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Leadership and Performance Development

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Discover How Great Leaders are Great Teachers

Inspiration

Great leaders are great teachers. When words come from good intentions, they will be received well. Correcting behavior that does not contribute to the overall mission and vision is not wrong. Great leaders understand the power of teachable moments and seek them out. Incorrect behavior will persist if not corrected—the delivery of the correction matters. Timely feedback is essential, but not at the expense of embarrassing someone in front of peers, teammates, or coworkers. The fallout from the embarrassment will have a lasting impact and create all new issues.

Great Leaders are Great Teachers

Mentors

A mentor is an experienced and trusted advisor. When we come from a place of experience and have established trust, correction is received openly. A calm and collected teacher successfully passes more knowledge than emotionally triggered ones. They can make consistent deposits into their people.

Hard Leadership

The hard correction will inevitably come as a leader. If we teach along the way and make deposits, it will be easier to make a leadership withdrawal. We may raise our voices out of frustration. Complex tasks may need to be completed on short notice. We may make a mistake that needs the forgiveness of others. In these moments, those who have taught from a good heart will receive far more grace than those who lead with an iron fist.

Key Takeaways

  • Great Leaders are Great Teachers
  • A calm and collected teacher successfully passes more knowledge than emotionally triggered ones.
  • Check out other Leadership and Performance content at Youniversalife Archive
  • Photo by Riccardo Annandale on Unsplash

How Top Leaders Give Influential Feedback and Inspire Greatness

Inspiration

Top leaders give influential feedback and inspire greatness. They interact with awareness and notice their team members in action. This form of communication creates an extrinsic motivation for team members. They will be motivated to perform and meet external goals because of the praise received.

When a team member is achieving success and performing at a high level, acknowledge them ASAP. Be specific and tell them:

Job well done! Keep moving forward!

Deposit & Withdraw Leadership System

Leadership is like a bank. The objective is to create abundance for rainy days. To create peace of mind and clarity, we save our money. To create influential culture and buy-in, we must build relationships. People must know you care for them. By genuinely providing value to their lives, you create leadership capital. When issues arise, leaders can make withdraws. Dependent on how much leadership capital exists, people will be excited to take action or unwilling to move.

Leif Babin of Echelon Front first wrote about this concept. He breaks this down into greater detail for you. Leif’s explanation is on point and transfers exceptionally well to any setting. He elaborates on how leaders give influential feedback and inspire performance. Go to the link and read for yourself.

Words that Encourage Team Members to Perform at a High Level

Do not underestimate the power of encouragement. Remind individuals of specific tasks they are performing well. The more detailed the acknowledgment, the better. Say:

Hey, I see you are _________.  This is outstanding! Keep doing that!

The feedback needs to be timely. Do not self-sabotage and think the person will not receive the note well. Overcome the Inner Resistance that keeps you from sharing. Steven Pressfield talks about this in great detail in The War of Art. He speaks from the perspective of creation. The concept of Resistance holds true in passing along compliments.

When you deliver words of encouragement, it becomes contagious within the team. The team members begin to pay it forward subconsciously. We all want to walk into a workspace, locker room, or home that builds each other up. Leave little room for hassling others. The bickering & hounding undermines culture and progressively erodes it.

Hassling in the home and locker room creates uneasiness. There’s no sense of calm and always an undercurrent of negative energy. No one can be at peace and find rest in these environments. These places should be places of retreat from the difficulties of the world. They are safe havens that ready the mind, body, and soul for the forces that attack us on the playing field, at work, and in public.

Top Take Aways

  • Leadership is like a bank. The objective is to create abundance for rainy days.
  • Do not underestimate the power of encouragement.
  • Influential feedback needs to be timely.
  • When you deliver words of encouragement, it becomes contagious within the team.
  • Check out how great leaders create User-Friendly Collaboration Spaces and other leadership tips at Youniversalife.com

Those Mesmerizing Flames

Inspiration

Discovering True Passion

One of the most challenging tasks is discovering true passion. I ponder what my passion is. My small list includes my faith, being a loving husband, a present father, coaching football, teaching, and mentoring our youth. I find it difficult, however, to narrow this list into sub-passions. What goes into being great at these things? I can read all the perfect husband material I want, but if there’s no application, then it is for nothing. The same is said for being the great father my daughters need. You see, the study of practices is the easy part. The application is challenging and sometimes awesomely daunting.  

Create an Ember

Why do we not apply our ideas? Why do we not act? Some say to strike while the iron is hot, but it’s easier said than done. Passion should start here. With every fire, there needs to be a spark. Try starting a fire with a stick and see how that works out. It takes time, pressure, repetition, heat, air, persistence, the right conditions, and materials, among other things. The goal is to create that one ember that falls perfectly into a nest of dry grass. You must nurture the ember. Cover it like a baby and apply subtle breaths of air. Let it glow and become hot. It then catches and creates a tiny flame that quickly burns its small bed.

It is here where you must act quickly and apply your kindling. If unprepared, the ember will be wasted, and you must start over. Don’t waste your ember. Gather your firewood before you begin. The fire will then grow with the addition of timely fuel. Small at first, but it will gain strength and become a wild, magnificent fire. 

Maintaining the Fire

Maintaining the fire takes much attention. It will not remain on its own and requires a caretaker — the constant watchful eye, analyzing the placement and extinguishment of each log. The nurturer must continually add logs. With each new log comes energy. You can read it in the mesmerizing flames.

Passion is a reflection of fire. The physical and mental stress it requires to build the initial ember represents seeking and discovering one’s passion. It takes time, pressure, repetition, heat, air, persistence, certain conditions, and materials. There is a small window in which we must take action and pursue our determined passions. We must hunt and create a massive pile of kindling. Then be ready to add it to the flame.  

It looks like this:

  • Continual action
  • Studying our craft
  • Seeking out mentors and asking questions to those that have been there before us
  • Taking the hard, narrow road
  • Prayer
  • Exercise
    • developing or maintaining our physical strengths
  • Constant self-reflection
  • Having the ability to say “No”
  • See patterns & predict things you think will happen
  • Etc.

Smoke

Cultivate these tasks over time and reflect upon them. They need to be adjusted and stirred. With focus and care, the passion can become red hot. So hot that it can form and shape you and potentially others. How do you see your fire? What kind of energy is it putting off? Is it developing the world around us, or are you still working on your ember? Apply the stress and create friction. When you see smoke, celebrate, and keep moving forward.  

A painting of a fire, no matter how real it looks, can not keep you warm.

Someone

Take Aways

User-Friendly Collaboration Space

Informative, Inspiration

Create a user-friendly collaboration space for your team. I spent four years in Stockholm, Sweden, coaching football and immersing myself in Swedish culture. One of my most memorable takeaways was how each meeting space was deliberately planned and contributed to the energy. There was an emphasis on simplicity and creating warmth in the room. All dinners included candles strategically placed to contribute to the feel. Rooms were never cluttered. The term “hygge” was commonly referenced when asked how families decorate their homes and workspace. Hygge is a Scandinavian term that describes coziness, contentment, and well-being. Their culture cherishes the little things.

A Danish and Norwegian word, it also means finding joy in the simple things in life—enjoying a cup of tea in the afternoon, reading a book by a roaring fire, or spending time with close friends.

The Modern Dane

Creative spaces require room to breathe. Quality leaders consider how work environments are set up. As leaders, we should ruthlessly pursue simplicity and eliminate all unnecessary jargon. This includes spaces your people congregate. Create a level of comfort that offers a stress-free environment. Provide ergonomic chairs with tables that are easy to gather around. When meetings become necessary, this inviting space eases everyone’s anxiety.

7 Things to Consider When Creating Effective Work Spaces

  1. The Table & Chairs
  2. The Temperature
  3. The Smell
  4. The Lighting
  5. Refreshments
  6. Room Color & Wall Decor
  7. Balance
  8. Bonus: Usable Pens, Markers, Paper, Whiteboards, Post-It Notes

Welcoming Dining Areas/Coffee Bars

Depending on what arena you are leading in, refreshments increase morale. Nothing boosts the energy of a room like freshly brewed coffee. There’s something about walking into a space with a pleasing coffee aroma. Regardless if everyone is a coffee drinker, it sends a message of support and hospitality. Occasionally splurge for quality foods that the team can enjoy. This can be one day a week or twice a month.

Take the Space to Another Level

Fresh air propels creativity. An outdoor workspace with greenery and room to move takes meetings to another level. Allow your team to breathe and be active. Encourage them to take a walk or stretch before meetings. Model this behavior by spending time in this space. Invite individuals to meet outdoors rather than behind closed doors. Brew a cup of coffee over a backpacking stove to inspire creativity and share it.

Field Tools

    

How Leaders Use Events to Inspire Great Performance

Inspiration

People who gather build relationships. Influential leaders facilitate and place a premium on team members spending time together. Planning for social outings may be burdensome for some. If you’re like me, outsource this to someone who enjoys event planning. This may be an excellent opportunity to give internal control to someone looking to take on a leadership role. Set parameters around the event, but allow them to run with it. Leaders use events to inspire great performance.

Social Outing Parameters

Social Outing Parameters are essential. The objective is to develop a healthy culture within the team. Do not allow activities that could jeopardize this mission. Communicate clearly what the feel and energy should be at these events. Build in competition and moments that encourage social interaction. It requires creativity and forward thinking to hold a successful event.

Give freedom to establish social committees. Successful events require help and energy. Delegate a social leader and give them the freedom to recruit help. They should be given support and resources to plan and promote events successfully.

Encourage those with digital design, social media, and marketing skills to join the Social Events Committee. Establishing a message and effectively promoting events creates momentum toward building community.

Event Management Team

Take gatherings to another level by hiring an event management team. These professionals provide a detailed approach and meet your team’s needs. They can create memorable moments. According to Lexington Event Company, they offer extensive experience with meetings, conferences, fundraisers, association events, member events, socials, trade shows, festivals, sales meetings, sales kick-offs, experiential events, employee/appreciation events, showcases, and more.

Build Traditions

Social budget or not, great leaders reward high performance. Culture building is the foundation for all great teams. Energize it with frequent events. Check out how to Give Support & Resources to your team to establish and sustain incredible culture. Lasting traditions will come to life.

Create Professional Learning Communities

Informative, Inspiration

Professional Learning Communities are standard practice in education. We establish groups that are working towards a specific goal. In most cases, are curriculum based on the school level. Professional Learning Communities bring value to any arena:

  • Great leaders have an opportunity to establish Leadership PLC’s.
  • Emphasize learning to lead people.
  • Develop a needs assessment and pinpoint the essentials of the organization.
  • Create PLC’s that solve the issues at hand.

Professional Learning Communities grow and nurture collaboration and open lines of communication. This group of competent individuals can solve complex problems with the proper focus.

  • Embed diverse personalities and experts to maximize output.
  • With regular contributions, leaders will rise to the surface.
  • PLC meetings offer an excellent opportunity for situational leadership.

Professionals lead PLC’s. The people know the standard and attempt to exceed it regularly. There is no room for in-fighting. Members are hyper-aware that input and output potentially dictate their level of joy, discovery, and purpose in the world. Anything that undermines this ideal should not be tolerated.

Professional Learning Communities bring value to any arena.

Ben Colbert

The Strategic Placement of Personnel

The distribution of personnel matters and will reflect achievement. Great leaders strategically position high performers in central areas to positively impact the space. Their standard is felt and heard. Their neighbors should be supporting individuals and rookies. The high performers can lead the conversation and direct the daily mission. They set the energy of the room and influence the culture. Collaboration and open communication is naturally created with this method of personnel placement.

I’m reminded of the movie Office Space, where Milton is continually moved around the office. Milton had terrible output and did not move the needle. “Bill” Lumbergh, the boss, eventually moved Milton to the basement. Don’t be a Milton. Strive to bring energy and value to the team every day.

Great leaders strategically position high performers in central areas to positively impact the space.

Ben Colbert

Focus Points

Professional Learning Communities

  • Professional Learning Communities bring value to any arena.
  • Develop a needs assessment and pinpoint the essentials of the organization.
  • Professional Learning Communities grow and nurture collaboration and open lines of communication.
  • Embed diverse personalities and experts to maximize output.
  • Members are hyper-aware that input and output potentially dictate their level of joy, discovery, and purpose in the world.

Personnel Placement

  • Great leaders strategically position high performers in central areas to positively impact the space.
  • Collaboration and open communication is naturally created with this method of personnel placement.
  • Don’t be a Milton.

For additional Leadership Content, try these two previous articles: