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Showing posts from February, 2021

Transfer of Belief

Good leaders get their people to believe in THEM. Good leaders show what THEY'RE able to do. Great leaders get their people to believe in THEMSELVES. Great leaders show you what YOU'RE able to do. Great leadership is about transferring belief. Great leaders are able to get their teams to buy into their vision for the organization. In essence, transferring their own belief in their vision to their teams. What might not be self-evident in this concept is that in order to get others to believe in themselves - you - the leader - first have to believe in YOURSELF. How do you do that? Become comfortable with discomfort. True growth doesn't start until you leave your comfort zone. When you're trying something new, learn to tamp down the negative self-talk that could hold you back. Learn to say "yes" when presented with new situations with which you're not comfortable and learn that that's okay. Learn that it's okay to fail. Failing doesn't make you a

10-80-10 Principle

First off, don't confuse this principle with the Pareto Principle (80-20 rule) which states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. The 10-80-10 principle comes from Urban Meyer, former head coach of the Ohio State Buckeye football team. In 2014 the Buckeyes won the very first College Football Playoff and were crowned the national champions. As Coach Meyer explains in his book, " Above The Line ", 10% of your team will be your elite performers. They're self-starters and will give you their absolute best regardless of what you do. He calls these people "the nucleus". The other 10% are the people that you're never going to reach. They just don't care. They're walking through life just checking off boxes. (We all know some of THEM don't we?) The 80% are the team members you need to focus on. For the most part they're reliable and trustworthy. Maybe they just don't possess the drive, determination, or knowledge they n

Culture, Behavior, Results

Every organization has a culture. It may be planned or it may have just grown organically. This culture is composed of group norms, shared perceptions, stated values, and shared goals and objectives. It even includes the way people interact with each other. A simpler definition for culture I ran across, that applies to leadership is, " Culture is what your team does when you're not around. " These three items, culture, behavior, and results, are all linked. As a leader, YOU create the team's culture. The culture you create drives the behaviors your team will exhibit. The behaviors of your team will drive the results you achieve. This is why leadership is VITAL. Your team will perform to the level of leadership YOU provide. I'm sure you've all had the experience of serving under a manager or boss who didn't lead anything. I'm willing to bet the group also didn't achieve much either. Leadership isn't A difference, it's THE difference. Creatin

The line

(NOTE: This week's post is inspired by the book, "Above The Line" by former Ohio State (and new Jackson Jaguars) head football coach, Urban Meyer ( Amazon link ). It details their 2014-2015 season culminating in winning the first ever College Football Playoff championship but it also outlines coach Meyer's leadership philosophy. You can skip over the football parts if you're not a fan of football or Ohio State and still get something out of this.) I'm sure you're all familiar with "the line". We toe the line. We adopt the party line. Sometimes we even cross the line. (He says from experience!) The line is also a good metaphor for leadership. The line is the divider between accepted and desired behavior and that which is not. Above the line behavior is: Taking responsibility. Being accountable. Using positive language. Supporting and encouraging each other. Looking for solutions. Conversely, below the line behavior is: Blaming others. Using negati