Individuality Rules…

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I am, as so many times before, spending an odd 5.5 hours at 35,000ft. Tonight I am traveling to New Delhi, India, where I have not been since December 2011. Will be great going back to meet friends and colleagues. However, that is not why I write, to tell you about my trip to India. Nothing special with it per se. Next week I am off to Vietnam and Sri Lanka and then onwards to Russia etc… That is how it is living life in the fast lane, or so I have been told :) I do enjoy it, I must admit!

I am writing because I wanted to share two major things I have been thinking about lately in terms of getting the most out people at the workplace. Workplace… Is that not an incredibly boring word… I would prefer to call it – Well Paid Hobby or ‘WPH’! Trust you concur, or at least with what it should be called? If you cannot call your job, ‘WPH’ right now, change your workplace… :)
Anyway, I digress. So on to the two things:
1. You must ensure that there is enough room for your team members to do what they love. Be it something they truly enjoy in their Well Paid Hobby or privately. Investing time and efforts into this is crucial as there will be tremendous ROI here in terms of motivation, efficiency, energy and loyalty. I just need to look at myself. When I am paying extra attention to what I love doing I get more energy and I most definitely feel more motivated. Let me give you a couple of examples. For me, what I truly enjoy in my ‘WPH’ is to lead others. To help others become better, to help people excel and reach their professional goals. I get great personal satisfaction from this. I also, truly enjoy public speaking. I enjoy to inspire people to see their own potential and by seeing/understanding this they lead better lives…. WOW! And on the personal arena I draw great motivation and joy from playing Golf. To be able to compete with yourself and your own psyche is fabulous. Walking in beautiful surroundings for 4-5 hours in absolute tranquility charges me up for hectic business days ahead. Traveling with my family is another motivator for me. To be able to experience new things with the people who are closest to me makes me proud and happy… if only for a few days. You as a Boss, Leader or Manager must ensure that your people have enough time to do what they LOVE. Tremendous pay-back on this, trust me! So what can you do? Well, your imagination is as good as mine I guess… Since this is a free forum I cannot share it all… € 1,000/hour is what I normally charge for consulting in these matters… But hey… It does not have to be that difficult or expensive, it is mostly common sense.
Next point:
2. Move away from being less than you are! I see too many people doing all in their might to fit in to the organizations they work for. They anticipate that the organization have expectations on them in terms of how they act, talk and dress, and maybe many organizations have… That´s beside the point. Organizations who aim to kill individuality you should stay well away from. Conformity is boring, outdated and far from dynamic. I applaud differences and strong personalities! Needless to say… There is a chain of command and there must be, that may never waver, that´s not the point. The point is that you as an employee no matter how high you climb must never loose sight of who you are… I mean deep inside. That´s the best you. Don’t conform to what others expect you to be – You will only be the best version of yourself if you truly are you… Get my point? For leaders, this is a must to promote and instill in your team, departments or organizations. Individuality will set you a part, it will create innovation and creativity which you are in such dire need of to succeed.
We are now descending and after several hours with my ear-phones on listening to Harry Belafonte, Sheena Easton, Chopin and Bruce ‘the Boss’ it is time to close my laptop. I do, as always, wish you all the best in all your endeavors and if you have comments or disagreements with my thoughts… WRITE!
God Bless!

Reflection

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This week I have conducted a couple of exit interviews and it is ordinarily a very interesting and candid session. People will tell exactly how it is, what they think about the organization and its leaders, its processes etc… I can only conclude that people do not leave Organizations or Companies. People leave their Boss. Are you a boss that people stay with, people are inspired by, people are challenged by?

Empower You!

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You are who you are… cannot be changed or altered… Accept it, embrace it! Be proud of you… If you are not proud of you then who will be? Your upbringing and heritage shaped the person you are today – all you can do is to enhance you and create a more active and positive you… Hell, you do that you’ll go a long way! Show confidence, humility and love… and in that order… And you’ll be the best you – someone that I and many with me would follow! Now that’s as good as it gets – Let me know when you are ready!

God Bless!

Opposite Attracts

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In Leadership, as with anything else in life, there are opposites to each of us. Things that attract, inspire and contradict. Components that make us who we are and to a certain degree explain why we are the way we are. These poles of opposites, of good and bad, make us into the Leaders we are. You see, with all that we are, we are also things we don’t want to be.

Take me for instance: My opposites are: Vulnerable and untouchable – Tough and Tender. I can easily give the impression that I am all about business, the results, and that all else is secondary. However, empathy and sensitivity is also part of my nature though in some cases deeply rooted and well hidden for the untrained eye :) However, the side of me that take some time to get to know is probably the side that will make me into a good leader. I have to learn to embrace both sides, show both sides in Leadership situations. Who wants to follow a leader who shows/has no empathy… Right?

You need to find out what your opposites are. Working on your strengths will improve your weaknesses. However, your poles, your opposites, are there whether you like it or not. Learn to embrace both sides – to use both sides to who you are. This will enhance you as a leader and clarify to your people who you are and what you stand for. Ultimately, standing for something is more important than whether you are right or wrong.

You may think that this is deep stuff and hard to relate to… It’s easy really: Who are you and what do you stand for? If you cannot answer these questions to yourself, how would you ever expect your people to figure this out about you? If they cannot figure this out about you, then why should they follow you?

Good Luck!

Share your view?!

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As Leaders we come across poor performing individuals from time to time. We have a responsibility to the Team we lead and to the Company we work for to act. Decisively and swiftly. Poor performers come in different shapes, sizes and attitudes. The worst case is a poor performing individual who also has a negative mind set and a general undermining behavior. A person who basically is directly destructive for and to others. What in your mind needs to be done about this?

The Sukiyaki Syndrome

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Do you feel like I do from time to time?

I sometimes feel I was meant to be more than what I am – I feel that I should by now, be mega famous and mega rich… But I am not… I am recognizable and well off – Big Difference! Are you with me? I feel I am good at many different things – like a Sukiyaki dish, I offer a great variety of tastes and flavors – however few, too few, have ever really enjoyed or benefited from all that I can be… Do you feel the same? What a shame…

So what should we do – you and I – who were meant to be great? Well, I don’t know about you but I aim to be great! I aim to be all that I can be!

Doing what you truly want to do is the only way to become happy. Many of us have great dreams and aspirations. How many of us do you think actually act upon those dreams and those aspirations? Unfortunately – way too few! You must act – take those decisions supporting your dreams. If you wish to run your own Company – what are you waiting for? If you wish to be rich – what are you waiting for? If you wish to be famous – What are you waiting for? If you wish to be somebody and not just anybody – What are you waiting for?

It’s your life – you are the conductor of it! Therefore, you decide where you’ll be at the end of it… Imagine – It’s Possible!

I meet a lot of people in my line of work. People who say that someday they will travel the world, someday they will buy a posh car, someday they will buy a nice house in the that sought after neighborhood… Someday… Someday… Someday… Until there are no more days… Act now!

Can you taste it? Well, I ask of you to Imagine it – It’s Possible!

Good Luck and keep me posted on how you get along!

F