Leadership Done Right

Brandon W. Jones

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Leadership Qualities

Have A Growth Plan In Place

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I took a flight from Reno, NV to Poenix, AZ in 2009 where I had the opportunity to sit next to a very smart guy.  I don’t remember his name, so I will just call him Brett.  Brett had a background in economics and was in the economics doctorate program at the University of Nevada – Reno.  As we talked, he brought up a very interesting question.  He said, “So every new business owner is always concerned about what they should do to avoid failure.  They are so concerned that their product remains relevant that they never ask themselves, ‘What will we do if everything goes really well?  How will we keep up with the demand if it is very high? What is my growth plan?'”  From there, we began talking about a variety of things that leaders can do to prepare a growth plan, so that they don’t fail due to the inability to grow.  Overall, the factors we discussed all dealt with having a growth plan in place.Have a Growth Plan in Place

Why have a growth plan

When you start your company, your growth plan will be a guide that you can follow as you expand.  It will explain how you will grow and what you will do as you grow. In your plan, you can identify geographical areas where you plan to expand, new markets you plan to enter, how you plan to expand your capital, plant, and human resources, and what market strategies you plan to use.  Within each industry there are low cost providers, high quality providers, and everything in between.  As you create this plan, write as much detail as you can so you have a clear image of what you plan to do.  [Read more…] about Have A Growth Plan In Place

Set Clear Expectations As A Leader

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A little while back, I spoke to my friend Jason. Jason was a mid-level manager at the company where he worked, but he was still responsible for creating the vision and setting clear expectations. In his position, he was a leader in every sense of the word and faced all the regular leadership challenges.

The result of clear expectations

One particular challenge that Jason faced came from the inability of others to set clear expectations. As a mid-level manager, Jason reported to leaders within his organization. They regularly gave him big projects to work on that helped move the company towards some of the overall corporate goals. At the time I spoke to him, he had received a number of projects from his superiors. His frustration at the time was that they had not given him clear clear expectations.

The importance of clear expectations

As Jason began working on the projects, he asked for additional clarification on what he should do. They clarified to the point where Jason felt he had clear expectations, so he began working towards the completion of the projects. In many cases, Jason’s vision for the projects was greater than the vision of his superiors.  He worked very hard on each project to get the projects done. Once he was done, he presented his work to his superiors for approval. They would inevitably say he had done a great job, but he needed to add some things here or change some things there. Many of the changes were extensive and required a lot of work. [Read more…] about Set Clear Expectations As A Leader

How To Learn From Experience

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In many ways everyday leadership is just a big experiment.  Leaders do everything they can to do what they have to do in the “right” or most efficient way possible.  Sometimes they will be very successful and everything will go right, while other times everything will seem to go wrong.  No matter the outcome, you can always learn from experience.  You can also learn from experience of others.

Learn from experience

What to do to learn from experience

If you are anything like me, the more you learn, the more you realize how little you really know.  You probably also do all you can to learn from experience so you don’t repeat your past mistakes and you can mimic your past successes.  There is a lot you can do to learn from experience whether it is your own or from someone else.  If you want to learn from experience, however, it is very important to have an open mind.  To learn from  experience, I suggest four actions you can take.

1.  Reflect On Each Experience

After you go through an experience, reflect on what happened.  What was the expected outcome and what was the actual outcome?  As you reflect, identify what choices and actions led to successful and unsuccessful results.  From there, determine what principles were followed and how those principles can be used/adapted to solve future problems. [Read more…] about How To Learn From Experience

Change Creates Opportunity

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In leadership, change is a very common word.  Some people say that change creates opportunity while others say change is scary and negative.  In the fast paced, ever changing business world, one of the few constants is change.  Change is all around us.  From new leaders and job transfers to new policies and procedures, change is always occurring in one form or another.

Change Creates Opportunity

Change Creates Opportunity

In my life, I’ve found that change creates opportunity.  Some of the most difficult changes I have ever experienced also helped me to grow by leaps and bounds.  Several years ago, I was working for one boss that transferred to another department.  At that time I got a new leader.  I got along great with my first boss and we had a great working relationship.  I really enjoyed working for him and felt very sad when I got the new leader.  When I got the my new boss, I did everything I could to make it a smooth transition.  It was, however, quite a challenge to create a great working relationship. [Read more…] about Change Creates Opportunity

Understand Personality Type Indicator Tests

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Have you ever heard of personality type indicator tests?  Several years ago, I worked for a company that took a unique approach to training their employees.  They had an extensive human relations training program for all company management.  After working for the company for a few months, I attended a series of classes to learn and understand personality type indicator tests.  I attended two classes that were dedicated to the “True Colors” and Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality type indicator tests.

Are personality type indicator tests useful?

What is a personality type indicator test?

A personality type indicator test is a questionnaire or other standardized instrument designed to reveal aspects of an individual’s character or psychological makeup. The first personality type indicator tests were developed in the early 20th century and were intended to ease the process of personnel selection, particularly in the armed forces. Since the early efforts of these tests, a wide variety of personality type indicator tests have been developed, notably the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the MMPI, and a number of tests based on the Five Factor Model of personality. Today, personality type indicator tests are used in a range of contexts, including individual and relationship counseling, career planning, and employee selection and development. (Wikipedia.org)

The purpose of personality type indicator tests is to explain the thought and action process of people with different backgrounds or genetic makeups.  The tests usually categorize people.  Some of the categories include: introvert vs extravert, leader vs follower, peacemaker vs aggressor, etc.  These tests are designed to help leaders know how to work successfully with people of all different backgrounds. [Read more…] about Understand Personality Type Indicator Tests

Nature Vs Nurture And Leadership

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When it comes to nature vs nurture, there are some leaders that are successful no matter where they go because of who they are and there are some leaders that will thrive is some environments but not in others.  This is very apparent in sports.  Coaches that fall into this category can go to a new team that is not doing well and completely turn it around.  They can also take a team that is successful and help them win a championship. These coaches are highly sought after because they have come up with a system that leads to success.  There are also coaches that haven’t figured out a successful system, so no matter where they go they fail even if they are in a great environment.

Nature Vs Nurture

The implication is that, as a leader, you must do all you can to figure out a successful system for your team or organization.  From there you can use it to be successful.  It may be challenging, but once you figure it out, you will be a hot commodity.

Nature vs Nurture

Have you heard of the debate between nature vs nurture?  Some people believe that you are born great while others think greatness is an acquired quality.  Do people learn their traits and qualities or are they born with them?  Are you born into life to be what you will be or do you have a choice in determining where you end up?  Do you have control over your own destiny?  There is an age old debate between nature vs nurture. [Read more…] about Nature Vs Nurture And Leadership