GiANT Perspectives

Do You Have a “Be the One” Story?

2010-03-18T13:16:42+00:00

Hey Everyone! We have a contest going for the Chick-fil-a Leadercast and I’d love some help spreading the word!

We’re looking for stories about how you or someone you know is “being the one” and making a difference as a true leader in your community.

We’ll be selecting from the stories that are sent in, and the winner will receive an Amazon Kindle and an article in the Leadercast notezine!

How is someone you know making a difference? Tell us for your chance to win a FREE Kindle! Submit your story today at www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com/betheone.

The Chick-fil-a Leadercast is the premier leadership conference for the everyday leader in America. May 7th is the date. Not only save the date, but take a look at bringing it into your organization or community at www.chick-fil-aleadercast.com.

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When the Tank is Empty

2010-03-17T14:15:22+00:00

You ever been there? Dry, depleted and dull? When people ask you how you are, you just stare and tell them there is nothing in the tank.

That is how I felt a few weeks ago when I had experienced a twelve hour flight delay. I was dry and sick and frustrated. While the event I spoke at was great, and the people inspiring, I was simply empty.

Are you there right now?

When Kelly and I were first married we took off on a cross country trip. About seven hours into the trip the car stuttered and quickly stalled. It was out of gas. We were so enthralled with one another that we didn’t even notice we needed fuel.

Normally this doesn’t happen. Most people are so drained that they know their gas tank is drained.

Here is why I felt empty - I was disconnected. When I am disconnected I am not full of life. Instead, I am full of things that pile on and continue to drain me - anxious thoughts, worry, frustration, etc.

In essence I was a car that had its warning light on with only a few miles left until I had completely run out of gas. So, what did I do? I got fueled up.

Each of us has our own type of fuel. For me it is pretty simple. I need to connect with God and I need to connect with my family. When looking back, my head cold and flight delay didn’t help my connections. Thankfully, my warning lights indicated that I needed fuel and in this case it didn’t take long to fuel up in a hurry in both areas.

The easy questions are these…

Do you know what you really need in order to fuel up?
Is that fuel fulfilling?
Are you getting enough of it or are you constantly putting only a couple of bucks of fuel into your tank when you are going long distances?

Take the time to properly fuel up and watch your warning lights. Your leadership depends on it.

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Trends in Leader Development

2010-03-16T14:20:01+00:00

The past two years have been tough for many businesses and industries. I have experienced this first hand as our industry, leader development, has been hammered as many companies have held off on their training and development dollars because of the poor economy.

While companies are beginning to invest again in leader development I have noticed a number of trends that are beginning to happen. Here are a few:

1. Companies will now spend money on raising the capacity of leaders versus simply focusing on skills training. The “Do More With Less” reality is causing companies to need high-capacity leaders and they are now willing to work with companies like GiANT to help them do that.

2. Online training is still prevalent for the highly systematic workforces, but is not being as invested in because of costs. The next level of online leader development will happen via the iPad and other innovations currently in the early adopter stage.

3. Lecture style training is on the decline due to the next generation learning style and the Harvard-esque case study methodology. For instance, we have taken all of our lecture style workshops and innovated them to be highly experiential (see www.giantimpact.com/intentionalleadership).

4. The whole person is the trend of the future. The next generation doesn’t separate life the way the past generations did. Home and family time affect leader development as well. A holistic plan is simply the new norm for future leader development.

5. More advanced companies are actually beginning to create a leadership budget separate from their normal HR budgets (or at least creating a separate track). There seems to be a better understanding of the investment in leaders producing a stronger company and return.

6. Finally, the next generation is ushering in leadership at every level. Going are the days of the traditional executive suite. White House regulation and corporate scandals are changing the style and standard of leadership in the United States. This is a good thing.

These trends are positive, especially in light of the past two years. Let’s hope leaders continue to grow and organizations continue to invest in the right kinds of leaders.

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3 Minute Monday: Business Building

2010-03-15T12:07:22+00:00

Happy Monday. What a great week ahead of us! 3 Minute Monday’s are simply messages to get you thinking about your growth as you stay working on your business, not just in it. Here we go…

The speed of business growth depends on the building of leaders. Take 3 minutes and think about how your organization can create more leaders at all levels.

To help with the process here are two areas to consider in your business.

1. Quantity of Leaders: How many more leaders do you need in your organization? Can you list the top 3-5?

2. Quality of Leaders: How can improve the quality of the leaders in your organization? What will it take to raise them up to the next level?

What are you going to do this week intentionally to raise up the levels of leaders in your firm?

3 minutes. Go!

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Airplane Thought: What is Strength?

2010-03-13T14:12:06+00:00

What seems like weakness is actually strength in power: gentleness and humility

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Leader Prayer

2010-03-12T11:52:14+00:00

Do you pray?

That might be a strange question. It may event launch you into a diatribe of keeping religion and business separate. So let me ask it a different way.

Do you long for things secretly in your mind and heart and call out to God at times?

I just did. Sitting at 33K feet on a Delta airplane I cried out on the inside this prayer:

“God, thank you so very much for my bride. She is a gift from you, God. And these kids you’ve given us, bless them. Protect them and give them the best of you.”

This prayer went on as I began to pour out what I wanted.

“And God, you know what I am about. Would you please help me reach the things I think I want? Better yet, would you just show me what you want, clearly. Can I just know that I am doing what you want me to do?”

Now I don’t know about you. I am not really concerned about your words as much as the fact that I know you pray, but do you? What is the utterance in your heart that as a leader needs to come out?

That is simply how you pray. You start talking to God.

I have never known a good leader that doesn’t do that a lot.

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The Battle to Communicate

2010-03-11T14:46:06+00:00

What an interesting week in the life of American leadership. In fact, it has been a series of interesting weeks. The democratic republic called America is perplexing to those outside of the states for the sole reason that the people hold the power through their representatives. Therefore, dictating has been controlled by the will of the people.

To explain to the outside world that the Legislative branch (House and Senate) and the Judicial branch (Supreme Court) have equal weight to the Executive branch (President) is perplexing. Obviously, the President is THE leader and, thus, can drive agendas. Yet, America’s founding fathers set up our system as a check and balance approach to keep leaders accountable to upholding the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness granted in our constitution.

Even more perplexing is the leader of these leaders, the people of the United States. Americans have the right to fire their leaders if they are not representing appropriately.

Now, imagine the intricacies of communication involved in this process with simple initiatives and laws. To pass a law is a process that is perplexing and fascinating. That is where people get hung up. If you do not know how the system works, then it is easy to fall prey to the sound bites of the networks and pundits claiming partisan sides.

This is precisely why the President is having problems with healthcare. The checks and balances (Legislative, Judicial and American people) are double-checking what the communication is versus what the actual documents say. Thus, a battle is occurring. A battle that has little to do with the idea of healthcare reform, since 75%+ want healthcare to be better. The battle lies in communication as the following example shows from a fellow air traveler:

“We know we need to improve healthcare, but I am still not sure what we are getting. When I spend a fortune on a new car I at least know what bells and whistles I am getting. Seems like we are spending a lot of money for a car I can’t touch and feel before I drive.”

Here is the application. Each of us has a complex communication structure in our organization. There are checks and balances. We are not immune to the same complexities and battles to communicate the right thing.

The realities are true for each of us - we must communicate clearly what we want to accomplish and gain support for those initiatives. If there is dissension or stalling or frustration, we cannot look to those we lead with disdain, but rather to ourselves for not clearly communicating what it is we want to do.

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Confidence

2010-03-10T12:18:45+00:00

You had a bad year last year.

Your board shared some things that were hard to hear.

You had to let employees go over the last six months.

You had to scrap a long term strategy for short term survival.

You’ve started to doubt your capabilities or even your capacity.

Your courage is starting to wane.

Any of these can lead to a leader’s lost confidence. Just like the economy rises and falls on confidence, so does the success of a leader. The question is, how is your confidence today?

For me, I ask this every morning. I have been asking the following question that came from my time with Dr. Henry Cloud. The question is this:

Do you have the courage to meet the demands of reality?

If you do, then you can build your confidence enough to execute what is in front of you. If you do not have the courage, then your confidence is shot and I suggest you get some time with some key advisers to help you process what is in front of you.

I would caution you on one thing. Confidence is not built off of circumstance. Confidence comes from the inside. If you are putting your confidence solely in circumstance then your confidence index will most likely stay low during this time of our economy. Yet, if your confidence is built upon who you are and what you are called to do then your confidence has a better chance of maintaining while you handle the circumstances of today.

Friends, get it back. Ask yourself if you have the courage and then spend the time to get your confidence to the appropriate levels.

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To Settle Or Not

2010-03-09T14:07:48+00:00

Let me be bold today with a comment… I will never settle!

On one hand, I don’t pretend to think that you should care about whether I settle or not - but I do. I recently spent time with some significant business leaders who gave me the impression that they have settled.

“For what?” you might ask. In my mind these men settled for security over impact, financial advancement over doing what is right for others, and the pleasures of the world instead of the benefit of others.

Please hear me, this is not a judging indictment on these men. Instead my time with them produced a long standing boldness that I would never settle. Their absorption with themselves rallied a 20 year old commitment that I would never settle for the things the world provides as my trophy or end all-be all.

I realized that I have not shared enough with others. You see, I have seen a new perspective. These men are simply working off of the natural, old perspective of societal gains.

There is a better way. It starts with not settling as a leader. To gain you must give, not get. To really get what you want occurs when you completely give up. It is such an oxymoron, but amazingly powerful.

In your core, remember the oaths you made in your idealistic stages. Be cautious of the desire to settle for the things that you think will bring life. I have found that the longing for riches and the desire for all sorts of luxury are actually subtle killers. They choke truth in people and replace a cynical hubris that eventually topples the best leaders in the most obscure ways.

I will not settle. I will not give in to what I know is not real.

Thanks for listening. Join me if you can.

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3 Minute Monday: 3x5 Communication

2010-03-08T11:35:09+00:00

Do you have a clear communication plan with your family?
As a leader, I am very aware that as life goes in the home it goes in the office.

Therefore, I would like to take a page out of a friend’s playbook and encourage you to incorporate something into your world with your spouse, if you are married. If you are not, I will give an alternative.

Regi Campbell, a mentor of mine, has challenged me to a 3x5 every day I come home. 3x5 means to come home and give your spouse 3 feet and simply listen to them for at least 5 minutes. No Blackberry, no internet, or paper, or… 5 minutes with a good healthy communication distance.

If you are not married, try this on a friend or a neighbor whenever appropriate.

Why? You will find that this practical exercise will lead to healthier communication, which leads to better relationships, which leads to stronger families, and, ultimately, better organizations.

3x5 Everyday.

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