Purposeful Leadership

Meetings: Energizing or Excruciating?

Meetings are a necessary part of organizational culture and can either be energizing or excruciating, depending on the strength of the meeting's organizer. What comes to your mind when you think of the word "meeting"?

Coming to my mind as I type this are flashbacks of the most boring and unproductive times of my career. Yikes! Most of the time when I think of my past experiences with meetings, I think of some of the things Mike Rogers wrote in his post last week entitled "8 Important tips to help you waste time in meetings". I highly recommend reading through his list.

Leaders who know how to effectively run meetings set themselves apart from the rest. They are few and far between. In addition to doing the opposite of what you might find in Mike's list, here are some tips to make the most use of your time and your attendees' time during your meetings:

1. Clearly identify your desired outcome. Why are you having this meeting?
2. Choose your meeting length and structure based upon your desired outcome. (e.g tactical  meetings differ from strategic planning)
3. Create a parking lot to capture ideas that require a separate meeting so you can keep focused.
4. Coordinate and collaborate during your meeting time. Avoid reading committee or departmental "reports" that can be communicated via written format.

What do you need to change about your current meeting structure? Changing the way you run meetings might just be the most productive thing you do this year! If you've got a story about how changing your meeting structure impacted your organization, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

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Need help with your meetings? I love helping people make these changes! Call me for a complimentary consultation today at 913-219-7844! You'll be glad you did!

Fueling the Responsibility of Leadership

Leadership is not to be taken lightly. The greater our influence over others, the greater responsibility we have. Because of our influence as leaders, society holds leaders of all levels to higher standards.

We must give them what they want.

The people we serve deserve our best efforts and our best selves. Unfortunately, most leaders are tired, frazzled, and running on empty. We rarely see their best because they are too drained to give it. Following are three tips to help fuel your leadership tank. 

1) Remember who you serve. 

Thoughtful leaders know who and what they serve. Why do you do what you do? Why does your organization do what it does? Find a way to connect your passions to your leadership responsibilities and lead from that place. Follow your heart, serve those around you and lead with the highest goal in mind. This will help you do the right thing, even though it may not be popular. 

2) Keep your "cup" filled to overflowing. 

The more you give to other people and the more responsibility you have on and off the job, the more time you need to refuel. I heard a speaker say: “If your intake is less than your outflow then your upkeep will be your downfall.” How do you relieve stress? What fills your energy tank? What are you trying to give that you do not have?

3) Get a coach or mentor.  

Never stop learning or trying to improve. When we think we’ve “arrived”, we are ripe for a fall. Leaders should never cease to ask for wisdom, feedback and accountability in their endeavors. A learning spirit keeps us humble because it acknowledges we don’t know it all. Additionally, a coach can help you connect your with your passions and get your self care routine on track.

One final thought. My fellow leaders, we all know how tough the road of leadership can be, rewarding as it is. The next time you find yourself criticizing someone in a position of authority, give them a little grace, and remember that people are looking at you too.

Now its your turn. I’ve asked a lot of questions in this post. If you care to share any of your answers, we’d love to hear from you in a comment!

Connecting Learning with Leading
1.  What one thing can you do for yourself this week to fill your "cup"?
2.  Do you have a "safe place" in which to discuss your fears, frustrations or goals? If not, what baby step will you take this week to fill that void?

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Need help in becoming a better leader? Contact me at 913-219-7844 for a complimentary consultation to learn more about how you can lead to your full potential.

Time Saving Leadership: Teach for Time

Leaders must make time to teach so they can save time they do not have. 

Today skilled minds are worth more than skilled hands. Because everyone is caught up in the race of playing catch-up with too much to do with too little time, leaders must teach people how to think to save time in the long run.
 
Leaders who can't teach people how to think will be forever challenged with how long to "hand hold" their staffs or volunteers.
 
How effective are you at teaching people how to think for themselves?
 
Try this process the next time someone comes to you for answers. Ask them:

1. What do you want to accomplish?
2. What do you need to know, do, or have to accomplish it?
3. What will you do to move forward once you have what you need?

Facilitate the discussion, ask questions to dig deeper into their initial responses and watch those mind wheels turn!  Remember, teaching takes time, but saves time in the long run. Your time is worth the time!

What is your experience with teaching people how to think for themselves?  I'd love to hear of some tricks that have worked for you in the comments below. Also, if you try the above exercise, come back and let us know how it turned out. I love hearing from you!

Related Posts:

The Leader's Role As Teacher
Coaching: How the Best Leaders Teach   

As a professional coach I can help you or your organization develop a coaching culture where people set goals and think for themselves. Contact me for details.

The Power of Planning

Time management experts claim that for every 1 minute of planning we save 10 minutes in execution. That means if we only spent 12 minutes each day planning our days, we would save two hours in wasted time per day. How much planning do you do? Do you plan your days, weeks, months or years?

Thinking about planning and efficiency brings to mind my experiences when I visit a new health club without a plan. I become quickly intimidated by all of the equipment, piddle around on some machines, wander around the rest of the time and leave early because of my frustration. In this case, much mental anguish and wasted time would have been eliminated with a premeditated plan of attack!

When we lay down a track to run on through adequate planning, we can sprint through our tasks rather than wander around in them. Thoughtful planning creates confidence and efficiency. Planning facilitates progress.

My challenge to you is to spend some time this month to plan your upcoming week and your individual days. Create a list of things to be done. Scrutinize your list by asking yourself how each item on your list fits into your long-term plans. Work from your list and stay on task! Then, notice how much time you save!

What ways do you use to plan and manage your time? You may already know by now that I'm a GTD "groupee".  Let me know by clicking comments below what works for you and also what results you get from my challenge.

Happy planning!

Did You Know? Video: Rapid Change Calls for Leadership

Times have changed in the realm of management since the advent of computer technology. In the old days,we had managers who taught people what to do. Now, because what needs "doing" changes in the blink of an eye, it is imperative that we become leaders and start teaching people how to think.

The following five minute video, "Did You Know?" brings our fast-paced world to light. To quote some of the stats in the video, did you know?

• The top 10 in-demand jobs in 2010 did not exist in 2004.
• We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist, using technologies that haven't been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet.
• It is estimated that a week's worth of the New York Times contains more information than a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century.
• It is estimated that 4 exabytes (4.0x10^19) of unique information will be generated this year. That is more than the previous 5000 years.

After you watch the video, I'd love to know what you think.  The video and its music alone is sure to get your heart pounding.  Then, you can think about all of that information and its impact on your world.

Management is obsolete. Leadership is necessity. How are you preparing to lead? How do you handle all of the information coming at you? What will you do with what you know?

Values, Time and Energy

168 hours are in a week. Nor more, no less. That's all the time any of us have each week to work, play, eat, sleep and interact with others. How do you determine how you spend your time? Is the way you spend your time draining or energizing to you?

A few days ago I discussed the importance of core values, those 3-5 beliefs that are our "habits of the heart", and provided a tool to help you determine your values. Core values are foundational to making the most out of a 168 hour week.

Once you know your core values, it is time to assess how well you are living them out each day at work or at home. I challenge you this week to:

1. Pick one core value and create a goal that will allow you to measure and observe how well you demonstrate this value by acting on it.
2. Identify what, if anything is standing in your way of living that value and design a way to remove the obstacle.
3. Commit to reaching your goal!

Then...let me know how you did you on your "assignment".  I'd love to hear about your progress and what you discover about yourself.  Learn to make the most of each day, it will be worth the effort.