Author Archives

Garry Brackett

BA - Fort Wayne Bible College
MAR - Trinity Evangelical Divinity
D.Min - Grace Theological Seminary
Birkman Certified Coach
John Maxwell Certified Team Member
Myers/Briggs Certified
FIRO-B Certified
TKI Certified
25 Years Executive Coaching

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Great Leaders Series – Alan Mulally

What can great leaders teach us?

Recently, I had the privilege to listen to Alan Mulally share his life journey that has shaped him into the renowned leader that he has become. In his own words he stated that he came from meager beginnings. As a young boy he bought a bicycle from Montgomery Wards and was paying $1.50/week on that bike. He started out delivering TV Guides in his neighborhood. This would turn into a Papoose motor scooter and a full paper route that led to becoming a Dilan’s Grocery bagger to cashier to management, to college.

His college education started at the University of Kansas, KU School of Engineering and MIT Sloan School of Management. He would move into a career at Boeing and would become CEO and gave oversight to the 700 series of Planes from the 730 – 787 before becoming CEO of Ford Motor Company. He aided in the complete turn around of Ford from a $17 billion deficit  to a $2 billion profit. He retired from Ford in July of 2014.

While listening to his story there are a number of takeaways that I would share with you.

  • From his TV Guide Route to Ford Motor Alan stated the customer was always before him. His goal was more than satisfied customers, but loyalty as a result of quality products. The quality of the product was possible because of the investment and belief in the workforce.
  • Stay open to hear the hard truth of a matter. Mulally states that you cannot manage a secret. Accept the truth of the matter, embrace and own it.
  • You must embrace reality – you cannot turn around a company that is $17 billion in the hole and not be real about the trajectory of that company.
  • Great leaders are only as great as the people around them. Leaders need a great team. Communicate your appreciation and then show it to them in a tangible way. Remember the leadership mantra; You do not get what you want, you get who you are!
  • Create an environment of continuous learning for your team.
  • Finally, people will follow a compelling vision.

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Mental Mastery

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:11 — 27.7MB) | Embed

Gold Medal winner Lanny Bassham begins his book with this quote; “I am well aware that there are many fine self-improvement books available. Psychologists, motivational speakers, religious leaders and business professionals write them. A competitor writes this one. The Mental Management® System is not based on psychology; instead, it is 100% based on competition. I did my apprenticeship in the arena of Olympic pressure. My credibility is not based on the course I took in college; it’s in my gold medals and the medals of my students. It’s not theory; it’s simply what works. My goal in this book is to share with you the mental techniques that I have discovered and used to win.”

The author weaves 7 Steps to Mastery throughout this book. Let’s consider some insights into these steps.

Carefully Choose Your Path – A teacher asked the class; who in this class will win Olympic gold? A student stated that he did not know that answer, but concluded who would not win Olympic gold – Lanny Bassham. Lanny was not good at many sports. However, he found his path via RIfle shooting competition. You cannot master everything – so choose your path carefully and master that path in life.
Study Your Chosen Path – Learn from the best in that field of interest. Mastery is not about mechanical repetition to the exclusion of the entire mental process. Also this is not about becoming the lone ranger – learn from others! Select your coach wisely!

Outwork Your Competitors – Learn from the current champions in your path! Watch what they are doing – learn from their habits. You will quickly learn that bursts of deep work done frequently is more productive than long days that sacrifices those you care for the most. Establish smart work habits!
Develope A Singular Focus – Do not become the “jack of all trades” and yet master nothing. There are a thousand voices begging for a piece of our attention. Achieving Mental Mastery begins with a laser focus on one thing not many things. What do you want to be remembered as; a person who accomplished many awards or a person who developed others?

Take An Unused Path – It has been observed that 95% of the victories occur with 5% of the participants. What have these winners have figured out. Obviously, you must expand your habits and thoughts beyond the status quo. Take the time to learn from others and how they have figured out a different path. Tiger Woods approach to golf comes to mind to have accomplished those victories. He brought physical exercise and mental coaching to the game at new levels.
Learn From Failures – Failures are some of the most important learning exercises that you will experience. Stop beating yourself up! Settle your mind to ask what is the number one lesson that I can learn from this failure?

Trust Instead of Try – Master the fundamentals and execute them flawlessly, victory is the result, not the other way around. Groove the daily habits into your inner being and master those – winning will occur!

I leave you with this quote by Lanny Bassham; 

“What’s your game? Golf? Sales? Shooting? Singing? Parenting? Managing? Coaching? Teaching? What percentage of what you do is mental? I have asked that question to hundreds of Olympic athletes and PGA Tour pros. They have all answered that their game is at least 90 percent mental. The top five percent agree that elite performance is 90 percent mental. Then I ask them the second question. What percentage of your time and money do you spend on training the mental game? The answers are always similar: very little or less than ten percent. Now that just doesn’t make sense. All say the mental game is 90 percent of their sport but they almost ignore training this vital area.”

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!



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Is Leadership A Pipeline?

The Leadership Pipeline concepts usually center around various architectural systems that enable companies to perform at a more efficient level of influence in their industry according to the Leadership Pipeline Institute. For example, these systems can range from…..

  • Accounting systems for efficient control of expenditures, expansion, and exploration
  • Human Resource systems that set boundaries and growth markers within a given company
  • Succession plans on how the next leader will be chosen
  • Managerial layers of function and responsibility within a company

Well, I think that you get the idea. You would think these suggestions of systems are basic 101 Corporate Leadership, However,  many of these systems are nonexistent or feeble at best.

The title of this blog begs the question and definition of Leadership. I do not believe that anyone would argue against the need for efficiency of operation that maximises the use of resources. Is this the definition of leadership – systems, proficiency, stewarding resources? Is there something that is missing in that definition? My answer is YES!

HU is not an official element on the periodic table. The HUman element is more than proficiencies and performance measurements. The Human Element is more emotional and relational than quarterly performance markers. It is about the journey of LIFE in the context of other human beings in which laughter, tears, and accomplishments are shared on the human level of relationships.

As a leader, here are some questions to ponder.

  1. Are performance markers more important that relationships?
  2. Have you bought into the adage, “Leadership is lonely at the top?”
  3. Describe your relational skills?
  4. Define leadership?
  5. Assisting people in reaching their potential _______________________. Fill in the blank.
  6. Do you consider people to be too sticky?

Leave a comment, share an opinion in the comment section below.

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FOCUS – Part 2

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:30 — 19.9MB) | Embed

In Daniel Goleman’s book, Focus, states that realizing the strength or weakness of our attention is at the core of EVERYTHING we do! Therefore, he refers to our ability to focus as the “hidden driver of excellence.” You might recognize Daniel Goleman’s work in an earlier successful book titled, Emotional Intelligence.

I want to continue the discussion on Focus by examining by examining what he calls Smart Practice. He writes, “Anders Ericsson, the Florida State University Psychologist who spawned the 10,000 hour rule of thumb states that you don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution to arrive closer to your goal.” 

According to Professor Ericsson there are four (4) keys to purposeful practice. Keep in mind that we are discussing the ability to improve our Focus.

GOAL – We need to know how we would like to be able to perform on a high level. We need a specific goal for that training session. Success does not arbitrarily show up – we must move in the direction of our hopes and dreams.

FOCUS – During practice while moving in the direction of our dreams, we must be super-focused. Battling distractions is a full-time job as we previously stated. You must win this battle with intentionality. STOP DISTRACTIONS! Without focusing, you are not getting better!

FEEDBACK – You need immediate feedback on whether you are hitting your desired goal or not. How will you know what adjustments need to be made in your practice routine? Again this third aspect requires careful planning to get the proper feedback so that you can move in the direction of your dreams.

EXIT COMFORT ZONE – All growth occurs OUTSIDE your comfort zone. That is the only place where our body can adapt to the stress of leaving homeostasis (Leaving familiarity so that new skills can be learned. There are NO shortcuts in this process.

Before that we can even get better, we must believe that in fact we can get better! This requires that we see that in fact we can deliberately train our capacities to perform at extraordinarily high levels.

In closing, it should be recognized this type of training can only be sustained for 4 hours a day. Therefore, proper time to recover and rest is vitally important. Surfing the Web, answering text messages, looking at push notifications, and all of the other digital distractions are not appropriate methods of rest and recovery.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable serviceMusic: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!


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Are You Stunting Your Team’s Growth?

Are you attempting to control the WHAT and HOW of your Team? If so, as the Leader you are probably the bottleneck in your organization. Perhaps it is time for you to release the HOW of work to your team so they can do it better than yourself. Empowerment to do a task is a “Force Multiplier.” Here are 5 insights on stopping the bottleneck.

Accept the reality you do not have all the best ideas. Your competence and experience may have helped you to rise in leadership responsibility, but it may be the very thing that stunts organizational progress. Stop over-relying on your ability. You may not have the best and brightest ideas for the current situation. Your past experience does not necessarily make you an expert today.

What is your personal growth plan? Leaders can over-play their experiences of the past and inhibit new lessons and insights from our modern day. Yesterday ended at midnight! Today is your best opportunity for personal growth and development. A diversified growth strategy increases your ability for critical thought. You are able to realize that other people can do a task better than myself.

Your Team will bring fresh ideas. If you have to direct every detail, your team is simply waiting to be told what to do next. Stagnation occurs! Your Team becomes passive rather than proactive. Teach your Team to think for themselves. They will embrace the ownership issue and will begin to bring fresh thinking to the table of discussion.

Your Team will be stretched to accomplish more. Isn’t it frustrating when people only do the bare minimum? This may be due to a lack of motivation that comes from empowerment to make better decisions. When you Team members feel empowered to make decisions and they are valued, motivation increases. When leaders let go of the HOW the teams dreams actually become bigger.

Future Focused. Leaders should be ahead of the Team when it concerns future direction. When you are busy managing the HOW, you can easily loose sight of the WHAT. Managing the daily how-to marginalizes creative time to see bigger dreams. Define your WHAT. Release the HOW. You elevate the leadership and empowerment of the Team as a whole.

The genesis of the article come from John Maxwell and Carey Nieuwhof

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FOCUS

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 13:00 — 17.9MB) | Embed

To show you the power of attention, click on the link “The Monkey Business Illusion” and follow the directions.

It is CRAZY to realize that our focus can be so in touch with some things to the exclusion of others. Approximately 50% miss the gorilla and the two other transitions that take place. How can we miss something so obvious? Bow does that get past us? The real question is what are we currently missing in the lives of our Team Members that we should pay attention to? 

That experiment was conducted by two leading cognitive psychology researchers: Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons. It’s one of psychology’s most famous experiments. Here is a more indepth video on The Invisible Gorilla.

Well, for our purposes Today, let’s just say that when “distractions” appear it is most people’s full-time jobs, there’s no room to focus on anything meaningful!! When we combine the 4+ hours the average person spends watching TV with the 4+ hours they spend on their smartphones, DISTRACTION IS A FULL-TIME JOB!!
Daniel Simons states, “The key is that when you’re focusing your attention on one aspect of your world, you don’t have an unlimited amount of attention to devote to other things.” Something is going to suffer because of your inattention.

Author Goleman writes about the distraction being seen as far back as 1977 when Nobel Prize winning economist Herbert Simon wrote about the coming information rich world. He warned that what information consumes is the attention of its recipients – Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention. The million dollar question is how to properly rest your mental muscle for greater performance?

Stephen Kaplan at the University of Michigan discusses the power of nature in what he calls “attention restoration theory.” This restoration occurs when we switch from effortful attention, where the mind needs to suppress distractions, to letting go and allowing our attention to be captured by whatever presents itself. Therefore, experiencing nature walks has an amazing effect upon mental restoration.

So that we are clear and not misleading, the active ability to  FOCUS our attention is essential to excellence. But so is the ability to turn that part of our mind off and allow for a more open awareness of life around us.

Seneca, over 2,000 years ago wrote, “The mind should not be kept continuously at the same pitch of concentration, but given amusing diversions.” The largest lens for our FOCUS encompasses global perspectives as well as the needs of others around us.

Is it just for me, or for others?

For the benefit of a few, or the many?

For now, or for the future?

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable serviceMusic: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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They Said It Was Impossible

Here’s the quick story from the book: “‘Select your purpose,’ Gandhi challenged, ‘selfless, without any thought of personal pleasure or personal profit, and then use selfless means to attain your goal. Do not resort to violence even if it seems at first to promise success; it can only contradict your purpose. Use the means of love and respect even if the result seems far off or uncertain. Then throw yourself heart and soul into the campaign, counting no price too high for working for the welfare of those around you, and every reverse, every defeat, will send you deeper into your own personal resource. Violence can never bring an end to violence; all it can do is provoke more violence. But if we can adhere to complete nonviolence in thought, word, and deed, India’s freedom is assured.’

The historian J.B. Kripalani, who became one of Gandhi’s closest co-workers, has said that the first time he heard Gandhi talk this way he was so shocked that he went up to him and told him point-blank: ‘Mr. Gandhi, you may know all about the Bible or the Bhagavad Gita, but you know nothing at all about history. Never has a nation been able to free itself without violence.’

Gandhi smiled. ‘You know nothing about history,’ he corrected gently. ‘The first thing you have to learn about history is that because something has not taken place in the past, that does not mean it cannot take place in the future.’”

Here is the principle for living today: Just because something hasn’t taken place in the past doesn’t mean it can’t happen in the future.

Go out today and change your world!

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There Is No “I” In Team

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:29 — 25.4MB) | Embed

I believe the insights to building strong healthy families are the same insights to building strong healthy teams. Here are 5 insights worth reflecting on and implementing.

Express Appreciation For Each Other

The ability to appreciate each other comes from the ability to understand how your team members are designed. Are they Expeditors, Communicators, Dreamer/Designers, or Detailed. Everyone on your team will exhibit one or a combination of these traits. As a leader are you aware? Remember that for every negative comment it takes four positive comments to counteract.

Structure Your Life To Spend Time Together

Create company traditions. These add the value of continuity to the Team. Create special events that honor and recognize people – birthdays, graduations, times of loss, special outings, and days off for hitting target goals.

Deal With Crisis In A Positive Way

Every team will face difficulties. At times it is easier to avoid the problems all together rather than work for difficult solutions. M. Scott Peck’s book The Road Less Traveled, states, “It is this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life has meaning. Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure.”

Follow this process:

  • Attack the problem not the person
  • Get the facts
  • List the options
  • Choose the solution
  • Look for positives within the problem
  • Never withhold appreciation and positive regard

Communicate Continually

It was reported a number of years ago in the Dallas Morning News that married couples that have been married 10+ years only have 37 minutes of meaningful conversation per week. Do not allow the home track record to become the work team track record also. Effective communication starts with “active listening.” Do not talk until you are certain of the subject.

Share The Same Values

Common values will strengthen any team. People will not stay on your team when their values are not in alignment with the team’s values. Grow together, share life together, build confidence in your team members, and make a contribution to other people’s life.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable service

Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!


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Time Craters

In Arizona there is an epic crater, in fact the first crater to be recognized as such. The asteroid was 160 feet wide. The resulting crater was 500 feet in depth and one mile wide

Yikes!

Click on this link for a 66 second video of this crater – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odGrgsLkfUQ 

This short clip should inspire you to contemplate the small distractions that leave giant craters in our daily pursuit of excellence. AuthorsJake Knapp and John Zeratsky put it this way, “Small distractions create much larger holes in our day. We call these ‘time craters.’ In one of our favorite studies, Gloria Mark of the University of California, Irvine found that it takes people twenty-three minutes and fifteen seconds to get back on task after a distraction.”

You may think that you are a premiere multi-tasker or that these small distractions taking you away from the highway of what is important is no big deal THINK AGAIN!

Get your laser-focus on! Get on task. Go make a difference in your world today.

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Are We There Yet

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:30 — 24.0MB) | Embed

When it comes to success many adults act like children during a road trip. They continually ask, “Are we there yet?” Understand that part of the answer stems from impatience about success and the other part stems from not knowing the landmarks leading to success. This brings me to an old adage that a college professor hammered into us; “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there!”
The first question you need to answer is, “Am I headed there? Your goal is not a destination, rather it is a journey. If you find yourself somewhat unsure of your location, look for obvious markers that would indicate that you are heading the correct direction. PRINCIPLE: Success landmarks are internal not external.

It has been said that for everything you gain, you lose something. Or for everything you gain, you pay something. In order to reach your success landmarks will require commitment and persistence. You must give up something of value. Speaker Ed Cole stated, “All of life is lived on levels and arrived at in stages.”

Ultimately we must understand there are significant trade-offs that must be made in order to move in the direction of your dreams. Here are six trade-offs that must be made.

Achievement Vs. Affirmation

If you are seeking affirmation from your peers you must understand this is fickle and fleeting. Charles Lindbergh stated once that success is not measured by what a man accomplishes, rather by the opposition he has encountered and the courage to maintain his struggle against overwhelming odds. 

Excellence Vs. Acceptability

Competitive excellence requires 100% effort all of the time. If you are not careful you will become satisfied with 92% or 95%. A new standard of acceptability is set at that moment. Excellence is always a choice! Quality is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention and skilful execution. It represents the wise choices of many alternatives.

Personal Growth Vs. Immediate Pleasure

You cannot dedicate yourself to pursuing pleasure and make genuine progress in your personal growth at the same time. There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going.

Future Potential Vs. Financial Gain

Many things in life have a far greater worth over money. Money gives you options in life but it does not necessarily add value to your life. Henry David Thoreau stated if you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams and endeavor to live your life that you have imagined, you will meet with success in unexpected common hours.

Narrow Focus Vs. Scattered Interests

Being able to focus your attention almost exclusively on what you do best is a privilege you earn, not a right. At some point you must narrow your focus from being a general practitioner to a specialist.

Significance Vs. Security

Security is what we all crave. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs reminds us of giving up in order to go up to the next level. Tom Brokaw stated that it is easy to make a buck – it is harder to make a difference. Bob Buford’s book Halftime suggests that life has two parts. In the first part we are getting, gaining, and acquiring. The second half is risky because it has to do with living beyond the immediate. It is about making a difference with people who are making a difference. This second half is about LEGACY – what will you leave behind!

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Art of Balancing Candor With Care” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

Executive Coaching Service– Private message me for details on this customizable serviceMusic: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!