#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
Category: Inner Strength
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
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
Strong
#Beingaleader means you have to be strong. Strong for your team. Strong in your purpose. Strong in your message. #Beingaleader means that you have to be strong for your team. Don't be the weak link. Communicate effectively. Stick to your guns and the methods that you have chosen to use. Let everyone know that you … Continue reading Strong
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
Drain
#Beingaleader means that you often have things, circumstances or people that drain you. Emotionally. Energy-taking. Whatever it or they can take from you. And you need to learn how to deal with those situations and people so they don't bring you down or drain the energy from you. #Beingaleader means you need to recognize the … Continue reading Drain
Weaknesses
#Beingaleader means you need to work with your weaknesses. Identify them. Use them. Grow them into something. Share your growth with others. We too often focus only on our strengths. We should not forget to work on our weaknesses so we accomplish even more than what we set out to do.So, are you able to … Continue reading Weaknesses
Chores
#Beingaleader means you have to do a lot of chores. Chores that need to be done. Chores you see the value in. Chores you don't want to do. But they still need to be done and you are the person to do them. Just like being a parent requires you to do things that you … Continue reading Chores
Bitterness
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with your bitterness. Towards others. Towards yourself. Towards the circumstances that you find yourself in today. Bitterness can be defined as "anger and disappointment at being treated unfairly." How you deal with bitterness will have a huge impact on your success as a leader. How do you react when … Continue reading Bitterness
Encourage
#Beingaleader means you need to encourage others. To succeed. To pick themselves up. To keep going. To achieve their goals. To make them stronger. To encourage someone is to give them strength to do something. Maybe to take a leap of faith. Maybe to accept a new challenge. Encouragement can leave people feeling that they … Continue reading Encourage
Testing
#Beingaleader means you will go through testing. Personal. Financial. Timing. Team members. There are many areas where you could be tested. Just know that you will be. Regularly. Testing can be viewed in multiple ways. In school, it's an attempt to measure where your current understanding of the subject matter is. In manufacturing, it is … Continue reading Testing
Pressure
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with pressure. Pressure of time. Pressure of confrontation. Pressure of success. Pressure of failure. Pressure of deadlines. Pressure of expectations. Lots of different kinds of pressure. But you feel them all. And seemingly can't get away from them. #Beingaleader often feels like you live in a daily pressure cooker. … Continue reading Pressure
Mixed
#Beingaleader often means you have mixed feelings. Am I doing the right thing? Am I making the right decisions? Did I respond appropriately? A lot of potential mixed feelings about your success rate on this questions. So, should you wait until you can make the perfect decision? Should you wait until all of your questions … Continue reading Mixed
Opposite
#Beingaleader means you have to act the opposite of others many times. Counterintuitive. Against the grain. Often without explanation. Lead. Is someone being mean? Be nice. Is someone angry? Be calming. Is someone rushing ahead and making mistakes? Slow down and have a conversation. You will find that often people are reactive. You need to … Continue reading Opposite
Next
#Beingaleader means that sometimes you just need to do the next thing. Whether you feel like it or not. Whether you know the second step or not. Even whether you want to or not. Just take the next step. It will keep you moving in the general direction you want to go and will, over … Continue reading Next
Yes
#Beingaleader means you need to become comfortable with saying "Yes". It can be very freeing. Not being led down a path you don't want to go. Not being forced to spend time on things that you aren't meant to do. But focused on the things you say "yes" to. Sometimes the smallest things bring the … Continue reading Yes
No
#Beingaleader means you need to become comfortable with saying "No". It can be very freeing. Not being led down a path you don't want to go. Not being forced to spend time on things that you aren't meant to do. Sometimes the smallest things bring the biggest impact. "No" is a small but powerful word. … Continue reading No
Prepared
#Beingaleader means you need to be prepared. Or get prepared. For as many eventualities as is possible. Personally. Professionally. Your team. Your family. Yourself. What are some eventualities that you might encounter? And they can change depending on the year. But they might include: team member loss; sales loss; conflict resolution; personal loss; health issues; … Continue reading Prepared
Books
#Beingaleader means you need to read/listen to books. Old ones. New ones. Different topics and subject matter. Old books. Why are old books important to read? Because culture changes. Viewpoints change. And it's important to see how people did things in the past. How they thought. How they responded. There is a lot of stability … Continue reading Books
Resilience
#Beingaleader means you need to have resilience. The ability to recover quickly from difficulty. To bounce back. To have more toughness than others have. Face trauma, stress and even tragedy without it breaking you. Seeing it all in context. Resilience requires inner strength. I'm not saying that everyone doesn't have their limits. Nor am I … Continue reading Resilience
The Point
#Beingaleader means you have to get to the point. Be direct. Say what you mean. Your expectations. Your evaluation of them or their progress. Clearly. Concisely. Using examples when needed but not telling a story without getting to the punchline. You are not helping others by beating around the bush. It is not kindness to … Continue reading The Point
Refresh
#Beingaleader means you need to take time to refresh every so often. To recharge. To take stock. To give yourself new strength or to invigorate yourself for the next tasks or phase of life that are ahead of you. To do whatever it takes to prevent burnout and disillusionment. A sabbatical. A vacation. A weekend … Continue reading Refresh
Decision-Making
#Beingaleader means you need to have a good decision-making paradigm. How do you make decisions? What's the criteria you look at? Granted, many decisions you make during the day may not be extremely significant. They might just be decisions that need to be made in order to keep the project going. Oftentimes, people are paralyzed … Continue reading Decision-Making
Alone
#Beingaleader means you often have to stand alone. At least at first. Your job is often to inspire others to join you but it presupposes that you are alone at the beginning. The idea is yours. The stance is yours. The product or service is yours. Alone. Are you willing to stand alone? To press … Continue reading Alone
Balance
#Beingaleader means you need to find balance. In your work. In your family. In your life. We each have so many different things pulling at us, our time, our thoughts, our energy. Balance can be defined as an even distribution of weight or having something in equal proportions. However, I think you can be balanced … Continue reading Balance
Time
#Beingaleader means you have to be concerned about time. Having enough. Using it wisely. Prioritizing. Deciding who gets it. And, by necessity, who doesn't. How much thought you give to one thing vs. another. Time. It's all about how you spend it. Allocation of time is one of the most important things you do as … Continue reading Time
Conflict
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with conflict. Sooner or later. And perhaps often. Disagreement. Clashing. Differences of opinion or desired direction. You don't have to go looking for it. It will find you. The question is how will you treat it? How will you react or respond? Let me break it up into two … Continue reading Conflict
Problem Solver
#Beingaleader means you have to be a problem solver. It can be personnel issues. HR issues. Cost issues. Satisfaction issues from internal or external sources. All of these will eventually land on your desk at some point as a leader. And what are you expected to do with these problems? Solve them. Everyone has them. … Continue reading Problem Solver
Building
#Beingaleader means you need to always be building. Building on the past. Building for the future. Building on what you have to work with. Skills. People. Experiences. Continuing to grow your building blocks. Building on your past includes all of the things you've experienced this past year: the good and the bad. The easy and … Continue reading Building
Hope
#Beingaleader means you need to have hope. Hope for yourself. Hope for your team. Hope for the future. Not hope in. Hope for. Hope is placed on something or someone outside of yourself and your circumstance that you can know is going to change everything. Hope is more than being positive about life or the … Continue reading Hope
Patience
#Beingaleader means you have to exhibit patience. Patience is defined as more than waiting (https://beingaleader.blog/2021/02/02/waiting/). Patience is more what you do with the waiting. It is defined as 'the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.' So, while many people might be okay with waiting, they aren't very … Continue reading Patience
Vision
#Beingaleader means you already have vision. The ability to see what's going on now. The ability to see and think about what could be in the future. And, often, even the steps and the people needed to get there. But it's much more than that. #Beingaleader also means you need to be able to communicate … Continue reading Vision
“Good” Leader
#Beingaleader means you should want to be a "good" leader. But how is "good" defined and how do you achieve it? So and so is a "good" leader. What do you mean by that? Is it their character? Personality? How they treat others? Skill set? Compassion? Attitude? Yes to all. Someone can be an effective … Continue reading “Good” Leader
Power
Whether you like it or not, #Beingaleader means you wield some power. From your position. From your followers. From your experience. Even from your presence. How you use that power will determine what kind of leader you will be and how worthy you are of those followers. Power is an interesting thing. There is an … Continue reading Power
Goodbyes
#Beingaleader means your life can be full of goodbyes. To people. To projects. Nothing seems to last forever. This week was full of goodbyes. A belated goodbye to a father who's life we could not previously celebrate together as a family due to borders being closed. A goodbye to a mother who we might never … Continue reading Goodbyes
Sustainability
#Beingaleader means you need to have sustainability. Sustainable is avoiding depletion. For the long haul. Regenerating. Healthy. We often hear the term used in reference to the environment or a particular product that is being touted. But sustainability is important for the leader too. You must prepare for the long haul. The adversity. The challenges. … Continue reading Sustainability
Baggage
#Beingaleader means you have to deal with baggage. Sometimes your own. Sometimes others'. Either way you need to know how to deal with it or get rid of it before it drags you down. What does your baggage look like? Is it emotional? Bad experiences? Each one of us is a compilation of experiences, good … Continue reading Baggage
Generous
#Beingaleader means you need to be generous. With your time. With your money. With your praise. So what does being generous with your time mean? It means giving of yourself whenever possible to help others achieve their goals or the goals of the team. It means you show up when the team shows up. It … Continue reading Generous
Independent
#Beingaleader means you have to think independently. It means you have to come up with solutions and ideas based upon your experience and calculated risk level that perhaps others are unable or unwilling to think about. Everything you go through as a leader is preparing you for the future decisions you will have to make. … Continue reading Independent
Re-Think
#Beingaleader means you have to re-think things all the time. Look at situations from new angles. Allow your mind to imagine things that aren't there yet. Re-imagine. Re-tool. Be careful about getting stuck in the 'right' way of thinking (i.e., your way). Allow yourself time and space to re-think things. This takes time set aside … Continue reading Re-Think
Healthy
#Beingaleader means you need to stay healthy. In your mindset. In your relationships. And in your environment. #Beingaleader means you need to stay healthy in your mindset. Your attitude or mindset is so critically important that you must protect it from anything that would try to get you down. The keys to being successful in … Continue reading Healthy
Confidence
#Beingaleader means you need confidence. In yourself. In your team. In the future. Confidence in your abilities. Your decision making. #Beingaleader means you need to teach yourself to be confident in who you are and what abilities you have learned and are learning. Confidence. Not arrogance. It's not about other people or a comparison to … Continue reading Confidence
Real
#Beingaleader means you need to be real. As in "not fake". Authentic. Be yourself. Lead the way you lead. Learn principles from others but don't try to copy them with mannerisms or style. Let your personality and character shine through. Be who you were created to be. Be real. Being real will create a level … Continue reading Real
Motivate
#Beingaleader means you have to motivate yourself. Again and again. To do the things that need to be done. To do the things you may not want to do. To set yourself on the path to success. There is no easy success. And often it is not flashy. Sort of like raising a child. It's … Continue reading Motivate
Stop
Stop #Beingaleader. Every once in a while to see what impact you are having on others or yourself. Not just to refresh. But to reflect. Am I making a difference? Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing? What I was made for?Can you imagine just going to work? Just attending church? Just … Continue reading Stop
Burnout
#Beingaleader means at some point you may come fact to face with the possibility of burnout. Exhausted. At the brink. Not wanting to keep going. Today's topic is not so much about how to deal with burnout once it happens but rather how to avoid burnout in the first place. Today we will focus on … Continue reading Burnout
Pause
#Beingaleader means you need to learn to pause. Pause before you respond. Pause before you react. Pause to allow all the facts to emerge. #Beingaleader means you need to learn to pause before you respond. We live in a culture that seems to require us to have an opinion. About everything. It's not just that … Continue reading Pause
Dare
#Beingaleader means you have to dare. Dare to try. Dare to dream. Dare to be you. #Beingaleader means you have to dare to try. To experiment. To do something new. Regardless of potential for success sometimes you have to just try. It's important to try new angles and new approaches to see if you're able … Continue reading Dare
Restraint
#Beingaleader means you sometimes have to show restraint to your team. Restraint of words. Restraint of emotion. Restraint of self. #Beingaleader means you need to restrain your words. Just because you think it doesn't mean you should say it. Too many words are said out of emotion whether verbally or in an email. Some say … Continue reading Restraint
Being A Leader 