Leadership Done Right

Brandon W. Jones

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The Right Attitude To Lead

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This is a guest post by Dennis Phoenix. He is a human resource specialist and writer. He writes on topics including business relationships, productivity, employee satisfaction, and corporate awards. He spends his weekends mountain biking and photographing nature. His twitter handle is @DennisPhoenix1.

attitudeHaving the right attitude is often the lynchpin to a successful outcome. As history has shown, leaders with a can-do attitude have often positively impacted those around them. If you have the responsibility of a leadership position in business, whether as an owner or manager, it is critical for you to develop a set of attitudes that will guide your dealings with those entrusted to you.

Fortunately, these attitudes have been around as long as man has. They reflect simple and effective principals that have stood the test of time. Perhaps they are best described by those that have been this way before. Listen to the following quotes of successful individuals and see if the principals they lived by could make you a more effective leader.

Help others to succeed

The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership. —Harvey Firestone

One of the primary roles of a leader is often misunderstood. In fact, many in leadership positions work in opposition against this principal. Instead of progressively working to build up the skill sets of those they manage, some leaders inadvertently hinder the development of their employees. Leaders should always look to hone the skills of those they supervise.

Money and time spent training their employees is never wasted. Not only will your employees become more effective in the workplace, they will also be willing and able to tackle any challenges thrown their way. [Read more…] about The Right Attitude To Lead

Becoming An HR Business Partner

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This is a guest post by Bert Somsinsawasdi.  He is an HR Professional that currently manages the HR department for a fortune 50 company.  He oversees six facilities with approximately 1,300 employees.  His website is Understanding HR and his Twitter Handle is @BertSomsin

As revenues decrease and margins get tighter, focus is shifted towards increased efficiency and effectiveness.   Many corporations are weary about making adjustments to revenue producing sectors of the business so the support functions have been targeted for change.  One particular department undergoing dramatic changes across multiple industries is the human resources department.

Becoming An HR Business Partner

When earnings were plentiful, Human Resources consisted of many different sub-divisions such as: employee relations, learning and development, workforce planning, health and wellness, safety, recruiting, and so on.  Fast-forward to today when everyone is struggling to meet analyst expectations on Wall Street and you get a bandwagon movement towards a package deal approach. The separate divisions within HR have been dismantled and bundled up into one generalist model.

Large corporations like Amazon, Conoco Phillips, Northrop Grumman and Volvo, to name a few, have transformed to meet shareholder expectations by developing the position of HR business partner.  This revolution is demanding HR professionals with a wider skill set and deeper understanding of the overall business.  As the title implies, a business partner is involved in the execution of all initiatives. Gone are the days when technical knowledge was enough to move you forward in your career.  In the present and future, corporate America wants more! [Read more…] about Becoming An HR Business Partner

Do You Take The Initiative?

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Have you ever been with a group of people where no one would make the first move or take the initiative?  Were people in the group shy and didn’t want to stand out?  Did they feel intimidated?  Or, was there something else that caused them to not take the initiative?  I have seen something very interesting happen in these group settings.  After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, one person inevitably takes the initiative to act.  He/she takes the initiative and get up to start working.  From there, many others begin to act and follow suit.  The true leader is the first person to take the initiative.

Do You Take The Initiative?

So what does it mean to take the initiative?

On the website Then Life Happens, Darren Sproat explained initiative as, “In its simplest form, taking initiative is doing without being asked to do.”  Taking the initiative means making the first move, being willing to do what others don’t want to do, or stepping up to make an introductory act or step leading to action.  If you take the initiative, you are willing to be uncomfortable if it means the result is better than what you have to sacrifice or the discomfort you must go through when taking action.  Leaders constantly take the initiative to get things done.  They step up to make things happen. [Read more…] about Do You Take The Initiative?

Wait A minute, I’m Thinking!

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Guest post by Rt. Rev. Daniel T. Partiss. Rt. Rev. Daniel T. Partiss was ordained as a Minster and Missionary Evangelist in 1985 by The Right Reverend William H Jackson of the Church of Universal Brotherhood in Bristol, CT. Dan is pastor of the Spiritualist Church of love and Light. For over 25 years Rev. Dan has been a teacher of several topics in Prosperity. At this time Dan is teaching 2 courses a year. Due to the fact that he asks no salary from the church Dan finds other ways to gain the prosperity. In 1997 Dan graduated from Central Connecticut State University. He then worked with corporations and the City of New Rochelle, New York as a Consultant. Dan has been the CIO for 2 businesses, the Owner of an LLC and 2 other businesses, one he is currently developing. His Twitter ID is @revdanpartiss

Two Thinking Processes Essential to Successful Leaders

Critical vs. Strategic Thinking

Wait A Minute, I'm Thinking!

Critical Thinking is a problem solving process used for issues that seem insurmountable at first glance. By taking facts and events, analyzing them using reason and evidence, and not your personal opinions or feelings. Critical thinking is an important leadership skill because it helps you come to a reasonable solution to a problem. Without critical thinking there would be no problem solving ability and without problem solving nothing would get done.

Strategic Thinking, however, is based on process analysis. It is used to assess a company program or corporate direction and see if it is maintaining its goals. If the company program or corporate direction is not maintaining goals, strategic thinking allows the leader to ask the correct questions to get back to those goals or if the goals need to be rethought. Strategic thinking is important to leaders because it is a skill based on process analysis. It is the ability to access a program and see how well it is maintaining its goals. If it s not maintaining it goals, it allows a person to ask the correct questions to get back to those goals.

Talk To Someone…

Critical Thinking works best using diverse groups when solving a problem (also called Masterminding). Getting several persons’ perspective can help you conceive of more creative answers. While In Strategic Thinking you try to get feedback from within your industry and not just from your internal sources. Things like market research and surveys can help Strategic Thinking match the vision for your company to all expectations. [Read more…] about Wait A minute, I’m Thinking!

Set Habits For Success

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Most leaders desire success.  Success comes from a process.  That process is the sum of your habits.  Therefore, set habits for success.  Habits for success will change your way of living.  You can introduce habits for success into every aspect of life.  Michael Hyatt said in his post 7 Ways Successful Creatives Think Differently than Unsuccessful Ones, “Develop a winning mindset and cultivate the habits of successful thinking. This is what separates the best creatives from all others.”

Set Habits For Success

Over the past several years, many habits for success were built into my life by circumstance.  Recently, however, I intentionally created habits for success.  I started getting up at 5:15 AM everyday to study in the morning.  I started reading books other than textbooks regularly to activate my mind.  In addition, I started going to bed by 10:30 PM every night.  Each of these habits for success has improved my mental clarity and increased my knowledge. [Read more…] about Set Habits For Success

Four Steps To Get People To Work Hard

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At some point or another, every leader has probably had the challenge of getting people to work hard.  This can be very challenging because each person has their own agenda.  As leaders, the goal is to get everyone to work hard as a team.  The following four steps can be used to get everyone to work hard and be on the same page before a project begins.

Four Steps To Get People To Work Hard

Keep Calm And Work Hard

Build Trust

It is very difficult to get anyone to do anything for you if they don’t trust you.  Before you can get anyone to work hard, you must build trust with them.  One of the quickest ways to build trust is to help them know that you sincerely care about them and their success.  You must show and have a genuine desire to help them succeed.  If you don’t have this desire on your own, know that if they succeed, it will make you look good as the leader.  Work hard to overcome your pride and selfish desires to develop trust with those you lead.  If you don’t overcome pride, it will lead to problems accomplishing the established goals.

[Read more…] about Four Steps To Get People To Work Hard