Personal leadership: what is it? (Proceedings)

Why?

     • We spend too much time "in" the business and not enough "on" the business. It is the currency for change and revitalization and the currency with which you exchange psychological pay checks.

Psychological Well-Being

The Three Pillars of Positive Psychology

Emotional Intelligence

Definition

     • A term used by some psychologists to evaluate the capacity of people to understand themselves and relate well to others.

Emotional Quotient (EQ)

     • The ability to monitor and use emotions to guide thinking and actions.

           o High EQ = increased productivity at work and happiness at home.

           o High EQ = decreased incidence of stress, depression and anxiety, and quicker recovery from serious illness.

The Lessons of

Positive Psychology

Authentic Happiness

Feeling in Control

Autonomy

     • The ability to draw on internal resources; independence from familial and societal influences.

Locus of Control

     • An individual's belief about the source of power and influence over his or her life.

     • Internal vs. external locus of control.

Feeling in Control

Assertion

     • Behaving in a confident manner to make your needs and desires clear to others in non-hostile ways.

           o Use "I" Statements to explain your feelings.

           o Listen to and acknowledge others.

           o Be direct and specific.

           o Be assertive, not obnoxious.

Connecting with Others

     • Connectedness vs. Social Isolation.

     • Face shyness and social anxiety.

     • Join groups.

     • Participate in projects or activities.

     • Surround yourself with personal acquaintances.

Spiritual Health

     • The ability to identify one's basic purpose in life and to achieve one's full potential; the sense of connectedness to a greater power.

     • It gives a strong sense of purpose, values, morals and ethics.

     • Individuals who pray regularly, stay healthier and live longer than those who rarely or never do.

Spiritual Intelligence

     • The capacity to sense, understand, and tap into the highest parts of ourselves, others, and the world around us.

     • Focuses on the discovery of wisdom within.

Spirituality

New Office Buzz Words

     • Blamestorming: When employees get together after a project fails and look for a scapegoat.

     • Clockroaches: Employees who spend more time watching the clock than they do working.

     • BMWs: Bitchers, Moaners and Whiners

     • Bobbleheading: The concurrent nodding of heads when the owner or boss had a really bad idea.

     • Deja poo: The feeling that I have heard the same BS before.

     • All success is based upon exceeding expectations.

           o Culture

           o Leadership

           o Succession

When the rate of change on the outside of the organization is faster than the rate of change on the inside of the organization, the end is near.

7 Obscene Words

But we've always done it that way!

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Albert Einstein

Demographic & Social Changes

Generational Differences

     • Traditionals (65 and up)

     • Baby Boomers

     • Early Boomers (51-60)

     • Late Boomers (41-50)

     • Generation X (31-40)

     • Generation Y (21-30)

     • Millenials (20 and under)

3 Trends Affecting our Lives

     • People are more demanding and less patient.

     • They love new, fresh and different.

     • Everyone is suffering from "time poverty."

US of Disconnect: Say and Do

Top 10 New Year Resolutions: 2004-2006

     • Have more fun: 11%

     • Lose Weight: 18%

     • Get Organized: 2%

     • Take a vacation: 41%

     • Redecorate the house: 9%

     • Landscape the yard: 4%

     • Send more cards and letters: 37%

     • Buy new furniture: 44%

     • Spend more time with children: 11%

     • Look for a new job: 3%

New Work Habits for a Changing World

     • Become a quick-change artist.

     • Commit fully to your work.

     • Speed up!

     • Accept Ambiguity and Uncertainty.

     • Behave like you are in business for yourself.

     • Stay in school.

     • Be responsible for outcomes.

     • Add value.

     • See yourself as a service center.

     • Manage your own morale.

     • Be a fixer not a finger pointer.

     • Alter your own expectations.

Practice Kaizen

     • Japanese Management Philosophy

           o Teamwork

           o Personal Discipline

           o Improved Morale

           o Quality Circles

           o Suggestions for Improvement

Molasses Points

     • Areas of the business that create slowdowns and are not productive.

New Year Advice

     • Organization and fancy charts count for nothing if the people behind them are incompetent.

     • Question experts: data and judgment are two different things.

     • Leaders don't hire completely on a resume. They look for integrity, drive, energy and a desire to do things well.

     • If you need a "yes person" working for you then one of you is redundant.