cannot avoid accountability.\n\n<a title=\"Jonena Relth - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/relth\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Jonena Relth</b></a><b>: </b>Having an accountability partner helps me stay \"true north.”\n\n<a title=\"Kate Nasser - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/KateNasser\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Kate Nasser</b></a><b>:</b> I keep the desire going by knowing the true purpose. Write it down! Read it each morning, noon, and night. The purpose makes you want to repeat it and the repetition of action tells you if the purpose is strong enough. If the purpose is not strong enough, the action will seem burdensome and complex. If it is strong enough, the repetition will make the new actions seem easier over time.\n\n<a title=\"Hoda Maalouf - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/MaaHoda\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Hoda Maalouf</b></a><b>: </b>If something/someone really annoys/hurts me, I usually take a strict decision to move on and not look back. It has worked well for me for two main reasons: I focus so well on my next move so that I won\'t have time to look back. Second, time will heal and there are other beautiful/interesting things/people to know/deal with.\n\n<a title=\"Pioneer Outfitters - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/AlaskaChickBlog\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Pioneer Outfitters</b></a><b>: </b>I would have said \"the buddy system\" but I suppose it depends upon the \"buddy.” I do understand that it comes from within, but at the same time, fighting agoraphobia on a parallel path seems to be too much to win on our own.\n\n<a title=\"Linda Fitzgerald - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/lindaAWI\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Linda Fitzgerald</b></a><b>: </b>Sometimes fear (like being told one has a serious illness or might have it if we don\'t change our ways); sometimes a deep desire to do something differently than in the past.\n\n<a title=\"Alli Polin - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/AlliPolin\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Alli Polin</b></a><b>: </b>I changed my habit by making it more like play. By adding some fun, pushing myself, and competing against myself, I\'ve been stepping it up like a machine. I wear a pedometer that wirelessly connects to a website where I can \"compete\" against friends and my personal best. The only real competition is with myself.\n\n<a title=\"Lalita Raman - Twitter\" href=\"https://twitter.com/rlalita\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Lalita Raman</b></a><b>: </b>For me it is always the “Why?” If the “why” appeals to me, I\'ll change.\n<h2>Purpose, Accountability, and Repetition</h2>\nPurpose, accountability, and repetition are common themes to making change stick. A strong purpose puts the power in the change while accountability partners keep us on the right paths. Adopting and keeping new habits happen when we keep doing the change we desire. In today\'s world, an accountability partner can be an app (e.g., FitBit, Mint, etc.).\n\nAnother essential element, I believe, is mindset. We can have all of the above yet, without a shift in mindset, we can begin to spin out. Purpose can help shift our mindset, yet there needs to be a self-discipline, too, along with a growth mindset.\n<h2>What Is a Growth Mindset?</h2>\nCarol S. Dweck, Ph.D., wrote an insightful book called <i>Mindset: The New Psychology of Success</i>. She defines a growth mindset as:\n<blockquote>“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work – brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people have had these qualities.”</blockquote>\nIt is an embedded desire to always get better and then take the disciplined effort to do it. <a title=\"The Leadership and Innovation of David Karp\" href=\"http://www.thindifference.com/2013/06/01/the-leadership-and-innovation-ways-of-david-karp/\" target=\"_blank\">Purpose and mindset</a> need to be tightly intertwined, as they are “hand-in-glove” to do the work and make the necessary changes.\n<h2>Making Change Stick</h2>\n<img class=\"alignright  wp-image-11142\" alt=\"Making Change Stick\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Makeing-Change-Stick.jpg\" width=\"262\" height=\"413\" />In our challenges, we develop. In our challenges, we learn. In our challenges, we change. If we don’t, then purpose-filled life and relationships will pass us by. It is that simple.\n\nTo live, we need to change. It is about growth and improving what and how we do things.\n\nTo lead, we need to change. It is about growth and embracing a community to advance forward with meaning.\n\nChange has to stick if we are going to be the best person and leader we can ever be. This is our calling in which our purpose must take root.\n\n<b>To make change stick, we need to:</b>\n<ol>\n	<li>Develop and keep a growth mindset</li>\n	<li>Write our purpose and read it 3 times daily</li>\n	<li>Define new actions to take and new habits to embrace.</li>\n	<li>Hold ourselves accountable. Use apps to enforce and track accountability. Engage others to hold us accountable.</li>\n	<li>Celebrate milestones!</li>\n	<li>Keep purpose-centered; keep a growth mindset</li>\n</ol>\nTake the graphic here and make it your computer background. Keep grounded in change.\n\nThese steps may be imperfect but they are a step in the right direction. <strong>If you have ideas to add, please do so.</strong> It does take a community to build and develop purpose-filled leaders. We need to be that community.\n\nWe need to lead the change within ourselves and set an example in which we can be proud of. Maybe more importantly, we need to set the example in which the next generation can be proud of and advance forward.', 'If Change Was Easy, We Would All Do It', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'if-change-was-easy-we-would-all-do-it', '', '', '2013-07-09 06:12:19', '2013-07-09 11:12:19', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11139', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(11159, 251, '2013-07-10 06:12:17', '2013-07-10 11:12:17', '<i><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Why isn’t anyone doing anything with my ideas???</span></span></i>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I’m hearing this lament over and over lately in the groups where I’m working.<img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-11160\" style=\"margin: 8px;\" alt=\"idea ring toss\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/idea-ring-toss-300x252.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"252\" /></span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My question back is: what are YOU doing with YOUR idea?</span></span>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you toss it out there, expecting others to happily and eagerly adopt it and start working on it immediately?</span></span></p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Or…</span></span></p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Did you chat it up with a few people to test their response? And when their reaction wasn’t unfavorable, did you expect them to start acting on it right away?      </span></span></p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Or…</span></span></p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Are you passionate enough about your idea to retain ownership of it and actively work it yourself?</span></span></p>\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ideas are different from orders and other top-down driven directives or instructions. I see executing against a boss’ command as not being voluntary whereas moving forward with someone’s idea is.</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ideas are thoughts, suggestions, or concepts, which, because they aren’t concrete, make them fragile.</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So especially so when they’re tossed out with the unspoken expectation that someone other than the idea-generator will be responsible for turning the concept into reality.</span></span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Everyone is in love with their own idea.</em> ~Carl Jung</span></span></blockquote>\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you find yourself bemoaning the fact that you don’t see anyone implementing your ideas, consider these three points.</span></span>\n\n<b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Beware the unspoken expectation</span></span></b>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Don’t quietly assume that people will automatically take action on your idea. If it’s truly an idea, people have the freedom to accept or reject it. Even if they like or accept it, that’s no guarantee that they’ll move on it. If your expectations include action, make those intentions known. Talk it out. Clarify. Secure commitment.</span></span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Words do two major things: They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.</em> ~Jim Rohn</span></span></blockquote>\n<b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Be a passionate grower</span></span></b>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Plant your idea like a good gardener would. Assure the conditions are right. Provide nurturing. Check in periodically. Good ideas can be contagious, especially those where people can clearly see how the outcome makes a positive difference. People may even want to claim your idea as their own!</span></span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Be the one who nurtures and builds</em>. ~Marvin J. Ashton</span></span></blockquote>\n<b><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Own it</span></span></b>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If your idea is meaningful and you’re invested in turning the thought into something tangible, make it so yourself. Your heartfelt commitment can serve as a magnet to pull others into your good idea. </span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And that’s when the real magic happens.</span></span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>A pile of rocks ceases to be a rock when somebody contemplates it with the idea of a cathedral in mind</em>. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery</span></span></blockquote>', 'Playing idea ring toss', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'playing-idea-ring-toss', '', '', '2013-07-10 06:12:17', '2013-07-10 11:12:17', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11159', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(11165, 252, '2013-07-15 06:29:03', '2013-07-15 11:29:03', '<h2<em>\"There is a hunger for higher purpose as our life expectancy increases.\"</em></h2>\n– Raj Sisodia, author, academic, conscious capitalist\n\nThe statistics vary based on the source, but basically we live in a time when the average world human life expectancy doubled in just the last 100-120 years.  Before that, life expectancy was capped at about 20-30 years, for <i>centuries.</i>\n\nIn the world of work, now that humans live longer, we expect more than simply the ability to put food on the table, pay the bills or earn a pension.  It’s as simple as <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow\'s_hierarchy_of_needs\">Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs</a> or any other model of human development.  The more we develop, the more we seek to meet higher level needs.\n\nAs an employer or a manager, you may be overdue for a checkup regarding human needs.  Check your work culture, your assumptions about leading people and your management style to make sure you are supportive of how employee needs are evolving simply because human beings are living longer.  In fact, addressing this can create an exciting competitive advantage —by addressing higher level needs you can ultimately boost engagement, performance and retention.\n<h3>What’s the situation?</h3>\nToo many employees are not getting their needs met.  According to the <a href=\"http://www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx\">latest Gallup report</a> on the American workplace, 70% of U.S. workers are either not engaged in their work or are actively disengaged.  Gallup’s study indicates managers are responsible.\n\nThirty percent of employees are engaged and inspired at work.\n<h3>Are you contributing to the 70% or the 30%?</h3>\nAs a leader, make sure you are creating an environment that allows organization members to be more engaged, and presumably get higher level needs met.  I’m talking about needs like appreciation, belonging, and the need to attach a higher purpose to their contribution.\n\nHow do you address this in the workplace?  Here\'s what employees need from you.  They need to:\n<ul>\n	<li>Know what is expected of them</li>\n	<li>Have the tools to do the job right</li>\n	<li>Have the opportunity to do their best every day</li>\n	<li>Believe their opinions matter and</li>\n	<li>Have opportunities to learn and grow</li>\n</ul>\n<i>In this age when humans are living longer and expecting more, what are you doing to support your employees’ higher level needs?</i>\n\n<span style=\"color: #888888;\">(Bulleted list from Gallup’s “Q12.”  You can find extensive <a href=\"http://www.gallup.com/strategicconsulting/163007/state-american-workplace.aspx\"><span style=\"color: #888888;\">information on this here</span></a>.)</span>\n\n<span style=\"color: #888888;\">Image: Contributor “jaroon” at iStockphoto</span>', 'One Reason Your Employees Expect More and What to Do About It', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'one-reason-your-employees-expect-more-and-what-to-do-about-it', '', '', '2013-07-15 06:29:03', '2013-07-15 11:29:03', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11165', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11184, 259, '2013-07-09 12:30:37', '2013-07-09 17:30:37', '[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"250\"]<a href=\"http://decisionmakerbook.com/book/\"><img class=\" \" alt=\"The Decision Maker by Dennis Bakke\" src=\"http://decisionmakerbook.com/wp-content/themes/decisionmaker/library/images/hi-res-book.jpg\" width=\"250\" /></a> The Decision Maker by Dennis Bakke[/caption]\n\nI recently had the pleasure of reading (and now reviewing) a book by Dennis Bakke called <i>The Decision Maker</i>. It\'s subtitle, \"Unlock the Potential of Everyone in Your Organization, One Decision at a Time,\" is suitable for the context of the story.\n\nIt\'s a modern-day parable, intended to help the reader extract the messages that will empower everyone in an organization to do whatever it is that they do best, while freeing them up from scenarios that isolate decision makers from those affected by their decisions.\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;\">Is the boss really the best decision maker when it comes to decisions that affect line workers? Oftentimes, the answer is a resounding \"NO!\" But management may have a hard time letting go of the idea that they are responsible for the decision that\'s made. And for that reason, they hesitate to let go of the decision itself.</span>\n\nBut what if the boss asked a different question? Instead of deciding about safety decisions that affect front-line workers, what if they decided who the best person was to make that decision? They\'re not abdicating responsibility for the question. They\'re simply allowing someone potentially capable of coming to a better decision about the question (due to passion, proximity or interest) come up with the answer.\n\nAs leaders, it\'s a important distinction.\n\nIt\'s where managers become mentors, leaders empower followers, and parents teach children. It\'s freeing and exhilarating at the same time. And while there may be catastrophes along the way, the more likely outcome is that better decisions are made and there\'s greater \"\'buy in\" to the outcome.\n\nLet me share an example with you... My 13-year-old son, Tim, has begged for years for me to allow him to get fireworks for the 4th of July. As a single mom, having never played with fireworks and always being warned about their dangers, I\'ve been resistant.\n\nYet this year, instead of simply telling him \"no\" as I have in the past, I empowered him using the principles laid out in <i>The Decision Maker</i>.\n\nI shared what my concerns were and what questions I needed answers to. I required him to strategize a plan, do research, draw a conclusion, and make a proposal that accounted for my concerns. To do all of that, he needed to get input from others as part of his research.\n\nIn the end, Tim got to have his fireworks this year and he loved doing it. But he\'d found out the answers to all of the questions I had, and I was alright too. I even enjoyed being able to watch him have so much fun.\n\nWhat made this outcome even better was that his grandmother, who wasn\'t even part of the original discussion, had almost as much fun as Tim did setting them off!\n\nAs Decision Maker in the past, I\'d always thought she\'d agreed with my decisions. After all, many of them were influenced by warnings she\'d given me over the years. But letting Tim be Decision Maker, presenting his case, and showing he had the maturity to handle the responsibility allowed us all to celebrate his decision with him.\n\nGiven that experience, I\'d have to conclude that <i>The Decision Maker</i> is a worthy read, not just for people in traditional organizational structures, but in any body of individuals where decisions must be made, including the home.\n\n<b><i>What decisions are you holding on to that might best be made by others?</i></b>', 'Unlock the Potential of Everyone Around You', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'unlock-the-potential-of-everyone-around-you', '', '', '2013-07-09 12:30:37', '2013-07-09 17:30:37', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11184', 0, 'post', '', 5),
(11195, 307, '2013-07-11 12:14:26', '2013-07-11 17:14:26', '<h2>What Do You Know?</h2>\nRecently a friend of mine hopped on Facebook and asked his friends to recommend a local carpet-cleaning company and a moving company. (There must be a good story there, but that’s not why I bring it up.)\n\nWithin an hour he had several solid recommendations with one moving company clearly favored above any other.\n\nWhat’s that got to do with smarter leadership?\n\n<em id=\"__mceDel\">Everything!</em>\n<h2>All of Us Are (Usually) Smarter Than One of Us</h2>\nCrowdsourcing has demonstrated this truth in many ways. From Wikipedia to finding untapped veins of ore to locating a good moving company, the reality of collective intelligence is hard to ignore.\n\nThe most knowledgeable, super-intelligent person on earth still only knows an infinitesimal amount compared to the sum of human knowledge.\n\nIf you want to be a smarter leader, you\'ll... [<a href=\"http://trailblazeinc.com/2013/07/give-me-3-minutes-and-ill-make-you-a-smarter-leader/\">Read More!</a>]\n\nTake care,\n\nDavid', 'Give Me 3 Minutes and I&#039;ll Make You a Smarter Leader', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'give-me-3-minutes-and-ill-make-you-a-smarter-leader', '', '', '2013-07-11 12:14:26', '2013-07-11 17:14:26', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11195', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11235, 316, '2013-08-14 12:31:10', '2013-08-14 17:31:10', 'I met Ilan Saks, founder of <a href=\"http://www.thefounderproject.com/\" target=\"_blank\">The Founder Project</a>, through my education entrepreneur guru <a href=\"http://twitter.com/aronsolomon\" target=\"_blank\">Aron Solomon</a>, and now I can\'t wait for <a href=\"http://twitter.com/founderproject\" target=\"_blank\">The Founder Project </a>to come stateside! This is the type of engagement we need to get economies growing, build trust and a sense of ownership for our Millennials as they grow into leadership positions.\n\nIn this post, Ilan writes, \"...to truly understand this concept, time must be taken from you. [...] \'The only certainty is that tomorrow is uncertain.’ The time was now to pursue my passion: To empower students to solve problems and become entrepreneurs.\" Read more <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/7/8/the-time-is-now-to-become-an-entrepreneur.html\" target=\"_blank\">here</a>.', 'It&#039;s Time to Become an Entrepreneuer', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'its-time-to-become-an-entrepreneuer', '', '', '2013-08-14 12:31:10', '2013-08-14 17:31:10', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11235', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11244, 243, '2013-07-11 06:14:41', '2013-07-11 11:14:41', '<i><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-13944\" alt=\"daviddye\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/daviddye.jpg\" width=\"225\" height=\"225\" />Each month in our newsletter, we feature an interview with one of our Instigators. Recently we featured an interview  with David M. Dye, who w<i>orks with leaders, managers, and supervisors who want to get more done, build teams that care, and achieve results. He is a leadership speaker, consultant and coach as well as the the founder and President of Trailblaze, Inc. Connect with David via his Lead Change member profile, <a href=\"http://www.trailblazeinc.com/\">his website and blog</a>, LinkedIn, <a href=\"http://twitter.com/davidmdye\">Twitter</a>, or <a href=\"http://www.facebook.com/trailblazeinc\">Facebook</a>.</i></i>\n\n<strong>What is your background in leadership?</strong>\n\nMy earliest leadership memory is being the oldest of six children. I was frequently given responsibility. One example I refer to in my presentations is that my father gave me instructions to get the house clean by the time he got home – so my “brilliant” solution was to lock my brothers and sisters in the basement until they got it clean.  That misadventure started me on a journey to understand influence and how people work together.\n\nSince those early days I’ve had the privilege to serve in many different leadership roles from small team leader to executive leadership to elected city councilman. I’m passionate about helping others to lead effectively and have developed leadership curriculum for high school and college students, created leadership development programs for managers and supervisors, and have coached leaders in over 2000 sessions.\n\nNow, as a speaker, consultant, and coach I work with leaders, managers, and supervisors who want to get more done, build teams that care, and meet their goals.\n\n<strong>What do you do to engage in leadership?</strong>\nThis is an interesting question. The first thing I do is listen – both to myself, and to the people I’m working with. I listen to myself to identify that values and personal mission that are relevant to the situation. I listen to the team to discover their vision, values, and desires. That is the beginning engagement…to listen.\n\n<strong>Do you have a book or person that particularly influenced you?</strong>\nWow – there are so many. I’ll list a few:\n\nBooks:\nThe Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner\nCrucial Conversations by Patterson et al\nThe World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle by Hunter\nThe Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Lencioni\nThe Oz Principle by Connors et al\nThe Effective Executive by Drucker\n\nThat’s a short list – I’ve got a full list of book reviews on my website.\n\nPeople:\nGary Pratt was my Scoutmaster when I was 11 and 12 years old. I learned many leadership fundamentals from him…particularly gratitude.\n\nI’ve also worked with many leadership coaches and mentors over the years - too many to list.\n\n<strong>What would you like to get out of your membership with the Lead Change Group?</strong>\nI am a strong believer in Jim Rohn’s maxim that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.\n\nLead Change Group provides a community committed to influence-based leadership grounded in character and focused on people. I learn from everyone in LCG, the quality of my thinking is improved, and it’s encouraging to work alongside people who are committed to a character-based leadership revolution.\n\n&nbsp;\n\nIf you’re registered on this site and you don’t get this newsletter each month, please click here to subscribe to the newsletter.”', 'Meet Instigator David M. Dye', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'meet-instigator-david-m-dye', '', '', '2013-07-11 06:14:41', '2013-07-11 11:14:41', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11244', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11257, 302, '2013-07-12 06:12:19', '2013-07-12 11:12:19', '[caption id=\"attachment_11258\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]Flying at 4,500 ft. over the Susquehanna River[/caption]\n\n“<b>Wow – what a beautiful view!</b>” was one of several responses I received when I posted this picture on my Facebook page last weekend. I took this picture with my iPhone while piloting a Cessna Skyhawk on my return trip from Pennsylvania back to Virginia. At the time, I was flying over the Susquehanna River south of Harrisburg, PA. The view was even more stunning from the plane!\n\n<b>But here’s the sad fact that I have become painfully aware of: Most people on the ground have no idea what possibilities are revealed when their situation is viewed from a higher perspective</b>.\n\nMost of us are so immersed in the details of our lives that we never see the possibilities. We focus only on what we see right in front of us, or on what happened last week, or on what we think or fear might happen in the future.\n\nBut what if we chose to take a more reflective perspective? What if we were able to hold a higher vision?\n\nWhat would we notice? And what different choices would we make?\n\n<b>But here’s the important point I want to want to make:</b> Our <i>current</i> perspective is creating our reality. Until we make an effort to take a <i>different</i> perspective, not much is going to change—no matter what else we do.\n\nWe so often are focused on what’s right in front of us that we never give ourselves the opportunity to consider a more reflective perspective—the kind of higher perspective that would allow us to create what we truly want and open ourselves up to new possibilities.\n\n<b>Rather than shifting our perspective—at least periodically—we instead focus on getting all the different parts of our <i>current</i> reality to work more effectively and efficiently. And we wind up making the same choices that everybody else is choosing because they say it’s right. We are not choosing for ourselves. </b>\n\n<b>Sadly, I see this all the time in my work with helping organizations improve. They adopt one methodology or way of doing business that everyone else is choosing—and, more often than not, they experience repeated failures or marginal results. They don\'t allow people to collaborate and to co-create something even better.</b>\n\nSo how do we get a new perspective to create something different and better?\n\nHow about something like: Flying an airplane is a wonderful way to shift your vantage point. But you don’t have to be up at 3,000 feet to gain a new perspective. The best way I know to gain a new perspective on the ground is by asking questions.\n\nBut this is important: Don’t try to <i>answer</i> the questions. The questions themselves will change your energy and allow you to become more aware of the possibilities.\n\nWhat kind of questions?\n\nTry these great questions courtesy of Access Consciousness. These happen to be a few of my favorite questions that I use every day – repeatedly:\n<ul>\n	<li>What else is possible?</li>\n	<li>How does it get any better than this?</li>\n	<li>What would it take to change this?</li>\n	<li>How could this turn out better than we ever imagined?</li>\n</ul>\n<b>Now It’s Your Turn</b>\n<ul>\n	<li>What’s your best question for getting a new perspective?</li>\n	<li>Please share an example of a question that opened up a new possibility for you.</li>\n</ul>', 'Appreciate the Enormous Power of a New Perspective', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'appreciate-the-enormous-power-of-a-new-perspective', '', '', '2013-07-12 06:12:19', '2013-07-12 11:12:19', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11257', 0, 'post', '', 8),
(11269, 328, '2013-07-16 06:40:49', '2013-07-16 11:40:49', 'Leadership is a team sport. Each one of us wants to make a positive difference. As leaders we have to understand that our success is everyone’s success and vice versa. By inviting others to leadership, we create a motivating and inspiring culture that elevates our organization. Inviting others to leadership means we are all on the same team. We begin to recognize that other people have the potential and the willingness to lead.\n\nBy creating a culture where every person feels that they have a chance to contribute, you create a situation where people can do extraordinary things.\n\n<b>Reaching out to people and inviting them to lead can be a very rewarding experience, but how do you lay the foundation for such a culture?</b>\n\n<b>Know that people want to contribute</b>\n\nThe majority of the people who come to work want to do a good job. As leaders and potential leaders we have to think that way. We have to go to work and mentally prepare to know that everyone wants to do good today.  It’s a way of appreciating and trusting the people on your team. If you don’t trust them, why should they trust and appreciate you? Positive thoughts nurture good deeds. You have to begin with the proper assumptions about each and every employee on your team.\n\n<b>Demonstrate that everyone counts</b>\n\nCreate a culture where every person feels valued and appreciated. The ability to see the potential in every person and provide a place where that potential can be developed can bring more success to any organization. By asking people for their feedback and comments, you are demonstrating everyone counts. One of the best ways leaders have embraced this approach is by setting up a town hall type of meeting place where people can have a meaningful dialogue with the top leaders in their organization.\n\n<b>Share information on a regular basis</b>\n\nIn order for people to be well informed and make smart decision, they need to be exposed to valuable information to move toward action. By making a commitment to share information with everyone, you are helping to create a culture of trust and transparency. Sharing information empowers people to go out and deliver. They act on the data and feedback shared to take their performance to a higher level.\n\n<b>Ask questions to promote better insight</b>\n\nTo find out more about the people we lead and what they think, we need to ask questions. Take the time to really get to know their likes and dislikes and what makes them wake up every morning? What motivates them? What drives them? Once you take the time to really be curious and share personal connections, your team will be re-energized in your leadership atmosphere.\n\n<b> </b><b>Develop people as leaders</b>\n\nLeaders have to invest in the development of the people they lead. You have to give the tools for each person on your team to continue to learn, grow, and develop as a person every day. The day you become a leader is the day you build other leaders to continue the path to the company leadership. You have to ask yourself,“What am I teaching today that will help another person take my place one day?” Developing others sometimes gets underestimated because we assume that people grow and develop on their own. By setting time and dedication to another person’s potential, you communicated you care for him or her.\n\n<b>Mentoring</b>\n\nEveryone can grow professionally and coach others through their career. Mentoring relationships allow a safe and supportive environment to share ideas, learn new skills, take risks, improve leadership capabilities and add value to the company. Mentoring really helps everyone grow. Leaders have to invest in their potential so that they can bring the potential in others as well.\n\n&nbsp;', 'Everyone wants to make a difference', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'everyone-wants-to-make-a-difference', '', '', '2013-07-16 06:40:49', '2013-07-16 11:40:49', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11269', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(11355, 330, '2013-07-17 12:39:40', '2013-07-17 17:39:40', 'It happened again yesterday. A friend and I were talking about leadership over lunch when he commented, “What the world needs is more people like Steve Jobs.” I almost gagged on my soup.\n\nIt’s a shame that when you ask people to name leaders whom they admire most, many pick people who they have never met and whose lives aren’t even remotely like their own. The answers are often limited to über successful business people, one-of-a-kind innovators, or transformational world-changers. It’s seems clear that these individuals are good leaders, but you (likely) have very little personal experience or connection with them.\n\nRead more <a href=\"http://www.hci.org/blog/hes-great-enough-about-steve-jobs-already\">here...</a>', 'He&#039;s Great, but Enough about Steve Jobs Already', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'hes-great-but-enough-about-steve-jobs-already', '', '', '2013-07-17 12:39:40', '2013-07-17 17:39:40', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11355', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11362, 329, '2013-07-18 06:19:22', '2013-07-18 11:19:22', '<p style=\"text-align: center;\" align=\"center\"><b style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/?attachment_id=11368\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11368\"></b></p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\"><b> \"</b>You can pretend to care, you cannot pretend to be there,” wrote Texas Bix Bender in his book <b><i>Don’t Squat With Yer Spurs On!  </i></b>It is one of my favorite lines for characterizing a vital feature of leadership—command presence.  I first heard that label in the military.  Officer school candidates were drilled on the power and practice of the manner of a leader—focused, attentive, and most important, in attendance.  Command presence is not about arms-length control, it is about a live, up close and personal connection.</p>\n Davy Crockett had command presence. “David Crockett seemed to be the leading spirit. He was everywhere,” wrote Enrique Esparza, eyewitness to The Alamo in a newspaper article following the legendary siege. “He animated his men to duty.” Leadership is about animating others and animation is about spirit…that is, being, not just doing. Great leaders focus on being there, everywhere, not in absentia. And, when they are there, they are <i>all</i> there…present and accounted for.\n\nLeadership textbooks laud superstar leaders for their zeal to get outside the rarified air of mahogany row. Great leaders hunt for genuine encounters. They upset the pristine and proper by inviting vocal customers to boardroom meetings. They spend time in the field and on the floor where the action is lively, not in carefully contrived meetings where the action is limp.  They thrive on keeping things genuine and vibrant.\n\nSo, if a biographer was writing a book about your leadership and you agreed to allow the writer to follow you around for a week, what would that writer learn about where you spent your time? What would the writer conclude were your top priorities--based solely on your actions, not on your words? Role modeling--a tenant of great leadership--assumes those who are supposed to emulate you can actually witness you in role, not discern it from an e-mail or some “to all employees” message.\n\nHold your next big deal staff meeting on the move--while making rounds visiting front line employees. Or, hold it in the company van in between stops to visit the people who are doing the work in the field.  If an employee needs a meeting with you, get out of the office and meet that employee on the move.  Need a private sit down space?  Find a quiet corner somewhere where work is happening.\n\nEffective leadership is the application of influence, instruction and inspiration. Make your leadership a mobile app—one laced with “presence.”', 'Leadership as a Mobile App', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leadership-as-a-mobile-app', '', '', '2013-07-18 06:19:22', '2013-07-18 11:19:22', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11362', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11376, 307, '2013-07-23 06:22:34', '2013-07-23 11:22:34', '\n<h2>Serious Benefits</h2>\nWould you be interested in a leadership practice that would improve the quality of work for 80% of your employees? What if you could increase the productivity and job satisfaction of 93% of your staff? What would that mean for your team and your organization?\n\nBelieve it or not, there is one thing you can say and do that can provide those benefits. If you’ve been in the workplace very long, you will probably recognize this one very quickly.\n\nMany years ago, when I started my professional career, I came across a survey that asked, \"If you got to be boss for a day, what one thing would you do?\"\n<h2>Boss for a Day?</h2>\nBefore reading any further, take a moment to answer that question. How would you have answered it differently at various times in your career?\n\nYou might expect the most common answer to be one of these:\n\n·      \"Give everybody more vacation time\" or\n\n·      \"Give myself and other deserving folks a raise\" or maybe even\n\n·      \"Improve the quality of the food in the break room\"\n\nWhile those items were on the list, they were not the most common. The most frequent response was, \"I would take care of the troublemakers and the people who are not doing their work.\"\n\nIn my own speaking and training I have asked this same question many times and, despite changes in the economy and workplace, this continues to be a very common response.\n\nIn fact, 93% of employees report working with people who don’t pull their weight. Underperforming coworkers cause one-fourth of employees to work four – six additional hours each week and 80% of employees report that picking up the slack for slacking coworkers lowers the quality of their own work.*<a href=\"//#_edn1\">\n</a>\n<h2>Why Bother?</h2>\nIf you’ve ever worked alongside a slacking colleague, you know this reality firsthand. There’s almost nothing more demotivating! It corrupts the soul when you have somebody who\'s not pulling their weight and not doing their job. For your highly productive team members, it begs the question, “Why bother?”\n\nIf you allow that situation to persist, soon their performance will suffer or else they will leave and find a team worthy of their skills.\n<h2>Key to Morale and Productivity</h2>\nThe answer to the problem of troublemakers and underperforming team members are words your team needs to hear you say: “That will not happen here.”\n\nYou may use different words, but it is critical that you create a culture where everyone is expected to do what they need to do and to treat others with respect.\n\nOnce, after sharing this program with an energetic group of leaders, a woman named Mary approached me and said, “David, I used to earn six figures as a manager in a technology firm. I did everything on your list…”\n\nI nodded and smiled until she said, “Everything, but number six.”\n\n“That is a hard one for many leaders,” I replied.\n\n“Yes, but it’s also the reason I don’t work there any more – they fired me because I didn’t take care of those things. I had to learn that lesson the hard way. Make sure you emphasize this one!”\n\nMary wanted to be sure you understand that you can say all six of the other items on this list, but if you fail to say this one, your credibility and influence will inevitably suffer.\n<h2>What About Volunteers?</h2>\nIf you’re a nonprofit leader or leader of volunteers, this applies every bit as much to you as it does a leader in a for-profit company – if not more so! Imagine a volunteer who is contributes their time and energy, works diligently, and does their best working alongside someone who is half-hearted at best. What will happen to your hard-working volunteer?\n\nThe same thing that happens to a paid employee – they will lose heart and possibly leave altogether.\n<h2>Give Them What They Need</h2>\nWhen you say, “That will not happen here,” you provide safety and accountability, and you communicate that what they\'re doing matters. You demonstrate respect and value for your mission, for the work, and for your employees. Failing to practice accountability devalues the mission, the work, and disrespects your staff.\n<blockquote><em>It is the duty of the executive to remove ruthlessly anyone – and especially any manager – who consistently fails to perform with high distinction. To let such a man stay on corrupts the others. It is grossly unfair to the whole organization.</em>  - Peter Drucker</blockquote>\n<h2>Your Turn</h2>\nLeave a comment and let us know:\n\n<strong>How do you hold your team accountable when things aren\'t going the way they need to?</strong>\n\n<strong>How do you <a href=\"http://trailblazeinc.com/2011/09/why-great-leaders-know-how-to-say/\">say goodbye</a> when the time comes?</strong>\n\nTake care,\n\nDavid\n\nCredits:\n\nCreative Commons Photo by <a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshhr/4308535000/sizes/m/in/photolist-7yJnmd-9P1ebv-cx8UVd-egPFFP-au971w-7JaSby-9vCKse-9HDTun-bvRvcW-8oAuN1-8oxiMn-8oAtBJ-8oAuwN-8oxfhg-8oAvFq-8oxjZt-8oAuUE-8oxmcn-8oxhwV-8oAuby-8oxiep-8oxg8c-8oxjRV-8oxhFr-8oApK7-8oxeo4-8oxizg-8oxk5Z-8oxhpv-8oAteS-8oAsXL-8oxgK8-dHCsGs-a7EtVn/\" target=\"_blank\">ank0ku</a>\n\n*Grenny, J., May 2013. <i>Advancing Accountability in Your Organization</i>, T+D, p. 14.', 'Words Your Team Won&#039;t Ask For (But Desperately Needs to Hear)', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'words-your-team-wont-ask-for-but-desperately-needs-to-hear', '', '', '2013-07-23 06:22:34', '2013-07-23 11:22:34', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11376', 0, 'post', '', 7),
(11382, 331, '2013-07-22 06:12:07', '2013-07-22 11:12:07', 'Problem? Issue? Complaint? While venting is a widely acceptable practice in the work place today, often encouraged and actually good for you, don’t forget to match some of that expressive energy with real, actionable solutions. Frustrated? Irritated? Down Right Pissed Off? Great! Who isn’t!?! It’s the <b>What•are•ya•gonna•do•about•it </b>that separates those who stay that way and those who move through it in order to continue accomplishing.\n\nThe next time you find yourself fed up - it could be in your role, a responsibility you are required to carry out, with your boss, perhaps with the staff you manage, maybe it’s your peers. Whatever it may be, write it down, get it out, but keep the problem limited to a few sentences so it stays focused. Now, and maybe not like right NOW, maybe in a few hours, come back to it; what action-based solution can you implement to minimize or reduce the probability of it re-occurring? Remember, a solution doesn’t necessarily mean the problem is solved; it can be a resolution to a solution. The important thing here is that you are taking real, tangible action to eliminate whatever it is that is slowing your momentum down.\n\nSo implement the One 2 Rule with yourself, your staff, and anyone else who will listen! That’s one part problem, 2 part solution and it looks a little something like this.\n\nWhat is your Problem, Issue, or Complaint?________________________________________________\n\n__________________________________________________________________________________________\n\nWhat can you do <strong>today</strong> to reduce or eliminate your Problem, Issue, or Complaint?\n\nAction One: _________________________________________________________________________________\n\nAction Two: _________________________________________________________________________________\n\n<b>And the Perks?</b> <i>Why, I’m so glad you asked…<b></b></i>\n\nGetting it OUT! Like lifting a ton of bricks right off your shoulders! Carrying problems around not only affects your performance but it likely affects your peers as well.\n\nCreature of Habit: By practicing pairing solutions with problems, you are training your brain to automatically default to solution-based thinking vs. problem-based thinking. Stop wasting time assessing the problem and start identifying the solution!\n\nHang onto the remnants of your / your staff’s One 2 Rule exercises. They can be used to reflect back on how far you’ve come, to see what worked and what did not, and help identify any repeat offenders.\n\nBeing one step closer to unstuck, happy, efficient, proactive, and effective again!\n\n&nbsp;', 'The One 2 Rule: That’s One Part Problem, 2 Part Solution', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-one-2-rule-thats-one-part-problem-2-part-solution', '', '', '2013-07-22 06:12:07', '2013-07-22 11:12:07', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11382', 0, 'post', '', 0);
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(11405, 318, '2013-07-24 06:10:52', '2013-07-24 11:10:52', 'Leaders often hate to follow.  There\'s ego, \"I could do this better.\"  Or vision, \"she\'s not thinking big enough.\"  Or style, \"that\'s not how I would approach it.\"  When the stakes are high, you might need to jump in.  Chances are there\'s greater benefit to follow, feel and flow.\n<h2>Follow</h2>\nFollow more.  Take the back seat. Observe, participate.  Be led.   If the guys a jerk, do the best you can. If she\'s disorganized, consider the impact.  Imagine what you would do the same and differently.  Don\'t judge.  Do watch how others respond.  Consider how followers with different styles perform under that leader.\n<h2>Feel</h2>\nFollow with the same intensity in which you lead.  <span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">When deeply invested, the wins are that much sweeter.  At the same time,  disappointments and frustrations can run deep as well.  Pay attention to following emotions to become an empathetic leader. </span>\n<h2>Flow</h2>\nIntegrate your leading and following.  Follow more when leading.  Lead and follow in the same team.   Create opportunities for others to lead.\n<h2>A Story</h2>\nI remember the first time I received some really significant recognition at work.  The music blared, the spotlight shown on me.  I was escorted onto the stage in front of thousands. Pictures were snapped with top brass… the adrenaline rush was fantastic.  As I returned to my seat, my boss pulled me aside and got very serious:\n<blockquote>“Never forget how that made you feel.  Someday you will be in a decision-making role, and someone will ask you if the investment in these recognition programs is worth it.  Today you have your answer.</blockquote>\nHe was right.  I am often in that decision-making role.  I have my answer.\n\nTaking the time to notice how we feel when we are followers, can inform our decisions as leaders.  And we are always following someone, no matter whom we are leading.\n<h3>How do we feel when…</h3>\n<ul>\n	<li>someone takes the time to give us really candid feedback?</li>\n	<li>our risk-taking is supported?</li>\n	<li>someone makes a big investment in our careers?</li>\n	<li>someone takes credit for our work?</li>\n	<li>we really screw up?</li>\n	<li>we work really long hours and someone notices?</li>\n	<li>… and no one does?</li>\n	<li>we are talked to with dignity and respect?</li>\n	<li>… or we are not?</li>\n</ul>\nIt is hard to step back and embrace the learning, particularly when emotions are high.  And yet, that may be our biggest opportunity to learn.\n\nRelated:\n\n<a href=\"http://letsgrowleaders.com/2013/07/18/7-ways-to-inspire-courage/\">7 Ways to Inpsire Courage </a>\n<a href=\"http://letsgrowleaders.com/2013/07/10/teaching-empathy/\">Feel and Grow Rich:  Ways to Learn Empathy</a>', 'Follow, Feel and Flow:  Integrating Leading and Following', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'follow-feel-and-flow-integrating-leading-and-following', '', '', '2013-07-24 06:10:52', '2013-07-24 11:10:52', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11405', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(11415, 332, '2013-07-25 06:12:56', '2013-07-25 11:12:56', '\n\n<i>The following post was co-authored by Dr. Gordon Whitehead and his son Chris Whitehead</i>...\n\n&nbsp;\n\nMany years ago I read <em>Be Quick But Don\'t Hurry</em> by Andrew Hill and John Wooden. For many, John Wooden is a personal, as well as a national, treasure. For those who don\'t know about John Wooden, this may help -- as the basketball coach for UCLA, his teams won 10 NCAA championships in 11 years. Clearly, Coach Wooden knew something about leadership, building winning teams, nurturing talent, and creating lasting relationships.\n\nI\'d like to discuss a few of the golden nuggets one of Coach Wooden\'s players, Andrew Hill, shares in the book.\n<h2>Nugget 1: Be Quick - But Don\'t Hurry</h2>\nCoach Wooden realized speed can actually be detrimental to performance, and most young players will play faster than they should if allowed. Resisting the temptation to play too fast is difficult and requires discipline. Operating under control produces far greater and consistent results than operating under haste.\n\nDuring the Wooden era, UCLA was famous for their press. Many thought the press was designed to \"steal the ball.\" But, the truth was the press was designed to cause the other team to play out of control. As a result of playing out of control, the team would cause their own turnovers through bad decisions and hurried processes.\n\nOrganizational leaders can be guilty of pushing for speed. I once worked for a talented General Manager of a company who, quite literally, bet the company on the promise of a new software solution she wanted to take to market. Her idea was sound. But, she failed to listen to design advice, timeline advice, market advice, and even budget advice from the team that she commissioned to frame her project. Instead, she believed that if she pushed for speed, everything would work its way out. She was confident that the team she commissioned to advise her was over-padding their estimates in every category. She could not have been more wrong. As a result of the unnecessary push for speed, the project ran over budget by a quarter of a million dollars, took longer to complete by almost a year, and did not have the features the market wanted or needed. The result? Speed produced disaster -- a large corporate \"turnover\" in the 4th quarter that cost that company its existence.\n\nLeaders need to be patient and encourage patience. This doesn\'t mean we go slow - it means we move quickly, but always within control so that errors are not a result of our carelessness. We want to be the leaders that capitalize on the competition\'s errors rather than feeding the competition with our own errors.\n<h2>Nugget 2: Leaders Teach</h2>\nCoach Wooden had a formula for teaching. He followed a four step process:\n\n<strong>Demonstration.</strong> Leaders provide a clear demonstration of what and how something is to be accomplished. In basketball, this often requires the coach to \"show\" how something is to be done. Verbalization alone is not enough. Good leaders show how to do a skill by doing it themselves, by drawing it on the whiteboard, by using metaphors, stories, examples, and keywords to invoke in the mind of the follower the concept being instilled.\n<strong>Imitation</strong>. Leaders provide a way for followers to practice by imitating the demonstration. This is done in a safe environment where it is okay to make mistakes and try new skills.\n<strong>Correction</strong>. Leaders use the imitation phase to correct so that the follower can get the skill in place with precision. Correction must be positive and encouraging so that followers are encouraged to try new things and move out of their comfort zones. Yet, correction must be done in order to assure skills are learned properly.\n<strong>Repetition.</strong> Once the skill is understood and precision achieved, the skill is repeated over and over until it becomes a part of normal behavior. This way no bad habits creep in. Repetition fosters true learning.\n\nIn business and organizational management leaders might consider taking on a role that models teacher over director. Teach so that the team can perform at a proper speed, under proper game-like condition, and under realistic pressure. The Wooden 4-step method is unbeatable for developing people as well as basketball players.\n<h2>Nugget 3: The Team With The Best Players Does Not Necessarily Win</h2>\nIt\'s not about talent so much as it is about teamwork and commitment. Sometimes the organization\'s superstar over-values their own talent and doesn\'t distribute opportunity. This damages teams and keeps other team members from developing.\n\nAt the same time, people may need to be cut from the team if they are not measuring up.\n\n\"You cannot expect to encourage teamwork in an organization where weak performers are allowed to keep their jobs.\"\n\nIn a world where we operate in teams, (business, education, sports, etc.) neither the underachiever nor the myopic, selfish performer should be tolerated.\n<h2>Wooden Was A Master Leader</h2>\nJohn Wooden was a master leader. He not only coached championship teams, but he developed championship people. In closing, here are three quotes that provide insight into his character and should inspire those seeking to understand how to lead a championship organization.\n<blockquote>\"Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Character is what you really are; reputation is what you are perceived to be.\"</blockquote>\n<blockquote>\"If we magnified blessings as much as we magnify disappointments, we would all be much happier.\"</blockquote>\n<blockquote>\"The man who is afraid to risk failure seldom has to face success.\"</blockquote>\nWe learn to be leaders from other leaders. Who are your leadership role-models? Do you look to the greats or living locals?', 'Lead Like Coach Wooden', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'lead-like-coach-wooden', '', '', '2013-07-25 06:12:56', '2013-07-25 11:12:56', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11415', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11431, 328, '2013-07-26 06:15:06', '2013-07-26 11:15:06', '\n\n<b>“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller</b>\n\nToday, the social implications of a multi-generational workforce joining with the informational implications of new technology make collaboration a priority in many organizations. Collaborations, partnerships, alliances are the mark of great organizations and communities—the indispensable arsenal of the organization and communities of the future.\n\nMoving beyond the walls, finding the right partner, collaborations change lives, build empowering communities, and sustain the quality of our connections.\n\nRemarkable results can be achieved when you join the skills and talents of everyone on your team. Several heads are always better than one! Each person brings something to the table that continues to add value to relationships and overall synergy of the team.\n\n<b>So what do collaborative team players have in common?</b>\n\n<b>Attitude</b>\n\nA collaborative team player mind-set is not about what’s in it for them. It’s about what’s in it for the team. It’s the collective mission that they are dedicated to. This attitude is shaped from knowing you want to serve other people on your team on a daily basis. It’s more about giving rather than receiving.  It’s about knowing that other people have as much potential as the rest of us. We trust and believe in their abilities to create a beautiful team environment. If you focus on your team and not just yourself, you will reap the rewards of development and growth in your organization. We never win alone.\n\n<b>Create more celebrations</b>\n\nWhen you find joy and energy in working with people, you begin to feel the synergy of a great collaboration. It’s a force multiplier. The positive energy keeps compounding for endless potential. Collaborative team players find the champions on their team to move along a rewarding path that sometimes take a fascinating course toward more and more personal discoveries. When you begin to highlight the accomplishments and the strengths of the people on your team, the culture becomes one big celebration of everyone’s contribution.\n\n<b>Think win-win</b>\n\nCollaboration is really about everyone winning. In order to move into the win-win mindset of a team player, one has to find a common ground when there are differences and challenges.  The collaborative team player seeks to facilitate and lead conflict into a winning zone. It requires a lot of courage and vulnerability to let go our assumptions and judgments of other people\'s perspectives. We must embrace diversity and debate to avoid potential pitfalls. We want to encourage all points of view, but at the end we have to bring it all together and let everyone on the team feel safe and that their voice was heard.\n\n<b>Focus on solutions and new ideas</b>\n\nCollaboration is not just a beautiful word. It’s really about shifting the problems into innovative solutions with as many people as you can. When you lead and facilitate collaboration in your team, you encourage new ideas to come about. Bringing these ideas to a new light and picking the best ones is one sure way to focus on solutions and move forward quickly as a team. The collaborative team player takes the lead in encouraging and mentoring others to focus on solutions which create momentum within the culture. Take the time to seek out and explore where opportunities can be solved together synergistically.\n\n<b>“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” Phil Jackson</b>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;', 'The collaborative team player', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-collaborative-team-player', '', '', '2013-07-26 06:15:06', '2013-07-26 11:15:06', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11431', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(11458, 265, '2013-08-01 06:12:09', '2013-08-01 11:12:09', 'No one likes to fail. Failure feels like losing. But failure is more generous than we might think. Failure gives experience to those who try and offers wisdom to those who will try next. Failure fuels our quest for something better. It is the hunger that drives our discontent. Failure is the engine of innovation.\n\nIt is said that when Alexander the Great reached the sea he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer. Failure reveals the next world to conquer. Isn\'t it time we learn to leverage our failures? What can we do to make the most of our mess?\n\n<strong> CELEBRATE FAILURE</strong>\n\nNo one wants to hear the play-by-play of how I beat my 8-year old son at basketball. Clearly we are unevenly matched. The stories we love to hear are the ones where the hero faces a worthy opponent. The Batman has Joker. Sherlock Holmes has Professor Moriarty. Sheldon Cooper has Star Trek\'s Will Wheaton! Rarely does our hero win the first battle, but we tell the story anyway. We elevate our enemy so when victory is assured our hero\'s story becomes even more epic.\n\nFailure is the arch-nemesis in your story of success. Honor it. Make it part of your story. Remind people of the time you lost and use that example to elevate the significance of your struggle and the valor of your victory.\n\n<strong>WATCH &amp; LEARN</strong>\n\nFailure with your eyes wide shut is a waste of experience. Blind failure is what happens when we stumble about without passion or purpose. It is the result of too much pride or too little vision. Pick a path. Test the fences. Make a choice. Move forward. When you fail, own it. Take notes. Better yet, take pictures and hang those pictures where you can see them. Examine your failure. Make failure a case study for what needs to change. Purpose and passion tempered with wisdom and experience become the hardened steal on which legacies are built.\n\n<strong> FAIL LIKE WATER, GET BACK UP</strong>\n\nPersistence is a powerful tool. Water is persistent. It breaks down seals. It rusts metal. It carves mountains. It reshapes shorelines. Water is relentless. It flows. It becomes the cup that contains it. It spreads out until it finds the limits of its reach and only settles after it has no place left to flow and nothing left to give. Learn to fail like water. Keep moving and reshaping until you have nothing left to give - and then give a little more. Be relentless. The ones on top aren\'t there because they performed flawlessly. They lead the pack because when they fell down, they got back up.\n\n<strong> DO IT AGAIN - ONLY DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME</strong>\n\nIn business if an employee makes a $100,000 mistake you fire them. Problem solved, right? Not if they are the right kind of employee. When you fire the right kind of employee for making the wrong kind of decision, you\'ve just given $100,000 worth of the best training ever to the next company they will work for, potentially your competition.\n\nMusic is a combination of melody, harmony, and rhythm. No matter what you play, when you miss a note the next measure is still coming. Stop playing and you stop the song. There will be time to examine your mistakes and celebrate your victories once the song is complete, but don\'t stop the music till the song is done.\n\nIn an unbelievably good game a pitcher will throw a minimum of 81 pitches. Whether you throw a strike, a ball or if the batter knocks it out of the park there\'s another inning coming. Baseball games are won one pitch, one at bat, one run at a time. Throw the ball. If it doesn\'t land where you want throw it again, only differently this time. Minor changes make a big difference. Keep throwing till the game is over.\n\n<strong> PRACTICE LIKE YOU PLAY</strong>\n\nRepetition is a powerful tool. Make certain you repeat the right things. Practice is the systematic process of overcoming a series of small failures. As you learn to get things right practice reinforces right behaviors. Make your practice worthy of your play. Olympic athletes train for years to compete against the best in the world at what they do. Their practice reshapes their mind, body and reflexes. Every day they make minor adjustments. These adjustments allow them to overcome deficiencies and reinforce the habits that become their signature for winning. When the challenge finally comes their body simply responds. It\'s not effortless. It\'s not thoughtless. <em>It\'s practiced</em>. And that which is impossible to most becomes the world record setting performance that inspires nations. Repetition is a powerful tool. Make certain you repeat the right things.\n\n&nbsp;', 'Epic Fail - 5 Ways to Build a Culture of Failure', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'epic-fail-5-ways-to-build-a-culture-of-failure', '', '', '2013-08-01 06:12:09', '2013-08-01 11:12:09', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11458', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(11493, 266, '2013-07-29 06:12:02', '2013-07-29 11:12:02', 'Have you ever gotten a question in your head that just won’t let go? You spend countless hours thinking about it, because you really want to understand and know?  Well, the above question is one of those types of questions. Thousands of years ago, God was given a female gender identity. But now, in modern Christianity, and other religions, the Divine Creator is “seen” and talked to as a man. When did that happen? I’ve been wondering about that for a very long time. When did our societies become patriarchies? Did that happen about the same time? What precipitated the change, and has it been for the better? Or, is it like a pendulum swinging from one extreme to another?\n<div>\n\n<em>Even a positive thing casts a shadow . . . its unique excellence is at the same time its tragic flaw</em>. – William Irwin Thompson\n\n</div>\nSeveral days ago, I posted the question on my Facebook page in hopes people would respond with their thoughts. A good friend of mine from my Chicago years sent me a link to an article I found fascinating. I will talk briefly about the article in a moment, and if you would like to read it in its entirety, you can find it at “<a href=\"http://www.aish.com/sp/ph/48964511.html?mobile=yes\">The Gender of God</a>” on aish.com.\n\nLeonard Shlain, in his book “The Alphabet Versus the Goddess,” postulates that literacy, for all its many benefits carries with it a curse. It diminishes feminine values, and with them women’s power in the culture. He states that “a holistic, simultaneous, synthetic, and concrete view of the world is the essential characteristic of a feminine outlook; linear, sequential, reductionist and abstract thinking defines the masculine.”\n\nThe ancient Taoist circle is a symbol of integration, symmetry and balance represented by the circle completed with Yin/Yang energies. When men and women work together, balancing their skills and talents, we see the same type of circular completion. One without the other is incomplete and out of balance. Shlain proposes that the written word upset the apple cart by moving us more toward the yang – the masculine. How did this happen? Rather than a continued concentration on whole-brained development or balance, as our ancestors learned to read and write through symbols, they began to exercise and develop the left-brain and encourage their offspring to do the same.\n\nMathematics and science follow suit, requiring pragmatic “proof,” replacing faith and mystery. The concept of money is not far behind!\n\nAnthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss was one of just a few to challenge literacy’s worth. He said, “There is one fact that can be established: the only phenomenon which, always and in all parts of the world seems to be linked with the appearance of writing … is the establishment of hierarchical societies, consisting of masters and slaves, and where one part of the population is made to work for the other part.” <a title=\"\" href=\"file:///C:/Users/KK/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/9HRCVHO3/When%20Did%20God%20Become%20a%20Man.docx#_ftn1\">[1]</a>\n\nOver 5,000 years ago, with the advent of the written word, Goddess centered religions and cultures began to lose power. Systematic political and economic subjugation of women followed and slavery became commonplace. (One of my FB friends put forth her ideas: “Possibly when men realized that in order to have \"power\" they needed to control land which was then controlled primarily by women. Then there was a snowball effect on everything gender related and it created the imbalance of power by gender which we still struggle with today” )... By the 5<sup>th</sup> century A.D., goddess-based religions were almost completely eradicated, to be replaced by that new upstart “Christianity.”\n\nShlain states that The Old Testament was the first alphabetic written work to influence future ages. The words we still read today provide the foundation to three powerful religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Each is an archetype of patriarchy. Each monotheistic religion features an imageless Father deity whose authority shines through His Word. Rabbetzin Tziporah Heller, author of “The Gender of God,” clarified for me that this statement is only partially true, leaving out the consistent use of gender imagery used by the Zohar. The Talmud and the mystics use the “Holy One Blessed Be He” as the masculine phrase, and “Shechina” (presence) as the feminine phrase.\n\nGoddess worship, feminine values, and women’s power depends on the presence of the image in everything we do. God worship, masculine values, and men’s domination of women are bound to the written word. Whenever a culture advances the written word at the expense of the image, patriarchy dominates. When the importance of the image supersedes the written word, feminine values and social equality flourish.\n\nI’m participating in a class, off and on, entitled Rediscovery of the Heart. In almost every conversation we talk about the heart-mind, and the image-maker. We have learned that ancient Hebrews believed that the mind resided in the heart, and modern science continues to recognize that we think in images, not words, even though we try to describe our thoughts in words (with great difficulty at times). Modern day miracles are often discovered by scientists who think in images, not formulas. Einstein is one example. He intuitively knew that E=MC<sup>2</sup>. He spent the next 14 years figuring out the formula to prove it mathematically so other scientists would believe him!\n\nLet’s take this a little bit further. Most of us have at least heard about “change the brain,” “re-wiring the brain,” etc. This vernacular is used by 100’s of self-help “gurus,” psychologists, and yes – even coaches! Most often when we have these types of conversations, we are talking about developing emotional intelligence, feeling-states, and being authentic. We are talking about creating balance between the masculine and the feminine parts of who we are. Feeling-states don’t usually progress in a linear fashion, but are experienced all at once. We are often unable to verbally describe them. An intuitive insight arrives in a flash. The right brain observes the world concretely. It is also the realm where faith and mystery rule over logic. The right brain ferrets out body language, while the left brain deciphers content. The right side of the brain is concerned with being, the left with doing. The right side of the brain thinks in images, the left in abstracts and analysis.\n\nWhat does this have to do with whether God is a man or a woman? Or leadership for that matter? (BTW, thanks for hanging in here.)\n\nOver the last five years I have been coaching leadership and personal growth, I have become more aware than ever that our culture is almost always driven by our beliefs. Per a recent Pew survey, here in the United States we are by and large of the Christian faith, which runs the gamut from being identified as “spiritual but not religious,” progressive Christianity, mainstream Christianity, and fundamentalist Christianity. Being the land of the free (in word, if not deed), we accept that others believe differently than we do, and many other religions are practiced within our borders. The differences in our religions, and the unity or divisiveness within our culture can often be identified by how in touch we are with the balance of our Supreme Being – the unity of the ways in which that being makes itself known. When our concentration is on our external world, as it is now, we lose sight of our own sensitivity to others and to ourselves.\n\nI believe that many within our culture are beginning to recognize that we are all one as the various religions begin to understand and accept that their Supreme Being is more balanced than religious fundamentalists would have you believe.  Many who have identified as spiritual but not religious recognize that religion is man-made (based on reliance on the written word), and true spirituality is based on love, not dogma, representing one Universal God. As we achieve balance, we will recognize that it’s more than okay to portray the outcomes of spiritual inspiration and awareness, feeling-states, and to step away from the grasp of power and subjugation of others.\n\nThis apocalypse (unfolding) will require that we educate our young to balance and use both the right and left sides of the brain. It will require us to be willing to value the mystical as well as the factual, recognizing and “listening” to our intuitive, creative self. As leaders of this change, we recognize that it will require bringing emotional intelligence into our leadership style.  We will need to be open-minded and less competitive, recognizing that no one person is “right,\" but the collective conversation and knowledge of all will bring about the best decisions.\n\nWe are far from this idealistic world. We live in highly charged and polarizing times. If we wish to lead change, each one of us must be the change we wish to see. To me that means we need to lead from the soul – our heart-mind. Linear thought processes have their place, but not to the detriment of doing what we know in our heart is right, even though sometimes we can’t express it well in words. Sometimes it requires us to take a leap of faith.\n\nI know that religion/spirituality is a touchy subject in the business and social world. People avoid talking about it. Many believe it doesn’t belong in the work place. I disagree. It is ALWAYS in the workplace. We can’t compartmentalize ourselves and be authentic. Our belief systems drive our culture, and our culture drives how we interrelate with others. Perhaps it would be GOOD to talk about what we believe. If we bother to listen and seek to understand, we might recognize that we are more the same at the core of our beliefs than we are different. And then we will recognize that the Divine is balanced, requiring no one to be the slave and allowing no one to be the master.\n\nThe Creator has no gender, or perhaps is perfectly balanced, both masculine and feminine.\n<div><br clear=\"all\" />\n\n<hr align=\"left\" size=\"1\" width=\"33%\" />\n\n<div>\n\n<a title=\"\" href=\"file:///C:/Users/KK/AppData/Local/Microsoft/Windows/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.Outlook/9HRCVHO3/When%20Did%20God%20Become%20a%20Man.docx#_ftnref1\">[1]</a> Georges Charbonnier, <i>Conversations with Claude Levi-Strauss</i>, 29-30\n\n&nbsp;\n\n&nbsp;\n\n</div>\n</div>', 'When Did God Become a Man?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'when-did-god-become-a-man', '', '', '2013-07-29 06:12:02', '2013-07-29 11:12:02', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11493', 0, 'post', '', 9),
(11507, 325, '2013-08-05 06:12:10', '2013-08-05 11:12:10', '<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/training-tomorrows-leaders-the-next-generation-of-workplace-thinking/leadership-2/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11510\">As the Boomer generation ages, increasing numbers of senior executives are moving toward retirement. Consequently, organizations must have strategies in place to find, hire, train and retain the next generation of thought-leaders---those with the talent and vision to take things to the next level. That’s a formidable challenge considering that the next generation---Gen Y / Millenials---has very different philosophies about life, work and what they want from their careers than the current generation looking to hand them the keys. Here’s a look at some of the next generation issues existing leaders will need to address to make sure their companies remain in competent hands.\n<h2>A new definition of “work”</h2>\nTo the current generation, work has been viewed as a destination---a place you “go to” for a set amount of time. But for the members of Gen Y, work is more about doing something that is meaningful and is not limited by four walls and a clock. Gen Ys cut their teeth on technology and, unlike the generations before them, they rely heavily on technology and will expect to be able to use it to perform their jobs. In fact, they’ll probably want to bring their own devices. Management that is not up-to-date with technology will need to get on board with it to accommodate the next generation.\n<h2>The flexibility factor</h2>\nWhile older generations have been content with the traditional, structured, nine-to-five Monday through Friday scenario, the next generation is looking for a more flexible work schedule. In fact, many are willing to trade higher pay for fewer hours, in pursuit of a better work/life balance. Organizations attempting to attract and recruit next generation employees will need to offer some degree of workplace flexibility, including an option to work from home, to accommodate a workforce that is quite comfortable collaborating in a virtual environment.\n<h2>Recruitment and retention challenges</h2>\nThe next generation is a high-priority target for recruiters, especially in light of their formidable tech skills. Therefore, organizations need to gear up, as increased demand will make recruiting top talent very competitive. Companies such as Google, have implemented some very aggressive recruiting strategies, offering promising candidates lucrative positions---even pay raises---before they ever set foot on the Google campus to ward off poaching. To maintain a strong recruiting presence, companies will have to offer stronger incentives that will resonate with this next generation of candidates. Retention of Gen Y will also be a challenge, as this group likes to stay on the move. Statistics show that, on average, next generation employees tend to stay with the same company about two years before moving on. It’s critical that organizations understand the career goals of the next generation, and then make every attempt to help them achieve those goals---without their having to look elsewhere.\n<h2>The mixed generational challenge</h2>\nAs next generation workers come into the workplace with their new skills, values and expectations, they will be mixing with those who have been in their careers for several years and may be somewhat averse to change. This can present a real problem for current generation leaders, as they attempt to find and manage the middle ground between how things used to be and how things need to evolve going forward. Strong mentoring, allowing older thought-leaders to pass on critical knowledge to a new generation of thinkers, while at the same time gaining fresh new insights and ideas from them, will be essential for companies to survive and thrive well into the future.', 'Training Tomorrow’s Leaders: The Next Generation of Workplace Thinking', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'training-tomorrows-leaders-the-next-generation-of-workplace-thinking', '', '', '2013-08-05 06:12:10', '2013-08-05 11:12:10', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11507', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11509, 243, '2013-07-29 14:39:51', '2013-07-29 19:39:51', 'I had the opportunity <a title=\"Leadership Conversation with Mike Henry Sr.\" href=\"http://leadershipcafe.org/2013/07/28/leadership-conversation-with-mike-henry/\" target=\"_blank\">to be interviewed</a> by Lead Change author Tal Shnall (member profile, <a title=\"Tal Shnall\'s Website, Leadership Cafe\" href=\"http://leadershipcafe.org\" target=\"_blank\">web</a>, <a title=\"Tal\'s Twitter Profile\" href=\"http://twitter.com/tshnall\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter</a>, <a title=\"Tal\'s Google+ profile\" href=\"https://plus.google.com/u/0/115639729590248930187/posts\" target=\"_blank\">Google+</a>) this past weekend.  Tal joined Lead Change after connecting with the <a title=\"Authentic Leadership Dallas\" href=\"http://www.meetup.com/Authentic-Leadership-Dallas\" target=\"_blank\">Authentic Leadership Dallas</a> bunch that includes <a title=\"Jon Mertz\' website \" href=\"http://www.thindifference.com\" target=\"_blank\">Jon Mertz</a> and <a title=\"Erin Schreyer\'s Website\" href=\"http://erinschreyer.com\" target=\"_blank\">Erin Schreyer</a>.\n\nTal is a natural interviewer and it was exciting to be one of his early Google+ hangout interviews. If you\'re not connected with Tal, please reach out to him and also be watching as he interviews others.  The online leadership community and the Lead Change Group are filled with interesting leadership personalities, each with a unique story. We all bring our character to the dialogue.\n\nThanks very much to Tal for the interview and to Jon for the connection and the <a title=\"Lead Change Group on Google+\" href=\"http://j.mp/17bqMWx\" target=\"_blank\">Google+ Lead Change community</a>.  Click <a title=\"Leadership Conversation with Mike Henry Sr.\" href=\"http://leadershipcafe.org/2013/07/28/leadership-conversation-with-mike-henry/\" target=\"_blank\">here </a>to see the interview.  And please take a minute to leave a comment, follow his blog or join us on Google+.  Everything we do helps mobilize others to make a positive difference.', 'Leadership Conversations Interview', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leadership-conversations-interview', '', '', '2013-07-29 14:39:51', '2013-07-29 19:39:51', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11509', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11551, 243, '2013-08-09 06:22:50', '2013-08-09 11:22:50', 'I recently had the opportunity to meet a new Lead Change friend. <a title=\"Annette Lilly\'s Website\" href=\"http://annettelilly.com\" target=\"_blank\">Annette Lilly</a> (<a title=\"Annette\'s Twitter Profile\" href=\"http://twitter.com/annetwork\" target=\"_blank\">@Annetwork</a>) is energetic and active working on making a positive difference. She connected with a tweet when she happened to see one of my tweets about the Free Books idea. In a way, this whole experience demonstrates how you never know what will happen when you act on your wild ideas.\n\nWe had a great conversation and as a result, I thought I\'d introduce you.\n\n<em>Mike: Tell us a little about yourself. What do you do?</em>\n\n<em><strong><img class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-11553\" alt=\"Annette Lilly\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/ajordan.png\" width=\"168\" height=\"250\" />Annette</strong></em>: I am 26, from California but living in New York. I am the Co-Founder of <a title=\"DNA Media Partners\" href=\"https://twitter.com/dnamediapartner\" target=\"_blank\">DNA Media Partners</a>, which specializes in startup consulting in the areas of business development and marketing. I believe in a triune God, who is demonstrated through the work, life and love of Jesus Christ. I am a former foster youth. I have used these experiences to shape my skills to be great at problem solving, building strategic partnerships and pursuing leadership development.\n\n<em>Mike: What is your most exciting project right now?</em>\n\n<em><strong>Annette</strong></em>: There are two: <a title=\"CuppleHub\" href=\"http://thecouplesconnect.groupsite.com/main/summary\" target=\"_blank\">CuppleHub</a>, an online web platform to connect couples with other couples in their local communities, and second, working with <a title=\"Pipeline Fellowship\" href=\"http://www.pipelinefellowship.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Pipeline Fellowship</a> to change the face of angel investing by making the education available to women and minorities.\n\n<em>Mike: What types of things would you like to see happen in the next 5 years in your world?</em>\n\n<strong><em>Annette</em></strong>: In the next five years, I would like to see myself grow in mind, body and spirit. I hope to start a family and be a mom, I also want to be part of the new gen women who challenge the growth of internal personal relationships of women in the workplace and with their families. Maybe there is a book somewhere in there too! I also want to go back to seminary to study The East-West Divide: Moving Beyond Postmodernism To Integrate Psychology, Philosophy and Theology For A Modern Era. But we will see.\n\n<em>Mike: Interesting ideas. You have some bold plans. Would you please tell everyone how you connected with me and Lead Change Group. I think there\'s an interesting story in there.</em>\n\n<strong><em>Annette</em></strong>: My original idea when I reached out to you was to get my graduating class at the Startup Institute a library of recommended leadership books as a graduation gift to set the sowing seeds and foundation of the purpose of the first class to happen in NYC. I am a huge fan of recommended books. I thought why not give it a shot to ask, when I saw your post about book matching and not having the funds. You seemed to have the best of both worlds, the funds, the calling and the list.\n\n<em>Mike: Thanks. Things are starting slowly, but our connection proves good things happen when you step out and try. What would you like to see happen next?</em>\n\n<strong><em>Annette</em></strong>: I love what you\'re doing. I think that leadership application is a huge gap in this country for my generation especially. We were told that we needed to be leaders, were thrown books and education on the technique required to be leaders but not the behavior that would bring us the most success. It is a lost art. We are great followers, i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc. But the pull toward an identity to lead by example is untapped. I think you have a vision for changing the world with behavior and action which is why I was so enchanted by this effort.\n\n<em>Mike: Annette, it\'s fun to connect with someone who shares some common ideals about changing the world. One final question, at least for now… What one thing would you tell people who want to make a positive difference in the world?</em>\n\n<strong><em>Annette</em></strong>: If you want to make a difference in the world. I think you need to recognize those who need to feel your impact. Many times people go about and do \"good\" things. From my experience the people who have made the most impact on my life are the ones who love you when its difficult and stand to believe in the best future for you even when you may not see it yourself. If we as a people chose one person to do that for, with consistency and perseverance, the world would be a much better place.\n\nConnect with Annette (<a title=\"Annette Lilly\'s Website\" href=\"http://www.annettelilly.com/\" target=\"_blank\">website</a>, LinkedIn, <a title=\"Annette\'s Twitter Profile\" href=\"http://twitter.com/annetwork\" target=\"_blank\">@Annetwork</a>, <a title=\"Annette\'s Facebook Page\" href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Annetwork\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook</a>) and join her in changing the world. Check out the Free Books Idea on this site and sponsor a book. Or ask for one. It\'s OK. The people in this group want to help you develop as a leader.  My personal passion is to mobilize people like Annette (or you!). If a book will help you, let me know. We\'re not going to let $15 keep you from making a positive difference in the world.  Also, check out our <a title=\"Favorite Leadership Books | Lead Change Group\" href=\"/favorite-leadership-books/\">Favorite Leadership Books</a> and vote for your favorites.\n\n&nbsp;', '6 Questions with Annette Lilly @Annetwork', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '6-questions-with-annette-lilly-annetwork', '', '', '2013-08-09 06:22:50', '2013-08-09 11:22:50', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11551', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11563, 328, '2013-08-07 06:12:28', '2013-08-07 11:12:28', '<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/know_yourself-500x361.jpg\">\n\n<em><strong>Don’t wish for less challenges, wish for more wisdom.”~ Jim Rohn</strong></em>\n\nWisdom comes only with time as we reflect upon our experiences, synthesize our learning, practice patience and uplift ourselves to a new beginning. <strong>The journey of leadership is an inner quest to discover who you really are and what you care about.</strong>\n\nIt’s a process of self-examination that you find your authentic voice needed to lead others. Your leadership voice has to come from the inside out. Leadership expert, Stephen Covey said that we need to win the private victories before we can win the public victories. Leadership is an inside job!\n\n<b>Ask yourself daily-</b>\n<ul>\n	<li><b>Why do I want to be a leader?</b></li>\n	<li><b>Who am I as a leader?</b></li>\n	<li><b>Why do I behave as I do?</b></li>\n</ul>\nThe leader who understands himself or herself and who does not fear sharing their strengths, gifts, weaknesses is on the path to becoming a great leader. Your self-discovery is really the awareness of and faith of your own power to lead yourself first. These personal powers become clear and strong only if you are willing to develop and work on them. The mastery and growth of your leadership impact is the mastery of your inner voice. <b>When you are willing to develop and explore your gifts inside whether success of failure, you are making a commitment to grow as a leader.</b>\n\n<b><i>You can and should shape your own future; because if you don’t someone else will.</i></b>\n\n<b>Becoming a leader is a process of internal self-discovery</b>. If you want to be a leader, it’s essential you begin to articulate an uplifting vision and strong principles that would take you to a very rewarding path to lead others. You must begin by reflecting on character values and timeless principles which will determine your leadership authenticity. By becoming a leader, you are setting the tone for your relationships. Your relationships at home, work and the community will be largely determined by how well you lead yourself. Our relationships are the mirrors of our leadership. <b>If we lead in a kind, caring and compassionate way-so will our relationships be.</b>\n\nThe people you lead want to know who you are as a person and a leader. People want to know your values and principles, what you really care about, and what keeps you energized as a leader. <strong>They want to know your story. How did you become a leader and why do you want to lead them.</strong> They want to know what drives you, what makes you happy, and what ticks you off. It’s a practice every potential leader can try by sharing the experiences that shaped your attitude and prepared you to become a leader.\n\nMost importantly, <strong>you have to be authentic</strong>. People don’t like a phony! People want to know what your favorite sport is, whether you like going to the movies or enjoy outdoor activities. They want to know about your family, what you have done and where you’ve traveled. In other words, they want to know your personal story. <b>After all, why should they follow you?</b>\n\nDeveloping your leadership capacity is not about collection a bunch of leadership and management information. It’s leading out of what already exists in your heart and soul. <b>It’s about empowering the leader within you.</b> It’s about finding your true voice and sharing it with others. It’s about listening to your heart and doing the right thing.\n\nIn exploring your inner voice, you pave the way for authentic higher self that can only inspire and motivate others to do the same. <b>Don’t be afraid to take the first steps along this journey of making a difference in a world that needs it.</b>\n\nAs you find your leadership voice, take the time to help others find theirs.  According to John Maxwell, leadership expert, helping other people to lead means:\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>I value them </strong></li>\n	<li><strong>I commit time to them </strong></li>\n	<li><strong>I mentor them </strong></li>\n	<li><strong>I equip them </strong></li>\n	<li><strong>I empower them</strong></li>\n</ul>', 'Discover your Leadership Voice', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'discover-your-leadership-voice', '', '', '2013-08-07 06:12:28', '2013-08-07 11:12:28', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11563', 0, 'post', '', 11);
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(11587, 290, '2013-08-20 06:12:21', '2013-08-20 11:12:21', 'Growing up on the plains of South Dakota, the month of August rolled in as a transition time. Our summer was nearly over and the routines of school would once again be upon us. The days were hotter than the usual summer days yet the promise of cooler weather was in reach. During the days of August, it was a time to harvest, exhibit, and prepare. It was a time of appreciation and anticipation.\n\nAugust also ushered in the season of county fairs. County fairs brought a <a title=\"It Takes a Community to Be a Leader\" href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/it-takes-a-community-to-be-a-leader/\">community together</a> to showcase and discuss the fruits of our labors. Earlier in the year, we selected our best calf, raised our lambs, and prepared our best work. From then on and through the summer, we cared for and finished our work.\n\nCounty fairs were a time to show our talents along with our hard work. We were all teens, and we did our best to prepare for the fair. Woodworking was on display, along with the best results of recipes baked. Livestock was placed in the appropriate county fair pen, awaiting to be shown to a small audience and, more importantly, the judging panel.\n\nThe end result of it all was a ribbon of pride or encouragement. The ribbon award rank was purple, blue, red, and white. Purple meant you could advance to the State Fair. Although it is easy to say now, the ribbons didn\'t matter too much. There may have been some disappointment but it faded quickly.\n\nCounty fairs were community time. They were different than company picnics in that there were no local politics. The people who wanted to be there, were there. It also was a time of conversation, catching up on what the summer months had produced and check on how dark our tans were. During the summer, we were dispersed to our family farms and daily interaction with friends was limited to Sundays and the county fair.\n\nCounty fairs created an arena of appreciation. A satisfaction in the work done. A time to pause and be grateful.\n\nCounty fairs aren\'t a season but, in many ways, it was just that. They <a title=\"Challenge Your Status Quo\" href=\"http://www.thindifference.com/2013/02/14/challenge-your-status-quo/\" target=\"_blank\">signaled a change ahead</a>, a transition to summer ending and school beginning.\n<h3>What does this have to do with leadership and change?</h3>\nA good question. As I write this, I am unsure. But as I think about it, the points may be simply these:\n<ul>\n	<li><strong>Our work tells a story.</strong> What story does your work tell this past summer?</li>\n	<li><strong>Our community needs a time to come together to have simple conversations.</strong> Have you created an environment for simple exchanges?</li>\n	<li><strong>Our cultural seasons may not match our quarterly ones.</strong> Are you creating an opportunity to celebrate transitions and achievements at the right times?</li>\n	<li><strong>We work hard. Sometimes we excel. Other times we get close but not quite to the level of expectation.</strong> Do you recognize the efforts expended?</li>\n</ul>\nOrganizational work is different than the work to prepare for a county fair. In the heat of the summer though, county fairs may be a good reminder to celebrate what we accomplished while preparing for continued learning and work ahead.\n\n<em><strong>What summer events do you remember, and what are the points to embrace in the work we do now?</strong></em>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<em><strong>Image:</strong> <a title=\"Attribution-NoDerivs License\" href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/\" target=\"_blank\">Some rights reserved</a> by <a title=\"The Lane Team\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/colleen-lane/\" target=\"_blank\">The-Lane-Team</a>.</em>', 'County Fairs and Leadership Thoughts', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'county-fairs-and-leadership-thoughts', '', '', '2013-08-20 06:12:21', '2013-08-20 11:12:21', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11587', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11603, 243, '2013-08-05 13:35:53', '2013-08-05 18:35:53', 'Welcome to the August 5<sup>th</sup>, 2013 edition of the Leadership Development Carnival!\n<div>For this month’s Carnival, an all-star collection of leadership experts was asked the following question: <b><i>What is one piece of advice would you give to a new leader/manager?\n\n</i></b>\nAnd <a href=\"http://www.greatleadershipbydan.com/2013/08/the-best-collection-of-advice-for-new.html\">here </a>are their answers! Feel free to share with anyone starting out in leadership/management, and anyone considering a leadership role.</div>\n<div></div>\n<div></div>', 'The Best Collection of Advice for New Leaders:', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-best-collection-of-advice-for-new-leaders', '', '', '2013-08-05 13:35:53', '2013-08-05 18:35:53', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11603', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11622, 327, '2013-08-14 06:11:52', '2013-08-14 11:11:52', '[caption id=\"attachment_11624\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"] Orchids growing at Flamingo Gardens, Davie, Florida, May 4, 2013[/caption]\n\nA few months ago, I was reading John P. Kotter\'s best selling book <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/0875847471/?tag=googhydr-20&amp;hvadid=4200783521&amp;hvpos=1t1&amp;hvexid=&amp;hvnetw=g&amp;hvrand=875880798860221086&amp;hvpone=3.45&amp;hvptwo=&amp;hvqmt=b&amp;hvdev=t&amp;ref=pd_sl_76g6cig47c_b/\" target=\"_blank\">Leading Change</a> as part of a group assignment in my workplace. Kotter\'s eight-stage process for managing organizational change sparked lively discussion. Our leadership team spent time considering our organizational challenges and how we might apply the eight stage process. But what is affecting my life now is how to manage leading change while undergoing personal change. Leaders who are experiencing major life change such as chronic illness, death in the family, divorce, pregnancy/birth of a child, etc. while leading an organization through change are facing special challenges. How can a leader manage personal change while leading his team through organizational change?\n\nHere are a few aspects of leading myself through personal change that I am learning as I care for my chronically ill mom. I am learning to:\n\n<strong>1. Embrace the change.</strong> Approach personal change as a time of learning, growth, and expanded opportunity.\n\n<strong>2. Practice Optimism.</strong> Cultivating an optimistic point of view is beneficial overall. According to a longitudinal study of <a href=\"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3418489/\" target=\"_blank\">Harvard students</a> over a 35 year period, optimists were significantly healthier than pessimists throughout life. Optimists tend to be more resilient when difficulties arise, believing that they will be able to overcome.\n\n<strong>3. Accept Help. </strong> Whether its hiring a housekeeper, an extra weekend babysitter, or allowing your friends to cook meals for you, accept the fact that you need extra help. Managing life during personal change takes extra mental and physical energy. Save your energy for major tasks and decisions.\n\n<strong>4. Trust your team.</strong> Your key team members have been an asset to you in your organization. Trust that during your time of personal change they will still maintain excellence in all they do.\n\nWhat are some of the ideas you have learned while leading yourself through personal change?\n<em> </em>\n<blockquote>\"Nothing endures but change.” ~ Heraclitus</blockquote>\n&nbsp;\n\n(photo credit: Linda P. Freeman. <em>Changing Orchids</em>. May 4, 2013. Flamingo Gardens, Davie, Florida.)', 'Leading (Personal) Change', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leading-personal-change', '', '', '2013-08-14 06:11:52', '2013-08-14 11:11:52', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11622', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11650, 251, '2013-08-12 06:10:59', '2013-08-12 11:10:59', '<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/define-yourself.jpg\"></a>His public message to me was terse even by Twitter standards for brevity:</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">“@thehrgoddess Your tweets are drivel. #unfollow”</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">My first thought after reading that message was <i>how rude</i>. </span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Curious, I reread the tweet that prompted this attack (how I was feeling) – it was a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, <i>“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.”</i></span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">I love quotes. I see them as succinct storytelling at its best. So, in that frame of mind, I responded, <i>“Guess you don’t share my love of quotes.”</i></span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To which he replied, <i>“Didn’t expect you to respond but like I said they are drivel so don’t want to associate with you.”</i></span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><i>How judgmental, </i>shouted my brain. My feelings were a bit hurt, too. Thinking there was a lesson to be learned, I made a note in my ‘write about this’ file to explore what the exchange had meant to me.</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Several months passed before that note surfaced and I began my research. Little did I realize at the inception of my writing how hard it would be to write about being judgmental without being judgmental myself. I didn’t see that result coming.</span></span>\n<blockquote><em><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The road of life is rocky and you may stumble too. So while you </span></span></em><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>point your fingers someone else is judging you</em>. ~Bob Marley and The Wailers</span></span></blockquote>\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As I read and reworked my draft, everything I wrote sounded sanctimonious and smug. The very attributes I had initially ascribed to drivel man. I found that circle shocking, insightful and pretty darn humbling. I had, as the poet William Blake wrote, opened the “doors of perception.”</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In retrospect, my initial Twitter response to him smacked of unconscious judgment, implying there was something superior about loving quotes. When I wrote that, I was wallowing in the same mud as he, oblivious to the fact that we were warring with words and doing so within individual bubbles of self-perception. I obviously had much to learn in leading myself to avoid unintentional judgment.</span></span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>I am firm, you are stubborn, he is a pig-headed fool.</em> ~Bertrand Russell</span></span></blockquote>\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As I thought more about assessing what people say and my doing so without coming across as self-righteous, three going-forward points surfaced:</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Don’t confuse opinions with facts.</b>  In my first response back, I implied that he, too, just like me should find value in quotes because that’s the <i>right</i> thing to do. Using words like should, right, wrong, fair, etc. convey a morally superior stance (my views are better than your views) which diminishes the other and closes the doors to learning, engaging and connecting.</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Labels don’t build, they destroy</b>. The gentleman’s use of the word “drivel” hit a hot button. Who wants to be labeled as silly nonsense?! We’re hard-wired to categorize so we can make quick sense of a complicated world. Yet using that hard-wiring to condone substandard behavior is an excuse. As character-based leaders, we have the power to over-rule and rethink our unconscious biases.</span></span>\n\n<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>Let others find their own truth</b>. So many of our life, love and leadership experiences push us toward either/or outcomes. I’m now going to be judgmental:  reducing our behaviors, thoughts and actions to either/or results is wrong. The path another takes may be different than mine. And that’s all it is – different, not better or worse, just different.</span></span>\n<blockquote><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>Except as we venture to create, we cannot project ourselves beyond ourselves to serve and lead</em>. ~Robert Greenleaf</span></span></blockquote>', 'Pointing fingers and pig-headed fools', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'pointing-fingers-and-pig-headed-fools', '', '', '2013-08-12 06:10:59', '2013-08-12 11:10:59', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11650', 0, 'post', '', 12),
(11664, 310, '2013-08-08 06:07:53', '2013-08-08 11:07:53', '<b><i>“<a title=\"view quote\" href=\"http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnmajor464664.html\">Recovery begins from the darkest moment.</a>” Sir John Major</i></b><b><i></i></b>\n\nLife can hand us measureable shares of obstacles, exhaustive moments and setbacks. I’ve learned (in hindsight) to appreciate a few of them, for at times these discomforts have become the launching platform for testing my ability to RECOVER.\n\nOne of my most meaningful exhaustive moments came during the summer of 1979 when I was enrolled in the US Army’s Officer Candidate School.  This grueling 14-week program was a ‘defining moment’ from which I recognized immediately that I was going to have to <i>go through</i> something to <i>get something</i>, and it wasn’t going to be easy. What loomed as my ‘get’ were those gold bars, signifying my commission as a Second Lieutenant.\n\nThe training scenario at times was harsh. Marching through the dusty and sometimes muddy roads winding through the dense woods of Fort Benning, Georgia challenged each step I took. With a heavy ruck sack strapped to my back, I held tightly to my M16 rifle as my body silently begged for a rest stop.\n\nPile on continuous exercising with numerous push-ups and obstacle courses while enduring mental taunts from the tactical officers, the emotional and physical strains were enormous. Standing close to my face, those charged with molding me into an officer would ask in rapid fire, “Do you have a burning desire to get your commission, Candidate Parker? Then put it in your tennis shoes and run faster. Make a decision, right or wrong. So you think you need a nap? Keep going.” But I knew that if I persevered, the tactical officers would eventually yell the commanding word, RECOVER!\n\nRECOVER signaled a period in which I could take a posture that lessened the exertion long enough for me to recoup strength. A release from the push-up position allowed me to stand and flail my arms to ‘shake-it-off’ for better muscle function. While out on road marches, I occasionally stumbled, but stopped for a minute to regain my footing. The barrage of comments would cease so I could have a moment to reflect on the questions and procure more resolve. Because I knew many more difficult days loomed and every source of motivation possible was needed for me to push on. Which I did and graduated from Officer Candidate School, standing strong in victory as those gold bars were pinned on my uniform.\n\nFor now I was stocked with lessons that readied me for more recovering and leading forward.\n\n<b>Because in life we will encounter obstacle courses, one thing or another, to get over in succession. Whether they are physical or mental, career, family or community obstacles, the list can be long.</b>\n\nAfter illnesses, surgery or injuries, there is a needed healing period to return to normal.\n\nGrief beckons a road to recovery from the loss of loved ones. After disappointments, we look to regain a sense of hope.\n\nFinancial downturns cause a repositioning of assets.\n\nPersonal mistakes can be a necessary route for reinvention.\n\nBad leadership decisions bring about a rallying to reorganize the strategy.\n\nCatastrophes yield efforts to recoup personal and structural footing.\n\nAll of these situations reemphasize the importance of moving on to the next phase, again exerting this type of energy is not always easy. Since 1979 I’ve had my share of setbacks—a cancer battle and my mother’s death, major ones from which exercising a RECOVER strategy was tough. But forging onward stood as an essential act to reconnect to my purpose and faith.\n\nI know that I’m not alone in this quest to regenerate. Then where do we find the tools to help us RECOVER to make a comeback? Let’s try these tips below.\n<ul>\n	<li><b>Get in touch with your inner will— a type of grit that keeps you going</b></li>\n	<li><b>Know your goals and direct movement from darkness to light</b></li>\n	<li><b>Stay anchored to your purpose</b></li>\n	<li><b>Build on your victories, big and small</b></li>\n	<li><b>Understand  the timing of your break cycle – when to ‘shake it off’</b></li>\n</ul>\n<b> </b>So what’s your RECOVER story?\n\nParts excerpted from my motivational autobiography, <em>Navigating Life’s Roadways: Stories of Insight from My Odyssey and Inspiration for Your Journey</em> <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FQDPYE\">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008FQDPYE</a>\n\n&nbsp;', 'RECOVER! The Will to Get Up, Stand Strong and Move Onward', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'recover-the-will-to-get-up-stand-strong-and-move-onward', '', '', '2013-08-08 06:07:53', '2013-08-08 11:07:53', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11664', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(11683, 252, '2013-08-15 06:34:09', '2013-08-15 11:34:09', '<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">\"[As a coach] my job is to be trustworthy while telling them [clients] to put their trust where it belongs: in their own sense of truth.\"</h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Martha Beck, celebrated coach and author</h3>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #888888;\"></span></h3>\nWhether you are a leader, a consultant, a mentor or anyone people come to for advice, you are walking a line.\n\nA few weeks ago I had the honor of speaking with a 29-year-old man completing his PhD and launching into a new job in the corporate world.  He had been in school and doing internships and such for the last 11 years. He asked me for my advice as he entered the corporate world.\n\nMy ego raised its head and at the same time a tiny cold feeling went up my spine.  I know he wasn’t looking for the “meaning of life,” but who am I to tell him <i>anything, </i>and potentially rob him of the outcomes, negative or positive, of his own choices?\n<h3><b>What are your options?</b></h3>\nI ended up asking him a lot of questions.  Questions about what he expected. How he might handle different situations.  What his hopes were.  After about 10 minutes I asked him if he noticed that I didn\'t give him any advice.  “Yes.”  And why?  Thankfully he didn’t say, “Because I’m on my own.”\n<h3><b>It’s about them trusting themselves.</b></h3>\nMy advice-asker got it immediately.  I was so pleased that he claimed what he wanted and needed and recognized it was up to him to make choices and live with them, and also recognize that he had the smarts to do so, and was entitled to want what he wanted.\n<h3>Coach to encourage self-discovery.</h3>\nI don’t think I could have given him any better advice.\n\nNot that we should deny people the benefit of our own learnings, perspectives, and observations based on our own successes, mistakes, and experiences.  Yes, they are looking to us as leaders, and we can deliver that in different ways.\n\n<i>When people look to you for advice, how do you lead and help them develop their own personal leadership at the same time?</i>\n\n<span style=\"color: #888888;\">Image: Contributor miszaqq at BigStockPhoto</span>', 'Instead of Giving Advice Try This', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'instead-of-giving-advice-try-this', '', '', '2013-08-15 06:34:09', '2013-08-15 11:34:09', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11683', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(11720, 325, '2013-08-19 06:23:35', '2013-08-19 11:23:35', 'No one enjoys dealing with conflict at work. Unfortunately for HR reps, they often have to deal with the brunt of conflict resolution concerns. Whether its co-workers who don’t like each other or a negative relationship between a boss and employee, conflict leads to poor productivity and affects everyone else in the workplace. For H.R. reps it’s important to approach any conflict with a systematic approach that keeps them out of the heat of the conflict and level-headed, so they can perform unbiased mediation. For more effective conflict resolution, here are some tips to consider.\n\n<strong>1. Allow a Cool-Down Period</strong>\n\nWhile some situations may require immediate interference, such as if a fight gets physical, people will be better able to discuss what happened after they’ve had a chance to cool down after an argument. Try to schedule a meeting for the next day, so feelings aren’t allowed to fester, but everyone involved has a chance to re-collect their thoughts.\n\n<strong>2. Talk with the Parties Involved at the Same Time</strong>\n\nIt’s important to both show the parties involved that you don’t have bias and to prevent yourself from becoming biased by talking to individuals on their own. If you talk to one worker first, you could unconsciously take their side because you have only heard their side of the story. Instead, get both parties in their room and allow each person to tell their side without interruptions. Avoid expressing your own opinion throughout this conversation.\n\n<strong>3. Look for Common Ground</strong>\n\nOnce both sides have had a chance to express themselves, try to seek some common ground. Perhaps both co-workers are really passionate about the success of a project and are butting heads because they are both anxious about its success. Maybe one co-worker has a tendency to joke around and is unknowingly hurting the feelings of another co-worker, and the teasing co-worker needs to have some empathy for what the other person is feeling. In either case, the purpose isn’t to establish blame, unless something truly illegal or abusive is going on, but to help the employees understand each other’s point of view.\n\n<strong>4. Act with Authority</strong>\n\nWhile resolving conflicts, it’s important to maintain your authority as the H.R. manager. This means sticking to guidelines and timelines you have set and not adjusting them for a boss or manager who wants to control the situation. This is critical to keeping the resolution fair to lower-level employees and letting the parties involved know that the decisions you make are final.\n\n<strong>5. Keep a Record of Any Legal Concerns</strong>\n\nIf during a resolution you come across anything with legal implications, such as sexual harassment, extortion or physical abuse, it will be important for the accusing party to make a formal complaint. Any actions you take after that should be carefully be recorded and follow the guidelines outlined by law. No H.R. rep wants to end up with a lawsuit and no evidence to support their actions.\n\n<strong>6. Seek a Solution</strong>\n\nOnce you’ve done all you can to help the opposing parties find some common ground, seek a solution to the problem so both parties can move on. Ideally, the solution will come from the parties involved, but if they cannot come up with a resolution, you may need to seek one of your own. This may mean setting guidelines of how co-workers proceed on a task, requesting a change in a team setup or perhaps helping a manager establish a new employee appreciation program that is more effective.\n\n<strong>7. Follow Up</strong>\n\nBe sure to follow up with employees to see that any new guidelines are being followed and to see if any additional changes need to be made. Always keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to create a healthy work environment, not to promote a particular system you come up with.', 'How to Manage Workplace Conflict', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-manage-workplace-conflict', '', '', '2013-08-19 06:23:35', '2013-08-19 11:23:35', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11720', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11731, 243, '2013-08-22 06:12:24', '2013-08-22 11:12:24', 'Integrity comes from the <a title=\"Merriam Webster online dictionary\" href=\"http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/integrity\" target=\"_blank\">Latin word for integer</a>. Integer means something doesn\'t divide easily. It\'s a whole. Integrity originally meant purity, completeness, the opposite of hypocrisy. Only recently have we associated it with honesty or trustworthiness, possibly because it\'s easy to make promises and present ourselves a particular way in our easy-media culture. Everything we do becomes an input for how others judge us. Since we can be in a number of places at once now with social media and traditional media, we can present ourselves to many more people than ever before.\n\nIntegrity exists when our presentation is consistent with our actions.\n\nCharacter-based leadership is leading from who you are rather than your position or your behaviors. Positional (or power-based) leadership is typified by \"because I said so!\" thinking. People are supposed to do what they\'re told by people in positions of authority or power. Behavior-based leadership equates to manipulation. It assumes followers will do the right thing because the leader is doing the right thing.  The focus is on the demonstration.  If the leader demonstrates care, employees will engage. It assumes the follower\'s actions are the result of the leader\'s actions.\n\nCharacter-based leadership is about a person - more specifically a person doing what\'s best for the organization and the people who make up the organization. The leader demonstrates the right things, because of who they are.  Going through the motions won\'t work over the long haul.  Faking behavior to get an outcome from your team isn\'t character-based at all.  When the chips are down, the real person will show up. We want to join real people acting from the best of who they are.\n\nCharacter-based leadership rests on a pillar of Integrity. Integrity requires you to be who people think you are. The best character-based leaders are those we join because of who we think they are and where we think they\'re going.\n\nWhen you consider what it means to \"be who people think you are\" there are only 2 variables that affect the outcome: who you are, and what others think.\n\nYou can\'t dictate what others think. Much is written and spent to influence what others think. So much, in fact, you would think that manipulating others thoughts about yourself was the more rewarding effort. Either you attempt to manipulate what others think, or you can be who you want them to believe you are.\n\nIntegrity addresses the source - who you are. It is the only factor of the two you can control. When we\'re honest with ourselves, our \"who we are\" can be a pretty good person, but that person can also be a selfish jerk. (Yes, we know you better than you think.) Deep down inside there are things we do that even we don\'t like. But we can choose to be our best. We can choose to be the kind of person who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, acts courageously, putting others ahead of (or along side of) themselves.\n\nWhere do you spend your time and money and energy? Do you spend it working on your presentation skills or your website? Do you know the right keywords and the search results for the terms people use in your industry? Do you know your click percentage? Can you do an A / B test with a newsletter and see if more people click a different image of your product? Is that where you spend your energy?\n\nOr do you work on who you are? Are you the kind of person I\'d respect? Will you do the hard things to make our effort succeed? Will you sacrifice for our team or will you sacrifice the team? Will you make a greater contribution to our shared goal? Will you do the things you ask me to do? Will you admit when you make a mistake? If our effort is going to fail, will it cost me more than it cost you?\n\nWhich side of the equation gets your effort? Are you working harder on you, or on what I think of you? And if your leadership influence isn\'t what you\'d like it to be, I bet that\'s because you\'re spending your energy trying to manipulate what I think.', 'Integrity Matters', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'integrity-matters', '', '', '2013-08-22 06:12:24', '2013-08-22 11:12:24', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11731', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(11737, 282, '2013-08-16 06:03:22', '2013-08-16 11:03:22', '<b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Funny Business of a Leader </span></i></b>\n\nMahatma Gandhi said,  \"<em>If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.\" </em>  In the crazy, hectic world we live in, a good sense of humor is no longer an option or an accessory- it\'s an essential trait for successful leaders.  Humor can help us be more patient, relieve our stress level and even make us more enjoyable to be around!  A good sense of humor for a leader helps him or her to maintain the necessary perspective and balance needed to lead well and stay grounded.  Francis Bacon said, <em>\"Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.\" </em> Sometimes  a good sense of humor helps us to laugh at ourselves as well.\n\nBut is there only one \"sense of humor\"?  I would challenge you to consider that indeed there are four different but necessary types of humor that today\'s character based leader needs to maintain.\n\n<b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sense of Humor</span>   </i></b>This is the most common facet of humor we experience.  It\'s that ability to know and understand the humor, the fun or comedy in the people and circumstances that come our way. Leaders need a variety of relational tools on their toolbelt in life.  A good sense of humor is a critical for a leader as a hammer is for carpenter or a plunger for a plumber.  <em>\"Don\'t wish me happiness - I don\'t expect to be happy it\'s gotten beyond that, somehow. Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor - I will need them all.\"</em>   Anne Morrow Lindbergh\n\n<b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Scents of Humor</span></i></b>   <em>\"The problem with having a sense of humor is often that people you use it on aren\'t in a very good mood. \"</em> Lou Holtz.  A leader also needs to have a \"nose\" for humor.  This ability to sniff out the lighter side of a situation or a personality can be invaluable in defusing explosive situations.  Having a sensitive \"sniffer\" will also guide a leader in knowing when expressing humor is a good idea or a \"stinky\" idea!   William Arthur Ward said, \"<em>A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life.\" </em>  A leader with great \"scents of humor\" knows how to achieve and maintain that balance.\n\n<b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Cents of Humor</span></i></b>   Steve Erkel, from the 90\'s TV Sitcom <i>Family Matters</i> was famous for making a huge problem or mess, and then saying in his nasally, nerd voice, \"Did I do that?\"   On several occasions he lost a job or was thrown out of a situation because he did indeed \"say that.\"  Leaders understand that humor can both help or hurt the bottom dollar in their business.  That\'s why it\'s essential that they have a great \"Cents of Humor\".    Harry Truman was quoted as saying, \"<em>Any man who has had the job I\'ve had and didn\'t have a sense of humor wouldn\'t still be here.\" </em>  He clearly understood the connection between the need for humor and his job!   \"Cents of Humor\" has much to do with timing, and place and use of humor.  Not every situation calls for or qualifies for having/using a sense of humor.  Business and leadership call for serious times as well.  Knowing when to effectively use and apply humor can make a huge difference in the amount of \"cents\" in the bank account at the end of the month.\n\n<b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Sents of Humor</span></i></b>   <em>\"One of the things that binds us as a family is a shared sense of humor.\"</em> Ralph Fiennes   One of the key roles of the leader is to lead by example.   Another is to mentor in those he or she leads qualities that will in turn help them to become a better leader.  \"Sents of Humor\" are those teachable moments where a leader is able to model a sense of humor for the team, and thus helping to build an example for them to follow in the future.  The leader has, in effect, \"sent\" a sense of humor forward in the lives of the team members.    A good \"Sents of Humor\" shows others that there is a balance between the reality of life and humor we can find in it.  William James put it this way- \"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing.\"  A great \"Sents of Humor\" helps create better dancers!\n\n<b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Conclusion</span></i></b>   So lighten up.  Help those you lead lighten up.  Hugh Sidey said, <em>\"A sense of humor... is needed armor. Joy in one\'s heart and some laughter on one\'s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.</em>\"  It IS a crazy world, full of stress and hard work.  As the leader you can help your team stay sane and centered in the middle of all the chaos.  Michael J. Fox told a reporter once, \"<em>I think the scariest person in the world is the person with no sense of humor.\"</em>  Don\'t be scary!\n\n<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em><strong>Question: </strong></em></span>   Which of these- Sense, Scents, Cents or Sents- of humor do you think you\'ve had the greatest success with?  How would you encourage someone who is struggling in that area?', 'Funny Business of a Leader', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'funny-business-of-a-leader', '', '', '2013-08-16 06:03:22', '2013-08-16 11:03:22', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11737', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11751, 244, '2013-08-27 12:58:23', '2013-08-27 17:58:23', 'There is a direct link between culture and performance. While you may be thinking the culture can only really be affected (for better or for worse) by the CEO or at least the C-suite leaders in an organization, think again.\n\nRegardless of your level in an organization you have the power to impact the culture for the better. In doing so you are likely to not only create a better place to work, but also boost performance.\n\nIn fact, consider that with every conversation you engage in and action you take you are doing one of two things whether you realize it or not: you are either reinforcing the existing culture or you are acting in a way that changes it.\n\nThe path to changing the culture and boosting performance can begin with you.\n\nHere are 3 things you can do personally to lead the way. <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/3-ways-anyone-boost-team-performanc/\">Read more...</a>', '3 Ways Anyone Can Boost Team Performance', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', '3-ways-anyone-can-boost-team-performance', '', '', '2013-08-27 12:58:23', '2013-08-27 17:58:23', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11751', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11755, 244, '2013-09-09 12:11:33', '2013-09-09 17:11:33', 'Progress is inherently messy. Yet convention seems to pull for us to always look like we have it all together.\n\n<strong>What if we didn\'t have to \"look good\" all the time?</strong>\n\nThe reality is, whenever you are bringing something new into existence, the process is not likely to be neat and tidy. The same is true when we are developing ourselves as leaders.\n\nOur leadership is always \"under construction.\"\n\nHere are 3 simple strategies for getting the support you need to successfully navigate through the messiness of progress. <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/leaders-under-construction/\">Read more.</a>', 'Leaders Under Construction', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leaders-under-construction', '', '', '2013-09-09 12:11:33', '2013-09-09 17:11:33', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11755', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11760, 244, '2013-09-23 12:21:15', '2013-09-23 17:21:15', 'If you are a leader you will face skeptics.\n\nThey are the people who will dismiss ideas rather than offer ideas of their own. They will respond to “how can we?” with “why we can’t.” They will question actions planned and judge actions taken. They might even question your motives.\n\nThe bad news is that skeptics usually make up the majority.\n\nThe good news, however, is that most skeptics actually want to get on board. While they may not believe you or believe in you just yet, they want to believe.\n\nTheir challenges and questioning can even help you hone your ideas and make you a better leader. <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/leading-skeptics-and-believers/\">READ MORE</a>', 'Leading Skeptics and Believers', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'leading-skeptics-and-believers', '', '', '2013-09-23 12:21:15', '2013-09-23 17:21:15', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11760', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11765, 244, '2013-10-10 12:25:29', '2013-10-10 17:25:29', '<img class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-11766\" alt=\"Independence &amp; Interdependence\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/links-272x300.jpg\" width=\"272\" height=\"300\" />A lively and insightful <a href=\"http://katenasser.com/people-skills/\"><strong>#PeopleSkills chat on Twitter</strong></a> led by Kate Nasser and David Moore got me thinking more deeply about the relationship between independence and interdependence as it applies to teamwork.\n\nAs I began to make the case for the value of those who work well independently to a team, several participants chimed in with differing opinions.\n\nSuffice it to say independence and interdependence are not mutually exclusive. Both are essential to any healthy relationship and organization.\n\nHowever, the independently minded can and do make a distinct contribution to the success of a team because they naturally practice these 3 habits... <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/can-independence-foster-healthy-interdependence/\">READ MORE</a>', 'Can Independence Foster Healthy Interdependence?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'can-independence-foster-healthy-interdependence', '', '', '2013-10-10 12:25:29', '2013-10-10 17:25:29', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11765', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11771, 244, '2013-10-21 12:33:09', '2013-10-21 17:33:09', 'Some believe you should just ignore skeptics. Others believe you have to at least try to enroll them.\n\nWhile I do believe you should focus your energy on the believers, especially in the beginning of any new endeavor, I also don’t think skeptics can or should be ignored.\n\nI can tell you that those who experience the profound change of heart, leaving their skepticism behind, become the most ardent supporters.\n\nWinning over skeptics is vital. Here are three things that can be done to reach that end. <a href=\"http://randomactsofleadership.com/how-to-win-over-a-skeptic/\">READ MORE</a>', 'How to Win Over a Skeptic', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'how-to-win-over-a-skeptic', '', '', '2013-10-21 12:33:09', '2013-10-21 17:33:09', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11771', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11775, 332, '2013-08-13 06:16:09', '2013-08-13 11:16:09', '[caption id=\"attachment_11778\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"300\"]<a href=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Desert-Image.jpg\"> Syrian Desert Landscape - courtesy of yeowatzup via Flicker[/caption]\n\nSeveral years ago, I was lost. It was night, and we were somewhere in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. My team’s radio was broken, and for some reason, so was our Humvee.\n\nJust a few hours earlier we found out our normal route was under surveillance and dedicated for ‘on-call’ mortar fire. We would either have to wait where we were until morning, or try a different route. For some reason, we chose the latter.\n\nNow we were stuck a few miles from the Syrian border, and we couldn\'t find our way home. Everyone was stressed; everyone was tired. Finally we stopped, and an angry Sergeant came over to my position.\n\n“Whitehead, where are we?” he shouted.\n\n“I don’t know, Sergeant,” I answered. “My GPS needs to load.” (Our older GPS’s couldn\'t locate satellites from inside the Humvees, so we’d have to pull over and wait for our coordinates to load).\n\nWe waited awhile for the GPS to load, until finally the Sergeant threw up his hands, stormed away, and shouted, “forget it, I’ll find it myself!”\n\nWe did eventually find our way home, but if we had waited another sixty seconds we would have known our position with certainty. We could have saved time, stress, and avoided unnecessary risk.\n\nNow that I am a decision maker, I often look back to that night in the desert. Am I patient? Or, do I let other factors (stress, fear, doubt, etc) force my hand? Too often, I’m afraid, it’s the latter.\n\nWhat is your decision making process? How do you balance speed and patience?', 'Decisions...Decisions - How Leaders Make The Call', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'decisions-decisions-how-leaders-make-the-call', '', '', '2013-08-13 06:16:09', '2013-08-13 11:16:09', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11775', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11784, 316, '2013-08-28 12:12:11', '2013-08-28 17:12:11', '<img class=\"alignleft  wp-image-11789\" alt=\"Jess-SheSpeaks\" src=\"http://leadchangegroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Jess-SheSpeaks-229x300.jpg\" width=\"137\" height=\"180\" />Many of you are familiar with the wisdom of <a href=\"http://sayitbest.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Jessica Esch</a>. I thought it was time you learned more about her, and how that could impact your organization. \"I uploaded <em>Online Affects Offline: Learnings From the Field</em> to Flickr ... on July 4 as a declaration of my independence. I\'ve chosen to let people read it for free because I need their attention more than their money. It covers my love of social media and obsession with photo management to the lifecycle of events and what it is like to try to change an organization from the inside. It’s a work in progress as well as a beacon for my tribe.\" Read <a href=\"http://mills-scofield.com/blog/2013/8/12/changing-one-thing-changes-everything.html\" target=\"_blank\">more</a>.', 'Changing One Thing Changes Everything', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'changing-one-thing-changes-everything', '', '', '2013-08-28 12:12:11', '2013-08-28 17:12:11', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11784', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(11806, 327, '2013-08-23 06:19:23', '2013-08-23 11:19:23', '<em></em>\n<blockquote><em>“If we all did the things we are capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”-</em>- Thomas A. Edison</blockquote>\n&nbsp;\n\nI love to read books that inspire me to think new ideas. The book that is inspiring me now is <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Art-Possibility-Transforming-Professional-Personal/dp/0142001104/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1377090624&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=the+art+of+possibility/\" target=\"_blank\">The Art of Possibility</a> by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander. The premise of this book is that each one of us is only limited in life by our own paradigms and the paradigms we accept from others. In order for each one of us to reach our full potential, the Zanders propose that we need to break out of those paradigms and be willing to walk into a world of possibility. One of the limiting paradigms the Zanders invite us to break out of is our habit of comparing ourselves to others.\n\n\"Giving an A\" is a practice they introduce as a means of breaking that paradigm. The Zanders developed this practice for use in Benjamin Zander\'s college classroom. He was searching for methods to help his music students who operate in the competitive world of classical music. On the first day of class, he announces that everyone has already been <strong>given</strong> an A for the semester. Their responsibility is to 1) document why they have earned that grade in a letter written in the past tense and 2) act as an A student throughout the duration of the semester. Giving each student an A on the first day of class has revolutionized his students\' lives. The Zander\'s report in their book that his student\'s performance in the classroom and on stage improved over their previous performance.\n\nI thought about the practice of Giving an A as I sat in the audience watching my daughter receive her white coat with all the other first year medical students at the <a href=\"http://medicine.fiu.edu/\" target=\"_blank\">Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine at Florida International University (FIU)</a>. The White Coat Ceremony was a beautiful event filled with inspiring speeches for these future doctors. But they were all aware that they would have to <strong>earn</strong> a grade of 80% or above in their courses to advance to the second year. What would happen to these students\' performance if they were <strong>given</strong> an A on the first day of class?\n\nFor me, the practice of Giving an A would require me to make a huge paradigm shift in my personal and professional life. I am a naturally competitive person and competition matters in my work. My work world is filled with grant proposal writing, evidence-based practices, and outcome measures. My organization\'s grades at the end of a grant/contract year are compared to other organizations\' grades by our funders. These grades determine whether we obtain new funding, whether we move forward into the next year with existing programs, and what our levels of funding are. My team puts considerable energy into <strong>earning</strong> an A. I grade myself and my team with scores we receive from this competitive process. What would happen to our team performance if I chose to <strong>give</strong> every one of my team members and myself an \"A\"? I am so intrigued by the possibilities that I have decided to try the practice, as described in the book. For the next four weeks. I am going to:\n\n1. Give myself an A,\n\n2. Explain Giving an A to my team members and give them an A,\n\n3. Have each one of us write a letter explaining why we are A students, as described in the book, and\n\n4. Work together as an \"A\" team.\n\nAt the end of four weeks, I am going to have each one of us write down our impressions and experiences with Giving an A. I am open to the possibility that our individual and team performance will exceed the standards we are mandated to achieve. I will share our findings in my next Lead Change Blog post.\n\nWhat would happen if you chose to <strong>give</strong> every one of your team members an \"A\"?\n<blockquote>\"<em>The shell must break before the bird can fly.</em>\" - Alfred Tennyson</blockquote>\n&nbsp;\n\n(photo credit: Linda P. Freeman. <em>Vanessa\'s White Coat</em>. August 9, 2013. Miami, Florida.)', 'Giving An A', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'giving-an-a', '', '', '2013-08-23 06:19:23', '2013-08-23 11:19:23', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11806', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(11811, 290, '2013-08-29 12:15:37', '2013-08-29 17:15:37', 'We are hyper-connected today, and there are real metrics to showcase. Just look at the counts. Whether it is connections in LinkedIn, people in Google+ circles, followers in Twitter, or likes in Facebook, there are numbers to track. Dig below the surface though. Do we find collaboration in those connections?\n\nIt is a question I have been thinking about lately. We connect but do we collaborate? Does it matter? Can collaboration be tracked like connections?\n\nThinking through connections and collaboration sets itself up well for a two by two matrix review. It is a simple lens to peer through and look for some answers. Read more <a href=\"http://www.thindifference.com/2013/07/31/are-connections-overshadowing-collaboration/\">here</a>.<a href=\"http://www.thindifference.com/2013/07/31/are-connections-overshadowing-collaboration/\">\n</a>', 'Are Connections Overshadowing Collaboration?', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'are-connections-overshadowing-collaboration', '', '', '2013-08-29 12:15:37', '2013-08-29 17:15:37', '', 0, 'http://leadchangegroup.com/?p=11811', 0, 'post', '', 0);
