Money has
been a taboo topic in many circles and families. It is often an unspoken subject
for many while growing up, as a result many today give money a negative connotation.
Why is this? Is it the money that is evil, or what the holder intends to do
with the money that is evil?
In my opinion money is a
tool, nothing more nothing less. It can be used to do great works for better,
or squandered away and kept for selfish reasons. Money is a token, a token that
is used to show appreciated for value added. We no longer live in small isolated
villages, where a token of gratitude may be a simple good in exchange for a
service, but we currently live on a larger scale where we still contribute to
others just often never being in touch with the customer on a personal level
like we once were.
I believe money is an amplifier, if you are
a good person deep down you will continue that path and only increase the good
you are capable of with the more money you possess. I also know it is a huge
responsibility, before one takes the path to pursue riches they really need to
identify who they are deep down and their overarching why in their behavior and
goals.
Many say good
people do not need to be rich, but I would much rather see them with their
pockets full than the other side of the spectrum.
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?
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?
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?
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!
This is the journey of a "Normal" man trying to create a Company while juggling 2 young kids a wife, a Full time job, and being a full time student! My ultimate goal is to become a strong leader for those around me. I will be successful one day and thought it would be fun to document my progress along the way. So enjoy the blogs don't be to critical as I am learning as I go, but I'm always happy to hear suggestions or advice that may help me along the way. I have been told multiple times I am not normal and should slow down, I have finally begin seeing this as a sign I am on the right track. I am passionate about learning something new everyday and becoming a little better, through studying successful people I have come to see it is about focusing on the day and what you can do in this day to become a better person and that effort will stack up and get you to your ultimate goal. Chasing Mastery, the only challenge ever more satisfying knowing you will never reach the end. "See You At The Top" Tom McConnell www.mentalgiantsnutrition.com
