Kid President shares his views on life and how we all have a choice to make our journey, truly amazing.
Whether you’re young or old, up or down, everyone can learn a thing or two from this inspirational boy they call, “Kid President“.
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John C. Maxwell: A Guide for Making Tough Decisions
Good leadership is not a popularity contest. One of the most important days in my career was the day I realized that leading well was more important than being well-liked.
Anyone who has had this epiphany know it’s a tough moment: We’ve all wanted to be the “cool kid” since our grade school days. Now we sometimes find ourselves sounding like the principal.
But our careers are filled with difficult, sometimes unpopular choices, and our success rests on how we handle them. I once heard Colin Powell say, “Trying to get everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. You’ll avoid the tough decisions, you’ll avoid confronting people who need to be confronted, and you’ll avoid offering different rewards based on different performance because some people might get upset.”
We’re tempted to postpone and avoid tough decisions and hard conversations. The great American financier T. Boone Pickens once cautioned: “Don’t fall victim to what I call the ‘ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome.’ You must be willing to fire.” Decide. Act. That’s your job as a leader.
How do you find the motivation to do what you wish you could avoid? How do you learn to do what others don’t want to do and say what others don’t want to say?
In a nod back to that grade school analogy, I’m giving you some homework. This worksheet will help you identify the decisions you have to make and the steps you must take in order to make them. Ready?
Step 1: Take Responsibility.
The bottom line is this: Nothing changes if nothing changes. Procrastination kills leadership effectiveness today and leadership potential tomorrow. Whatever is your biggest problem now will be your biggest problem next week and your biggest problem next month unless you do something about it.
List three decisions you’ve been putting off:
1. ____________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
Step 2: Prepare Yourself.
Are you feeling anxious about those looming choices? Let’s do some research to boost your decision-making confidence.
Pick one of the above problems. List the information you need to move forward and the experts and colleagues who can offer insight.
Info needed: ___________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
People needed: _________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Step 3: Reflect.
Once you’ve completed the first two steps, consider where that knowledge takes you. What insights did you gain? Did you discover things below the surface?
List your realizations:
1. ____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Step 4: Determine your action plan.
What do you need to do before you take action? Should you meet with key influencers? Write a step-by-step strategy? Consult with an expert?
List your next moves and give yourself a deadline to make them.
Action: ______________________________________________________________
Deadline: ____________________________________________________________
Action: ______________________________________________________________
Deadline: ____________________________________________________________
Action: ______________________________________________________________
Deadline: ____________________________________________________________
Go through that four-step process, and I promise that decision-making will go from overwhelming to attainable. (Notice, though, I’m still not calling it easy!) Repeat that process for the additional situations you listed and the countless others you’ll face in your personal and professional lives.
Let me offer a few other strategies to make the process easier.
Act immediately. Although it is your responsibility to deliberate options and make educated decisions, you’ll also encounter situations in which you must think on your feet. Great leaders act with limited information. Don’t hedge! Take action using your knowledge and instincts to guide you.
Be confident. Don’t waste time and energy second-guessing yourself. Someone once told me that I have no rearview mirror. I believe that’s true: I have little desire to look backward. I make decisions and move on. You should, too.
Think payoff. Your motivation to act comes from the benefits you envision. Is your team morale likely to improve? Will productivity increase? Will you see an impact on the bottom line? Focus on those positives. It’s like going to the dentist—you may not look forward to the process, but the outcome is highly beneficial.
Change can be hard, but uncomfortable changes often lead to breakthroughs. In every challenge lies the opportunity for growth. One of the most difficult decisions that I ever made was leaving the organization my father led—the place I had committed 10 years of my life to. That decision was painful and a little frightening, but it was also the move that changed my career.
5 Tips for a Workplace Attitude Adjustment
Psychologist and author Noelle Nelson, Ph.D., offers basic advice about nurturing a happy work environment:
1. Listen to your employees’ opinions and use them. And let them know that you use them and that you’re grateful for their input. “That makes people really sit up, pay attention and not only work harder, but be much happier with what happens in their workplace,” she says.
2. Be aware of the messages you are sending. “It takes a nanosecond when you walk down the hall to glance at someone and offer a pleasant expression. That may seem small, but it can matter hugely to employees—especially to that employee who feels that he or she is invisible,” Nelson says. “Take it all in, give and accept feedback, be generous of spirit. That may sound New Age-y, but it is that capacity that makes for success.”
3. Start with one thing, do it well and keep it up. For instance, solicit and act on employee opinion, because that alone will shift things. Employees may be hesitant at first, but keep at it with a smile. Even if you get 10 employee suggestions and nine are horrible, if the 10th idea has any merit whatsoever, seize on it, spin it, turn it into something real, and applaud the employee.
4. Catch your employees in the act of doing something right. “Again, they won’t trust you at the beginning if your company’s not been of that culture. Don’t worry about it. If you are consistent, you will wear them down in the positive sense.”
5. Once you’ve established a little trust, start working on a meaningful recognition and reward program. Come up with half a dozen things that are of equal value that your company can put forth. Then ask your employees which ones are important to them. Listen to your employees, rather than assume you know what’s best.
An engaged workforce is a happy workforce. Find out four common traits in companies with high employee engagement.
5 Things Never to Ask in a Job Interview
It’s that time of the year, college graduation is just around the corner and soon after, THE REAL WORLD! Looking for a job is an exciting adventure but definitely can be quite stressful at the same time. Here are a few tips on what NOT to ask in an interview.
Your resume didn’t fall into a black hole. You’ve been called for an interview. You picked out a nice suit to wear and you’re ready to dazzle them with your smarts. And you know it’s important to have questions for the interviewer because it shows you’re engaged and genuinely interested in the position.
The wrong questions, however, can tank even the best interview. You know better than to bring up salary, benefits or vacation early on in a discussion — those are still commonly viewed as taboo in a first interview. But there are other, less-known pitfalls to avoid as well.
Here are five questions you should never ask in a job interview.
What does this company do?
You’re here to interview with Consolidated Widget Makers, and you didn’t bother to look up what they do? That’s inexcusable.
This is an unfortunate, but common, mistake now that people can easily apply to multiple positions with the help of job boards, says Kenneth Johnson, president of East Coast Executives, a Philadelphia based executive search firm. “A Google search will uncover the answer and save you the embarrassment.”
Even if you’ve applied to dozens of positions and been on many interviews, treat each new one as the potential game-changer that it is. When you’re called, in addition to the time and address of the interview, be sure to take down the name of the company and interviewer so you can do some research and show up well prepared.
What is your drug testing policy?
Johnson says this is the worst question he’s asked in interviews. “Even if the company has a very liberal testing policy, this question definitely raises some doubts about your candidacy.” Asking is unprofessional and a huge red flag to employers.
How long until I can have your job?
I’ve heard this one often, says Karin Hurt, CEO of Let’s Grow Leaders. “Some candidates seem to think this demonstrates career focus and gumption. On the other side of the table it feels obnoxious. Demonstrate strong passion and commitment for the job you’re interviewing for.”
If you’re asked about your five- or 10-year plan, that would be the time to inquire or express your desire for advancement, but “until then, articulate your commitment and qualifications for the job at hand,” explains Hurt.
What about overtime?
Questions about overtime can get you in trouble a couple ways. First, employers who are worried about budgets and hiring hourly staff may be very sensitive to paying out for extra time. Asking if you’ll get frequent overtime may mean you’ll risk turning them off in favor of a candidate who will work efficiently within their regular hours only.
A question such as “Will I have to work overtime?” is also bad form. “Asking this question during the interview gives the interviewer the impression that you don’t want to put in any more work than is required. This does not give the interviewer a positive impression of you,” says Cheryl Palmer, owner of executive coaching firm Call to Career.
It’s probably best to ask what the normal hours for your position will be and leave it at that.
Any question about what you’ve already been told.
The person who wrote that job listing worked hard to make sure it conveyed the right information to the right group of people. It obviously worked if you’ve applied and gotten as far as the interview stage. Don’t make all their hard work seem trivial by not fully reading every communication they send.
“If someone asks me questions during the job interview that have already been covered in the job posting or emails, it makes me question their attention to detail,” explains Carol Cochran, HR director for FlexJobs, a job search service for telecommuting and flexible positions.
Networking in Chicago
In order to be successful in any type of business you have to master the art of networking. For some that means getting on different forms of social media to meet like-minded individuals while still in the comfort of your own home to others it means getting out and shaking hands.
Here at Denali Executives we had the opportunity to travel to Chicago this past weekend and network with different assistant managers, managers and consultants from all over the Midwest and a few from each side of the coasts. During this regional conference we had the chance to listen to a top performing consultant, Rebby Sutherland, tell us “how to be successful and coach others.” Rebby explained that there are 3 pillars that you have to follow in order to be successful:
- Drive your law of averages; meaning, giving yourself as many opportunities as possible to win.
- Keep you pitch simple; you need to be able to replicate what you do in order to be successful and ALWAYS have integrity.
- Maintain attitude and enthusiasm; your brain is like a muscle, teach it to be stronger.
After Rebby spoke to the group we had an opportunity to separate into some break out groups and learn from some top performing managers. Some of the topics included time management, creating an unbreakable schedule and how to set clear goals.
All in all the conference was a great success. I mean how could it not when you finish it off with a trip to Portillo’s!
How to Develop Mental Toughness in Leaders
Business leaders, much like athletes, need to be psychologically ready to play. Mentoring and coaching can help them cultivate this trait.
Of all the competencies sought after by today’s budding business leaders — critical thinking, emotional intelligence, the ability to influence and inspire a team, to name a few — perhaps the most valuable is one that isn’t learned in a boardroom but on a baseball or soccer field as children.
Mental toughness is a term commonly used in sports — a term many begin to hear from coaches in youth athletics. Tuning out the noise or pressure and performing to potential in an otherwise difficult situation is what makes fans admire the most astute professional athlete.
It’s not that the quarterback was able to throw the winning touchdown, but the fact that he or she was able to do so under the tight and uncomfortable circumstances of the situation.
While sports stars grab the majority of headlines in the mental toughness arena, this trait has become essential for leaders to be successful in business as well, according to Christine M. Riordan, dean of the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.
Global business leaders, facing the complexity of an uncertain working environment, need to have the same psychological readiness as an athlete. It’s not just a matter of leaders’ knowledge, ability or skill that sets them up for success, but also an ability to deal with the pressure and stress of competition, fatigue and failure, Riordan wrote in a 2010 Forbes article, “Six Elements of Mental Toughness.”
Riordan’s six elements of mental toughness are:
• Flexibility. “Just like a quarterback faced with a broken play, a leader must [be able] to decide quickly on a different way to get the ball down the field.”
• Responsiveness. “Game-ready leaders are able to remain engaged, alive and connected with a situation when under pressure. They are constantly identifying the opportunities, challenges and threats in the environment.”
• Strength. Mentally tough leaders “find the strength to dig deep and garner the resolve to keep going, even when in a seemingly losing game.”
• Courage and ethics. Leaders have to have the ability “to make hard but right decisions for the organization.”
• Resiliency. Leaders need to be able to rebound from disappointments.
• Sportsmanship. Have a “Bring it on!” mentality.
“Part of leadership and mental toughness is having the resiliency to bounce back from mistakes and situations that you [as a leader] really haven’t seen before,” Riordan said.
Developing mental toughness, however, is no small task. More than anything, teaching mental toughness in others demands commitment and dedication — both from the teacher and the student, said Bill Cole, CEO of William B. Cole Consultants, a Silicon Valley business coaching consultancy.
Leaders seeking to acquire mental toughness can start by finding a mentor or coach who is willing to help guide them, according to Cole. While classroom and group settings are sufficient to lay the groundwork for developing the skill, one-on-one mentoring is best to provide for individuals’ situations and learning needs.
Classroom teaching is “just kind of the starting point,” he said. “You can get a discussion going [in a classroom], but then the deep learning has to happen after that initial talk is given.”
Once a coach or mentor is in place, leaders should then find a role model — someone who exhibits admirable mental toughness who they can reach out to.
Having a role model who embodies mental toughness, someone who can be personally connected to the learner, can give leaders a more engaging, visceral learning experience, Cole said.
Jason Selk, author of Executive Toughness and director of mental training for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, said he sets up players with a “mental workout,” or a series of mental exercises that are performed daily.
Included in this workout are things like controlled breathing and visualizing a personal “highlight reel” — “Imagine three successes that [are] going to happen in the next game,” Selk said.
While mental workouts for players and business leaders might differ in scope, the principles and concepts are largely the same, Selk said. He lays out his framework to develop mental toughness in five steps that play off phrases typically used by baseball coaches.
“Pay attention to your swing, and forget the home run.” Focusing too much on the target — or end goal — might diminish leaders’ chances for success. Instead, Selk said, focus on the process of what needs to get done to get there. “You cannot accomplish a goal without first having a sound process in place,” he said. “Identify those daily goals that have the greatest influence on your performance and, therefore, your success.”
“Don’t take your eye off the ball.” Control the tendency to be distracted and stay on the task at hand. “Many high-performing businesspeople believe they can multitask and still maintain focus,” Selk said. Too much multitasking, however, can hamper leaders in the end.
“Be your own ref.” Business leaders need to establish limits to be productive. Walling off time for family and work is essentially for leaders to maintain and develop mental toughness, Selk said.
“Get R&R between workouts.” Getting proper rest and relaxation is important for mentally tough leaders. Fatigue will only lead to lost productivity and engagement, and serve as a distraction, Selk said.
“Listen to your body.” “In sports, when athletes try to push through the pain, they end up on the [disabled list] with injuries,” Selk said. Business leaders who participate in “extreme working” — or working too many hours — run the risk of reduced productivity and possibly even diminished health.
“Most of these workers can’t sustain this level of performance; [they] end up burning out,” Selk said, “just like promising athletes who have to sit on the bench all season or retire early because of injuries.”
Ten Tips for Success
1. Improve your physical ENERGY level. You can’t make your goals and dreams come true if you are burned out, stressed out and running on empty. If you are dead on your feet, you are dead in the water.
2. Improve your sense of PURPOSE. If your heart isn’t in the battle, you have lost the war way before it has begun.
3. Improve your ATTITUDE. It is impossible to make anything in your life worthwhile with a negative, self-defeating attitude. Admit to yourself that you don’t know it all and get excited about learning from the experience of others who are successful.
4. Improve your ability to SET GOALS. Without crystal-clear goals, you will simply burn up precious time and energy… with little or no progress made towards realizing your dreams.
5. Improve your ability to MAKE PLANS. Remember this simple FACT…a goal without a plan is merely a wish without a hope.
6. Improve your ability to PRIORITIZE your activities that will get results. Focusing on the IMPORTANT tasks that get RESULTS that gives you the edge over your competition.
7. Improve your ability to create strong teams and interpersonal SYNERGY. Real power comes from building powerful teams of high energy positive like minded people.
8. Get and stay ORGANIZED. If your systems don’t support you…redesign your systems until they do. This is the single biggest flaw in people that holds most of them back from attaining success and accomplishing their dreams and goals. If you are inefficient, you are out of the game.
9. Make OPTIMUM use of your time. Fail to Optimize your time and you will never live up to your full potential. The game will be over before you even get into the hunt.
10. Take bold ACTIONS to make things happen. In every area of life, it’s up to you to GET the ball moving… and KEEP it rolling in the direction of your goals. Learn to continuously take Smarter Actions, and you WIN. Don’t and you won’t.
How Bad do You Want It?
Renowned speaker, educator, author, activist and minister, Eric Thomas speech on success. Take action and choose to want success right now. Just make the decision to make a change in your life.
Steve Jobs on the Rules for Success
You need a lot of passion for what you’re doing because its so hard. Without passion, any rational person would give up.
Denali Executives Little Rock, AR 