Alan Penn

Colin Powell spoke of Teamwork:
“When we are debating an issue, loyalty means giving me your honest opinion, whether you think I'll like it or not. Disagreement, at this stage, stimulates me. But once a decision has been made, the debate ends. From that point on, loyalty means executing the decision as if it were your own.”

Identifying Energizers and Sappers

In theory, every person on your team is a source of energy for your organization. But in reality, some team members create energy while others sap or destroy energy. If you know your team well, you already know which team members are sappers and which ones are the energizers.

High-energy performers test the limits and spur themselves and others on to even greater results. These are the people who will push you up and add energy to your reservoir. They spark others to perform. It’s fun to watch them in action. A team full of energized people is typically easy to motivate but challenging to manage because their high energy level requires constant direction and focus.

At the other end of the spectrum are the sappers. You know who they are – they complain and whine, and think of every reason possible why plans and strategies will not work.

They are the people who pull you down and sap your energy. They blame others for their issues and don’t accept responsibility for what they control. Their negativity and cynicism effectively sucks out the energy right out of the room.

A team dominated by energy sappers is relatively easy to lead because there is little forward movement or activity. But it is very challenging to motivate these team members to achieve results because they are content with mediocrity.

Your organizational energy is not the sum of your individuals. It is dependent on the ratio of energizers to sappers. If you have more sappers than energizers, the energy will be drained, and in fact the energizers may eventually become sappers.

As unfortunate as it is, a negative, cynical person has a far greater impact on the energy of the team than a positive person. Adding a positive person does not counter a sapper; in fact it probably takes at least three energizers to counter the energy drained by one sapper (Cottrell, p. 33-34).

Embrace New Ideas

 

• Create an idea-friendly environment.  Make your organization a place where new ideas are valuable.
• Protect idea people.  They are often free thinkers who may occasionally drive you nuts, but are worth their weight in gold to an organization that must thrive on new ideas.
• Champion new ideas.  New ideas need protectors and champions.  Ideas need a shepherd to guide them through the difficult processes that are most often set for the sole intent of killing anything new.
• Win over enemies with new ideas.  You are going up against formidable opponents, and you must be prepared or you will be eaten alive.  Get them thinking of ideas and involved in the experience.  Give them the responsibility of finding a way around an obstacle (that they themselves have pointed out) when they resist a new idea. (Heath, p. 27-28).

From: Heath, R. (2009).  Celebrating failure: the power of taking risks, making mistakes and thinking big.  Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press.

Likeability 101

Likeability is a fundamental characteristic of relational intelligence, and we tend to underestimate its effect on our leadership endeavors and everyday lives.

Contrary to what some people think, likeability is not about trying to become a professional people-pleaser, or trying to be all things to all people.

What makes likeable people relationally intelligent is revealed in a person’s ability to evoke favorable feelings in their "audience" (that is, the person they’re in relationship with), in order to produce a positive outcome that serves others well.

Whether people are leading a team at work, at a party with friends, or living their ordinary day-to-day lives, what likeable people do best is establish authentic connections with people that make others feel valued and cared about.

From:  Saccone, S. (2009).  Relational intelligence: how leaders can expand their influence through a new way of being smart.  San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

The Secret of Success

The great secret of success is self-discipline - getting yourself to do what you really need to do - choosing to do what you feel is right and will bring the results you want into your life - long term. It is bringing order and efficiency into your life-creating structure in your life and doing this enthusiastically!

Success comes from taking charge of yourself and feeling proud of yourself when you do.

Things That Really Matter

On a day-to-day basis, there are literally dozens of things in business that seem important. Often in the whirl of action, with loads of conflicting advice and mountains of information to sort through, it is difficult to know what matters.

Here’s a list of some of the things that have really mattered to me.

Growth matters

Relationships matter

Loyalty matters

Small moments matter

Timely decisions matter

Doing what you enjoy matters

Life’s early lessons matter

The right team matters

Confronting reality matter

Attitude

For me, one of the most exciting things about life is that one great idea can change our life forever.

In many ways, we're alike; however, one little difference almost always makes a big difference.

The little difference is attitude.

 

William James, over a century ago, said, “The greatest discovery of this generation is that a human being can alter their life by altering their attitude.”

 

I believe this and over the years have seen it happen countless times. What most people fail to realize is that your attitude not only impacts your happiness and your success, it also can impact the happiness and success of all the people around you...your family, your friends, and your peers at work.

 

There is no way to overstate the importance of a positive attitude in your life. However, no one can underestimate the difficulty in maintaining it. It's not easy, but it can be done.

 

Attitudes truly are contagious, and from time to time we need to ask ourselves...

“Is mine worth catching?”

Inspiring your Team of Leaders

The 3 keys to inspiring your club leaders is...reinforce, reinforce, reinforce.

Many leaders grossly underestimate the need for continuous reinforcement. In a perfect world we hear something once, record it in our brain, and never need to hear it again. But in reality, our worlds are far from perfect.

 

We have doubts, fears and occasional disappoints.  Those doubts keep saying... "It won't work."

Understand one thing... it won't happen on its own. You need to have a plan in place to make it happen. Answering these three questions is a first step for success:

·        How do I keep it simple? Less is always more.

·        How can I make it memorable?

·        How many times can I communicate it, on a daily, weekly and monthly basis?

 

To some this may sound like simple, common sense stuff. But to do it right, it's anything but simple. It takes creative planning and input from everyone involved.

 

But, most of all, it takes tremendous discipline to keep the "train on the track"…..  reinforce, reinforce, reinforce!!!

What it takes to be #1

Vince Lombardi captures the fundamentals for success in sports, in business, or in life. The 9 elements of Vince Lombardi's philosophy are:

• Make a Commitment
• Be Disciplined
• Aspire to Excellence
• Have Mental Toughness
• Have Good Habits
• Be of Faith
• Develop a Passion
• Make Sure You Show Results
• Always be Truthful.

Can these principles’ apply to our Kiwanis Family?  I think we all agree they do and they should.

Laughter

Laughter is one of the simple joys of life; and recent studies say we need 12 laughs a day just to stay healthy!

Well, this is our contribution to good health! If you don't get your "day's quota" of 12 laughs then check your pulse...you may be dead!