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“Creating Successful Leaders”

Tag Archives: How to Change Your Life

June 5, 2013 Save Money And Gain Knowledge With Online Courses

Paying for college is a drag, and although the job market is much better now than it was when I first began coaching a few years back, it’s still tough to know whether getting another degree is a smart investment.

The good news is Massive Open Online Courses, or “MOOC’s,” are providing people the world over with quality courses, free of charge. These classes are taught by real professors from some top notch schools, and MOOCs take advantage of video chat technology to create a sense of community.

Perhaps the company that’s making the biggest waves is Coursera. Having teamed up with universities like Stanford, University of Pennsylvania and Princeton, Coursera provides five undergrad courses that the American Council on Education has approved to count toward college credit.

What excites me isn’t free college credit, even though this is a big step toward an affordable education. I’m excited about the opportunity this gives anyone who wants accessible, flexible and personal learning. Classes typically run from 6-12 weeks, and you are free to take as many or as few as you’d like. This gives even the busiest of us the chance to advance our education. And we can do it however we want.

If you’ve always been meaning to get caught up on the classic novels, for instance, take a literature course! If you’re crummy at math and don’t want to be anymore, there are math classes as basic as geometry 1. Or, you can develop the skills you apply everyday at work. Coursera offers economics courses, marketing courses and integrated technology courses, to name a few, all of which address real-world needs.

Oh, and did I mention it’s free?

 

The Next Web. “Online learning goes official as five Coursera courses get approved by the American Council on Education.”  Accessed June 4, 2013. http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/02/07/online-learning-goes-official-as-five-coursera-courses-get-approved-by-the-american-council-on-education/

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May 29, 2013 Being Consistent About Being Consistent

Whether it’s achieving a personal goal, boosting your business or developing relationships, perhaps the most important ingredient to success in any of these endeavors is consistency.

That’s all well and good, but what does this look like? How do we attain it? In other words, how does a person remain consistent about being consistent?

Widening the parameters

“One of the problems with temptations,” writes professor of psychology Timothy A. Pychyl, “is that they can seem relatively harmless. It seems so reasonable and seductive to conclude that not running ‘just today’ won’t harm our long-term health goals, and that eating that jelly donut won’t ruin our weight-loss goal.”

It’s true, one jelly donut won’t make you fat. But that isn’t the point, is it? A person becomes unhealthy by repeating unhealthy behavior over time. It’s not the one jelly donut, it’s the very many “just one” jelly donuts. By keeping the parameters strictly in the present, we actually make the problem worse.

A solution is to view your actions on a wider time-scale, as links in a chain which create an overall pattern of behavior. With a broader picture of your actions in mind, it becomes clear that “just this one” is really one of a great many. Change the action at the immediate level on a daily basis, and soon you’ll change the pattern entirely.

Consistency reinforces itself

It’s sobering knowing that one bad action leads to a pattern, but the good news is that this works in the reverse too. Since behaviors come in bundles, we can modify a single action every day knowing that this will soon develop into a bigger life pattern. In other words, don’t worry about taking on a huge self-improvement project. Focus on daily actions and feel good about those.

Speaking of which, I’m sure you’ve found that feeling good about your actions is addictive. And I’ll let you in on a little secret: you don’t need to feel guilty about feeling good about yourself! Use it to your advantage.

Consistency reveals character

We’re familiar with the phrase, “actions speak louder than words.” I’m guessing you’ve also experienced that terrible disconnect between your own actions and words. This is the result of a lack of consistency. In an ideal world, what you believe and what you do should line up perfectly. We don’t live in an ideal world, so you can forget about any idea of perfection. But what you can do is work toward consistency between your inner and outer selves. Act on your principles–little things, everyday. Clean up after the messes you’ll inevitably make, apologize for your inconsistencies, but keep forming new links in positive behavior chain.

One link, everyday!

Psychology Today. “More Effective Goal Intentions: Think Width and Consistency.” Accessed May 28, 2013. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/201011/more-effective-goal-intentions-think-width-and-consistency

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April 25, 2013 “Just Be Yourself!” Leadership and Authenticity

“Authentic leaders remain focused on where they are going but never lose sight of where they came from.’

Striving to be authentic is hard enough on its own, but in a leadership role it can seem impossible. There’s the constant battle between expressing our true selves and managing the competing personalities and opinions of those around us. It’s the dance between plain-speaking and politically-conscious wording. It’s the struggle of trying to remain “human” in a leadership role, while simultaneously appearing resilient to any bumps in the road.

And believe me, we must stay human if we are to be effective leaders. People want a leader who is approachable, honest, forthcoming; someone who knows where they are coming from. They want to know that you have opinions and emotions outside of your role, that you have passions and hobbies, that you root for a sports team or enjoy a night out. We can all point to a leader in our lives who was distant, stale, or off-putting, and I’m willing to bet that the person you’re envisioning wasn’t a very effective leader.

So how exactly do we convey our authentic, imperfect selves right along side the impression of strength and confidence that all leaders must possess?

1. Striking A Balance 

This takes time. You must make an effort to stay approachable and friendly, but also know when to assume the “fearless leader” role. There is no formula for this, unfortunately, because every leadership role requires qualities specific to the organization they lead. The main thing to do is to be observant and receptive to your environment. You must also be flexible, willing to adapt.

2. Failing

Great leaders accept their flaws and learn from them. You will make mistakes, as we all do, and you may be inclined to shove it under the rug. Don’t do this. While mistakes are embarrassing, they provide an opportunity for you to show your human side. If you handle it with grace and humility, and focus on how to handle situations more aptly in the future, your organization will see that you’re authentic and appreciate you for it.

3. Making Clear Distinctions

I used to give my staff hand-written thank you notes when they did a great job. One man in particular held on to my note, as it reminded him that he was a capable, valued worker. At an appropriate time, I was able to let my leader guard down and express my appreciation. This strengthened my connection to this member of my team, which in turn boosted productivity. The trick is learning when and where it’s okay to lose the leader role and “be yourself.”

 

I firmly believe leadership is a learned trait. Sure, some are naturally more prone to leading than others, but with time, patience, and a willingness to be brave, you can teach yourself the balance needed to lead authentically and effectively.

 

Goffee, Rob and Gareth Jones. “Managing Authenticity: The Paradox of Great Leadership.” Harvard Business Review, December 2005, accessed April 23 2013. http://hbr.org/2005/12/managing-authenticity-the-paradox-of-great-leadership/ar/1

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