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Tag: Inspiration

A Coach is a Coach… A Team is a Team

Growing up and then into adulthood I have been heavily involved in a wide variety of sports as an athlete, official, and coach. What I have noticed as I transitioned from being part of these recreational endeavors to my career is that the same general principles apply in both worlds. In short, a coach is a coach, and a team is a team, regardless of the environment. I tend to think of leadership in terms of appropriately coaching and guiding those to whom you are accountable (and I believe leaders must recognize that they are accountable to the people who follow them!).On the football field, for example, the coach is the individual who creates the vision and the energy that is designed to encourage successful outcomes from the players. While the coach can, and does, draw up dozens of plays, and even select the one at any given point in time that he thinks is most likely to lead to a positive outcome, ultimately the best/most the coach can do is stand back and watch from the sidelines and hope that the guidance and direction he has imparted on the players was enough to ensure that they will work together effectively and be able to carry out their assignments. As I recently heard a college player say during an interview about his coach, “We have a great deal of respect for…but when it comes right down to it, he can’t make us win. We [the players] are the ones who have to make the plays on the field.” Is this in any way different from the skilled leader in an organization? As a leader, one of the most important roles that you perform is to provide a mission and an overarching strategy and then provide ample direction and appropriate

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Do it – RIGHT NOW!

Have you ever been scared…really scared? I don’t mean the ‘butterflies in my stomach’ type of nerves we all feel when we have to make a big presentation. I am talking about the sort of paralyzing fear that renders you unable to make changes when you know they must be made. How many of us currently work where we work or do what we do as a result of this kind of fear? If you are honest with yourself, are you doing what you most want to do? We all have our own personal passions. Taking the sometimes large and scary steps to follow those passions though can seem virtually impossible. But what if… … Continue readingDo it – RIGHT NOW!

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What Have You Done Today?

I recently heard this song by Heather Small, and I must say it is one of the most inspirational pieces of music I have ever heard. It makes me want to fly… Proud by Heather Small I look into the window of my mind Reflections of the fears I know I’ve left behind I step out of the ordinary I can feel my soul ascending I am on my way Can’t stop me now And you can do the same What have you done today to make you feel proud? It’s never too late to try What have you done today to make you feel proud? You could be so many people If you make that break for freedom What have you done today to make you feel proud? Still so many answers I don’t know Realize that to question is how we grow So, I step out of the ordinary I can feel my soul ascending I am on my way Can’t stop me now And you can do the same What have you done today to make you feel proud? It’s never too late to try What have you done today to make you feel proud? You could be so many people If you make that break for freedom What have you done today to make you feel proud? We need a change Do it today I can feel my spirit rising We need a change So do it today ‘Cause I can see a clear horizon What have you done today to make you feel proud? So, what have you done today to make you feel proud? ‘Cause you could be so many people If you make that break for freedom So, what have you done today to make you feel proud? What have you done today

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Do What You Can…

I have been reminded of that conversation frequently lately as I have watched people around me go through some amazingly difficult times at work. A major layoff hit their organization, and them personally. Watching them, I was struck by how some of them were able to roll with the punches, while others, seemingly, were decimated by the events. Finally, one day, while working with one of my clients, it hit me. While I certainly agree with Curly’s assessment that we each have to find that one thing inside of us that ignites our passion, there is yet one other characteristic that is necessary for anyone to be successful; the one factor that, if absent, will complete eliminate the possibility of growth, change, and success. HOPE! “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope” Take away hope and you completely take away a person’s motivation and strength. A person who feels their situation is hopeless and who sees no possibility that things can change and improve will simply give up. Human beings thrive on hope. We continually hope and dream of better circumstances. It is what drives us to take on new challenges, learn new skills, and attempt things that may seem impossible. The simple hope that we can accomplish these things keeps us striving for more. I am convinced that the greatest thing we can do for those around us is to cultivate hope. Focus your energies on what is possible, rather than what is not, and you will find a world of opportunity opening up. A good friend of mine likes to say “Do what you can, not what you can’t.” When the walls are crashing in around you and you

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Hey Buddy, Can You Spare Some Change?

It never ceases to amaze me the amount of change that seems to be constantly going on around us. If you ever doubt that, live in a house with 4 adolescent boys, as I do, and try and follow what is going on in their lives from day to day. I promise you, that the speed and magnitude with which things change will boggle your mind. On the same track though, we are presented with virtually endless amounts of change in our professional lives. Many of us have had several jobs in our careers, even if they are all within the same organization. Or we may have experienced a fundamental change in the organizational structure where we work so that we report to someone new and now have to adjust to the way this person manages. Regardless of the types of change we are talking about though, the important thing to bear in mind is not so much the change itself, but how we react to that change. As you find yourself in situations of upheaval or change, whether good or bad, you will often find yourself becoming exceptionally stressed, tired, and unable to focus. The key is to find ways to mitigate the impact of the change on the other aspects of your life. Find things you enjoy doing, get away from the situation for a while, or work to discover the opportunities in the new environment. Whatever the case, for your own well-being (and as my wife will attest, for the betterment of those around you), focus on getting the lessons you can out of the change, and you are likely to be more successful in managing the stress and emotion that accompanies it. … Continue readingHey Buddy, Can You Spare Some

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How Would You Answer?

We spend a lot of effort and energy attempting to define leadership and the characteristics of a good leader. I have always felt that history is one of the best teachers. More than 40 years ago, President Kennedy spoke about his vision of what makes a true leader by asking 4 basic questions. I have had this quote posted or around my desk for the better part of my career and have always done my best to live up to the ideals so clearly identified in his vision. It is plainly evident to me that when we see leaders who are not successful or who are facing difficulty in creating the environments they want, whether at work or elsewhere, we can look to these questions and almost invariably find the flaws in their behavior. “When at some future date the high court of history sits in judgment on each one of us, recording whether in our brief span of service, we fulfilled our responsibilities to the state, our success or failure in whatever office we may hold will be measured by the answers to four questions: … Continue readingHow Would You Answer?

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