Strategic Thinking is a process to identify ways to move a person, team, or organization toward a long-term goal. When you think strategically, you have to anticipate setbacks and challenges and have a plan to deal with them. You also have to measure your progress toward the goal.

How Does Thinking this Way Help You Be a Better Leader?

My team went through this with the Covid-19 pandemic. At the very start of the spread, our strategy was to reschedule meetings postponed due to meeting restrictions. Next, we had to adapt when the restrictions increased and the weeks of delay turned to months.

Eventually, we realized that our customers were being forced to transform their in-person meetings to virtual. Many of these customers had little or no experience organizing big virtual meetings. Since we had that expertise, we were able to quickly adapt to the new needs of the market. Good leaders are able to do this.

Poor leaders tend to be more reactionary. When challenges develop, the poor leader is always playing catch-up. This type of leadership is like playing baseball and just watching the ball go by you. The more times that you do this, the more strikes are against you. Eventually, you have to swing out of desperation. A better strategy is to study the pitcher. If he throws his fastball high in the strike zone 80% of the time on the first pitch, I can anticipate that. When I see that action, I can capitalize on it. If he doesn’t, I make an adjustment on the second pitch.

For additional information about How to Build Strong Leaders within Your Organization, click the link to that article.

How to Think Strategically So that Others See You as a Great Leader.

Anticipate Challenges that May Develop Before They Appear.

Brainstorm Multiple Options/Solutions So You Create Built-In Backup Plans.

For additional information about The Five-Step Problem-Solving Process, click the link to that article.

Create Milestones (Goals) to Move Toward.

Measure Your Progress to Determine If You Are Moving Forward or Backward.

Identify Ways to Constantly Improve Personnel and Processes.

For Full Show Notes Visit: 

https://www.leadersinstitute.com/strategic-thinking-make-strategic-thinking-part-of-your-team-culture/

This is part 2 of a really fun interview with Claire Chandler of Profitable Swagger. She gives us a lot of great tips about how to attract the right kind of talent to your company. She also gives us a number of best practices for keeping that entrepreneurial culture as your business grows.

I have to admit, I wish that I had spoken to her before I made so many personnel mistakes in my own company.

For more details, you can find her websites at www.ClaireChandler.net

Profitable SWAGGER: www.ProfitableSWAGGER.com

The Founders’ Distillery: www.ClaireChandler.net/founders

This is a really fun interview with Claire Chandler of Profitable Swagger. She gives us a lot of great tips about how to attract the right kind of talent to your company. She also gives us a number of best practices for keeping that entrepreneurial culture as your business grows.

I have to admit, I wish that I had spoken to her before I made so many personnel mistakes in my own company. 

For more details, you can find her websites at www.ClaireChandler.net

Profitable SWAGGER: www.ProfitableSWAGGER.com

The Founders’ Distillery: www.ClaireChandler.net/founders

This is part three of a three-part series on How to Manipulate People. This episode covers the sign of a con artist. Look for these 7 things to know if someone is trying to manipulate you.

Okay, so now we know that people are trying to deceive us and manipulate us. What the heck do we do about it. What are the signs that we should be looking out for?

1. Be On Your Guard When Emotions Are High. When you see charismatic speakers or groups exhibiting high emotions, be skeptical of what they are saying. There is a good chance they are attempting to deceive you.
2. Look for Alterations in the Language. Manipulators use language to deceive. Look for “updated” versions of the same argument. For instance, in the 1980s, there were warnings of “Global Cooling.” In the 1990s it changed to “Global Warming.” Now, advocates fight against “Climate Change.”
3. Identify the Real Villains and Victims. Dig deep into the narrative to figure out who the real villains and victims are. Often, you will find that they are the exact opposite of what the manipulator is telling you. (Remember the minority business owners in Minneapolis whose life savings went up in smoke.)
4. Be On the Lookout for Vague Language or Global Stereotypes. Ask way more questions when people make vague promises. “You have to have a plan. I have a plan!” “…Uuhhh, what exactly is this plan?”
5. Investigate the Sources and Look for the Convincer. When news media reports say, “According to two anonymous sources within [any group,]” no need to read or listen to anything more. Everything related to that story is probably absolutely false. Either the news media or the sources are the Convincer in the con.
6. Manipulators Often Use Permissive Language. A good con artist will give you permission to verify their word. Keep in mind that since they are likely speaking gibberish or vague promises, you won’t be able to verify them. They will say things like, “Feel free to…” or “You’re welcome to…” In addition, they will often tell you that you can trust them. “I’m not lying,” or “This is the truth.” I have always found that people who are telling the truth don’t have to actually tell you that they are telling the truth.
7. Remember that No One Can Manipulate You Unless You Let Them. The major thing to remember out of all of this is that no one can force you to believe something without your permission. Often, the manipulator will offer something that you really want. As a result, you will also want to believe them. Look for the ulterior motive, though, and be on guard for con artists.

For full show notes, go to 7 Signs of a Con Artist You Need to Know to Avoid Being a Victim

https://www.leadersinstitute.com/how-to-manipulate-people-7-signs-of-a-con-artist-you-need-to-know-to-avoid-being-a-victim/

The Second Phase of a Con Is Establishing the “Villan” and the “Victim.”

Going back to the scene from The Sting, the (1) narrative that unfolds in front of the (2) “Mark” creates a (3) villain and a (4) victim. A person robs and stabs a man creating a victim. The Mark sympathizes (emotionally connects) with the man who was both robbed and stabbed. The Victim then tells a narrative about how the mob is going to kill him if he doesn’t deliver money to them by 4:00 PM. The Mark now perceives the mob as the villain. The (5) Convincer (Robert Redford) adds to the narrative by pretending to be the moral and righteous third-party.

Let’s define each part of the manipulation or con.

1. Narrative – The Narrative is the storyline that is told to facilitate the manipulation. The narrative begins in step one but comes to fruition in phase three.
2. Mark – The person being conned is the Mark.
3. Villain – The Victim and the Convincer create a fictitious Villian. Incidentally, the villain is almost never a person. Vague groups make the best villains.
4. Victim – When the manipulators tell the narrative, they create a victim that elicits anger or sympathy from the mark. In many cases, you can uncover the manipulation by looking more closely at the victim. When the circumstances surrounding the victim begin to not match the narrative, the manipulation is exposed.
5. Convincer – The Convincer verifies the narrative. Most often, the manipulation will depict the convincer with grandiose terms like “Boy Scout” or “Honorable” to add credibility. You can also uncover the manipulation by looking more closely at the Convincer. Once you find misleading or dishonorable statements from this person, the con folds quickly.

The Manipulator Creates a Villain to Divert the Emotion (and Investigation) from the Manipulator.

The manipulator can’t be seen as the villain. So, he or she must create a villain. In some cases, the manipulator uses “projection” to divert focus from his or her bad actions to a different person.

Remember the purpose of the con — “manipulation of our beliefs.” The victim is really the villain. The villain is really the victim. Once the two get intertwined so tightly, the manipulator confuses and frustrates the mark so much that he or she doesn’t know what to believe anymore.

For instance, let’s say that a man cheats on his wife. His wife begins to get suspicious. So, at a restaurant, he suddenly says, “I saw the way you looked at the waiter!” Keep in mind that the incident is totally made up. The wife did nothing wrong. However, the cheating husband persists.

Eventually, the wife may begin to question whether she did or not. She might think, “The waiter is an attractive man. Maybe I did look at him a little too long.” Whether the wife actually begins to believe the lie is irrelevant, though. The manipulator will bring up the lie as a projection to cover up his own infidelity. When confronted with his cheating, he will respond with, “Well isn’t this rich. I catch you flirting with every waiter that smiles at you and you accuse ME of cheating.”

The manipulator has now switched the roles in the narrative. The cheating husband becomes the victim. The suspicious wife now takes on the role of the villain.

Full Show Notes: https://www.leadersinstitute.com/how-to-manipulate-people-7-signs-of-a-con-artist-you-need-to-know-to-avoid-being-a-victim/

I know… The title “How to Manipulate People” sounds bad and unethical, but I got you to view the post didn’t I? The question is, did I manipulate you into viewing this post, or did I persuade you? There is a fine line between the two. Since I have written a number of posts over the years about persuasion, I thought it might be fun to explore the darker side. So, below, you will find seven signs of a con artist that you absolutely need to know to avoid being a victim.

Since we are in the political season here in the United States, I will use a few of the most successful con artists in the game… Politicians as my examples. If you explore this entire post, you may begin to understand that “politician” is just another word for “con man.”

Manipulation, Persuasion, and Influence… What is the Difference Between these Terms?

The major difference between persuading someone or manipulating them teds to rely on who benefits from the action. For instance, manipulation occurs if I get you to do something that benefits me but harms you. The person who is manipulating often uses deception in the process. On the other hand, if the manipulated person benefits from the action, the term persuasion is often used.

Western law is based on Judeo-Christian principles of right and wrong. So, if you adhere to these principles, the difference between persuasion and manipulation seems obvious. However, if your morality or belief system is based elsewhere, the difference is a huge gray area.

I once hired an account manager who was incredibly charismatic and likable. In fact, she was one of my best salespeople for quite a while. After a while, though, I started noticing odd things happening with her clients. It started small. For instance, on occasion, she would “accidentally” charge the client a discounted price to close the sale. In others, she might charge the customer an inflated price to increase her commission. I remember having a few discussions with her about ethics and morality.

Eventually, I had to let her go. I found out later that she had previously co-owned a competitive company. From what I could determine, her partners had somehow cheated her out of her equity in the company. It is possible that each of the partners was somewhat shady. It is also possible that the first experience jaded her. Her mentality shifted to “cheat others before they cheat you.”

I tend to find that people who manipulate others have a seared conscience. They see others as being cheaters, so they see nothing wrong with cheating them first.

If You Decide to Manipulate Others, Beware of Karma.

I love magic. In fact, I just purchased a subscription to Master Class because Penn & Teller teach a magic class there. Magic, though, is pure deception. The magician is deceiving you into thinking a certain way so that he can surprise you. So, as a consumer, I welcome this deception. It makes the process more fun.

However, if I find that I have been deceived and manipulated in a transaction, I have a very different reaction. I’m sure you do as well. The old Hindu term Karma often comes into play. For every action, there is a cause and effect.

For the full show notes and videos, visit How to Manipulate People

https://www.leadersinstitute.com/how-to-manipulate-people-7-signs-of-a-con-artist-you-need-to-know-to-avoid-being-a-victim/

Is your performance review system for your employees and team members outdated? Are you and your team members still using the same type of annual employee assessment that your parents used? One common complaint that comes up in job satisfaction surveys is, “I never get useful feedback about how I am doing my job.” On the other side, managers will sometimes become frustrated because their team has to constantly be directed. Managers will often say (or at least think,) “Why can’t I find more team members who are like me?”

If you are experiencing these symptoms, there is a good chance that your performance review system doesn’t work. In this session, I want to give you a few tips that will help you use these tools better. For instance, I’ll cover a few employee appraisal systems that fail almost every time. In addition, I’ll give you tools that not only help you with these employee reviews but also improve productivity. Finally, I will give you a few examples of performance review phrases that you can use with your team.

This episode covers three mistakes that companies and HR departments often make with employee review systems. It also gives a simple three-step process to use to coach team members and conduct employee appraisals more quickly and easily.

For full show notes, visit Is Your Performance Review System Outdated
or https://www.leadersinstitute.com/is-your-preformance-review-system-outdated/

One of the Major Leadership Roles is to Build a Team Culture.

There are two parts to building a team culture within your organization. First, you have to create an environment that is fun, productive, and fulfilling. Then second, you have to be on the lookout for cancers that eat away at the team culture.

Effective Team Leadership Requires Providing Appropriate Resources for Your Team.

Nothing can be more frustrating for a team member than to be given responsibility without the appropriate resources. Years ago, I taught a leadership course for a department of the US government. In one of the sessions, we covered group problem-solving techniques. This session is always a real favorite for class members because they typically brainstorm a lot of unique solutions to tough problems.

In this session, though, the results were very different. The group came up with a dozen or so potential solutions to the challenge we had identified. Then we got to the part where the team was to choose the best solution and put together an implementation plan. As they went through the list, only a very small percentage of the solutions were actually viable. The others needed… literally… an act of Congress or a policy change initiated by the President.

From a teaching perspective, this was very sad. These leaders had been given the responsibility for results but not the resources to get the results. 

One of the Very Important Leadership Roles is to Praise Every Success.

As a recap, effective team leadership includes being visionary, setting goals, and delegating responsibility. If you have these three things in place, then it is much easier to praise the successes. When any member of your team moves the team toward the overall vision, praise them. Or, when a team member accomplishes a goal or exceeds your expectations, take time to praise them. Take note of times that you have delegated responsibility and your team member acted responsibly.

Every time we praise a success, we build confidence in that team member. At the same time, we are showing other team members that we value these results. We are showing them that if they move the team toward the vision, accomplish goals, and take on responsibility, they will be rewarded as well.

Effective Team Leadership Sometimes Requires Us to Discipline Team Members.

No matter how good we are as a leader, ultimately, we will be required to discipline our team members. In fact, this is a very important leadership role. Keep in mind, though, that discipline doesn’t require calling someone out on the carpet. You will get much better results if you coach the team member to fix the challenge himself or herself. Let the person save face.

For full show notes visit Leadership Roles Survey (https://www.leadersinstitute.com/leadership-roles-survey-do-you-exhibit-effective-team-leadership-take-the-survey/)

So what exactly does a good team leader do? Strengthen the Leadership Roles Below to Build Effective Leadership in Yourself and Your Team.

After studying some of the best leaders in different industries for the past 20 years, we found a few roles that each played very well. If you understand these leadership roles and focus on developing these skills, your peers will see you as a leader as well. At the end of this post, we have included a survey that you can complete to find out how you rank as a leader!

The 10 Top Leadership Roles Common in Great Leaders.

• Create and Communicate an Inspiring Vision of the Future.
• Identify Team Goals that Are Mile Markers to that Vision.
• Establish Clear Expectations with Your Team.
• Help Team Members Create Personal Goals Inline with Team Goals.
• Coach Your Team Members to Meet.
• Delegate Responsibilities to Your Team.
• Build a Team Culture.
• Provide Appropriate Resources for Your Team.
• Praise Every Success.
• Discipline Team Members Who Are Counterproductive to the Team.

10 Leadership Roles that Most Great Leaders Score Very High In.

Let’s cover each leadership role in more detail to explain the significance.

Create and Communicate an Inspiring Vision of the Future.

There is a big difference between a leader and a manager. A good manager is skilled and getting team members to move efficiently down an established path. However, a leader is someone who creates an entirely new path.

One of my heroes is Milton S. Hershey of the chocolate bar fame. Hershey had to drop out of school in the fourth grade to work on the family farm. After failing in business in New York, he returned home in significant debt. It took him years to get back on his feet. However, within 10 years, he built the million-dollar Lancaster Caramel from scratch in Lancaster, PA.

In the late 1800s, he had an idea to create a version of chocolate that everyone could afford — milk chocolate. Hershey sold his successful caramel company to fund the project. He built the new factory in an open field surrounded by milk farmers. Then, he began to build a town for his employees. The town, Hershey, PA, had comfortable family homes, public transportation, and recreation facilities.

After failing in New York, the odds that he would succeed in the much smaller town were pretty slim. Then, after building a gigantic company, he sold it to risk everything manufacturing a product that no one had ever heard of. Finally, he built a town for his employees. He was able to see what no one else could. Then create that vision.

For Full Show Notes, go to 10 Important Leadership Roles to Maximize for Success (https://www.leadersinstitute.com/leadership-roles-survey-do-you-exhibit-effective-team-leadership-take-the-survey/)

Companies Have an Absolute Need for Team Building During Covid 19.

Over the past six months, both employees and managers have experienced a roller coaster of emotions. We have all experienced tremendous fear, loneliness, anger, frustration, and confusion. Then, just when we begin to feel optimistic, we experience a new challenge that pulls the rug out from under us.

These emotional ups and downs take a toll on morale and teamwork. So as the team leader, you have to be able to help your team come out of these challenges with vigor and enthusiasm. This is not easy, but it is vital for moral.

In this session, I’m going to cover two solutions to this leadership dilemma. First, we will cover the positive emotions that you can generate among your team to improve morale. The situation is causing team members to focus on the negative. However, if you understand human nature, you can use the same tactics to improve moral. Second, we’ll cover a few fun team building activities that you can do during Covid to increase teamwork.

For full show notes visit Team Building During Covid 19 Pandemic