Building Trust, A Key To Leadership

Without trust societies are surely doomed for failure. The Absence of trust means no matter how well educated, diverse, or prepared a team may be, they will never achieve the quality of success a group made up of members with fraction of the talent but would die for each other could get, I know that’s a little extreme but you get my point.

How A Leader Gains Trust
Great leaders are great not because of their position but rather the fact people respect and trust them; it has nothing to do with their power, actually when a leader must rely on his power frequently it is often a sign they will not be in that position much longer. There are a few traits a leader must show their tribe before they grant the respect and trust needed to become a great leader. I broke these down in the following four traits.

·            First Capability, leaders must show their tribe they are capable of doing the job, this is easy if the leader is truly aligned with the tribe’s vision. Knowledge and capability are a byproduct of passion, when the leader is truly on fire and on board with the organizations mission he will surely be capable or learn very quickly if not.

·            Second is integrity, does the leader follow through with their promises, do they walk the walk? Nothing kills morale in a tribe more than a hypocritical leader.

·            Third is Caring, if a leader begins to treat their tribe members like interchangeable parts the company will soon erode from the bottom out. Great leader know it is the members that make the tribe great, no matter how loud they yell they will never get the same results they could have from a tribe of inspired members. Take care of your people and they will take care of you.

·            Finally Reliability, Great leaders know how important it is to keep the small promises, to often leaders make the mistake of just paying attention to what they deem “is a big deal” but after falling through on the small things time and time again they soon lose credibility and are deemed no longer reliable. Even worse, whatever trait a leader exhibits often spreads to the members of the tribe, soon you have an organization of members who cannot follow through on the small stuff which will also result in overall failure.

The Trust Killer!
A leader is the head of the tribe, and the biggest mistake someone appointing a leader could do is place a leader who is not 110% congruent to the tribes Why or Vision. Education, resume, or any other qualification will not matter if the leader is not bought in and believes what the tribe stands for. You cannot fake excitement or enthusiasm and tribe members will catch on quickly and realize you are a non-sincere leader.

Question:

What are traits you notice in leaders that build and breakdown your trust? Do you think a leader can do their job and get the mission done with minimal trust from the people they lead?

“See You At The Top”

Tom McConnell

Owner Mental Giants Nutrition

TomMcConnell@mentalgiantsnutrition.com

As always a video by Eddie Pinero. Check out his website YourWorldWithin, you won't be disappointed.

Why Company Culture Is So Important For Success

Culture is a daunting thing to think about as a leader even more so when you ponder how you personally can affect it for the better. Culture is absolutely necessary to get right if you want to have a truly successful team. So the question remains, how can one person affect his working environments culture for the better?

What is culture and why is it so important?

I believe it was in Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why” he describes culture as a group of individuals that come together and have common values and beliefs. I think this is a great description of culture. Culture is so important because it shapes the individuals in that society to act a certain way in one form or another.

 For instance I grew up in a very small town in Indiana before I joined the military I never had any other job other than a farm hand and on many different types of farms. I truly believe that culture I was placed in while growing up instilled good hardworking traits and habits into me and I greatly benefited from the cultures I was apart of.

            Here is another way to think about culture, imagine it as the root system of a tree. Each root is your companies, squadrons, or families core values, ethics, and valued traits. The stronger the culture/roots the more your society will withstand and hold strong. If you company does not stand for anything it will be blown over by any adversity that comes its way.

How to maintain Culture

A strong culture can be a lifeline to a company facing difficulty; it is not uncommon for a leader to make rash hasty decision under the gun. This is when a strong culture helps, one that a leader can fall back and it can be very comforting. Creating a strong culture will aid the group to build those strong roots, the stronger the roots grow the more support you will get from the rest of your members. Another Reference from “Simon Sinek’s Book Start with Why” (I apologize for not doing the story justice I am currently righting this blog offline and do not have the book handy).

            Basically the story explains a time when the entire world had not been completely explored, and a captain sent an ad out to recruit men for a very dangerous mission to explore Antarctica, the mission was very risky and chances of survival were minimal. They began their voyage and soon enough they were caught in ice they ended up drifting for months with limited supplies and under horrible conditions, many assumed few would come back as the ingredients to that environment often meant mutiny. Finally the ship was rescued and not a one person lost their life. This was to the astonishment of speculators who had estimated most would have died, how did they do this?

            The captain of the boat before they left was very cunning, when he created his ad for the newspaper he created an add that ensured everyone responding would have the same values, traits, and ethics and that would make his culture extremely strong on the boat. He explained in the ad the trip would be extremely dangerous, and odds were they would not make it back. But in the chance they did survive every man on the boat would be famous and do something that no one else could.

Take Away

Build a strong enough culture and no matter the trials or difficulties your society will stick together through pain and be there to celebrate triumphs.

Question:

Do you think culture can be taught? Or do you believe it is a Nature vs Nurture phenomenon?

“See You At The Top”

Tom McConnell

Owner Mental Giants Nutrition
TomMcConnell@mentalgiantsnutrition.com

Common Leadership Mistakes, And How To Fix Them

Being in the military I have been surrounded by leaders over the last 12 years, some great leaders and honestly a few who have taught me what not to do. This got me thinking what are some of the practices that make great leaders and some common mistakes that make others not as strong in the leadership department?

Leaders Must Be Clear

When a leader must decide between kindness and clarity it is much bigger benefit to both the leader and team member to be favor clearness over kindness. Team members want to know what you are saying, especially if it is a correction. It is a common mistake to attempt to coat a correction in kindness and this will cause the member to leave confused, all they heard was how good they are doing three times and missed the correction. This is no good for anyone and will not solve the problem and even add to confusion when you have to go back and readdress the problem.

Deal With a Problem Immediately

In my experience in the Military I have seen this common mistake happen time and time again, something will occur a senior member will then take his time write up paperwork (what we commonly use as a discipline tool in the military) sit on that paperwork for a week and then blind side the member.

By this time the person being corrected most likely has vague recognition of why they are even being reprimanded in the first place. one reasons in my opinion why this occurs, some leaders just do not like confrontation, this actually is why it is better to simply pull off the band aid and get it over with. Plus it is never as bad as you think it is, just pull the member in and talk to them most of the time it was just a misunderstanding or miscommunication that can be dealt with easily.

Recognize Positives Right Away

On the opposite side of the coin good leaders must recognize good behavior immediately, that is if they want to see more of it. I read a short story in a book (I’m having trouble remembering which one exactly) where a man sat in on a elementary school class his child was enrolled in, at first the classroom teacher was by his side and all was well. Unfortunately for him the teacher stepped out and asked the man to watch the class, this was when pandemonium ensued. Kids were running with scissors, dumping glue everything, and no matter what he tried they would not listen.

Finally the teacher came back and soon the man saw a master at work, without raising her voice or showing any sign of anger the women simply started praising the children that were amplifying good behavior. As other children recognized their peers being commended they soon followed suit mimicking the behavior of the children gaining praise. I thought this was a powerful story and have no doubt it works on not only children but also adults of all ages.

Question

What are some of the common leadership mistakes you have noticed your leadership make? And what are some of the good traits they have that made up for their bad? Also what traits would make a perfect leader in your eyes?

“See You At The Top”

Tom McConnell

Owner Mental Giants Nutrition

TomMcConnell@mentalgiantsnutrition.com

As always a video by Eddie Pinero. Check out his website YourWorldWithin, you won't be disappointed.

Inspired to Lead! 1, 2, 3 Blog!

Why Start a Blog?

To get the to point, why did I decide to create a blog? The easy answer is after studying leadership and hearing from many great leaders blogging can be imperative to your growth, time and time again I heard "start a blog and stick with it!" At first I struggled to find a correlation in developing as a leader and becoming a blogger, but again I couldn’t ignore the idea especially after such great leaders like Seth Godin emphasized the benefits starting and sticking to a blog may hold.

What I think I’ll personally get out of blogging.

            I have been heavily seeking knowledge and wisdom for the last 5 years in the subject of leadership. To me leadership does not simply cover how you act at work or running a business, but it encompasses every aspect of your life both personal and professionally. To me it is just as important to be a strong leader at home in your personal life as it is in a business, because when one spoke on your wheel as Zig Ziglar would say is neglected you will soon find yourself with a flat tire on the side of the road.

            I think during my leadership study a blog will give me the opportunity to reflect and jot down some of the information I have acquired that day, I will be attempting to create 5 blogs a week each one around 500 words (advice from Michael Hyatt from the book Platform) and it will cover whatever leadership study I have completed that day. This will actually help me maintain the chain, a goal I have set for myself to gain valuable knowledge everyday so that everyday I am at least a bit better than the day before, this is the ultimate goal.

But I feel under qualified to write a blog!

            This is a concern I had to fight through before I began blogging, I know I am no smarter than anyone else which caused me to question why anyone would want to read this blog, but after deciding to do it anyway I can only hope I will get better along the way and create something someone else finds interesting and helpful. Again after hearing it over and over again from other leaders saying if you are passionate about something start a blog about it to both help you gain knowledge on the subject and hopefully connect with like-minded people which is the ultimate goal. I am very sick of being the most excited and passionate person in the room sometimes, it totally confuses me sometimes why others don’t feel the same way. For a while I would become discouraged by this but then read something that changed my way of thinking, I believe it came from Napoleon Hill, while he talked about his master mind meetings which are imperative. He said if you cant find people around you pick up books and get to know leaders through their literature. This was huge for me and I think it was when I really began to ramp up my reading and spending a lot of time and money on books.

Well to stick to Michael’s advice I’ll end here to keep the post around 500 words, I’ll also leave with a question, which was also good advice from Michael.

Question:

Do you think blogging can help you grow in your field of study? What are the benefits in your eyes?

“See You At The Top”

Tom McConnell

Owner Mental Giants Nutrition

TomMcConnell@mentalgiantsnutrition.com

How to be successful in anything! Start with Discipline

Successful people have one thing in common they are always striving for self improvement. This is commonly misunderstood as never being content, but the truth is many of the very successful know how important it is to be content and happy with what you have and with those around you. They also have an understanding that what they have achieved is not what is important but rather the person they have become on the journey to those achievements. So if you have a desire in you to be great and are unsure of what to do next, pick up a book from someone or something that inspires you, I promise it will lead you to another book and another book your ideas will grow and you will eventually find your purpose, and a purpose in life is a powerful thing, and what it is all about.

    Another tip I have heard time and time again, start building your discipline without it you will miss many opportunities. This can start in little actions, when you decided to go on a run and then attempt to talk yourself out of it Do it anyway Another example when your tired and don't feel like reading that book don't turn on the T.V. and zone out pick up that book! The best part about this is the more you commit to these disciplines the more you will hardwire your brain to perform these tasks and the easier it becomes, soon you will enjoy sitting back reading a book and learning just as much as you have vegging out in front of the T.V. in the past. Your brain can be an amazing asset but that all depends on how you choose to wire it! 

"See you at the top"

Tom McConnell

Owner www.mentalgiantsnutrition.com
tommcconnell@mentalgiantsnutrition.com

Time to Start The Next Hill, Bring it on

   Bring on the next challenge but more importantly the opportunity

10 days Ago I began a new journey, I have been ordered to move from Florida to Alaska just another perk of being in the Military, at first this news hit me hard, I finally got my business setup and beginning to thrive and then I was told I had to pack up and leave.
     Luckily I have recruited two friends/coworkers I worked with from my last job to help me, this has been greatly beneficial in many ways but to name a few in this situation it allowed me to keep all the customers in Florida happy and allow the shipping from the lower 48 states to remain in place. Honestly this has been more of a blessing than a hardship, I am moving to Anchorage which is a huge city and holds so much opportunity, one guy is staying back at the home base in Florida and managing the majority of the inventory, and the third guy is moving to Texas which opens up another market to set roots in.
     As I have made my way literally across the United States I have been feeding my brain many good books and have found and am power consuming an amazing amazing amazing podcast EntreLeadership, many times after listening to an episode I had to sit in silence as I let the wisdom of what was said sink into my mind. I have really been taken back with the quality of information in these episodes, actually so much so I practically pleaded with my business partners to begin ingesting the podcasts immediately, I know we will be successful if we put into place a quarter of the knowledge presented.
     In about six hours I will be boarding a Ferry that will take me on a four and a half day journey and finally land me in Alaska, I plan on doing an enormous amount of reading and listening to podcast as well as some much needed meditation on what I truly want out of the company, about the leader I want to become in the Military, and the a leader at home as a husband and father. Honestly I hope they do not offer WiFi so I able to focus and not be tempted with meaningless distractions.

"See You At The Top"

Tom McConnell
Owner www.mentalgiantsnutrition.com
tommcconnell@mentalgiantsnutrition.com