Watch For Cracks

We all know it’s the little things that matter. It’s the little things that tell us whether or not we’re living and leading with integrity.

Far too often, it is easy to miss the signs of faulty integrity. Why? Because the small things we do will tell us whether or not we have integrity.

We all want to live with integrity. Not all of us do.

So, what do we need to do to ensure we’re living lives of integrity?

Watch For Cracks

We have to watch for cracks…

Think about the foundation of a house. A house with a solid foundation will have a smooth foundation. The cement that was laid will be void of any cracks.

Our lives should be the same. We need to build a solid foundation of integrity.

Your Most Valuable Leadership Tool

If I were to ask you to think of the most valuable tool you have as a leader, what would you say? I think many leaders would say their most valuable tool is their team or their knowledge in leading their team.

I think there’s something more important than either of those… Or, quite frankly, any other leadership tool at your disposal. It’s a tool you probably don’t think about but you should.

Grey-scale hand tools on a wooden table

Your most valuable leadership tool is your character.

Why Character Matters In Leadership

Bob Burg became well known for his famous quote (from the book Endless Referrals): All things being equal, people do business with and refer business to people they know, like, and trust.

Think about the quote for a minute. People will do business with people they

  • Number One: Know
  • Number Two: Like
  • Number Three: Trust

19 Leadership Traits To Focus On In 2019

You’re never done developing your leadership skills. The traits that make for a great leader can always be honed and improved. You only have to focus on what will make you better.

But do you know where you need to focus? Most people do not and they struggle to improve their leadership capacity beyond their current point.

Man contemplating how to grow

Photo by Galan Regatama

You know better. You know you need to continue to improve. And you work towards improving.

At the beginning of 2019, I wanted to share 19 leadership traits leaders should focus on to make this their best year ever. These traits will help you become the leader people want to follow.

19 Leadership Traits To Focus On In 2019

1.  Effective Communication:

Want to lead better? Learn how to communicate better. Leaders who can clearly communicate to their teams often have more success.

Truth Matters

There’s a sad trend happening in the world today. Truth is becoming relative rather than absolute. What is true for one person is not true for another… Or so people are saying.

Don't let anyone blind you to the fact truth matters

Image by Oscar Keys

But because someone says truth is relative, does it make it so? No, and you know this.

Why Truth Is Truth

Look at the grass outside of your office window. What color is it? There’s typically only two answers to this question:

The grass is green.

The grass is brown.

One is a sign of healthy grass. The other is a sign of dead grass. Yet there’s typically only two colors of grass.

Now, if you looked out your window and saw a lawn full of green grass and someone told you the grass was pink, what would you do? You’d probably laugh. I know I would.

What Your Team Needs (Motivation!)

Motivating Your Team

I asked in my annual reader survey what some of the biggest challenges leaders were facing. I’ve already covered some of those: Relationships, health, etc… This month, I’m going to cover another topic that was hot on the mind of readers: Motivating your team.

Having and creating a motivated team is something a lot of leaders think about. A motivated team is something leaders desire. They know their organization can be more effective if everyone was excited and ready to work.

Your team needs motivation. You can give it to them.

Photo By Cortney White

The truth is, most employees are disengaged. According to a 2014 Gallop study, only 31.5% of employees are actively engaged at work. This means there’s a whopping 68.5% of employees who are either not engaged or actively disengaged with their work.

Those are scary numbers for leaders. Over two-thirds of your workforce may be disengaged from the work you’ve hired them to do.