Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak Podcast (c)

I've made my fair share of mistakes at one time or another in my 40-plus years of managing and leading others. Trust me - we are not born knowing how to manage and lead, but we can learn how. Listen to my latest Confessions of a Reformed Control Freak Podcast for my blueprint for emerging leaders.

Managers and leaders need to learn to manage their own time and their team's time so they have time to do the things that only a manager or leader should do. They will burn themselves out if they continue doing their own job and everyone else's. If you are doing someone else's job, you'll never have enough time to do your own. You need to learn to delegate some of your responsibilities to others on your team. Delegation is a basic skill that distinguishes successful managers and leaders from those who aren't. Listen to my podcast and learn how to delegate successfully.

I was your typical A-type personality. And you can figure out what some people thought the A meant. I was a control freak. It was my way - or no way. I made sure that everyone knew who was in charge. When I said jump the only thing people were able to ask is how "How high?" Times are changing. The question you need to answer now is will the management style that got here be the same management style that will take you and your team to where you need to go, I recognized that I had to change and you can change too. Listen to my latest podcast to learn how.

Not everyone wants to lead, but everyone gets to decide who they want to follow. Think of a leader that you admire. What is it about their leadership style that resonates with you? If you had to describe it what words come to mind. Words like honesty, patience, mind-fullness, integrity, empathy or trustworthy. People like to work and interact with people they like. How likeable are you? Perhaps it's time you got FOCUSED on leadership.

There are only two things that are in your control. You control your effort and your attitude 100% of the time. Only you get to decide how much effort you put into accomplishing your goals and how you choose to react when things don't go according to your plans. You control the narrative. You need to learn to let go of everything else. In this podcast I leave you with one final thought from Charles Swindell.

Have you ever asked yourself where common sense comes from? Are we born with it? If we aren't born with it, how do we get it? Why do some people seem to have more of it than others? If something makes perfect sense to you, shouldn't make perfect sense to everyone else? Common sense is defined as sound prudent judgement based on a simple perception of the situation or facts. Common sense suggests an average degree of ability without sophistication or special knowledge. A shout out to all supervisors, managers and business leaders - it's time to revisit common sense.