Multi-Generational

#Beingaleader means you need to understand the multi-generational aspect of leadership and the marketplace. It's a skill you need to learn and apply. Each generation has different things that motivate them. Different ways of expressing themselves. Different ways of communicating. Different ways they want performance evaluations or feedback to be provided. You can learn them … Continue reading Multi-Generational →

Cyclical

#Beingaleader means you understand that life is cyclical. There are cycles to everything. To leadership. To projects. To teams. To work. To, well, everything. There's the beginning. The start up. The excitement. The honeymoon. Then it becomes steady. The normal. The anticipated. Then, sometimes, it becomes the stale. The rigid. The never changing. Then, new … Continue reading Cyclical →

Kindness

#Beingaleader means you need to show kindness. Kindness to your team. To those you supervise. To clients. And to those others that you run into on a regular basis. Google defines kindness as a quality of being that involves treating others with consideration, generosity, and concern, without expecting anything in return. So, two parts. Treating … Continue reading Kindness →

Thanks

#Beingaleader means you need to give thanks. More not less. It's been 2 years since I wrote on being thankful. I should probably write on it every week. More thankful. And more giving of thanks. First, you need to be thankful. Then you need to give it away. It is a two step process. And … Continue reading Thanks →

Remote

#Beingaleader means you or your team often have to work in a remote environment. Many of us talk to our team around the country or even internationally. We have co-workers in multiple locations that would necessitate a zoom or teams meeting even if we sat in an office somewhere. We are living in the day … Continue reading Remote →

Strategy

#Beingaleader means you need a strategy. I thought out plan. More than just a goal or a vision. But steps to get to where you want to be. The how. Not just the why. A plan of action. A strategy. Whether you are a small team leader or a large corporate executive, you need a … Continue reading Strategy →

Change Management

#Beingaleader means you need to understand and lead change management. What it is. How to properly implement it. Know how it affects those on your team and potentially those not on your team. Change management isn't about the change itself. It's about the process of identifying, creating and implementing that change. You can have people … Continue reading Change Management →

Appreciate

#Beingaleader means you need to be the head appreciator for your team. Appreciate what your team is doing. Appreciate the business you are in. The position you have and the opportunities given for the next position. What does it mean to appreciate your team and their efforts? It means to recognize their true or whole … Continue reading Appreciate →

Compassion

#Beingaleader means you need to have compassion. For your team. For their experiences and how that impacts them. Compassion is defined as having the desire to take action to help others. What does it mean to have compassion for someone? It means you know about their circumstance. That you care about their circumstance. And you … Continue reading Compassion →

Rock

#Beingaleader means you are a rock. Not easily swayed. You know who you are and what you believe. You stand for something. And you defend others. Sometimes, even to your own short term detriment. You cannot be easily swayed and be a good leader at the same time. You may feel that you are sometimes … Continue reading Rock →

Engage

#Beingaleader means you need to engage. Engage with your team. Engage with your projects. Engage your mind. Engaging with your team could be as simple as spending time with them. Reaching out and connecting. Having a Teams meeting or phone call on a regular basis. Getting involved with them, their projects or issues. Engaging is … Continue reading Engage →

Initiative

#Beingaleader means you have to take the initiative. The one to make the first move. To take the risk. To want something bad enough you're willing to fail while trying. Initiative. When you want to see a problem from a new perspective, you sometimes have to make the first move. Meaning, you have to see … Continue reading Initiative →

Challenge

#Beingaleader means you constantly need to face a new challenge. Nothing gets the fire going inside of a leader than a real challenge. Without it, boredom, complacency and bad habits can form. A challenge allows you to go to new heights and not get trapped going backwards. #Beingaleader means that you don't shrink back from … Continue reading Challenge →

Starting Over

#Beingaleader means that you sometimes have to start over. Everything is new again. There is a physical and emotional component to starting over. Physically, you have to get accustomed to a new schedule. A new cadence. Meeting new people while digging into the projects themselves. Dealing with new experiences. New team members with varied experience. … Continue reading Starting Over →

Decision Making

#Beingaleader means you need to be good at decision making. I've partially touched on this before on one of my first posts on this blog (https://beingaleader.blog/2019/01/29/decisions/). But decision making is a day to day event in a leader's life. A leader needs not only to make good decisions, but be good at the decision making … Continue reading Decision Making →

Respect

#Beingaleader means you need to have respect. For yourself. For others. Respect for what you do and respect for how you got to where you are. Respect for yourself. The position you are in. The value you bring. The obstacles you have overcome. Not pride. Respect. Respect means due regard. Sound judgment of the facts. … Continue reading Respect →

Sage

#Beingaleader means that at some point you will be a sage. One who teaches others to be a leader. One to whom others go for advice and counsel. One who has built a legacy of consistency, honor, and courage and led by example. Everyone wants one. The question today is whether you will become one … Continue reading Sage →

Likeability

#Beingaleader means you understand the importance of likeability. Both for yourself and your team. Your likeability. And theirs. It may not have been a conscious thought process in your mind but you measure it every time you meet someone. Skill. Experience. Competency. Even Character. All are important. But the packaging in which they are delivered … Continue reading Likeability →

Example

#Beingaleader means you are setting an example. For good or bad. You are. So the question becomes: what kind of example do you want to set? One of honor and integrity? Hard work? Driven? Cutting corners? Angry? There are lots of ways to be an example. #Beingaleader is all about making choices as to what … Continue reading Example →

Unfulfilled

#Beingaleader means you will sometimes feel unfulfilled. You won't always be doing everything that you want to be doing. A lot of the things that are on your plate will not fulfill you. They won't be the things you desire to do. You might even dislike some or all of them. But #Beingaleader means you … Continue reading Unfulfilled →

Expectations

#Beingaleader means you have expectations. Things that should happen because of what you've done. Things that you are hoping to happen. Dreams that you have that aren't yet fulfilled. It's important to have expectations. To have dreams. To think certain things will happen. For example, hard work should result in good things for you and … Continue reading Expectations →

The Real You

#Beingaleader means you need to be you. In the moment of crisis. In the moment of celebration. In the moment you least expected. The real you will come out. It always does. You can't help being you. You can fake you for a time. You can show others a different you for a time. But … Continue reading The Real You →

Don’t Freak

#Beingaleader means you don't freak. You don't panic. You try to be proactive instead of reactive. You don't let your emotions get the better of you. Even in a crisis or unexpected situation or moment. In teaching each of my kids to drive, I have one rule: don't freak. This means you don't overreact. You … Continue reading Don’t Freak →

Style

#Beingaleader means you have a unique style. A way of dealing with things. A way of communicating. A way of of handling conflict. A way of reaching success. A unique style. You can learn from a lot of different sources. You can learn things that are new to you. But the way you blend them … Continue reading Style →

Downside

#Beingaleader will come with a downside. Your energy will go. You will need to put others first. You will be disappointed at times. You may be alone. And you may have to do things you don't want to do. How's that for encouraging people into #Beingaleader? But it is true. It's not all about being … Continue reading Downside →

Re-Invent

#Beingaleader means you sometimes need to re-invent yourself. To re-invent means to make new again. To invent again. It's not that everything before was wrong or bad. It's just that you need to re-invent yourself for the future. For the next steps. For the future. Sometimes you need to change something so much that it … Continue reading Re-Invent →

Passion

#Beingaleader means you need to have passion. Passion for what you are doing. Passion for who you are doing it with. And passion for where you want to go. Passion is having an enthusiasm for something, a desire for something, that is so strong that many of the roadblocks that are inevitable seem not worthy … Continue reading Passion →

Infamy

#Beingaleader means you need to avoid infamy. Being well known for a bad quality or deed. Infamy can kill your future. It means others will look at you with suspicion. It is very hard to overcome public infamy. So what do I mean by infamy? Infamy is not just a mistake. It's likely a trait … Continue reading Infamy →

Remember

#Beingaleader means you have to remember. Remember where you've come from. Remember what you and your team has already accomplished. Remember what got you to where you are today. Remember. #Beingaleader means you need to remember where you've come from. You've come a long ways. Sometimes our focus is so future-centric that we fear we … Continue reading Remember →

Heat

#Beingaleader means you deal with heat. Battle. Deadlines. Pressure. Decision-making. People's views of you or your team. Misunderstanding. Heat. Does the heat you find yourself in lead you to overboil? To explode at others or to shut down completely? You need to learn to live with the heat because it is more normal than not … Continue reading Heat →

Execution

#Beingaleader means you need to be good at execution or have someone on your leadership team that is. It's one thing to have a vision. Or ideas. It's another to execute on those plans. For some, ideas are a dime a dozen. But they never get past the idea phase before the person moves on … Continue reading Execution →

Bridges

#Beingaleader means you need to build bridges. To others. For others. To build bridges means to help you or your team or someone you are working with to see an opposing point of view or a different way of doing things. Sometimes it's a communication style. Sometimes it's a different way of prioritizing. Sometimes you … Continue reading Bridges →

Timid

#Beingaleader means you sometimes have to fight being timid. Even if it's in your nature to be timid. You can't always allow yourself to be so. Or to remain timid too long. Being timid is when you lack confidence. You're afraid of what might happen depending on what decision you make. Or you're lacking the … Continue reading Timid →

Humility

#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 →

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 →

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 →

Today

#Beingaleader means you need to be aware and focused on today. Yes, I know. Everyone says look to the future. And, yes you should. But you also need to take care of today. Don't look past it. Don't squander it. The future will come but it will look an awful lot like today when it … Continue reading Today →

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 →

Quiet

#Beingaleader means that you need some regular time to be quiet. Quiet your mind. Quiet the external voices and demands. Life is busy and often chaotic. #Beingaleader only accentuates that reality. It's important to take time to quiet your mind. To allow yourself time to recover, recuperate, regenerate. To quiet your mind to all that … Continue reading Quiet →

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 →

Hard

#Beingaleader means you have to handle hard things at times. Hard emotions. Hard decisions. Hard circumstances. Not that you should become hard. Just that you will be in hard situations. In fact, the hardness you find yourself in needs to be matched with the strength of the opposite emotion to be successful. Not soft. But … Continue reading Hard →

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 →

Celebrate

#Beingaleader means you need to learn to celebrate. Celebrate the wins. Celebrate surviving. Celebrate living the good life. Celebrating the wins means that you tried to do something and you succeeded and now you are celebrating the fact that you accomplished what you set out to do. That is worth celebrating. First you set a … Continue reading Celebrate →

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 →