Every leader lurks a daunting question that hurls a shadow over every significant challenge:
Can I successfully do this?
When I went to take the test for my driver’s license… When I went to work for the prison system… When I proposed to my wife… When my daughter arrived… and every new job I took, I subconsciously thought of this question….. Can I Successfully Do This?
But then, the next question is…..Or Am I destined for failure? Well, my personality falls forward to the answer to this question: ” I can succeed in everything.” Unfortunately, that has driven me to many disappointments and frustrations.
However, we must understand that almost everything that goes through our head attaches to our brain and then determines our decisions.
We sometimes sabotage by shirking responsibility and self-medicating through addictive behavior – drugs, alcohol, gaming, etc. Others go numb, becoming “yes” men to the tyranny of mediocrity.
For those who have already made the tragic choice of shutting down and checking out, you need to realize your decisions and rethink the successful way forward.
For those still wrestling with the decision, take a step back and rethink the outcome of your choices.
As I coach or interact with leaders, I hear it in their voices and see it in their eyes and body language. People are constantly thinking Can I Successfully Do This?
YOU Can!
Let me drop in a few reasons why you are, indeed, up to the tasks you are qualified and capable of completing and can be successful.
You were MADE to DO this
What you have achieved or have been successful with in the past means you took advantage of your schooling, training, mentorship, and experience to achieve success.
Everything we do offers challenges. And while we sometimes fail, we’re still designed to take on the challenges adequately.
You’ve been equipped for this.
You have natural talents as well as trained abilities. It’s not that you’re superhuman. Instead, you’re a human who manages the opportunity within the hands of your past success.
You have people
You don’t have to do this alone. Some people will help you succeed.
Maybe you’ve been let down by them, but don’t give up. These people, imperfect as they may be, are made to complement an imperfect you!
You also have people that you can help succeed. But, again, this is a requirement for all successful leaders. Remember, not everything is about you; it is about everyone!
Conclusion
Every company and organization suffers from a shortage of courageous, confident, and successful leaders. Instead, many have emphasized humility which creates false confidence for pride. But as we reveal that our thoughts, actions, and team are always working in us, around us, and through us to accomplish our success.
When you remain dependent and surrendered, you remain an unstoppable force for the SUCCESS OF EVERYTHING YOU ACCOMPLISH!
Yes, YOU Can Successfully Do This!!
Denis is an Executive Director for the John Maxwell Group and is a certified leadership coach, trainer, keynote speaker, and DISC Behaviorial Consultant. Denis is a senior safety professional and a strong, passionate influential person. He is committed to teaching and communicating practical and relevant influencing techniques. His unique, passionate, and emotionally driven style resonates with many, creating a desire to become an effective leader.
You can contact Denis at dbaker@leaderinfluence.net for information on coaching, leadership, team and culture training, DISC Behavioral consulting, or to be an inspirational speaker at your next event.
Team Members will experience conflicts. A member of your team or another colleague whom you think is in the trenches with you can suddenly become a foe. In an instant, teams meant to work together to achieve the goals and objectives can end up locked in conflict. I don’t think any of us wake up in the morning hoping to deal with conflict………..but it will show up. Conflicts rip teams apart, destroy morale, and will result in poor performance.
So, what do we need to do to relieve the conflict and become a stronger high-performance team?
Positions – Many team members focus on their job title to dictate the direction. This is very typical for those promoted to a high level for the first time, or maybe it is a person who has occupied the job for many years and feels they know how to strategize for success. To relieve this conflict, the team members must be open to allowing each member to share their thoughts and ideas, and the team provides professional feedback. When each person is talking, other team members must focus on listening to what is being said and understanding where they are coming from and why they are posing the information.
Mistrust or uneven communication – Many teams have members who create an atmosphere of mistrust because they want the results to follow them. As a part of multiple teams, many members don’t communicate or consider the entire company but focus on what will work best for their assigned responsibilities. This creates a very contentious atmosphere and results in extreme conflict. For example, suppose someone dominates the conversation while others sit silent or appear to have dropped out. In that case, a team member might need to stop the process and ask each person what they need to accommodate their assigned responsibilities. This will reduce the frustration and eliminate the conflict.
Personality clashes – When you don’t get along with a team member, it can make both of you very frustrated. And though you might wish for a personality transplant for your annoying coworker, that’s probably not going to happen. Personality clashes are the most reported problem in the workplace. Too often, these conflicts go unresolved because people concentrate on their personalities rather than focusing on the issues. When the clashes escalate, they create a TOXIC work environment. People influence each other’s behavior. We can’t control or change another person’s personality, but we certainly can control our own emotions and reactions. The clashes are between you and the other person, no one else. Consider what Lou Holtz’s humorous perspective is, “Don’t tell your problems to people! 80% don’t care, and the other 20% are glad you have them.”
Power issues and personal agendas – I am KING and WILL DO what I WANT TO DO! A conflict that involves power issues or solid personal agendas must be deleted. The reality is that some members are not a right fit for the team, and leaders need to remove or offer them another role. This doesn’t happen often, but occasionally it will. The good news is the team usually jumps forward once it changes.
“When your agenda becomes more important than the team’s desired outcome, team performance suffers, and each member will fail.”
DENIS BAKER
Conflict can improve team performance when it is handled properly. The challenge for Team members is knowing how and when to intervene.
SO WHAT, NOW WHAT
When we have our leaky roof, we’re just hoping to restore things to normal. However, when we repair Team relationships, there is always an opportunity to build more trust and increase future performance.
Denis is an Executive Director for the John Maxwell Group and is a certified leadership coach, trainer, keynote speaker, and DISC Behaviorial Consultant. Denis is a senior safety professional and a strong, passionate influential person. He is committed to teaching and communicating practical and relevant influencing techniques. His unique, passionate, and emotionally driven style resonates with many, creating a desire to become an effective leader.
You can contact Denis at dbaker@leaderinfluence.net for information on coaching, leadership, team and culture training, DISC Behavioral consulting, or to be an inspirational speaker at your next event.
“One is too small of a number to achieve greatness.”
John C. Maxwell
Teams are essential in every aspect of life. Whether you’re working on a deadline, organizing a community project, or coordinating schedules, everyone must be willing to work as a team. Teams allow us to work towards accomplishing our desired goals, objectives or tasks. Everyone is part of a team. If you are married, you are part of a team with your spouse.
If you are employed, you are part of a team with your colleagues. If you give your time to a church or organization, you are part of a team of volunteers. Being a part of a team in some capacity is inevitable. We celebrate great human achievement and often view a single person as the hero of a great accomplishment. However, if you look below the surface, you will see that most solo acts are team efforts.
As an Executive Director with the John Maxwell Team, working with various teams is a big part of my business. My basic knowledge and ideas come from leadership expert and author, John C. Maxwell. This article will provide the path for you and your team to understand how to build a strong team and how successful collaborations works.
Successful companies need strong TEAMs! Without a strong team, you may accomplish little, but you won’t accomplish anything significant. So what makes a strong team?
T – TRUST
“A team is not a group of people who work together. A team is a group of people who trust each other.
Simon Sinek
You can’t build a team without trust. Trust is the emotional glue that binds a team together. If you don’t trust someone, you don’t have confidence in that person. Without confidence, you can’t achieve anything of value.
What builds trust?
Consistency. People must learn to trust you. The more the team spends time together, the more trust they will develop.
Loyalty. I believe that loyalty to your team is critical. I will publicly defend my team members before I even know what the issue is. Loyalty builds trust.
You’ll know when your team significant to trust each other because you’ll see them delegate to other team members.
E – ENERGY
“You give life to what you give energy to.” –
Unknown
You and your teams are doing work with goals and objectives that will ultimately achieve the vision. That’s why I encourage you to have what I call “relaxed concern.” In other words, while you need to recognize that success and failure hang in the balance for many teams, no one should be tightly wound all the time.
You must understand that teams work hard, the energy is high, and the results are impressive. However, if you don’t manage the activities and provides the necessary resources, you’ll burn the teams out quickly. I have seen this happen in many companies, churches, and organizations.
People give their best effort, and it continues for long periods and many roadblocks and walls. Their problem isn’t that they’re not dedicated enough, but instead they don’t kknow when to relax.
A – APPRECIATION
Dear Team, You are all amazing; keep up the great work!”
Unknown
Appreciation means to raise in value. It’s the opposite of depreciation. If you’ve ever bought a new car, you know it depreciates the moment you drive it off the car lot—it goes down in value.
Appreciation means you raise the value of something. When you show appreciation for a spouse or a child, you’re increasing their value. The same is true for your workforce or volunteers. The more appreciation you express, the more you’ll improve the value of their efforts.
How do you do that?
Affirm their efforts. Make a point to notice and recognize publicly what your TEAMS are doing well.
Affirm their loyalty. Let your team know that you appreciate the time and effort spent on the projects or activities.
Affirm their uniqueness. Every team member is different. Let them know you see those differences as strengths that help your teams work effectively.
Affirm their ideas. Your teams will be as creative as you allow them to be. Let them know you appreciate all ideas so they will continue to share them.
M – MISTAKES
“Your best teacher is your last mistake.”
Denis Baker
Mistakes are useful—they teach us what doesn’t work. Any creative team will make mistakes. If there are never any mistakes, is the team being creative?
SUMMARIZE
Teams are a way of life; we can’t survive without teams. To excel in life and our profession, we need to be a good team member and leader. By building strong teams, we can create success. Let’s soak up all the qualities and skills of each team member to create the most energetic team possible!
In my effort to cultivate and grow my leadership, I find it challenging to stay the course and achieve what I read, witness, and teach. In fact, I often find myself telling people one thing and doing the exact opposite. Doing that can hurt those you lead, coach, mentor, or teach. If you don’t improve, you will ultimately lose respect, trust, and, eventually, the ability to influence.
As 2020 approaches, I decided to evaluate my leadership abilities and identify those things I do well and those areas where I need to improve. The last four years have been a personal leadership challenge for me. I’ve had a job change that put me in a role with no direct reports and limited my decision-making authority. I’ve had to learn to lead differently. The term; “influence without authority” has become an actual reality challenge for me.
During my self-evaluation, I identified my top 5 strengths in leading others and having a strong influence on the decision making process.
1. I am a very HIGH ENERGY AND PASSIONATE leader in the areas I believe in.
2. I am willing to embrace CHANGE, even if I don’t entirely agree with it
3. I am PERSISTENT in my approach to achieving my desires, goals, and objectives
4. I am CONFIDENT in my decision making but open to ideas and suggestions
5. I am a strong ENGAGER of people
It is always good to identify your strong points, but it can be challenging to identify areas for improvement. The way I approached this was to reflect on 2019 and the many conversations, suggestions, and feedback I received throughout the year. I am always asking for feedback (although many times I don’t want to hear it or I have an excuse)
Based on my evaluation and reflection, I will focus on building and improving the following five leadership traits in 2020.
1. Being Clear in My Communication – I will work to enhance my communication approach through tone and word choices. Working to pull my feelings and frustration back and undoubtedly transfer my thoughts, ideas, and expectations. I will explain the “why” more often and ensure people are well informed. People want to be “in the know.” People want to deliver expectations, but can’t be successful if we don’t clearly and successfully communicate. They also want to know what the rewards are for good work and the consequences for sub-standard work.
2. Build Stronger Relationships – Relationships are critical to leadership. Strong relationships build trust and respect and offer the opportunity to influence. I will work to be present with my customers, leaders, and the workforce. I will reach out for general conversations and make sure I follow-up with the right people. I will work to show how much I care about all facets of the business. It is said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!” They are looking for you to care for them and build a working relationship. I will work harder to learn and remember names and recognize that life is going on outside of work.
3. Humble Myself – I am am very confident in my role but must be better at leading with humility. I don’t know everything and always make the right decisions, but I will work diligently to illustrate my knowledge through the quality of my choices. I will recognize all persons, regardless of position, and work to realize that no one is any more important than anyone else. I will demonstrate this through my actions and interactions. I will let each know how important they are by involving them and getting their brains in the game.
4. Be a Stronger Encourager – I will continuously look for and recognize the great work people are doing. I will express my gratitude and exemplify the positive difference they are making. I will encourage them for their actions, the work they perform, and the value they add.
5. Have Courage – I understand creativity and innovation drive progress and performance. I will make bold decisions, push back when needed, but fully support the final decision. I will have difficult conversations when necessary, and I will do the difficult right things.
With a new year and new decade roll into place, I feel like it is the optimal time to increase my influence and achieve more than I ever have. I don’t know where most of you fall within your leadership needs (unless I know you). Still, I believe the results from my self-evaluation will encourage many of you to look within yourself, identify areas of improvement, and make the necessary changes to become a stronger influencer and more effective leader.
Our personality impacts everything we do; how we respond to pressure, how we network, socialize, and react when there is an emergency. Our personality is something that we cannot escape. When I reflect upon those who are successful, I see bold individuals who are assured within. They know what they are good at and they maximize upon those strengths. Successful people, regardless of their industry, are always boldly self-aware.
With the beginning of 2019, the New Year provides us with an opportunity to build upon the experiences and lessons learned from the previous year. I don’t believe we ever truly start over, instead; we build upon our achievements and/or the lessons learned from past failures and shortfalls. In retrospect, one of the things I’ve gleaned over the past couple of years is that our personality identifies our strengths and weaknesses. It directly affects our ability to achieve our goals and meet our objectives.
As a DISC Behavioral Consultant, I’ve learned to identify personality
types through consultation, and help others develop goals that coincide with
their character. In doing so, individuals maximize their opportunity for
achievement.
These
3 actions will help individuals streamline their personal goals:
Tailor your conversation based on personality traits. This gives you the ability to make adjustments within the discussion to lead the path forward.
Generate goals that motivate the person to put in the necessary effort to achieve each one.
Identify areas to stretch the individual and achieve things that will take a focused effort.
By successfully implementing these 3 things into the
development of goals, I believe we give people the ability to be successful and
achieve more than they might expect.
So how do we set goals based upon a person’s personality? To answer this question, I will identify methods that reflect the DISC personality styles in general. I’ll use the behavioral traits and the typical strengths and weaknesses of each personality style. Let’s take a look at how to set goals for each personality style.
Dominant
People with dominant personalities are direct, decisive, problem solvers, risk takers, and self-starters. People with a strong dominant personality are hard-charging, get-it-done kind of people! I identify with this particular personality type. I tend to set very ambitious, lofty goals. However, if I don’t see immediate results, I’ll quickly lose motivation.
People you identify as having a dominant personality need to
have goals that meet the following parameters;
Identify a few more than required. If you want 3-5 goals, a dominant person will set 7-10.
Make the majority of the goals short-term. This serves as motivation to accomplish many things.
Set a couple of long-term goals with the expectation to endure until the end.
Each goal must be clearly identified and the timeline for completion well established.
Establish regular one-on-one follow-ups and progress meetings.
When
developing goals for a dominant personality consider the following:
POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS
Autocratic in teams and will rise to the top in a crisis
Good at providing direction and leadership
High assertiveness
They have a clear idea of their ambitions and goals and will push hard for accomplishment
Function well with heavy workloads
Very competitive attitude
Welcomes new challenges
Tend to follow their own ideas
AREAS FOR GROWTH
LEARN TO LISTEN MORE AND SPEAK LESS
Gather consensus on decisions
Don’t act alone
Learn to answer the question “why” when asked about decisions and proposals
Work on body language and tone of voice when dealing with frustration
Focus on developing sincere personal relationships
Can intimidate others
Influential
People with an influential personality are enthusiastic,
trusting, optimistic, persuasive, talkative, impulsive and emotional. They are
just pure FUN! They are the life of the party and are typically the ones we
talk about after the Christmas party. They love to set goals and dream about
the things they want to achieve.
These
fun-loving social characters need to have goals that meet the following
parameters:
Harness their enthusiasm when
identifying goals
Identify goals that will move the
company forward and acknowledge their value
Clearly define the steps to achieve
each goal and have them focus on each stage before moving onto the next
Set smaller goals
Identify the timeline for each goal
Prioritize each goal for the company
and the individual
Establish regular one-on-one
meetings to verify progress and determine the next steps for successful
performance
When developing goals for those with an influencing
personality style, consider;
POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS
Great communicators who are both influential and inspirational
Have the ability to motivate others
Great advocates of change and deal well with change themselves
People are drawn to them, thus creating a great opportunity to lead others
Positive attitude
Great at brainstorming and visionary projects
AREAS FOR GROWTH
Impulsive in decision making
Can be slow to action (a lot of talk, but little action)
Need to exercise control over actions, words, and emotions
Need to talk less and listen more
Tends to over-promise
Steady
The steady personalities are good listeners, team players, possessive, steady and predictable. They are understanding and friendly relationship-based people. Goal setting usually means change is coming, which immediately causes tension for a steady personality—because they don’t like change.
If you see yourself as a person with a steady personality or will be working to set goals with someone described above, consider:
Goals that establish step by step directions with a clearly defined plan for achievement
Establish the benefit for achieving each goal
Needs more time to develop their goals
Set timelines for each goal and hold them to it
Consider
the following when developing goals for the person with a steady personality:
POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS
Supportive and natural relationship builders
Grounded in reality and common sense
Talented multi-taskers
Patient
Loyal
Even-tempered
Peacemakers in groups and teams
AREAS FOR GROWTH
Struggles with change and making adjustments
Can be overly agreeable
Tends to put other’s needs before theirs
Need to be more direct in their interactions with others
Their pace tends to be slow, thus causing them to miss deadlines
Compliant
A person with a compliant personality is accurate,
analytical, conscientious, careful, precise, meticulous and systematic.
Those with a complaint personality are very focused on procedure and making sure
things are done the right way. They don’t have a problem with setting goals,
but they do need help prioritizing. A compliant personality wants to
accomplish EVERYTHING!
To
set effective goals, a person with a compliant personality must consider:
Start the process early!
Focusing on goals that are important to YOU!
Ensure each goal is practical and detailed
Create clear, identifiable goals that establish their role within the group, department, and organization
Establish data-driven goals that focus on details others may not see
Stretch the person by developing one or two visionary goals
As
you consider developing goals for the compliant personality, consider the
following:
POSITIVE CHARACTERISTICS
Instinctive organizers
Excellent at creating and maintaining systems and processes
Consistent in their approach
Will see projects through until completion
Strive for a diplomatic approach
Strive for a group and team consensus
AREAS FOR GROWTH
Tend to be critical of others
Consider other’s ideas and methods
Need to speed up to help the team or group accomplish their goals
Work on focusing more on building strong relationships
Make faster-informed decisions
Take more risks
Final Thoughts
Each one of us has a unique personality style. Sure, we can put people in “personality” buckets, but that only helps to identify our approach. As leaders, we must know our coworkers and ourselves well enough to understand what motivates them and how they react to different situations. Knowing a person’s personality style can proactively help you and your employees make adjustments. Consider the information presented and strive to achieve your personal best and the best from your employees in 2019!
Denis is an Executive Director at the John Maxwell Group, is a certified leadership coach, trainer, keynote speaker, and DISC Behavior, Consultant. He is a passionate person of influence committed to teaching and communicating practical and relevant influencing techniques. His unique passionate and emotionally driven style resonates with many, creating a desire to become an effective leader.
You can contact Denis at dbaker@leaderinfluence.netfor information on coaching, training, DISC Behavioral consulting or to be an inspirational speaker at your next event.
I don’t think there is ever an instance where one person is the team, or where one person is responsible for the success or failure of the team. Whether at work or within the family, I believe it always involves a team effort.
As I continue my leadership journey, identifying areas of improvement within myself and when coaching leaders, I am convinced success is always a team effort. Sure, there is always someone who leads the way, but I believe they are supported by the team who is like-minded and supportive of their ideas and efforts.
Experiencing what it really means to add value to a group, I have identified 6 ways to increase the value as a team member.
Here they are:
SUPPORT THE VISION – Support the vision and direction of the team leader or team itself. You must be honest with your thoughts and ideas, but in the end be a verbal proponent of the team and the direction the team wants to head.
RESPECT OTHERS – You must comply with the ideas and or concerns of others. Never just dismiss what others have to say or the direction they believe in. But rather, listen to what they have to say and consider the overall impact it has on the team goal.
BE PREPARED TO GO ABOVE AND BEYOND – Teams need members that are willing to go above and beyond. You might have to do more, take more and work more. Be prepared to give it your all to the success of the team. Be a better planner. Be a better goal and objective setter and by all means be prepared to hold yourself accountable!
BE THE EXPERT – Great team members are informed by team members. The best performing team is the most knowledgeable team. What is our objective? What do we want to accomplish? What is my role? Remember, information is knowledge. The more knowledgeable the Team is, the more likely they are to be successful.
CELEBRATE SUCCESS – Most do not do this well. How often have you achieved a goal and there was no fanfare? No celebration? It almost seemed success was expected. Maybe so, however, I believe celebrating your successes (regardless of how small) is the key to future encouragement. Honestly, don’t be afraid to tell others how much you appreciate their effort and help to accomplish the team’s goals and objectives.
BE A GO TO PERSON – People appreciate those they can go and talk to. Individuals who can simply listen and those who convey confidence and support and who are viewed as discrete and trustworthy? A person that you can bounce off ideas and concerns and know they will simply be heard.
Consider these when working with a team. Only small visions can be achieved without a team. However, one can achieve endless visions with active teams!
Denis is an Executive Director for the John Maxwell Group and is a certified leadership coach, trainer, keynote speaker, and DISC Behaviorial Consultant. Denis is a senior safety professional and a strong, passionate influential person. He is committed to teaching and communicating practical and relevant influencing techniques. His unique, passionate, and emotionally driven style resonates with many, creating a desire to become an effective leader. 
I don’t think there is ever an instance where one person is the team, or where one person is responsible for the success or failure of the team. Whether at work or within the family, I believe it always involves a team effort.
LEADER INFLUENCE 