Good morning and HAPPY MONDAY!!!!

So, so many have heard me say that in an audio, but not usually in video. Welcome to the 2020 video podcast Monday Moment format. We’re glad you joined us. I’m Monica Wofford and this is your Monday Moment.

In January we’ll focus on some of the more common obstacles that stand in a leader’s way of becoming a better leader and leading in the way you and I both know there is potential. Now, in this first 2020 video podcast topic, let’s get to it. It’s called “Are you Being Prosecuted by Should-Gate?” Now what’s Should-Gate exactly? It’s at the moment, or string of moments, when a leader crucifies, judges, and internalizes all the shoulds standing in their way. So, if you’re playing the judge and jury in your brain and it’s standing in the way of you performing effective leadership, I think you’ll enjoy today’s topic. So, are you being prosecuted in or by should-gate? Well let’s see, judge and jury, yep we’ve covered that, internal voices – yeah, we’ll cover that. More to come on that topic later, but if you feel you’re overwhelmed by shoulds that are compelling you to make decisions you might not normally make otherwise, ask yourself these three questions.

Number one, is your why compelling enough? In other words, is the reason you say you should behave this way when you’re in the presence of your boss, because there’s perhaps a trigger your boss has, or other dynamics in your environment that you’ve considered wisely? So your why is compelling, but if the why, or the answer to that question is, well, because they’ll judge me if I don’t act that way or someone will think I’m weak or stupid if I don’t do that, or it’s the only way I believe leadership can be performed or demonstrated, then you might want to look at the truly compelling nature of the answer to your why question.

Second, if you feel you’re being prosecuted in Should-Gate, ask yourself if the benefit is big enough. If you choose to conduct performance appraisals in one way, that is slightly different than perhaps HR prescribes, or has requested, then perhaps you have a significant benefit of doing it differently with one employee and going about it in the way you think is best. Small modifications shouldn’t be a problem. But, looking at your benefits is often something we don’t do consciously. So, ask yourself, is your benefit for shoulding all over yourself in this particular scenario, big enough?

The third question if you’re being prosecuted in Should-Gate is this: is a greater good at play? I hesitate on that question because greater good is a concept that has a multitude of definitions, but if there is a larger overarching reason for you to do something that in normal circumstances wouldn’t be your behavior, I’d call that the greater good. If you sacrifice what you need, or what you want, or what gives you great energy in a temporary circumstance, or moment of behavior, because there’s a much greater good and others will have much greater benefit, then that’s a should worthy of your consideration. But, if the why is confusing, or if the benefit is not that big, and if the greater good is something you struggle to clearly identify… then yes you might be being prosecuted in Should-Gate and it’s something to consider getting out from under and finding a way to do differently. Because look, here’s the reality, leaders who spend their lives being prosecuted by the shoulds they believe exist, but may not be accurate, often cut short the life of their real potential.

I’m Monica Wofford and that’s your Monday Moment. Stay tuned next week for more barriers we’re going to uncover in your journey to leadership growth and development and if you would, take a moment to subscribe to MondayMoment.com, if you’re not already a member of our Contagious Community!

Monica Wofford, CSP is a celebrated leader who develops future leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm delivers and designs leadership training for managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared, and the leaders who promoted them. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica and members of the Contagious team may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com, www.MonicaWofford.com or by calling 1-866-382-0121.

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Wouldn’t it be so nice, and oh so convenient, if learning how to lead better were something you could put on your list and check off when finished? Many new skills, and learning how to master them, would be nice if they worked in that manner, yet part of becoming a better leader and learning how to lead more effectively is in the very management of the ups, downs, transitions, and unexpected elements of the journey. Learning is rarely finished, or all wrapped up, so to speak. Information, people, delivery methods, styles, and vehicles, not to mention the message needing to be delivered, is always changing and so is the Monday Moment. As we wind down the year and wrap up the use of audio only in our Monday Moment podcasts and blog posts, you will see a transition. Beginning on January 6th, our Monday Moment will transition to a video podcast where you’ll actually see me deliver the message. Ever had a Skype call? Ever Face Timed with the kids? This will be similar and walk us into the land of video podcasting. You can still just listen, but now you’ll have a bonus. We’re wrapping up one step or one era and transitioning into the next. So, today’s Monday Moment is both a farewell to one form of delivery and a welcome to another. But, what can we learn from this process as we all wrap up one year and transition to the next? In fact, how do you wrap up your leadership in one area to move to the next? Well, with these three steps as a foundation to your success.

The team you lead now, will lead in the future, or simply have had the privilege of working with, has worked hard to accomplish tasks, actions, and initiatives that may have long ago been forgotten. January of 2019 seems like eons ago, but it wasn’t. Go back. Sort through. Look at emails, files, and reminisce. Then celebrate with the team in ways that bring meaning to all that you have done and achieved together. The celebrations could be small, merely a high five moment in the break room, or a lengthy dinner in which everyone shares an accomplishment. In whatever format you take note of what was won and done, your appreciation will tend to be contagious and your acknowledgement of the successes, no matter how small, will add points in the positive column to your efforts in leadership.

Being able to wrap up one season to move on to the next is made much more effective when you take note of what will need to stop, start, or continue. What actions need shifting? What processes need to be broken or started over? What behaviors need to come with you or be left behind as you move into 2020? Make a list and note those changes. Once complete, lead discussions of them one on one or as a group. Take advantage of the mindset already present in most, that January 1 provides a fresh start and renewed motivation. Avoid the inadvertent error of carrying last years’ baggage into this new one by ignoring this valuable conversation.

Champions are fighters. They are also leaders. Your championing efforts may be disguised as unwavering contagious enthusiasm, dogged determination, consistent focus, or merely mindful redirection of the efforts of those team members you have the privilege of leading, but once you’re clear on what you’ve done, what needs to get done or put in place in the future, start those efforts. Share clearly where you’re going, and with whom, in the coming three, six, or twelve months. Discuss the challenges. Brainstorm likely surprises. Delegate out actions that you know will make the most of your team member’s talents and skills and well, then take a quick break, come back after the holiday and GET STARTED!

While we wrap up 2019 and this format of the Monday Moment, may the joy of the season surround you. May your time with family, friends, and those you love, be filled with hope, joy, peace, and yes, leadership. Merry Christmas from Contagious Companies and all of our team and incredibly contagious wishes for your new year to the best year ever!

The Monday Moment will return in video format, with transcription, on January 6th.

Monica Wofford, CSP develops leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm designs and delivers leadership training for those managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com, www.MonicaWofford.com or by calling 1-866-382-0121.

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Little learning is known to occur in the month of December as the holidays add a layer of stress that prompts more of a focus on mere survival. Yet, in the face of crazy times we’re all encouraged to enjoy, work still happens and leadership is still needed. And, in a stroke of completely intended happenstance, the nine nifty tips in today’s Monday Moment will positively impact all three areas: a little learning, minimizing the holiday stress, and learning how to lead through it at both home and the office! So, let’s take a look at the nine nifty tips:

If this is a trait that you’ve found lacking in the past, December is the time to reacquaint yourself with its value. Patience prevents you from leading out of frustration. Patience keeps you from making situations that require more time to be spent on controlling the damage when words of anger or haste are spoken. Take deep breathes. Stare blankly for a moment. Keep those snarky comments and muttered mentions to a bare minimum and stay patient.

Impersonate a Who from Whoville if you must or even take inspiration from any cast member’s mood at the end of a Lifetime holiday movie. Whatever your source of joy, lead yourself to your happy place as often as possible. You’re juggling a lot and likely under more stress as the year ends and you’ll lead far better with regular doses of things you enjoy and that make you happy.

Tied to patience, thinking longer on big decisions can be a leader’s life saver during the holiday times and others. Take the time to consider factors you might not often consider. Look into how all members of the team will interpret your message or actions. Think about timing, heightened sensitivity, long and short-term impacts, and the needs of the business before leading or finalizing big decisions.

There are enough family matters and things we don’t discuss that threaten to rise to the surface, without the boss or manager at work also holding on to some grudge. Let stuff go. If she snapped at you in a meeting yesterday, assume she had a temporary moment of crazy and move on. If he didn’t talk to you at the holiday party, assume he has no clue what he’s missing and start fresh with your attitude, demeanor, and patience, daily.

It does seem there is a time warp in December and the days just start spinning by faster and faster. 2020 and January will be here quick and what you’d like to achieve or reach needs to have a plan in place. If planning makes you happy, consider this a two-fer. If planning is drudgery, then time’s a wastin’ dear leader. It’s time to put a plan in place not just for your quotas and number, but the people you have the privilege of leading and how they will grow and develop going forward.

This time of year may not afford you the luxury of leading your way through your normal routine, so adapt and gather small bits of information as they come to you. Maybe you need to share details on upcoming changes with the team. Gather up the details one by one and email them to yourself or text yourself or write on post-its that all get put in the same place, until you can sit down and pull all the intel together to make a cohesive message. The risk of not gathering information is you put off important actions because in your role of leader you simply don’t have the time to spend hours on project in one sitting.

If you’re in a meeting, instead of just being cc’ed in an email, and have mental capacity to spare, start clarifying and thinking through specifics in these three areas: expectations, goals, and resources to get you there. What do you expect, specifically, of each person you have the privilege of leading? What are the goals you have for each person? And what can you share with them for guidance, direction, training, development, or inspiration so that the goals are achieved faster or more effectively. Use your windshield time or boring meeting time to think in ways that are productive.

Instead of learning new items and skills, though there may have been one or two in this message, actively apply what you know needs to be done to improve your leadership. Do the things you know need to happen. Write down the information you know you need to gather. Have the conversations you know need to happen. Push through and apply the leadership skills you know you already have so that when the holidays do arrive, you can actually relax.

Whether the celebrations are jubilant in your office or quiet, the home fires filled with bunches of family members, or just your favorite pet and small stocking, treat yourself kindly. Be your own Santa instead of waiting for others to give you presents. Be your own deliverer of good tidings in spite of others who appear certainly on the list that is naughty. Survive if you must but thrive if you can and take a moment at times, to have a twinkle in the eye that is merely observing the mayhem.

Monica Wofford, CSP develops leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm designs and delivers leadership training for those managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com, www.MonicaWofford.com or by calling 1-866-382-0121.

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Whether it’s year end or month or quarter close, tensions tend to rise when pressure mounts and task lists grow. For most, this combo reduces patience, increases frustration and let’s face it… can provoke a pretty flagrant use of quickly doled out names and labels. So, in the spirit of the season, as you’re working to put together months of leadership learning in an effort to become a better leader, a question: has your boss lost his wits and called you a thing or two, only to later apologize? Or worse yet, assume you knew remorse was intended, but never uttered? Are your employees getting testy, too? If so, it happens. Seriously, it does. And often. But so, does the anger or pain that comes with a name. So does the hurt from a remark that appears personal. But, if they said something hurtful or called you that, what do you do about it? Crying in the bathroom could feel like an option. Carrying out the full on beat down you imagine, could feel better in the moment, but the following alternate three methods have way more benefits. Take a breath, use one of these and keep from needing bail money during these holidays.

To be specific, at home and at the office, we’ve all thought things of other people that were in fact, not fact, but our opinion. The boss you believe is a b word is merely what you perceive to be a b word when she’s in your presence, or maybe also with others, but either way, your opinion of her behavior does not mean she is through and through a b word person. Our opinions are subjective. You think an employee is a jerk and someone else thinks of him as her loving husband. What someone calls you is their opinion. What someone calls you, no matter their authority, experience, position, or credibility in the area of doling out accurate other labels, is only their opinion. The hurt ensues when we confuse the subjective perceptions of others with factual information. Especially tricky for extroverts seeking external validation, determining your worth and your value is instead, an internal conversation. The more you rely on or value the opinions of others, the more you lose sight of who you are and the value you really bring to the equation. Listen to the labels and names when they’re given. Then look for patterns that might suggest an adjustment is needed, due to your current environment, not who you are as a person. And follow both actions with an objective thought process that includes looking at their perspective, their stress level, the speed in which their opinion may change, and the answer to the question are your efforts to defend their current label and opinion, really worth it? Then respond accordingly.

Contrary to where Rudolph cartoons and Lifetime movies will guide you, the holiday time of year, for so, so many, is wrought with triggers, shoulds, rehashed memories, and expectations. It’s no wonder we eat from mid-November until January. Nothing covers up pain like pecan pie and a never-ending supply of sugar candy canes. Jest if you wish, but for some, their deepest desire is for New Year’s to get here as quickly as possible so they reclaim normal and stop living in a land that’s so hurtful.  Perhaps a loved one, or child, or parent was lost during a time that is highly sentimental. Maybe their marriage looks nothing like the couple in the jewelry or Viagra commercial and instead looks like a Tim Burton movie. Covering that up when everything should be festive and peachy is exhausting. December is a trigger rich environment. Instead of less patience, people need more slack this time of year. Those you lead may be juggling how to buy the expected number of or type of presents for their teenagers when they’re not sure they can pay their car payment in January. You may be bracing for what your own mom or dad will say when they come to visit and the first words out of that woman on your team who acts just like your mom, may be met with a volcanic reaction not really meant for her to begin with. Triggers. They trip us up. They get tripped for sometimes odd reasons. The reactions created seem to come from a place deep within us and cause us to say stupid things we’d never say in normal circumstances. What someone called you, or said, may have hurt potential, but if it’s merely tripping one of your triggers, you can control that. Identify three of your top triggers, or hot button items this time of year. Take care to avoid situations where you know triggers have a tendency to be tripped. And when someone mashes down on one of those triggers, whether they meant to or it was an accident, lead yourself through it by simply saying I need a moment. Then take one and when you return, or don’t, you’ll be able to respond in a manner that is much more level-headed.

This method may well need to be only that one-word sentence. Consider. As a leader of others, consider their perspective. As a leader of your boss, consider the pressure they must be under. As a leader of yourself, consider the need to set even better boundaries or the joy of simply not feeling the need to explain your side of the story. Consider. There are always options. There are always other choices. There are choices we make with no leadership and mere reaction and there are choices that we make when we’re leading ourselves in a valuable direction. Consider what else could be happening. What might be the outcome if you did do something that prompted a bigger argument? Do you have a person to call to give you bail money if you said ALL of what you were thinking in that moment? Kidding aside, don’t be the leader who only considers what others may be dealing with when you hear the story of the man on the train with unruly children, whom you’re judging until you learn his wife died earlier that morning. Withhold your reaction to the woman who just bit your head off without the need to learn that she’s afraid her test results might come back tomorrow and say, yes, she has cancer.

Consider being that leader who regularly sees the difference between fact and opinion. Consider being that leader who is working to become better and better, including in the area of managing his or her own triggers. Consider being that leader who chooses to make another decision other than reacting to each and every small thing or big label given. And then consider this: The sting of their words is commensurate with the size of your reaction.

Monica Wofford, CSP develops leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm designs and delivers leadership training for those managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com

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Over the last eleven months, we’ve covered numerous aspects of leadership because leadership is…well, not a one and done behavior. Becoming a boss is an event. It’s a promotion and it happens and then you’re done. You’ve reached that next level position. Becoming a leader is a bit more complex and is based not on a title bestowed, but on a level of influence, the size and scope of followership, and on how much a person embodies what are widely deemed as leadership behaviors. But, defining the concept in those terms can also make leadership feel a lot more elusive. Leadership is achievable, by any personality and every person. There is an element of desire and skills and practice, yes, but there are also three larger areas on which clear focus will have big benefits and speed up your progress in the transition from boss to leader. Let’s look at those three key, general, valuable, vital, areas that should also be in the background as part of your development, even while you’re accomplishing the tasks of that role of boss or manager or director.

Few new leaders have a clear handle on what the heck they’re doing when they’ve just been promoted. We call it promoted, but not prepared. Others call it just scared. However, seriously, who wouldn’t be scared if they’ve been put in a position for which they feel ill prepared. Scared of being found out. Scared of being judged. Scared of being deemed someone that should have remained in their previous position. All are valid and all are easy fears to acquire. The key is to build one’s confidence so that the fear is not what takes over. As you seek to become a leader or strive to simply become a better one, find those areas of skill in which you know you’ve got talent and focus on them. While you build new skills, try new tactics for leading others, and learn more about your role and responsibilities, remind yourself that you were good enough to get promoted. Just because you don’t know all that you need to at this moment, doesn’t mean a decrease in your worth. It means you’re growing and ADDing to what you already knew. As you continue to grow in skills and talents, so should your confidence in how you perform this new role, the new responsibilities and the new boundaries. Your goal is to make sure the confidence you grow and build, is genuine. This isn’t about bravado or fake it until you make it, leadership confidence is about authentically knowing you’re good in some areas, growing in others, and that have what it takes to figure the rest out in the process.

People are different. Not a newsflash worthy sentence. We know employees, bosses, customers, and people in general, are all different. What trips us up in positions of leadership is knowing they’re different and still treating them as if their thinking is similar. We make assumptions. Employees respect their boss and revere their leader, right? Employee do what the boss says or there’s room for an “or else” in that statement, yes? Not always true and just the tip of the iceberg in how employees and bosses see things differently. What about employees from other cultures; differing genders, different backgrounds, different parents and oh yes, different personalities, which are often simplified. Leaders learn the differences of those they have the privilege of leading and then they lead each person slightly differently. They learn the motivations and triggers and avoid the latter. They learn their natural strengths and struggles and support the areas that need it. They learn their preferred environment to chat, coach, or have a meeting and do their best to accommodate for the sake of that employee’s level of comfort. Find a tool or find a person or better yet, work with an expert, who can guide you through just how and how much each of those you lead are different. The results in your awareness will be pretty startling and the results from your shifts in the way you’re leading will be award-worthy.

We’re often all too close to our own issues to see them clearly, much less enact action to resolve the issues. Call them blind spots or barriers, the best leaders find a way to see and get through them. Blind spots are those areas that result in you being frequently surprised or even frustrated. Look for those patterns in your daily leadership efforts and when you find them, actively take note and plan to do different in the future. Those patterns you fail to see in how you react or how others react to you or to your actions, can keep a leader with high potential from ever getting promoted. Don’t let that happen. Be vigilant. Be a detective looking for your own blind spots and you’ll become better at leading others. Not only does working on your own build empathy for those others, but it will also help you be less sensitive or susceptible to the next 360 tool utilized in your organization for feedback.

Being a boss is a step, being a leader is a process, and becoming a great leader, for some is a life-long adventure. Your confidence and comfort in your own skin will in large part determine how successful and rapid is your pursuit of leadership momentum. Your ability to learn the differences in others and how they impact your leadership will determine your level of influence. And finally, your interest in seeing through those elements that once seemed invisible or may have kept you blinded, will foreshadow your long-term rate of success in not only your current position but in any company lucky enough to call you their leader. I’m Monica Wofford and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great week and of course, stay Contagious!

Monica Wofford, CSP develops leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm designs and delivers leadership training for those managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com, www.MonicaWofford.com or by calling 1-866-382-0121.

The post When to Stop Being the Boss and Become a Leader appeared first on Contagious Companies.

Promoted, but not prepared, describes many a leader, but the reasons differ. One leader gets promoted because of their skills. Another because of limited other choices. Some take a promotion, only to find disillusion in a position, not at all what they envisioned. Yet, when promoted to leadership, the need, privilege and responsibility for leading team members, remains. In all cases, a promotion, recent or distant, makes the need to lead real, and the reasons for improving, compelling. These five reasons to become a better leader are important for you, as well as for them, even if they are simply better preparing you for the next promotion.

If you have been promoted, but not prepared, or feel you are the right person in the wrong position, becoming a better leader in your existing position will prevent feeling as ill prepared in the next one. Hindsight is a powerful teacher. What can you learn in this role that will help you in the future?

The word leader rarely brings to mind the word family, immediately. Yet, the very concept of leadership begins internally, and personally. What leadership skills could you improve that could also improve personal relationships or communication with loved ones? Remember, at work our opposites are called difficult. At home, they’re called honey.

New skills build an ease for doing things once seen as challenging. If frustration is a frequent feeling for your leadership, learning how to become a better leader will increase confidence in your abilities to handle more situations. The confidence boost will reduce self-judgment and second guessing of your decisions and actions. Needed actions will get easier and you’ll feel better about your ability to do them, spending less time wondering if they should have been done differently.

If you’re a leader, leading the way is a responsibility. Whether in the vision, mission, goals, or mindset, leaders show others to follow and are consistently looking to clear barriers. If your own skills need improvement in one area and you fail to improve them, this could easily become a barrier for an entire team of people.

Before you say becoming a better leader is NOT easy, reread the word choice. Improvement of skills in delegation, confidence, motivation, engagement, recognition, communication, or even emotional intelligence IS simple. There are steps to follow, assessments to measure, articles to read, coaches to hire, and mentors to guide. Getting the knowledge of how to improve, and taking one small step consistently, is simple.

The portion of becoming a better leader that some find difficult is not the process, the specific, nor the identification of what needs improvement. What feels difficult is changing our own behavior, or communicating or leading in a manner or style with which we’re not yet comfortable or requires effort. Well, yes, by definition, effort is not easy stuff, but the effort you make to become a better leader is worth it in multiple ways. Yet, there is still an admitted gap, but real leaders know the bridge that connects simple with easy is built with desire and effort.

Monica Wofford, CSP is a leadership development specialist and professional speaker. Her coaching, books, and skill based training programs are requested internationally. Monica is the CEO of  www.ContagiousCompanies.com, a candidate for the Florida House of Representatives and may be reached at 1-866-382-0121.

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Even if we’ve not said it, we’ve all led team members, staff, or even volunteers, to which we’ve wanted to say just get it together. And the IT varies. Sometimes it’s their schedule or ability to follow it. Sometimes it’s their job and their seeming disinterest in doing it. Sometimes it’s just the general concept best described by the stuff that piles up behind farm animals. Whatever IT is, you wish they’d get it together. However, more times about which most leaders would care to know, they want us to get to get our stuff together, too. So how do you do it? How do you assemble all the intel, product and people data, needs of the business, and direction of your company into some semblance of a reasonable plan other people will follow? That, my friend, is the key question on the minds of many of our recent leader coaching clients. And there’s a lot to bring together. Over the last ten months, our Monday Moments have focused on specific facets of how to become a better leader. In the remaining months of this year, the goal is to go bigger, be bigger picture, and take all that you’ve learned and realized and put it into action. It’s time to get it together and to make that plan so that your next season, quarter, year, and you, are even better than you imagined.

Picking your point is an important first step and foundation. What is the point of your day, week, month, quarter, or year? Call it a theme or simply a prime directive, pick one and allow it to be your focus. Those you lead want you to get it together just as much as you wish they would keep it together and keep going so give them what they need you to do to lead. Answer the questions of “Where are we going?” “When would we like to get there?” “What’s it going to take?” and How fast do we need to be going?” Different from a goal, your point helps you stay on point. Pun intended. Your point helps you focus, serves as a central theme of your activities, and keeps you and those you lead feeling purposeful. After today’s Monday Moment, pick a point, as if on a map. Determine what you wish to be, or do, or experience at the end of the next period on which you’re focused and then follow these remaining four steps to add meat to what is currently just a wish.

You may find you have multiple points. It may even be that your boss has given you multiple goals, projects or objectives. Cull through them and determine your most coveted priorities. Yes, they may all have value and all need to get done or show progress, but every single project, person, or need cannot be an A priority. It’s simply not feasible if you plan to actually get anything accomplished. Yes, it’s tempting to rate them all a one or put them at the top, but it’s not realistic and forcing such a system will leave you rather pessimistic. Lead the effort of actual accomplishment and the pursuit of real results by taking the action to pick selective priorities you wish to see to completion, or at least progress. Consider your primary point you’re about to pick. In that area, then pick no more than six priority subsets on which to focus. Base these priorities on the skills and size of the team you have the privilege of leading. Maybe even engage them in the process of culling out many competing priorities or interests. You have a point and main theme and now you have a short list of priorities to determine what item receives your greatest time investment. Your plan could begin to look like this: Our point for Q1 2019 is to develop the soft skills of our managers. Our priorities are to 1)Assess their greatest skill set deficiencies, 2) Determine internal training options available, 3) Explore creating a mentor program, 4) Find one external training course or program for each development need, 5) Create a way to show ROI to senior leadership and for budget expenditure.

If you’ve begun to create your own plan to show that you do, indeed, have it together, then the next step is to release the need to do all of this yourself. Who is doing what? Who will explore? Who will assess? Who will take on the role of helping you find the ROI? If you choose the route of engaging the team in this process and if the team is one that will successfully contribute in this area, then right here, right now, or at least at the time that you make your plan, assign action. Who is going to do what and by when? Plug the meetings or actions into the calendar NOW. You can also, and should always be able to, make changes later, but having dates and action assignments gives credibility to your plan. Now it’s ready for action and is not just a document passed around via email that people talk about in concept. Assigning action will also help with accountability and continued engagement, also known as them giving a rip about what you’d like to see accomplished.

Those who are driven and compelled toward results and action, will be tempted to make planning a one and done experience. It isn’t. Revisit regularly what you’ve done, not done, or need to tweak or do different. Revisit what has been accomplished and schedule those regular revisitation meetings now, much like you will have done with your action items. Few team members will work less effectively with a deadline and most will drive toward the deadline you provide, even completing tasks the day before or wee hours of night before the morning meeting. Something about deadlines gets people moving and remember soon or next week are rarely specific enough designations to provide the same type of motivation.

And just like that, you will feel as if, appear as if, and really and truly HAVE it all together. With five short actions to be taken you will have gotten it together, possibly even engaged your team in the process and built a powerful foundation for progress. Don’t put this off or put it down and don’t feel like you must become a planning maven to make it all happen. Five short steps is all it takes to add just a bit of structure to all those improvements, increases, and results you’d like to make happen. You’ve got this and you’re on your way to becoming and being one incredible leader!

I’m Monica Wofford and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great week and of course, stay Contagious!

Monica Wofford, CSP develops leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm designs and delivers leadership training for those managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com, www.MonicaWofford.com or by calling 1-866-382-0121.

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Ever hear, or seen on Facebook, this phrase: Make time for your health or you’ll be forced to make time for your illness? Leadership is similar. Make time to improve it or you’ll be forced to find time to fire, interview, hire and visit HR. You may even be forced to personally find time to search for a new position. But that sounds crazy!  Fifteen thousand things to do in twenty-four measly daily hours and no real time to truly dig into an issue, much less develop others to be or become better. Sure, there’s articles you could read. You could attend valuable classes. You could even hire a coach to distill your learning into one-hour weekly bite sized pieces. Each of which admittedly takes time. And then there’s time to practice. Or you could keep making errors, continue being fearless in believing the problems around you have nothing to do with the way you’re leading, and then make time for your likely exit strategy or simple stagnation in your current position. Ouch. Perhaps in the moments of time you can spare or carve out, start first by making it your mission to make these three areas and actions your primary focus. Not only do you have time to be a leader, but you can also find the time to become better. Grab a pen and your list and let’s do this!

The task list is always going to be long, but when you’re a leader, you’re a leader of people, not action items. If you’re overwhelmed, you’re not delegating to, or developing, those people, as effectively as needed. If you’re mired in drama, you’re not nipping issues in the bud, or your might be letting every mole hill feel like a mountain. The key is to put the people you have the privilege of leading and the task of helping them get better, at the top of your to-do list. Put each employee or manager’s name on a separate page or paper. Record what they do well, where they struggle, and what is needed from you to help them get better. The size of the team you lead will determine your speed of progress on this next step, but take one item needed from you, per person, and add it to your list of important tasks to be completed.

Many leaders wake daily with the sincere hope of completing each and every item on their list. About as likely as Santa getting through all the naughty and nice kid list in one evening, it is that very hope and belief that leads to things like burn out. Instead of the only marker of success being that one has completed everything on your list, make the measure of success the completion of your top six priorities. Then, make sure you are on that list of six. Leaders who are highly driven, regularly leave themselves off of their own list. They give, they give, then give some more and then end up giving all they’ve got, which turns into short fuses, barking orders, and a lack of patience, all precursors to burn out. Try this: once weekly, record a task that you need to do for the primary purpose of making you feel better or giving you energy. Maybe it’s read that report from start to finish. Maybe it’s buy a new outfit for the big board meeting. Maybe it’s leave at five so you can see your kids before it’s dark at 5:30. Whatever the item or task is, make sure to keep you and your needs, and the leadership of their priority placement, ON your list. You’ll be glad you did when you watch your colleagues get crispy and you feel like the Energizer bunny.

Well, that sounds interesting, you may be thinking, but let’s look at one big reality. Disgruntled employees and leaders don’t leave positions because they don’t like what they’re doing. People leave jobs because they don’t like, don’t connect with, or don’t respect, their leader, which means people will do jobs they hate for YEARS, as long as its with people who make coming to work have meaning. Your own manager may or may not fulfill that role for you, but it’s your job in becoming a better leader, to effectively manage his or her behavior, when in your presence. If you’re complaining about the way your boss treats you, respond to this treatment in a way that provokes a change in their behavior. Mind you, the implication in this entire third section is that you act with professionalism and avoid making the back end of a burro out of yourself. Next, if you feel as if your boss doesn’t care, doesn’t listen, or doesn’t like you figure out what they need from you and what does he or she find motivating. Influence their behavior by learning as much about them as possible. Much as you’ve made a list of those you lead, make a list of the positive attributes, the not so positive ones, and the areas where you struggle, with your own leader. In the areas of struggle listed, make it a point to DO something different that reduces the struggle. Find help. Ask a colleague. Stop whining and make changes. Bosses are people, too and as much as you might expect them to lead you and be exactly what you need, the reality is YOU are a leader, so be one…and not just with those you have the privilege of leading.

These three areas of focus will elevate the way in which you lead. A consistent effort in these areas, in fact, and completion of the tasks suggested, will give others the impression that you are one heck a leader. Now, let’s talk about being, or becoming, better together or going it alone in your improvement in the area of leadership. Leaders run fast, but even in a marathon, someone keeps time, police guard your path, and somebody hands you a freaking Gatorade. Your business coach can serve in similar roles. You can go it alone and practice on your own. Yet, if you’ve already worked in these three areas and found your progress to be slow, or if you’ve just remained steadfast in your efforts in these three priority areas, but not much is happening, get help. If you feel stuck at all or want to speed up that climb up the ladder to full speed, then by all means, let’s talk. You’ve read this far, so you’re ready. (a common question) Let’s do this and speed up the process and rapidly improve your leadership of you and others. The number to call is 1-866-382-0121 and it will be a pleasure to connect soon.

I’m Monica Wofford and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great week and of course, stay Contagious!

Monica Wofford, CSP develops leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm designs and delivers leadership training for those managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com, www.MonicaWofford.com or by calling 1-866-382-0121.

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We all want to believe we’re great at leading others. Not all leaders are great, but all leaders have that potential. What you make of it is determined by your decisions. Do you learn? Do you make improvements? Do you make many of the choices on today’s Monday Moment listing? Whether you’re transitioning from bad to good, or good to great, new to tenured, or recently promoted to trusted, your leadership is a powerful combination of many choices and actions, not one of which is stagnation. What are you doing different? Where are you interested and willing to make improvements? And what needs to be done or altered in order for you to rise to the level of leadership of which you’re proud and those you lead are inclined to follow? Perhaps it’s simply time to focus on making some of these choices?

An ironic first choice, but great leaders make decisions. They choose to do something or do nothing. They decide the direction and decide to deviate from a current rule or regulation for special circumstances. They choose to choose what areas of their own skills need improvement and they avoid the art of practicing avoidance.

While some leaders come by this trait naturally and will challenge themselves even to make coffee faster today than they did Friday, others cultivate the challenge. A leader who challenges themselves to improve a skill, or adjust a way of thinking, or modify an approach or message delivery, will remain open to the value of others who may do things vastly differently and will avoid the feeling of constant frustration over how their boss or employees could possibly have that belief or perception.

It’s no secret that time is limited. It’s no surprise that there’s only so much one leader can do in any given day or moment and that delegation is required to increase the results from everyone’s efforts. And yet, many leaders consistently fail to truly delegate for development. Don’t just sluff off the grunt work, challenge others to grow in new skills and new areas, while being patient with their development and speed of learning.

For new leaders this choice can be tricky. Do I make sure I deliver, as I am used to doing as an individual performer or, do I make sure we deliver as a team or department? There is a balance. A great leader does not delegate the responsibility of delivering on quotas, results, or numbers. Nor does he or she blame the team for low performance while standing back and failing to jump in and help those one has the privilege of leading. Choose to ensure you deliver; on your word, your goals, and your leadership. How you do this will be different for each leader.

Avoidance and standing back are the opposite of driving to achieve a specific outcome. Driving is also different than brow beating and blame. The great leaders who drive toward results, make the remaining nine choices and end up practicing equal amounts of influence as they do leadership.

Allowing yourself to fall back on the no news is good news philosophy of leadership communication, will create more problems than save you time. Check in with those you lead. Do it casually, in a friendly manner, scheduled, and off the cuff and often. Failing to check in teaching them to avoid you and will make any minor issues bigger quickly.

Different than checking in, coaching is about being specific on the topic you wish to address and tracking improvement. Make the choice to not only check in, but to coach and keep those conversations separate.

Emotional Intelligence is the art of using what you know (or will learn) about personality preferences. Don’t just label them with colors and names but find out what motivates those you have the privilege of leading. Guide those you lead if they need guidance. Be direct if that is the employee’s personality preference. Be filled with enthusiasm and recognition while you request they make punctuality a permanent feature of their work behavior, if that’s how they need to hear it. Your influence is determined by how well employees understand you and the best way to increase understanding is to speak the language with which they are truly most comfortable.

Realizing you might be the only one on the team you lead who thinks the way you do, can be frustrating. Frustration creates stress and can quickly create a leader seen to have an attitude. Watch out for that frustration and instead challenge yourself to quickly figure out another communication or expectation option.

For extroverts or those externally expressive, this frustration or attitude, will show up on their face. Manage that and realize that the skills needed to play poker might come in handy a time or two in leadership. What you’re thinking should sometimes stay hidden instead of showing up in your expression even when you’re saying nothing.

At some point, with all of these powerful choices, your leadership skills and results will get noticed and you’ll be recruited or promoted or given more responsibility because you’ve proven you can handle it. Be prepared and make that option easier for those in the position of making that decision. Find your successor. Develop the skills to lead in those you have the privilege of leading. The more prepared they are, the more available you become for that next, even better opportunity, or promotion.

But what if your boss doesn’t notice? He doesn’t see what you do or how often. She doesn’t notice you’re working magic with fifty cents and two twigs to keep the team under budget. Share with your boss your outcomes. Tell your boss about your ideas and solutions. Lead their impression of how you do things, how open you are to learning and how much you get what they’re asking you to accomplish. The same choices you would make to lead the team, apply to leading your leader.

These choices, your boss, your company and even those you lead are often changing. The software the company uses. The policy on this issue or that one. Choose to master your ability to manage transition and accept that in leadership change and changes are a constant. And beware. Throw a tantrum because something changed and your boss may put you in charge so that you get the much needed development in this area.

A burnt-out leader is ineffective. A crispy critter may wear the name tag that says General Manager but be doing a poor job of managing their own downtime, rejuvenation, self-care, and energy. Stay on your own list of priorities.

Leadership of others is not always easy. Every day may mire you in something new and different, drama filled or even fun and exciting. The pace can be grueling, but the pride in watching an employee grow and develop can also be remarkably rewarding. If right now isn’t the ideal leadership state you’d prefer to be practicing, by all means keep going, get through this season, and begin to look forward to the next one.

Great leaders pursue improvement. They value growth and seek it in themselves and those they have the privilege of leading. These same great leaders may not always make the right decisions when it comes to outcomes, but they learn from those missteps and continue to strive to make great choices in how they will approach the effort of leading others. In these choices and how you lead others, you’re a partner, not just a position. You’re a leader, their leader, leading yourself, and them, to consistently become even better.

I’m Monica Wofford and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great week and of course, stay Contagious!

Monica Wofford, CSP develops leaders. CEO of Contagious Companies, her firm designs and delivers leadership training for those managers who’ve been promoted, but not prepared. Author of Contagious Leadership and Make Difficult People Disappear, Monica may be reached at www.ContagiousCompanies.com, www.MonicaWofford.com or by calling 1-866-382-0121.

The post 15 Choices Soon to Be Great Leaders Make appeared first on Contagious Companies.

I recently listened to a leader describe a difficult employee who always said “well, that’s the way we’ve always done it”. You’ve heard it, but what happened next may surprise you… that same leader then told me she wasn’t sure about changing the training format because… “well, you know we’ve never done more than 1 live program a year and I’m not sure that’s something we want to change.” Hmmm…sounds a lot like “that’s the way we’ve always done it”. And whether it’s said about learning or leading, that phrase will keep you stuck and failing to make progress.

The simple truth is employees become mirrors of a leader’s philosophy. In this case, it was about training. In all cases, it’s about learning. Are you the leader who is always learning new ways, new information, and new approaches to the same old problem? Are you the leader always looking to better your own approach, knowledge or skill set? Or are you the leader who prefers to keep (and complain about) the same problems day after day? Either way, the following guidelines will help you become, model, and remain a learning leader who then paves the way for employees to do the same. (not to mention helps you become a better leader in the process!)

Even leaders have blind spots, as well as areas they know there needs to be growth. To continue to learn and enhance your skills, decide what area you’ll focus on first and try not to attempt them all at once. Perhaps you have a good grasp of essential leadership skills such as communication, conflict, coaching, and performance, but need to develop the skill of bragging about yourself or managing up. Good sources for where to start first might be your last performance appraisal or the areas that give you the greatest struggle. Pay close to attention to the things you put off the most as those are usually clues to areas that deserve your attention first.

Learning is not an event, but a process. Some leaders choose to learn their leadership skills through experience, time, or what I like to call trial and error, but there are other ways to acquire wise guidance and valuable wisdom. Read books ; download articles; scan Linked In leadership groups (Linked 2 Lead or Lead with Giants are great choices!); or even create your own Flipboard on your phone with topics of interest to you. Spend time daily scanning your favorite sources for industry trends, economic advice, communication guidance, and leadership tips. Daily small steps is one way to make great long term leadership learning progress.

Much as a manager might encourage the employee habit of putting a customer first or treating each other with mutual respect, the best managers lead themselves to develop lifelong learning habits. With nuggets of focus identified and time set aside, making learning a habit becomes easy and something you look forward to when starting your day. Just like that exercise program, this part of learning might not be easy, but daily learning is the fastest way to become a more effective leader.

Just this week I’ve trained leaders in three different courses. They were great live training courses and each client made specific efforts to carve out the budget because they felt their management teams were worth it. Finding the moola, as one client calls it, is not always easy and not having it one year, does NOT make you “bad boss of the year”. It does mean you may need to get creative and continue the learning for you and the team with a hybrid of training methods. Online learning and webinars are less expensive. Live courses typically are the highest investment and self-study books and audio programs are certainly the cheapest. The key is to determine what you can afford or begin building your case for training for you and the team, which means you may have to budget for more.

When a leader is learning, employees will often learn from you and if you want them to get better, putting the priority on your own learning is one of the most powerful things you can do.

I’m Monica Wofford and that’s your Monday Moment. Have a great week, an even better Monday, and of course, stay contagious!

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