Leadership Qualities

How To Use Leadership Resources Effectively

By Brandon W. Jones on October 18, 2014 0

From my experience, one leadership challenge many face is learning and understanding their own limitations. As a first-time leader, you may have the desire to make big changes and do everything you feel a leader should do. Shortly after you start trying to make every change you envision, you will realize that you can’t do everything all at once. It is because you don’t know how to use your leadership resources effectively.

Leadership Resources

There are many leadership resources available to each leader. Their leadership resources, however, are in the form of human, natural, or capital resources. To use those resources effectively, you must do the following two things.

Prioritization

Because you can’t do everything right now, you must understand what needs to be done now and what can be done later. You must prioritize effectively. One thing that really helps me to prioritize is writing a to-do list. The list shows “what” I need to. From there I use the quadrant system taught by Stephen R. Covey in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to create my priority list. I separate out what is important and what is not, versus what is urgent and what is not. [Read more…] about How To Use Leadership Resources Effectively

Micromanagement vs Attention to Detail

By Brandon W. Jones on October 16, 2014 1

You can pay attention to detail or you can be a micromanager. Micromanagement is the sign of a poor leader while attention to detail is the sign of a strong leader. The list below shows some of the differences between a micromanager and a leader that has a strong attention to detail.

Micromanagement:

Failing to supervise those you lead
Doing tasks yourself that you should delegate to others
Losing sight of the big picture
Not trusting others to do what they are fully capable of doing
Constantly meddling in tasks that you have, correctly and justifiably, already delegated

When you are a micromanager, you find difficulty giving others control because you have a strong mindset that whatever you give to others will be done substandard. You feel that your work is superior to the work of anyone else. That mindset permeates your work and bleeds into other aspects of your life. As a result, you alienate yourself from others because you always have to be right and you always have the best idea. [Read more…] about Micromanagement vs Attention to Detail

Leadership Development – Your #1 Responsibility

By Brandon W. Jones on October 15, 2014 0

When I was in my early 20’s, I had a leader that recognized potential in me. He felt like I could be a great leader someday so over the next two years, he held leadership development sessions with me on a regular basis. During those sessions he helped me recognize my strengths and how to leverage them. He also helped me overcome some of my weaknesses. He taught me many great leadership lessons. Those leadership development sessions helped me understand what I could become.

That leader was a great leader. His leadership development sessions helped me to be the person I am today. Those lessons have stuck with me through the years.

As a leader, you have the ability to provide leadership development sessions for those you lead. You can use this as an opportunity to help them grow to become great leaders. When they become great leaders, everyone benefits.

So what should you do during the leadership development sessions? The following four points explain topics you can address during these sessions.

Leadership Development

1. Provide Training

When leadership development is your number one goal, focus on helping those you lead to understand what it means to be a great leader and how they can become a great leader. Train them on the do’s and don’ts of great leadership. Also, help them understand how they can be a leader within their current roles and responsibilities. [Read more…] about Leadership Development – Your #1 Responsibility

Leading Through Engagement

By Brandon W. Jones on October 14, 2014 0

How engaged are you with those you lead? When you are the leader, engagement with those you lead is very important because it shows people you care about them, their success, and their future growth. You show that through engagement.

The How-To Of Engagement

So what exactly is engagement and what does it mean to be engaged with those you lead? The following four points explain what engagement means to me.

1. Listen to those you lead.

Bryant H. McGill said, “One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.” When you listen to those you lead it helps them feel like you value them and their work is appreciated. They will also feel like their concerns are heard and that you care for them. [Read more…] about Leading Through Engagement

Relevant Goals: Are Yours Up To Date?

By Brandon W. Jones on October 13, 2014 0

If you are anything like me, you are a goal setter. You write down an extensive set of goals at the beginning of each year and have all the expectations of getting each goal accomplished. Then midway through the year your priorities have shifted and your goals are irrelevant. You may ask yourself, “Do I even remember my goals from the beginning of the year?”

If that is the case, then this is a great post for you. For goals to be important, they must be up-to-date and relevant. So how do you make sure they are relevant goals? The following five steps will help you to keep your goals on track.

1. Write Out Your Goals

One of my favorite quotes about goals is by Steve Maraboli. He said, ““If you have a goal, write it down. If you do not write it down, you do not have a goal – you have a wish.” When you set goals, it is important to write them down. Writing them down does two things for you. First, the act of writing or typing them out helps to cement them in your own mind. Second, when you write down your goals, they are recorded for you on paper so you can refer back to them in the future. [Read more…] about Relevant Goals: Are Yours Up To Date?

Whether You Like It Or Not, You Earned It

By Brandon W. Jones on October 11, 2014 4

Have you ever received a great compliment or award and thought to yourself, “Wow, they are finally realizing my worth and the value that I am providing. I can’t believe it took them this long to thank me!” Or have you ever received criticism and thought, “They don’t know what they are talking about. I don’t deserve that kind of criticism.” I am a firm believer that through the good and bad, they are right because you earned it.

You Earned It!

I had a great teacher, Dr. Bret Simmons, for one of my MBA classes at University of Nevada-Reno. He helped me to realize the importance and value of good and bad criticism. Many people feel they earn all of their praise, but don’t deserve any of their criticism. In a system where behaviors are rewarded, you earn both the good and the bad criticism. [Read more…] about Whether You Like It Or Not, You Earned It