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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Leaders Touch A Heart Before They Ask For A Hand

The Law of Connection

Definition of The Law

People in  leadership communicate in a variety of ways. Some lecture. Others bark out orders. Some assume their people already know what to do. And yet others hide out in their office, refusing to communicate until follower track them down and ask directly. These communication styles are unproductive. They all lack one thing – a failure to connect. For leaders to be effective and move their teams forward, they need to connect with team members. WHY? You first have to touch people’s hearts before you can ask for their hand! The old adage is true – People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care!

Ways To Connect

Be Relational, Not Positional – Barking out orders is positional. It assumes your employees will rush to obey simply because you are in charge. Do not lose sight of the fact that leadership is INFLUENCE first and foremost. People will ultimately follow you because they want to. Key question: have you taken the time to get to know the people you work with outside the office? Who are they, what are their dreams? Knowing this information allows you to tailor your communication on a very personal level.

Take The First Step – Many leaders make the wrong assumption that connecting is the followers responsibility. After all, I am the boss and it is their job to figure out what I want. Effective leaders make the first move in connecting and offering guidance always. This in turn empowers and encourages the team.

Be Authentic Offer Real Help – Do not act like you care – CARE! Believe in the values of your Team. Make sure that your words are authentic and match your behaviors. You gain credibility with your Team

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Know Your Purpose

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:30 — 15.8MB) | Embed

Have you ever been on a cruise to nowhere? These are cruises that simply go out to sea for a few days and enjoy the onboard activities and fine dining, yet go to any exotic port of call. The ship simply returns to the home port. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people whose lives are like these cruises. They are on a trip with no set destination. They are in a holding pattern, they occupy their time pursuing pleasures with no lasting benefit to themselves or others. Their life concludes with no better results than when  they started.

Success is a journey. You do not suddenly become successful when you arrive at a particular place or achieve a certain goal.That does not mean that you should travel without identifying a destination. You need to identify and sail toward your determined destination.

In other words what is your DREAM? I believe that each of us has a dream that has been placed in our hearts. This is not a dream to win the lottery. This is a dream that stirs the heart and soul. It is the thing that we were born to do in our life. A person that has a dream knows what he is willing to give up in order to go up. There are five (5) facets to a dream.

A Dream Gives Us Direction – Have you ever met a person that did not have a clue concerning what they wanted in life, yet was highly successful? I have not, and I will bet you have not either. Our dream acts as a compass showing us the direction in which to go. Until you settle the issue of direction, you will never know if your actions are actually accomplishing anything.

A Dream Increases Our Potential – Without a dream, we may struggle to see potential in ourselves because we don’t look beyond our current circumstances. It has been said that a blind man’s world is bound by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world by the limits of his vision.If your vision, your dream is great, then so is the potential for success.


A Dream Helps Us Prioritize – A dream gives hope for the future but it also gives power for the present. A person with a dream knows what he is to give up in order to go up. It is exciting to have a lot of options when first starting out. Progress can only be made when you choose a direction versus preserving many directions as though you are protecting a fire escape.

A Dream Increases Our Potential – Without a dream, we may struggle to see potential in ourselves because we don’t look beyond our current circumstances. It has been said that a blind man’s world is bound by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world by the limits of his vision.If your vision, your dream is great, then so is the potential for success.
A Dream Helps Us Prioritize – A dream gives hope for the future but it also gives power for the present. A person with a dream knows what he is to give up in order to go up. It is exciting to have a lot of options when first starting out. Progress can only be made when you choose a direction versus preserving many directions as though you are protecting a fire escape.

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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Who You Are Is Who You Attract

The Law of Magnetism

Definition of the Law

Effective leaders are always on the look for good people. In fact, even when they’re not actively hiring, most leaders carry around a mental list of skills, personality traits, character qualities, and attributes that they would like future hires to possess. Once you know who you want, how do you go about finding that kind of person? How do you attract good candidates? The answer to these questions are obvious. If you want awesome team members around you, then you have to become awesome yourself. You must demonstrate the qualities that you are seeking! There are many things that we could write out on our wish-list of qualities that we are seeking in our team members. Here are a few of the more important qualities that start with you as the team leader.

Positive Attitude – Rarely have I ever seen positive people being attracted to a negative work environment. People who view life as a series of opportunities and exciting challenges do not want to work for leaders who talk about how bad things are all of the time. The good news is that attitude is a choice! When you as a leader choose to focus on the growth potential of your own environment, you create a culture that positive people want to be part of. YUES, everything rises and falls on leadership.

Trustworthiness – This attribute is perhaps a little more subtle. Most of us do not consider ourselves to be untrustworthy. Trustworthiness is more than just not lying. To be worthy of trust, as a leader you must be willing to tell the WHOLE TRUTH, keep you commitments, and acknowledge reality.. If you want to attract followers who are trustworthy stay real, stay grounded. Only make commitments that you fully ae able to keep. Do not ignore troublesome issues.

Work Ethic – Do you want team members who are willing to work hard – then work hard! Do not expect punctuality and promptness when you are late and do your job half-hearted. Hard workers look for an environment where everyone is pulling their own weight.

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Do You Know Where You Are Going?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:19 — 23.8MB) | Embed

So what is the right picture of success? How do we get started on the correct pathway? I believe that two things are required for this journey: 1) the right picture of success, 2) the right principles for getting there.

The picture for success isn’t the same for any two people because we are all creatively different. However, the process is the same for all people. This reason lies within the fact there are universal principles that do not change.

Consider this definition of success: Success is….

  • Knowing your purpose in life
  • Growing to reach your maximum potential
  • Sowing seeds that benefit others

You can see by this definition of success that it is more about the journey rather than the destination. You will never exhaust your capacity to grow toward your potential or run out of opportunities to help others. When you see success as a journey, you will never have a problem of trying to arrive at an elusive destination. Consider the following insights on Growing to your potential.

Concentrate on one main goal – No person has ever reached their potential by stretching themselves in 20 different directions. Reaching your potential requires focused intentionality. Once you have decided where to focus your energy, you now need to decide what you will give up. You cannot reach your full potential until you leave something behind. What is it?

Concentrate on continual improvement – David Glass one time chief Executive Officer for Walmart was asked who he admired the most. His answer was Walmart founder Sam Walton. He stated, “There’s never been a day in his life, since he has known him that he didn’t improve in some way.” Each day you can become a little bit better than you were yesterday. Small deliberate steps will move you closer to your potential.

Forget the past – Jack Hayford once stated, “The past is a dead issue, and we cannot gain any momentum moving forward toward tomorrow if we are dragging the past behind us.” For those who desire to live in the past, let me remind you that yesterday ended at midnight. Think of Booker T. Washington – born into slavery; Helen Keller – blind; Franklin D. Roosevelt – Polo. It is more about what you overcome!

Focus on the future – Your potential lies before you – whether you are 8, 18, 48, or 80 years of age you have room to improve yourself. You can become better tomorrow than today. The old proverb states; “He who does not look ahead remains behind!”

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give!

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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Follow Leaders Stronger Than Ourselves

The Law of Respect

Definition of The Law

There are only a few situations in which people willingly follow a leader they consider weaker than themselves. Perhaps they respect the leaders reputation or past accomplishments. They might have respect for the chain of command. However, their willingness to follow won’t last forever.. Either they will follow unwillingly or stop following all together. People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves.

What makes strong leaders stand out to everyone else? What causes one person to respect and follow another? Consider the following five factors.

Natural Leadership Ability – Some people just have a greater capacity in this area versus other people. All leaders are not created equal. Some leaders just naturally standout in a crowd. So that we are clear, talent alone is not enough.

Respect For Others – Some leaders feel their role as a leader is to dictate to the group every detail. Many followers are not going to pay attention to this version of leadership. Leaders that people want to follow start by showing respect to others.

Courage – We will follow a person in the group that will take a stand for something.When you speak with courage and conviction, you gain respect from others in the group. When these types of leaders lead the charge, people will follow.

Success – It is hard to argue with a good track record. When you exhibit success or expertise in an area, others tend to follow. We want to be part of another’s success.

Loyalty – We live in an era of free agency, change, and transition – dedication is an asset. People will stay with you when you demonstrate that you can stick to a job even in hard times.

Do not overestimate the fact that you need to grow as a leader. People will not stay with you if there leadership capacity is greater than yours, especially if you are not growing. How do you fix this gap? Increase your own capacity to meet and exceed others around you. Why is this important? People will follow others that are stronger.

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The Language of Influence

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:29 — 32.3MB) | Embed

What was the most beautiful thing someone has ever said to you? Take a moment and revisit that experience… What do you see? How do you feel? It could have been just one sentence—one single sentence that changed you for a moment, or maybe even a lifetime.

There is more to our language than strict grammar and spelling. There is a real power to it, sort of magical. Our language dances with our imaginations. It creates an incredible range of emotions and feelings, which quite often make the difference between someone loving their life and sabotaging it.

Let’s look at three maxims on influencing…

How you describe someone when they are not around tells me more about you than it does about them.

What does the water cooler conversations sound like – Grace filled or Gossip filled? Who models appropriate speech in your organization? What does that sound like? Based upon the speech of your organization, how would you define the culture of your work environment? What is the one thing that we can do today that will give a 50% increase?

Whatever you neglect will deteriorate.

When you review the history of your organization do you often reflect upon yesterday as the “Glory Days?” What is different then versus now? What is the number one area that is being neglected today in your organization? In your personal life? In your family?

You cannot hide your heart. Whatever fills, spills!

Your leadership is a direct outgrowth of your intake. What are you feeding your mind? Our minds are being attracted to so many digital marketing ideas and stimuli – well at some point we must turn off the noise and shut down the devises. We must be intentional about the content that we allow into our inner being. Learn to practice a digital sunrise and sunset. Take charge of your 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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Trust Is the Foundation of Leadership

The Law of Solid Ground

Definition of The Law

How important is trust for a leader? It is the most important thing! Trust is the foundation of leadership.It is the glue that holds an organization together. Whenever you lead people they essentially consent to take a journey with you.They will only agree to the journey of tney trust the leader. And they will only  continue to follow if they continue to trust. Trust makes leadership possible. That is the law of Solid Ground.

How does a leader build trust? By demonstrating competence, connection, and above all character. People will forgive occasional mistakes in execution, especially if they can see that you are still growing as a leader. They will also give a leader some time to connect. But they won’t trust someone who has lapses in character.

Good Character is the most important factor in building trust. You need…..

Consistency – Leaders without character cannot be counted on day after day because their ability to perform is unreliable.If your people don’t know what to expect from you as a leader, at some point the will not look to you for leadership.

Potential – Weak character limits potential. Who do you think has the greater potential to achieve dreams and have a positive impact on others; someone who is honest, disciplined, and hardworking, or someone who is deceitful, impulsive and lazy?

Respect – When you do not have character within, you can’t earn respect without. Respect demands trust. It grows when leaders make sound decisions, admit mistakes, and put what is best for their followers and the organization ahead of their personal agenda.

King Solomon’s Wisdom – Read the Bible, Proverbs 16:8-18

Character Develops From the Inside Out – Read the Bible, Matthew 23:1-7, 25–28

Leadership Reflection

What specific action will you take this week to correct where you are undermining your trust?

Do you need to apologize to someone?

Do you need to make something right?

What are your specific actions steps this week?

What is the exact day that you will act?

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The Language of Influence

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:04 — 26.2MB) | Embed

These maxims can be used to evaluate yourself and to provoke discussion with your team. Here is the first maxim to explore:

Most vision starts in the form of shapes and shadows, not clean details. Don’t be in a rush to describe it.

Great ideas start out fuzzy, lacking all of the details. However, as you ponder, converse with your circle of colleagues, research, and test your idea – clarity will follow. You have to be comfortable without details and clarity at the outset. There are many ideas that have come to fruition in which technology did not even exist to make the vision clear.

A leader’s heart must stay hot. Once it becomes room temperature, influence ceases.

Since leadership is influence, influence is born from personal growth and development. Personal growth and development becomes real when we can articulate our goals and plans in writing. Why is this process vital to staying hot as a leader? Simple! You cannot influence from an empty reservoir. Your ability to influence is directly related to the outflow of your learning journey. It is also helpful to discuss influence killers. This knowledge can keep your motivation pure and on a pathway of learning and development.

The irony of masks is that we wear them to appear strong, yet people are drawn to us when we take them off.

Isn’t it interesting at how we use masks to deflect attention off of our weakness and onto our pseudo strengths? I believe the real issue is “groundedness.” Staying grounded in the reality of circumstance and focused upon our dreams for tomorrow. We can focus on the trajectory of our life and work. There is power in the story of the Hero’s Journey. We are drawn to that narrative in part because it is without pretense and masks.

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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Leadership Tune Up – One Dream

Tune Up Complete! Let’s GO!

“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team” – Phil Jackson

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships– Micahel Jordon

“In the end, a Spartan’s true strength is the warrior next to him. So give respect and honor to him and it will be returned to you” – Leonidas

Grab your journal and get ready to respond to these ten (10) reflection questions.

  1. How am I contributing to the strength of the team? How does the strength of the dream strengthen me?
  2. On a scale of 1-10, how would I rate my loyalty to the team? Why did I select this number?
  3. In what ways am I showing respect to my fellow leaders?
  4. If necessary am I willing to give my time and energy to assist the team members of another leader in our organization?
  5. How can I help my star players perform more like team players?
  6. What are the potential causes that stop team performance?
  7. Why do I have difficulty in setting aside my agenda for the good of the team?
  8. What do I need to do to help my team perform like super-stars?
  9. Am I secure enough to praise the efforts of other team members?
  10. Are my skills, talents, and tools adequate to meet the challenges of today?

It Worked For Me by Colin Powell (New York: Harper Perennial, 2012)

The 13 Rules of Life from General Powell is worth the price of the book, especially the chapter on “Perpetual Optimism Is A Force Multiplier.” Here is a quick listing of the General Powell’s 13 rules…….

1. IT AIN’T AS BAD AS YOU THINK. IT WILL LOOK BETTER IN THE MORNING.

2. GET MAD, THEN GET OVER IT.

3. AVOID HAVING YOUR EGO SO CLOSE TO YOUR POSITION THAT WHEN YOUR POSITION FALLS, YOUR EGO GOES WITH IT.

4. IT CAN BE DONE.

5. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU CHOOSE. YOU MAY GET IT.

6. DON’T LET ADVERSE FACTS STAND IN THE WAY OF A GOOD DECISION.

7. YOU CAN’T MAKE SOMEONE ELSE’S DECISIONS. YOU SHOULDN’T LET SOMEONE ELSE MAKE YOURS.

8. CHECK SMALL THINGS.

9. SHARE CREDIT.

10. REMAIN CALM. BE KIND.

11. HAVE A VISION. BE DEMANDING.

12. DON’T TAKE COUNSEL OF YOUR FEARS OR NAYSAYERS.

13. PERPETUAL OPTIMISM IS A FORCE MULTIPLIER.