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Point to Ponder
"I DO!"
Two words made all the
difference. Whoever said, "Talk is cheap!" did not speak the
truth.
 3 years ago, TODAY, I married my best friend.
Irene and I were married in Las Vegas, NV by a local pastor. When
the Pastor asked me the traditional question, "Do you take Irene to
be your ..." I tearfully said, "I DO!" and I did!
Thankfully she said, "I DO!" too. All she said when we decided to
get married there was, "No drive through and no
Elvis." When I asked her on the
cruise to Los Angeles, "Would you like to get married?" She simply
said, "YES!" and that one word started the amazing
journey we are on now.
And my life changed,
for the better!
Irene has
enriched my life in too many ways to outline here.
Life can be a long and lonely road and having someone you
like and love along makes the journey more fun and more satisfying.
Irene and I love and like each other and support each other.
We travel well together and enjoy each others' company. We have
divergent interests and politics and that helps to keep us fresh
and vibrant. I am so grateful and blessed to have Irene in my
life.
Once you make the
commitment things fall in place. Two simple words, "I
DO!" or "I WILL!" can make a major
difference if you are a person who lives up to your words.
I am now working on the creation of our
CAPS Edmonton leadership team. I will be their leader and President
for 2012. Each of them said "I will" (in some form or other) when I
asked them to help me and the chapter.
What are you willing to say when
challenged to step up, to make a difference, to move ahead?
Will you say, I DO?
See you next month.
Bob
 PS:This Saturday I get the privilege of
being the MC for friends of ours who are getting married. The words
I share will, I trust, be uplifting, bring a laugh, and I hope help
to make their marriage day a special one.
Archives of past issues
are available on our www.ideaman.net website.
I originally wrote this leadership piece many years ago and have shared its wisdom around the world, in person and in print. I deliberately revisited it at this time as I am moving into a new leadership role. I will share this issue with the new team members and challenge them to challenge me to practice what I preach. 12 Key
Strategies for 'Bringing Out the Best in People'
By Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey Alan Loy McGinnis wrote a book back in the last century about bringing out the best in people. It was well-received and gained exposure and acceptance among progressive leaders at that time. Over the years, I've had the chance to reflect on what Alan outlined. In fact, as I wrote this I still have his 12 rules sitting on my wall above my desk as a visual reminder of how important they are in leading and coaching the people I work with across North America, and more recently around the globe.  If you are committed to being an effective leader or
manager, perhaps they should be sitting somewhere close, so they are
not far from your mind's eye. They provide the foundation for
effective management, leadership success, and leveraged teamwork.
Apply them well to equip and motivate your team to succeed. I
include them, along with my own reflective thoughts, for your
inspiration and illumination.Expect the best from the people you lead. See them performing at their best. Often people will rise or fall to the level of our expectations. See them as they could be, not as they are! Don't limit them by expecting less than their best. Make a thorough study of the other person's needs. Each person on your team is an individual with specific skills, talents, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and dreams. Taking time to know them makes it easier to lead and direct them for mutual success. It allows you as manager or leader to help them succeed in their respective role. Establish high standards for excellence. Leaders fail when they accept mediocre results or fail to set challenging standards. People will amaze you when you set the bar higher and lead by example. Don't be afraid to challenge your team to live up to and surpass achievable goals and standards. Create an environment where failure is not fatal. Mistakes are a natural part of life and taking risks means occasionally you fall short. If your team feels supported and encouraged, they will take risks and move past their comfort zone into the winners' zone. Help them learn from the lessons of any mistakes or miss-steps and move ahead with energy to face the next challenge. (This point, when shared during a
presentation in Tehran, Iran got me into a nervous conversation with
one of the clerics in the audience. He took me aside, following my
presentation to talk about it. But that is another
story.)
If they are going
anywhere near where you want to go, climb on other people's
bandwagons.
Sometimes you need to be honest and realize that people are not always going the same direction or share the same values that you live. In that case, let them go and stay your own course. However, if they are going where you want the team to be, let them lead and be supportive. Be courageous enough to realize that you can follow your own path. Others who share your values will follow. Employ models to encourage success. This goes to the heart of leadership by example. Make sure this is modeled in your own management life and in the lives of those you promote, train, and delegate to succeed. Recognize and applaud achievement. People do not work simply for money or position. Each has his or her own needs. One of those needs, deep inside each of us, is the need to feel appreciated, informed, and important to the team. As a leader or manager, the most effective thing we can do is to recognize achievement and effort from those we lead and to share and publicly applaud their achievements. Employ a mixture of positive and negative reinforcement. We understand it is a good thing to provide praise and positive reinforcement in our team members' efforts. This affirms their actions and encourages them to move ahead. It is also necessary at times to apply the opposite tack when one of them is doing something detrimental in the fulfillment or follow through of their role. Letting them know what is 'not' acceptable is also part of a leader's role. We can do it nicely and in kindness, but do it we must if they are to grow and maximize their potential. Amazingly enough, people appreciate knowing their boundaries. Appeal sparingly to the competitive urge. Each of us has a natural competitive edge. If used wisely, competition can be a great tool to higher achievement. It has its 'dark' side in allowing divisive actions and attitudes to creep into a team environment. Focus on the team accomplishment and mutual win. Encourage each to compete for higher standards and personal skill development. Place a premium on collaboration. This is where team - 'works', and where effective managers and leaders learn to pull people from diverse backgrounds, agendas, and experiences into an effective unit. Brainstorming is one way of effective collaboration allowing each to build and draw on the brainpower of one another. It is a great way to energize your team and draw from their creativity to drive innovation and growth. Build into the group an allowance for storms. It is not always smooth sailing as a leader or in managing team efforts. Storms, difficulties, challenges, detours, and disasters can strike when you least expect them. As a leader you need to build in allowances for these speed bumps in your team's progress and have some plans in place to cover each potential challenge. Sometimes you need to step in, give clear directions, and help them weather the storm. Take steps to keep your own motivation high. You are 'on' as a leader all the time. This means people will be looking at you and taking their cue from you. It also means you need to keep your personal motivation high and maintain a positive outward attitude. This means you may need to find a trusted advisor or fellow manager who can discuss your challenges in private. Letting your negative feelings show can be devastating to your team. They look to you as being confident, clear in focus, and consistent in action and follow through. Don't disappoint them. Learn to apply these management rules of the leadership road to smooth out your path and make it easier for those who follow you to walk in it. © Copyright 2009-2011 Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey www.ideaman.net All rights reserved. Used with permission of the author. Visit: www.SecretSellingTips.com Bob 'Idea Man' Hooey is a creative catalyst, productivity and leadership strategist who regularly writes for North American Consumer and Trade Journals, on-line magazines and company intranets. He has worked with leaders from Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies and organizations around the globe. He is the prolific author of 25 business, career, and leadership success books and the 48th person in the history of Toastmasters International to earn their coveted professional level Accredited Speaker designation. He recruited a team and published a 3 volume Quantum Success series in support of Laura's Hope with 85 top North American authors and business experts. It is available free of charge to help you give your career, leadership, or business a quantum leap. Visit: www.QuantumSuccess.biz He published www.inthecompanyofleaders.com (40 top authors) in support of Toastmasters International and www.foundationalsuccess.com (30 top authors) in support of the CAPS Foundation. His publications are now being converted to Epub (Reader style) and will be soon found online at Apple, Kobo, Barne & Noble, and Amazon. Last Minute News
Lots happening this
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