Leadership Skill Center Blog

First a huge ‘Thank You’ to everyone who has emailed, called, sent a card or posted a note on the Leadership Coaching Club blog with well wishes for my 15th business birthday. It has meant a lot to hear from you all, including so many I haven’t met face-to-face (yet).

Second - it’s not too late to join the party! The celebrations continue until the end of this month. Enter the competition for complimentary membership now at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/free and join before the end of the month at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com - for a huge discount!

Third, if you have already joined the Leadership Coaching Club there has been quite a lot of new material added recently, including more ebooks, audios, videos and articles, so make sure you login and collect it all. You can login at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/members/ using your email address and password.

Kind regards, Kerrie

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HABITS EVERY TEAM MEMBER ABSOLUTELY HATES IN A LEADER

There are a couple of habits leaders can have that drive team members absolutely crazy.

In this issue of Leading Well I want to look at one of the top two: Micromanagement.

You cannot grow as a leader until you learn to delegate effectively. Delegating means giving away control even though you retain responsibility, which can be daunting at first.

However, as a leader, there is no way you can do everything that needs to be done personally, so you must develop a positive attitude to delegation - and the skills you need to do it effectively.

Your role as a leader is to ensure your people have all the skills, resources and understanding they need to do a task, and then to let them do it. For some leaders that’s the hard bit: letting others get on with doing it!

Don’t micromanage.

Delegating tasks to people makes them feel trusted, wanted and responsible. Good workers like to be given responsibility.

Communicate your objectives and your vision and make them passionate about making it happen!

Guide your people, empower them, and instill confidence in them and they will become your strongest supporters.

More on how to avoid micromanagement and other habits your team leaders hate in the Quick Tips below:

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“The ‘sage on stage’ mode of teaching is being replaced by a new model: ‘the guide on the side’. “

Art Weinstein (American academic)

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The Leading Well Bottom Line:

You can have your own ‘guide on the side’. Join us in the Leadership Coaching Club and leverage off all the wisdom, insight and experience of dozens of guest experts, other participants and your mentor Kerrie Mullins-Gunst. See http://leadershipcoachingclub.com for details.

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QUICK TIPS FOR AVOIDING MICROMANAGEMENT:

• You can become more comfortable with delegating to your team members by being selective about what tasks you assign, particularly initially.

• As you delegate more complex tasks, arrange for regular progress meetings to ensure everything is going smoothly. If you make this an expectation up front - and don’t offer advice unless it is requested - the progress meetings will be focussed on coaching and encouragement rather than micromanaging.

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PS. You can find out what the other main habit is that drives team members crazy, at the Leadership Coaching Club. Join before the end of the month at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com for special rates.

“What does weakness have to do with leadership?” I can hear you ask. 

Well, the answer is quite a lot!  

You see we all have weaknesses, even exceptional leaders.  So as a good leader you need to know your own weaknesses so you can deliberately overcome them.  

We will always have gaps in our knowledge or experience, our understanding of another culture or even our customer’s reality.  We will always have better skills in some areas than others.  Sometimes the very habits or attitudes that have allowed us to succeed in one situation can become a weakness in a different situation.  

Have you given thought to what your personal weaknesses might be?

When we interview an applicant for a new position we often ask them what they consider to be their greatest weakness.  Someone who has considered the question and has a reflective answer that explains how they have overcome it, is likely to be a good employee.   

Similarly, as a leader you need to consider what your weaknesses might be in different situations and how you might overcome them.  

If you have been appointed to a new leadership role, it may be that the skills that won you your promotion are no longer enough for you to succeed in your new role.  You may need to develop a whole new set of leadership and management skills.  

If you are good at some things but have other things that you only do under sufferance, you may neglect the tasks you don’t like when you get busy - unless you ensure someone else on your team has responsibility for them.  

If you are male you will want to ensure that you appoint some women on your leadership team to understand their perspective. If you are selling to people from a different culture you will want to go out of your way to listen to your customers, respect their perspective and include people who share their culture in your team.  

Diversity of background, culture, skills, attitudes and experience in your team will overcome many leadership weaknesses if you value and respect everyone’s input and their strengths.  

As soon as we accept that everyone - even an outstanding leader or manager - has weaknesses, we can begin to look for the strengths that compensate.  

Exceptional leaders recognize and work on their own weaknesses, and they ensure that someone on their team has the strengths that compensate.  

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More on how to address weaknesses in the Quick Tips below:

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“Leaders are learners.  They learn from their failures as well as their successes.” James M Kouzes and Barry Z Posner, 1995

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The Leading Well Bottom Line:  

You don’t have to do it all on your own.  Join us in the Leadership Coaching Club and leverage off all the wisdom, insight and experience of dozens of guest experts, other participants and your mentor Kerrie Mullins-Gunst. See http://leadershipcoachingclub.com for details. 

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QUICK TIPS FOR ADDRESSING WEAKNESSES

*   The important thing is not to torture yourself (or anyone else) over weaknesses, but to work out how to address them.  A weakness only becomes a problem if it isn’t addressed.  

*  Weaknesses are often the flip side of our strengths.  So a highly productive creative worker who works best with a ‘Do not disturb’ sign, may never be good at training someone else or talking to your customers. If you force them to do it, you may lose your productive worker and still not gain a good trainer or customer service person.  

*  Even though we can do something, it doesn’t mean we will enjoy it.  When we get busy or face pressure from change or deadlines, we naturally put off the things we like doing least.  Unless we have recognized this weakness already, and worked out how to compensate, a small weakness can quickly become a major problem.   

* Acknowledging our own weaknesses and encouraging others to do the same can help avoid weaknesses becoming problems.  

Hi there and welcome back for another year.  

If you’ve been lucky enough to have had holidays we hope you feel refreshed and ready for all of the exciting things we have planned for you this year.  We’re determined to make sure 2008 is just great!

Since the last issue of Leading Well our family has had two new additions … kittens called Smokey and Izzy who are (for the moment anyway) curled up asleep and looking adorable just beside the chaos they created moments ago when they were playing with anything in reach.  The brief moment of peace and quiet gives me a chance to let you know about two important things that really can’t wait:

First: 

The Leadership Coaching Club is just about ready to launch and if you are at all interested in joining, you really must make sure your name is on the advance notification list so you get to hear first when it is launched.  This is the only way you will be able to take advantage of the early-bird special offers.  There’s no obligation, and I’m sure you will regret it if you miss out.  Register here:  http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/

Setting up the Leadership Coaching Club has been a lot of work, but I have to say it is looking great and I think you will be really pleased with the way it helps you each month to become even more effective as a leader and manager.  

Second: 

As well as finalizing the Leadership Coaching Club, we have been hard at work on several other projects that I can’t wait to share with you over the next few weeks.  

And one of them is ready for you right now …

We appreciate that not everyone learns in the same way.  Some people like to read to understand information - and that’s how much leadership information is presented.  However, other people prefer to learn by listening or watching.  So we wanted to help those of you who prefer to learn about leadership and management in this way by offering you some useful videos.  

But not just one or two leadership videos!  

We have drawn together the largest collection of leadership and management videos from all over the internet and added it to the Leadership Skill Center so you can access them easily all in one place at any time.  

It’s an amazing collection, with contributions from a myriad of different sources and freely available for anyone at http://leadershipskillcenter.com/tv right now!  If you can’t find some useful videos here, I’ll be amazed.  

Have a look and let us know what you think.  

Kind regards, Kerrie

PS. Here are those links again: For the Leadership Coaching Club pre-launch registration:   http://leadershipcoachingclub.com 

For the largest collection of leadership and management videos: http://leadershipskillcenter.com/tv 

It’s a busy time of year, and it’s hard not to wonder where the year went!  Here in Australia the days are getting longer and hotter, summer holidays are looming and Santa is struggling to stay cool in his fur trimmed outfit.  It’s hard to believe there have been record cold snaps in other parts of the world.  

But all that means there are a couple of things I want to say to you.  

First, thank you for allowing me to work with you again this year.  Whether I’ve coached or trained you personally or your whole business team, whether I’ve spoken at your leadership conference or facilitated your strategic planning process, or just visited each month via Leading Well, it’s been a privilege and a pleasure to work with you.  We have some really exciting things planned for 2008, so keep an eye out early in the new year for details.  

Last year we offered you some special gifts to download for Christmas to thank you for being a part of our life and they were very popular.  So once again we have gathered together a selection of special Christmas gifts for you and your family. We have added some to help you celebrate the festive season as well as something to help you get off to a great start in 2008. Please accept these Christmas gifts with our compliments.  You will find them here:  http://www.leadershipskillcenter.com/thankyou/xmas.php 

Soon it will be time to take a break to focus on family, fun and festivity for a little while.  We hope, like us, you can look back at lots of good things achieved in 2007, as well as being excited by everything to come in 2008.  

To start the year in mid-January the Leadership Coaching Club will finally open for membership.  Watch for it.  There will be special offers and bonuses for the first people to join as Foundation members, so watch your email from mid-January.  If you want to be the FIRST to know, make sure you sign up for priority notification at

http://www.leadershipcoachingclub.com That way you won’t miss out on getting in early as soon as it is open.  It’s going to be a great program that anyone who is serious about leading and managing people will want to be a part of, so you won’t want to miss it.  

We also have a whole range of other products and programs planned to help you on your path to easy, effective and effortless leadership, that I can’t wait to share with you next year.  

But for now Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at KMG Consulting and the Leadership Skill Center.  

…HO…HO…HO…  And I haven’t forgotten … Here’s that link for your special Christmas gifts again:  http://www.leadershipskillcenter.com/thankyou/xmas.php (because we know you’ve been good this year!)

Kind regards, Kerrie

PS.  It’s Christmas!  Of course you can share that link with anyone who would like to download a gift for Christmas.  Here it is again: 

http://www.leadershipskillcenter.com/thankyou/xmas.php 

As the year seems to be slipping away I thought it was time to look at the fourth area of leadership focus: Getting Things Done. I hope you enjoy this article on ‘Doing the Important Stuff’.

And remember, the Leadership Coaching Club is coming soon. If you are at all interested in joining after it is open to the public, make sure you register at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com now, so you will be eligible for the very special offers when it is first launched. It will be worth your while!

Kind regards, Kerrie

PS. It’s my birthday later this month so if you read right to the end of this issue of Leading Well, YOU will get a present!

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Doing the Important Stuff

In “First Things First”, the follow-up to Steven Covey’s best-selling self-improvement and motivation book “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, he illustrates a highly effective system of time management that can benefit any leader or manager. Covey’s Quadrant method of time management has been adopted throughout the business world: in team building, project management, business meetings, leadership training and seminars to ensure you focus on doing the important stuff.

What Covey has named his Quadrants system is based on the theory that most of us are driven by a consuming sense of urgency. He instructs us to divide all our priorities into the following four quadrants:

Quadrant 1: Important and Urgent – Items in this category are integral to your success and require your immediate attention. They include: situations such as crises, emergencies, appointments, projects that have deadlines, and other pressing problems.

Quadrant 2: Important but Not Urgent – Items in this category are integral to your success but don’t require your immediate attention right now. They include: leadership activities like planning and preparing, preventing future problems, coaching and mentoring staff, building and developing relationships with others, considering new possibilities and opportunities, and balancing activities such as spending time with loved ones, or having fun and creative pursuits.

Quadrant 3: Not Important but Urgent – Items in this category are not integral to your life, but they do demand your immediate attention. They include things that appear pressing on the surface (such as answering an insistent ringing phone or email), but probably don’t have any drastic consequences or repercussions for your success, or that may be able to be done by others or in a different way (someone could take a phone message for example).

Quadrant 4: Not Important and Not Urgent – Items in this category are not integral to your success and don’t need to happen at any particular time (or sometimes at all, for that matter), yet doing them can consume your time and energy. They include: routines, distractions and diversions, time-wasters, and other things you can generally do well without, although sometimes they include things we just like doing that aren’t necessary or important.

What Covey says next about these Quadrants may surprise you.

He warns that the common tendency is for people to get wrapped up in Quadrant 1 & 3 tasks because of their sense of urgency. This typically happens at the expense of the much more important Quadrant 2, which contains many life-enriching and important tasks.

The focus on tasks in Quadrants 1 and 3 is bolstered by the influence of other people’s demands and forces outside yourself, including the impetus of time. Accomplishing urgent tasks in Quadrants 1 & 3 gives us a comforting sense of progress. At least we have achieved something (even if it wasn’t particularly important).

Tasks in Quadrant 4 are what we do to anesthetize ourselves to the stressful effects of an imbalanced concentration of our energy on urgent matters. We often hide in Quadrant 4 tasks, and use them to procrastinate about doing something else, like the more important (and sometimes more difficult) Quadrant 2 tasks.

The paradox is that by spending more time deliberately doing Quadrant 2 tasks, we can avoid many of the crises that fall into the important and urgent tasks of Quadrant 1 and delegate many of the Quadrant 3 and 4 tasks that still need to be done. This frees our time up to focus even more on the leadership tasks in Quadrant 2.

Quadrant 2 is where our true and lasting happiness and our most productive effectiveness resides.

The sorts of tasks that fall into Quadrant 2 are often the ones that we are most likely to procrastinate about or just feel we don’t have time for. But they can be the most important in the longer-term to get your creative juices flowing and achieve significant success.

In addition to the possibilities listed above, Quadrant 2 tasks also include: reading and expanding your mind, developing new skills and abilities, getting physical exercise, engaging in recreation and leisurely activities, devising and implementing systems, preventative activities, and envisioning and shaping your future.

Giving more attention to Quadrant 2 activities will make us more readily able to tackle Quadrant 1 and 3 tasks with ease and efficiency.

Where are you spending your time? Stop for a moment and think about whether you have got the balance right (a Quadrant 2 task) or whether you are letting urgency rule your life.

See QUOTES on ‘Doing the Important Stuff’ below.

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If you ever procrastinate when you should be focussed on ‘Doing the Important Stuff’ you need to read ‘101 Tips for Avoiding Procrastination’. In this 60 page guide you’ll learn all the tricks, methods, and strategies for beating your procrastination habit.

Order now and receive these FREE bonuses:

* Time Management and
* The 3 Most Powerful Ways to Get Yourself to Achieve ANYTHING Despite Pressure, Deadlines and Procrastination

PLUS: - to celebrate my birthday enter this Secret Code: BIRTHDAY-SPECIAL
in Step 2 when you order to save $9 off the cost of this product. Normally ‘101 Tips for Avoiding Procrastination’ is only $17 but for the next few days you can use this Secret Code to pay only $8! (plus GST if you are based in Australia)

That’s more than 50% off the full purchase price and a fantastic bargain! For less than you might pay for lunch you could be well on your way to kicking the procrastination habit and reaping the success you deserve.

More details at:
http://HowLeadersGetThingsDone.com/avoid-procrastination.html

But ignore the price on that page because you are getting a special price. When you get to Step 2 of the order process just enter your Secret Code: BIRTHDAY-SPECIAL and the price will be automatically reduced especially for you.

This Secret Code is only valid up until my birthday on November 25th, after which the regular price will apply. So don’t procrastinate! Order now and start reaping the rewards today.

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TWO QUOTES OF NOTE:

“I’ve been on a calendar, but never on time.”

Marilyn Monroe

“This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we know what to do with it.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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BOOKS WORTH READING -

“First Things First”
by Steven Covey

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”
by Stephen R. Covey

LEADING WELL - Helping your leadership grow from Kerrie Mullins-Gunst

* * * * *

In this issue: What your employees expect of you…

And, it’s coming soon! The Leadership Coaching Club will soon be open to the public and you can be the first to know. Register your interest at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com now and receive a free short course on How You Can Become an Ideal Leader. Watch for further details soon!

Kind regards, Kerrie

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WHAT YOUR EMPLOYEES EXPECT OF YOU

In their book “Values Shift” authors John Izzo and Pam Withers describe a whole new set of expectations people now have of their workplaces.

As unemployment in Australia hits a 33 year low and even exceptional employers struggle to fill vacancies and retain the best people, you can’t afford to ignore these expectations. As a leader and manager you need to be constantly aware of how you measure against these expectations and how you can meet and even exceed them in day to day practice.

Izzo and Withers identified six emerging expectations you need to focus on.

1. Better work-life balance and synergy.

This is one of the strongest and most consistent expectations, rejecting the all-consuming nature of work as it was for many of the baby boomer generation. This extends earlier concepts of balancing the spread of time between ‘at work’ and ‘out of work’ life, to include a better variety and balance of roles and activities within work hours, as well as ample time out of work for a full and varied lifestyle.

2. A sense of community and connection at work.

With trends such as greater mobility and dual income families, we see less traditional neighborhood connection or sense of community for many people. This has created an expectation that the workplace will help overcome isolation and offer its own sense of community and connection.

3. Opportunities for personal (as well as professional) development.

This becomes particularly important in flat workplaces where there is little opportunity for employees to work their way up a set career ladder. People still yearn to be challenged and stimulated and to grow and develop and expect that you will facilitate that through the workplace.

4. The opportunity to contribute to a more noble cause.

Employees expect corporate objectives to be broadened beyond making money to incorporate triple bottom line and a commitment to the betterment of society. They are looking for meaning and purpose in what they do and expect to find it in their work.

5. A more democratic partnership role.

Information is now ubiquitous and there has been a shift in the balance of power. The ‘decline in deference’ means that employees expect to be able to question authority, share opinions and say what they think - and they expect to be listened to and involved in decisions, as would any partner.

6. A relationship based on trust.

Past breaches of trust have generated suspicion and distrust. Organizations need to consistently demonstrate they are trustworthy and leaders will be held accountable for any breach of trust. Employees expect to trust, respect and even like the companies and leaders they work for - or they’ll move on.

While you may not have total control over any one of these areas in your organization, as a leader and manager you do have significant influence within your own team over aspects of every one of them.

By deliberately doing what you can within your sphere of influence to meet these six expectations you will not only be better placed to retain and attract good employees and team members, you will begin to enjoy your own role as a team leader more too.

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The Leadership Coaching Club will soon be opened to the public. To make sure you are the first to know when it is launched, register now at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com and you will receive advance notice, special offers and a free short course on How to Become an Ideal Leader. Don’t miss out. If you lead or manage people you need to register today.

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“He who has a why can endure any how.”

Friedrich Nietzsche

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The Step by Step Business Plan Guide

If you’ve been spinning your wheels trying to succeed in getting funding for your business and even just getting your business plan on paper, this ebook is going to change the way you have been doing things.
See http://betterbusinessinfo.org

Recently I caught up with a group of friends from my university days. It was great fun to hear all about what people were up to after so many years.

One of my friends was describing how her new weekend farming life had captured the interest of her team at her city legal office. So much so that, not long ago, her whole team had volunteered to help out with planting the latest vegetable crop.

“We had a great weekend” she told us. “Some teams might go away to the country for ‘Planning days’ but my team went away for a ‘Planting day’.”

Afterwards, the more I thought about the concept, the more I liked the analogy.

As a leadership specialist, I am often asked to facilitate Strategic and Team Planning events and I can’t think of a better way to describe their purpose than planting seeds for the future.

Planning days aren’t magic wands that fix all your problems. But they do plant the seeds that can be nurtured into your ideal outcomes over time.

If you are fortunate (and your planning event is well facilitated) you may secure agreement on the day from all team members about some of the fundamentals: your team vision and values, how your team roles relate to your organizational mission or purpose, and the essential actions and strategies that will ensure you deliver results.

But any team gathering also offers an opportunity to foster understanding and develop a strong team culture - which takes much longer than a day to achieve. Yet you can plant the seeds for a team that works well together even in difficult times, that supports and respects other team members, that shows initiative and embraces change. And over time these outcomes may be even more powerful than the traditional outcomes of Strategic or Team Planning events.

As with any seeds, planting them is not enough. They have to be nurtured, fed and watered over time before they grow to their full potential. And that is your primary role back in the office as leader of the team.

The nurturing of those powerful seeds of success over time needs to be attended to daily and weekly - in fact every time you interact or meet with your team.

This consistent follow-up to any annual Strategic or Team Planning event can be even more critical than the event itself. In it lies one of the secrets of all successful leaders.

Kind regards, Kerrie

PS. If you are wondering HOW to nurture the seeds of your team’s success, watch out for details about my Leadership Coaching Club, coming soon. If you want to be among the first to know all the details, register at http://leadershipcoachingclub.com and be confident of catching our special launch discount or bonuses.

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“Our great business in life is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.”

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

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DON’T FORGET!

Don’t forget to have a look at ‘Powerful Ways to Sharpen Your Memory - A Guide for Leaders and Managers’ - Now available for instant download. It includes both basic and advanced tools you can use to overcome forgetfulness, remember names, faces, numbers, places, events and more!

I wish I had know some of the things that are in this ebook years ago! So many things would have been so much easier…

Have a look now. There’s a free bonus - just for looking! You can register for the Memory Boost MiniCourse for free and try out just a few of the ideas you’ll discover when you pick up your own copy of Powerful Ways to Sharpen Your Memory.

See http://FreeMemoryCourse.com/sharpen for details.

Well, here it is! One of the top three products requested by the hundreds of people who did my recent quick survey:

“Powerful Ways to Sharpen Your Memory - A Guide for Leaders and Managers”

I have to say this is an area that I personally struggle with, so I was quite pleased that your survey encouraged me to investigate this important leadership skill. And I’m sure you’ll be delighted with the results.

If you are at all like me, life just seems to get busier and busier. There are so many things to be done and even more that need to be remembered.

It’s so easy to forget the little things you meant to do, the name of that new customer you met last week, all those appointments and phone numbers, who agreed to do what after last month’s meeting and all the other things that help us to manage effortlessly.

No matter how good a leader or manager you are, when you forget the face of that client you’ve been calling for weeks or the place you were meant to be meeting your key supplier, it’s not just embarrassing, it could be career limiting!

Yet some people seem to be able to remember such things easily.

Was there a secret? I decided to find out. Because if there was, I wanted to know it!

Well the answer is Yes!

You can improve your memory and it isn’t that hard.

Imagine if you could easily remember all those key details that currently slip your mind. What if you were known for never forgetting a face? or a birthday? or a place?

There are even a few simple tools and techniques that you can learn in minutes and start applying immediately that will improve your memory.

Click this link for all the details of “Powerful Ways to Sharpen Your Memory”:
http://freememorycourse.com/sharpen

To thank you and everyone who took the time to reply to my quick survey I have a special reduced price available, but only for a limited time. The price will be increasing sometime in the next couple of days. If you get in early you will not only get the lowest price, but you will be able to collect some special extra bonuses.

Whether you want to buy or not, please have a look at the details of this ebook - you may even know someone else who would be interested in it - but for everyone who looks at this page now
http://freememorycourse.com/sharpen
I have also left you a free gift: The Memory Boost MiniCourse.

In it you will learn:
* how to remember lists
* an interesting way to remember people’s faces
* how to overcome forgetfulness
* the impact of overlearning
* how your memory works, and more…

It’s yours FREE just for having a look at “Powerful Ways to Sharpen Your Memory”. I hope you enjoy it.

Kind regards, Kerrie

PS. Don’t forget that link again:
http://freememorycourse.com/sharpen

First, a big thank you to everyone who has already taken our very quick survey, to help me decide which of all the projects I have in various stages of completion would be most helpful to you.

( It’s not too late if you haven’t done it yet! Here’s the link:
http://yourquicksurvey.com/2/index.php?sid=1 And it really is just one question! )

To everyone who emailed me saying you wanted them all … I promise we will work on several of them, not just the top one!

In fact we have already been hard at work. So watch out for an email very soon when I expect to be able to announce that one of the top three - as voted by you - is available. I’ll try to organize a special offer to celebrate (but only for the quick movers… so don’t miss out.)

I hope you enjoy today’s article.

Kind regards, Kerrie

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ARE YOU BECOMING A LEADER?

———–

Recently I came across the phrase that ‘Leadership is a process of becoming’.

The author was making the point that, although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment, education and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential.

It seemed an important point, and totally consistent with what I have observed as I have trained and coached literally hundreds of good leaders over the years.

The very best leaders I have worked with are always in the process of becoming:
* of becoming the best they can be
* of becoming worthy of their role
* of becoming more insightful
* of becoming better listeners
* of becoming better skilled…

In other words, the very best leaders are constantly striving and becoming even better leaders - regardless of their existing level of skill or experience.

So, you can always be learning and becoming a better leader by honing your leadership abilities.

There are two primary ways you can become better at leadership.

First, you can gain knowledge of leadership theories and skills formally by attending leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences, or by working one-on-one with a coach or mentor. (As you know, we help lots of you with this way of becoming a leader.)

Second, your daily interactions with people provide an opportunity to observe other leaders informally and to practice your leadership with others - becoming a leader in the way you work.

Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, and leadership insights, and thus further your cycle of learning. Both will help you in the life-long process of becoming a leader.

You do not become a leader one day and just stop. An unending commitment to life-long learning lies at the core of becoming a true leader.

———–

QUOTE OF NOTE

“Whatever you are, be a good one.” Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

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FEATURED PRODUCT

The Art of Influence - How to get what you want from people easily and every time.

Kerrie Mullins-Gunst interviews Paddy Spruce, Australia’s influencing skills expert. Download it now and listen immediately on your iPod or mp3 player - see http://leadershipskillcenter.com/ts/ps/index.html

———–
PS. Don’t forget to watch your email for an announcement about the first product to be released after your votes - coming soon - and with a special offer, just for those who act quickly!

And if you haven’t voted yet here’s the link again:
http://yourquicksurvey.com/2/index.php?sid=1

LEADING WELL

Helping your leadership grow
from Kerrie Mullins-Gunst

* * * * *

In this issue of Leading Well I would like to share with you an article by one of my favorite leadership authors, John C. Maxwell, about failure and how it impacts on our leadership.

Interested? Read on…

But before you do, have you had a look at how you can celebrate with me as I move into my new office? See here for details.

Kind regards, Kerrie

* * * * *

Failing Forward

What are you afraid of as a leader? On the top of many people’s list is failure. Is it on your list too?

J.M. Barrie said, “We are all failures–at least, all the best of us are.”

In my 30-plus years of leadership experience, I’ve come to the conclusion that one of the most valuable but underestimated abilities that leaders can posses is the ability to do what I call “failing forward.” It’s more than having a good attitude about your mistakes, and it’s a step beyond simply taking risks. Failing forward is the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction.

You see, everybody makes mistakes. But the real difference between average people and achieving people is their PERCEPTION OF and RESPONSE TO failure. Nothing else has the same kind of impact on people’s ability to accomplish their dreams.

What do you dream of accomplishing? Unfortunately, no matter how gifted or knowledgeable you are, you will make mistakes along the way to your dream. Failure is the price you must pay on the road to success. That’s just how it works. But the good news is that the better you are at failing forward, the sooner you can accomplish your dreams.

Before you put away your list of resolutions for this year, look at the following misconceptions about failure. Take an honest inventory to determine if your perception of failure is what it should be. If you share any of these misconceptions, add to your list the resolution to change the way you think about failure.

PEOPLE THINK FAILURE IS AVOIDABLE. IT’S NOT.

You’ve probably heard the saying, “To err is human, to forgive divine.” That was written by Alexander Pope more than 250 years ago. And he was only paraphrasing a saying that was common 2,000 years ago, during the time of the Romans. Things today are the same as they were then: People make mistakes.

Don’t buy into the notion that mistakes can somehow be avoided. They can’t be. Accept that you will err because you’re human, but don’t let that keep you from pursuing your dreams.

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Speaking of dreams - thank you to everyone who has sent us all those good wishes for our move into the new office and house. We value your kind words. If you haven’t already joined in the celebrations with us see http://leadershipskillcenter.com/movingsale for details of how you can join the party too. But move quickly, there isn’t much time left!

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PEOPLE THINK FAILURE IS AN EVENT. IT’S NOT.

Think about your school days. If you or someone you knew received an F on a test, the tendency was to think that you failed at that moment. However, that’s not the case. The F shows that the test taker neglected the process leading up to the test and the result was a poor score. The truth is that you don’t receive F’s for failing a test, but for failing to prepare for a test.

Failure is just like success - it’s a day-to-day process, not someplace you arrive one day. Failure is not a one time event, it’s how you deal with life along the way. Yes, you will make mistakes, but you can’t conclude that you’re a failure until you breathe your last breath. Until then, you’re still in the process, and there is still time to turn things around for the better.

PEOPLE THINK FAILURE IS OBJECTIVE. IT’S NOT.

When you forget a meeting, miss a deadline, damage a relationship, or make a poor choice concerning your children, what determines whether that action was a failure? Is it the size of the problem it creates, the amount of money your company loses, or how much criticism you have to endure? No. The truth is that only you are the only person who can label what you do a failure. Failure is subjective. Your perception of and response to your mistakes determine whether they are failures.

According to Tulane University business professor Lisa Amos, entrepreneurs fail in an average of 3.8 business ventures before they finally make it. They aren’t deterred by mistakes or adversity because they don’t see setbacks as failures. They recognize that three steps forward and two steps back still equals one step forward. Determine to see your mistakes as merely temporary lapses, and start using them as stepping stones to success.

PEOPLE THINK FAILURE IS THE ENEMY. IT’S NOT.

Most people try to avoid failure like the plague. They’re afraid of it. But it takes adversity to create success. NBA coach Rick Pitino says, “Failure is good. It’s fertilizer. Everything I’ve learned about coaching I’ve learned from making mistakes.”

If you desire to be a high achiever you can’t see mistakes as the enemy. Musicologist Eloise Ristad emphasizes that, “when we give ourselves permission to fail, we at the same time give ourselves permission to excel.” She’s right. Begin to perceive mistakes as opportunities rather than opponents.

PEOPLE THINK FAILURE IS IRREVERSIBLE. IT’S NOT.

There’s an old saying in Texas that goes: “It doesn’t matter how much milk you spill as long as you don’t lose your cow.” In other words, mistakes are not irreversible. The problems come when you see only the “spilled milk” and not the bigger picture.

Tom Peters wisely acknowledged, “If silly things were not done, intelligent things would never happen.” When you make a mistake, keep things in perspective. Understand that on the heels of every mistake is a valuable lesson and another opportunity to improve.

Washington Irving once noted, “Great minds have purposes; others have wishes. Little minds are subdued by misfortunes; but great minds rise above them.” If you tend to focus on the extremes of mistakes and fixate on particular events in your life, make a resolution to gain a new perspective on failure. See errors and negative experiences as a regular part of life and determine to learn and grow from them. If you can do that well, you may find that your dreams are much closer than you think.

This article by John C. Maxwell was provided by ChristianBusinessDaily.com — The Online Network for Christians in Business. Your source for news, articles, and commentary from a biblical perspective.

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“We seem to gain wisdom more readily through our failures than through our successes. We always think of failure as the antithesis of success, but it isn’t. Success often lies just the other side of failure.”

Leo F. Buscaglia (1924-1998)

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BOOKS WORTH READING

You may like to look at these Books Worth Reading by John C Maxwell -

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785274316/kmg

Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785264191/kmg

Developing the Leader Within You -
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0785281126/kmg

This is just a quick note to share some exciting news that explains why you haven’t heard from me for a bit.

Finally, after 2 years and 3 months of demolishing and rebuilding, we are in the midst of moving, unpacking and settling into our brand new house and office…

As soon as I get a chance I will share a very special way you can celebrate with us, so check back here or watch your email over the next couple of days.

Kind regards, Kerrie

PS. Don’t forget to watch out for your next message from me soon, so you can join in the celebrations.

A long time ago in another life, when I was studying to be a teacher, one of the first things we learnt was that our students would reflect back to us what we expected of them.

If we expected little of them, they would achieve little. If we expected dedication and hard work our students would be dedicated and work hard for us. And most importantly, if we held great expectations for them they would ultimately achieve greatness and fulfill their potential.

Eventually I came to believe this was one of the most important lessons I ever learnt as a teacher. And experience has shown it is a lesson that carries over well into the world of management and leadership.

When we have great expectations for our staff, we can be confident our team will achieve greatness in return.

If you’re not getting everything you want from your people, check whether you might be getting what you expect. If you are getting the worst, is it because you have developed a habit of expecting the worst?
- - -

If you need help in changing the results you are getting from your people contact us to talk about how we can help you change things for the better.

More on how to expect great things in the Quick Tips below:

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MAKE IT HAPPEN NOW - RECORDING NOW AVAILABLE

This was a great audioseminar and many of you have been asking to be notified when the recording would be available. Well it’s finally here! See details of how you can listen in and learn How to Make it Happen Now at:

http://leadershipskillcenter.com/ts/bt/index.html

You won’t want to miss Brad’s discussion on how you can actually achieve more by doing less! Once you “get” this idea your whole approach to leading and managing people can become easier and more effective overnight! -And that was just one of many powerful ideas Brad shared with us. That link again
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QUOTE OF NOTE

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

Mark Twain (1835-1910)

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QUICK TIPS FOR EXPECTING GREATNESS

* If you lack confidence in one or more of your staff, reflect on why that might be the case. Consider whether training, coaching or mentoring might help them build their skills, approach or confidence in their role or tasks.
* Sometimes what needs to change is the whole organizational culture. If that is your situation, talk to us about change management or team building strategies that you can implement.

The Leading Well Bottom Line:

Your attitude and expectations as a leader set the platform for the results your people will achieve. You hold the power to amplify their results, but you don’t have to do it all on your own. Find a mentor or coach that you can explore possibilities with in confidence. We would be happy to talk to you about how to approach turning your situation around.

Kind regards, Kerrie

PS. That Link again for Brad’s audioseminar on How to Make it Happen Now! - Have a look at it.

What a busy and exciting year 2007 is shaping up to be. It’s only just begun and already we have some great events and special bonuses lined up to help you to develop all the skills you need to mentor, manage and lead.I’m sure you will be pleased to hear that the Leading Well Teleseminars are back for 2007, and once again, as a subscriber to Leading Well, you will be invited to attend free of charge. And we have some fantastic presenters all set and ready to share their insight and wisdom with you over the coming months.

Look for registration details of our next free teleseminar in your email inbox very soon… If you know anyone else who would like to receive invitations to our free live teleseminars please encourage them to register for Leading Well.

Kind regards, Kerrie

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BUILDING ON STRONG FOUNDATIONS

Two years ago now, my husband and I decided to demolish our old house and build a new one, complete with new improved global headquarters for KMG Consulting. We had no idea what we were letting ourselves in for, or how long it would all take. If you have ever done any building, I can hear you laughing now. And no, it’s not quite finished yet - but it’s very close, and we’ve learnt a lot in the process!

Anyway the reason why I mention this is because I can see a number of parallels between building a house and building your leadership. Both must be built on strong foundations and built to a clear, detailed plan.

Over the past two years we have pored over our house plans, checking details, picturing how we will use the rooms and visualizing what each will look and feel like. As a leader, every detail of what you are trying to achieve needs to be just as clear to you - and your team - as our house is to us.

It goes without saying that we wouldn’t expect to build much of a house if we didn’t share every detail of our plans with the people working to build our house for us. And similarly you can’t expect to realize your organizational vision if you don’t share it clearly and in detail with everyone on your team.

Your vision - the full picture of what you are trying to achieve - is critical for your success, but it isn’t sufficient. You also need to build on strong foundations.
If your vision represents what your organization is trying to build, your foundation is your purpose - why it is worth doing.

Share both the “what” and the “why” with your team. Then tap their expertise during an action planning process to determine the “how”. Check in with them regularly to ensure they have all the training, tools and resources they need and then let them get on with the job.

Focussing on the “what” and “why” will place your leadership on strong foundations as you realize your vision, just as surely as our new house is rising from the demolition site.

More on how to do this in the Quick Tips below:

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“The superior leader gets things done with very little motion. He imparts instruction not through many words, but through a few deeds. He keeps informed about everything, but hardly interferes at all. He is a catalyst, and though things would not get done as well if he weren’t there, when they succeed he takes no credit. And because he takes no credit, credit never leaves him.”

Lao-Tzu (c604 - c531 BC)

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QUICK TIPS FOR BUILDING A STRONG FOUNDATION

* Ensure that your team not only know what your purpose is, but that they understand it. As their leader you may need to translate your mission or purpose statements into more meaningful language for your team so they are quite clear on the “why” that is your foundation.

* Where possible involve your team in the process of developing and modifying statements of purpose to apply at their level in the organization. This values their contribution and builds their ownership of the outcomes.

* Ensure the objectives and actions that flow from the “what” and “why” are realistic and achievable so your team experiences success as they move along each step of the way in your desired direction.

The Leading Well Bottom Line:

You don’t have to do it all on your own. Watch for details of our exciting new Leadership Coaching Club, coming soon. Visit http://leadershipcoachingclub.com/ to join the Priority Notification list.

Read past issues of Leading Well:

* You will find past issues of Leading Well and other useful information in the Leadership Skill Center Blog.
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FREE TELESEMINARS

We will notify you when the date for our next teleseminar is finalized but you can keep an eye on what’s available (including details of how to access recordings of past teleseminars) here.

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Services directory:

FREE MARKETING PLAN WORKBOOK - Have a look at this: One of the best resources on the web for marketing your services is Action Plan Marketing. Check out the website and download your free Marketing Plan Workbook and the first chapter of the InfoGuru Marketing Manual.

ADD AUDIO TO YOUR WEBSITE FREE - At the moment Sonic Memo Lite is free. The catch? You have to agree to join a mailing list (but you can always unsubscribe) and you will be offered a one-time opportunity to upgrade to the Pro version (but you don’t have to accept the offer). My suggestion is, if you do your own website, grab it while you can. You may even decide to buy the full version, which is what I use. Unlike other web audio systems that you have to pay for every month, this is great value at full price as it’s a pay once and use for ever deal anyway.

It’s a busy time of year, and it’s hard not to wonder where the year went! But I know some of you are keen to know how the Leadership Coaching Club is going. PLUS Santa has some Special Gifts for you later in this Christmas issue of Leading Well (because we know you’ve been good this year!)

First, thank you for allowing me to work with you this year. Whether I’ve coached you personally or your whole business team, whether I’ve spoken at your leadership conference or facilitated your planning event, or just visited each month via Leading Well, it’s been a privilege to work with you. We have some really exciting things planned for 2007, so keep an eye out early in the new year for details.

One of the biggest events in 2007 will be the start of the Leadership Coaching Club. You have told us exactly what you want and I’m pleased to say it’s coming really soon. If you want to be the FIRST to know, make sure you sign up now for priority notification. That way you won’t miss out on all the special offers and bonuses for getting in early as soon as it is available. It’s going to be a great value program that anyone who is serious about leading and managing people will want to be a part of, so you won’t want to miss it.

We also have a whole range of other products and programs that will help you on your path to easy, effective and effortless leadership, that I can’t wait to share with you next year.

But for now it’s time to take a break to focus on family, fun and festivity for a little while. We hope, like us, you can look back at lots of good things achieved in 2006, as well as being excited by everything to come in 2007.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at KMG Consulting and the Leadership Skill Center.

…HO…HO…HO… And I haven’t forgotten … Here are some special Christmas gifts just for you.
Kind regards, Kerrie

PS. It’s Christmas! Of course you can share that link with anyone who would like a gift for Christmas.

The actual link is:
http://www.leadershipskillcenter.com/thankyou/xmas.php

One of the secrets to getting great results from your people is to learn the skill of giving powerful, effective feedback.There are three types of feedback I observe when I work with my clients: “the Good, the Bad and the Ugly”!

And there are three main problems that I notice with feedback. They are that Good feedback is often not given, Bad feedback can often be hard to give and Ugly feedback is often given at the wrong time or for inappropriate reasons.

To be effective, feedback (whether it is positive or negative) needs to be timely and it should always relate to an action or behavior rather than the person. Feedback about behaviors or actions is powerful and effective because it reinforces desired behaviors so they can be repeated in future, while other actions or behaviors can be modified in future.

Powerful feedback places the action or behavior in the context of a specific situation or task and links it to a result. If the feedback is corrective, it specifies an alternative action or behavior that would produce a different preferred result.

A simple example of good positive feedback could be:

“Jan - Yesterday when you were walking through the foyer I saw you clear away some rubbish that had been left there by someone else. Thank you. A clean entrance makes a far better impression on our visitors and clients than a messy one.”

An example of effective corrective feedback might be:

“Chris - Yesterday after you finished your lunch you were distracted by a phone call and you left your lunch wrappers in the foyer, which creates a poor impression for our visitors or clients when they arrive. Please take care to put your rubbish in the bin in future. That will keep the entry clean so we make a good impression for our visitors and clients.”

Feedback like this needs to be given to Chris promptly. If it is delayed for so long the situation or incident has been forgotten, it will be less effective. The feedback would be inappropriate if it was expressed as a criticism of Chris personally, for example, “You are a messy person” rather than as a criticism of an action or behavior.

Inappropriate (Ugly) feedback such as “you are messy” is dis-empowering and frustrating, because we can’t change who we are. It destroys morale and erodes results as well as being ineffective.

Feedback about our actions or behaviors is effective, empowering and helpful, because we can change our actions if necessary, or repeat them if appropriate.

Positive (Good) feedback should be shared generously. It is a powerful motivation, reinforcing the types of behavior you are keen to see repeated.

Corrective (Bad) feedback should be given promptly and sensitively. Ensure you give it in private and in a supportive, direct and open manner. Focus on the action or behavior that that needs modifying or correcting and describe exactly what actions and results you expect in the future.

Given appropriately and regularly, corrective feedback is a valuable learning tool and without it none of us can get better at what we do.

A good leader taps the power of effective feedback to motivate and coach people to great results. If you are generous with positive feedback while you are clear and consistent with corrective feedback you will be delighted with the value effective feedback delivers.

More on how to improve your feedback in the Quick Tips below:

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QUOTE OF NOTE

“Anything you are good at contributes to happiness.”

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)

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QUICK TIPS FOR EFFECTIVE FEEDBACK

* Catch people doing something right as often as you can so you can deliver positive feedback “on the spot” in just a few words.

* While positive feedback might be delivered in public, negative or correctional feedback should always be delivered in private in a calm and sensitive manner.

* Think of feedback as fine-tuning. Try to establish a habit of giving your people more frequent feedback about smaller tasks, actions or behaviors, rather than waiting for a problem to grow into something huge.

* When you do need to deliver corrective feedback be direct and firm. Don’t apologize, make excuses or “beat around the bush” before you get to your point. Explain the situation or context, describe the unacceptable behavior and its results and say what will be acceptable in the future with the results you expect that will follow.

* Don’t invite discussion or drag out your comments when you deliver corrective feedback. If the action or behavior is not acceptable, that’s all there is to it. Check that you were understood and move on.

* Bear in mind that in some circumstances you may need to offer your people training, coaching or support to change their actions or behavior, just as you may need practice in giving more effective feedback before you always get it right.

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*** Do you have any questions about effective feedback?
http://www.leadershipskillcenter.com/allabout/?effective-feedback

The Leading Well Bottom Line:

You don’t have to do it all on your own. Coming soon - the new Leadership Coaching Club. Visit to make sure you are the first to know all the details.

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Services directory:

PLANNING FOR 2007 ALREADY? - We are already taking bookings for 2007 Leadership Teambuilding Programs or Strategic Planning Evaluation and Review Programs. Contact us now to lock in your preferred dates before it is too late. Call 03-9859 3924 or email info@kmgconsulting.com.au

DO YOU HAVE A WEBSITE? - Special discount on fantastic website tools for the next couple of days only. Don’t delay. Only valid until November 16th - see details

FREE MARKETING PLAN WORKBOOK - Have a look at this: One of the best resources on the web for marketing your services is Action Plan Marketing. Check out the website and download your free Marketing Plan Workbook and the first chapter of the InfoGuru Marketing Manual.

ADD AUDIO TO YOUR WEBSITE FREE - Sonic Memo Lite is free. The catch? You have to agree to join a mailing list (but you can always unsubscribe) and you will be offered a one-time opportunity to upgrade to the Pro version (but you don’t have to accept the offer). My suggestion is, if you do your own website, grab it while you can. You may even decide to buy the full version, which is what I use. Unlike other web audio systems that you have to pay for every month, this is great value at full price as it’s a pay once and use for ever deal anyway. If you want it for free click here.

BOOKS ON FEEDBACK WORTH READING -

Effective Feedback: A Guide for Caring Professionals by Irwin M. Rubin and Thomas J. Campbell
Fast Feedback, Second Edition
by Bruce Tulgan
Giving and Receiving Performance Feedback
by Peter R. Garber