Ready – AIM - Fire

…review of the READY phase…

So far in this series I have written that leaders set the pace.  If that is the case, then part of setting the pace is setting goals. 

In the READY phase I wrote that in order to achieve a goal it must be your goal and it must be written down.

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AIM

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As you take AIM at your goals I invite you to avoid the most common pitfall most people make when setting goals and that is creating excuses based on external conditions.

If you want to achieve a goal, realize you CANNOT wait for external conditions to change but you must start where you are!!

Ok Ron… “what do you mean by external conditions and starting where I am?”

Answer:

I will make this as simple as I can.  The number one most set goal in the world is to lose weight.  As for me, it is easy to say things like this…

“As soon as I learn to eat better I will exercise.”

“I will start to eat better when I have time to exercise.”

“It is to hot to run.”

“It is to cold to run.”

You see, eating, exercising, running in the heat, or running in the cold are all EXTERNAL CONDITIONS.  And where I am, well, I am fat!

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The moral of the story… if I choose to wait for the perfect conditions to form, I will never start working toward my goal.

Monday Challenge…

1. Identify your goals.
2. Write them down.
3. Own them.

Identify the external conditions that will not change but only serve as excuses not to begin.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

READY–FIRE–AIM…

It must be your goal!

Thus far in this series I have written that leaders set the pace. I do not believe that many people, if any at all, will dispute that truth.

Leaders set the pace and leaders set goals.

Last week I delivered the first rule of goal setting; if you want to achieve a goal, it must be written down.

My second premise is this, if you want to achieve a goal, it must be your goal. Simply put, you cannot achieve another person’s goal. It simply will not work. Both reducing a goal to writing and then owning the goal are critical to success.

You say “OK Ron, so I get this on a personal level. But tell me how this works with goal setting in teams?”

You may also be wondering, “As a leader, why then would I set a goal and ask others to reach them?”

Answer:

An effective leader develops their goals first. Next, and this is the piece that many leaders do not get, the leader then presents their goals to the team and ask for an agreement from each team member to hit those goals. Once a team member agrees that the goals have merit and they are willing to work toward them, then the team leader has created dual ownership of the goals. Thus, everyone owns the goals.

Obviously, this is a different mindset of goal setting than most people are accustomed to using.

While I realize this may be a hard concept to digest, it works, it is effective, and it produces results.

Monday Challenge...

Do you have written goals for yourself?

Are these your goals or have they been given birth from someone or something else?

Do you have written goals for those people you lead?

Have you effectively created dual ownership of those goals?

If you have not taken these steps, I challenge you to begin today!

Happy Monday!

READY–FIRE–AIM and written goals…

Low motivational levels, the feeling of a need to take action, compulsive financial decisions, and failed goals combine to create what experts call “Blue Mondays.”

These are days when individuals, teams, or organizations face the music for poor goal setting, lack of strategic planning, lack of preparation, and little - if any - attention to significant details.

Blue Mondays are the direct result of the “Ready, Fire, Aim” goal-setting process in which the competitive desire of an individual or organization to be first on the scene or first out of the box is often traded for proven, rock-solid, goal-setting and strategic planning techniques.

Blue Mondays, more often than not, are avoidable with a firm understanding of 10 fundamental core principles for individual, team, or organizational goal setting.

As I wrote in the previous blog, leaders “set the pace.” So, I want to invite you to explore rule number one of setting goals and realizing achievement.

First and foremost know this, if you want to achieve a goal, it must be written down.

During the last few decades countless research projects have been built around goals and achievement. One overriding common thread that points to success in virtually all of the research is that people who achieve goals have committed their desired outcomes to writing.

For me, this is true on both the personal and professional level. Why do I believe this to be true? Simple, once a goal is put into writing in the form of a commitment, then my integrity and personal accountability are on the line. In essence, I have something at stake to achieve that goal.

Monday Challenge...

Ask yourself the following questions:

What are my top three personal or life goals?

What are my top three professional goals?

What are the top three goals of the people or team I lead?

If they are not in writing, I invite you to commit them to paper.

Happy Monday!

READY – FIRE – AIM

Setting the Pace…

One of my fondest childhood memories is watching the Indy 500 with friends and family. I can remember the first Indy 500 I watched and specifically - my captivation with the concept of the “pace car.”

The very first pace car I watched set the pace was a Chevy Corvette. I remember thinking, “this is a car race, what on earth does a pace car do and why do need it?”

At some point I asked the question out loud “what does the pace car do?” 

Without any hesitation someone in the room replied “it is paces the drivers to insure they are up to speed and ready to start the race.”

I now realize that the “pace car” was actually the “pace setter” for the beginning of the race. I now also realize that the “pace car” does so much more that just set the speed. The “pace car” insures that the track is safe, all racers are on the track, that a manageable starting speed is set, and much more.

What Leaders Do…

In life, this is what leaders do. Leaders are the “pace cars.”

In this blog series (Ready, Aim, Fire) I am going to spend a few weeks addressing goals and how they impact the pace of leadership and the pace of an organization.

The Monday challenge…

I am going to start this series by inviting you to answer this question...

“Do those I lead know my organization’s top three goals and priorities?”

• If you believe the answer to be yes, I invite you to ask those you lead to clearly and cleanly articulate those goals and priorities back to you in order.
• If you believe the answer to be no, I invite you to immediately begin to set the pace by sharing and reviewing the goals and priorities with everyone you lead.

Happy Monday!

Leadership and Communication… a recap of the blog series

Leaders know that communication is critical to effective leadership.  Words, voice, and non-verbal language all impact communication in either a positive or negative manner.

A leader who is not willing to take a look as his or her communication ability or skill may suffer. One of the teaching points I use in my leadership seminars is this:

“People that I see as lost or in a state of confusion may be responding to my communication.  In fact, they may be attempting to accomplish what I have asked of them.  The reality may be that I communicated my desires poorly.”

My last 3 blog posts have been focused on communication. Below is a simple recap of those posts:

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What I say matters!

How I say it matters!

When I say it matters!

Where I say it matters!

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The Monday challenge…

Repetition is the engine of memory.

Repetition is the engine of memory.

Repetition is the engine of memory.

Get it?

Repeat the four points above daily.

I invite you to simply repeat the 4 points above every morning before you communicate with another person.

I further invite you to repeat each of the points prior to the start of any meetings you may have or at the start of any conversations you may have that might be challenging.

Happy Monday!

55% and Leadership…

My body speaks?

My last few posts have been focused on leadership and communication. As I wrap down this topic I want to remind you that words (7%) and tone of voice (38%) account for 43% of what is given and taken away in a conversation.

Research tells us that 55% of what is given and taken away is communicated through body language.

 

So, what are some elements of body language to consider as you communicate?

1. Facial expression – how I look while I am communicating.
2. Posture – how I stand or sit while I am communicating.
3. Eye contact – where I am looking while I am communicating.
4. Proximity – where I am in relation to the person(s) with whom I am communicating.
5. Movement – how my body is responding while I am communicating.

The Monday challenge…

Look for opportunities to intentionally improve or apply a non-verbal skill. I invite you have at least one conversation this week during which you intentionally change one of the 5 elements above. I suggest you do so simply by increasing your awareness and responsiveness to the item you choose.

Happy Monday!

38% and Leadership…

What does 38% have to do with leadership?

Simple, as a leader communicates he knows that words are important. As I wrote last week, words are powerful, and once spoken, have consequences.

So aside from choosing words carefully, a leader must also realize that there is a value in the “tone” or in the “voice” he is using to deliver his thoughts and ideas.  In others words, “how” you say something is just as important as the substance of what is being said.

Consider this research…

There are 3 basic elements of communication. These are spoken words, voice tone, and body language.
Research indicates that in the communication process spoken words account for only 7% of what is taken away from the conversation.  The conversational tone accounts for roughly 5 times that – a whopping 38%. 

So, how you say something accounts for 38% of the entire conversation!

The Monday challenge…

This week I invite you to look for opportunities to change your tone. I further invite you to purposefully have at least one conversation this week during which you intentionally change your tone. I suggest that you focus on a conversation in which you are apt to become “loud.”  Use this time to challenge yourself to “take it down a notch.”

Take your time in the discussion and work to create a tone that can be heard and accepted by the other person or people.

Happy Monday!