The Key to Leadership

A great article by author and speaker Brian Tracy.

The Key to Leadership

The Foremost of the Values
Winston Churchill once said, "Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it all others depend." The systematic development of the deep down quality of unflinching courage is one of the fundamental requirements for leadership in any field. Fear, or the lack of courage is more responsible for failure in management, and in life, than any other factor. It is always fear that causes people to hold back, to sell themselves short, to settle for far less than they are capable of!

Eliminate Fear and Doubt
I firmly believe that you can do, have or be far more than you now know if only you could eliminate the fear, doubts and misgivings that consciously and unconsciously interfere with your realizing your full potential.

Unlearn Your Fears
If there is anything positive about fear, it is that all fears are learned, that no one is born with fears, and that having been learned, they can be unlearned. If you want to understand the role of fear in shaping the course of your life, just ask yourself, if you had a magic wand that would absolutely guarantee you success in any one thing you attempted, what goal would you set for yourself.

The Great Question
"What one great thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail?" If you had no fears at all with regard to money or the criticism of others, what would you do differently? Most people can think of all kinds of changes they would, or could, make in their lives if they had no fears to hold them back.

The Origins of Fear
The development of courage begins with understanding the psychological origins of fear. The newborn child has only two fears; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. All other fears that we experience as adults are learned as we are growing up, primarily as the result of well-meaning but destructive criticism from our parents.

How Fears Develop
When the curious child gets into things and makes a mess, the parent scolds and punishes the child, eventually building up a pattern of fear connected with trying or getting into anything new or different. As adults, we experience this as the fear of failure, the fear of risking, of making a mistake, of losing.

Action Exercises
Here are two steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, imagine that you had no fears at all. What would you set as a goal for yourself if you were guaranteed of success?

Second, decide exactly what you want and then act as if it were impossible to fail. You may be surprised at how successful you are.

To lead is to serve,
Coach Carolyn

An Equip and Empower Moment

"The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude;
be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully;
be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid;
be proud, but notarrogant; have humor, but without folly."

~ Jim Rohn, Motivational speaker, author

To lead is to serve,
Coach Carolyn

When A Leader Speaks

Recently I witnessed the following scenario:

At the busstop, a woman asked another woman when the next bus was due to arrive. The second woman, having just looked at the bus schedule, answered the question. The first woman then asked another person the same question, within earshot of the woman she had just asked. Needless to say, the woman became angry because it appeared that the first woman did not trust her word.

When somebody asks a question in a meeting, whom do people look to for the answer? Whom do they wait to hear? The person they look to is the real leader. Identifying a real leader can be easy - if you remember what you're looking for.

Don't listen to the claims of the person professing to be the leader. Instead, watch the reactions of the people around him. The proof of leadership is found in the followers. People listen to what someone has to say not necessarily because of the message, but because of their respect for the messenger.

So I must ask you this: How do people react when you communicate? When you speak, do people listen - I mean really listen? Or do they wait to hear what someone else has to say before they act? You can find out a lot about your level of leadership if you have the courage to ask and answer that question.

From The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by Dr. John Maxwell.

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn

Encourage Others' Strengths

When some leaders begin to work with others on their development, they gravitate to weaknesses rather than strengths. Maybe that's because it's so easy to see other people's problems and shortcomings. But if you start by putting your energies into correcting people's weaknesses, you will demoralize them and unintentionally sabotage the enlarging process.

Instead of focusing on weaknesses, give your attention to people's strengths. Focus on sharpening skills that already exist. Compliment positive qualities. Bring out the gifts inherent in them. Weaknesses can wait - unless they are character flaws. Only after you have developed a strong rapport with the person and they have begun to grow and gain confidence should you address areas of weakness, ...and then those should be handled gently and one at a time.

From Becoming a Person of Influence by Dr. John Maxwell.

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn

The July NYC Meetup Organizers’ Meetup

Yes, even organizers have a Meetup, because being a leader is learned, we are not born it great leadership skills. And it is a marvelous thing to get together with the other leaders to talk about what is and is not working within our groups, and to learn from one another.

Last night, as usual we met at the Skylight Diner with our U-shaped table setup. Our illustrious leader, David Greene, has set the standard for our gathering at this diner. With a total of 22 organizers, assistant organizers or organizers-in-the-making, it was a great meeting packed with lots of helpful information.

There were new organizers and more seasoned organizers to share their experiences with venues, payments, attendance issues, RSVPs, and some technical issues with the Meetup site. The most humorous Meetup was the NYC Easy Going Attention Deficit Disorder Meetup Group. Organizer Tim was great fun and being a new organizer shared his frustrations and joys.

Both David and Tom shared ways to ensure attendance and retention of membership. Both spoke of the personal touch: personally sending emails to the members ensuring their presence at the next event. Tom runs two groups, including the LOST Meetup Group.

Clearly the spotlight was on Sheryl who organizes the Culture for the Non-Cultured Meetup Group, which boasts a membership of 2500 plus. She shared her strategies for planning, organizing and executing her events from start for finish.

A few of the issues discussed were optimizing a better system for Waiting Lists and learning the new Amazon payment program.

We were graced by the presence of two Meetup employees, no doubt doing a “crawl”, Andres and Karina, who are the marketing, strategy and research people. They answered certain techy questions, but clearly let us know that this was not to be about them, but about the organizers sharing. They did stay around after to answer any individual questions.

Being a leader takes courage and a willingness to serve. This definitely describes a Meetup organizer; especially the ones who take the time to come out to gather and share with their fellow organizers ~ knowing there is always more to learn.

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn, The Fearless Entrepreneur

The Practice of Discipline

I share this article on discipline by author and speaker Brian Tracy.

Discipline yourself to do what you know you need to do to be the very best in your field. Perhaps the best definition of self discipline is this: "Self discipline is the ability to make yourself do what you should do when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not."

It is easy to do something when you feel like it. It's when you don't feel like it and you force yourself to do it anyway that you move your life and career onto the fast track.

What decisions do you need to make today in order to start moving toward the top of your field? Whatever it is, either to get in or get out, make a decision today and then get started. This single act alone can change the whole direction of your life.

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn

An Equip & Empower Moment

“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.”

~ Anonymous

To lead is to serve,

Coach Carolyn