Category Archives: Leadership Tips

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Don’t Manage Your Time, Manage your Life

LEARN IT

Time cannot be managed. It cannot be controlled in any way.

Twenty-four hours is the best any of us is going to get.

Nothing separates successful people from unsuccessful people more than how they use their time.

Are you getting the best use of your time?

LIVE IT

Good Leaders cannot be bad self-managers! WHY?

They undervalue their uniqueness by doing what others want them to do.

They ruin their effectiveness by doing unimportant things.

They reduce their potential by doing things without a coach or training.

LEAD IT

Those who do it well do things that:

  • Advance their overall purpose in life – this helps them grow.
  • Underscore their values – this brings them fulfillments.
  • Maximize their strengths – this makes them effective.
  • Increase their happiness – this gives them better health.
  • Equip and coach others – these compounds their productivity.
  • Add value to others – this increases their influence.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Your Choice To Take Charge of Your Life

LEARN IT

  • Taking responsibility is the first step in maximizing your potential
  • Responsibility is the most important choice that you make in your life
  • Overcome the tendency to blame circumstances and people for failures
  • Taking responsibility is tied to increasing your success

LIVE IT

  • Responsibility creates the foundation for your success
  • Responsibility will put you in control of your life
  • Responsibility sets the course of your daily activity
  • Responsibility prepares you for action
  • Responsibility makes your habits serve you
  • Responsibility earns you respect and authority

LEAD IT

  • Have you connected the idea of taking responsibility and increasing your potential?
  • Do you think becoming more responsible could help you in your personal life and career?
  • On a scale of 1-10 would you rate yourself when it comes be prepared to take action?
  • What habits will change when you decide to become more responsible?

How do you daily manage the decision to be more responsible?

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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You Are Making A Mistake….

LEARN IT

When you are young and Idealistic, you feel that you can lead better than many who have come before you. IGNORANCE IS NOT BLISS! Consider….

  • I gave little thought to what might go wrong.
  • I assumed that the “right way” would be mistake-free.
  • I did not acknowledge mistakes I made to myself or others.
  • I was not learning from my mistakes.
  • I was not helping others by teaching lessons learned from my mistakes.

LIVE IT

If you want to learn to fail successfully and handle the mistakes you do make with maximum profit, then you need to do the following five things:

  1. Admit and own your mistakes and weaknesses
  2. Accept mistakes as the price of progress
  3. Insist on learning from mistakes
  4. Ask yourself and others, “What are we missing here?”
  5. Give the people around you, permission to push back

LEAD IT

What is your attitude toward mistakes?

Are you owning up to your mistakes?

Are you getting the best ideas from your subordinates?

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Keep Your Mind On The Main Thing

LEARN IT

Learn the Pareto Principle – 80/20

  • 80 percent of traffic jams occur on 20 percent of the roads.
  • 80 percent of classroom participation comes from 20 percent of students.
  • 80 percent of time you wear 20 percent of your clothes.
  • 80 percent of the profits come from only 20 percent of the customers.
  • 80 percent of problems are generated by 20 percent of the employees.
  • 80 percent of sales are generated by 20 percent of the salespeople.
  • 80 percent of all decisions can be made on 20 percent of the information.

LIVE IT

FIND THE MAIN THING

I determine not to know everything!

I determine to not know everything first!

I determine to let someone represent me!

I determine to stay with my strengths and not my weaknesses!

I determine to take charge of what took my time and energy!

LEAD IT

Take a look at your calendar and to-do lists from last month. For every

block of time, determine how your activities could be categorized according

to the following list:

  • Something I was told in school that I ought to do.
  • Something other people want me to do.
  • Something I see other successful people doing.
  • Something I know I should be doing.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Do Not Send Your Ducks To Eagle School

LEARN IT

Three reasons you do not send your ducks to eagle school:

1. If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the ducks. What happens when you move people out of their strength zone in regard to comfort, strength, or effectiveness?

2. If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the eagles. Think about your followers. Have you noticed those that stand out? Why do they stand out?

3. If you send your ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate yourself. Have you ever led people who never did rise up and fulfill your expectations?

LIVE IT

How do you develop good leaders?

How do you find potentially good leaders?

Know what potential good leaders look like.

1. As a leader, it is your responsibility to know what you’re looking for. What type of leader do you look for?

2. You need to know what qualities and characteristics are present in leaders who are successful in your industry. Have you studied successful leaders in your industry? What did you find?

LEAD IT

Good leaders and potential leaders display the following characteristics:

Adaptability – Quickly adjusts to change.

Discernment – Understand the real issues.

Perspective – Sees beyond their own vantage point.

Communication – Links to all levels of the organization.

Security – Does not find identity in position.

Servanthood – Does whatever it takes.

Resourcefulness – Finds creative ways to make things happen.

Maturity – Puts the Team before Self.

Endurance – Remains consistent in character and competence over the

long haul.Countability – Can be counted on when it counts.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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To See How A Leader Is Doing Look At The People

LEARN IT

Everything Rises and Falls On Leadership

1. When leaders are healthy, people they lead tend to be healthy.

2. When leaders are unhealthy, so are their followers.

3. People may teach what they know, but they reproduce what they are.

4. The best leaders are highly intentional about developing their people.

LIVE IT

If you want to know how you’re doing as a leader, do it by asking the

following four questions:

  1. Are the people following?
    1. All leaders have two common characteristics:
      1. first, they are going somewhere;
      1. second, they are able to persuade other people to go with them.
  2. Are the people changing? In what way are you always present to help facilitate the change process for your followers? 
  3. Are the people growing? In what ways is growth a reflection of the leader?
  4. Are People Succeeding? Leaders may impress others when they succeed, but others are impacted when the Team succeeds.

LEAD IT

Take a look at the principles for people development and

rate yourself for each item on a scale of 1 (low) to 10 (high):

  • High valuation of people – this is an attitude issue.
  • High commitment to people – this is a time issue.
  • High integrity with people – this is a character issue.
  • High standard for people – this is a goal-setting issue.
  • High influence over people – this is a leadership issue.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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A Leaders First Responsibility – Define Reality

LEARN IT

You cannot define what you cannot see!

Six Rules for Successful Leadership:

1. Control your destiny, or someone else will.

2. Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were.

3. Be candid with everyone.

4. Don’t manage, lead.

5. Change before you have to.

6. If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.

LIVE IT

“A time of turbulence is a dangerous time, but its greatest danger is a temptation to

deny reality.” – Peter Drucker

Questions to ask to help you define reality:

1. What is reality in this situation? Do other agree with my assessment?

2. Can I identify each issue? Can I break down reality to better understand it?

3. Can the issues be fixed? Separate the solvable from the unsolvable.

4. What are the options? Establish a game plan.

5. Am I willing to follow the game plan? My commitment as a leader is

essential.

LEAD IT

1. Admit my weakness. You can’t define reality if you won’t face reality.

Have you come to terms with your weakness?

2. Embrace realistic people.

Do you have members on your team that complete you?

3. Ask for honesty from others. Are you secure enough to ask for honesty? Are you secure enough to respond to it without defense?

4. Invite “fresh eyes” to check me out. Have you asked or paid outside consultants to come in, observe, and tell you what they see?

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Get In The Zone and Stay There!

LEARN IT

No matter if you’re just starting out or if you are at the peak of your career, the more you work in your strength zone, the more successful you will be.

What is SUCCESS? Knowing your purpose in life, Growing to your maximum potential, and Sowing seedsthat benefit others.

LIVE IT

To be successful, discover and develop the strength zone of your Team

1. Study and know the people on your team. How have you determined your people’s strengths and weaknesses? Do they have potential room for growth?

2. Communicate to individuals how they fit on the team. What are the strengths that they bring to the table?

3. Communicate to all team members how each player fits on the team. Which team member needs to hear how they bring value to the team?

4. Emphasize completing one another above competing with one another. How do you know when competition has gone too far?

LEAD IT

Have you identified your strength zone?

How specific can you get?

Is your job utilizing your strengths?

Are you leading Team Members in their strength zone?

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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The Best Leaders Are Listeners!

LEARN IT

 Understanding people precedes leading them. If you want to be more effective in leading people, what steps can you take to understand them first?

Listening is the best way to understand. Are you an active listener?

Listening can keep problems from escalating. If you are not an active listener how will you obtain the facts that you need for resolutions?

Listening enables trust. “Listening builds trust, the foundation of all lasting relationships.” – Brian Tracy

Listening improves every organization. Is it possible to be a good leader without being a good listener?

LIVE IT & LEAD IT

Give yourself a listening audit. The next few times you are in meetings, ask

your assistant or a colleague to track how many minutes you spend speaking and how many minutes you spend listening.

Who doesn’t feel listened to in my organization?

The next time you have a conversation with people you work or live with, stop everything you’re doing, give them your undivided attention, and look them in the eye as they speak. Ask if you’ve neglected to listen in the past, and then let them talk.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com

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Never Work A Day In Your Life!

“I never did a day’s work in my life. It was all fun!” – Thomas Edison

LEARN IT

What was a significant event that you were able to turn into an unforgettable one?

Passion is an incredible asset for any person, but especially for leaders.

What does a leader need to succeed?

Where is your passion leading you?

LIVE IT

Pursuing your passion makes all of the difference in the world.

Passion fills you with energy and desire.

Passion will give you the will to win.

The greatest job is one where the line between work and play is blurred.

LEAD IT

How much passion do you have for your current work?

90% or above: You are in your sweet spot – celebrate!

75%-89%: Make minor adjustments to align with your passion.

50%-74%: You need to make major adjustments.

49% or less: You need a job or career change.

Shepherds Advantage provides Servant Leadership that helps people close the gap between where they are and where they want to be. Shepherds Advantage closes that gap by providing Leadership Development, Keynote Speaking, and Executive Coaching. 

Shepherdsadvantage@gmail.com