Lolly Daskal's Blog, page 126

We’ve all heard it—a leader says I was unaware, that illegal practices were going on. I had no indication that misconduct was happening. I had no clue that certain decisions were being made.

And the questions always follow: How does a top leader not know what is going on in their company? How does a top leader not know about the day-to-day decisions?

It happens, and it happens more often then we would like it to.

And there is this reality: It is impossible for a top executive to know everything that is going on in their company at all times. In the ideal world it would be great, but in the real world it doesn’t happen. And, to be honest, it is not the top executive’s job to be involved in every detail of the business. Those who do are considered micromanagers and control freaks.

But there’s a different level of that reality as well, one based in the highest responsibilities of leadership.

A leader is responsible for what is right and what is wrong. Great leaders inform their organizations by mapping out values and measuring alignment with those values. The organizational values must be viewed as immutable. And the leader must walk the talk by embracing and living out those values.

A leader is accountable for what we tolerate what we won’t tolerate. Great leaders monitor how well their organization is embracing the values and principles, and they make it clear that deviating from the values will not be tolerated. The next time you’re faced with a choice, do the right thing. It hurts everyone less in the long run and it will gain you trust until the end of time.

A leader is answerable for what we stand for and what we don’t stand for. In everything that is discussed and produced, great leaders convey the message of their values and principles. They have a resounding echo throughout the organization

A leader is responsible for how we behave and how we don’t behave. Great leaders understand that the people make the place and that values shape behavior. A values-driven person, drives the work they do. is always trusted.

It is not good enough that your organization has a great strategy.

It is not good enough that your strategy is going to get you results.

Your strategy and leadership need to all be based on values with the expectation that everyone, top to bottom, will adhere to those values.

If you want to be trusted in the world of globalization, where everything you do is seen and everything you think is heard, erecting walls and saying, “Sorry, I just didn’t know”—this is not going to work anymore.

Leadership should be dedicated to living and leading lives to a more trusted culture.

Lead From Within: As the leader, if you want your company to be trusted, break down the walls and erect a foundation of values and principles that everyone from top to bottom knows and the rest of the world sees and feels. Because living and leading by values is the foundation of trust.

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In the words of Napoleon Hill, it is not what you are going to do but what you are doing today that counts.

You can learn everything you need to learn in order to achieve anything, but you can never change your leadership until you change your rituals.

Rituals can strengthen and spotlight the values, intentions, and experiences you have chosen to live by; they and can be useful when we are trying to figure out what is important.

Here are some things that great leaders are doing wholeheartedly to make each day count.

Ritual of READING:  Books are the understated and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of mentors, and the most patient of teachers. Become an avid reader; invest your time by reading something educational, inspirational, or motivational.

Ritual of LISTENING:  Leaders know that time is precious. Give yourself the advantage of learning something new by listening to audio programs—and repeat them until you have digested the information. Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply. Learn something by listening.

Ritual of MENTORSHIP:  One of the greatest things we can do for ourselves is to learn from a mentors.  A mentor isn’t someone who lectures, but someone who inspires you to give the best in order to discover what you already know. Find a mentor, grasp what they have done, copy what they do, and then learn how to improve upon it.

Ritual of FEEDBACK: Leaders embrace feedback both negative and positive. Find someone who knows you well and ask them for feedback. Don’t justify or argue but listen and evaluate the feedback carefully, especially when it gets hard to swallow or accept. Use all feedback to learn.

Ritual of ASKING:  As leaders, in order to grow, we must be willing to ask for help—whether it’s assistance with a short-term situations or identifying and correcting a bad patterns. The more that we ask, the more things we will know. The more that we learn, the more we will grow.

Ritual of JOURNALING:  Many of the best leaders keep a journal and develop a daily habit of journaling. It’s an excellent way to measure your growth and progress, which is sometimes hard to grasp in the day-to-day perspective. Journaling helps us to see clearer, to remember more, and to see what counts.

Ritual Of IMPROVEMENT:   The best leaders dedicate themselves to constant growth. They commit to finding small ways to improve, every day, all the time. No matter how good you get you can always get better, and that’s the exciting part.

Rituals can be transformative. The amalgamation of setting an intention, heightens our focus, elevates our emotional involvement, and embodies our participation in effecting our lives and leading.

Make a better tomorrow, by making each day count.

Lead From Within: When you become a little bit better each day when you make learning a constant ritual. The best leaders are constantly improving, learning, growing and developing.

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a coaching and consultant firm that manages large scale corporate coaching and custom made leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

© 2014 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

Photographer Joel Robison

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Each one of us has 24 hours to our day, 18,400 unique minutes. How we master our time makes a big difference.

Time management is an art. It involves efficiency and productivity with a focus on our goals.

It is not about filling every moment with busy work, but rather organizing our time around what is important.

Successful leaders master their time from inside out:

Value time: Time is precious for each of us and it is a valuable resource.We should not spend it unwisely or give it away. Leaders who are masters of time know when to put a stop to activities that do not contribute to their purpose.

The word NO can sometimes be the greatest time management tool of all.

Plan time: Planning for how to spend your time enables you to work far more efficiently than figuring it out as you go. What is planned happens, because planning leads to action.

Prioritize time:  To master time management is to set priorities among your goals. There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do what is important.

Delegation time: To make the most of the precious resource of your time, learn to delegate. Hire others to do the work so you can have more time to work on what is valuable to you. Give less important tasks to others. Don’t spend time on unimportant tasks and then wait for the important ones to get done. They won’t.

Simplify time: Work on one task at a time. Do not start another task until the one you are working on is completed. Sustainable success and high productivity require concentrated effort. Be focused, and in return you will end up being productive.

Unblock time: Where are you limiting yourself from reaching your goals? Find out what may be within yourself that’s blocking you and eliminate it immediately. Get rid of any behaviors or thoughts that are self-sabotaging.

Spend time in reflection: Everything you do, everything you want to achieve, is the result of time spent in reflection. Evaluating your goals is as important as achieving your goals. The biggest time waster is not spending the time to focus on what is important. By applying your thinking and listening to your heart, you can make decisions on the most valued tasks that need to be accomplished.

Be conscious of time: The more you pay attention to how you are using your time, the more efficient you can become. Create a diary of your activities to see where you are wasteful and where you are productive, and learn how to optimize your time based on those patterns

Mastering time doesn’t start with an outer action, but with a vision of symmetry that is set up from within.

Lead From Within:  Time is the most valuable thing that a person can spend. Spend it wisely and master it from within.

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a coaching and consultant firm that manages large scale corporate coaching and custom made leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

© 2014 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

The post Master Time Management From Inside Out appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

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Each one of us has 24 hours to our day, 18,400 unique minutes. How we master our time makes a big difference.

Time management is an art. It involves efficiency and productivity with a focus on our goals.

It is not about filling every moment with busy work, but rather organizing our time around what is important.

Successful leaders master their time from inside out:

Value time: Time is precious for each of us and it is a valuable resource. We should not spend it unwisely or give it away. Leaders who are masters of time know when to put a stop to activities that do not contribute to their purpose.

The word NO can sometimes be the greatest time management tool of all.

Plan time: Planning for how to spend your time enables you to work far more efficiently than figuring it out as you go. What is planned happens, because planning leads to action.

Prioritize time:  To master time management is to set priorities among your goals. There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do what is important.

Leadership Tool: Follow the ABCDE to success:Categorize each task by putting an letter next to it:A is must do, reserved for very important tasks with serious consequencesB is should do, less important tasks with only mild consequences.

C is could do. These task are optional and could be nice to do, but have no consequences.

D is for delegate. Delegation conserves your precious time to tackle your A list.

E is for eliminate. These low-priority tasks make little or no difference at all. Simply remove them from your list.

To set meaningful priorities you must also eliminate tasks that are no longer important.

Never do C before you do A or B task. Or B before A task.

Delegation time: To make the most of the precious resource of your time, learn to delegate. Hire others to do the work so you can have more time to work on what is valuable to you. Give less important tasks to others. Don’t spend time on unimportant tasks and then wait for the important ones to get done. They won’t.

Simplify time: Work on one task at a time. Do not start another task until the one you are working on is completed. Sustainable success and high productivity require concentrated effort. Be focused, and in return you will end up being productive.

Unblock time: Where are you limiting yourself from reaching your goals? Find out what may be within yourself that’s blocking you and eliminate it immediately. Get rid of any behaviors or thoughts that are self-sabotaging.

Spend time in reflection: Everything you do, everything you want to achieve, is the result of time spent in reflection. Evaluating your goals is as important as achieving your goals. The biggest time waster is not spending the time to focus on what is important. By applying your thinking and listening to your heart, you can make decisions on the most valued tasks that need to be accomplished.

Be conscious of time: The more you pay attention to how you are using your time, the more efficient you can become. Create a diary of your activities to see where you are wasteful and where you are productive, and learn how to optimize your time based on those patterns

Mastering time doesn’t start with an outer action, but with a vision of symmetry that is set up from within.

Lead From Within:  Time is the most valuable thing that a person can spend. Spend it wisely and master it from within.

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a coaching and consultant firm that manages large scale corporate coaching and custom made leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

© 2014 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

The post Master Time Management From Inside Out appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

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Two boys dove into a lake one day, challenging each other to swim across, a distance of about two miles.

They swam with a strong and steady stroke, and the lead swimmer, not looking back, continued swimming on toward the other shore.

When he emerged on the shore after completing his swim, he looked back to see that his friend was nowhere near.

 When they met back up, he asked, “How was it that you did not follow me across?”

The boy who turned back said, “Oh, after I got about halfway out, I looked back and saw how far I had come, and I was afraid I could not make it, so I turned back.”

“But,” said the boy who swam across couldn’t you see that it was just as hard to turn back to safety as it was to continue swimming to your goal?”

One of the biggest obstacles to reaching our goals is fear.

Fear is an emotion that overrides our intelligence.

 

It stops us from moving toward our goals, and it plays havoc with our quality of life.

People often fail to recognize the impact of fear—sometimes because we don’t even use the word. Instead we talk about things like worry, nervousness, stress, shyness, or anxiety.

But the only way to diminish fear is to conquer it.

Develop self-confidence: Self-confidence is not absence of fear but the mastery of fear. The key is to know it is a state of mind you can create anytime you want, no matter what the circumstances.

Master motivation: Motivation is a vital component of reaching any goal. Since most goals tend to involve pushing through short-term pain to achieve a long-term gain, staying connected to your motivation keeps you on the path to success. Goals themselves are highly motivating, but to get even greater leverage you need to keep that motivation up front in your mind.

Proceed past procrastination: When you procrastinate, you’re waiting for the right time, the right place, the right person— external things you can never count on. When you find yourself becoming paralyzed by inaction, learn to power through. Start with small tasks to build momentum and move past the obstacle of procrastination.

Build self-discipline: To achieve a goal, you must be willing to do what you know you should do when you should do it, whether you like or not.  Underlining all great achievements is the quality of self-discipline. It is the ability to delay short-term gratification to enjoy even greater rewards in the long term.

Carry out commitment: One of the fastest ways to move past fear is to commit to what you are doing. When you commit, you’re putting your integrity on the line, making yourself accountable to do what you say you will do. If you need help, enlist support to keep yourself accountable.

Conquer your fears and achieve your goals.

 

 

When you realize that you have come just so far and then you find yourself tempted to turn back instead of moving forward because of worry, anxiety, or fear, conquer your fear and enhance your motivation and self-discipline, block procrastination, and carry out your commitment.

Lead From Within: Self-awareness can be life-changing, and doing what you need to do to reach your goals is transforms leadership. Keep swimming in the direction of achievement.

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a coaching and consultant firm that manages large scale corporate coaching and custom made leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

© 2014 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

 

The post Conquer Your Fears To Achieve Your Goals appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

A world-famous violinist once said after a successful performance of Beethoven’s violin concerto: “I have a beautiful score, a lovely violin, and a very good bow. When I put these three together I only need to step aside.”

In leadership, when you have a great mission, great purpose, and a great team, all you have to do is step aside and then watch others take the lead.

No longer are we looking for those who lead us with control and manipulation.

No longer are we looking toward business to be produced, powered, and possessed.

The world has changed, and with it our expectations of ourselves has too.

We are looking for purpose and meaning. We want to be valued and to be appreciated for our gifts.  People expect to have an opportunity to allow their talents to play a part of the bigger picture. We want to be associated with something beyond ourselves. And we want to play their part.

We are drivers of innovation. There are brilliant innovators and solitary geniuses. But most of us must allow for innovation and creativity to collaborate, to make it a collective process. Innovation must be about involving others, playing to their strengths, and showcasing their talent. Sustainable innovation comes about when everyone has an opportunity to contribute their slice of genius.

We are leaders who encourage a sense of community. It is great to be able to orchestrate, but it’s better when we allow all the talent, all the gifts, all the skills, to come together within a community. We need everyone in the collective to make it happen—the vision makers, the talent takers, the skill setters—to come together as a community and use their gifts as a collective.

When we step aside to allow innovation and creativity to emerge, we are not abrogating our leadership responsibilities or turning our backs on our business acumen.

What we are really doing is simply becoming the musicians we are meant to be—the leaders we know we are, building businesses into what we know they can become.

Be known as the leader who is the gatherer of collective talent, with the collective genius to make the right thing happen.

Lead from within: Those leaders who become the musicians of their business are most likely to be different. They are willing to believe in others, they are willing to step aside- so that other can take the lead.

And so I ask you as a leader: Are you stepping aside to make beautiful music?

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a coaching and consultant firm that manages large scale corporate coaching and custom made leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

© 2014 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

 

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The deal closed after months and months of negotiations. Everyone was exhausted and beyond relieved. It would not only bring in a large amount of revenue in the business, but it would prevent any more layoffs.

As everyone walked out of the room, he yelled out, “Great Job, job well done! Could not have done it without you.”

As the door closed, I couldn’t help thinking What the hell was that?

It was intended as a compliment, I’m sure, but I’m equally sure that as everyone walked out of the room they felt nothing.

It was just a bunch of words that created a sentence that said great work!

I believe that all of us have a deep craving to be appreciated. And we all desire to be significant, and to know that our contributions matter.

And the compliment those people heard was not working for his leadership. As his coach, I knew I would be directing him toward a new path of learning.

There are two kinds of leaders:

Those who withhold gratitude, which we know is not good.

And then there are those who say “Thank you! Great job! Way to go! We did it!!”

But the truth those words leave the person or people receiving the complete usually hollow.

Don’t get me wrong.

Compliments are nice, but they are fleeting moments where good intentions do not last.

Many of us mistake compliments for gratitude.

So what is the difference?

Compliments create distance. There’s a paradox about compliments. Once bestowed, they often create a separation between the giver and receiver instead of drawing them closer. Giving someone a compliment can create an awkward moment, and often it creates distance between giver and receiver. Sometimes a compliment makes people feel embarrassed.

Gratitude creates a bond. When you are grateful and you make it personal, you create a bond. It lets the other person know that who they are matters, and what they did was significant to you.

People are always happy to hear that what they do has made a difference and has significance.

A compliment is a generic acknowledgment of something tangible—a completed task, a nice haircut, a compelling presentation, or a compassionate gesture.

Gratitude goes beyond the compliment to the intangible—why you are thankful for the completed task or the compelling presentation, the personal effect the tangible act had on you.

People are always glad to have their work acknowledged, but to know that it matters makes it more meaningful.

Compliments lead to mistrust. The recipient may wonder whether it’s sincere or deserved.

Gratitude leads to trust. The recipient knows specifically how their character, their task, made an impression.

People want to trust what you say. Make it personal. Make it true.

Compliments may not land. However well-meaning, the recipient may not feel acknowledgment.

Gratitude lands in the heart. Being grateful gets to the heart of the matter. The recipient knows exactly what they have done and how their role made a difference.

People want to feel connected—not only to you but to what you say.

Learn how to give genuine gratitude and not just simplistic compliments.

 Be the kind of leader who has the courage to show gratitude, and the fearlessness to make it personal.

Everyone likes compliments, but if you want to touch someone’s heart, show them your gratitude.

Lead from within: A leader who leads from within goes beyond the compliment. They make it personal; they make it matter.

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a coaching and consultant firm that manages large scale corporate coaching and custom made leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

 

© 2014 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

The post Stop The Compliments and Show Me Some Gratitude appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

We live much of our lives with society telling us what to do, people telling us how to think, technology and the media telling us what to buy, and the culture telling us all the ways we need to make ourselves better.

The last of our freedoms lies is in the choosing for ourselves who we are in the present moment.

Choice is freedom. It’s about knowing what we excel at, what we are strong at, in what our heart inclines us to, and it leads us to carry those things forward and share them with others—not by compulsion, but by our own inner inclinations.

It’s choice, not chance, that will determine our leadership .

 

Leadership begins with taking response-ability—responding with our abilities and with our choices about how to use those abilities.

It’s our choice to make a difference with our gifts. And that choice is composed of the smaller choices that we make every day.

Choose self.  When we spend time learning, discovering, exploring, engaging in self-development—we are choosing leadership.

Choose purpose. When we align ourselves with our purpose and values so we can be of service—we are choosing leadership.

Choose skills. When we contribute our talents and skills to bring value and support others—we are choosing leadership.

Choose vision. When we articulate a vision and work to get people to move there—we are choosing leadership.

Choose courage. When we look fear in the face and demonstrate courage and tenacity because we believe in the greater good—we are choosing leadership.

Choose results. When we conceptualize solutions—maybe even before others are aware there is a problem—and we are able to articulate an action that needs to be taken—we are choosing leadership.

A leader is not born; a leader makes the conscious decision to lead.

 

 

A life of leadership is not a once-in-a-lifetime decision—it’s one that you make over and over again. It grows out of a simple realization:

Things do not just happen. They are chosen to happen.

 

 

I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime—and by doing so, we make the impact we are meant to make.

 Leaders try to be the best person they can be by making the best choices they can to bring the best of their talents to the service of the world.

Lead from within:  Right now, you have a choice about what you are becoming. Believing in yourself, knowing yourself, wanting to be of service to others, having vision—these things are at the root of all leadership. What will you choose?

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It is Amateur Night at the Harlem Opera House.

A skinny, awkward 16-year-old goes fearfully onstage. She is announced to the crowd: “The next contestant is a young lady named Ella Fitzgerald. Miss Fitzgerald here is going dance for us…Hold it, hold it.”

He bends down to the girl on stage and asks, “Now what’s your problem, honey?”

A moment later he announces, “Correction, folks. Miss Fitzgerald has changed her mind. She’s not gonna dance, she’s gonna sing.”

Ella Fitzgerald gave three encores and won first prize.

She may have thought she was setting out to dance, but clearly she was meant to sing.

When we are called to do what we’re meant to do we become completely possessed.

We cannot postpone, avoid, or dismiss it.

Whatever it is, eventually it will call you out.

It reveals itself in hints, intuition, sudden urges, and oddities.

It disrupts your life. It makes its claim. You can choose to ignore it, but it will not go away.

For centuries we have searched for the right words to speak about this kind of calling. The Romans named it your genius; the Greeks, your daimon; and the Christians your guardian angel.

The Romantics, like Keats, said the call comes from the heart, and Michelangelo’s intuitive eye saw an image in the heart of the person he was sculpting.

To seek out and embrace your calling, think about these questions:

What captives me?

If you want to be someone you’ve never been, you must go do things you’ve never done. What holds your heart captive? What calls your attention? What inspires you? Inspiration is a call to proceed even when you’re uncertain of goals or outcomes. The nature of the things that excite you hold a clue to your ability to pursue them. Anything that truly intrigues you is evidence of your calling.

What do I need to overcome?

Your calling comes not from what you can do, it comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t do.  You don’t become great because of what happens to you but because of how you use those experiences. The most difficult or impossible situations are often the most essential to your calling.

How will I express myself?

We each have a unique way of expressing ourselves. True expression takes courage, and to follow your calling is about giving freedom, not gaining control. Your calling lies within the purpose that draws your heart into courageous expression.

Our lives are bigger than we are; we are here to do small things in great ways.

You don’t have to wait for great opportunities. Seize the common everyday moments and make them part of your purpose.

Each day is another chance to live our calling. It is impossible for anyone else to define you but you.

Lead From Within: Inspiration comes to us in many ways. Listen for the cues, and incorporate them in your daily living and leading.

Lolly Daskal is the president and founder of Lead From Within a coaching and consultant firm that manages large scale corporate coaching and custom made leadership programs. Connect with Lolly Daskal

 

© 2014 Lolly Daskal. All rights reserved.

The post Leadership: Claim Your Calling appeared first on Lolly Daskal.

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He was an elderly man whose face had life written all over it. He sat drinking tea as he reflected on his life:

When I was young, I was full of fire and I wanted to awaken everyone. I prayed for enough strength to change the world.

In midlife, I awoke one day to realize my life was half over and I had changed no one. I prayed for strength to change those close around me,   who so much needed it.

And now, here I am a very old man, and my prayer today is very simple. I pray for the strength to at least change myself

In life we must learn to first assemble the inner, than the outer.

We must first acknowledge the important rather than the insignificant.

We must recognize the great rather then the trivial.

We must first lead ourselves, and then only then we can lead others.

Whether you call it prayer, meditation, or some other name, you can each learn something every day by asking these questions and reflecting on the answers.

Who am I?

Until you identify your authentic self, it is difficult to effectively lead. When you make a conscious commitment to know yourself, develop yourself, learn about yourself, you are allowing yourself to change step by step. Knowing yourself is a process that can only take place internally.

What is my purpose?

There is an amazing sense of empowerment that comes when you identify what you are meant to do. It grows out of learning what matters most to you. Once you have it, it provides direction and focus, it brings clarity, it establishes goals. It helps you achieve results and stay connected to meaningful thought and action.

Who do I want to be?

As Michael Jackson sang, if you want to make this world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change. Who you are going to be is rooted in your talents and skills and fueled by your passion.

The only place you can truly create change is within you.

The essence of leadership is not in telling of others what to do, but in being your best self and inspiring those around you to do the same.

Lead From Within: Most of us want to make the world a better place. To do so, we must start within ourselves, where we are, making one change at a time, and we must not stop reflecting until we are done.

 

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