Boss or Leader?
By · CommentsLeadership is Service, Not Position – Tim Fargo
William had been newly appointed to the position of leading a team, of which he had previously been a part. As a technical expert, people often looked up to him for support and to help find solutions to problems. A gentle, intelligent person, William doubted his ability to lead and was very nervous about how he might be perceived by his peers. Unfortunately he was being mentored by his Boss who had no idea how a true leader leads his people.
He was told to distance himself from the team he led, so people would respect his new “position” and he was told to be ruthless in his stance of demanding excellence regardless of what excuses were presented. Much though it went against the grain, William took this advice and gradually started to change from a helpful much loved person to someone to be feared.
With time, however, as he began to see every relationship he had built break down and people begin to resist and avoid his new found “Leadership” style, he began to reflect on what really worked for him that was consistent with his original gentle approach and discovered he was able to not only get better results from his team, but that he was also beginning to grow and feel happier. His Boss of course was not happy with him, despite the improved team results and eventually William left the company for fresh professional pastures.
How often do our careers get interrupted by the wrong examples and advice? Here are a few tips to recognize the difference between a being a Boss and being a Leader! Read More→
Thinking Beyond the Box
By · CommentsA box without hinges, key, or lid
Yet Golden Treasure inside is hid
— J.R.R. Tolkien
Tolkien really had something when he said that! All my life I have been hearing this phrase : “Start Thinking outside the box”.
Admittedly it had me puzzled. what box are they all speaking about? Is it that all of us are living in a narrow rut, like Pavlovian rats racing along a pre-determined track?
Be born, get an education, do homework, toe the line, find a job, please the bosses, do as you are told, get married, have kids, provide for them, put up with a boring job and irritating colleagues in order to earn a living so that we can provide for our families?
Buy a home in a nice subabrban neighbourhood because everyone else is doing it? Get a mortgage, pay it off, downsize to a smaller home as we get older, get away to a warmer climate during the winter and then finally, catch up with our well deserved final rest. In a box?
It just did not make any sense to me! Read More→
The Value of Good Mentors
By · CommentsIt is important who you Learn from!
It has been five years since I left my corporate job with a safe salary and predictable activities to start a New Adventure in an unfamiliar Jungle as an entrepreneur. It felt at all times like I was on a live Snakes and Ladders game board, and turned this way and that to avoid certain disaster which was lurking around every corner!
I quickly realized that I needed mentors in my life and actively sought them only to find that the ones I turned to were in it for themselves and not for me. One of them even wanted 80% of my earnings in return for mentoring! I was at my wits end and down on my knees praying for one, just ONE Mentor who would help me to navigate my way to a successful consistent income and outcome.
It was no co-incidence when I “accidentally” clicked the email that started my journey of growth. And when I joined the John Maxwell Team I got six fabulous mentors besides John C. Maxwell himself who are not only authentic about their own failures, but also incredibly inclusive and people on whom I could safely model my own leadership style. Read More→
From Courage to Freedom!
By · CommentsThe secret of Happiness is Freedom. The secret of Freedom is Courage- Thucydides 450 AD
When I started my business I had no idea what I would do, how I would do it or whether I would succeed at it. I had no one to guide me as everyone I knew was either employed or professionals associated with large firms. A wise mentor told me, Suspend the need to know how, just begin. So I did. But not without some trepidation!
Every successful person has had to deal with fear. The road to hell might be paved with good intentions, but the road to success is abundantly littered with fear and uncertainty. No crystal ball security here!
The biggest difference between a person that is outrageously successful and someone that is not is that the successful ones have the courage to take massive and significant action on a consistent basis. Read More→
Of Cookies and Marketing
By · CommentsEvery Child is a born genius- Richard Buckminster Fuller
Every once in a while along comes a child and teaches me the most amazing lesson!
For those of you who have children, it is probably the most intense education you have ever had. For me, I learn vicariously from other people’s children. A friend told me that her little 7 year old wanted to speak to me because she wanted to be in business for herself just like I was.
I was , of course delighted to accommodate this request and spent a lovely afternoon with Hannah drinking orange juice out of wine glasses and generally helping her understand the basics of setting up a small business model for her to get her pretty little toes wet in the world of business. We sat down with a pad of paper and sketched out all the things she enjoyed doing.
Having identified that she liked baking cookies with her mom, we decided that would be her first venture in the world of business. She would bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies and sell them to the neighbours. Read More→
