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In Leadership, Identifying Dreams That Lead To Great Results
History teaches that when people needed to do great things, a leader first had to gather them together and speak from the heart. This heartfelt speech was often connected to defining and reinforcing a dream shared by both the leader and the people. Drill down through goals and aims and aspirations and ambitions of the people you lead, and you'll hit the bedrock of human motivation, the dream. For instance, Martin Luther King did not say, "I have a goal." Or "I have an aim." The power of that speech was in the "I have a dream". A dream embraces our most cherished longings. It embodies our very identity. We often won't feel fulfilled as human beings until we realize our dreams. If leaders are not tapping into the power of people's dreams, if leaders are simply setting goals (as important as goals are), they miss the best of opportunities to help those people take ardent action to achieve great results. But what do people dream? How can we discover their dreams? After all, people usually won't tell you what they dream until they trust you. They won't trust you until they feel that you can help them attain their dreams. Knowing and sharing their dream can cement a deep, emotional bond between you. Here are three things you can do to get at what people dream. Be helpful. Be hopeful. Be scarce. Be helpful. Follow the Leadership Imperative: I WILL LEAD PEOPLE IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY NOT ONLY ACHIEVE THE RESULTS WE NEED BUT THEY ALSO BECOME BETTER AS PEOPLE AND AS LEADERS. The relationships cultivated by the Imperative lend themselves to dream sharing and dream motivation. Be hopeful: "Hope," said Aristotle, "is a waking dream". Nobody wants to be associated with a leader who thinks the job can't get done. In the face of dire circumstances, there is usually hope to find and communicate. A great leader I knew who consistently had people get more results faster, continually, had a refrain: "You may think you can't meet the goals I set for you. But I believe in you and I believe you can and I'll support you in every way possible so you can." That hopeful refrain had the power of a dream; and in the relationships he established, he was able to identify and share in their dreams. Be scarce: Cultivate the art of being scarce. In other words, give them space to get results. Use this art the way a homeopath prepares medicine by diluting drugs which would produce in a healthy person symptoms similar to those of the full-blown disease. The full-blown disease in this case is total scarcity -- meaning the leader is never around. Not being there for the people can be a leadership pathology. After all, in the historical example, a leader had to GATHER PEOPLE TOGETHER -- leader had to be with the people. Many leaders are absent without leave. One secretary described her seldom seen CEO as follows: "He's like Elvis -- There are rumors of sightings of him. The only time we know he's around is when we smell is pipe smoke." But being with the people can be a fault, if the people resent it. They make think you are trying to micro-manage them or are snooping around trying to get the goods on them. The art of being scarce is predicated on your giving them the space to do well. The coach of a great Arkansas basketball team said, "I don't want to hamper them by coaching them." Likewise, don't hamper the people you lead by leading them in a domineering way. People's dreams are pathways to their inner heart and their most ardent desires. However, most leaders don't know how to go down those paths. Be helpful, be hopeful, be scarce will help you walk your talk, letting people get great results though the gift of their dreams. 2005 © The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO REPUBLISH: This article may be republished in newsletters and on web sites provided attribution is provided to the author, and it appears with the included copyright, resource box and live web site link. Email notice of intent to publish is appreciated but not required: mail to: brent@actionleadership.com The author of 23 books, Brent Filson's recent books are, THE LEADERSHIP TALK: THE GREATEST LEADERSHIP TOOL and 101 WAYS TO GIVE GREAT LEADERSHIP TALKS. He is founder and president of The Filson Leadership Group, Inc. and for more than 20 years has been helping leaders of top companies worldwide get audacious results. Sign up for his free leadership e-zine and get a free white paper: "49 Ways To Turn Action Into Results," at http://www.actionleadership.com
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Coaching Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 5, Dominant Participants While dominant participants contribute significantly to the success of a meeting, they can also overwhelm, intimidate, and exclude others. Thus, you want to control their energy without losing their support. Managing Monsters in Meetings - Part 6, Deadlocked Discussions Although a meeting is a vehicle for resolving differences, it can break down when the participants become mired in a disagreement. Take the Road Less Traveled "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost Why You Should Ignore This Advice Doesn't make too much sense does it? Am I really going to give you some advice that asks you to ignore the advice I'm giving you? Well, that's not strictly true. I am however going to show you how to qualify the advice you are given, so you can sort the wheat from the chaff, and help you to survive the information overload on the Internet. A Whack Up Long Side The Head Of Human Resources: The Leadership Imperative When we perceive the simple center in the seemingly complex, we can change our world in powerful new ways. The Incandescence Of The Human Spirit There lives within every individual a power, an energy, an incandescence of spirit that is being constantly held in check, like a dimmer switch turned way down. What Kind of Leader Are You? You are a leader if someone is following you. This could be as simple as one person watching you and following your example and encouragement, to being a leader in your home, your community, your workplace or even your nation. Leadership can take many forms, but typically it often involves managing people- one of the most difficult of all tasks. It means coordinating and motivating the actions of others to achieve a common goal. A leader has to establish that goal, and gain the willing agreement of others to be governed by and work together towards that goal. The Greatest Leaders Are Often The Worst Leaders It's a common occurrence, a CEO leads a company to record earnings, retires and in months, those once high-flying earnings are dropping like shot ducks. 5 Leadership Power Principles! 95% of Workers Fail Because of This...But They Can Fix It Building Teams and Teamwork A tight knit team is a group of competent individuals who care deeply about each other and are fiercely committed to their mission. They are highly motivated to combining their energy and expertise to achieve the common objective. From our observation and studies on building teams, we have found three primary conditions that have to be met in order to attain higher levels of team performance and member satisfaction. Resources and Commitment Ownership and Heart Learning These three conditions are the heart and soul of teamwork but are not blueprints. Every team is unique, and the requirements and details of its teamwork have to be worked out separately. Let's look closer at condition number two Ownership and Heart. The Challenge to Lead The topic of leadership has been and continues to be one of the most vital topics in human history. From ancient civilizations to modern day multi-national corporations, men and women of passion, fervor and zeal have sought to discover the secrets of moving others beyond the gray of their mundane reality to the rich array of colors that embody the palate of the extraordinary life. Effective Listening Equals Effective Leadership: Learn How! No matter what role you play in your company, becoming a more effective listener will help you get ahead in your position. It means fewer errors, improved accuracy, and enhanced working relationships. And, listening to your customers and referral sources will definitely help you in your marketing efforts. You will solicit better information from other people whether interviewing job candidates, solving work problems, or working to make a sale. The Three Factors of Leadership Motivation Leaders do nothing more important than get results. But you can't get results by yourself. You need others to help you do it. And the best way to have other people get results is not by ordering them but motivating them. Yet many leaders fail to motivate people to achieve results because those leaders misconstrue the concept and applications of motivation. Chris Top 7 Favorite Leadership Books 1. The West Point Way of Leadership. Leadership Skills: Four Ways of Overcoming Perfectionism We pay a high price for perfectionism. "What perfectionism?" we perfectionists mutter. "We've known for years perfectionism is not healthy so we have dealt with this issue and strive for personal excellence only!" Really? On Being A Born Leader "Leaders are born, not made." Right? Let me ask you a question: do you believe that? A Leader?s Ultimate Goal Connect to Engage! Connect and Engage! Your People Are Your Power. Leader is Not a Title There is a steady flow of information in the form of books, articles, white papers and training all in the context of [ "what is leadership" or "how to develop a leader"]. In this issue, I will avoid those two questions and write about two others that I believe might be on the minds of a lot you readers and they are: 3 Cs Leaders Must Communicate! "Of every noble work the silent part is best, Of all expression that which can not be expressed" - William Wetmore Story The Best Ways To Multiply The Extraordinary Leadership in Your Organization Extraordinary Leaders are those who understand that in order for the organization to grow and make the maximum impact that it can, the leadership base in the organization must grow first and grow strong enough to hold the growth. If this does not happen, the organization will either not grow or will grow and then crumble because there is no solid foundation of leadership. The effort to multiply leadership must be ongoing and purposeful. Here are some ways to get your leadership base growing strong and wide!
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