Exchange

Linking We’d like to take just a moment to thank you for your continued readership of our leadership tips in the Exchange newsletter. And, we’re excited to announce that starting next month, we will offer our readers even more features, in addition to a new website, new look, and a new name.

We’ll still provide the same great content each month, but now, you’ll be able to easily share that content with your friends and contacts through features on our new website, RefreshLeadership.com. You’ll also be able to share comments, browse our archives, and more. We’ll also host great guest authors, reader polls, and contests and giveaways that you won’t want to miss. So, take a few moments to bookmark this new web page so you don’t miss a thing!

Apple iPad Giveaway
And, we’re kicking things off with a bang! In honor of our upcoming Global Simulcast Event, Leadership Instinct, we are giving away an Apple iPad to a lucky reader, and it’s easy to enter! Read the contest rules and enter to win today. Here’s a sneak peek at Refresh Leadership so you can see what it’s all about!

In the meantime, don’t miss out on the Leadership Instinct fun. You can take the quiz, watch the videos, and sign up for the May 5 Global Simulcast event online at MyLeadershipInstinct.com.

Advice from the Pros

Three Lessons All Leaders Need to Know

Employees Being a leader isn’t always easy. In all honesty, it never is. Even natural born leaders have to work at it every day. There are an infinite number of projects and issues to juggle and manage better, and they’re always changing. But you can inspire, strengthen, and lead your team to help manage the changes and challenges you face together with these three tips from two men who were meant to lead, best-selling authors Patrick Lencioni and Ken Blanchard.

Find sources of inspiration outside of work. As a leader, the task of motivating and inspiring your team and company often falls to you. In fact, achieving that task is what makes you a leader. John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”

Leaders create the vision for the future of their team and their company. And, they determine the strategy to reach it. But, establishing a vision your employees will follow requires inspiration. The distractions and complications of the workplace – even work itself – can make it easy to overlook your own need to be inspired. So, you must find time each week to refuel and find inspiration outside of your company’s doors. Whether it’s a hobby, a seminar, a mentor, or simply time with your family, you need an outlet to best lead your team.

Not sure where to start? See what national best-selling author Patrick Lencioni had to say about the realities of leading others and learn seven sources that will inspire greatness in any leader.

Manage change. Last year plainly demonstrated to millions of companies and their employees the truth that in both life and business nothing ever stays the same for long. The world is a changing place. The way we do business changes. Your customers change. Your employees change. And, even you change.

Change is inevitable. It’s constantly occurring, and you cannot stop it. Often, change is necessary. And, sometimes you must create it in order to meet your clients’, customers’, and even your employees’ needs. Whether change is spontaneous or designed, you should never ignore it. For successful change, you have to know where you’re going, and you must learn to manage change. Read best selling author Ken Blanchard’s insights on change management, to help you stay ahead of the curve and provide your team with the innovation and solutions they need during times of change.

Understand the importance of team building. Your team can be one of your greatest assets. A good team is the foundation of every company’s success. So, building a better team is important to accomplishing the goals and vision of your company, and a solid team is critical to the future of your business. From having open and honest conversations about the strengths and weaknesses of your team to defining what’s best for the company, there’s a lot that goes into great team building. Don’t just keep getting by with your team’s current capabilities, get ahead by strengthening your staff to build a better team. Start with this advice from Patrick Lencioni.

Maybe you were born to lead, and you know it. You’ve planned, studied, and trained for it. Or, maybe you’re an unintentional leader who humbly happened upon your position of leadership, and you’re just taking it one day at a time. No matter how you got where you are or how long you’ve been there, your team looks to you to provide them with guidance and support. So, find your own inspiration, so you can inspire them. Manage the changes your team faces to create an environment that employees are excited to work for. And, strengthen your staff to ensure the success of your vision, as well as the goals of your team members.

Team Building

Ten Ideas You Can Use Today

SUTA Improve the strength of your team and you could not only improve productivity, employee engagement, job satisfaction, and customer service, you could also improve nearly every other aspect of your business. If you’re ready to start building a better team, here are ten ideas you can use today to get you on your way.

Build relationships first. Teamwork is often the natural result of friendships. So, encourage camaraderie in the workplace with icebreakers, time to talk, mentorship programs, and team outings to help build a team that acts as a team.
Cultivate commitment. Communicate openly and honestly with every employee to build trust that will result in commitment and dedication to your leadership and to the team.
Make play a priority. All work and no play will not only make Jack – and every other employee – dull, it will also make him stressed and overworked. Play is vital to reducing stress, enhancing productivity, and building relationships, so find ways to add play to your team’s workday.
Help your team realize that their work is meaningful. When you’re dealing with tedious and mundane tasks, feeling stressed, or working with difficult customers, it’s easy to forget the purpose of it all. Remind your employees their work is meaningful, necessary, and important to you, the team, and the entire company.
Mentor your employees to foster leaders. Create opportunities for growth and professional development for your employees. When you see potential and strengths in your employees, support and equip them to increase those skills with new opportunities.
Direct your team with learning goals. Goals are important to the success of every organization. Each year, or even every quarter, help employees set individual goals tied to organizational goals that will help them grow, learn, and achieve success.
Encourage your employees. Be your team’s biggest fan. Celebrate every win. Let them know how much you appreciate them and how much you believe in them. Most employees are motivated by praise, so start observing team victories – even the small ones.
Onboard new team members. When you introduce new employees to the team, develop an on boarding program to equip them to fully understand their role and to develop a good relationship with you and the rest of the team.
Help manage workplace distractions. With so much to do, workplace distractions can be a big problem. A recent survey found it takes nearly 15 minutes for an employee to recover from an interruption and return to a task. So, help your team increase their focus and productivity by managing and minimizing workplace distractions.
Outfit your workforce with a positive attitude. Attitude is everything. So, improve your team’s attitude with your own winning and contagious outlook that’s ready to succeed and thrive, and you will motivate your team to feel the same.

Exchange is a publication of Express Services, Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Copyright 2010.