I recently had the privilege to partner with 15 other authors, from all over the world, in producing Energize Your Leadership: Discover, Ignite, Break Through.  When we first started to explore the idea of a collaborative book project, we wanted to provide the reader with both a topic that would be relevant and content that would add value to them in their role as a leader.

We all deal with finding what it takes to find the energy, not only to fuel our own motor, but to fuel the leaders we are trying to develop around us.  In my Chapter titled “Question Yourself” I share the story of my own journey in finding that fuel.

When my job description and responsibilities changed due to a leadership restructuring at the business I had worked at for 15 years, it changed the way I was able to lead.  What I didn’t realize at the time was that my opportunity to lead was what was filling my bucket and providing the energy that led to my success.  It was the fulfillment of adding value to others and working as a team to accomplish goals that inspired me to be the leader I was capable of being.  When that changed, so did I.

So what did I learn from this experience?

• I now understand that I had found my identity in what I did and not in who I was.  When what I did fell apart, so did I.  The “why” that once fueled me had been lost and I was literally running on empty. [Tweet Now]
• I realized that as leaders we can sometimes become more concerned with protecting the why that fuels those around us and forget about filling up our own tank.  As my mentor John Maxwell says, “You cannot give what you do not have.”
• I found out how empowering it is to empower others.  I think at the end of the day, we all want to add value, make a difference, and be part of something bigger than we are alone.  We need energy to do that!

I learned many things from that experience and now know that this is something that we need to keep in check and review often.  I use three questions to make sure that I protect myself from running on empty.

• What would it take to increase my level of awareness?
• What intention have I set to create a change?
• Who will I ask to hold me accountable in making that change?

I encourage you to invest in yourself and invest in a copy of Energize Your Leadership.  I think you will find the insights from myself and my 15  colleagues will add to your ability to keep the tank full and have some in reserve to share with those around you.

SEE YOU AT THE PUMP!

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Barry Smith  5/4/15   photo courtesy of Authors   © Building What Matters 2015

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I guess my journey over the last few years has taught me that we miss out on a lot of opportunities and lessons simply because we don’t take the time to look around and really see what’s going on.  It’s amazing what you can learn when you start looking!

My brother-in-law, Scott, suggested that he and his son Sam and me and my son Scott go hit a bucket of balls at the local golf course.  Spring seems to finally be showing up and it sounded like a great idea.

We picked up our buckets from the clubhouse, filled them up and headed over to the driving range.  I have a set of clubs and have been playing golf on and off since High School but the lack of consistent play pretty much leaves me reinventing my game on an annual basis.

As I watched the others hit and began hitting my own bucket, I actually tried to focus on my swing and then it struck me that golf is a lot like most of the challenges we have in life.  I may lose some of you here, but golf is only a game, really, it is.  Some of us just take it more serious than others.

What I found interesting is that we can use some of the same principles in improving our golf game as we can in improving our life and here are four of them:

WHAT DO I NEED TO START?

Well, if I want to improve my golf game, I better start playing more consistently.  Dusting off the clubs two of three times a year does not a golfer make.

If I want to improve my life, I need to follow through more consistently and I’m not referring to my golf swing.

WHAT DO I NEED TO STOP?

Several years of slicing and hooking have centered my focus on trying to figure out what I’m doing wrong.  I should be focusing on what I need to do right.

In life, I need to move away from deficit based thinking and focus on the assets I have instead of the deficiencies.  Making what I already do right better, will eliminate the bad stuff without even thinking about it.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO LESS OF?

Like many golfers, I spend way to much time thinking about the next swing.  Too many moving parts and too many options.  Limit the things to work on to one or two and take care of them first.

In life, it is no different.  Too many things I want to do, which translates to not doing any of them very well at all.  Less shiny squirrels and less options reduces the noise and clutter and brings clarity to any situation.

WHAT DO I NEED TO DO MORE OF?

Simple – create better habits.  Habits come from repetition.  Driving range, putting green and chipping from the fringe.  Practice, practice and then practice.

Now I realize life is not practice but this I know – the more I do something, the better I will get at it.  This goes for good things and bad.  What do I need to do more of?  The things that really matter.  The things that make a difference.

Look at that – a simple bucket of balls at a golf course and look what I learned from it.  A couple of questions to leave you with …

What opportunities are you currently missing out on in your life because you are simply not taking the time to notice them?  [Tweet This]

Maybe the more important question is what are you going to start, stop, do more of or do less of in order to see them and act on them?

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My role is to provide a path to get there.  In other words, I bring the tool box and we collaboratively figure out which tools to use and how to use them.  Any project will require tools to complete.  So which tools do we need?

A conversation I had recently with a client pushed me to take a look at the toolbox I carry with me and figure out which tools are required for any effort.  A few thoughts crossed my mind.  Do I have the right tools?  Do I have too many tools?  Am I offering the right tools for the project?

After reflecting on this idea for a while, I came to the conclusion that there are 3 tools needed to achieve success in any project we take on.  I am certainly not suggesting that these are the only tools you will need but these 3 tools are the ones you better take out of the toolbox before you even look at the blueprint.

You Can Only Get Here From There!

TOOL 1 – AWARENESS

When I speak to people and ask them about their goals, I get all kinds of responses. Some are simply the “one-liner conceptual type” and others are full of detail and very specific.  I love to follow this up with a question.  Where did you come up with that idea?  This is where it get’s interesting.  “I don’t know, I just think that would be real nice to achieve that.”  Or, “Well I want more than what I have now and that is more.”

Most people set their goals upon only that which they know.  They never even consider that there might be options that they have not even thought about.  That conversation I had allowed that person to enter into the awareness of possibility she had never thought about before.  All it took was a few curious questions she had never asked herself.

Stepping To The Line Of Intention Is Only The Beginning

TOOL 2 – INTENTIONALITY

Nothing happens without setting the intention for it.  Sure, life happens but I’m not talking about life happening to you, I’m talking about “intentionally” happening to life. Peter Drucker said; “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”  (Tweet This / Post to LinkedIn)

Drucker is spot on.  If you want to achieve anything of significance in life, you need to be intentional about it.  Do you think the Seattle Seahawk defense figured because they were the #1 rated defense this year, they could just show up to the Super Bowl and perform?  Not hardly.  I know enough about the game of football to know they were very intentional about everything that happened on the field in New Jersey on Sunday.

Who Are You When Someone Else “Is Watching?”

TOOL 3 – ACCOUNTABILITY

You need the awareness and you need to set the intention but without the tool of accountability you are simply rolling the dice on whether or not you will be successful.  I am not saying you can’t accomplish great things on your own but let’s be real.  If you could do it on your own, it would already be done and it wouldn’t be on your list anymore.  Make sense?

The simple fact is we perform better when someone else is watching.  If they are going to watch, they might as well call us out when we need it.  Quit fooling yourself by saying “this time will be different.”  The only way it will be different is if you make it different.

So I have a little different type of challenge for you today.  Think about these 3 tools and then think about someone that you know that carries these with them.  Go talk to that person and ask them how they use those tools to find success in their endeavors.  You never know, they just might make a pretty good accountability partner as well!

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In my new book coming out later this spring, Leadership by Invitation, I explore the concept of answering the call to lead.  What will it take to answer that invitation?  A new commitment to investing in yourself and in others to create the impact and influence needed to lead.

So if we need to make new investments, we need to be prepared to make the necessary deposits that will result in a positive return on that investment.  As I was balancing the checkbook the other day it struck me that our Leadership balance sheet is much a checkbook.  You make deposits and you make withdrawals and what you have to work with is represented on the bottom line.

Credit Cards Don’t Work When It Comes To Leadership

I know you understand that if you want to take a withdrawal, at some point in time, you needed to make a deposit in order to make that withdrawal.  Let’s take a look at a few things that leaders need to keep in balance to lead.

Look, the day is going to come, if it hasn’t already, that you need to make a withdrawal from your leadership bank and if you don’t have the funds to cash that check, you will lose the opportunity to make a difference is someone else’s life.  Credit cards don’t work when it comes to leadership and we can’t ask life to take a time out until we build back up our account.

I have heard more than once that if you want to see where someone is committed, look at their calendar and look at their checkbook.  Those two things will show you where you deposits are being made.  The question is whether or not they are in something that will allow you to make a withdrawal down the road.

Life Has No “Time Back” Guarantee!

TIME

If there is never enough time, and there never is, how can we expect to make the necessary withdrawals to invest time in others.  Leadership is influence, right?  Most leaders are consumed by the needs of the people they lead.  It’s not intentionally set up that way, but those in authority, the leaders, are typically expected to solve the problems.

So how does a leader make those time deposits?  They can start by EMPOWERING others to make their own decisions.  Part of being a leader is casting vision, and communicating that vision will allow others to understand the desired outcome and make decisions, on their own or within their team, that will produce that same outcome.

Another great way is to DELEGATE.  I love what my mentor John Maxwell told me.  If someone else can do something 80% as well as you, let them do it.  You don’t have to do it all yourself!

You Can Wear Your Running Shoes In The Boardroom

HEALTH

Most of us live in a culture that is simply moving faster than we like.  If you want to live in the age of technology, you need to be prepared to move at light speed like the rest of the world.

I love the quote “Lead, follow, or get left behind.”  If we don’t take the lead on leading ourselves to take the necessary steps to show up with physical energy, mental clarity and emotional stability, (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn) how can we be expected to instill that in others?

As a leader, what deposits are you making to allow for those withdrawals?  Are your eating, exercising and sleeping habits providing the deposits necessary for you to make those withdrawals when a twelve hour day is needed?  I have said it before.  The toughest person to lead is me.

What Is Your Disaster Management Plan?

We are usually last on the list and leaders, by nature, put others first.  This is a formula for disaster.  Look at the most successful leaders.  They show up with energy, clarity and for the most part physically fit.  Any clues to be found there?  Do you think they are making the right deposits?

I have heard more than once that if you want to see where someone is committed, take a look at their calendar and their checkbook.  That’s my challenge for you today.  Take a look at those two things and see what they are producing for your bottom line.

That leads to an related question of great importance.  What adjustment do you need to make today to build up equity in your Leadership Balance Sheet?

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Barry Smith    1/24/14   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2014

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“The graveyard is the richest place on earth, because it is here that you will find all the hopes and dreams that were never fulfilled, the books that were never written, the songs that were never sung, the inventions that were never shared, the cures that were never discovered, all because someone was too afraid to take that first step, keep with the problem, or determined to carry out their dream.”  

So how about it?  If the bell rang for you tomorrow, what would you take with you? Seriously – does this hit home for you at all? Back in February of 2012, I was at a John Maxwell event and John introduced his father Melvin to the stage and said this; “I want to introduce you to the most important man to me here on earth, some time ago my father decided he was going to live until he died.”

I’m Gonna Live Until I Die

Well at 80+ years of age, Melvin Maxwell showed us what it meant to live as he ignited the crowd of over 500 with the energy and enthusiasm rarely displayed by men half his age.  That experience challenged me to take a hard look at what I was doing in my own life.

I can honestly say that at the time, I was not living, I was merely existing.  Can anyone relate to that?  I changed a lot of things in my life after that day.  I was determined that I would live until I died.  I was no longer going to let life happen to me, I was going to start to happen to life.

I made the decision to start chasing after my dreams.  To believe that I could accomplish things that I had never done before – many that I had not even thought about trying.  A new identity built around who I was instead of what I did.  A new job that got me up in the morning instead of keeping me up at night.  I was achieving my dreams!

Defining Moment In A Foreign Country

Last June, I was part of a team that impacted the Country of Guatemala.  I found out what it’s like to feel like you’ve never felt before, doing something you’ve never done before, in a place you’ve never been before, with people you’ve never met before. The three greatest defining moments in my life were the day I said “I do” and the two times I heard “It’s a boy.”  The fourth came in Guatemala City on June 15th, 2013, when I discovered my purpose and clarified my mission to leave nothing behind.

I have an author page on Amazon and later this spring I will publish my first book.  I collaborate everyday with like-minded leaders all over the world.  I am making a difference in the lives of others that want to achieve the same thing.  This is the 250th blog post by someone who barely made it out of English class.

Getting Outside My Comfort Zone

I don’t say any of these things to impress you.  Trust me, I had many people pushing and pulling me along the way.  I do say them to impress upon you that there is no reason you can’t do the same.  I would not been able to achieve any of these things if I was not willing to stretch outside my comfort zone and do what I never thought possible, heck, I didn’t even think about them period!

So that is my challenge for you today.  Start removing the limits you have put on yourself.  Start believing that the impossible is possible and that the only thing holding you back is the fear of taking that first step – just like Les said.

Whoever said “You can’t take it with you” was wrong. (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)

There are all kinds of things you can take with you – the question is WILL YOU?

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If that’s not enough, check out this thought provoking video ==>

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Barry Smith    1/17/14   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2014

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If you are still on track with your goals – good on you.  That being said, it takes about 30 days to start a new habit or become consistent in the transformation you are seeking.  It will probably get a little tougher before it get’s easier.

I don’t want to jinx the future, but I believe this post will help you through the tough times as you take on these new challenges.  One of my mentors taught me that failure won’t ruin you, it will reveal you.  What does that mean?  What I believe it means is that as you begin to slip from your commitment to heading to the gym, writing 500 words a day or whatever else it might be, challenge yourself to understand what is being revealed in that failure.

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Learn!

Remember what John Maxwell says; “Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.” You see, failure won’t ruin you.  You have attempted many goals in the past and like all of us, have failed almost as many times.  That doesn’t have to be the end.  But here is the deal – you won’t achieve every goal you set out to.  Sorry – simply speaking the truth here.  I am more concerned with why we fail.  More specifically – what is revealed in the process.

It has been said that; “When you have a strong enough WHY, the how will take care of itself.”  (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)

So put your why to the test.  When you fall short you have two choices.  You can look at it as failure or you can see what is revealed during the process.

Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan!

Maybe your why is strong enough, but you have failed to set yourself up for success and left out a key ingredient to success.  Maybe the environment you are in is not conducive to your success.  Achieving goals is much more than simply the desire to change or start something new.  You need a game plan – and one that will work.

I think the biggest reason people don’t achieve their goals is because they don’t put enough thought into the way to achieve the goal.  They simply write down on a piece of paper what they want to achieve, tape it to the refrigerator and hope that looking at it a few times a day will give them the motivation they need to achieve it.

The Fifteen Minute Miracle

I know many of you are killing it so far.  On track and feeling strong.  Some of you may be struggling or have already given up on one or more of the goals you set for 2014. There is nothing wrong with the idea of “don’t fix it if it’s not broke” but if there is an opportunity to get better, why not consider it?  Don’t give up!  There is still time to get back on track – maybe all you need is a little more clarity and a slight course correction.

15 Minute Miracle

I lead a group of new members to the John Maxwell Team through a 90 Day Success Roadmap and one of the resources we use is called the 15 Minute Miracle.  This very simple and highly powerful tool almost guarantees success – if you use it right – and will make you much more productive immediately.

All you have to do is break down your day into 15 minute increments.  What?  That’s it?  Yes!  I know what you’re thinking … it can’t be that easy.  Well it’s not – it’s not because you have to actually do it and do it consistently. Give it a shot and tell me I’m wrong.

A simple but very important question for you today.  Have you created the right plan to achieve your goals?  Remember – set yourself up for success!  When you face failure, ask yourself what is being revealed – what has contributed to the failure and how can I change it.
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One of the great things about being a coach is that you get to collaborate with other coaches and mentors on a regular basis.  Honestly, I think having a coach or mentor – someone to hold you accountable – is the best way to achieve any goal.  Speaking from personal experience I can say that my results increase dramatically when I have someone holding me accountable to doing what I say I am going to do.

One of my mentors, Kary Oberbrunner, recently posted this on his Day Job to Dream Job blog:

The purpose of your dream is not in achieving the dream itself, but rather the person you become in the process of achieving it.

I think I heard something like this before but it clearly did not stick.  This time it did.  I get this now.  It makes so much sense.  It’s really no different for goals.  When the goal is the goal, the focus is on the destination.  When the goal is about changing who you are, the goal becomes the bi-product of the transformation you go through.

I Don’t Want To Be What I Used To Be!

Maybe it’s the transformation that I have gone through over the past few years in my own life that has brought clarity to this concept.  But now that I understand it, everything I do has more meaning.  And not just to me, but to those around me as well.

In Guatemala last June, John Maxwell told me that; “Once you get a taste of significance, you will never settle for success.” (Tweet This / Share on Facebook / Post to LinkedIn)  Think about that one for a minute!

OK, so why does any of this matter?  If you remember from an earlier post, I mentioned that today in National Quit Day.  The average day that most people give up on their New Year’s Resolutions.  Do you possibly think that the reason they give up is because they are focused on the destination and let’s be honest, how much change can possibly take place in ten days?

I Want To Be Who I Am Going To Be!

OK – Problem identified.  Now let’s get to the solution.  Here is my advice.  The next time you set a goal, use the one you set ten days ago if you want, spend some additional time writing down (YES, I SAID WRITING DOWN) the person you hope to become in achieving that goal.

We are ten days into 2014 and I will go out on a limb here and assume that most of you have made some type of list of the things you want to achieve this year.  My guess is very few of you have written down who you would like to become this year.

I Can’t Find The Easy Button

Are you going to measure the success of this year by how well you achieve your goals? What if you fail?  What if life happens and you simply can’t attain your goals because of your circumstances?

Here is the good news about focusing on the journey instead of the destination. Setting out to change yourself does not really have much to do with achieving the goal. We can learn through adversity and we can change during the difficult times.  We can grow every day in any situation.  It doesn’t matter what life throws at us.

“That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzsche may give the best goal setting advice there is.  The problem is that most people don’t get stronger.  They give up or simply change direction because “it makes more sense.”  

As far as I am concerned, this may be the most important question I ask this year. “Who do you want to become?”  How about a bonus question to celebrate National Quit Day?  “What will you do to become that person?”

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I have had my share of challenges just like everyone else, but for the most part, things have worked out for me and I never had to discipline myself to achieve some major goal or overcome a significant challenge.  To be honest, I think this has hurt me more than help me.  I think a lot can be learned from being disciplined to do something consistently and once completed, I think it empowers you to achieve even more.

The last few years I have had high expectations of myself and have set many goals. Many I achieved and some I did not.  Why did I fail in some areas?  I think I can point to one common theme – Discipline.

Now I’m a pretty smart guy (most of the time) and it didn’t take me too long to realize that if I am going to accomplish the goals I set for myself, I need discipline.  So I did the smart thing – I asked for some help.  I now have a few people holding me accountable to be disciplined.  End of story – mission accomplished – right?

Well sort of.  This is where I think I have been messed up in my thinking.  I know other people that are disciplined.  They run so many miles a week.  They go to the gym so many days a week and so on.  We all know these people.  They seem to accomplish whatever they set out to do.  What makes the difference?  How come they get it done consistently?

Well here is what I think.  They get it done consistently because they START consistently.  Starting is the key to finishing.  Here are some helpful ways to get you started.

STORY – If you are attempting to be disciplined, there is a story behind why you are doing it.  What is your story?  Are you clear on the reasons you are attempting to start, stop, do more or do less of something?  A strong story will provide the strength to succeed.

TELL SOMEONE – I mentioned it earlier, have someone hold you accountable.  Make sure they know exactly what it is that you are trying to accomplish.  No one can do as much by themselves as they can with the help of others.

ACTION – Actually doing the work is what will accomplish the goal.  Starting is the first step to finishing and starting takes action.  Wanting to do something is great, but that intention, by itself will accomplish nothing.

RISK – Let’s spin it a little bit.  We usually look at doing something new based on what it will add to our lives.  How often do you evaluate the risk of not doing something?  Sometimes the real risk is in deciding to do nothing at all.

TIME MANAGEMENT – What is the best way to start something?  Get it on your calendar.  This has been the best tool I have found to help me reach my goals.  My calendar does half the work for me.

So back to the question posed in the title of this post.  Is discipline the hard part or the easy part?  In my opinion, it is the hard part.  Doing the work is really pretty easy once you start.  When was the last time you gt in your car to go to the gym and turned around half way to go back home?  When was the last time you went for a walk and turned around at the end of your driveway?

A month from now, everyone will be talking about New Year’s Resolutions.  My challenge for you today – START NOW!  Unless of course, you can tell me why January 1st is a better day than today to start doing something you need to do now.

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That is exactly the point.  If you don’t know what I mean, then you have missed the entire point.  Look at the successful people that you know.  How bad did they want it?  If you don’t know, ask them.  When I say success, I don’t necessarily mean financial success.  It could be anything – but that anything is going to be the thing that they really wanted, that they wanted bad enough.

I have been able to talk with a lot of people over the last few years.  Many very successful and many still looking.  I believe the difference is in being clear on what they want, not how hard they are willing to work.  I know numerous people that work very hard and are not even close to having what they want.  So what is the difference?

When I was younger and our boys were growing up, I knew exactly what I wanted.  I wanted to provide for my family and provide for all their needs and even mix in a few “wants” to provide some added stability and security.  Then something happened.

Our oldest headed off to college and my wife, a career stay at home mom to that point, started a career as a real estate broker.  Over the next few years, with the added income and the empty nest  soon to be upon us, I started to lose the why behind what I was doing.  I started losing focus on what I really wanted.

Most of you know this part of this story.  I started a new career as a coach, speaker and trainer.  As I created this new identity and crafted the trade, I began to once again, find the driving force, the reason to persevere to make it in this new world.  Now that I am fully engaged in this new profession and have added the label author to the mix as well, I once again can honestly say that I have the drive to do whatever it takes to reach my goals.

It has not been easy and it has taken time to complete the transformation, but now I see how the ability to persevere through the difficult times is really the one thing that will empower you to get there.

So what does all this mean?  Simple, now that I have learned from the heartache and the struggle.  Being clear on your why, will provide a way.  It is crystal clear to me when I examine those individuals I would consider “successful.”  If you don’t believe me, take a look around.

I spent too many years “in-between” and quite honestly, I never even knew it. Hindsight is 20/20 but I don’t want you to have to learn the hard way like I did.  So a few questions and a challenge and these ones really count.

What do you really want in life?  And why do you want it?  Be careful how you answer that second question – remember what I said earlier – a strong enough why will produce a way [tweet this].  Another way to look at it courtesy of John Maxwell; “If you have lost your why, you will lose your way.”  So here is the challenge; take some time and figure out the answer to those questions and put it to the test.  If you are not finding the success you are looking for, you may not have a strong enough why to persevere through the difficult times.

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Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”

Click here to listen to the encore presentation as John Maxwell shares how to “Influence through Connecting”

Don’t miss a single post from Building What Matters by subscribing at the top left of this page. 

Help support us by clicking here and Liking our facebook page

Barry Smith   11/16/13   photo by author   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Perseverance Pays Off – When You Know What You Want! appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.

Kaye and Giulioni are the first authors that I have seen write completely from the “coaching” perspective.  The coaching philosophy I believe in suggests that results are brought about by answering the curious question.  This book is full of questions, and excellent questions at that.

Kaye and Giulioni do an outstanding job of mixing quotes, questions and action items to provide a must read for any leader or manager.  Below is a quick summary of the nine chapters that paint a beautiful picture of what your employees are really thinking.

1.  Develop Me or I’m History

Whether they have the awareness or not, employees want to know what is next, more specifically, what is next for them.  The simple fact is that without a way to grow, they will be unable to grow.  Remaining in the same place, doing the same thing, with the same skills is not sustainable.

2.  Can We Talk?

How often do you check in with your employees?  No, I am not talking about saying hello and goodbye at either end of each day, I am talking about really checking in.  How are they doing?  What is going well?  What needs improvement?  Taking the time to sit down with the people that are generating your income tells them they are important and they are valued and that you care about their future.

3.  Let Hindsight Light the Way

Looking back and evaluating what worked and what didn’t allows your employees to gain the clarity and focus needed to move forward in a positive way.  This type of analysis allows them to use the past to build their future and remember, help them grow or watch them go!

4.  Feed Me

I love this one.  Employees want feedback.  Why? Because it tells them if they are meeting up to expectations.  I don’t know how many times I have heard “If only someone would have told me where I was falling short, then I could have done something about it.”

5.  What’s Happening?

There is nothing more frustrating than feeling left in the dark.  As an owner or employer, you don’t have to tell them everything, but how about enough to keep them engaged.  Enough to keep them interested.  Do they even know what they are working towards.  Give them some ownership and watch them take a little more pride in what they produce.

6.  If Not Up … Then What?

It used to be that everyone thought the road to success was a vertical climb.  Not so much anymore.  Employees are more willing, in fact I believe more wanting, of a balanced career. One that gives them time for their family and personal interests.  If more pay comes with more time commitment and stress, you might rethink the job description.

7.  Same Seat, New View

If someone has mastered their role, you don’t have to send them up the ladder.  They may already be in their sweet spot.  But don’t assume this will last forever.  Allow them to be creative in their role.  Give them more responsibility to use their gifts and talents.  This will keep their job fresh and interesting.

8.  Advancing Action

This is a big one.  As the “boss,” your responsibility is to give the employee a way to grow.  It will be their responsibility to do something about it, but you need to create the opportunity. Set a clear course for them moving forward and watch them navigate it successfully.

9.  Grow with the Flow

Keep growth in the forefront.  Providing a plan and then following up six months later is simply rolling the dice.  Keep in constant contact, even if for only a few minutes.  This is a way to keep everything in check and provide an opportunity to change course if needed.

As the authors put it; “Grow for it!”  Simply put, career development in important. Continual communication and opportunities will result in continual growth and continual success.

A couple of questions for you today.  “Have you achieved everything you want for yourself and those working for you?  Maybe the more important question is; “What are you doing about it?”

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Click here to get a copy of my Kindle Book “The Manifesto Of An Influential Leader”

Click here to listen to the encore presentation as John Maxwell shares how to “Influence through Connecting”

Don’t miss a single post from Building What Matters by subscribing at the top left of this page. 

Help support us by clicking here and Liking our facebook page

Barry Smith   11/14/13   photo courtesy of Amazon   © Building What Matters 2013

The post Help Them Grow, Or Watch Them Go – What People Really Want appeared first on BUILDING WHAT MATTERS.COM.