Category Archives: Leadership

Bias Dictates 1

Bias Dictates the Thoughts that Govern Us

Bias dictates to our reason and wisdom, but is it always bad?  What role does it play in decision-making and in governing our actions? Knowing that we have bias and learning how to manage our bias empowers us to act intelligently to the world in which we live.

The biggest challenge is managing our bias is recognizing that they exist, and that fact is not a bad thing. Biases create an awareness that we are dealing with things that are important to us.

How Bias Dictates Our Decisions

Bias is the visceral, negative, or positive feelings that we have about a person, place, or thing.  These feelings simplify our lives to interpret the world to our liking.  It bypasses our ability to reason.  Also, it is that noisy voice that drowns out wisdom. Biases drive the way we want to see the world.

This voice is an essential element of human nature.  Patriotism, faith, political ideology, and fandom sit atop our biases.  The powerful effect of bias can bring us together to form successful groups.  In sports, business, or other matters of competition, the voice of our bias motivates us to support our team and defeat or competitors.

Additionally, these feelings can make life fun.  The excitement, love, and joy we feel for our sports team, political party, religion, or family members come from these feelings.

We hear the word “biased” often from the proud parent who brags about a child.  The parent closes with, “Of course, I am not biased.” Nod, nod, wink.

Furthermore, these feelings bring us peace.  They help us overcome doubt and fear.  Bias can create healthy, positive emotions that carry us through periods of uncertainty.

At other times, bias can create tension when our feelings conflict with the thoughts and feelings of other people.  Discussing religion, sports, politics, and any other feelings about our core beliefs with people who don’t share those beliefs can undermine the bonds of loyalty within a team or among co-workers who interact with each other.

Emotional Intelligence: A Healthy Relationship with Our Bias Dictates

Since bias has beneficial effects and adverse effects on how we think, having a healthy relationship with these feelings is important.

The first step is recognizing that we have biases.

Unlike the emotions that float through our daily lives, biases become hard-wired to our beliefs.  These feelings respond to triggers. When we hear or see things that instantly and subconsciously stir our emotions, the noisy voice of bias can drown out the voice of reason.

We believe in the things that we like.  We get angry when we hear or sear things that we don’t like.  When we interpret the world as good or evil based on our emotions, it is difficult for us to know what is true or false in the world.  Likewise, it is easy for biases to deceive us into making bad decisions.

The second step in having a healthy, productive relationship with our bias is learning to pause. We can let our emotions settle. From there, we can attempt to take an objective look at the things that are happening.

Additionally, we can speak with other people who are not involved in the situation. People who are not driven with the same bias as you.  From their thoughts, we can create a plan based on emotional intelligence.

Rebel: The Power of Being Different

Rebel: The world is full of successful people who conform to the norm. However, a rebel can blow past the norm and change the world.

I have never known a rebel who was boring. ~ www.jaywren.com

Companies have guidelines and rules.  But what do you do when the guidelines block you from achieving your goals? Do you have enough of the rebel in you to change your life and, perhaps, even the lives of people around you?

Rebel: Is Conforming to the System Killing Your Career?

Following policies and procedures works great for many people.  They go to work on time and do what the company asks. To the best of their ability, they try to get along with everyone.

But what if you are frustrated with squeezing your way into the norm?  What if you want to break out of the mold in a bold and dynamic way? The way of the rebel may be the answer.

Every Pathway Involves Risks.

There are people who have great careers.  They work at a company for twenty or thirty years.  Some of these people are fortunate enough to move on to another great job.  Others have the good fortune of being able to retire early.

On the other hand, for other people, the life of the conformist moves along fine until they discover that their company no longer needs them.  Even worse, they learn that their skills are obsolete long after it is too late to develop new skills.

In fact, most people find that the security of a large company disappears long before they reach financial independence.

Rebels Find Success Through Their Authenticity.

The most successful rebels are authentic to themselves. They easily sustain and succeed as rebels, because what they are doing feels authentic.

The simple writing style of Ernest Hemingway, the descriptive writing style of F. Scott Fitzgerald, the complex writing style of William Faulkner, and the clever, honest writing style of J.D. Salinger are all different. What these different styles have in common is that they are consistent in the work of these different writers.

Furthermore, their styles are not only different from the style of each other.  Their styles were different from the styles of any other writers.  All four adhered to their idea of authenticity in their writing.

Moreover, don’t force yourself to be different. Simply, let your authenticity shine through your performance.

Rebel: Examples of Success

Cultural icons like Gorgeous George, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Muhammad Ali, Madonna, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and hundreds of others risked controversy to create success their way.

Innovative icons of technology: Nikola Tesla to Steve Jobs to Elon Musk have never let conformity to restrict their ability to fulfill their visions.

Iconic rebels of art: Van Gogh, Picasso, Jason Pollock, Joan Mitchell, and countless other great artists. A commitment to be innovative, sometimes shocking, and consistently authentic empowers great artist to change the way we view art.

In every field of endeavor, there are rebels who step out to create new pathways for others to follow.

Bad Bosses

Bad Bosses: How to Excel In Spite of Them

Bad bosses can destroy your career as they make your life miserable before you get away from them. Here are ways you can protect yourself and your career.

If you are working for a bad boss, you have my understanding and empathy.  I have had a couple of bad bosses.  One had no interest in his job and was a roadblock to my career.  The other one was verbally abusive.  In the first case, I left the company for a better opportunity.  In the second case, I adjusted to my supervisor’s difficult behavior.  He promoted me before he went to another job.

The Mental and Physical Risks of Working for Bad Bosses

Working for long periods of under the stress of a bad boss damages your health and your life.  Common experiences include:

  • Fatigue
  • Impaired mental ability
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Mental and physical damage that may continue for years after leaving the bad situation

Bad Bosses

How can You Protect Yourself and Your Career?

There are things you can do to reduce the stress and to work more effectively with bad bosses. Here are some of them.

Keep a Journal

Writing about your experience helps you in several ways.  The process helps you clarify your thoughts and find solutions.  Additionally, writing help you process the emotions and reduce the sting of dealing with your boss.

Keeping a journal with the details of your experience can help you to protect yourself.

List the details:

  • Include documents, including emails, text, and memos.
  • Track the details with dates and times.
  • List what happened and how you responded

Respond with Emotional Intelligence

Discuss your situation with your mentor or other people you can trust to keep the information private.  Through these discussions, you can find comfort and solutions to handle the situation and reduce the stress of working for your boss.

Do not retaliate.  If your boss criticizes you, criticizing your boss in turn will create greater tension.  If your boss yells at you, yelling back will only heighten the confrontation.  Reply to your boss in a normal tone.  Listen to the criticism and say that you will make the changes your boss is telling you to make.

Develop skills to work with your boss.  Learn the way that your boss wants things done.  For example, your boss may like options or choices before making a decision. Make recommendations with choices of action or material.

Seek New Ideas for Dealing with Bad Bosses

Going over your boss’s head is not always a good idea.  At some companies, bosses will fire you for going to their supervisor or other people in the company.  The ill will alone can cost you support for pay raises and promotions.  However, building relationships and learning how other people are working with your boss can help you. Don’t talk with everyone about your issues with your boss. However, chances are that you are not alone.  Some of the other people in your company, people who are your peers, may have found ways to work more successfully with your boss.  You can learn from these people.

Showing Support for Your Boss May Reduce the Pressure.

Recognize times when you can show support for your boss. Give your boss credit when he or she deserves it.  The reason that a supervisor benefits from an employee doing a great job is that the results benefit the boss.

Additionally, you can show support for your boss by doing what they ask you to do without discussion. Making your boss justify their decision will only heighten tension.

Are Your Problems Temporary

Bosses come and go.  Do not ruin a career over a passing situation.  Try to see the bright side of things.  Your boss cannot eat you.  He or she may even promote you or give you a pay raise.  Eventually, your boss may just go away.

Find Another Opportunity

Explore your options to getting another job.  If there appears no end to the madness of dealing with a bad boss, look for opportunities to transfer within your own company or ways to get another job.

Leadership Qualities 1

Leadership Qualities that Create Great Teams 

Leadership Qualities: Some teams have a manager but still suffer from a lack of leadership.  What qualities help leaders raise the team standards and increase team success?

Four Leadership Qualities that Create Great Teams

Leaders have many qualities that make them more effective.  For example, a leader with charisma easily draws people to them and creates focus on what these leaders do and say. Leaders who are more intelligent and have greater experience help the team make better decisions.

Here are leadership qualities that you can claim today.

Self-honesty

Not just honesty, but self-honesty.

Self-honesty is about you recognizing and correcting your mistakes.  It’s the honesty to recognize your weaknesses.

It is burying your ego so that you can accept the truths that stand between you and success.

To be successful takes more than overcoming lying, cheating, and stealing.  For that matter, there are successful liars, cheaters, and thieves.

But even successful thieves benefit from honesty about their mistakes and their weaknesses.  Otherwise, they will never become more effective, successful thieves.

Open-mindedness

A closed mind is the wall between ignorance and learning.  It is also a wall between the shared intelligence of the team and the mind of a boss.

Of all the leadership qualities, open-mindedness might be the most important quality for creative, responsive teams.

Emotional Intelligence

First, learn to understand ourselves. Then we can begin to understand others.

Emotional Intelligence (sometimes abbreviated “EI” or referred to as Emotional Quotient “EQ”) is the ability to understand our own emotions as well as the emotions of other people.

People who have emotional intelligence know how to read people.  They have an intuitive sense of why people do things and how to motivate people to do things. With a combined understanding of themselves as well as an understanding of others, these leaders can make decisions and take action with greater intelligence.

Ability to Grow

A final quality in this discussion is the ability to grow.

Leaders who continue to grow become a source of continuous growth for the team.  Developing knowledge and skills, these leaders bring greater value to teams and increase the value of these teams to the organization. Effective new as well as tried methods, when introduced to the team, create both a greater understanding as well as more efficient ways of using new methods.

Leaders who develop the quality of continued growth can clear the clutter of methods that reduce the effectiveness of a team. Just knowing to evaluate procedures as time passes makes for greater effectiveness.

Teams that grow make the leap from short-term survival to long-term success.

Wise Choices

Wise Choices: Little Adjustments Can Change the Day

Wise choices: Success comes from making wise choices about how to feel and respond to the things that happen to us.  When I am having a bad day, I can strain to push myself through the day.  Ruminating, sulking, and whining are great ways to stay stuck in a bad day. On the other hand, I can restart my day anytime.

Making Little Adjustments Can Lead to Wise Choices

Start My Day over with a Little Grooming

Splashing a little water on my face is refreshing.  I can dampen my comb and start with a fresh part in my hair, just as I do when I am beginning the day.

If I wore makeup, I could restart my day with a mini-makeover:  lips, eyes, cheeks.

I can refresh the way I am dressed.  I can tuck in my shirt and adjust my tie just as I do when I first get dressed in the morning.

I not only feel refreshed. I empower myself with a stronger presence among the people at my workplace.

Practice Affirmations

Everyone is different.  However, I find that by focusing on the things that I have accomplished rather than the things I regret can increase my energy and my confidence. I affirm that am capable and accomplished.

I have a friend who is fun and interesting. He told me that every morning before he heads out the door, he looks in the mirror and says to himself, “You are fantastic.”

Whenever I am around him, I find that I feel better about my own life through his positive attitude.

Take breaks.

When I am hungry or tired, I may deal with situations poorly. I can relax with quiet meditation to calm my mind and reset my disposition. A 20-minute power nap has been part of my lifestyle for years.

Adjust my Schedule.

Sometimes I schedule too many things. On other days, too many new tasks arise.  I can restart my day with a new schedule.

If I am struggling with a task, I can break the task down into pieces.  I can look at the pieces or elements of the task and define my true goal for this task.  With this process, I better understand what I am doing and cut the number of false starts and revisions.

I can then schedule a completion date for that task.  I may find that I am dealing with a truly valuable task that will return greater rewards once I have stopped forcing my way through the task and have begun to work with a schedule of steps.

Take Walks

By exercising, I burn up that adrenaline that accumulates from the mental stresses of my workday. Rather than sit at my desk to eat my lunch, I can take a short walk or go through a series of stretches at my desk.

Confidence Development

Confidence Development: Clearing the Mental Clutter of Job Stress

Confidence Development: Stress loves mental clutter.  As the pile of clutter grows in a person’s mind, stress becomes more powerful.

The clutter creates confusion and undermines our ability for confidence development. Instead of planning for upcoming events, we worry about upcoming events. The growing stress robs our energy.  Lower energy leads to inaction, procrastination.  Inaction creates greater mental clutter.

Mental Clutter>>Confusion>>Doubt>>Stress>>Fatigue>>Less Action>>Greater Mental Clutter>>Greater Confusion>>Greater Doubt>>Higher Stress>>Greater Fatigue>>More Procrastination>>Mental Clutter. So goes the cycle.

Writing Can Open Our Mind to Greater Confidence Development

When I suffer from worry, I often write about it. When I am feeling stressed about something, writing takes the power from my anxiety.  Sometimes, just putting something on my calendar helps clear my mind.  I name the problem and create a to-do list for the solution.

For example, I might write, “I am afraid that I will miss my flight.” Then I can write a solution.  “I will make my flight, because I will go to the airport early and relax until my flight begins boarding.”

Case Study

A more complex example is how one of my friends prepares lectures he gives to large audiences. Public speaking is stressful for nearly everyone. My friend is an expert in his field. The first time he gave one of his lectures, just thinking about the presentation made him nervous.  As he spent more time thinking about speaking to an audience, he became more nervous. Confidence development was lost.

The Solution

As he prepared for his speech, he found that writing about his feelings had powerful results. He wrote, “I am nervous about giving this presentation to this group.”

Then he outlined what he wanted to say.  It occurred to him that he was not the subject of the presentation. His knowledge was the subject. He began to see his audience as people who needed the information that he could give them. Additionally, he saw how his presentation could help his audience become more successful in their professions through learning what he had to say.

He focused on writing out the details that would benefit his audience the most.  As he wrote, he gained confidence.  He saw the value in his knowledge.

He has given the lectures for over a decade.  As new developments occur in his field, he updates his presentations.  His ideas are current, relevant.  New audiences need his knowledge as much as the first audiences did.  He keeps his mind clear by sweeping out the clutter by naming his fear and focusing on the solutions he is giving his audience. He has learned the tools of confidence development.

Meeting Agendas

Meeting Agendas: Gaining Control Through Preparation

Meeting Agendas can empower you to set and control the purpose of a meeting as well as the agreements reached during the meeting.

Are you tired of meetings that accomplish nothing? These lessons from sales training might help.

Case Study

During lunch, a field sales manager of a major consumer goods company told me about an experience he had had during a day in the field with his company’s chief executive officer. He said that he went through the day will a well-planned series of meetings. Each meeting was important to the success of the company’s brands. And he felt that his day was a success.

However, the CEO showed him how he could have made each meeting more successful by entering the meeting with a prepared agenda.  He pointed to instances of the meetings getting off track and failing to obtain commitments that were there for the asking.

Preparation for a Sales Call

In my training at a major consumer products company, I learned how to plan a sales call. The night before, I would create a presentation for each call. The presentation included the objective of the call, the benefits to the buyer, and the quantities of products I planned to sell. Interwoven into the agenda were possible objections I might anticipate from the buyer and how I would handle them.

A Status Board as a Meeting Agenda

When I entered the recruiting industry, I first worked for a search firm that had a former pharmaceutical industry executive as CEO.  The only thing that he asked of us recruiters is that we sit down at the beginning of every day and go over a single sheet that contained a list of search assignments and prospects, code the status of the assignments, and update that sheet every day. From there he asked to see a copy of the sheet at the end of every week.

Each morning, we recruiters met to review our “Status Boards,” which were the agenda for the meeting.

In having us create this simple “Status Board,” the CEO established more than a plan. He created an agenda for our daily activity. We not only had to present the names of the hiring companies and the name of the applicants; we had to state our progress in the process. For potential candidates, we put no number after their name. If a candidate agreed to an interview with a company, we put a “1” beside the name of that candidate. When we had a candidate scheduled for an interview, we put a “2” beside the applicant’s name. A “3” meant that the candidate had an offer.  A “4” meant the candidate had accepted the offer.

What this CEO accomplished was to require each recruiter to know the details and progress of each search assignment. He called this sheet a “Status Board.” Implicit in this activity is that this CEO laid out the details of an agenda that kept us recruiters on track and kept him informed.

Meeting Agendas Across all Industries.

So began my practice of having an agenda for my daily activities.  I add to my agenda as new events arise. Again, this agenda is more detailed than scheduling a task. The agenda contains the objective, progress, and completion of the task.

A second example, is how I manage visit to the doctor’s office.  I state the purpose of the visit. Then I add a list of questions I plan to ask. I include a section for next steps. This simple method makes my appointments more meaningful, and I don’t leave the meeting with regrets for not asking the right questions or frustration on over not understanding the next steps.  Therefore, I can then take the steps for more successful action for my health.

Winning Traits

Winning Traits: Empower Yourself for Success

Winning Traits: What traits do successful people have that empower them for success?  Are they traits that you can develop?

Horrible things happen to all of us.  Things beyond our control.  But developing winning traits can change the questions we ask when we meet challenges. We stop asking, “Why me?”  Instead, we ask, “What steps can I take today to make things better?” ~ www.jaywren.com

What is Self-Empowerment and How Can We Achieve it?

Self-empowerment is taking control of your behavior to reach your goals and achieve success.  This trait empowers us to do the things that we can do.  Furthermore, it enables us to recognize our weakness and turn them into strengths.

1. Hustle

The people who hustle move ahead of the competition. They are the ones who recover the fumble, catch the rebound, or bring their product to market before competitors do.

2. Integrity

There are many quotes about integrity.  Usually these quotes look something like this:  Integrity is what you do when nobody’s watching.  However, integrity is a quality that builds success whether people are watching or not.

People without integrity lie in public, con people into choices, break their commitments.  They lack loyalty, fairness, decency.  No one trusts people who don’t have integrity.

On the other hand, people with integrity do none of these things. Nor do they have any of those bad qualities.  Additionally, people trust people who have integrity.

3. Self-Honesty

There are two types of honesty.  Cash register honesty is one.  Certainly, cash register is important for building trust and staying out of jail.  However, self-honesty enables people to see their shortcomings.  More importantly, self-honesty enables people to correct their mistakes and strengthen their weaknesses.

To have self-honesty, we must be open-minded and have a willingness to change.

4. Absolute Ability to Set Priorities

Anyone can make a list of things to do.  However, a simple to-do list is not a list of priorities.  Successful people must have the ability to know the difference between the things that they should do today from the things that must do today.

5. The Ability to Act

Do not confuse motion with action.  A swivel chair has motion but it is not going anywhere.   People who move into action create self-empowerment to reach their goals.

6. Relentlessness

People who are relentless don’t give up on themselves or their success.  Through effort and intelligence, they move past obstacles to achieve their goals.  I write two to three blog posts a week.  Sometimes, I don’t feel like writing.  Other times, I can’t think of ideas for writing.  However, I have a relentless attitude to continue to read and grow and find powerful ideas to share on my blog.

Career Intelligence

Career Intelligence: Learn as if You Will Live Forever

Career Intelligence is a prerequisite for career agility. “An agile career is the result of an awareness and willingness to learn new skills that increase your value to your current and future employers. ~www.jaywren.com

Building a lifetime career is a continual process of expanding your skills and your network.  Every single day, innovation changes something in the way that we work. We must change to adapt as well.

Career Intelligence: Learn as if You Will to Live Forever.

Learning is as simple as staying curious and continuing to ask questions, and seek answers for simple questions like these: Is that true?  How do I do that?  What is this all about?

Knowledge is more available than ever.  Here are some common sources.

  1. Internet encyclopedias and dictionaries to clarify issues and provides facts
  2. Forums that range from LinkedIn Groups, Reddit, and specific information related to product uses
  3. Search engines to guide an Internet user to sites which contain information
  4. Company product websites
  5. News and sports websites
  6. Podcasts Online books
  7. Print books
  8. Television
  9. Radio
  10. Our friends
  11. Online chat sources

I have no doubt overlooked some sources.

For example, looking up do-it-yourself solutions and finding definitions to words is just the beginning of learning as a lifestyle.  Through audio books, people can learn a new language.  Through service manuals, people can learn how to repair a motorcycle engine or a boat engine.  Many people learn new methods of diet and exercise as well as practices of emotional and mental development.

Stay Curious

Learning is a lifestyle.  Every day I use the opportunities to satisfy my curiosity and to find effective ways to live my life and do my job.

Accomplishments

Accomplishments: Knowing the Purpose of Your Goals

Accomplishments: Why is it that some companies and some people fail to achieve their goals? How can they define their goals better with stating what they hope to accomplish?

The Benefits of Knowing What You Want to Accomplish

Goals are the things we hope to do.  Before we set goals, we should ask ourselves what we hope to accomplish.

For example, a sales vice president may have a goal for the sales team to average 10 sales calls per day.  By making several calls each day, the sales team increases opportunities for increasing sales.

However, sales teams can go for days, weeks, and even years making presentations to buyers and do little more than deliver an order pad.

On the other hand, if before each call, the sales reps decide what they hope to accomplish on each call and design a presentation that will make their call far more successful.

Successful Companies

Successful companies start with an idea of whom they will serve and what these people want.

Case Study

There are two competing peanut companies (not real companies). The goal of each company is to meet consumer demand for peanuts.  However, Company A realizes that consumer satisfaction is the purpose that will create demand for the company’s peanuts. Company A focuses on taste, price, and availability to exceed customer expectation and builds greater customer loyalty. They focus on accomplishing consumer satisfaction in their product.

Career

For career success, turn the focus from what you can accomplish for yourself to what you can accomplish for your employer. ~ www.jaywren.com

In creating and updating your career plan, take a different view.  If it is your goal to make a lot of money, ask yourself, “What can do I have to accomplish earning money?”

A broader example: your career goal may be to become the president of a company. For some people, what they hope to accomplish is recognition. However, the best way to become president of a company is to accomplish the greatest sales and profits for your company. By aligning what you hope to accomplish with the needs of the company, you will have a greater opportunity to accomplish what you seek in success in your career.