ENTREPRENEURIAL

LEADERSHIP MEANS…

Being passionate about your ideas and making them work with the help of others. This means, of course, being emotionally committed to what you’re doing 24/7. By doing that, odds are you’ll never have to solicit and recruit others to your crusade. They will see a place for themselves and gravitate there on their own.

When that happens, others’ commitments will be more solid and grounded than if you had gone out hunting for them and then had to talk them into joining forces. It’s a fact: When people make their own decisions about what they want to do, they are happier and more dedicated to achieving results!

Often acting first and planning second. This does NOT mean rashly jumping from the frying pan into the fire. It instead suggests that over-indulgence in evaluating, assessing, diagnosing, and long-term planning (I call it “analysis paralysis”) wastes time, money, energy, and opportunities.

Entrepreneurial leaders take action, make adjustments, act again, make adjustments, and act again. Except for formal loan and investor-required formal business plans, they limit their planning to the short term — hour, day, week, month. And even those plans are temporary and flexible. Watching the finish line causes stumbling and falls.

Always responding instead of reacting. A key ingredient in the success of this pursuit is stress management. Bottom line: If you always respond instead of react, you can never over-react. If you never over-react, you will be faithfully followed. Built snugly into this thinking is this important awareness:

HOW you respond to someone who

or something that is out of control

. . . IS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL.

And we know this because? Because every behavior — yours, your employees’, your customers and prospects — is a CHOICE. It’s just as easy to choose to make a situation easy as it is to choose to make it hard. It may require some conscious stress management effort but, in the end, leadership is measured by ability to gain results through control and responsiveness!

Learning as much as you can about yourself –your SELF– may be the single most important determinant of entrepreneurial leadership because it is the foundation, the cornerstone, of each of the above criteria, and of any others you might add to the list. Without knowing what makes you tick, you cannot pretend to understand others enough to be a true leader. TALK TO YOUR SELF. Oh, and remember to listen!

Hands-on specifics? Keep a journal. Date every entry every day. Separate facing pages into “What Happened” on the left and “How I felt” on the right. This discipline helps sharpen your skills to separate fact and observation from opinion and feelings. Write, draw, diagram, paste photos, spit, whatever floats your boat. It’s YOUR journal.

Attend group and individual “personal and professional growth and development”-type discussion and counseling sessions. Take advantage of local adult education programs that focus on self-expression — from giving speeches and stand-up presentations to writing or painting or photography or music or handicraft courses. DISCOVER YOUR SELF!

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WANT TO BE MORE OF A LEADER?

TALK AND WRITE LIKE A LEADER.

Over 30 years of writing and training business, industry,

healthcare, and academic leadership have taught me

some important words I now share with you . . .

People who regularly incorporate the use of the following kinds of words in their daily conversations and written messages stand tall among the most successful of worldclass leaders.

This magic pack of words is just for openers. You need to be willing to raise your own consciousness about whether the words you use every day are helping you perform to the best of your own leadership ability. This list can, in other words,  get you started. But only you can decide what works best for you and your personal leadership comfort zone.

The point is: Take a couple of minutes to review this list, think about it and assess yourself. If you can change some words you may presently be emphasizing that are not helping you perform, change them! It’s your choice.

Opportunity. Becoming. Challenge. Team. Can. Forward. Focus. Here and Now. Let’s. How? What will it take? Go! Do I understand you correctly to mean . . .? Us. We. Our. Fun. Enjoy! Together. For example. Passion. Try. Enthusiasm. Empathy. Customer. Diagram.  Innovation. Client. Partner. Listening. Self-esteem. Service. Needs. Desires. Learning. Facts. Exciting. God. Illuminating. Choice. Value. Timing.  Self-confidence. Trust. Authenticity. Genuineness. Objectives. Goals. Strategies. Tactics. Specific.  Flexible. Realistic. Ignite. Timeline. Activate. Boost. Stimulate. Care. Compassion. Spark. Consistency. Measure. Hustle. Effort. Reward. Share. Accurate. Recognition. Implement. Respond. Energy. Responsive. Responsible. Behavior. Spirit. Assist. Invigorate. Results. Invest. Humility. Grace. Please. Thank you. Respect.  Grow. Patient. Happiness. Family.

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When Followers Lead Leaders

You think only a weak leader would step aside when followers close rank and try to take over? Maybe you’ve seen too many wild-eyed-pirate-and-rats-desertion-of-sinking-ship themed movies. You may want to revisit your thinking because in a lot more than some cases, stepping aside is an indication of truly superior and truly successful leadership!

There are probably as many avenues to leadership roles as there are leaders, yet none of them reflects the inherent strength-of-leadership qualities of authenticity and transparency as –like raising world-class children— being able to move confidently out of the way when followers (or your kids) take up the flag and charge forward with it.

No one ever said that being a parent or playing a parental role in business and professional practice development would be easy. In fact, parenting of any kind may well be among the hardest of life challenges. On the heels of committing to the ongoing practice of nurturing and investing in self-responsibility, personal and career parenting is certainly job one.

Why would self-development come first? Because if you cannot be true to yourself, you cannot be true to others. If you don’t know and aren’t continually searching out what makes you tick, you can’t possibly be in a position or mindset to lead others. If you don’t value your self and appreciate your own strengths and weaknesses, how can you measure and guide others?

When followers lead leaders, it may be because the leaders have faltered or it may be because the leaders have thrived on showing the way, on lighting the path, on motivating others to see that light AND the path, and on stepping out and onto it.

Weak leaders work at keeping followers following.

Truly great leaders

inspire followers to become leaders.

Which are you? Which are you becoming? Where are you aiming? What’s your target? Your goal? Your objective? How will you get there? The more you help others to grow as leaders, the more you grow as a leader. And since all of this swirls around what you think and how you behave, it’s worth remembering that thoughts and behaviors are a choice.

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Yada, Yada, Yada,

 Blah, Blah, Blah…

Odds are that your best leadership response to other people’s yackity-yack is probably NOT:  yeah, yeah, yeah!

When someone who follows your lead is being busy saying nothing (hmmm, sound familiar?), try taking the person off to the side — or into a private setting — and explain that you want to share the value of some of what you’ve learned from successful sales leaders.

Start by noting that virtually EVERY exchange we have with others EVERY day –both on the job and off– constitutes an attempt to sell SOME thing.

Yes, “EVERY” and yes, “SOME.”

Think about it before jumping down my throat with some condemnation for using “ALL OR NOTHING” language. Before you throw exceptions at me, take a minute to dissect them. Odds are you’ll discover that at least one individual in every interaction has a mission to sell her or his self, or ideas, or products or services, or brands, or affections, or . . .

Here’s what the world’s most successful salespeople know and practice: LISTEN 80% of the time and TALK 20% of the time. Maybe not easy, but it IS simple. And it works! This behavior breeds success in all walks of life with all kinds of circumstances where we seek to make a sale or an impression or gain trust or show understanding.

By disciplining ourselves to listen more carefully to those we are charged with the responsibility to lead, and by being more selective and economical with what we have to say to others, we are also becoming more productive with time and energy spent.

When we can save time and energy by communicating more accurately and productively, we are getting a better handle on what others want and need and suggest, and we are saving on wasted time and energy costs and lost opportunities.

But don’t stop there!

Talking less and listening more does NOT mean talking less and HEARING more. Active listening is an acquired skill that involves open body language (no arms, legs, ankles, wrists, hands, fingers crossed and no peering over the top of your glasses), paraphrasing and asking for examples and diagrams, and nonverbal (e.g., head nodding) as well as verbal acknowledgements.

It means paying attention, staying focused, not allowing distractions. Easy stuff? No. Hardly ever is it easy. Active-listening communication is more work and it takes longer. Ah, but you simply can’t compare the success-level results you’ll get with the productivity (or lack of) that accompanies the typical 80% talking communications that surround our daily lives.

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Your PEOPLE are your

  most important asset.

Do you think your organization’s product or service inventories are the most valuable assets to protect and nurture? You may want to re-visit where you and your organization/business/professional practice/group/ department/team would be without those who comprise the entity that makes you a leader:  your followers, your people.

Failure to recognize this truism is at your own peril.

Often those who work for and with us can –by virtue of the choices they make– unwittingly draw us into the flames they ignite. And leaders often end up compounding issues that arise by adding more bad choices –like throwing gasoline onto the fire. Victims of circumstance? Rarely.

Victims of failure to nurture and challenge and publically reward and frequently appreciate and reassure is more like it. Laziness and slacking off is more like it. So too is getting too big for one’s leadership britches!

Leadership is a fulltime function and minimizing bad choices is job one.

When leaders fully appreciate and frequently celebrate the performances of those who follow, they are ensuring renewal and continuance of loyalty and perseverance. This is the stuff that has built empires and won wars. The world’s most successful leaders know that the single most important craving that human beings have is for recognition, reassurance, and trust.

Seeking recognition, reassurance and trust is the conscious or unconscious pursuit of practically all human beings in virtually every circumstance of life, and –in addition to employees, associates, staffs, and teammates– this includes the vast majority of all physician and healthcare service patients — even those who go to emergency rooms!

It is our nature as people to look for ongoing approval, reassurance, and trust — a sense that we are performing okay, that we are okay, and that we will be okay.

This does not translate to everyone being neurotic or for leaders having to be shrinks, or having to pat everyone on the head and love every follower. Great leadership is not always transparent!

It translates to the need for leaders to appreciate basic human instincts and directly address them with actions and words by communicating directly, with authenticity and genuineness — instead of ignoring, patronizing or pandering, and beating around the bush. Remember poison ivy often grows around bushes!

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 SUCCESS IS THE JOURNEY

. . . NOT THE DESTINATION. 

 It’s entrepreneurial leadership, not the goal!

Losers lack it. Winners exude it. Ask the successful people you know. They will tell you that the most sensible route to organizational success is one that engages and focuses on the passionate pursuit of “here and now” present-moment thinking, instead of dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. VOILA! “Entrepreneurial Leadership.”

Do you sometimes wonder what Barnes & Noble is thinking on it’s way to the Borders graveyard by insisting on following an archaic business model that is completely out of touch with today’s technology and marketplace? Do you wonder why the Post Office’s solution to high expenses is to close on Saturdays, lay off employees and pull in pick-up boxes off the sidewalks?

And why does a nonprofit charity mail out fundraiser letters with “2013 Supporter” car magnets that literally fade to invisibility after a day in the sun? What makes the rampant “GOTCHA” greed of so many cable TV, insurance and telephone service providers completely override the wishes and best interests of the customers they serve?

The answer to these –and any other examples you may be prompted to think about– is the same. It is wrapped around societal acceptance of the need to pursue “the end result” at all costs. It is mired deep in the thinking that popularizes “analysis paralysis” as a characterization. It is the antithesis of innovation, and of entrepreneurial thinking and leadership.

“But winning is the American way!,” you may say. Indeed it is. But just because it’s the most desirable mantra for sports and military performances, doesn’t mean it’s the right way for business or life. If anything, it’s probably as far off base as any guideline could be. No business or life flourishes when it is completely devoted to reaching the goal line. None.

Think about it. When you’re running a race and concentrating on the finish line, you stop paying attention to what’s happening at the present moment right in front of you, right under your feet, and -SMASH!- you trip and fall on your face.  Competitors of course will hop over and around you. Winners pay attention to each step AS they take each step.

Entrepreneurial leaders nurture and thrive on the present moment. Something doesn’t work? They don’t analyze the malfunction to death. They simply adjust it and keep moving forward, and adjust it again and again in the process of constantly moving forward (vs. analyzing instant and slow motion replays again and again and going nowhere)!

Entrepreneurial leaders don’t worry about goals. They have goals, but they simply pursue them by staying tuned in to where they are, each step of the way. Like any malfunction, if the goal isn’t being reached as planned or hoped for, they adjust it. Inflexible or unrealistic, or nonspecific goals are as totally meaningless as wishes.

It’s HOW you do what you do each day that determines success. HOW do you handle staying on top of the process and the interactions? Isn’t that hard? Of course it is. The challenge is to be forever on the alert to opportunities, and that’s impossible for those who are thinking or worrying too much about where they’re headed, and for those lost in the clouds of constantly re-hashing where things have been.

Successful entrepreneurial leaders are also HAPPY leaders because they function as much of the time as possible in the present, here-and-now moment. And, like success, happiness is also “The Journey”! Do you make an effort to function each day in the here-and-now present moment as much as possible? Try it. You’ll like it.

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With Volunteers,

Exceptional Leadership

Can Bring Exceptional Success

But working with volunteers demands exceptional leadership. Why? Because anything less can spell exceptional failure and — at the very least– produce exceptional frustration. When a nonprofit, for example, needs to depend on volunteer groups to handle special or ongoing projects, the odds are that one or more of five problem areas will surface.

According to Ed Bancroft, world renown leader in organization and management development, community development, and race relations, the five “Common Problem” areas that emerge in working with volunteer groups consist of:

1) Having too many goals

2) Lack of an adequate contract

3) Lack of leadership and accountability

4) Lack of rewards or recognition

5) Lack of attention to group process

When a volunteer group of any composition attempts to get started, there is a tendency to attempt more than can realistically be accomplished. So the basic tenets of effective goal-setting need to be addressed right from the git-go. Those criteria, together with some other goal-setting thoughts, are here and here and here.

After starting with a Priority Task List, Bancroft suggests charting answers to: WHAT will be done? HOW will it be done? WHO will do it? WHEN will each task be completed? and BY WHAT DATE will the goal be accomplished?

The most successful volunteer groups start with a (very specific) agreement regarding each person’s role and expectations, and in matching each individual’s strengths to the tasks at hand. (Tight agenda) group meetings, (specific) written job descriptions, and a permanent “How Goes It?” focus on ongoing progress are all means to the ends.

A great many volunteer groups stumble along, reluctant to deal directly with leadership accountability. This single shortcoming can undo the best of intentions and efforts. Clear role definition, including having a fulltime volunteer coordinator (or staff member), who links the volunteers with paid staff, helps ensure that volunteer energies are maximized.

Volunteers work for the good of the cause but also for personal recognition, and some form of reward for specific achievements. And, always praise in public! Volunteers should get priority consideration for staff appointments, be offered as much appropriate training as possible.

Remember to appreciate volunteers for what they give up: Besides time and energy, for example, there are often expenses they absorb for baby-sitting, lunches, and transportation. Free or discounted lunches, work time beverages and snacks can go a long way. Some volunteer programs qualify for Federal funds, United Way, or foundation grants to reimburse volunteers.

Most volunteer groups are not tuned into “Process” — how they work together and how they need to work together. They tend to lack awareness of essential communication and decision-making methods. Workshops focused on these skill sets and an appointed (very objective) Process Observer can be designated to provide ongoing feedback on what she or he observes of group dynamics.

 The excitement and enthusiasm levels generated

 in volunteer groups is directly proportionate to

  the attention given to the issues outlined above.

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Innovators: KEEP OUT!!!

I’ve been called an entrepreneurship evangelist. I’ve worked with thousands of doctors, business owners/operators and managers, market innovators and entrepreneurial thinkers. Like most, I’ve spent a lifetime taking (reasonable) risks, rejecting authority, breaking rules, and regularly working long into the night,

And I developed a nothing-is-taboo attitude. [So don’t tell me what to stay away from!]

But — what’s the old saying?– “The truth will (win) out!” And my experience says that the truth is if we are to make a success of  business, professional practice, career, and life pursuits, we need to set success goals that include what to avoid, as leaders, as people.

My top 7 suggestions of what to avoid and why:

KEEP OUT of jail. Let’s face it. There’s not much of anything positive or worthwhile to be had, or add to your resume, by being in jail. Yes, a handful of inmates out of millions might learn a life lesson or two, but jail is hardly a breeding ground for success at any level. So, stay away from it. Question your motives before you act or speak.

KEEP OUT of courtrooms (unless you’re a lawyer). Courtrooms can be just a stress notch away from jail. The attached anxieties alone are enough to topple years of hard work and good intentions. You may think that courtroom appearances are not always your choice, but if you don’t choose to initiate a legal event, you do choose to set yourself up or put yourself in position that could lead you there. No it’s not always avoidable, but much of it is. Bottom line: Can your business afford for you to put business time, energy, and funds into a pursuit that’s not your business?

KEEP OUT of doctors’ and lawyers’ offices (unless you’re a doctor or lawyer). If you are constantly and consciously choosing to live a healthy lifestyle, you can often avoid doctors and minimize  situations beyond routine healthcare.

Remember that once a doctor sends you to another specialist, you are IN THE SYSTEM, and the most tenacious efforts to escape it’s time and money-consuming clutches rarely succeed. For the same high stress reasons to avoid jail and courtrooms, choose to minimize lawyer visits and limit them to essential  occurrences and preventive maintenance.

KEEP OUT of hospitals (unless you work for one). Contrary to the onslaught of misguided hospital marketing that blankets this country, hospitals do NOT spawn good health. They treat those who no longer have good health, and –in many documented cases– actually contribute to the exacerbation of ill health. This is not to question professional dedication or skills. It is simply a reminder to strive for life directions that have the best odds of helping you avoid hospitals.

KEEP OUT of hiding places (unless you’re playing hide-and-go-seek with the kids) when it’s time for family and church and community. These are the times that define you and what you’re all about as a human being.

KEEP OUT of fights (unless you’re a boxer). Disagreements can be healthy, but disagreements require self-vigilance to prevent them from accelerating to the point of getting out of control. Anger, mean-spiritedness and grudges can ONLY work against you and quickly become the undoing of all you’ve worked so hard at to put together.

KEEP OUT of nonproductive relationships (unless you’re a shrink or a cop and your career calls for engagement). In other words, stay around positive-minded people as much as possible and pursue opportunities to surround yourself with others who consistently demonstrate positive, upbeat attitudes. This: will come back to help you!

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LIFE & LEADERSHIP SUCCESS

IS ALL ABOUT TIMING!

I am a business and professional practice development specialist –many years, thousands of problems, projects, and people– proof beyond the shadow of a doubt that life and leadership success catapult out of having a highly defined sense of TIMING. Period. Yes, PASSION and ATTITUDE. Yes, INTEGRITY. But without TIMING, there’s no success! None.

This doesn’t mean running around like a headless chicken trying to squeeze twenty-five hours out of every day. It means having enough experience, instinct and sense of direction to know exactly when it’s the right time to say and do, when it’s the right time to back off, when it’s the right time to charge forward, and the right time to take steady steps toward target goals.

Think baseball here, imagine you have the world’s greatest bat swing. But if your bat is too early or too late or at the wrong height to meet the pitch, it means nothing. Wrong words–even right words–at the wrong times cost sales, cost relationships, cost court cases, cost lives. The best, most well-intentioned offers and behaviors made at the wrong times can spell disaster.

So doing and saying the right things may get us through life and look like leadership to others, but if the timing is off, even the best words and behaviors will not produce success. The world’s most successful leaders are those who possess a keenly developed sense of timing–knowing WHEN to speak and WHEN to listen, knowing WHEN to act and WHEN to wait.

Okay, so how do we develop this skill, this sense of awareness about WHEN to do and WHEN to say? Unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be any quick-fix approach beyond practice, practice, practice. But being aware of the distinctions between having a full arsenal of life and leadership tools, and knowing when to use them, is half the battle.

The thing is are we truly serious about making a difference with our lives? Are we truly serious about building a track-record for effective leadership that teaches by example and that rallies and inspires others to get things done? Then we need to be realistic enough to recognize that gaining the skills and tools is like getting great medical training. It just sets the stage.

Knowing how to say and use what we have at the time that it’s needed to be said and used is what separates leaders from followers. It is what separates those whose lives make a difference, from those who plod aimlessly along the path of least resistance and accomplish little of value in their families, friend and spiritual circles, or the communities they draw from.

Is it time to reassess where we’re headed, and to 

work harder at cultivating our sense of timing?

Good timing is not an accident.   

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STOP

“Thinking

   Like A Leader”!

“Thinking like a leader” may get you some pats on the back. Perhaps a few “Hey, Man, he really thinks like a leader!” comments. But leaders who are serious about the pursuit of their missions and the exercising of leadership to motivate others to get where they’re going, are those who are completely invested in BEING leaders.

BEING a leader means getting results through others instead of thinking or talking about getting results.

Of course leaders need to plan. But having a plan is like getting your foot in the door. Worrying about which way to go once you’re inside, doesn’t make the mission happen. Taking steps does. And as a true entrepreneur would respond, if the first few steps aren’t working, take steps in a different direction . . . and then again.

You will almost always get where you’re going faster by moving than if you were to sit still and analyze each direction because the momentum alone will fuel your pursuit. Not happy with that, huh? You don’t like thrashing your way through the jungle just to find out you missed the path? You need your analytical fix?

Okay, go for it, but limit it and target it to make the most of where you’ve been. After all:

HOW ARE YOU GOING

TO GET WHERE YOU’RE GOING

IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE YOU’VE BEEN? 

Make it a quick review (not analysis paralysis!). The relevant past is useful to every leader because it can be an invaluable tool for learning from past mistakes and past success, true? So do it. Review it. Then take it –like a football game handoff– and run! The past is over and will not change. And dwelling on the past is a waste of the present.

What’s the rush? Motivating others takes momentum which requires timely and accurate communications. Timely and accurate communications dissolve rapidly when too much time and attention is devoted to past and future thinking. But both gather speed as the leader sparks and ignites. BEING an effective leader means taking action and teaching by example.

“Thoughts” I am told by psychologist friends, are “Things.” But “Things” are not “Actions.”

Leaders Act.

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