John's Blog

As part of accredited training, each person on course gets one-on-one feedback. In this feedback, I usually ask people at the start if they think they are competent in the skills learned. Normally, the response falls in one of two categories. Some people are confidant of their ability and say yes. Some people are hesitant, and squeeze a yes or a maybe out.  

Personal & Leadership Skill: Cultural Awareness Sadly, polarisation seems to be the current trend in the world at the moment. This is a dangerous attitude to own in the “global village” of our modern world. Our workplaces, neighbourhoods and public areas are filled with people from various culture groups and backgrounds. We are exposed to all sorts of age groups, religious persuasions and life attitudes each and every minute. This cosmopolitan environment requires each of us to be able to demonstrate some awareness and sensitivity to other culture groups.   

Sitting in a meeting about culture, the Logistics Manager blurted out: I hate it when employees say ‘The Company should’, or ‘you should’, never taking ownership of their jobs or showing loyalty towards the company.   The manager had moved herself up in a medium sized pharmaceutical company, a family business, from receptionist to Logistics Manager in a few short years. She didn’t get the sympathetic and understanding response she was hoping for.

Navigating change can be a tricky process with the “pull of the past” tugging at your heels to get you back to your comfort zones. Seeing the process through until change has been firmly set in the normal routine requires discipline and direction. Change happens automatically, but not all change brings positive development with it. Expecting a positive result at the end of the process requires conscious effort to correctly guide the change.

9 Key Questions to gudie change << Part 1    5. Control: Can you start and maintain the outcome?

  It is safe to say that being busy does not mean you are productive. It must also be said that leaders never reach a point where they do not have to prioritise their activities. A diary full of activity doesn’t guarantee accomplishments. In fact, the higher you climb up the successful leader ladder, the more important successful prioritising becomes. Pareto’s 80/20 Principle suggests that 20% of your effort will produce 80% of your rewards. There is   a big “BUT” attached to that principle – but you must select worthwhile activities that will bring reward. So, how do you, as a leader, select the “better” activities to get more bangs for your sweat? By utilising the 3 R’s of Priority of course. The 3 R’s of Priority are three questions the leader can ask to determine if an activity is really worth the effort:

<< Leadership Needy Leader – The Flip Side AVOID being a NEEDY Leader (part 2) The needy leader forms one leg of the Drama Triangle. What is the Drama Triangle? The needy leader creates drama by viewing all the people that surround him or her in one of two categories – Victim or Persecutor as discussed in Part 1. Below is a Drama Triangle Diagram:

<< Leadership AVOID being a NEEDY Leader! Leader is almost synonymous with Role Model. People look to Leaders to set an example, to lead the way. People draw strength and encouragement from leaders. So, the pressure is on the Leader to be reliable, consistent and to act with integrity.  Imagine the devastation and harm a needy leader could cause. When a leader decides that their own worth and value is based on the position they hold, they quickly descend into a dark place that makes leadership ugly. Manipulative, controlling and praise-seeking become hallmarks of a needy leader. Even good people walk on a slippery slope that could take them into the role of a needy leader. So, how does a well-meaning leader avoid becoming needy?

8 Universal Life Skills (everyone should have) There is no doubt that the world we live and its inhabitants are changing. Professional communication, access to information, more contact with diverse groups of people; are just three ways over the last decade in which the demands on each person personally has changed. Adaptability was an ability that was favoured, but has become an essential life skill to ensure personal survival in this ever changing world.

https://www.facebook.com/anamcarraleadership/ << Leadership The Space in Leadership 3 Skills of Listening and Timing Music is not in the notes, but in the silence between. Wolfgang Mozart Music is in the space between the notes. Claude Debussy The attribute of Space in Leadership can be compared to the space between notes in music. Whatever you preference of style, it seems that music appeals to people from all walks of life. It is true that each of us has our own choice as to our favourite groups or even style of music. It is also true, you would have to agree, that music is made up of notes and timing.

6 Steps to Engaged Leadership Whether you are arranging your own life for success, or rallying the energy and enthusiasm of a team, it is important that you and your team are fully engaged in the process.  According to Wikipedia, Engage means: 1. occupy or attract (someone's interest or attention).  2. Participate or become involved in and   3. (With reference to a part of a machine or engine) move into position so as to come into operation. As a leader focused on achievement of a vision, you will require yourself and your team members to be interested in the vision, you will require them to participate or be involved in the active achievement of the vision by moving into an operational position that will make them fruitful. Engaging people is no easy task as approximately 77% of people are disengaged from their own lives and careers. Getting people interested and involved is the single hardest task for a leader that never stops. The six steps to Engaged Lea...

4 Dream Killers for Potential Leaders and Winners With so many people content to live inside the box of Averagedom, it must be comfortable and appealing, right? Yet, studies show that more than 47% of people are discontent with their life and personal achievements. If so many people are unhappy with who they are and what they have achieved, why don’t they do something about it? Is the box so rewarding that people settle for second best for their lives? Or are the obstacles that prevent people from getting out the box so powerful?  It is true; many people choose to remain average throughout their lives. Although there are many reasons for people to stay inside, this article explores 4 difficulties people have trying to get out of the box. These are not the only reasons people struggle to break free from mediocrity, but they offer an insight to the most common barriers to success for potential leaders and winners.

5 Phases of a Developing Team As obvious as it may be to you and I, there are many people floating about claiming the title of leader when they have no team, they have no followers. What should be obvious is that “leader” is not a title, but rather a role or a function. The leader may not always be the most experienced person, nor the oldest. The leader may not walk in front of the pack, but one thing is for certain, a leader carries that label because of the job they perform. The obvious job a leader performs is to lead a group of people. The path may be from A to B, or from A to B and back again. The path a leader takes a group may cover all the letters in the alphabet, but one thing should not be overlooked: the primary function of a leader is to take his or her people from a frazzled group to a high performance team. 

Groups vs. Teams A leader will emerge as a team gathers to accomplish any sort of objective. A handful of key principles will assist a leader to lay a good foundation for his or her personal leadership style. The leader should also understand the phases of a developing team, understand what is required to keep the team on track. A working knowledge of the difference between a group and a team will help the leader identify where the team is in the development process.

5 Key Principles of Team Development In order to achieve something fantastic, you require a team to do what is needed for success. Before you have a high performance team, you need a group that shares a common cause. Before you have a group with a common cause, a leader is required. This leader will take his or her people from being a group into a high performance team that achieves outcomes smoothly and efficiently. Even though there are many kinds of teams, each accomplishing many types of objectives, all requiring vastly different skill sets, it is clear that the leaders of the unique and varying groups need to have an understanding of the basic concepts of leadership. Knowledge of just a handful of key principles will give the leader a clear understanding of his or her role in the success of any team.

5 Steps to turn your Group into a High Performance Team All teams are a group, but not all groups are teams. In order to understand this opening statement it is important to understand the dynamics and definition of a group, and of a team. A Group is a collection of people that have come together, joined by a common cause. A Team is a collection of people, already united by a common cause, and have a common objective or goal to achieve.

Four Steps to Discover Your Life Mission “What do you do for a living?” It’s a question we all get asked from time to time. This question has an impact, not only how people will see us and relate to us, but on our own worth and value too. So, how do you answer it? Do you tell them about the company where you work? Do you give details of your job title and functions? Personally, I answer the question with a simple statement: I am a teaspoon. Finding your purpose in life is an easy task, but it is not for the feint hearted. In twenty years of teaching leadership and entrepreneurship, there have been countless CEO’s and business owners that told me that they “don’t have time for that psycho mumbo jumbo” in their lives. Who can blame them when you consider how mission and purpose have been made to be wooey and distant.

5 Steps to Authentic Leadership Lack of Integrity and Authenticity is a deal breaker between leader and follower.   Seeking to be authentic is a positive step in any leader’s personal development. Having an authentic leader helps promote mutual trust and respect between leader and follower. Cultivating authenticity in your personal life and leadership style is not arriving at a destination. Authenticity is not a railway station in our leadership journey. Authentic leadership is about making the right decisions within the moment, as each situation arises. The leader is constantly faced with the choice to be authentic or not in: truth, mission and values.

Authentic Culture Authentic Brand Those entrepreneurs that neglect company culture and company brand do so at their own peril. Culture and brand are two sides of the same coin. Culture is the attitudes, expectations expressed through policies and procedures that boil out into action through service. Brand is the culture of your organisation from the customers’ perspective. Brand is how your customers see and experience your company’s culture when they buy your products or use your services.

<<< Back to: Leadership Development Authenticity: The Pudding of Congruence.   Buzzwords come and go in the fields of leadership and personal development. ‘Mindfulness’ is the latest word to slip into blog titles and development memes. ‘Authenticity’ is another word doing the rounds as authors play with its role connecting leaders to a higher calling. Yet strangely, there is a word that is powerfully connected to authenticity that is missing. As the strong undercurrent, this word lends purpose and force to authenticity. This word is Congruence. The tired truck driver battles to keep his eighteen wheeler rig between the lines on the highway. Controlling the sway and wandering is made difficult by the fact that one trailer wheel is flat and the general alignment is out. Besides the expense and increased wear and tear on the vehicle, misaligned wheels are dangerous. The vehicle will not run true as wayward wheels pull it in all directions, making safe handling diff...