Leadership Qualities

5 Steps to Be Prepared For Your Moment

By Brandon W. Jones on October 7, 2014 0

When you have a desire to be a leader, it is important to be prepared for your moment to come. Every great leader had to go through many experiences before they were the great leader.

How to Be Prepared

In order to be prepared for your moment to come, you must take the right preparatory steps. You can’t just show up and expect to be ready without going through the necessary preparation. The following five steps indicate things you can do to be prepared for your moment.

1. Identify your Strengths and Weaknesses

Before you know how to improve, you must know where you need improvement. You can know where to improve by identifying your strengths and weaknesses. There are several books and even tests that specifically address how to find your strengths. Some of the top rated strength finder books are: [Read more…] about 5 Steps to Be Prepared For Your Moment

4 Keys To Communicate Effectively

By Brandon W. Jones on September 25, 2014 2

Over the years, I’ve had some leaders that communicated effectively and others that communicated very poorly. The effective communicators were very easy to work with because they kept an open communication. The ineffective communicators, however, were very difficult to work with because they had unclear expectations, did not effectively share their thoughts, and constantly had breakdowns in communication.

So what does it take to be an effective communicator? What are some strategies you can use to effectively communicate with those you lead? You can do the four actions outlined below to effectively communicate with others.

1. Lead By Example

As a leader, you set the example for others to follow. This is very important when it comes to communication. You can set the example of good communication by regularly talking to those you lead.

Talk to them about work related topics in an open and transparent way so they know you are being honest with them. Also, do your best to listen when you communicate with others. To confirm that you are listening, repeat back what they are telling you in your own words and with empathy. For example, you can say, “If I am hearing you right, you are experiencing difficulties with… I can totally understand where you are coming from.” [Read more…] about 4 Keys To Communicate Effectively

Steps To Create An Effective Plan

By Brandon W. Jones on September 22, 2014 0

When you want to have success, it is very important to have a plan. The plan provides a guide so you take the right steps. Additionally, it is important that you have a thought out plan, not just something thrown together. I outlined below seven steps you can take to create and implement an effective plan.

1. Set the goal or desired outcome. (The Why)

If you don’t have a goal or desired outcome, there is no point in having a plan. If, however, you have a goal or desired outcome a plan is essential. Identify what the goal or desired outcome is so that you have the end in mind. From there, you can start on step 2.

2. Identify the steps required to reach the outcome. (The What)

How do you climb a mountain? One step at a time. When you create your plan, identify the big steps that lead to the desired outcome. Then break the big steps into smaller steps. The goal is to understand what you need to do from a 30,000 foot level (the big steps) and then get into the details (the smaller steps). [Read more…] about Steps To Create An Effective Plan

Slow Down and Lose or Speed Up and Win, You Choose

By Brandon W. Jones on March 25, 2014 1

Change is happening at a faster pace now than it ever has in the past. There are new technological advances everyday. There are also new studies everyday that teach us how to be more productive and do things more effectively. With all the advances, people have the choice to either slow down and lose or speed up and win.

Why do people slow down?

With the ever-increasing pace of change, some people fail to keep up. So what do they do? They just slow down. They decide that since they can’t keep up, they might as well slow down. Does this approach make sense?

When people slow down for change, there are many negative side effects. Three of those side effects are:

1. Slow Down = Get Further Behind

Rather than pick up the speed to keep up with change, people slow down so they can take everything in to handle it. As a result, they get more behind, and change becomes more difficult to manage. Additionally, they feel more frustration and anger. [Read more…] about Slow Down and Lose or Speed Up and Win, You Choose

Work the Same as Always, Only Harder Didn’t Work for Me

By Brandon W. Jones on March 19, 2014 0

When change happens, many people take the approach that rather than adapt to the new way of doing things, they will just work the same as always, only harder. This approach may work for a short time, but it is not a feasible long-term solution to adjusting to change. If you continue to work the same as always, only harder rather than adapt to change, you will only cause burnout, pain, frustration, and/or anger for yourself and those around you.

Work the same as always, only harder didn’t work for me

Some time back, I went through a change where I got a new boss. My new boss and I didn’t always see eye to eye on things. He wanted to change the way everything was done before he understood why it was done that way. I, on the other hand, tried to do everything I knew how to do, but at a faster pace than I had done it in the past. I worked the same as always, only harder.

It didn’t take long for me to be very worn out. This approach didn’t help me to see more eye to eye with my new boss and it didn’t lead to my success. It just made me frustrated, annoyed, and angry at times because things didn’t go my way. [Read more…] about Work the Same as Always, Only Harder Didn’t Work for Me

A Stable and Certain Environment When Going Through Change?

By Brandon W. Jones on March 17, 2014 0

Have you ever gone through an experience where change was happening around you and there was nothing you could do about it? Change may have happened so quickly that you couldn’t maintain a stable and certain environment from day to day. Experiences like these can be very difficult and try our patience until we learn to handle them with ease.

People’s Expectation

There are people that deal with change in stride and there are those that fight change as much as they can. There is a wide range of people that fall somewhere in between. When speaking of people and their expectations, I am referring to those who fight change on one level or another just for the sake of fighting it.

People like stability, consistency, and dependability in life. As a result, they expect a stable and certain environment in most if not all aspects of life. When change happens, they think the role of the leader is to maintain a perfectly stable and certain environment. When that doesn’t happen, they get upset, frustrated, and even angry at leadership. [Read more…] about A Stable and Certain Environment When Going Through Change?