Tag Archives: leadership

  • 09
    Jun 20
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better leadership

Better Leadership Makes Things Better

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Sharp turns, bumps in the road, and dead-end streets. It’s easy to give metaphorical expressions for navigating the rough spots. Maybe what we really need is better leadership.

Everyone has a chance to lead. It’s an opportunity that awaits although many don’t often pause long enough to see it.

Conditions for Leading

Busy is a condition, it’s also a great excuse. People can be too preoccupied and that can detract from their focus.

Often effectiveness is missing.

Listening matters. We hear sounds or noises. True listening involves spending the time and energy required to comprehend or understand what you are hearing.

The truth often is, people are lazy listeners.

If you’ve been in the workforce for a while, you’ve seen a thing or two. If you’ve been in the workforce even in the past few years, you’ve encountered a lot.

We’ve went from a raging, fantastically exciting economy, to getting knocked to our knees by the threat of a virus. Now, violence and disruption have hit our streets and shattered our communities.

Anyone can lead, and now is a great time to be involved.

Better Leadership

Better leadership is an opportunity. It is an opportunity that is needed now, and it will be continuously needed in the future.

Leading, listening, and understanding the difference between busy and effective are all leadership challenges.

Transformation surrounds everyone. The choices you make today will impact your contribution to what the future looks like.

Everyone needs to move on, move forward, or move out of the way of progress.

Lead in your workplace, your community, or for a cause that you care deeply about.

Make things better.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 02
    Jun 20
  • 0
Dennis Gilbert Aspiring Leader

Aspiring Leader Seminar – Williamsport, PA

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Today’s leaders are more than just supervisors or management team members. They are the heart of inspiration, team work, and create the atmosphere required for the pursuit of common goals.

This seminar covers many of the foundation skills that build great leadership habits. Participants will explore what it means to be a leader, not just a supervisor or manager. We’ll be covering change, communication, and motivating the team. Tough topics that are sometimes taken for granted such as resiliency, understanding priorities, and the difference between facts and opinions. In addition, we’ll examine some tough questions such as, “Where are you most vulnerable?”and “What is most important right now?” 

SPECIAL EARLY BIRD PRICING (SAVE $100, Now only $215 $315)THROUGH APRIL 30, 2020!

More Info / Register

  • 13
    May 20
  • 0
Aspiring Leader at Rusty Rail

Aspiring Leader Seminar – Mifflinburg, PA

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Join us at the Rusty Rail Brewing Co.! 

Today’s leaders are more than just supervisors or management team members. They are the heart of inspiration, team work, and create the atmosphere required for the pursuit of common goals.

This seminar covers many of the foundation skills that build great leadership habits. Participants will explore what it means to be a leader, not just a supervisor or manager. We’ll be covering change, communication, and motivating the team. Tough topics that are sometimes taken for granted such as resiliency, understanding priorities, and the difference between facts and opinions. In addition, we’ll examine some tough questions such as, “Where are you most vulnerable?”and “What is most important right now?” 

Seminar location is the Rusty Rail Brewing Co.  (Great Room / Banquet Room) in beautiful, Mifflinburg, PA

Rusty Rail Mifflinburg Great Room

SPECIAL EARLY BIRD PRICING (SAVE $100, Now only $215 $315) THROUGH APRIL 10, 2020!

More Info / Register

  • 08
    May 20
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exercising control

Exercising Control, or Abusing It?

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Are you or other team members exercising control? Is someone abusing it?

A popular small business job title is, Controller. Typically, an accounting or finance person who skillfully provides accounting and operational expertise.

Climate of Leadership

In today’s business climate leadership is often not about authority, it is about skillful navigation that creates a compelling call-to-action.

Forcing people to follow is about pushing. People are pushed to do more work, have better quality, and exceed customer expectations. Push is often a, “do it, or die” approach. It’s about formal control.

A different method, a better method, involves pull. Pull is about people following with an interest and a goal. They are motivated and engaged because they believe as much in the cause as you do.

Passion is an emotion. People follow their passion.

Great leaders help stimulate this kind of environment. It’s in their tone, their body language, and the words they choose.

Their actions speak even louder.

Does the culture of your organization require control? Are people pushed or are they pulled? Are they following at will, or are they fearful of the consequences?

Exercising Control

Yes, many business ventures can benefit from a controller. It is wise to have this type of person in place. The right person in this role can demonstrate their value and worth.

Can things go too far?

Absolutely they can.

Can the wrong cultural attributes create more negative and unwanted results?

Absolutely they can.

People like to decide for themselves. When they decide to follow, it is a choice. A choice they make.

It is a powerful form of pull.

Every leader, regardless of job title, salary, or office size, should demonstrate a style that encourages and embraces a compelling call-to-action.

Nobody really likes to be pushed. Worse yet, nobody wants a shove.

Don’t confuse job titles or authority with leadership competence.

People with organizational authority need to lead. Attempting to control others through fear, intimidation, or bullying is an abusive state.

It’s not leadership.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 15
    Apr 20
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better choices

Better Choices Come From Better Habits

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Are you able to make better choices? Is it your job to make better decisions, to think more critically, or to choose the best path?

Chances are good that everyone has some of this responsibility. If it is true for you, how are you ensuring your choices produce the best outcomes?

“Every dog has its day.”

Nearly everyone quickly recognizes the meaning of this phrase. It is to suggest that at some point, everyone gets some luck or stumbles onto some good fortune.

Many people believe that the best of the best get all of the breaks. The view is that life is easy and good fortune is always coming their way.

It is true for the view of individuals and often also true for the view of businesses or organizations.

Lucky Breaks

Have you ever had a streak of good luck? What about a streak of bad luck? Many will tell you that bad luck comes in three’s and so you look for it to stop after a self-identified, third event.

Streaks of good luck or bad luck don’t continue on forever. That is why we call them a streak.

Studies on the concept of luck have concluded that we all have about the same amount of luck. It is how we manage our luck that determines the future outcomes.

With all of this in mind it would seem logical that your daily habits are what make the most difference.

Better Choices

Each day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, positions you to make the best choices and decisions about what will happen next.

Today you’ll make some choices. Tomorrow the path might be altered ever so slightly (or drastically) to create a new beginning.

Diets and exercise don’t change a physique on a single day. Getting better at your craft doesn’t flip the switch over night. Your career or your business venture isn’t about a single day, a single moment, or a specific spike or decline.

What happens across a career is about choices. The choices you make are connected to the habits you follow.

Today is a good day to figure out what those are.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 14
    Apr 20
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technology discomfort

Technology Discomfort Creates Leaders And Followers

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Have you ever been the victim of technology discomfort? That hesitation, fear, or unwanted risk to try something you’ve never done before?

Many people are making big leaps. It is more than giant steps, they are leaping.

The rapid deployment of video technologies used in a time of crisis has forced the hand of the slow to adopt.

Some will suggest that it has to do with age. Others may suggest that it has to do with beauty, perception, or the fear connected with the unknown that causes discomfort.

Digital isn’t new. It is just being wildly adopted by the feeling of need.

We need to communicate better. We need to have a meeting, broadcast some information, or participate in the next discussion. It may be for a decision, for something to learn, or because we miss our family and friends.

Needy.

There is nothing wrong with recognizing the need and driving change.

The question to ask though, is, why did you wait so long?

The early adopters and those who embrace. The risk takers, and the rain makers. Many of those have already been there. Everyone else has just been waiting. Waiting to follow.

There might be a lesson here.

Technology Discomfort

The lesson may be about exploring your discomfort and not leaping back when you see your shadow on the wall.

No more hiding away and waiting behind.

Stepping back keeps you in your comfort zone. There is no courage required. No reason to face the fear and discomfort for growth. Just unknowingly waiting to be driven by force.

Leaders lead. Leading requires risk. Following matters too. Yet, following out of force is different from following by choice.

Choosing is leading.

Having no choice feels like a push.

Nobody likes being shoved.

Making the choice is much more productive.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 13
    Apr 20
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louder voices

Louder Voices Aren’t Always Smarter Voices

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Do you believe everything you hear? Are the people with louder voices saying the right things?

Everyone has a choice for what they choose to believe. It is true for politics, religion, and even our actions and behaviors in public or in your workplace.

Most people are familiar with the concept of the squeaky wheel. The notion that the person who makes the most noise gets the attention.

Is it true?

The best answer is, sometimes.

Louder Voices

Workplace leaders should always self-reflect on what sparks their ideas and directions for making business decisions. We all process information, it may be information we seek or it may be information we stumble upon.

Louder is a metaphorical expression, not necessarily connected to volume. It’s true, some people are just louder than others.

In modern circles louder often comes from the network. The community of people who come together with similar ideas, values, or beliefs. They tend to shout, sometimes loudly, and they are often heard.

When evidence seems to appear that corroborates the noise they recently received, it becomes an apparent truth.

While it is important for everyone to consider the information they give. It is just as important to consider the information you receive.

In workforce circles there is often a discussion of workplace politics. It has to do with how people navigate the boss, the circles of gossip, rumors, and the content of the secret meeting.

Louder voices seem to often get the stage and the microphone.

Just because they are louder it doesn’t mean it is smarter.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 27
    Mar 20
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anticipated expectations

Anticipated Expectations Are Based On Perceptions

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What are your anticipated expectations? Everyone has some expectation, and what happens next may not be what you anticipate will happen.

Given the current circumstances in the United States and around the World, some people are asking if life as we once knew it will ever be the same. Chances are good; in fact, they are great, that there will be significant change.

Perception of Change

There are at least two things for consideration.

The first is that things are always changing. Sometimes almost unnoticeable in the moment but things are changing. It is hard to watch a tree grow during the scope of a single day, or even a week. However, across a few years, things look quite different.

A second, and perhaps more important point, is that there has been a significant disruption to everyone’s daily life. One of the difficult aspects of the disruption is that it has taken away the status quo and the slower pace of what we may consider as, normal change.

Things are going to be different. Our perceptions of normalcy are what create and develop our expectations. We expect the Sun will rise tomorrow. We can anticipate the event.

A simple analogy of the sunrise is true for how many businesses have operated since before the industrial revolution. We’ve also had some disruptions along the way. Wars, economic recession or depression, and even terrorism.

Any single significant event can alter the course for the future.

Anticipated Expectations

This time, the time right now, there is a significant event. Things are not going to be the same.

For our workplaces, jobs, and millions of people, things are going to be different. Expectations will change, and the anticipation of what tomorrow will be, will continue to be driven by perception.

If you have the perception that everything will find its place, that the gap in disruption will narrow, and that there will be new ways of commerce and opportunity, your expectations will be met.

The truth behind all of the disruption is that every person has an opportunity to contribute. If you’re focused on making it the way it was instead of the way that it can become, you’re going to face a lot of disappointment.

Not everything will change. Yet, many things will pivot or shift, anywhere from a just a little, to a lot.

It’s all about your power. The power to be proactive or reactive.

Which will you choose?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 25
    Mar 20
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work mode

Work Mode May Condition Work Mood

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Are you in work mode? Do you have your, “get things done” game face on?

Many things will condition what happens next for your productivity and effectiveness.

In case you haven’t realized it, there has been a disruption in what we do and how we do it. The disruption is based on an external event, and for many people, stress, worry, and anxiety have spiked.

Some people are still actively reporting to work, some have paid time off, and many have been furloughed or cut loose as a statistic of the disruption.

Maybe you’re working from home (WFH), and perhaps that is a brand new twist.

Work Mood

Are you able to get into work mode? What does it have to do with work mood?

We’ve probably all identified someone by their mood.

He is in a bad mood.

I wouldn’t go near her office today.

When he sees the results he is going to flip out.

Today and every day we all have an opportunity to condition our behavior and attitude. Certainly, external stimuli can add to the pressure for high performance, yet, the choice remains yours.

Work Mode

Getting into work mode is a responsibility. It is part of the job commitment for leaders.

What choices are you making about your work mode?

Don’t become one of the negative external events for your work team. Whether you are working remote or face-to-face, get yourself positioned for the proper work mood and share it. This is work mode.

Every day is a good day to be a positive role model.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

  • 13
    Mar 20
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calm leader

Calm Leader, Lead Better Because Followers Matter

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Are you a calm leader? How is your performance in the face of crisis, turmoil, or disruptive news?

There is a responsibility to leadership. By nature, many people are followers.

They follow for various reasons. They may follow out of fear or they may follow out of respect. In the best cases they follow because they have been positively inspiring to do so.

What is growing your following?

Hysteria in the workplace or in your community is something that leadership can help prevent.

Calm Leader

On a beautiful pleasantly warm summer day I remember watching a manager run past me in the hallway. As he passed, I asked, “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

As he continued in his rush, he replied, “My windows are down.”

Another employee turned abruptly in the hallway and ran after him.

Moments later I walked towards a window area on the side of the building. Outside I noticed a window cleaning crew with a hose spraying and washing the windows.

I laughed. I laughed out loud.

Just in case you aren’t following the story line. The manager was rushing to the parking lot to put up the windows of his vehicle. His office had a window and he suddenly noticed a lot of water coming against the window. His perception was that a torrential downpour was erupting outside. Another employee followed his lead.

Better Leaders

Everyone has instincts, senses, and gut-feel reactions to information and human behavior. Largely because, well, we are human.

Leaders need to be a step above the rest. They must analyze information with a critical eye.

People will always follow.

Be very cautious about where you are leading them.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

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