Essential Leadership Skills

The role of the leader is becoming more and more challenging. What skills are essential to thrive and survive in leadership roles in the increasingly demanding business world?

The role of the leader in organizations is changing. Competition is becoming more intense with more and more entrants to the market. Technology advances are making it easier for businesses
to serve markets that were not accessible historically. There is a continued demand to achieve efficiencies, increase profits and to work differently. So what essential skills will leaders need to have to thrive?

Change Management

Whether you are a leader in a public body or private sector organization, some form of change program will happen, sooner or later. Leaders will need to be skilled change agents who can create compelling reasons and get the support of others.

Team Building

Leaders cannot do everything themselves. They need to build teams around them which have the skills, knowledge, experience and personal attributes to deliver the results. The teams that they build need to be highly productive and at the same time create a positive environment so that high performance does not lead to high levels of burn out.

Innovation

Nothing stands still for very long. Leaders in organizations need to look at the trends in the way the industry and customer preferences are moving and look for new ways of responding to them. Many businesses get themselves to a point where they are regarded as good performers but often cannot sustain this long term.

Relationship Building

Relationships are key in any business and leaders need to be making the time to create and build relationships. If the business operates on a national or international basis, creating relationships with other senior people in the business can be a real challenge. Relationships with suppliers are also taking on greater importance. Many businesses are relying on processing or customer service functions overseas run by external organizations to take care of large chunks of their business. For example, many companies are moving call centers to places like India to reduce costs. A similar trend is happening in areas like financial traction processing and even secretarial services in some cases. Creating and managing relationships is a vital part in the success of these initiatives.

Global Awareness

More and more businesses are becoming international. Different countries have different cultures, ways of doing things and behaving. Leaders need to learn about these differences if they are to succeed.

Decisiveness

While it is important for leaders to have a vision and clarity around the direction the business is going, they need to be ready to be decisive if things are not going to plan. In theory this sounds simpleBusiness Management Articles, but in practice it is extremely difficult. Taking the decision could be the best or worse thing the leader did depending how events unfold. Leaders need the courage to make the difficult calls.

Leadership is becoming tougher and tougher and requires continued development. What’s the next step for you in developing your leadership skills?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements (G&A) works with professionals and organisations to develop their management and leadership capability. Sign up for his free e-course and monthly newsletter at http://www.goalsandachievements.co.uk/

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: You can succeed with articles on leadership skills. Our personal development depends on continues training. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff. Books and audio books at, Leadership Skills Books.

Recognizing Your Skills and Abilities

Going out into the job market can be a frightening prospect, especially if you are trying to branch out in a different direction than the type of work you are used to doing. It can seem as though employers are only interested in those individuals who have experience with certain techniques or who have performed similar types of work previously; with a bit of research, however, you will quickly find that there are a number of opportunities available to you so long asyou are able to present the skills necessary to do the job.

Unfortunately, many people sell themselves short when trying to list or describe the skills that they possess. If you can’t be confident in your skill set and understand the skills that are transferable into new markets, then you’ll have a much harder time convincing a potential employer that you’re the right person for the job they’re offering. This is where being able to identify your own skills and interests can help you to bridge the gap and show thatyou are more than qualified for the positions that you seek.

Identifying Your Developed Skills
The first thing that you need to do is start thinking about the different jobs that you’ve had in the past and the various skills that you’ve developed over the years. Even fairly menial jobs can pass on a variety of skills, including those skills which are highly sought after in the corporate world such as time and project management and even customer relations. The skills that you have were developed with time and hard work, so don’t be quick to discount them. List the various skills that you’ve developed through work and other activities, making notes of any areas thatyou are particularly strong in. Managing a household or home business requires skills. If this is you, identify what skills you possess.

Finding Your Natural Talents and Abilities
Some things just come easier to certain people, and being able to identify your natural talents can help you to get ahead when trying to get the job of your dreams. Examine exactly what talents and natural abilities you have, and how long you’ve known that they just come easily to you; many employers are interested in having people with talent and who can do the work that they offer them without struggling to get it completed. Don’t worry that it will sound like you’re bragging to mention these talents and abilities… that’s what interviews and applications are for, to enable employers to evaluate potential employees and determine which ones will be the best for the job. Having natural talent in certain areas and showing documented proof will help to qualify you as being one of the best.

Following Your Interests
When you begin looking for a job, make sure that you try and find potential employers who fall within some of your areas of interest even if you’ve never had employment in that area before. Often times employers will ask job candidates during an interview exactly why it is that they want to work for the company they’ve applied at; being able to say that you’re genuinely interested in the work that they do and having enough knowledge about the field to back that statement up will help to show them that you’ll likely be a diligent worker and that you won’t become bored with the work and go off seeking another job. If you have developed skills or possess natural talents which support that area of interest, that’s even more of a mark in your favor since you will not only be interested in the work but will also have at least some ofthe skills and abilities needed to do it. These are qualities that employers are always looking for, and they can help you to land the job even when you thought that you wouldn’t be qualified enough.

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About the Author
Contact Career Coaching Connections at 248-390-0781 and visit http://www.c3livingthedream.com. Cindy Swiantek has provided coaching and instruction for several hundred professionals, assisting them in planning and executing successful career transition. She brings her own experiences from personally making the transition from employee to executive in the automotive industry. Her passion for assisting others is contagious!

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: You can succeed with articles on leadership skills. Our personal development depends on continues training. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff. Books and audio books at, Leadership Skills Books.

Developing Leadership Skills

Developing Leadership Credibility – Three Keys to Success

People aren’t going to take you seriously as a leader simply because you’re a slot or two higher on the corporate totem pole than they are. While management may be a function of rank, leadership is a function of persuasion. It’s all about convincing others that they should be learning from and listening to you. Developing leadership credibility is an important component of that.

With that in mind, here are three secrets to developing leadership skills in a manner that will produce results.

First, be honest. Yes, that sounds obvious. Unfortunately, it begs to be mentioned because we see too many cases people making a run for a leadership position without a commitment to that principle. While white lies may be temporarily effective, honesty is and will always be the best policy. Survey after survey tells the tale. When asked what people want from their leaders, they always rank honesty and transparency on top of the list.

Second, show your commitment to the job. People believe in leaders when they think those leaders can relate to them. They want their leaders to have a real sense of what’s happening on “the ground.” You can demonstrate that you’re in touch by occasionally rolling up your sleeves and working right alongside your followers. Leaders who spend too much time insulated from the “real world” have a harder time motivating people than do those who have spent time in the trenches with their followers.

Third, remember that developing leadership comes with responsibility. As you hone your skills and use them, consistently demonstrate a commitment to leading others in the right direction and looking out for your followers best interests. If a leader is a shepherd, it’s safe to assume that the flock isn’t interested spending time with the wolf. They want to deal with someone who has proven his commitment to their growth and success.

Those aren’t the only three things one should do when developing leadership skills, but they are three of the most important. If you remain consistent on all three points, you’re likely to transform yourself into a beloved leader with your organization.

Developing leadership is one of many topics you can learn about at this great site. This periodic journal of practical leadership and management tips provides great material about leadership development:

http://www.enleadership.com/blog

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Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: You can succeed with articles on leadership skills. Our personal development depends on continues training. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff. Books and audio books at, Leadership Skills Books.

3 Skills to Up Your CEO Savvy

As the owner of a flourishing business, you need to cultivate three essential skills. While emphasis is often given to skills like reading and analyzing financial statements and how to sell with conviction, the following three skills are less spoken about and yet ultimately mark the difference between someone who is self-employed and a true visionary leader. They boil down to the ability to think, feel and act…

These three skills are not often addressed in a business class or even in most MBA programs thus cultivating them will truly put you among the business elite. We’ll briefly explore why each of these is important and how to apply each skill to making your business flourish.

How to think through critical decision making:

You must know how to analyze a situation, whether it is real or imagined, with past numbers or projected figures and see the business sense of it, or the lack thereof. This is critical thinking. You must be able to do this despite knowing little about a situation. The ability to make good decisions, given often limited information, is a skill to cultivate in order to become a master CEO. You also need to be the strategic thinker, the marketing mastermind and the visionary. Ultimately your plan should be to stop doing the minutia that runs the business and delegate those tasks to competent employees that you can trust. Then you can turn your role into what it should be: Chief Decision Maker. Your mind should be focused on thinking about paving the future for your company. Making critical decisions includes what to add or take away from the produce or service mix, how industry trends will affect your market and how to take advantage of them. Being able to look at a market opportunity and decide what will generate more revenue for your business, how to supply an underserved niche, cultivate more loyalty and competitive advantage is your job as CEO.

Boldness and decisiveness are rare and thus valuable skills. Many companies fail not by making the wrong decisions but by not making decisions at all. Those who make decisions and move forward are always in the power position compared to those who wait and see. This is the contrast between a victim mentality and a victor mentality. Fear of being wrong stops many people from doing anything, but being wrong is just an illusion. There is no wrong, there are only decisions and lessons learned and new decisions. There are people who make things happen and people who let things happen, and history shows the winners are the ones who make decisions.

How to feel using your intuition:

If you are not pleased with how things are going in your business, you need learn to trust your feelings and intuitions more. Some say that a finely tuned intuition can make great improvement in one’s decision making effectiveness. Our bodies sometimes know things that our minds don’t. If you get too caught up in your head you could be keeping yourself from capitalizing on the inner wisdom that lies within your body. In order to improve how you make decisions, make sure that you add in a gut check to your process. You brought the business this far, so your gut instincts have a lot of validity. Making a decision in your business inherently includes making a guess or prediction about the future, which no data can predict accurately. If we were able to predict the future 100% accurately using just data from the past, Las Vegas and Wall Street would be very different places. As it is, we are always uncertain about the future, and just relying on facts is often not enough. You must learn to tap into your inner powers. To do this try meditating on a problem or issue that you are trying to solve. Go to a quite place with no distractions and allow yourself to just sit quietly for 30 minutes. Clear your mind of all your worries and concerns and just sit peacefully. You will find that the answer or solution will come into your mind at after about 20-30 minutes of meditation. It will be as if it came from above. The more you do on a regular basis you will become more in tune with your own inner wisdom and will be able to leverage this sixth sense as a powerful advantage in business and in life. If your gut instinct is that you don’t understand a problem or a realm of your business and you need outside help, trust that instinct and ask for help either from within your company or from the outside. You know more that you think you do and this will become apparent after you practice developing your intuition. Remember to use your feelings as well as your head when making decisions.

How to act by setting priorities and delegating:

This skill is really two skills but in order for you to perfect them they should be looked at as a coordinated effort. As a business owner, you’ve got a lot on your plate, and you always will, so learning to prioritize is essential. You will quickly see that you cannot handle everything on your list. So, you have a choice; you can either not do the things on the bottom of your list, or you can find others to do them for you, and that is a lot of what running a business and creating an entity of business value is all about. You must know the value of everything you do and take care of your high value activities first. The activities deemed lower in value are not necessarily activities that are not worth doing, they are just not worth you doing them. If these activities can be performed effectively by someone else and still net out more value for the business in return and they are a strategic fit for your focused strategy of the business, then they should be delegated. To delegate effectively you must learn how to explain for understanding. For higher level activities, you must also be able let go, explaining the current and desired state and then trusting the intellect of the other person(s) to build the bridge that will fill in the middle. The more you learn to let go, the more you will be able to grow your business. If you do not learn to do this, you will put a ceiling on your own results. Sure it is true that your employees might let you down or drop the ball on a task, but the same is true of you if you are trying to do everything for the business. Put time and effort into finding smart, hard-working employees and empower them to do what they do best. The possibility that your employee will make a mistake is the same as the possibility that you will make a mistake. Therefore it will be more lucrative for the business in the long run to allow your employees to do these essential tasks while you focus on running the business.
By employing these three essential skills everyday when running your business you are bound to see dramatic and exciting results that will allow your business to flourish and that is what being an entrepreneur is all about. For more information on you how you can improve your businessFree Web Content, visit www.flourishingbusiness.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elizabeth Gordon, founder and President of The Flourishing Business, LLC, is a visionary leader who has a passion for helping others achieve their entrepreneurial dreams and enjoy more of the best in life.

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: Writes and compiles articles on leadership skills. Our personal development depends on continues training. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff. Books and audio books at, Leadership Skills Books.

Leading and Leadership:

Almost anyone can use power, but it takes skill to use leadership. Leadership skills are much more than the use of force. It means the ability to influence others and inspire them to truly wish to achieve a goal.

Managers all over the world recognize the central role of effective leadership in organizational performance. Effective leadership is an imperceptible quality for a good manager. Leaders are capable not only to differentiate the results of their companies; they also can differentiate the satisfaction levels of the people working within these organizations. The abilities of a leader guarantee that the work of the organization is what it should be. Leaders are able to facilitate the definition of organizational purposes. They are initiators of the development of vision within their organization on the whole.

According to the last national research, getting along with the employees is the number one factor that influences job effectiveness (Blanchard 2007). It is important for managers working in organizations to think about their own experiences with employees to understand how essential the relationship of the leader-follower for organizational well-being is, as well as how irreplaceable is a good leader for satisfaction of a follower. Honda injected enthusiasm and energy into people around him and they helped him to achieve great things. Soichiro Honda was a transformational leader and working for him was a wonderful and uplifting experience. Leaders of this type have the ability to put passion and energy into everything. They care about you and want you to become successful.

A leader is essential for every organization. The function of a leader in the organization can be described as: ‘to define what you do, why you exist, and how you judge success’ (Hesselbein and Cohen 1999, p. 250). It is necessary to emphasize that powerful leaders have clear visions about their organizations and their purpose is not only to have clear vision, but also to involve and instill the same vision in other employees. The task of the leaders is to focus their attention and efforts on people because they have to encourage, influence, motivate, inspire, empathize, train, evaluate, and reward them to reach the desired results. Leaders are those people who can build organizations, create organizational cultures, and form our society.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The article was produced by the writer of Essay-Paper.net. Olivia Hunt is a 4-years experienced freelance writer of College Essay Writing Service. Contact her to get English coursework and book review writing tips.

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: Writes and compiles articles on leadership skills. Our personal development depends on continues training. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff. Books and audio books at, Leadership Skills Books.

Leadership Exposed: Things You Thought You Knew About Leadership

This article is about leadership
in its different forms such as formal as in politics and business and informal as in the elder of a family. People who have achieved a lot in their field of endeavour have positions of leadership bestowed upon them. Leadership is a process of becoming and it starts with the individual. It is a shared process with a team of people. Depending on circumstances different styles of leadership are required in practice.

Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history. But there are certain leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership.

1. Leaders come in different flavors.

There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs. Informal leaders or those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts. Both formal and informal leaders practice a combination of leadership styles.

• Lewin’s three basic leadership styles – authoritative, participative, and delegative

• Likert’s four leadership styles – exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative

• Goleman’s six emotional leadership styles – visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding.

2. Leadership is a process of becoming.

Although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential. So like learning how to ride a bicycle, you can also learn how to become a leader and hone your leadership abilities. Knowledge on leadership theories and skills may be formally gained by enrolling in leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences. Daily interactions with people provide the opportunity to observe and practice leadership theories. Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, gain leadership insights, and thus furthering the cycle of learning. You do not become a leader in one day and just stop. Life-long learning is important in becoming a good leader for each day brings new experiences that put your knowledge, skills, and attitude to a test.

3. Leadership starts with you.

The best way to develop leadership qualities is to apply it to your own life. As an adage goes “action speaks louder than words.” Leaders are always in the limelight. Keep in mind that your credibility as a leader depends much on your actions: your interaction with your family, friends, and co-workers; your way of managing your personal and organizational responsibilities; and even the way you talk with the newspaper vendor across the street. Repeated actions become habits. Habits in turn form a person’s character. Steven Covey’s book entitled 7 Habits of Highly Effective People provides good insights on how you can achieve personal leadership.

4. Leadership is shared.

Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one person, but rather a shared responsibility among members of an emerging team. A leader belongs to a group. Each member has responsibilities to fulfill. Formal leadership positions are merely added responsibilities aside from their responsibilities as members of the team. Effective leadership requires members to do their share of work. Starting as a mere group of individuals, members and leaders work towards the formation of an effective team. In this light, social interaction plays a major role in leadership. To learn how to work together requires a great deal of trust between and among leaders and members of an emerging team. Trust is built upon actions and not merely on words. When mutual respect exists, trust is fostered and confidence is built.

5. Leadership styles depend on the situation.

How come dictatorship works for Singapore but not in the United States of America? Aside from culture, beliefs, value system, and form of government, the current situation of a nation also affects the leadership styles used by its formal leaders. There is no rule that only one style can be used. Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles depending on the situation. In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death. Thus, a nation’s leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order—different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance. Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate. But if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required.

Now that you are reminded of these things, keep in mind that there are always ideas that we think we already know; concepts we take for grantedBusiness Management Articles, but are actually the most useful insights on leadership.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim Maher is interested in personal development in all its facets and has read many books on this topic. It is an interest that is fed and nurtured by listening to audio books and seminars when possible. To assist your own personal growth journey get your audio resources at ==> http://www.magillaudiobooks.com/list.aspx?catId=137

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: Writes and compiles articles on leadership skills. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff and products at, Leadership Skills Books.

Top 5 Small Business Mistakes that Create Stress and Overwhelm

If you’re like most small business owners that want to make a difference in the world, I bet you have a beautiful vision and brilliant ideas. You are committed to doing business differently and making real change. Unfortunately, the day-to-day operations can create stress and overwhelm, and worse, can weigh you down and prevent you from making the impact you so desire.

It’s often difficult to “know what you don’t know” in the midst of running a small business. You are inundated with a huge number of activities and roles to keep your business functioning. This probably creates stress and constant worry–about getting it all done, being profitable and creating a sustainable business.

Let’s discuss some mistakes that small business owners make so that you can avoid the pain, frustration, stress and overwhelm in your business. I’ve gathered the top five (although I may have made at least 200) for you:

1. Being Unclear With What You Truly Want in Your Business

Lack of clarity in your business can create immediate overwhelm. Many business owners are clear about the lifestyle they want (i.e. greater flexibility, more work-life balance, traveling), but often fail to have a specific intention and a plan to get there. If you feel uncertain and unclear,your business can feel like a daily struggle. It’s essential to have a picture of your business that includes all your requirements. Create the vision first, then build the business to fit into the vision. (Most people build a business then realize it’s not what they intended for their life.)

2. Not Having a Business Plan, or Having an Underutilized One

Similar to having clarity, you’ll want to also have a crystal-clear business plan. Without a plan, you’re very busy but may lack direction and an end goal. In my experience, over 75% of the small businesses I worked with didn’t have abusiness plan . Only when you have crafted a weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly plan (with a set of clear endpoints and metrics) can you take the daily actions to fulfillingyour business goals. Allow the clarity of your plan to create more ease (when you understand what needs to be done, you will naturally feel more at ease).

3. Limited Planning Time

When you operate your business with little or no planning time, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed rather than in control. You become reactive as you “put out fires,” problem solve, and complete your work each day. Rather than planning for the future, you end up working in the business, not on it (principle drawn from Michael Gerber’s book The E-Myth). Give yourself the gift of time and space to plan. You’ll feel great, reduce your stress and be able to identify those things needed to create the best result.

4. Lack of Self-Care and Personal Time

Most business owners feel they have to sacrifice their personal lives while they are growing their businesses. Unfortunately, the lack of self-care and personal time can actually signal the demise of one’s business. As you shift away from sacrifice and move toward self-care, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. There’s a direct correlation between your personal health and the health ofyour business . Simply put, if you are overwhelmed, stressed and not vital at work, you are not bringing your best self forward and your performance will inevitably slip. Build in daily self-care time to renew and revitalize yourself (i.e. music, walking, napping) and put them in your calendar as non-negotiable. You’ll feel better and get more done with less effort!

5. Losing the Passion for Your Business

When your business becomes passion-less, every task becomes stressful. You feel pushed to work rather than energized and pulled by your passion. This takes a great toll on you personally as well as on your business. Take a moment to remember your initial reasons for starting the business and what lit you up in the first place (i.e. tomake a difference , to offer a new product, to bring your creativity to the world), then figure out how you can add the spice back in. Commit to outsourcing the “un-fun” activities and allow yourself to feel good about your business again. This will allow you to decrease your stress and will naturally create better results.

I recently recognized the power of addressing these common mistakes with my client Anita, an international PR firm director. She realized that while she had completed an initial business plan three years ago, she rarely ever looked at it or conducted her business around it. When we revisited the plan, she reconnected with her passion and commitment to being a socially responsible company. She understood how many critical pieces from her original plan were missing from her current business actions. After she realized that, she was able to chart a new path with less stress and overwhelm, and much more joy and purpose.

I wish you great clarity and ease in your business so that you can make the difference you truly desire. May you know joy, may you know peace and may you work with ease.

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About the Author
As President of Work With Ease (http://www.WorkWithEase.com), Athena has worked with over 300 start-up and small to mid-sized businesses globally to increase productivity, profitability and achieve a sense of ease at work. She integrates practical business principles with mind-body medicine.

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: Writes and compiles articles on leadership skills. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff and products at, Leadership Skills Books.

Increase Success By Writing It All Down

The pen has incredible power. History has shown that it has the ability to take people to the highest of levels. It also has been used to completely destroy individuals. There is an old saying that claims ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’. Regardless of the validity of this statement, it is universally agreed that putting things in writing is extremely helpful.

People often complain about having too much to do. They seem to operate in a continual state of overwhelm. This causes them to move at a frenzied pace, going from one activity to another. Resting is something they have a difficult time doing since there is always so much more to be done. Their entire lives are spent handling the ‘crisis of the moment’. Unfortunately, the more that these people accomplish, the further behind they get. It is a vicious cycle that steals joy and fulfillment.

Certain individuals suffer from the inability to prioritize. They spend a great amount of time getting things done, yet rarely make any difference. Their tendency is to focus on the activities that have a smaller impact. This is similar to the ‘crisis’ focus previously mentioned. This person will handle whatever arises regardless of what else needs to be done. The major activities are forgotten until they become urgent. Again, a frenzied situation results.

Getting in the habit of writing everything down helps you overcome these challenges. People who are in a state of overwhelm choose to be that way. How we feel is a choice that we make. Unfortunately, for those who are overwhelmed with all that they need to do, it usually is not based in reality. It only seems that there is an astronomical amount to do. An easy way to overcome this is to write down everything that needs to be done. The list can be as long as it needs to be while making sure everything is included. Most realize that they do not have as much to do as they initially thought, Once this is understood, it is much easier to remain free of the feeling of overwhelm.

Putting the activities requiring attention in writing also aids in the prioritizing. Once everything is down on paper, one can begin to plan. Those tasks that have the most impact will be obvious. So, too,will those that do not have much of an effect. Our days are more productive when we are able to tend to important items first. Most find that they cannot do everything on their list in a given day. By concentrating on those with the greatest impact, we are able to move our lives forward at a quicker pace. It is more important to pay the mortgage than to fold the dirty socks. Exercising will do more for us than watching the movie we recorded last night. Spending time with our loved ones has a greater payoff than cleaning the attic. If something must be left incomplete, make sure it is something that is not so critical.

Operating from a list in writing increases productivity substantially. It is especially true when coupled with one of our techniques called the ‘mini-blitz’. This strategy involves taking 3-5 items off your master list and setting aside a time to handle them. These activities can be done quickly yet have enough importance to create negative consequences if left unattended. All the items are handled in the order they are listed. This technique can usually be done in under 15 minutes. It is a terrific way to complete those smaller activities that we need to attend to.

Increasing productivity while reducing the feeling of overwhelm is the main benefit of writing things down. People trust us because we do not forget to do things that we promised. Our careers are more successful when we develop the reputation as someone ‘who gets things done’. This simple act consistently improves the quality of our lives.

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About the Author
Dennis Harting is the Head Coach at Your Rich Life. He is an acclaimed speaker, trainer, and best-selling author. His international best selling books include Your Easiest Million and The Ultimate Procrastination Handbook. He also has had thousands of articles published worldwide. His programs and more information can be found at http://www.yourrichlifeinc.com.

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: Writes and compiles articles on leadership skills. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff and products at, Leadership Skills Books.

Personal Leadership

For me, leadership
is personal. It starts with the individual. Each person brings who they are to the task of leading. If you are a leader or aspire to leadership, I ask you: Is all well in your world? Are you happy? Are you operating at maximum efficiency? If your answer is “yes,” then the world is a better place. Personal leadership is about management of self. You start with you, so that you can effectively lead others.

We have all seen leaders who are not managing their life very well. They are leading, but they are not giving their best. Their leadership skills suffer. We have also seen leaders at the top of their game, who manage their lives well. Their leadership skills thrive and those around them are inspired.

Here are some elements of personal leadership:

Balance

Balance is a state of equilibrium among the various demands of your life. Balance is dynamic as opposed to static. For the most part, you are constantly making adjustments, sometimes minor sometimes major, to achieve balance. Maintaining balance allows you to function effectively and productively as you lead.

Fulfillment

Fulfillment comes when you are living the life you want to live. You are able to give your all and be energized by your work. Your being and your work are a match. Your work flows and what you need comes to you. You are aligned with your destiny.

A Positive Relationship with Time

For years, management consultants and self-improvement experts have advised you to “manage” time. Planners, organizers and linear structures are useful, but in reality there is too much information and too many demands on your time to properly manage them. Time cannot be managed, you have to manage yourself.

Focus

Focus allows you to channel your energies to create the life you want. Without focus, things do not happen. Creating focus begins with identifying the top priorities in your life. Once your priorities are identified, spend your time honoring those priorities and getting them done.

Confidence

Confidence attracts people. As a leader if you project self-confidence, people will want to follow you. Confidence involves self-knowledge and appropriate humility. A lack of confidence belies problems that sabotage your personal leadership.

How are you doing with your personal leadership? Here are some things you can do to build your personal leadership skills.

CONDUCT A PERSONAL LEADERSHIP ASSESSMENT

Ask yourself the questions below. Analyze your answers to help you determine how you are doing and if there are any areas you need to work on.

Are there “energy drains” you would like to eliminate from your life?

Is your life in balance?

Do you choose what the components of your life will be?

Do you focus on priorities?

Are there elements of your life that are not fulfilling?

Do you live in the present moment?

How is your relationship with time?

Are your relationships and friendships supportive and fulfilling?

Do you like the way you present yourself to the world?

Are you maximizing your impact, using all you are?

Are you healthy?

Are there any fears that have gotten the better of you?

Are you speaking your true voice?

OBSERVE EFFECTIVE LEADERS

The power of observation cannot be discounted. Identify several people that you think are effective leaders. Turn the lens of your observing from how they lead to how they manage their life. Read about them. If you have the opportunity, interview them. For each person you observe, do your best to determine how their self-management affects their ability to lead. From this observation identify your key learnings
about personal leadership and how you will apply them to your life.

CREATE FOCUS

Identify the top three things you want to focus on in your life. For each thingBusiness Management Articles, identify what you need to do over the next year to achieve it. Set a plan.

ELIMINATE IMPEDIMENTS

What is holding you back from being the best you can be? Answer this question and let go of what no longer serves you.

Your external leadership skills need a strong foundation within. Personal leadership can provide that foundation. Change within will lead to change without.

Article Tags: Personal Leadership, Leadership Skills

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ann Vanino is a business coach, consultant and trainer who specializes in helping people find fulfillment at work. Ann’s book, Leadership on Trial: Lessons from The Apprentice offers leadership lessons from the popular TV show. You can learn more about Ann and her work at http://www.MovingForward.net . You can reach Ann at E-mail: Ann@MovingForward.net or Phone: 661-944-6329 (US.)

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: Writes and compiles articles on leadership skills. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff and products at, Leadership Skills Books.

Mission and Vision Statements for Government Leadership Development

It would be hard to measure the public’s surprise at the recent call for supervisory leadership training in Federal agencies. Fair or not, the persona of federal management practices does not encourage the idea of “soft skills” used to develop employees and the success of their tasks. At a current event sponsored by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service attention was highlighted on federal agencies’ front-line supervisors. Citing the ‘relatively neglected strata in the management hierarchy’ James Thompson, associate professor of public administration at the University of Illinois-Chicago asserted that front-line supervisors have a bigger influence on employees’ day-to-day performance than management at other levels, and they provide the most relevant leadership, hence the need to train and develop supervisors as leaders.

“Though not a new concept in business, this may herald a paradigm shift for government
agencies and leadership at the supervisory level for using a mission statement and vision statement in achieving greater inter-compartmental communication. This typically results in increased job satisfaction and ultimately, a higher realization of successful performance” said Don Midgett, veteran business and government leadership consultant, and author of ‘Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future.’ Midgett recommends a tiered approach for using the mission and vision statement process with supervisors. “Personnel at any level can begin with the organization’s top level mission and vision statement, analyze their role (mission) then communicate how what they do will support (vision) the organization’s top level statements. An organization that can employ a tiered concept of leadership will notice improved performance levels. They will have a pyramid of mission statements and vision statements to better define their purpose and desired future.”

As a consultant to government organizations, Midgett has seen positive changes in leadership and organizations that used mission and vision statements, tiered the concept throughout their organizations, down to the supervisor level, and successfully employed their vision driven strategic planning process.

Implementing vision driven leadership and the strategic planning process instituted at the supervisory level speeds up vision driven change. It allows everybody to get on board faster with a better understanding of their need, performance expectations and contribution. A tiered approach to your mission and vision will promote collaborative communication, feedback and coaching.

Andrew Gallop: Expert article writer: Writes and compiles articles on
leadership skills. There are more articles, videos, lots of free stuff
and products at, Leadership Skills Books.

For more on mission and vision statements, strategic planning and leadership development go to http://www.missionvisionstatement.com.

About the Author
Don Midgett is the managing partner for the GenesisGroup, helping organizations and leaders discover their full potential. Don specializes in workshops on mission and vision, strategic planning, and team building. To begin your path to success, write your mission and vision statements! Need help? You can find it at http://www.missionvisionstatement.com – visit NOW – subscribe to our free newsletter, Mission Vision News.

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