Category Archives: Podcast

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The Leadership Gap Pt. #2

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Here is the top 10 list of small things done consistently will lead you on the pathway to greatness. In our last podcast we focused upon the small things you could do personally. Today, our hit list will focus upon what you can do for others. 

Share Your Leadership – Give your team opportunities to grow in their careers while gain self-confidence by sharing your leadership duties with them.

 Reward Others – When people when they do great work, be sure to recognize and reward that effort. Remember, you get what is rewarded.

Insist On Accountability – When there is an agreement to take on a task, hold people accountable for their commitments. Without it, you risk the possibility of the task not getting accomplished at all.

Coach Others – The difference between a good leader and great leader is the ability to teach and coach others. If greatness is the goal, be the kind of leader that sets the pace for your teaching, coaching, and teachable points of view.

Encourage Belief – We all know what it feels like when you have lost confidence in yourself. Be the kind of leader that empowers others through encouragement and genuine care for others success.

Do Not Judge – Before you assume, learn the facts. Before you judge, understand. Before you speak, think!Leverage Past Experiences – The best leaders consciously think about their experiences and rethink what they know and what they need to learn. The greatest leaders teach from their experiences while telling compelling stories that help other people in their decision making skills.

Write Thank You Notes – Letting people know how much you appreciate them and the work they are doing will leave a legacy of goodwill behind that effort.

Give Credit Where It Is Due – Regardless of your title, it is vitally important for workplace morale for you to acknowledge proficiency, hard work, and initiative. Thanking them privately is not always enough. Write a letter for their personnel file or give public recognition in front of others will help demonstrate their efforts have not gone unnoticed.Help Make Dreams Come True – The leadership adage is true – Help others achieve their dreams and they will help you achieve your dreams.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Black Line Paradigm” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

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

Statue of Responsibility

The Leadership Gap

Birkman Assessment

Q&A – Contact me at ShepherdsAdvantage@gmail.com
Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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The Leadership Gap

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Many books and articles have been written about Self Actualization. How do we achieve the highest expression of ourselves. Surely it is a goal to achieve our highest potential. So how do we do this? This podcast will be one of two podcasts that I will devote on achieving your greatness by means of the simplest of actions. True greatness consists in being great in little things daily. I believe that each person has the potential for greatness. We can achieve the highest expression of our unique selves. By working on this process you will discover areas to improve in your leadership capability and perhaps what is hindering you from achieving greatness.

Here is the Top 10 list of simple things you can do daily.

Be Transparent & Open – It is easier to notice our shortcomings when we are open and willing to be honest with self examination of our truest motives and personality. (Birkman Assessment Link in the Show Notes)

Build Bridges of Trust – You need the trust and support of your people to succeed as a leader. Instead of tearing down bridges of trust, build others up.

Be Willing To Take Risks – Lead by example, be willing to take risks and encourage your team to do so as well. Failure is our best teacher. You do not have to be great to take risks, you just have to risk to be great.Celebrate Your Victories – The pace and complexity of our business world makes it difficult to step back and celebrate the wins. CELEBRATE! This will energize the batteries and give time to catch your breath.

Don’t Try To Do It All Yourself – Delegation is the #1 tool of great leaders.Hire the right people, train them well, then delegate your organizations work to them.

Make It A Habit To Respect Everyone – Be the kind of leader that other people admire. Respect people, trust people, and have the confidence in yourself to lead with heart.

Don’t Blame Others – In order to make a positive impact in the face of problems, learn to own your mistakes! When you blame others, you give up the right to make a positive impact.Make Key Relationships A Priority – Good relationships do not just happen – they take time and patience. Make a positive impact on a life by making it a priority.

Praise Others For Good Work – To praise other people is to recognize and appreciate the work and accomplishments of other people. Only kindness will reveal the greatness of the soul of a leader.Listen To People – A leaders greatest impact is to give full attention when others speak. People want to know that you are listening, paying attention to what is being said, and show compassion.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Black Line Paradigm” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

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

Statue of Responsibility

The Leadership Gap

Birkman Assessment

Q&A – Contact me at ShepherdsAdvantage@gmail.com
Music: “Gratitude Mood” by David Arivett. You can learn more about his music by clicking on his name. THANKS DAVID!

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The Language of Leadership

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The language of ownership sounds very different than the language of a victim. We do not naturally or easily make the claim, “I am a victim.” However, we need a reality check from time to time to perhaps see that in fact we are victims and we are speaking that language as leaders.

I want to share 4 insights around the question, What language do you speak?

Intentional Living Starts With Intentional Thinking

The most important gap between successful people and unsuccessful people is the thinking gap! What you say on the outside starts with what you think and feel on the inside. Have you heard someone say, I didn’t mean to say that.” The truth is they have in fact been thinking and feeling it for a while on the inside.

Living Language Vs. Death Language

Words has the power to grant life or death to another person. Our words are windows into the soul of a person. They reveal what type of person we really are. Keep in mind that others are evaluating our leadership capability through 3 questions: Do you care for me? Can you help me? Can I trust you? Your leadership language is answering these questions and will determine your overall effectiveness.

Victim Thinking

Victims not only think that life is hard, but they think that everyone is out to get them. Under this mindset are the thoughts that I am not responsible for myself. Notice the difference in thinking patterns in victims versus survivors…

Illustration: Horatio Algers Award to under-privileged students with a 3.57+ grade average.

Owner Thinking

The key word along with ownership is RESPONSIBILITY. There is as belief they are not only responsible for themselves but they are responsible to other people. This is the language of empowerment. Victor Frankl, Holocaust survivor longed for a Statue of Responsibility. Click on the link to view this amazing sculpture from an artist that was traumatized by the murder of his mother at the hands of a step-father. Take just a moment to review this 3 minute video.

LINKS

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on iTunes – SUBSCRIBE

Shepherds Advantage Leadership Podcast is now on Stitcher – SUBSCRIBE

FREE GIFT – “The Black Line Paradigm” – Click on the icon at the bottom of the page

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

Statue of Responsibility

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




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Develop Your Curiosity

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Six Keys To Developing Curiosity

Keep A Beginners Mindset

Age and experience can become a detriment to a person’s growth and vitality. If we are not careful we can become part of the “Been there – done that” crowd. Rather say; “I am going and doing that!” How do you keep a beginners mindset?

  • Ask questions
  • Do not worry about an image to uphold
  • Keep learning rather than looking good or smart
  • There are no preset rules to follow

Intentionally Learn Something New Everyday

Get the dictionary out and learn a new word everyday. Use flipboard.com to learn new things on a daily basis. Figure out a way to keep fresh thinking in your life, your home, your company. Ambrose Bierce stated, “There is nothing new under the sun, but there are a lot of old things we don’t know.”

Make Failure Your Friend

Start by embracing failure and understanding the value of failing. Are you running from your failure or running toward it. Consider this statement: I would hate to see who I would have become if I did everything correct and never failed.

Be Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

Eric Hoffer stated; In a time of drastic change, it’s the learners who inherit the future.” The simple truth of the matter is that if you are learning your are changing. Here is a sobering truth that Harvard Business Journal and others have said, your Bachelor’s Degree only has a 5 year shelf life.

Keep Asking Questions

Good questions are the keys that opens of opportunity. Are you an answer person or a question person? Let me say it another way; you know you are getting old if all you do is give advice instead of asking questions. It is curiosity that keeps you going when others are stopping.

Get Out Of The Box

Most people will stay within the confines of their world (their box) without ever discovering how big the world really is. Understand that your VALUES are constant – your beliefs radically change through the years. Your values are the motive behind purposeful action! James Clear has developed a list of core values. I would suggest that you pick 3-5 and master them to guide purposeful behavior.

Curiosity leads to questions

Imagination leads to discovering options

Creativity leads to solutions

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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Half Marathon Lessons

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In his 70’s John Maxwell successfully completed a half marathon – 13.11 miles. There are five lessons learned from this experience that can challenge any leader in any organization. Let’s examine these insights.

Spontaneity is the foundation of youth

  • It seems that as we age we are not as spontaneous
  • It is easy to get stuck in your ways and not dare
  • When is the last time you did something for the first time?
  • Walk yourself into opportunities before you talk yourself out of them
  • Right is the best time – TODAY MATTERS!

Provide a FIRST for someone who has provided firsts for you

  • Do something for someone that they will not of cannot do for themselves
  • Who do you know right now who would be abundantly blessed if you provided a first experience for them?
  • Mark Cole did this for John by serving as his coach through the run.

Set yourself up for a win

  • John had 3 goals for this run: have a good experience, finish, finish in 4 hours
  • Leadership requires a strategy – What is yours?
  • If you do not know where you are going any road will take your there!
  • Ask: CAN I? HOW CAN I? Once you ask the second question, you have already decided to participate.

Know how you are doing will keep you going forward

  • You can always make adjustments when you know where you stand
  • Keep a scoreboard to visualize your wins and how to adjust
  • It is harder to quit when you know you are winning
  • Quitting usually comes right before the biggest breakthrough

The best stretches are the ones out of your comfort zone

  • The best stretches are the hardest ones
  • You need to be in an environment where everyone is ahead of you
  • When you are out of your comfort zone, connect with someone who is on their comfort zone

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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Connect With Millennials

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There are 6 functional changes we need to make in order to keep Millennials engaged in the marketplace.

Millennials do not work for a paycheck, rather they work for a purpose.

  • They want purpose to be intermingled in their job. They want their work to matter
  • APPLICATION: Connect their purpose in life with the purpose of the organization. Ask them what they care about, then connect them with what the company cares about.

Millennials are not pursuing job satisfaction, but development.

  • They seek personal affirmation and improvement.
  • APPLICATION: Ask them what they want to do and then get them into a position that fulfills that answer.

Millennials want to take responsibility faster than they want to give it.

  • Millennials are impatient – they want freedom to get the answers themselves.
  • They seek empowerment on the job. In the past we have required experience before empowerment.
  • Most leaders delegate tasks rather than give authority. When you give tasks you create followers, when you give authority you create leaders.
  • APPLICATION: Follow the 10/80/10 rule. As a leader be on the task the first 10%. Let them move forward with the project for the next 80%. As the leader return for the last 10% to evaluate the work.

Millennials Do not want a boss, they want a coach.

  • Millennials do not want command and control, nor do they trust structured leadership, titles, levels, etc.
  • They seek someone to walk beside and with them.
  • The best ideas is the goal, not just the bosses ideas.
  • APPLICATION: Keep constant communication with millennials.

Millennials do not want annual reviews, they seek constant conversations.

  • This is referred to as “management by walking around.” Ken Blanchard
  • APPLICATION: Get out of your office and engage Millennials in what they are doing on a daily basis.

Millennials want cultural compatibility.

  • They want to come to work and yet feel at home.
  • They seek work/life balance. They do not want to be placed in a box, they seek flexibility in their schedules.
  • APPLICATION: Value Millennials, they desire to feel valued more than anything./

RECAP: 71% of Millennials are the least engaged generation at work. You are going to have problems when two-thirds of your workforce is disengaged. Start with reinventing yourself as a leader. Odds are your experience will lead to the wrong solution. WHY? You are attempting to solve modern problems with yesterday’s methods. Start NOW! It is never too late.

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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Mental Mastery

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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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FOCUS – Part 2

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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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FOCUS

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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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There Is No “I” In Team

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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!