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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Inspiring & Empowering People

by Rick Baker
On May 3, 2012

If you inspire people, you have the first ingredient for growing profits.

If you do not possess a magnetic personality, you can still inspire people and grow profits. You do that by developing your communication skills. Perhaps, Warren Bennis said it best1

"successful leaders have an extraordinary, though not necessarily charismatic, ability to communicate their vision in a way that allows their people to make it their own and give it personal meaning."

Bennis boiled it down to 4 traits of leadership:

  • Attention - the leader's intentions are clear, strong, and visible...successful leaders exhibit focus
  • Meaning - followers understand and buy into the leader's vision
  • Trust - the leader's actions are consistent with the leader's expressed vision [i.e., Integrity as Spirited Leaders defines it]
  • Self - the leader has high self-regard and high regard for others...errors are seen as mistakes, a necessary opportunity to learn
These 4 traits of leadership empower people by:
  1. making them feel significant,
  2. focusing on their developing competence rather than failure,
  3. creating a shared sense of community, and 
  4. making work exciting and worthy of dedicated commitment.
Making people feel significant: this matches the wisdom of Dale Carnegie who taught - people want to feel important. Stated another way, people want to be recognized in a positive light. And this explains why constructive criticism is an oxymoron. We all know this. We all forget this. Successful leaders forget it much less frequently.
 
Focusing on developing people's competence rather than failure: a great way to do this is to do strength assessments, embrace strengths-based learning, and provide your people strengths-tools

Creating a shared sense of community: community has taken on a whole new meaning with the explosive growth of social media...consider, for example, the impact of Facebook. So, it now takes much more thought and effort to create a meaningful sense of community. Creative thought must be applied. 

Making work exciting and worthy of dedicated commitment: again, the pace of change makes this more complicated. The businesses that figure out and make workplaces more exciting will have a chance to survive. The rest will not.

 

Footnote:

  1. 'The Leader-Manager', (1986), edited by John N. Williamson

Thought Tweet #467

by Rick Baker
On May 1, 2012

Thought Tweet #467 Consequences are the legs that support accountability.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Where consequences do not register, in the end there can be no accountability. Consequences take the form of rewards...either positive or negative. Consequences are the 'effect' half of 'cause & effect'. If we remove the 'effect that follows accountability' then we also remove the accountability.

Better carrots than sticks; better sticks than nothing.

Tags:

Beyond Business | Change: Creating Positive Change | Thought Tweets

Thought Tweet #465

by Rick Baker
On Apr 27, 2012

Thought Tweet #465 High self-esteem increases one's appetite for risk; appetite stimulates initiative.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

If we work at maintaining high-enough-but-not-excessive self-esteem then we automatically build personal initiative. We also automatically gain more appetite for risk...and comfort with change. That's one little explanation of why it is important to have Thick Skin.

Thought Tweet #460

by Rick Baker
On Apr 20, 2012

Thought Tweet #460 Gather specks of agreement...make a molehill and use it to construct a mountain of agreement.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Constructive criticism is an oxymoron. Rather than be critical of other folks...focus on the areas of agreement. Build on those areas. Help people feel comfortable. Change is only constructive when people are comfortable

Thought Tweet #459

by Rick Baker
On Apr 19, 2012

Thought Tweet #459 If you are not ready to change then don't waste energy complaining.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

If you are ready to change then perhaps complaining does some good: it could help you clarify the nature of the change you need to make; it could generate some constructive feedback to help you plan your change...etc.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Change: Creating Positive Change | Thought Tweets

The Big Value in Small Change

by Rick Baker
On Apr 19, 2012

Have you ever dreamed about an ideal business...your ideal business?

If you could call upon that Genie in a bottle and be granted the business-wish of your dreams, what would it be?

What would your ideal business be like?

What would you be doing?

Who would be working with you?

What would they be doing?

Now, unfortunately, if you are like the rest of us, there is no Genie so wishing will accomplish nothing.

If your dream about your ideal business is to come true then you will have to do a gap analysis of some sort to figure out how much must be accomplished to get from here to there. You will have to think. You will have to act. You will have to persuade other people, your followers, to do the same.

If you expend the energy to think, act, and persuade then you have a chance to build your ideal business.

You will build your ideal business through a series of small changes.

Do not allow others to distract or dissuade you by arguing about the reasons for or the value in a small change.

You know it...as you build your ideal business each piece of small change contains big value.

 

 

Tags:

Change: Creating Positive Change | INSPIRE PEOPLE - GROW PROFITS!

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.