Tag Archives: John Maxwell

May 20 2017
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Leading Change

Leading Change: A Formula For Change

Jim Rohn #Change

I hate change, I don’t hate the idea of change; I just hate the cost of change and the discomfort it causes!

** BTW: If you expected to read a sugar coated article about how “change is great” and “you should love change” you’re reading the wrong content! **

Change is painful, change makes me admit that I am inadequate and incomplete! Change says that in order to achieve more I have to do more, and doing more is tiring! But here is the thing, being worn out from crap you don’t care about versus being worn out from working towards your desires feels completely different. There is a sense of satisfaction. A sense of pride. A sense of “I can actually do this!” Oh, and if you thought this was about leading others through change, again you may be disappointed, while this formula will work with others, this is more about you and me than it is anyone else. That’s the first thing about leading change, your mind set has to be: “change starts with me first!” If you can’t lead yourself through change you have no place and certainly no hope leading anyone else through it!

In his book, Developing the Leader Within You, John Maxwell says that if we are to lead in change we must “know two important requisites: Knowing the technical requirements of the change, and understanding the attitude and motivational demands for bringing it about.” Asked personally – Do I know how to change and Are my heart and mind aligned to actually facilitate change?  If I/you can’t answer yes to both of these questions, the likelihood of actually achieving change is slim to none!

As if change wasn’t hard enough now you’re being told that you need to actually know what to do and have the right mindset to do it!

But when you break the model for change down into a formula and answer the corresponding questions our ability to change and achieve the things we desire become more realistic!

The Formula:

Knowledge + Desire + Determination = Change

Knowledge tells us how to change, Desire tells us why to change, and Determination allows us to break through change!

In the following post I will be breaking down each variable to the equation for a deeper level of understanding and the questions we should be asking ourselves!

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Feb 22 2013
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ABC's of Leadership

Leadership is: Vision

Vision casting is more than saying what you see

“It is a terrible thing to see and have no vision.” – Helen Keller

Dreams, Goals, and Purpose are all necessary when pursuing a desired result; however, all of these are useless if they aren’t encompassed by a compelling vision!

A simple way of thinking about vision is:what could and should be, but isn’t there, yet!

Extraordinary leaders see what isn’t there, figure out how to get there, and then communicate the vision in such a way that others can attach themselves to that vision and get there with them.

According to John Maxwell‘s “The 360* Leader”

Here are 8 ways to be an effective vision caster! (or if you’re Andy Stanley, a “visionier”) Continue reading →

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Feb 21 2013
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ABC's of Leadership

Leadership is: Understanding

Is a lack of communication and understanding acceptable to us?

A point of view can be a dangerous luxury when substituted for insight and understanding. – Marshall McLuhan

As leaders it is easy to get caught up in our tasks. We desire for our team members to know and understand what it is we need and want from them, and if we aren’t careful we won’t give them a second thought unless something involving them is hindering our own process.

Once, I asked for a consistent weekly meeting with my leader to give direct reports and to stay on the same page (have understanding). They responded with, “I didn’t think you were that immature that you need me to hold your hand.” To be honest, my relationship with that leader lost some of its luster that day. From that point on, it felt like a lack of understanding and communication between us was acceptable.

So you don’t lose your shine, here are 3 steps to winning over your employees by Inc. Magazine: http://www.inc.com/3-steps-to-winning-over-your-employees.html

When we don’t communicate for mutual understanding with our team members it is a recipe for disaster! In reality, lack of communication and understanding will drive away your high performers. I’ve written about some habits of effective communication here and here.

Carl Robinson, from Advanced Leadership Consulting, has a great list on more of what drives away great performers here: http://leadershipconsulting.com/why-great-employees-quit.htm

In order to be effective, understanding leaders, we must practice these 2 habits:

Continue reading →

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Feb 18 2013
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ABC's of Leadership

Leadership is: Reassurance

Trust is hard to rebuild once it is broken. Reassurance helps keep trust strong.

I am just fascinated by this reassurance from a menacing figure. It is rather frightening. – Rory Bremner

People loved to be reassured! To be cared for in some way that removes their fears or doubts. The problem with reassurance is that it doesn’t exist! In order to truthfully tell someone “every thing is going to be okay,” you have to know it is! It doesn’t matter how good of a leader you are, no one can know 100% of the future. Seth Godin talks about the problem with reassurance, but I’m not going to focus on his thoughts, because, well, it’s already been done.
However, as a leader if our team members are going to proceed in a time of uncertainty we’re going to have to reassure them with out lying to them.
How Leaders Reassure with out Lying:
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Feb 10 2013
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ABC's of Leadership

Leadership is: Juggling

A Balanced Life?

Man maintains his balance, poise, and sense of security only as he is moving forward. – Maxwell Maltz

A lie wrapped in layers of common sense does not give validity to the lie, it only allows us to pursue a lie unaware.

The lie that most leaders often pursue is the mystically balanced life. I’m sad to say that there is no such thing, personally or professionally. The reason is, a balanced life indicates your attention and actions are equally distributed to all areas of your life. As leaders we know this is highly improbable!

I believe that life is to be juggled, and I’m not the only one who believes this. In her talk, “What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20,” which is also one of her books, Tina Seelig shares Carol Bartz’s idea that “you need to look at balance over a long period of time and catch it before it hits the floor.”

Here are some of my observations on juggling:

1. Juggling requires that we identify all the pieces. Before we start juggling we must know what all we are going to juggle. A helpful resource for this endeavor is John Maxwell’s book “Today Matters.”

2. Juggling requires knowing the condition of the pieces. Leaders can’t effectively juggle if we do not know the condition of the piece. Some pieces are lighter, some are heavier. We must not overestimate or underestimate what we are juggling. If we do we will throw off our ability to effectively react to what is falling.

3. Juggling requires being aware of what is falling. In order to successfully juggle leaders must give attention to what is falling. The lesson here is to be aware of all of our pieces and know which one is closest to the floor so that we can give it the support it needs. This should be considered our priority above all else.

4. Juggling requires supporting the falling pieces. Leaders must give support (attention + action) to the falling area(s) of our lives. If we’ve focused more on work than we have on family, it’s time to spend some quality time with them. If we’ve focused on information rather than implementation, it’s time to start doing more than learning.

What else would you add?

What are your thoughts on balancing vs. juggling?

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