There is No “I” in TEAMWORK
In this life, we are tasked with several responsibilities. Some we own and are solely ours while others we acquire or are chosen by us. Throughout the course of my career, I’ve had the unique privilege and opportunity to be involved with both large and small teams. I understand what it means to be on a team and can work collectively to increase productivity, build morale, develop a game plan and meet a predefined target.
Even as a consultant and project manager, a client may hire me to provide my professional expertise, however as with any project, the team, group or organization is ultimately responsible for moving forward based on recommendations, resources, tools and wisdom that is given in order to maintain an effective course of action.
Understanding the context of leadership is a key component in the strategy and planning stages of any team.
So, what is LEADERSHIP?
Wikipedia defines leadership as [the "process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.]
The role of a leader requires a modicum of unselfishness because a certain level of sacrifice has to be made initially and internally. The choice is up to the leader. The leader must choose their role be a leader, agree to be dedicated to committing to the continual process cultivating other leaders and come into the realization that they have an objective and goals to fulfill.
So, you believe that you’re a leader? The role of leadership is one that comes with passion, drive and a hard-core desire to really do what it is you believe you are called to do. Leaders are not afraid to work.
According to Billy Hornsby, “Everyone is subordinate to someone—some board, some coach, some law, some other leader.”
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What I’ve learned is that without the efforts and cohesive skill-sets of the team as a whole, any plan of action that may be set into play will ultimately not be met. Any organization without a plan of action will only remain stagnant.
Here are 10 intrinsic qualities and traits of good leaders:
- Leadership can be charismatic, transactional or transformational.
- Leaders have to learn to lead first by taking charge.
- Leaders understand that there are mutually agreed upon objectives and common goals that must be met and facilitate in the process of creating success.
- Leaders are not afraid to ask others for help.
- A true leader is driven, implored by the vision and completely understands their mission.
- Leaders should be able to develop other leaders during their process of leading.
- Leadership comes with a natural-born desire to lead.
- Sound leadership comes with a genuine dynamic initiative focusing on the end result.
- Real leaders create a sound and solid strategy so that those under their managers are cultivated with enthusiam to complete a certain task or goal.
- Real leaders know how to lead… and follow.
Additionally, I believe this acrostic haiku does a fantastic job of explaining LEADERSHIP. Enjoy!
L – Love people
E – Encourage people
A – Affirm people and add value
D – Delegate In order to develop
E – Exemplify the type of people you want others to be.
R – Respect everybody
S – Be willing to serve people
H – Humble yourself
I – I may not have the best idea
P – Practice what you say you value
Taken from in The Jesus Way, where it was originally posted.
I’m sure you’ll agree… now is the time to extend your market reach! Current marketing trends indicate that the traditional ways of reaching a client or customer base are no longer effective by themselves.
If a business or organization wants to stay competitive, they MUST embrace social networking to stay in step with the rapidly evolving nature of digital communication. Why wait? Simply put, taking action, developing a plan and beginning your internet marketing strategy is imperative.
Based on the latest numbers, there are over 500 million active users using these social networks. The chance to market your business and to compel your message from local to international is NOW.
Okay, I hear you… I have a social media presence, what do I do next?
So, you’re online and enjoying all the sharing, the fun and interesting ways to connect with those who matter? The next step is engagement. Engagement is best accomplished with some type of compelling question or a change of focus. People respond to questions or comment on change. Ultimately, that brings forth action or dialogue on the part of the receiver and that is what you are looking to accomplish.
Social media etiquette dictates that a smart marketer never tries to directly sell their wares. I recall having a social media consultation with a potential client who started a relationship with a candy drop-shipper. She was excited about her new Twitter page she created and was ready to start tweeting to the world. Not that my intention was to be a kill-joy, but I asked her how many followers she had and she said “Oh, only two.” I explained to her that your message only extends as far as your reach. Having two followers is like standing in a subway station with you and two others and then screaming BUY MY CHOCOLATE; those two people are either going to think you’re crazy or ignore the hell out of you.
A more successful approach to online engagement is one that educates the peer group or public about what is trending in your industry, what you have to offer and what common interest you share. That is a far greater attraction. And, it establishes you as an expert in your field. By building this trust factor, your opinions and information become an automatic conversion mechanism for increasing business. Remember, social media networks are comprised of real people interacting with each other and sharing information. Real people, creating real relationships. Most people prefer to do business with people they like and trust. It’s that simple.
Here are some simple rules to use before your business starts to engage in social media
Via: The Steel Method
If your business or brand is not on Facebook and is looking to increase revenue and exposure with a new Facebook page or Custom Tab, we’d love to help you strategize.
By having your own Custom Designed Facebook Page, you can:
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http://www.facebook.com/EncompassWellness
http://facebook.com/pages/The-Richest-Kids-in-America
Other Specials:
Order 250 or more business cards and receive custom design services for free.
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Imagine a room full of top echelon business executives, entrepreneurs of varying personality types and businesses, ranking from small companies to large corporations who were seeking new ways of thinking for creating a new networking model in Jacksonville.
Yesterday, I attended a business networking brainstorming session facilitated by my business partner, Sheryl Ross. After 90 minutes of interactive idea sharing, the top three desires for a successful networking model were:
- Having a forum for meeting with other Decision-Makers
- Making valid connections specific to increasing their bottom line
- Building rapport for lasting camaraderie that creates trust and support
What are some things that you look for in a Business networking model?
Get involved with some of the discussion over at LinkedIn.
Link of the week:
Darrell Zahorsky’s
The 9 Personality Types of Entrepreneurs
“Eating words has never given me indigestion.” ~Winston Churchill
Check out these great blog posts on Personal Branding:
- The Brand Called You by Tom Peters via Fast Company
- Branding and the ‘Me by Anand Giridharada via The New York Times
- Tips for Creating a Personal Brand by Kenny Harper via Key Theory
- What Do Twitter Lists Say About Your Personal Brand? by Jay Baer via Convince and Convert
The Techno-geek Master:
And students… What was absolutely perfect yesterday we find to be flawed today.
Therefore we will be switching to another format.
Student:
Now, three months later if we’re lucky, if we’re lucky, if we’re lucky…”The Techno-geek Master” wills say:
TODAY due to unforseen minor flaws in the new system we will be returning to the old one that was absolutely perfect at one time; and we will await the next episode when that absolutely perfect system will become absolutely flawed again.
Fortunately or unfortunately, the student is a relatively flexible indivual, however, the level of anxiety in regard to the technological changes is probably larger than the country of Australia.
So one can imagine that there might be a modicum of frustration associated with the advent of yet a new technology above three (3).
submitted by Sheryl Ross
