Warning: Don’t try and consume the entire newsletter in one
sitting. Internalize just a little bit every day to insure better
digestion! Enjoy!!
Leadership Newsletter – May, 2009
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The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It’s more important than
the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures,
than successes, or what other people think or say or do. Attitude is more
important than appearance, giftedness or even skill. It will make or break
a company . . . a home . . . a life.
The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the
attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we
cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is exercise the one choice we have,
and that is to choose our attitude; our reaction or our response.
I am totally convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how
I choose to react to it. It’s that that determines quality of life. And so it is
with you and me. Ultimately the only thing we are in charge of, and can
choose to control, is our attitude.
Life really is a ‘do it to yourself’ proposition!
Jim Abbondante
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Note from Jim!
Friday,
May 15, 2009
L-TBL Participants,
What a busy month this has been thus far; and it doesn’t appear
that things will be slowing down much between now and the end
of the month. I’m excited to say that we have added two new
companies to our list of active clients. That combined with
the work we’re doing with our existing clients is keeping
us all on the run.
What an awesome privilege it is to have the opportunity to work
with leaders across our country who are genuinely committed to
not only their own growth but to the growth and success of their
people as well.
It’s great to be able to work with managers who really
understand that . . .
“You really can get everything in life
you want if you will simply help enough
other people get what they really want.”
When you stop and think about it . . . what do most people really
want? Probably what you and I want. They want to feel good about
themselves; they want to have confidence in themselves and in their
ability to succeed; They want to be motivated by a sense of purpose,
something meaningful, and feel that they are moving in a productive
direction.
They want to continue to grow both personally and professionally
and become even more productive in their life and in their work;
and most importantly, they want to feel optimistic about their
future!
To the degree that you and I as leaders can influence their
perspectives and their attitudes; to the degree we can help
them achieve these things in their daily lives, we’ll be able
to consider ourselves successful as leaders.
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Application Projects
Great job on the Application Projects that were completed
and turned in last month. It was obvious that everyone invested
a considerable amount of time and effort to think through the
application of the processes to their own circumstances.
They were really impressive.
As you already know, when it comes to the practical application
of what we are learning in our sessions, the application projects
are the first step to getting the concepts and methodologies out
of the training room and into the real world where they will
make a difference.
Stay with it!
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Thanks for a Great April!
Thanks for your e-mail messages and the testimonial letters which you
sent in response to last month’s sessions. Everyone always enjoys the
sessions on team building and understanding how people typically
learn and how they process and internalize new information.
Your positive responses always mean a great deal to all of us and
they are all very much appreciated by every member of our team.
Thanks from all of us . . .
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Coming up this month . . .
We are looking forward to seeing you in one of the on-site sessions
we are conducting this month around the country. We have prepared
two very thought-provoking and practical segments that will have us
focusing on two very important leadership/management functions.
Our first segment . . .
In our first segment this month we’re going to be taking an in-depth look
at one of our favorite subjects . . . stress; what it is, why it occurs, what the
most healthy response to it is, and how to minimize it in our lives. There will
always be stress in our life but learning how to manage it ‘responsibly’ will
make a big difference when it comes to our attitude, our productivity, our
relationships and the over-all quality of our life.
We’re going to be looking at what causes team members the most stress
on the job and the steps that we can take as leaders to minimize it. You may
remember me asking in an earlier session, “When is the best time to solve a
potential problem. . before, during, or after it occurs?” You are going to learn
about some very practical steps that can be taken to minimize the potential
for stress in the workplace. We will be looking at each and how to respond
effectively when your people do get stressed. This segment will not only
provide you with a lot of valuable insight and practical tools, but it’s also
going to be packed full of humor. You will want to make sure you plan
to join us for this one.
And by the way . . . if I have learned anything about life, it’s that the single
most important key to happiness and longevity, is avoiding worry, stress
and tension. You will understand how to begin accomplishing even more
of that in your life by the end of our first segment.
Our second segment . . .
In our second segment this month, we’re going to focus on one of the
most highly discussed but least understood issues when it comes to
dealing with team members . . . attitude.
It’s been said that those who have the greatest attitudes tend to accomplish
the most in any organization, and it’s also been suggested that the ‘bad apple’
tends to spoil the whole bushel. Increased creativity, productivity, and
profitability, are the manifestations of the right kinds of attitudes in any
organization. A healthy attitude on the part of each individual, and the
team as a whole, is imperative for a well-functioning team to be able
to achieve its goals.
A positive environment will increase individual and team productivity, improve
team performance and morale, it will improve customer satisfaction, open up
communication, increase personal initiative, creativity and participation in
decision making, and it will aid in problem solving. A positive workplace
will also be a much more enjoyable place to show up at every morning.
Talk about a segment packed full of valuable insight and practical information,
this humorous and highly interactive segment will provide you with all the
tools you’ll need to create the kind of positive work environment that will
definitely lead to increased productivity and a greater sense of teamwork,
as the result of you learning how to apply the secrets to influencing the
development of positive attitudes on the part of your people that we’ll
cover together in our session.
You’re going to love this one!!
See ya there!
Jim
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Leaders instill in their people a real belief in themselves and an anticipation
of achieving success. Positive leaders inspire optimism and empower people
to accomplish their own goals by helping their team to achieve its goals.
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Check Out These Valuable Tips!
Attitudes Defined!
Attitudes are the established ways of responding to people and situations
that we have learned, based on the beliefs, values, experiences and the
assumptions we hold. Attitudes become obvious in the demonstration
of one’s ‘presence’ and are manifested through their ‘performance’.
The attitudes you possess have been learned over time; the non-productive
ones can be replaced over time with new, more productive ones. New more
productive attitudes can be learned and perfected just like we have learned
and perfected other things we have become good at over time in our life.
We are creatures of habit. Some habits are profitable to us while others are
not. Attitudes are habits as well; some profitable, some not. Success comes
as the result of our commitment to the development of the kinds of productive
habits in our life that will automatically lead us to the genuine success we desire.
Successful people make a ‘habit’ of doing those things that unsuccessful
people won’t do. Think about it. While your current thought processes might
have been influenced by external forces in the past, you can now take control
of your life - from the inside out - by establishing a whole new ‘habitual’ way
of thinking and processing. Just consider the possibilities . . .
Attitudes and Effective Problem Solving!
When you think of problems you only attract more problems – whether you
realize it or not. When you think of solutions – you attract solutions and more
opportunities. Approach the so-called problem with the expectant attitude that
there is an innovative practical solution just waiting to be discovered and watch
what happens. When confronted with a challenge, relax, remain confident and
clear in your mind. Allow only ‘positive’ self-talk; optimism and a positive
attitude are what’s called for when faced with a challenge.
Then allow the solution to come to you. It works once you get the hang of it.
We’ve been designed with that mechanism built in to our psychology.
Why not take advantage of it . . . benefit from it . . . . Enjoy it!!
Positive Attitudes Means Longer Life!
If you want to live a longer, healthier life then you need to develop and maintain
a positive attitude – it’s now a fact, thanks to a study from the two American
Universities.
Five researchers followed and studied 1500 people for seven years. All 1500
were in good health when the study started. Researchers followed how they
aged by closely measuring such things as weight loss, walking speed,
exhaustion and also the strength of their grip.
So what exactly did they discover? They found that people who maintained a
positive attitude were significantly less likely to show signs of aging, they were
also less likely to become frail and were more likely to be stronger and healthier
than those that had a negative attitude. Did you know that if you have a doom
and gloom attitude you’re actually killing yourself? At the very least – you’re
negative attitude is just making you weaker and weaker. (Stop it right now!)
Researchers found that a positive attitude improved a person’s health because
it made it more likely that they would succeed in life. So not only will a positive
attitude help you be healthy and live longer – but it will also increases the
likelihood that you will succeed at home and in your career. (Go figure!)
Lead researcher, Dr. Glenn Ostir, explained it this way: “I believe that there
is a very real connection between mind and body – and that our thoughts
and attitudes/emotions affect physical functioning, and over all health,
whether through direct mechanisms, such as immune function or
indirect mechanisms such as social support networks.”
Hmmm . . . I think we should heed the good Doctor’s warning;
What do you think?
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Nothing limits achievement like small thinking. Nothing equals
possibilities like unleashed, creative, can-do thinking.
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Stress in the Workplace!
Not in every company, but in a few we’re working with, layoffs and budget cuts
have become bywords in the workplace, and the result is increased uncertainty
and higher levels of stress in those organizations. Since job and also workplace
stress does seem grow in times of economic crisis, it’s important that leaders
learn new and better ways of helping their people cope with the pressure.
An employee’s ability to manage stress in the workplace can make the difference
between their success or failure on the job. Emotions are contagious, and stress
has an impact on the quality of employee’s interactions with others on the job.
It’s in a manager’s best interest to keep stress levels in the workplace to a
minimum. Managers must act as positive ‘role models’, especially in times
of high stress. Each of the tips mentioned in this short article are twice as
important for managers to apply.
Remember one of the fundamental leadership principles we have talked about in
one of our earlier sessions: If someone that we admire remains calm, it is much
easier to remain calm ourselves. There are also organizational changes that
managers and employers can make to reduce workplace stress.
Let’s look first at some of the most common signs of stress. When people start
to feel overwhelmed, they tend to lose confidence and become irritable or
withdrawn, making them less productive and less effective, and their
work is less rewarding.
If the warning signs of work stress go unattended, obviously, they can lead
to much bigger problems. Beyond interfering with job performance and job
satisfaction, chronic or intense stress can also lead to physical, emotional
and even health problems.
Symptoms . . .
Some of the more common signs and/or symptoms of excessive job
and workplace stress on the part of employees are:
1. Feeling anxious, irritable, or depressed;
2. Apathy, loss of interest in their work;
3. Problems sleeping at night;
4. Chronic fatigue on the job;
5. Trouble concentrating in meetings;
6. Muscle tension or headaches;
7. Various type stomach problems;
8. Social withdrawal, lack of group participation;
9. Using alcohol or drugs to cope with their stress;
10. Pattern of failing to show up for work or tardiness.
Solutions . . .
One of the things that will cause the onset of stress is when one begins to
feel vulnerable and out of control; when they feel out of options and that there
is nothing they can do to avert something negative taking place in their life that
inevitably will lead to loss and pain.
One of the things we as leaders need to understand is that there are steps we
can take to create an environment that will cause the members of our team to
feel that they are more ‘in control’ of their environment thereby minimizing the
feeling of being ‘out of control’. Here are a few things you can do:
1. Improve communication;
Take the time to share information with employees so as to reduce
uncertainty about their jobs and futures. Clearly define employees’
roles and responsibilities, and make communication both friendly
and efficient, not mean-spirited, immature or petty.
2. Consult your employees;
Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions that potentially
affect their jobs. Consult all employees about scheduling and work rules.
Be sure the workload is suitable to the employees’ abilities and resources;
Try to avoid creating opportunities foir stress with unrealistic deadlines.
3. Show that each worker is valued;
Offer rewards and incentives. Praise good work performance verbally
and institutionally (publicly). Provide unique opportunities for career
growth. Promote an “entrepreneurial” work climate that gives the
employees more control over their work.
4. Cultivate a friendly social climate;
Provide opportunities for social interaction among employees.
Establish a zero-tolerance policy for harassment. Make sure
your decisions and actions consistent with organizational
values. Be sure and provide as much one-on-one time
as you can with each team member causing them to
feel understood and supported.
We will plan to discuss these and a number of other very effective steps
that we can take to empower our people, and to minimize their stress in
the workplace when we meet together for this month’s leadership session.
In the mean time, it’s important to recognize the relationship that exists
between ‘attitude’ and ’stress’ and the fact that we as leaders can do a lot
to set the example, listen and become a healthy influence in our areas
of responsibility.
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Reality is the leading cause of stress for those in touch with it!
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10 Roles of an Inspirational Leader!
How would you like to positively influence the attitudes of your people
and significantly minimize the potential for stress in your department -
all at the same time? Well, you actually ‘can’ by choosing to become
an ‘inspirational leader’. You can actually get your team focused on,
and involved in a perspective that is much more positive and much
more productive and edifying. It’s as simple as considering and
then following each of these ten perspectives/steps:
1. Provide an inspiring vision; launch a ‘crusade’;
As a leader, you must envision a new future, passionately believe
that you can make a difference, and then inspire people to achieve
more than they may have ever dreamed possible – all for the right
reasons.
You must see a ‘changed world’ – a better world; Create an ideal, a unique
image of what it could become and how everyone would benefit; Open your
team members’ eyes, help them to see it; Fill them with optimism, and then
build their confidence in it. Get them emotionally involved in it with you.
You must believe that your dreams can become reality and, through your
attitude, and your confidence, then get your people to ’see’ the exciting
opportunities and possibilities that exist for the future. People start to
change and then unlock their inner power when they are emotionally
engaged and become committed to a worthwhile vision.
2. Help people connect their personal goals to business goals;
Leadership is essentially about helping people to achieve a better life.
An important measure of your own success as a leader is the success
of your team members. Talented and empowered employees are the
prime ingredient of organizational success and they need to be able
to lead themselves; that requires mentoring and coaching on your
part. Help them begin to grow and mature to the degree that they
are able to begin identifying with achieving a greater degree of
success in their life. Help them see that the team’s success
will eventually lead to and/or become their success.
3. Make creativity and relentless innovation the rule;
Lead innovation, emphasize opportunities, not problems, and encourage
innovative behavior. People function at their best when they are creatively
challenged and engaged in the process with you.
Establishing a culture of innovation requires a broad and sustained effort.
Open-ended questions are critical to innovation, so then start with creating
a culture of ‘questioning’. Exploration of possibilities, discoveries, innovation,
and real progress starts with challenging assumptions and asking searching
“Why?” and “What if?” questions, and proposing “What if” scenarios.
Encourage your people to challenge assumptions. Consider a contest such
as “The Best Question” contest. Reward both individual and collective
contributions. And be sure and celebrate their creative successes.
4. Encourage entrepreneurial creativity and experimentation;
Develop an entrepreneurial staff and create a corporate climate that encourages
rule-breakers (within reason of course) and creative, ‘outside-the-box’ thinkers.
Experimentation by definition is a trial-and-error process, but experimentation
is also the key to discovery. Without action, you cannot know whether or not
your innovative ideas will actually work and prove beneficial to the desired
end result.
5. Involve everyone, then empower and trust your team members;
Talented and empowered human capital is the prime ingredient of organizational
success. A critical feature of successful teams, especially in knowledge-driven
enterprises, is that they are invested with a significant degree of empowerment,
and/or decision-making authority. Formulate ’stretch goals’, provide resources,
and then empower your people. Find a delicate balance between no structure
and overly controlling management styles.
6. Coach and train your people to greatness;
Empowerment alone is not enough. You must train and coach your people to
enhance their learning ability and their performance. Coaching is the key to
unlocking the potential of your people, your organization, and yourself.
Coaching increases your effectiveness as a leader. As a coach, you must help
your people grow and achieve more by inspiring them, by asking effective
questions and providing feedback. Find the right combination of both
instructor-led training and personal one-on-one coaching follow-ups
to achieve individual success.
7. Build teams and promote teamwork while leveraging diversity;
Teamwork is essential for competing in today’s economic arena. Build a star
team, not a team of stars. Diversity of thought, perception, background and
experience all enhance the team’s creativity and innovation.
A team should not just be ‘diverse’; it has to make the most of it. Involve
everyone, facilitate cross-pollination of ideas, build and the empower
cross-functional teams if you wish to harness the real power of diversity.
Challenge people from different disciplines and cultures to come up with
something better ‘together’ and to achieve creative breakthroughs.
8. Motivate, inspire and energize people, recognize achievements;
Financial rewards do encourage people to produce results. But the kind of
ownership that really generates energy is not financial. It is emotional. Set
’stretch’ goals, they really energize people. Become a positive, encouraging
person. Give people a real sense of responsibility and make them feel that
their actions make a significant difference. Be sure to communicate with
people frequently and remember to praise them one-on-one and in
team meetings.
9. Encourage risk taking;
Take risks. Don’t play it safe. Making mistakes is essential to innovation and to
organizational growth, as long as systems are developed to learn from failures
and to avoid making the same mistake twice. The more people fail, the more
they succeed.
People learn from taking action, from making mistakes, from feedback, from
getting going. Treat failures as learning opportunities. Develop a tolerance for
mistakes and give all your people freedom to fail, to learn from failures, and to
start again but only more intelligently.
10. Make business fun;
As business today is all about passion and creating new things, fun has become
a big element in the business strategy of many really highly successful growing
businesses. Make fun an important part of your corporate culture to enable
relentless innovation and to create an inspiring culture.
What is really driving the new economy – and confounding the grand pooh-bahs
of the old one – is that ‘individuals’ are having a huge impact. And an awful lot of
fun. People should be happy at work and have fun. Encourage ‘just-for-fun’
programs.
“Find some humor in your failures. Don’t take yourself so seriously. Loosen up,
and everybody around you will loosen up. Have fun. Show enthusiasm – always.”
This advise came from Sam Walton.
Make heroes out of the employees who personify what you want to see
in your organization. It will catch on.
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Book Recommendation!
Leadership Gold: Lessons
Learned from a Lifetime
of Leading.
By John Maxwell
Published in April, 2008.
Good leadership always makes a difference. It can turn organizations
around and positively impact the lives of literally thousands. Learning
more about leadership will make a difference in you which, in turn,
will make it possible for you to make a difference in the lives
of many others.
Depending on individual calendars, there’s a leadership lesson to be
learned every seven days—or biweekly, so says John Maxwell. I read
this one during the holidays, (December, 2009), and I really enjoyed it.
Each chapter contains enough information to ponder its implications
personally, or also in concert with your team members. The 26 chapter
headings, as to be expected, are provocative and thought-provoking,
and they are supported by application exercises, (in question form),
and John has included “mentoring moments,” which are suggestions
for use in groups.
Some of the heading statements I really enjoyed were:
“Never work a day in your life.”
“You get answers only to the questions you ask.”
“Keep learning to keep leading.”
“People quit people, not companies.”
Almost every segment heading included recent research, news,
and even additional book recommendations. I would encourage
you to pick up a copy for your own library, read and apply, and
then maybe get your people involved in going through it with
you on a weekly basis.
It’s published by Thomas Nelson Publishers . . . enjoy!!
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Personal ‘On-Site’ Coaching!
You are missing out if you are not taking full advantage
of the opportunity for individual ‘on-site’ coaching as you
progress through the twelve month leadership development
process with us.
(It’s included free as a part of the complete program!)
Let me remind you that we’re available to meet with you individually,
at your location, on an as-needed basis, between each one of your
monthly sessions to assist you with the completion of any of your
application projects or to assist you in any areas that might
pertain to your responsibilities as a leader and manager
in your organization.
All you need to do is contact us via email or by phone and we’ll be
happy to schedule a convenient time to get together with you at your
location. You can also contact us through the web-site by clicking here.
Personal coaching always yields very impressive results.
Remember . . .
Every aspect or component of the leadership series has been
designed to work together in such a way as to enable you to
achieve the maximum benefit possible from your participation
in the twelve month process.
By the way, individual ‘on-site’ coaching is available free
of charge to both active participants and to all of our prior
BPM, L2000 and L-TBL Alumni! All you have to do is give
us a call, or send us an email, and we will take it from there!
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Come Join Us!
Once again, let me remind you that we are looking forward
to seeing you again in one of this month’s on-site leadership
sessions that are being conducted at our various client
locations around the country.
If you need any additional information or any additional
assistance of any kind, please feel free to email or you
can give any one of us a call at any of the numbers
listed below as we are committed to your success.
And remember once again to say your prayers . . .
“Lord, when I am wrong, make me willing to change;
and when I am right, make me easier to live with.
Strengthen me that the power of my example
will far exceed the authority of my rank.”
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Contact Information . . .
Jim Abbondante
President, Director of Training
Direct Line: (817) 405-0012
Cellular: (817) 304-2225
Leadership Institute
Main Number: (817) 405-0012
Toll Free Number: (800) 955-0109
Student Services Number: 1-800-955-0109
(Personal Coaching, Misc. Needs, etc.)
E-Mail: Leadership.Team@LeadershipInstituteUSA.com
Web-Site: www.LeadershipInstituteUSA.com
Monthly Newsletter
Our monthly leadership newsletter is targeted primarily to those
individuals who are presently participating in one or more of our
monthly leadership or sales developments programs; and also
to our alumni participants, (those who have participated with
us in past programs), for the purpose of keeping them up to
date on what additional services and resources are available
to them and their organization, and to also provide them with
additional information and tools that will be of value to them
in their working relationships with their team members and
clients.
Leadership.Team@LeadershipInstituteUSA.com
