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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The Language of Influence

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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.

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

Leadership is not about production, it is about reproduction.

These 9 words are packed with universal truths that we are still attempting to learn and apply. The key is not about making better products, it is about making people better. This maxim is beyond the “SELF” and is transported into the heart and dreams of another person. It is not about the nuances of the product, it is about the character of a life well-lived. EQ trumps IQ everyday.

You want your protege to exceed your accomplishments not just your expectations.

In order for this maxim to be true, as a leader you have to be comfortable in your own skin. The natural tendency is that we protect our turf and we are very reluctant about letting others share the limelight. In order for this maxim to be true, you must become a larger than life leader from the inside out. Legacy is not what you have accomplished. Legacy is about who you influenced so they can excel past you! Remember we do not get what we want, we get who we are.

Nobody’s success is robbing your potential. There is plenty of wind in the harbor to sail more than one ship.

The short response – “I have a dream worth pursuing!” We tend to feel that other people’s accomplishments robs us of our opportunity. Nothing is further from the truth. You can tend to blame others for your failures versus taking charge of your dreams. No one is standing in your way. The most important person to conqueror is yourself.

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 m




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Leadership Tune Up – Face What Is Not Working

SPRING TUNE UP TIME

“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored” – Aldous Huxley

“Face your deficiencies and acknowledge them; but do not let them master you. Let them teach you patience, sweetness, insight” – Helen Keller

“Doing more of what does not work will not make it work better” – Charles Givens

Grab your journal and write your response to these ten (10) reflection questions.

  1. Am I willing to admit my limitations, deficiencies, and opportunities?
  2. What is the value of understanding my strengths, as well as my shortcomings?
  3. Have I been ignoring the facts lately? What are the current outcomes of this behavior?
  4. Am I regularly tempted to take short-cuts? Being a world-class influencer, can I afford to take short-cuts?
  5. List the consequences of taking shortcuts?
  6. What is it important to do the right things the first time and avoid shortcuts?
  7. What is the value in viewing my daily activities as an investment in the Bank of Real Life Experiences?
  8. In becoming an expert, what is the value in not skipping the most useful and satisfying part – the learning and the growing?
  9. Am I willing to go through the failures to get to the success?
  10. What is the value of failing fast, regrouping and taking another shot at my goal?
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Leadership Tune up – Disappointment

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The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way – Robert Kiyosaki
The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trail with humility – Thomas Monson

What does it take to meet failure and disappointment with courage and cheerfulness? Do I have what it takes?

What is the value of reflecting on setbacks and disappointments?

What is the true source of my disappointment?

Have I allowed disappointments and setbacks to cause me to grow bitter and despondent?

How does a strong work ethic enable me to push through moments of disappointment and self-doubt?

Can I recall a bad thing happening in my life that put me on the path of something very positive happening in my life?

Can I think of an example of when someone’s success came after their disappointment? What can I learn from their illustration?

Do I have reasonable expectations concerning my results and the results of my Team? Am I a pie in the sky leader? Am I aiming too low?

Am I prepared to be disappointed by someone I admire?

When experiencing disappointments do I quit or put my head down and plough through?

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 – Thinking

Thinking is a habit and like any other habit, it can be changed, it just takes effort and repetition – John Eliot

Critical thinking is thinking about your thinking, while you thinking in order to make your thinking better – Richard Paul

Get your journal notebook ready and write your reflections and insights to the following ten questions

  1. Why is it important for leaders to think in a clear, creative, critical manner?
  2. Am I thinking about my thinking while I am thinking?
  3. Do I see an opportunity to make my thinking better and clearer and cleaner?
  4. 5% of people think, 10% of people think they think, 85% of people would rather die than think (Thomas Edison). Which category fo you fall in?
  5. Once I come to a conclusion, how likely am I to change that conclusion even if the conclusion was based upon a bad idea or wrong information?
  6. Do I agree that focused thinking is tough mental work? Am I willing to do the tough mental work to become an effective leader?
  7. How can i enforce the habit of always thinking first about what is best for my Team?
  8. What is it important to be mindful of what we think and how we think?
  9. How does my emotional state impact my thinking process? How does my thinking process impact my emotional state?
  10. If I possess a negative perception of a Team Member, how does that impact our interaction and my decision-making process?

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Leadership Tune Up – Winning

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:18 — 38.9MB) | Embed

If you think that you can win, you can win. Faith is necessary for victory – William Hazlett
I hate to lose more that I love to win – Jimmy Connors

You were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win – Zig Ziglar

What are the attitudes and actions that separate the contenders from the winners?

Do I visualize myself as a winner? Do I literally see myself standing in the winners circle?

If I am my best effort and I leave everything on the field, isn’t that the true measure of a winner?

Am I enthusiastic about winning today? How will I share my enthusiasm?

How would I feel if my coach displayed a nonchalant attitude about winning? Would that motivate me to work harder?

What role does character play in my desire to win? What does it mean to show class and what role does it play in my desire to win?

How do I feel about a coach that displays an attitude of losing?

What will I do today to instill in my Team a stronger desire to win?

On a scale of 1-10, how intense is my competitive enthusiasm  to win today?

Does a bad break cause me to work harder of do I lose heart and quit?

Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt – Special Olympics Motto
You’ve you got to get to the place in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing – Arthur Ashe

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 – Leaders Are Readers

It is time for a TUNE UP!

All engines need a tune-up at regular intervals. It does not matter if we are talking about a lawn-mower engine, Cadillac, or Lear Jet – engines need to be serviced. Without it they will not perform at their best. This blog is about considering reflective questions that will assist you in tuning up your leadership capabilities.

Stephen Covey stated once there is no better way to inform and expand your mind on a regular basis than to get into the habit of reading good literature.

Set aside time and a journal and respond to the following 10 reflection questions.

  1. All growing leaders are readers, so am I allocating adequate time each week to read and think?
  2. Am I willing to cut back on some of my leisure time activities in order to devote more time to solitude and reading and reflection?
  3. What is the value of pondering and reflecting on the ideas I have encountered during my reading time?
  4. What is the benefit of rereading a book or relistening to an audio teaching?
  5. Why is it important to be life learners of the business that I am involved in?
  6. Am I reading too fast? Am I going through books too quickly that I am not absorbing the principles that I am reading?
  7. What three new principles will i share with my team this week?
  8. What are the top leaders of my industry reading presently?
  9. What action am I delaying today?
  10. Would it be great to have Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, Stephen Covey and others as mentors? You can, they have all wrote books!
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Leadership Tune Up – Willpower

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:49 — 36.8MB) | Embed

Peter Drucker stated that what you have to do and the way you have to do it is incredibly simple. Whether you are willing to do it, that’s another matter. Along with this thought it has also been stated that great souls have wills while feeble souls have only wishes.

It is true that in the absence of willpower the most complete collection of virtues and talents that any person can assemble in the toolbox of life will be rendered worthless.

There are stages in life that require us to stop the pace of our life and reflect upon accomplishments and the trajectory of our life. What needs work? What needs changed? What do I need to get rid of? Here are some reflective questions to assist in this process.

Reflection Questions

Am I waiting on someone else to initiate my professional development or should I be more proactive?

I know what my top three objectives are today? Will I exercise leadership to accomplish them?

Do I have the discipline to lead myself?

On a scale of 1-10, how intense is my desire to provide world class leadership today?

How clear is my desire for what I want? How hot is the passion to possess it?

It has been stated that the height of a man is gauged by his self mastery. If you cannot establish mastery over yourself, you will not influence others. What do these thoughts mean to you?

Are you bringing out the best in yourself so that you can bring out the best in others?

In your organization why is it vital to have mastery over yourself?

How does a lack of self-discipline affect my sense of worth and esteem?

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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Leadership Tune-Up

Time For A Tune Up!

All engines need a tune-up at regular intervals. It does not matter if we are talking about a lawn-mower engine, Cadillac, or Lear Jet – engines need to be serviced. Without it they will not perform at their best.

This blog is about considering reflective questions that will assist you in tuning up your leadership capabilities. Peter Drucker stated that leadership is not about making speeches or being liked. Leadership is defined by results not attributes. Great leadership is about combining your skills and talents to produce results.

Set aside time and a journal and respond to the following 10 reflection questions.

  1. What will I do today that will stretch my team to reach their potential?
  2. On a scale of 1-10 how would my team rate me as a leader that achieves results?
  3. Am I distinguishing between “busywork” and “accomplishments?” DO I encourage my team to do the same?
  4. How does my sense of self-worth and self-confidence impact my daily performance?
  5. What does a “High Performance” day look like for me personally? For my Team?
  6. Have I sought feedback from my peers?
  7. Do I plan my day early in the morning or evening for the next day? Which works best and why?
  8. How are you maximizing your time today?
  9. What are the three (3) most pressing things that I must focus on? What is my action plan?
  10. Can I write out my personal growth plans for the next twelve (12) months?
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Does My Dream Benefit Others?

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If a man for whatever reason has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself – Jacques Cousteau

In this last podcast of this series on putting your dreams to the test, we come now come to the significance question, Does My Dream Benefit Others? In other words are you willing to invest your life for this dream?
In his book Half Time, author Bob Buford writes, “the first half of life has to do with getting and gaining, learning and earning. The second half is more risky because it has to do with living beyond the immediate.” This book is about changing your game plan from success to significance.

I Want To Do Something Significant For Myself – This statement when read for the first time sounds selfish. Actually, it is not as selfish as you might think. How can you help someone else if you have not invested in yourself first. This is the first rule of leading well – you must have a personal growth plan for yourself. If you cannot articulate this plan in writing, you probably are only day-dreaming. The accomplishment of a significant dream only comes when a person has something to offer. It is difficult to invest in others when you are not investing in yourself!

I Want To Do Something Significant For Others – Here is a two part question that sets up an illustration about Mother Teresa. First the question; “What are you doing to invest in yourself, and what are you doing to invest in others? Let’s face it, success can cause people to be selfish. If you are not careful you will become a schemer in attempting to get from people rather than giving to people. In the book, Mother Teresa – Come Be My Light, reports in a letter she wrote about the potential success of Missionaries of Charity organization – “I don’t know what success will be, but if the Missionaries of Charity have brought joy to one unhappy home, made one innocent child from the street keep pure for Jesus, one dying person die in peace with God, it would be worth while offering everything for just that one, because that one would bring great joy to the Heart of Jesus.”

I Want To Do Something Significant With Others – Tom Brokaw once stated that it is easy to make a buck. It’s a lot tougher to make a difference. People who want to achieve a significant dream with others must be able to help people embrace the same dream. When that happens it is a wonderful gift for all. If we can share a dream with others, it expands both their possibilities and our own.

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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Willpower

Authors Roy Baumeister and John Tierney

“Religious meditations often involve explicit and effortful regulation of attention…The mind wanders quite naturally, so bringing it back to focus narrowly on one’s breathing builds mental discipline. When neuroscientists observe people praying or meditating, they see strong brain activity in two parts of the brain that are also important for self-regulation and control of attention. Psychologists see an effect when they expose people to religious words subliminally, meaning that the words are flashed on a screen so quickly that the people aren’t consciously aware of what they’ve seen. People who are subliminally exposed to words like God or Bible become slower to recognize words associated with temptations like drugs or premarital sex. It looks as if people come to associate religion with tamping down these temptations says McCullough, who suggests that prayers and meditation rituals are a kind of anaerobic workout for self-control.”

I love this quote and the image that prayer can be an anaerobic workout for self control. The faith community has known this for years. We go to the gym to exercise our body and we sit in silence and solitude to meditate to build our mental and spiritual muscles.

Meditation and prayer is not just about communication and the Creator. One study found that three hours of meditation practice leads to improved focus and self-control in your daily life.

I have discovered these benefits years ago in my life personally. I start each day with a plan block of time that includes reading, prayer, and meditation. The focus and calmness of each day is noticeably improved.

TODAY is a good day to begin the discipline of prayer and meditation!