7 Ways to Know You’re an Inspiring Leader

I’ve done a lot of blogging about the differences between bosses and leaders. I’ll let you peruse some of those posts at your leisure, but if I had to sum ‘em up I’d say this: Leaders don’t just manage people, and they don’t just tell people what to do. They inspire people. They make people want to follow them, and they empower them to succeed.
Of course you’re probably asking yourself: Am I a great leader? Do I have the hallmarks of a true inspiration figure?
You’ll have to do a little self-inventory to know for sure, but to help you gauge your own leadership capacity, let me offer you this… seven signs that you are indeed an inspiration figure in your workplace.

The Seven Signs of Inspiring Leadership

1. You have a sense of purpose beyond your own success. Wanting to achieve great things on your own terms hardly makes you a leader. No, leaders are folks who measure their own success by the success of others; they see it as their mission and purpose to help their team members thrive. If your purpose is to empower, you may be an inspiring leader!
2. You’re approachable. Do your team members feel comfortable approaching you with questions, concerns, or feedback—or do they tremble at the very thought of entering your office? If you’re intimidating rather than approachable, that’s a problem.
3. You’re open-minded. Great leaders are open to whatever works, even if it’s not their own idea. Do you actively court solutions and suggestions from your team members—and implement the ones you think will work? Inspiring leaders do.
4. You’re candid—and constructive. Inspiring leaders give the gift of feedback. If your team members actually accept your constructive feedback and make changes to their performance, that shows that they respect you, and know you’re trying to help them improve.
5. You treat your employees with equality. Favoritism and inspiration do not work together. If your employees feel like you prefer some of them over others, that ultimately reflects badly on your leadership style.
6. You’re grateful. Inspiring leaders are thankful for the efforts of their team—and they’re not afraid to say so.
7. You focus on your team. If you’re happy to give credit to team members, rather than hog it all for yourself, then you’ve definitely got some of the traits of inspiring leadership!

Take stock of yourself—and use these points to determine how inspiring you really are.
Dr. Rick Goodman CSP is a thought leader in the world of leadership and is known as one of the most sought after team building experts in the United States and internationally.
He is famous for helping organizations, corporations, and individuals with systems and strategies that produce increased profits and productivity without having the challenges of micromanaging the process. Some of Dr. Rick’s clients include AT&T, Boeing, Cavium Networks, Heineken, IBM, and Hewlett Packard.
For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, audio programs, and learning programs, contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@rickgoodman.com, or visit www.rickgoodman.com.

5 Phrases Great Leaders Use Every Day

We’re taught from a young age that actions speak louder than words—and to an extent, that might be true. Yet for leaders, words matter. They are among your greatest tools. A well-timed and well-chosen word can inspire your employees to achieve greatness; the wrong word can cause morale to plummet, or even bring your very leadership into question.

Your words will impact your employees—and your employees will absolutely remember the things you say.

So… what are you saying? What do your words reveal about your leadership style? And what are some phrases you should be adding to your everyday vocabulary?

Add These Phrases to Your Workplace Speech

As leaders, we all think and communicate a bit differently, but I can tell you that there are certain phrases that I always love to hear coming out of the mouths of business owners, managers, and bosses. These phrases, to me, epitomize leadership, and I think you’ll find them to be hugely impactful to your day-to-day engagement with your team.

Try them out and see what a difference they make:

What do you think about this? The exact wording may be a little different; for example, what’s your take on this?  However, it’s important that you adopt the language of collaboration, and make it clear to your employees that you really value what they think. Actively court other opinions and perspectives, and give your team members ownership of team decisions.

What do you need? Empower your team members to do the work you’ve given them. Make it clear that your role is to support them, and help them feel comfortable asking for the resources they need to thrive.

I trust you. It is amazing how powerful this phrase can be in building confidence among your team members. Let them know that you hired them because you believe in their ability to do good work, and that you feel no need to micromanage or to babysit them.

Great work/we can do better. Part of being a leader means encouraging your employees and affirming their hard work—but it’s also your job to push your team to do better and to achieve at a higher level. It’s a balancing act, but one worth investing in.

Thank you. Short and sweet: Let your employees know that their work is acknowledged and appreciated.

These aren’t magical phrases that will transform your business overnight, of course—but they will help you establish a productive, collaborative company culture where your leadership is truly inspiring.

Dr. Rick Goodman CSP is a thought leader in the world of leadership and is known as one of the most sought after team building experts in the United States and internationally.

He is famous for helping organizations, corporations, and individuals with systems and strategies that produce increased profits and productivity without having the challenges of micromanaging the process. Some of Dr. Rick’s clients include AT&T, Boeing, Cavium Networks, Heineken, IBM, and Hewlett Packard.

For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, audio programs, and learning programs, contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@rickgoodman.com, or visit www.rickgoodman.com.

What Will Be Your Leadership Epitaph?

Will you join me in imagining a quick scenario? Imagine that you’re my boss, and I’m your employee. I put in several years of work for you—five, ten, maybe even fifteen. Then I move on to something else—but then, 20 years down the road, our paths cross once more.

Maybe I’m with my wife when it happens. We’re exiting a restaurant, and I spot you waiting outside for a table, or just sitting down to enjoy your meal. I gesture to my wife. “Do you see that person over there?” I ask her. “That used to be my boss.”

“Oh really?” my wife might ask. “Was this person a good boss, or a bad boss?”

Now here’s my question for you: What am I going to say to my wife in response to this question?

Or, to cast it less hypothetically… what will your current employees be saying about you years, potentially decades down the line?

Will they remember you at all?

And if they pass you on the street, will their immediate recollections of you be fond, admiring ones—or will they be negative?

This is the concept I like to call the leadership epitaph, and it’s really pretty simple. What it boils down to is the need for leaders to think about how they’ll be remembered, and what that might mean for the way they lead their team right now.

There are a couple of different dimensions to the leadership epitaph. There is the broader sense of what your tenure as leader will ultimately mean to the company. Will you be remembered as the executive who created new jobs, expanded profits, and helped the company soar to new heights? Or will you be remembered as the person who was in charge during a period of major layoffs and losses?

But frankly, I think most employees will remember you less for the big picture stuff and more for the day to day. Do you lead by inspiring your employees—or yelling at them? Are you open to their feedback? Do you make them feel valued? Do you allow them to have their voices heard?

Do you empower your employees to be productive and happy in their work life?

These are the things your employees will remember. These are the things that will one day comprise your leadership epitaph.

So let me ask you one more thing: Are you concerned about what your employees will say about you when they pass you on the street, years from now? It’s only natural to wonder, but you can do more than that. You can think honestly and critically about your leadership style right now, and make the changes necessary to create a positive leadership epitaph.

Dr. Rick Goodman CSP is a thought leader in the world of leadership and is known as one of the most sought after team building experts in the United States and internationally.

He is famous for helping organizations, corporations, and individuals with systems and strategies that produce increased profits and productivity without having the challenges of micro managing the process. Some of Dr. Rick’s clients include AT&T, Boeing, Cavium Networks, Heineken, IBM, and Hewlett Packard.

For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, audio programs, and learning programs, contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@rickgoodman.com, or visit www.rickgoodman.com.

Don’t Forget to Affirm Your Virtual Employees!

More and more frequently, teams are spread out across the city, the state, even the world; rather than having your full team working out of the same office, you may have “virtual” or “remote” employees working from the comfort of their own homes.

There’s been a lot of ink spilled to celebrate the advantages of having a remote workforce; I won’t go into that here, except to affirm that for many businesses, the option to work virtually can create a more flexible and robust workforce.

Having virtual teams brings its own set of challenges, though. For instance, how do you ensure that employees are engaged when you don’t see those employees in the office every day?

And how do you offer affirmation to an employee when the only time you lay eyes on said employee is at the annual holiday party?

Simple Gestures to Affirm Virtual Team Members

To keep your virtual employees engaged—and to ensure they feel appreciated—you’ll need to make a special effort. Some small but significant ways to do this include:

Schedule some face time. E-mail is alright, and even texting can be fine for simple yes-or-no questions. But it’s also important to have some face time with virtual employees—to be able to look each other in the eyes and have a moment of meaningful connection. Thankfully, there are plenty of technologies that make this possible—including Skype and, naturally, FaceTime.

Make a point to check on your employees regularly. Add it to your weekly schedule or your Google calendar. Reach out to your virtual employees weekly, even if just to ask if they’re okay and to thank them for their work. Don’t let virtual employees feel forgotten or alone. Remind them regularly that they are key members of your team.

Make sure virtual employees are part of team meetings. Get them on Skype or on speaker phone, or use a virtual meeting platform to ensure that all employees are engaged.

Include virtual employees in the collaboration process. Remote workers may be solitary, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have the itch to be part of the team or to brainstorm with other employees. Actively include them in collaboration, and make sure you provide online collaboration resources, like Dropbox.

Give virtual employees chances to grow. Schedule time for them to either come to the office for team trainings, or allow them to attend some virtual conferences or webinars. Make it clear that, even though they work remotely, you care about giving them opportunities to develop.

Be deliberate in including your virtual team members—because that’s the only way to get them engaged.

Dr. Rick Goodman CSP is a thought leader in the world of leadership and is known as one of the most sought after team building experts in the United States and internationally.

He is famous for helping organizations, corporations, and individuals with systems and strategies that produce increased profits and productivity without having the challenges of micro managing the process. Some of Dr. Rick’s clients include AT&T, Boeing, Cavium Networks, Heineken, IBM, and Hewlett Packard.

For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, audio programs, and learning programs, contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@rickgoodman.com, or visit www.rickgoodman.com.

Do You Accept Constructive Feedback?

I’ve said in the past that one of the greatest gifts a leader can give to team members is the gift of honest feedback. Taking the time to provide a quick word of encouragement or constructive criticism can go a long way toward showing employees that they are noticed and valued; that you are invested in their future and their place on the team.

But there is a flipside to this, as well: A hallmark of leadership is that you don’t just offer feedback, but also welcome it in your own professional life. Great leaders actively court feedback from colleagues and from employees—and don’t get their feathers ruffled when the feedback is less than positive.

Receiving the Gift of Feedback

It’s a simple fact of life: None of us like having our shortcomings pointed out to us, yet other people can often identify our faults more accurately than we can. When you’re willing to graciously accept that kind of feedback—not bristling or getting defensive, but actually engaging with it and implementing some changes—it shows that you’re a humble leader. It shows that what you care about is seeing all members of your team improve their performance and get better results over time.
When your team members come to you with feedback, then, it’s important to accept and even embrace it—not brush it aside. Some tips for taking constructive feedback well include:

• Don’t take it personally. Remember that everyone has blind spots and skills that need further developing. The fact that you have some areas to work on does not mean you’re a bad person, and that’s surely not what your team members want you to think. The goal is for you to get better, and your team members are just trying to help you—not insult you!
• Specificity is always a good thing. “You’re not a good communicator” is not great feedback; if your team members approach you with something like that, ask them for something more specific. That shows that you really want to improve, and it gives you measurable goals to work toward.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help! If your team members identify problem areas, maybe they can also help you brainstorm some solutions.
• Be grateful. Say thank you for the feedback—remembering that, for your employees, it’s probably really hard to approach their boss or manager with words of constructive criticism!
• Offer to return the favor and do an employee appraisal for anyone who comes to you with feedback—not in a tit-for-tat manner, but in the interest of making everyone on the team even better!

Remember: Feedback is a gift. Give it—but also open yourself to receiving it!

Dr. Rick Goodman CSP is a thought leader in the world of leadership and is known as one of the most sought after team building experts in the United States and internationally.

He is famous for helping organizations, corporations, and individuals with systems and strategies that produce increased profits and productivity without having the challenges of micro managing the process. Some of Dr. Rick’s clients include AT&T, Boeing, Cavium Networks, Heineken, IBM, and Hewlett Packard.

For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, audio programs, and learning programs, contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@rickgoodman.com, or visit www.rickgoodman.com.

The Alex Project: Laws of Success "Enthusiasm"

In the seventh lesson in Law of Success, Napolean Hill discusses the great importance of “enthusiasm”, and how integrating enthusiasm into your life will ultimately lead to success. Hill defines enthusiasm as a state of mind that inspires and arouses one to put action into the task at hand." By constantly engaging in life with enthusiasm, the characteristic can be developed and used as a vital force in the work environment. In order to develop this potential enthusiasm, Hill argues that you must do the kind of work that you like, and make sure your actions are leading toward the achievement of your definite chief aim. Enthusiasm is a contagious characteristic, which magnifies its power. That is, it makes a large enough impression on others in order to make them become enthusiastic as well. Enthusiasm can mean using the same word choice but stated in a different manner, as people become more or less motivated based on how something is said to them. Hill emphasizes this fact, as it is not so much what you say as it is the tone and manner in which you say it that makes a lasting impression.

            In order to truly master the quality of enthusiasm, Hill stresses the idea of working for something that you believe in. This will naturally bring out the enthusiastic quality in yourself, as you will be legitimately interested in what you are doing. In his example, Hill discusses how he turned down the most money that was ever offered to him simply because he did not believe in what he was doing. The job was to write articles on a topic that he opposed, and therefore knew he would not be giving his best enthusiastic effort when taking the time to write the articles. When working in an environment or on a project that you genuinely enjoy and believe in, the enthusiasm will begin to come on its own.

The Alex Project: Laws of Success "Imagination"

            The sixth “Law of Success” that Napoleon Hill discusses involves the need for imagination.  Hill emphasizes this as being one of the most important of the lessons in his book.  The chapter on imagination calls for the reader to use the one power that no person can take away from them.

Man has the ability to cheat and slander other men, but a man has no power over any mans imagination. Hill maintains that the idea of daydreaming is not a useless one, but rather that many vital ideas and products were developed through the act of daydreaming. Simple use of imagination has proven to lead to success, with the creation of “Five and Ten Cent Stores”, “Self-Help Grocery Stores”, and even the Panama Canal as evidence.

The main point that Hill intends to emphasize in this lesson is to use your imagination to rearrange old ideas into new combinations. With maximum effort combined with imagination, you can achieve maximum achievement. This is where a “Master Mind” group will become vital, as the collective effort provides for even greater imagination.

The Laws of Success - The Alex Project

Dr. Rick Goodman discusses the book The Laws of Success by Napoleon Hill and its profound effect on his success in business.  In the Alex Project Rick Goodman's son Alex Goodman will review and summarize Napoleon Hill's Laws for all to benefit from.

How to Create a Successful Team

The quality of your office is going to be determined by the quality of the team that assists you in providing health care to your patients. There are a number of things that she can do in order to build and strengthen your health care team.

People do business with people who do like, who are like them if we understand this concept. It is more important than ever before, that there is a positive chemistry among your staff members. The more your staff members enjoy working with each other better care your patients will receive.

So here are three things you can do right away, in order to build and create a successful team that is ready to assist you in providing health care to your patients.

1: You must have regular staff meetings. Although most people don't like to be in meetings they're important in order to set goals, solve problems and get everybody on the same page.

2: Design group activities that involve all staff members in a setting other than your office. Make it fun! This will not only help team members bond with each other. It should also help them bond with you

3: Constantly catch your team members doing the right thing and let them know how much you appreciate it. Then tell the rest of the staff members, what a great job that person did and be specific. Everyone wants Love, Appreciation and Respect, if you give them those three things you will have a group of highly motivated quality staff members on your team.

Dr. Rick Goodman speaks from real -Life experiences and achieves great results! Rick is the author of Living a Championship Life "A Game Plan for Success" http://livingachampionshiplife.com/ which has been widely acclaimed since its release.

Rick has worked with companies of all sizes-from small businesses and entrepreneurial startups to Fortune 500 companies His high-energy content rich keynotes, seminars and workshops are designed for associations and firms of all sizes that want to maximize their potential.

For more information on Rick’s keynote speaking programs, audio programs and training programs go to http://www.dr.rickgoodman.com/ or call 888-267-6098

Check Back Your Key to Delegation Success

In order to grow your business, you're going to have to trust that your staff members are capable of getting the job's done that you assign to them. That means you're going to have to do something that may be uncomfortable for some of you and easy for others. You’re going to have to delegate tasks in order to grow your business. After all, you're only one person, you can't do it all. And what you are going to find is that some of your staff members can do certain jobs even better than you can. It's more important than ever before that we utilize certain tools that will increase the odds of success when were delegating tasks to our team.

One of the best delegation techniques I've ever come across is one that I call: Check Back!

Now check back is not check up. After all, if you're checking up on a staff member the first thought that comes into their mind is that you don't trust them. You could be the best worker on the planet and if somebody is standing behind you’re back watching you do your job you're going to make mistakes. So we use a technique called Check Back and here's how it works:

Step One: Assign a team member, a task to do and ask them the question, when can I Check Back with you? The ball is now in their court they have to give you a time when they are going to have the task completed and a commitment to getting it done. Now get out of the way!

Step Two: You Must Check Back! If you assign a task to a staff member and don't follow up at the assigned time you're sending a message that you don't care. The next time you assign a task to that team member they will drag their feet and be more likely to sabotage the process.

Step Three: If you have Checked Back with that employee and they've completed the task let them know how much you appreciate it. If they have not completed the task then you want to ask the key question and the question goes like this: you asked your children to go upstairs and clean up their room, you go upstairs and an hour later and the room is not cleaned up, what is the first question that you asked your child?

Why? And the answer better not be Because.

When we assign tasks to our employees, we expect them to complete the tasks especially if they've made a commitment. Now if they don't like the task they are doing that's okay, we expect them to see it through to the end. The next time a similar task comes up; we explain to them that they really don't have to do it. However we explain to them the consequences and then it's their choice.

The use of Check Back is a fabulous technique that allows your team to accomplish tasks that you assign to them which ultimately strengthens the team and its individual members both personally and professionally. It has been my experience that when I get out of the way good things happen!

Dr. Rick Goodman is a professional speaker who works with organizations that want to Develop Great Leaders “Through Excellence in Communication and Team Building”. For more information on Rick’s speaking programs, Audio Programs and learning programs contact (888) 267-6098 or Rick@drrickgoodman.com (www.drrickgoodman.com)

leadership, rickgoodman,advantagelegalseminars,delegation

Pay It Forward

On Tuesday of this week I had the opportunity to work with an outstanding group of individualswho were either new supervisors or were learning to improve their leadership skills at a company called Gardner Denver in Houston, Texas http://gardnerdenver.com . I always enjoy sharing information with individuals who really want to make a difference. It was obvious to me from the first minute of training that these individuals had the raw skills to develop into great leaders. It was interesting to note that their challenges were no different than the many challenges managers and supervisors are facing today. How to make their operations more efficient and customer service oriented while growing their company on the global level.

I get excited every time I have the opportunity to work with people who truly want to make a difference. The group left wanting to set goals for the future and help increase the productivity of their company by attracting outstanding talent for their organization. We covered various topics including Goalsetting, Time Management, Project management and Relationship Skills. We also covered the New York Yankees http://newyorkyankees.com and the return of Roger Clemens a Hall of Famer who has shown in the past what it takes to be a great leader . This was the only part of the seminar that didn't go over too big. However when I left at the end of the day everyone was still enthusiastic about the exciting possibilities and challenges they now faced.

It reminds me of the movie Pay It Forward. If every day we could make a difference in other people's lives so that they may touch others and make a difference as well, we will be following the theme of the movie and be making a difference in the lives of all the people we come in contact with. This is the true meaning of leadership!

Dr. Rick Goodman works with organizations that want to develop great leaders by mining the gold within their own organization. For more information on Rick's leadership training programs go to www.Dr.RickGoodman.com