#Beingaleader means that you need humility. Not humiliation. Humility. One happens to you. The other is something you have. It's who you are. Humiliation is when you do something stupid and it turns out into a situation that embarrasses you or your team. This should be avoided as much as possible. It is something that … Continue reading Humility
Category: Belief Breakthrough
Lost
#Beingaleader means that sometimes you feel lost. Unable to find your way. Or having misplaced the path of the direction you felt you were headed in. That pit in your stomach feeling that things just aren't going the way they are supposed to. Being lost is not a good feeling. It's disorienting. It might even … Continue reading Lost
Waiting Room
#Beingaleader means you are often in the waiting room. Now, I've touched on waiting before (https://beingaleader.blog/2021/02/02/waiting/), but the waiting room can be even deeper than simply waiting for something to happen. What does it mean to be in the waiting room? It means you feel like you have a dream or a promise or desire … Continue reading Waiting Room
Lessons Learned
#Beingaleader means you need to lead a life of lessons learned. The good. The bad. And the ugly. Not just go through the lessons. But lessons learned. Meaning, are you going to have to keep doing the same thing over and over or are you finally going to learn to move on and through them? … Continue reading Lessons Learned
The Future
#Beingaleader means you need to think about the future. You want to build towards something. A goal. A vision. A dream. The future that you want. But can you have the future that you want? The future doesn't just happen. At least it doesn't always happen the way you want it to. You need to … Continue reading The Future
Timeliness
#Beingaleader means that timeliness is an important quality you have. When something happens, and in what order, often matters. Turning in an "A" paper late is an "F" in many cases. Timeliness matters. There is a sequence to life and to most projects. There is often a life cycle for the team. #Beingaleader means you … Continue reading Timeliness
Credibility
#Beingaleader means you need a certain amount of credibility. Do you have any? Trustworthiness. Track record. Can be counted on. Believable. Convincing. In other words, when you say something, can others rely on it? Is your word sufficient for others to believe and make decisions based on it? Credibility is often lacking in today's leadership … Continue reading Credibility
Accountability
#Beingaleader means you need accountability. To others. For your actions, activities, schedule. I know. I know. You're a leader. But we're not perfect. We make mistakes and need someone to help us own them. Mistakes in time management or in priorities. Accountable. But wait, you say. I'm the top dog. The person in charge. Others … Continue reading Accountability
Yesterday
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with yesterday. Yes, we live in today. Yes, we plan for tomorrow. But sometimes it's yesterday that's holding us back. Keeping us from focusing on today. Keeping us from moving forward. Yesterday can be very powerful. Mistakes were made. Relationships harmed. Missteps. Hurt feelings. Regrets. All of these can … Continue reading Yesterday
Active
#Beingaleader means you need to be active. Active with your mind. Active with your body. Active with your vision. Being active with your mind means you keep feeding it. Reading. Thinking. Analyzing. Not letting your mind get stale with old ideas. Looking forward to the future because better days are ahead. Active. Being active with … Continue reading Active
Collaborate
#Beingaleader means you have to collaborate with others. Jointly. Together. With others. Those are not necessarily the things done by a boss. But they are things done by a leader. So many bosses like to be lone rangers. Commanding from on high. Barking orders. Telling people what to do. But a leader works with their … Continue reading Collaborate
Start
#Beingaleader means you need to start. Something. Anything. It always seems this is the hardest step and where most people quit. They quit by not starting. Don't be that person. Start something. Maybe you need to start a hobby. Maybe you need to form a new habit. Maybe there's a business you need to start. … Continue reading Start
Traditions
#Beingaleader means you need to understand traditions. Yours. Others. The company's. Not agree. Understand. Why you may ask? Because if you fail to understand the traditions, you will unnecessarily offend, hold back progress and potentially miss out on great opportunities. So what traditions do you have that need to continue? Ones that make your house … Continue reading Traditions
Transition
#Beingaleader means you have to work through transition. Transition is inevitable in some form or another. But you have to work through it when it happens so that the end result is better than where you started. In other words, while transition is inevitable, successful transition is not. Transition is about the process of change. … Continue reading Transition
Self-Aware
#Beingaleader means you need to be self-aware. Conscious of who you are. Your abilities. What you are capable of. Your leadership skills. An honest assessment. Not fabricated. Not believing your own press. Just, self-aware. One of the keys to success as a leader, is to know who you are. What you can do. What you … Continue reading Self-Aware
Steward
#Beingaleader means you are a steward. Of your team. Of your clients. A steward is someone responsible for someone else's things. In this case, the team or your client's things. You are to steward them. To steward your team is to care for them. To train them. To act like what they do is as … Continue reading Steward
Answers
#Beingaleader does not mean you have all the answers. The sooner you come to that realization, the better leader you will be. You will need to seek after them, however. It is your job to find the source of the answers you are seeking because at the end of the day, it is you that … Continue reading Answers
Depleted
#Beingaleader means you can often feel depleted. Energy crashed. Vision blurred. And your "care meter" very low. Have you ever had an energy crash? This can be physical or emotional. You just don't feel like you can keep going. The physical reasons are easier to fix. Get back to the healthy things that worked for … Continue reading Depleted
Fair
#Beingaleader means you need to be fair. Even keeled. Fair-minded. And equal in your treatment of people and situations. Fair means to be just and impartial. Not showing favoritism to anyone. Unbiased. And it's really hard to do. When dealing with people, it is inevitable that you have favorites. That doesn't necessarily mean you like … Continue reading Fair
Curveball
#Beingaleader means you're sometimes thrown a curveball. Something unexpected. Something life altering. How will you react? Don't try to hide. Don't try to deny it happened. Embrace the suck as they say. Allow yourself time to grieve whatever loss you experienced with that curveball. Maybe it's a relationship lost. A position lost. A change in … Continue reading Curveball
Alert
#Beingaleader means you need to be alert. Alert to dangers. Alert to your people's needs. Alert to new trends. Failure to be alert could spell disaster. #Beingaleader means you need to be alert to dangers. Dangers to your team. Dangers to your product or process. Dangers that might stop you from achieving your goals. Keep … Continue reading Alert
Negotiate
#Beingaleader means you need to know how to negotiate. The ability to come to an agreement with someone else. To find a resolution. To settle a disagreement. Negotiate. Negotiation skills include keeping a calm demeanor. Knowing what your final goal is. Knowing what your opponent's or competitor's or the person across from the table's goals … Continue reading Negotiate
Modernize
#Beingaleader means you need to modernize your thinking. You need to stay up-to-date. See what's working today since what worked before might not be working any longer. Continue to learn. Read. Listen. Go to conferences. Get information from every industry you can to see what is working in the marketplace. Your ideas might never change. … Continue reading Modernize
Captain
#Beingaleader means you are the captain of the ship. In charge. The one with the final say. Responsible. If you are a parent, there is that moment when that child first comes home with you and everyone else leaves and the realization hits. I'm responsible. This life is my responsibility. I cannot look to anyone … Continue reading Captain
Optimize
#Beingaleader means you need to optimize your team. Your situation. Your skills. Their skills. Make them and your situation as good as possible. Add value. So, how does one add value to your own situation? Whatever you encounter, however you find yourself, do it to your best. Keep learning new things. Go to conferences and … Continue reading Optimize
Sadness
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with sadness. Your own. Others'. Their actions that cause them not to reach their potential. What sadness are you carrying? Personally or professionally? This can affect your leadership of others. It's not about ignoring your sadness. It's about realizing its impact on you and your decision making. It's about … Continue reading Sadness
Weary
#Beingaleader means you often feel weary. Done. Tired. Plain and simple. Weary of what you've gone through. Weary about how you think it's going to go. We all get tired. Drained. Feeling unable to replenish. It affects everyone at some point. It's normal. Are you weary from what you've just gone through? We go through … Continue reading Weary
Merit
#Beingaleader means you need to have merit. Merit means to be worthy of. Possessing good and worthwhile qualities. When something has merit, it is considered valuable. People view it will positivity. Something to seek after. To grow for sure. But you have it to begin with. What qualities do you have? Since you are a … Continue reading Merit
Advocate
#Beingaleader means you are an advocate. For others. For your project. For yourself. To advocate is to plead the case. To provide support. To cheer on the accomplishment of a person or project. To make sure others know about the situation and view it in a good light. Do you advocate for others? In order … Continue reading Advocate
Unique
#Beingaleader means you are unique. One of a kind. Broke the mold kind of leader. Whether you feel it or not. Whether you view that as a positive or not. Even whether you agree with it or not. It's still true. You are unique. Yes, we learn from others. Yes, we learn new skills. Yes, … Continue reading Unique
Mentor
#Beingaleader means you are a mentor. Whether you know it or not. Intentional or not. Want to be or not. You are a mentor. A trusted counselor. Someone of influence that others look to for guidance, wisdom, answers. An example. I find that most discussions about mentorship are when someone is trying to find one … Continue reading Mentor
Busyness
#Beingaleader means you need to distinguish between busyness and business. Busyness is filling in time slots. Business is about getting the job done. Busyness is doing lots of stuff. Business is achieving lots of stuff. Do you find yourself filling in time with non-essentials? With busyness? Perhaps it's because you're procrastinating? Or perhaps you're simply … Continue reading Busyness
Sanctuary
#Beingaleader means you need to find a place of sanctuary for yourself. A place of refuge and protection. This might be an actual place or it might just be a mindset you go to to protect yourself from the naysayers and critics of everything you do. A place of peace. It might actually be with … Continue reading Sanctuary
Intentional
#Beingaleader means you need to be intentional. About your leadership. About your goals. Don't leave it to chance. Make up your mind about what you want to do, the values you want to bring, the steps you want to take. And then take them. And lead others to do the same. Another word for intentional … Continue reading Intentional
Interim
#Beingaleader means you are an interim leader. You won't be in that position forever. Whether your position is as parent, pastor, coach or CEO, it is temporary. You will be replaced. Either by death, retirement, leaving, or your own position advancement. It's temporary. Nothing lasts forever. Your leadership included. It will go away. So, what … Continue reading Interim
Teachable
#Beingaleader means you need to be teachable. You need to learn to learn from others. Be willing. Be intentional. Let's face it. You have much to learn. We all do. Usually the things stopping you from learning are either arrogance or complacency. Arrogance must be acknowledged before you can proceed. For complacency, you just have … Continue reading Teachable
Action
#Beingaleader means you need to be a person of action. Words are important. But actions are also needed. To help inspire. To get what you want done. Your actions breed the actions in others that you want to see. So you are setting the example of what kind of action you want from your team. … Continue reading Action
Accessible
#Beingaleader means you need to be accessible. To your team. To your customers. More than just an 'open door policy'. Actually make them accessible to you. Your team needs access to you. They need more than orders from on high. They need to see you. To hear from you. And to be open to hear … Continue reading Accessible
Agile
#Beingaleader means you need to be agile. Agile is defined as taking an iterative approach to leadership. This means allowing for change along the way. And getting customers what they want sooner. This means providing them with an MVP (Minimally Viable Product) instead of waiting until the product is perfect. This applies to a lot … Continue reading Agile
Radical
#Beingaleader means you need be a radical. Or at least often act like one in comparison to others. Radical is being defined as someone with strong convictions that is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal set before them. How radical are you? How much do you want something to happen? Are … Continue reading Radical
Fight
#Beingaleader means you sometimes have to fight. Fight for what you want. Fight to achieve success. Fight the naysayers that get in your head.Do you want to accomplish something? Goals? Dreams? Things the team needs to get done? Sometimes you have to fight for it.But what does fighting look like? It's about tenacity. Never giving … Continue reading Fight
Revitalize
#Beingaleader means you need to revitalize yourself every once in a while. The way you think. How you do things. The approach you take to problems. To make everything fresh again. Don't get stuck. It's one of the worst things a leader can do. Stuck in your old ways. Stuck in one way of thinking. … Continue reading Revitalize
Depth
#Beingaleader means you need to have depth. Time to think. Time to analyze. Time to problem solve. Depth of thought. Depth of focus. Depth of wisdom. Depth of thought. Do you take the time to think through things? Do you really? Or do you just react? Time to think requires you to go deep. To … Continue reading Depth
Brief
#Beingaleader means you have to control your words. Control the amount. Control the volume. Usually better to say less. Less is more. So choose to be brief.
Listen
#Beingaleader means you have to listen. To others. To yourself. To your team. Listening to others. Critics. Competition. Supporters. All have something to say if you're willing to listen. Is what they are saying truth? Even if it hurts, truth will still improve you. Improve your product. Improve your business. Listening to yourself. This is … Continue reading Listen
Talent
#Beingaleader means you have a talent or two. Or three. Yes, you do. You have things you excel at. Things that you do better than others. Things that come easy to you. Why is it so easy to view others as having talent (s) but not yourself? I often see it as false humility, where … Continue reading Talent
Desire
#Beingaleader means that you need some amount of desire. For your goals. For the future. For yourself. #Beingaleader means you need desire for your goals. That seems obvious. But sometimes we take goals from others and place that burden on ourselves and they aren't really what we want to pursue. Get your own goals. Pursue … Continue reading Desire
Sanity
#Beingaleader means you need to keep your sanity in an often demanding and stressful role, and it's important to take care of your mental health and well-being in order to effectively lead others. But how do you keep your sanity during those periods that might seem overwhelming? #Beingaleader means you should practice some self-care including … Continue reading Sanity
Caring
#Beingaleader means you need to be caring about your team. This is essential for building a positive work culture and achieving success as a team. Caring means communicating openly and honestly: Keeping your team informed about any updates and decision-making processes shows that you value their input and care about their well-being. Caring means supporting … Continue reading Caring
Servant
#Beingaleader means that one must have the the ability to serve others. This approach, known as servant leadership, focuses on putting the needs of employees and customers first, rather than prioritizing the interests of the leader or the company. This can improve morale, increase productivity, and foster a culture of collaboration and trust. One of … Continue reading Servant
