Do you EXCITE your team?

After three decades as a Champion of a Great Leadership, working with organizations across the private, public and not for profit sectors, there are two aspects of organizational life that I know for certain. Firstly, that all organizations regardless of size or sector need great leadership displayed at all levels to be successful and secondly, that everyone has the potential to display great leadership given the right context, support, development and motivation. 

Back to the question, whether you are the manager in a corporation or the owner of a small business, do you EXCITE your team? At Bluegem Learning I created the EXCITE model, following over 25 years of working with leaders of all levels, that focuses on the six key questions I believe enable an individual to demonstrate great leadership. 

ENABLE - how do you help your team to develop and give of their very best? 

CHALLENGE - are you prepared to have the difficult conversations with your team when necessary? 

INSPIRE - how do you spark your team's interest and imagination in their endeavours? 

TRUST - does this flow both ways, you to your team and them to you and each other? 

ENGAGE - how do you involve your team in the mission you share that motivates them to succeed? 

No my spelling isn't off, there's one further key question to consider; 

X-FACTOR - what piece of yourself do you give to your team that is unique, your special quality that makes the difference? 

So there you have it, six questions to set you on the way to demonstrating great leadership in your organization. If you have any questions or would like to discuss ideas on how to EXCITE your team then please get in touch. 

Remember we want to develop leaders in our workplace and community not bad bosses. 

Celebrity Leadership Tips for Millennials

As a Champion of Great Leadership I believe two things, firstly that great leadership is necessary in all organizations, communities and schools to make them successful and secondly that anyone is capable of demonstrating great leadership with the right skills, tools, inspiration and support.

What better way to encourage great leadership in the 21st Century than to start from the grassroots up, encouraging young people to show leadership in their school, community or workplace.

I wondered what tips I could offer young people starting their leadership journey and therefore via Twitter, have started tweeting celebrities asking them for the #1 Leadership Tip.

To read what our celebrity tweeters are saying check out my new blog: 

http://celebrityleadershiptipsformillennials.blogspot.ca/2014/08/celebrity-leadership-tips-for.html 

The Results - That’s the most unbelievable excuse I’ve ever heard!

Thanks to all those participants who sent in examples of unbelievable excuses staff members had given them when looking to take time off work or explain their absence. We've cast our net wider this time and have examples from Canada, USA and the United Kingdom.

Obviously the majority of people have totally genuine reasons for needing time away from work, however I'll let you decide how you feel about the examples of excuses we received.

As usual I've had great fun reading all of the entries and I've published my top 5 here:

5. My mom forgot to wake me up and I knew I'd be late so I didn't come in!

4. My doctor's office is only open between 12 & 1 so I'll need the whole day off to go for my appointment!

3. My dog ate my bus ticket and I didn't have any money for my fare, so couldn't come to work!

2. I didn't have a clean shirt so couldn't come to work!

And my personal favourite ...

1. I went swimming yesterday evening and got water in my ears l so I can't come in today!

So there it is the most unbelievable excuses for taking time off work, if you have one to share please send it in.

How to be a really stupid Leader

Jim Hopkins has written a light hearted blog post with serious message entitled "How to be a really stupid Leader", that looks at unhelpful behaviours that certain leaders display as Jim says:

"What makes a leader stupid? Most believe it is a combination of a number of unattractive and unproductive behaviors that are incorporated into their style that makes them unsuccessful, along with a refusal to change."

To read the full article http://linked2leadership.com/2014/07/20/how-to-be-a-really-stupid-leader/

Heroes and Inspiration

Jane gives her thoughts on women leaders and who inspires them .. "Maya Angelou was and continues to be one of my heroes.  She had a voice that made your ears feel as if they were being brushed by velvet and wisdom that made world leaders stop in their tracks.  It was my dream’s wish to sit at her feet and listen, like a toddler on the mat at story time, simply soaking in her words and basking in her presence.  Well, maybe I’ll get the opportunity in another life or another realm, who knows?

Maya Angelou’s death in May 2014 got me thinking about women leaders and who inspires them.  Who do the women aspiring to become the next leaders have to look up to?  Are there currently women in your organisations who you would like to emulate?  According to a UK survey conducted by the Chartered Management Institute there are very few current leaders, in their members’ organisations, which have inspirational qualities.  In fact the recent economic downturn, experienced by most western countries, seems to have given a rise to dictatorial rather than inspirational characteristics in the workplace.

Looking at popular press it would give the indication that young women, today, are more interested in getting a butt like a Kardashian rather than a mind like Maya Angelou.  I may be wrong and in fact I hope that I am, as it strikes me that women will need to take charge of changing the landscape of leadership.  Years of equality legislation has failed to secure the right for women to rise to levels equal in status and pay to their male counterparts.  Therefore, it will require women to develop more than just that, which indicates aesthetic appeal to achieve this goal.

So, I would like to ask all women, who are your inspirational heroes, whose feet would you like to sit at to listen and learn?  What can their journey teach you as a leader today?  Who are the great women ambassadors that have led the way that you can follow and in following their footsteps are you leaving behind you a path for other young women to tread?

As a potential influence on future females are you heading towards the legacy of a stunning butt, or a brilliant mind?  I know which one I would choose, if in fact a choice has to be made."