The Engaging Leader: Winning with Today’s Free Agent Workforce

“People don’t quit their jobs, they quit their bosses.  Skilled people want to work for winning leaders.  Grade A talent wants to work for Grade A leadership.  It won’t settle for less.”

In The Engaging Leader, Dr. Ed Gubman communicates how to draw out employees’ enthusiasm and commitment; how to retain and nurture companies’ most prized and priceless assets — employees:

• Engaging leaders are drivers and builders.  Drivers are decisive decision makers; putting results first, stress the bottom line, and crack the whip (maintaining pressure on accountability and come down hard when goals aren’t met).
• Builders put people and process first.  Builders are relationship-oriented.  Builders let solutions emerge, take a long-term focus, stay behind the scenes more, and are more positive than critical. (They are, by no means, indecisive.  Builders possess goals and visions.  They rely on natural consequences vs. immediate consequences by an authority).

Engaging leaders know when to be drivers and when to be builders.

Furthermore, Dr. Gubman states, “Employees (talent) want freedom, control, accountability, and caring.” 

• Freedom — the freedom of expression and the ability to be who you are, not someone you’re not.
• Control — people enjoy their work when they know what their responsibilities are and have the autonomy to achieve them.  They don’t want to be micromanaged.  Even when what-to-do comes from above, talented employees expect to figure out how to do it themselves.
• Accountability — giving someone an assignment and holding him or her responsible for delivering results.
• Caring relationships increase people’s investments in your workplace.  Warm relationships help employees feel connected and will motivate them to work for you — to help you meet your goals.  Employees will confide in personal matters if they feel safe.  They also want some friends in the workplace.

Tough and tender, a loveable task master, realistic optimist … whatever you call it, the intersection of driving and building behaviors is what engages most people. 

Successful leaders learn this in their interactions with people.  They become more versatile, expanding their own styles by taking on some behaviors that are unnatural to them at first, but become second nature as followers reinforce them by responding favorably. 

The ability to incorporate parts of these seeming opposites, like the skill of reconciling group goals and individual needs, will make you an engaging leader and a long-time, big time winner.  (Full Story)

 

Thank You Veterans! (II)

We are free because of the brave.

Our heroes earned our birthrights and privileges — our abilities and opportunities to exercise our liberty and the pursuit of happiness — our freedom of religion, the press, free speech, our right to assemble, and more!

Sometimes the World Seems

by Larissa Myschuk (Columbia JHS, Fife, Washington)

Sometimes the world seems like it’s upside-down, inside out

Torn down the middle, in need of arrangement

Desperate for guidance, wanting direction

Lacking leadership, losing patience

Turning and flipping, backwards and sideways

Speeding endlessly forward, on a path of self-destruction

And the only thing to stop it, the only thing to calm it,

Is the lives of the men that fight passionately,

Fall readily and die willingly.

THANK YOU VETERANS!

(Full Story)

What is Success — Find the Joy in Your Life

We come into this world with nothing.  We leave this world with nothing.  And somewhere in between, we become consumed by the glitz and glamor of status and stuff.

But life doesn’t have to be about one-upsmanship and material wealth.

Bucket List is a story of a wealthy hospital administrator and an auto mechanic with nothing in common except terminal illness.  Watch how they come to terms with their reality and with life’s most important treasures:

In the March edition of In Touch, Dr. Charles Stanley states the four harmful effects of pursuit of status:

• Status is deceptive — status is based on the belief that we can and should compare ourselves to others to validate our self-worth.  God didn’t create us to be superior or inferior.  He created us to be unique and to fulfill His specific purpose for our lives.
• Status divides — status encourages artificial divisions between people and communities.  Inflated egos believe certain jobs are beneath them.
• Status hinders God from fully utilizing our gifts and potentials — we have no business telling the Lord what we will or will not do when He asks us to obey (Joseph served in prison for many years.  He didn’t think working as a prisoner was beneath him.)
• Status is disappointing — beauty, intelligence, wealth, creativity — all disappear.  Why spend so much time trying to compete and outdo others?  No friends, all enemies.

Dr. Stanley concludes, “God’s leadership is always best.  You trust that even if He sends you to do what is poor and lowly in the world’s eyes, He is working in you to produce fruit that is priceless from the viewpoint of eternity … He calls you to love, serve wherever He sends you to serve, and be all He has created you to be.  Serving God is the only way to truly experience the fulfillment, significance, and joy which your heart yearns.”

Amen!  I’d greatly appreciate your prayers.  My prayers are with you, too.

Land Your Dream Job Today!

Unemployed?  Great!  You’ve got nothing to lose and EVERYTHING TO GAIN! Land your dream job today!

Just do what most people aren’t doing.  Yes.  Get those face-to-face meetings.

Don’t request them.  Go get ’em!  Show up at the CEO’s door with your 30 second spiel!

Before anyone could say “Go away,” you’ve introduced AND sold yourself (maybe not the latter but people will give you points for initiative and creativity!  Isn’t that what all employers want — problem-solvers and out-of-the-box thinkers?!).

If you’re desperate and/or an outgoing risk-taker, this approach is for you!  Knocking on doors have opened doors for me (like interviews and my current job).

After being a stay-at-home mom for four years, I was ready to work outside of the home.

I submitted my resume to two school districts.  That was in March. In mid-June, I still hadn’t heard from a soul.

I decided to drive down to the school, “ran into” the custodian, and asked when would be the best time to “run into” the principal.  A week later, I showed up at his door with my portfolio and my 30 second spiel.

The rest is history.  I have THE best job!

There are always ways to get your foot in the door.  How about applying for a custodial position with the local temp agency? Always carry your portfolio.  Double bag the trash cans and place the Ziplocked portfolio between two bags.

Clean the CEO or Human Resource manager’s office for a month or so, establish rapport with employees, learn about the company, go to the lunch room and look at the postings for different positions, talk to people and find out which departments are hiring, etc., etc.

When you’re ready, “run into” the decision makers with your 30 second spiel.  Get your camcorder rolling and show your portfolio — in 30 seconds!  Before the big shots can say, “I’m too busy,” they would have seen your video — your masterpiece!

Unemployed?  You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Go get ’em! (see also Jobless But Working)

PS — Share your success stories today!

The New Food Pyramid — Customize Your Diet

A healthy eating plan can be illustrated in many ways.

Mayo Clinic.com offers five (out of many) food pyramid guides — Asian, Latin American, Mediterranean, Vegetarian, and Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid.

These pyramids emphasize:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables followed by whole grains
• Reduce intake of saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol
• Limit salt and sweets
• Include physical activity
• Drink alcoholic beverage in moderation, if at all
• Control portion sizes

Quick tips on portion sizes:

• One ounce cooked pasta = 1/2 cup
• Three ounces of meat, poultry, or fish = a deck of playing cards
• One ounce of cheese = your thumb or two dominoes
• One-half cup of fruit, vegetables, pasta, or rice = a small fist
• One cup of milk, yogurt, or chopped fresh greens = a small hand holding a tennis ball
• A teaspoon of butter or margarine = the tip of your thumb to the first joint

Want to know your recommended daily consumption per food group? Enter your information for a customized food guide!

Change Your Life in 30 Days!

No more excuses!  No more fears! Change your life in 30 days! If Rhonda can do it, we can, too!

Change Your Life in 30 Days changed my life in ways no other therapist or books ever could!  Acknowledge, accept, love, confront/clarify, stretch, take risks! Master life-coach, Rhonda Britten, shares it all.  In 30 days, meet the new you — healthier, youthful, glowing you!

I’ve done the program once.  I’m going to do it again.  (For $10.17, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain!)

Love this life!  Love this journey!  Reach your potential and beyond!  Make all your dreams come true!

I hope you, too, will join this incredible ride!

Full Story

Guerrilla Marketing Strategies for Writers

Are you a guerrilla marketer or a traditional marketer?

Are you passionate about an idea, a product?  Do you want to inspire?  Do you want to learn with others?  How about getting your word out?

What’s stopping you from promoting your message — your calling?

If you answered MONEY, fear not!   Guerrilla Marketing for Writers (and for all professions) shares countless weapons to promote your message.  For starters:

• Guerrilla marketing substitutes time, energy, and imagination for money.
• Guerrilla marketing is geared toward small business owners with a big dream but not a big bankroll.
• Guerrilla marketing measures effectiveness with profits; traditional marketing with sales.
• Guerrilla marketing is based on psychology — the laws of human behavior that determine buying patterns.  Traditional marketing is based on experience and judgment involving guesswork.
• Guerrilla marketing recommends maintaining excellence and diversifying only if doing so promotes sales without sacrificing quality.  Traditional marketing encourages production and diversify.
• Guerrilla marketing recommends business growth through customer service and follow-up.  Traditional marketing encourages adding new customers.
• Guerrilla marketing encourages relationships over profit — collaboration and win-win opportunities among competitors.  Traditional marketing advocates destroying competition.
• Guerrilla marketing embraces technology because it’s simple, economical, and offers infinite potential.  Traditional marketing thought technology was too complicated, expensive, and limited.

If you’d like to share inspiring quotes or recommended readings on marketing, the sky is the limit!  We’d love to hear your thoughts!

How to be Your Best Friend

When life is great, everyone’s on your side.  When life is the pits, who’s on your side?

In the past, I used to beat myself up throughout my deepest, darkest moments …  Not any more.  When things get really ugly, I stick up for me (if I don’t, who will?  The slight thought of abandonment scares me).  I resort to good old self-compassion.

We’re all human.

Everyone loses it from time to time (some more than others.  Acknowledging my emotions and pain is how I stay sane).  If you can’t relate, fear not.  Your turn will come.

Humans are all screw ups.  We’re equal.

Feel the pain, let it all out, feel better, then move on!  We’ve all been there.

The last time I saw my shrink (about 8 years ago), I didn’t know I had depression.  She tried to comfort me — telling me I was special — just for being me.

I thought SHE was the nutcase, not me.  But now that I’m more sane (yes, the generic Prozac keeps me chemically balanced), I realize the best thing to do and say to others is to accept, comfort, and empathize.

(Judgments are lethal.  That could easily push people over the edge).

Learning to be more loving toward you also brings out your tenderness — extending that compassion to others and, in the process, making this world a kinder place.

I’m my best friend.  I’m worth it!

Who’s your best friend? … You’re worth it!

Full Story

Beat the Pink Slip!

A single mother of five children loses her job.  Thousands are issued pink slips. Opportunities are scarce.  Reality is bleak — or is it?

The answer depends on who you ask.

Cambodia’s working poor would disagree.

The poorest Cambodians reside inside the dump.  The stench is intolerable, but for many, this is their home.

Families scavenge for plastic and metal which then are sold for five cents per pound.  Toxic burn the eyes.  Glass cut through feet.  No child protective labor laws or government oversight.  Injuries and deaths are common occurrence.

Aren’t there options?

Sure, modern day slavery — construction and prostitution.  How can a human being possibly earn a living without employers’ regards for their safety and well-being?

In Cambodia, factory work — sweat shops — is a dream job.  Workers say they will be in the shade … If they only had the opportunity to learn how to sew.

We live in a great nation. We have so much to be thankful for.

Full Story

Play, Fun, and Games — What’s Your Brain Age?

Experiencing writer’s block?  Don’t write.  Play! That’s what I’m going to do.

Here’s a fun game my friend sent me — a great way to decompress.  Wanna play?

Read these rules and click on the link (the original is in Japanese, so unless you read the language, follow the directions below).

One’s ideal brain age, according to the site, is 20-years-old (mine is never ideal).

1. Click Start
2. Wait for 3, 2, 1
3. Memorize the numbers and their position on the screen
4. Click each circle from the smallest to the largest number
5. When you’re finished, the computer will reveal your brain’s age.

Enjoy!  Have a great day!