To really understand another person’s point of view, you need to climb inside their skin and walk around for a bit.
How to ensure hiring is never a gamble
As a leader, you will be familiar with the ins and outs of the hiring process and the gamble you regularly take in hiring a new team member. Too often have we seen the hiring process become a blind game of poking the stick in the dark, in the hopes of finding the right candidate. You may believe that the enthusiastic and passionate individual sitting before you is the perfect fit for your business, however, how can you be certain that they will continue to be enthusiastic and hardworking once you have hired them? The first and foremost rule to hiring? Know exactly whom you are hiring! Know exactly whom you are hiring Before hiring a new employee, you will already know that you will require them to align with your beliefs and vision for the wellbeing of your business and colleagues, as well as having their values and integrity intact. It is also of significant importance that they be open to being coached and mentored, to further better themselves as an overall person and employee. If you do in fact enter the hiring process completely blind, you should be aware that you could be potentially hiring anybody! You may […]
How to gain trust and use it
It is a common misconception that trust is earned. Before you can successfully give trust, you must first believe you are worthy of receiving it. If you are a trustworthy individual, you will begin to instil trust in your colleagues. It is near impossible to trust other people if you are conscious of yourself being an untrustworthy person. It is therefore not possible to trust someone else, when the matter of fact is you that can’t be trusted. Self trust You must whole-heartedly have trust in yourself, before your colleagues or anybody else will begin to trust you. A crucial step in implementing this value is being upfront from the beginning, even if there is the potential of having an uncomfortable discussion. Your colleagues will ultimately thank you for being honest with them, as they will know how to better themselves in the future, instead of continuing on their current path. When you make the all-important decision to instil trust into your colleagues, and in turn, gain their trust, you must always make the conscious decision to speak the truth with respect and compassion, leaving them with their dignity intact and a clear and positive pathway forward. If you are […]
What kind of fighter are you?
What does it mean to “fight” in business or anywhere in our lives and relationships for that matter? And how can you fight to win in a way that no one gets hurt? Is that even possible? When I was a child I was taught that fighting should be avoided at all cost. I mean the kind of fighting that usually involves lots of kicking and screaming, bloody noses and scraped knuckles. Fighting is bad, right? Well I think that fighting is important and healthy, especially in a work environment although in this instance I am talking about a very different type of fight, a ‘clean’ fight and one that involves no physical altercation. In my experience most people deny they ever get involved in fighting in the workplace and will usually avoid a fight at all costs even to the extent that avoiding a fight or confrontation can cause more damage than actually confronting the issue. “Fight” has become a dirty word and is synonymous with bullying and abuse. The bottom line is – there is already a fight going on even though you may not be aware of it and worse still the biggest fight is the one […]
Creating Diamond Habits for Success
When it comes to success most of us know that having the ‘right’ habits will significantly increase the likelihood of achieving the outcomes we want. If we examine the lives of highly successful individuals we find some common habits, they each have some fundamental behaviours that they have developed over time and which continue to serve them in achieving their success. These habits become so well embedded that they no longer consider them as a habit anymore, it is just the way they do things. Many years ago I had a boss who when he arrived at the office each day made a point of stopping briefly at everyone’s desk and checking in. ‘Are we winning today?’ was his favourite question for me and we would have a brief rapport before he would move on. If I happened to be on the phone or otherwise engaged he would wait patiently or come back to me when I was free. He could pick up in a heartbeat if there was ever an issue with anyone and absenteeism in the company was negligible. Someone once said ‘he holds the pulse of the business firmly in his hand’. He had created a habit […]
Leaders Are Willing To Work On Themselves
Leaders spend much of their time directing their attention outwards. Well, that makes sense, doesn’t it? Leaders are employed to get things done. They have tasks that need doing, people who need managing, and goals to achieve. And they need to be available to people and in touch with what is happening in the organisation. In focusing all their attention on other people and things, leaders can easily lose sight of themselves. They can get lost in the demands of people and situations and the task. When this happens, leaders lose their ability to make the unique contribution that they could be making. They simply react to circumstances, moment to moment, and act out of habit. Acting out of habit keeps us going round in the same circle, time after time, reacting the same way, making the same mistakes, and causing the same conflicts. Nothing different will happen as long as you don’t pay attention to the way you act and react. Have you ever found yourself in a driveway on an old address that you no longer live at! Being present and paying attention has us leading with intentionality and purpose. The beginning of change is when you start […]
If you want to change the game, GET a sense of urgency
With a sense of urgency, you will be invigorated, you will need less sleep, you will feel younger, you will become more attractive and most of all you will get what you want faster. So here are a few tips on the subject with a really interesting, bottom line ending to the article. So let’s start with the end! This is the Bottom Line End Piece of this Article … Here’s the kicker and the most important point: … You don’t need a deadline if you have a mission! One of the greatest complaints I hear from executives and company owners about their people is regarding urgency. How do you create it, condition it into yourself, get it if you don’t have it and better yet how do you get others to get it if they don’t have it? Control the environment. You have to create a space that supports the urgency without abuse. Celebrating wins. Create games. Have Fun! Operate on a team where there is a lot of accountability to the group. To condition urgency, peer pressure and peer support are the fastest ways for everyone to get it. Remember it takes more than one to create synergy. […]