All Things Leadership

Three Rules From Bringing Out the Best in People

By Brandon W. Jones on February 8, 2011 0

The book Bringing Out the Best in People is a very powerful book for leaders in the business world today. It explains twelve different techniques one can use to develop himself/herself into a great leader. Of the twelve rules, the three that stood out the most were the following: Rule #1 – Expect the best from the people you lead; Rule #3 – Establish high standards of excellence; Rule #7, Recognize and applaud achievements.

Rule #1: Expect The Best From The People You Lead

This rule is especially important in developing a strong company or working environment. When a leader expects the best from his/her subordinates, they begin to expect the best from themselves. As the book states, leaders should not manipulate their employees to obligate them to do their best. Leaders should recognize employee’s abilities and needs and help motivate them.

When I wrestled in high school, my coach always expected the very best of my teammates and me. This motivated me to exercise and push myself to the limit of my physical capacity in order to do my best. Expecting the best from people establishes high standards of excellence, and when done properly, develops a great bond of trust between the leader and subordinate. [Read more…] about Three Rules From Bringing Out the Best in People

How To Get Your Employees To Be On Time

By Brandon W. Jones on January 30, 2011 4

Have you ever arrived on time to a meeting and had to wait to start the meeting until several of your employees showed up late? Or as you start a meeting, have you seen your employees or others casually stroll in late? Either of these behaviors can be very disruptive and even disrespectful. It is very important to be on time because when you show up late, it says that either you don’t respect your time, or come from a background where punctuality is not respected.

Teach Punctuality

So how do you teach punctuality? I had an experience several years ago that taught me a valuable lesson on the importance of punctuality. I was a leader of a group of about six people at the time. Within the group, I constantly struggled to figure out how to get people to be on time.

An Example

I came into the environment where several of the people would show up late to the meetings without notifying me. When I say late, it wasn’t just five minutes, they would show up anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes late. Since they were in the habit of showing up late, they would expect me to wait around to start the meeting until they showed up.

The Problem

This was a major problem since a few others and I would always show up at the scheduled time for the meeting. As this behavior progressed, I felt the need to discuss punctuality on a regular basis. For several meetings in a row, I explained the importance of being on time. I regularly started the meetings at the scheduled time even if not everyone was there. [Read more…] about How To Get Your Employees To Be On Time

The Glue That Binds Strong Teams

By Brandon W. Jones on January 16, 2011 0

One of the best leaders I had while growing up was my youth-group leader. He was a very kind and loving person and taught me about the glue that binds strong teams. His position as a leader was not for pay or any other form of monetary gain. It was a non-profit volunteer position. One of his greatest qualities was his ability to build strong teams and relationships with those he led.

Strong Teams and Relationships

The way he built strong teams and relationships was that he cared for my peers and me as if we were his own children. He spent time talking to my peers and me about whatever we wanted to talk about. He never had his own agenda and never tried to force us to do anything.

On weeknights when we had activities, he would just be “one of the guys” in the sense that as our leader he would never judge us. He would just be our friend. Another aspect from being “one of the guys” and our loving leader, was that he was always very concerned about our well-being.

If one of the guys in the group had a rough day or week, he would see their distress and take all the guys out for ice cream. While getting ice cream, he would take a moment to ask how things were going. He would show the distressed individual an added measure of love and understanding. [Read more…] about The Glue That Binds Strong Teams

The Least Appreciated Key To Success

By Brandon W. Jones on January 15, 2011 0

Ever since I was young, I have asked many people, “What is the key to success?” Some of the responses have been hard work, ethics, integrity, persistence, etc. When I was in college, I realized another key to success that seemed to be hidden in the many responses I received. That key was feedback.

Feedback

How do you know you are doing a good job? Feedback. How do you know when you are doing a bad job? Feedback. How do you know if you are in danger? Feedback. You get the picture. Feedback is the key to growth in life. Although feedback can be hard to receive at times, it is essential to bettering ourselves and improving as leaders. [Read more…] about The Least Appreciated Key To Success

Poor Leadership, Part 2 of 2

By Brandon W. Jones on January 11, 2011 0

I asked a few questions at the close of Poor Leadership, Part 1 of 2, so in this post I will answer the questions and tell you how I would respond.

As a leader, how would you have handled this situation?

I always try to be very upfront and honest in all that I do. With that being said, the approach I would take would be very different than that of John. When I have people come to me for help, whether it is an employee, coworker, or customer, the first question I ask is, “What is your timeline for this request?” From there, I work with them so we are on the same timeline.

Although this request is somewhat different than a standard request, I would take a very similar approach. I would set out a specific timeline with the employee detailing how and when I would get the information on the requirements for the promotion and then help them obtain the promotion. I would then schedule out blocks of time to work on obtaining information on the qualifications for the promotion.

If the promotion information was easy to obtain, I would then try to figure out what paperwork needed to be completed for the promotion. I would be sure to regularly update the employee on the progress I was making on the timeline. That would be especially important if there were roadblocks in meeting the specific deadlines.

Poor Leadership, Part 1 of 2

By Brandon W. Jones on January 9, 2011 5

I recently talked to my brother-in-law, Dan, and he relayed a very interesting story to me relating to poor leadership. Sometime ago he worked for a very well-known company. While working there, he had an experience that really stunted his career progress for quite some time.

The Start of Poor Leadership

The story started when he got a new supervisor. The new supervisor had been with the company about the same amount of time as Dan. Dan and the new supervisor both interviewed for the supervisor position, but the new supervisor, John, received the position instead of Dan. Prior to the supervisor transition, Dan was ready for a promotion with his previous supervisor. Dan was very concerned that with the transition, he would not receive the promotion very quickly.

In order to help John transition into his new position, Dan offered his help in any way possible. Dan also did all he could to show his leadership abilities by taking on several new responsibilities that were above and beyond his current job description. [Read more…] about Poor Leadership, Part 1 of 2