Tag Archives: Self-Improvement

Apr 29 2014
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Lessons in Leadership

Lessons in Leadership: Sterling & Silver

Higher = More Visible

Higher = More Visible

There is a direct correlation between a leader’s level in an organization and his visibility. The further “up” you are, the more visible you become. 

This may seem like a common sense statement, but some leaders do not either realize how far this visibility goes, or they forget.

When Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, announced that Donald Sterling, the owner of the LA Clippers basketball team, was banned for life from the LA Clippers and essentially the NBA, this truth was extremely evident!

In a tape released by TMZ, Donald Sterling was recorded by an ex-girlfriend, expressing racist remarks and points of view. Here is the thing, these remarks were made in a private phone call! Just because he said these things in private  doesn’t mean that they would not be exposed. A leader’s visibility is not determined by what he says or does in public, it is determined by what he says and does period!

Commissioner Silver understood this truth when deciding Sterling’s punishment. He knew America was watching, and he knew that what ever he decided, it would be seen, heard, and picked apart by all. While Silver’s words and actions were public and Sterling’s were in private, a leader can never underestimate the power of their visibility no matter where they are!

What are some other examples you’ve seen concerning a leader’s visibility?

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Apr 25 2013
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Leadership Visuals Image

Flow of Investment

Flow of Investment

Investing in yourself is the catalyst for being able to invest in all other aspects of life. When you are growing, your family will grow. Which then allows you to invest in your company or organization; which then sets you up to invest in your community.

The order may change based on your circumstances, but you should always be your first investment, for you can not give what you do not have!

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Mar 11 2013
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Marine Leadership

Marine Corps. Leadership: Know Your People and Look Out For Their Welfare

Effectively utilizing a team is like putting together a puzzle. Each pieces has a proper place.

Effectively utilizing a team is like putting together a puzzle. Each pieces has a proper place.

“Patriotism is easy to understand in America. It means looking out for yourself by looking out for your country.” – Calvin Coolidge

In any position of leadership, success is dependent on the team. Teams can only rise to the level of their leadership. This does not happen automatically, but rather with intentional investment from the leader.

An effective team is diverse, this is where leading a team can become overwhelming. Leaders must observe each team member, identifying their strengths, weaknesses, and comfort zones. We must use this information to effectively assign tasks, responsibilities, and exercises for growth. If we can accomplish this responsibility, those we lead will experience success individually and as a team.

Knowing each of our team members is only the start of the process.

As our team develops we must make sure we:

1. Know their morale: If the morale of your team is low, getting it back up must be a priority. Morale is connected with momentum. If morale is low, expect momentum to be minimal.  Improved morale must come before increased momentum.

2. Celebrate their success: We must not let success go unnoticed. What gets celebrated gets repeated. If we want our team to continue in its development, we must make sure we celebrate the success of the team as well as the success of the individual.

3. Cultivate honesty: We must create an environment that removes the fear of owning up to a lacking or wrong doing, while maintaining the integrity of proper consequences. As leaders, our responses must be controlled, and our judgments must be just.

4. Encourage self-improvement: As stated earlier, what gets celebrated gets repeated. Utilize incentive programs for self-improvement. Also, develop accountability into the process. As the saying goes, “people do what you inspect, not what you expect.”

What else would you add?

What would you consider to be the most difficult part of leading a team?

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Mar 06 2013
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Marine Leadership

Marine Corps. Leadership: Know Yourself and Seek Self Improvement

We all need improvement, just not in the same areas.

We all need improvement, just not in the same areas.

“People are anxious to improve their circumstances but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.” – James Allen

Growth, effective growth, does not happen on accident. It is intentional, purposeful, and it is constant.

The first part of the principle is to know yourself…

Our post-imagination determines our growth, or lack there of. When we look at the past with tinted glasses we miss what really was, and thus we miss out on the true picture, the true lessons of what we could have learned about ourselves. In order to know ourselves we must be willing to look back with an unbiased perspective so that we can see where we need improvement.

Compare your past actions with the 14 traits. Which ones have you done well to emulate, which ones are lacking from your core values?  Where would your superiors, peers, and directs say you need more effort? 

The second part of the principle is to seek self improvement. 

As stated earlier growth, self-improvement, must be:

  • Intentional: Growth happens, just like our bodies grow without much effort; however, significant growth, growth we would call strength, must happen intentionally. We must have a plan for growth, and we must have the discipline to follow through with that plan.
  • Purposeful: If I want to get faster, I don’t work out my chest. If I want to be better at chess, I don’t study checkers. When we have an area or a trait that we want to grow, we must make sure our plan for growth effects that area.
  • Constant: Physically speaking, our bodies are either growing or they are dying. There is no stage of maintaining. And while the rate of decay may not be as fast as the rate of growth, attrition does happen. If we are going to stay on top and be the leaders we need to be, we must be constantly investing in our growth.

What would you add to the list?

At what trait do you excel? Which trait needs more work?

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