LeaderSavers

Another Awful Performance

As I listened in disgust to "The Star Spangled Banner" being mangled at the start of Super Bowl XLV, I wondered if the NFL deliberately chooses people who can't render a decent performance -- or who can't seem to remember the words.

Admittedly, the song is difficult to sing.  It has a wide range and some archaic words, but as it is our National Anthem, it deserves a decent, respectful performance.  It should not be performed in public by celebrities who can't do the anthem - or themselves - any favors by attempting it.

What made the performance worse was that our seven year old grandson was trying to sing along.  He knew the words and could carry the tune well.  And he recognized when the performer embellished the melody a bit too much - and messed up the words.  What kind of message does that send -- awful is OK?

This event attracted national attention.  We should have heard an outstanding performance.  What we got was awful.  It wasn't the first time, and I'm afraid it won't be the last.  But we deserve better.

 

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Three Worst Things on TV

Well, there are most likely a lot more than three, but here are some TV spots that, in my opinion, are especially bad – or outrageous – or reprehensible – or ridiculous – or any other term you can think of:

1.     Bathtubs on the Beach – you know the scene.  After a smarmy ad about “E.D.” there’s a picture of a contented couple sitting in separate bathtubs on the beach.   What’s that supposed to teach us?  Ridiculous!

2.     Medication disclaimers – the ads are slick photographic messages, but the soundtrack is telling us that this product could cause blindness, or heart attacks, or suicidal thoughts – but ask your doctor if XYZ is right for you.  What kind of message is that?  Outrageous!

3.     Political attack ads – wherever you live, the story is the same.  A lot of hype, a lot of lies, a lot of mudslinging. We know what candidates or political parties or special interest groups are against, but what do they stand for?  We don’t know.  Reprehensible!

What are your three worst things on TV?  Add your comments below.  I’ll bet we come up with quite a list!

IT’S ABOUT TIME!

Most of us these days worry about time.  We’re OK when the plane departs on time, but we fuss when it is 10 minutes late.  Our doctor’s appointment is at 9:30, but we are annoyed when we don’t get called into the exam room until 9:55 – on a good day.  Well, it’s about time!

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If you want to get the best from your team for any of these reasons:

·         The number of people on your team has been reduced, yet you’re expected to produce the same or better results

·         Your team is not producing the results that are expected from you and your team, and you’re concerned that your superiors and peers are not going to be happy about that

·         Your team squabbles with one another and you’d like to lead a team that performs like a well-oiled machine or well-tuned orchestra

 

Then, pull up a chair, pick up the phone, and let’s talk.  I’d like to help you get the best from your team by offering you a special one-on-one Modern Leadership Mastery Coaching Session.  It’s confidential and complimentary.

Leading by Listening

How well do you listen – REALLY LISTEN – to the people you lead?  Do you hear what’s being said, or do you hear just what you want to hear?  Good leaders are good listeners.

 

Many people find it difficult to admit they don’t have all the answers.  Well, who does?  Good leaders listen.  Great leaders REALLY LISTEN – and they hear what’s being said and what’s NOT being said.

How to Get From Here to There

Goal setting – REAL goal setting – is not easy.  It takes time, dedication, and discipline.  But, just like eating an elephant, you can do it if you take it one bite at a time.  Here are five ways to accomplish a goal you have set for yourself:

1.       Decide where you want to go, what you want to accomplish.  Is it a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-sensitive) goal?  If not, work on it!  Also, be sure to ask yourself WHY this goal is important to you.

2.       Write it down!  Things begin to happen when you have committed a goal to paper and make yourself take a look at it from time to time.  Many resist this – but it really works!

3.       Under each goal, list 5 action steps you CAN take to make that goal happen.  Then, from the 5, pick 1 action step that you WILL take.  Notice the difference between CAN and WILL.

4.       Take action.  Get off your do-nothing stool and get started.  Whatever it takes, make it a point to get started.  Keep going and don’t quit.

5.       Celebrate!  Build small rewards into your tasks, and you’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel about continuing until your goal is reached.  Celebrate your accomplishments big time when you have completed what you set out to do.

A Point to Ponder:  Science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote:  In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.

Coaching Moments:

1.       When was a time in your life you accomplished a big goal you set for yourself?

2.       What did it take for you to accomplish that goal?

3.       How did accomplishing that goal make you feel?

Keeping Your Resolutions

How about those New Year’s Resolutions – are you continuing to work on them, or did they begin to disappear with the holiday tinsel and leftover turkey?  Actually, making and keeping New Year’s Resolutions isn’t the dismal failure many people imagine.

Did you know that:

·         67% of people make 3 or more resolutions

·         63% of those people are keeping their resolutions after 2 months

That’s good!  Setting goals and achieving them CAN be done.  What can get in the way is that we set too many goals and we don’t have a strong enough WHY in place.  If there is a strong enough reason in place, we tend to accomplish the goal.

So, whittle down that long list to the top 3 resolutions to make them more do-able and less overwhelming.  It’s much more positive to add more than to delete those you don’t finish. 

Need help finding your WHY?  For every resolution you make, ask yourself WHY.  If you can’t answer that question, what does that tell you?

The Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland  quipped, “If you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there.”  Where are YOU going in 2010?  WHY?

Coaching Moments:

1.  What’s most important to you about making New Year’s Resolutions?

2.  Which one will you be sure to keep throughout 2010?

3.  WHY?

Code of the West

A recent Denver Post article featured a teacher's reworking of a book meant for Wall Street that inspired at-risk students.

Here are key principles that may work as well for you as they do on the range, on Wall Street, or in classrooms:

• Live each day with courage
• Take pride in your work
• Always finish what you start
• Do what has to be done
• Be tough but fair
• When you make a promise, keep it
• Ride for the brand
• Talk less, and say more
• Remember that some things aren't for sale
• Know where to draw the line

Read the full article here

Coaching Moments: 

1. Which of the above Code items are most true for you?
2. How can you include just one new item in your life?

Leadership Programs: Inadequate to Poor

A recent editorial article by Linda Seebach (Rocky Mountain News, August 20, 2005) reviewed a report from the Education Schools Project that labeled many graduate programs that prepare school leaders as "inadequate to poor."  Seebach's article was provocative -- and so was the report she reviewed.