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7 Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders by Lee J. Colan
Think excellence
You are the conductor of your own thoughts. No one else can control them for
you. Your mind is a magnet. Only you can create your own positive attitude and
by doing so, attract things of a similar disposition.
Keep it simple and easy to understand-- people commit to what they can
understand. Excellent leaders take the initiative to define causes for their
teams. These causes must be real and relevant to be effective and convincing.
Think big-- your cause should stir the emotions. Compelling causes are not
project goals; these are reasons to be excited to go to work every day. These
should be capable of inspiring the employees to deliver great performance.
Explaining a compelling cause can create a defining moment for employees
while igniting a commitment to excellence.
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7 Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders by Lee J. Colan
engagement, which describe how a team interacts, helps focus on what is critical
for performance. These rules of engagement must always be visible and applied
to even the smallest things.
The clarity of the answers made to these decisions is directly proportional to the
clarity of your own vision. Without a clear vision, moving beyond the current
boundaries may prove very difficult or even impossible.
Be more specific than you think you need to be. Employees may feel that they
need to know more than you think they do. They demand a certain level of clarity
before they can fully see the impact of their work.
As in sports, sweet spots in business are the areas that provide the best results.
Knowing your own sweet spot allows you to better design roles and deploy talent
in the team.
Match each employee's sweet spot to job requirements. Matching these two is the
best predictor of job success and excellent performance. Employees will work and
perform better in the areas that they are best suited for.
Redesign work to keep your team in their sweet spots. This can be done by
combining tasks with similar skill requirements, automating repetitive tasks,
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7 Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders by Lee J. Colan
Determine where the 80/20 Principle exists. Twenty percent of things (people,
products, etc.) in an organization are responsible for 80 percent of profits.
Identifying this 20 percent allows you to concentrate 80 percent of your efforts on
areas in which they will be most effective.
Leverage your vital few and minimize your trivial many. After identifying who
and what the 20 percent (the vital few) are, steps can be taken to increase their
efficiency while eliminating, minimizing or automating the remaining 80 percent
(the trivial many). This results in faster and more efficient performance.
Look at how you spend your time to check your focus. Focusing on positive
aspects of life attracts "luck". The most successful people create their own luck by
preparing to meet opportunity. Their focus and preparation put them in the right place
at the right time.
Hard work is the best predictor of luck... and excellence. A positive focus should be
combined with hard work to achieve excellence. Hard work can yield defining
moments for the team, and defining excellence as well.
Use your team's time, money and energy carefully, particularly in meetings. These
things, when spent, cannot be regained and cannot be used in other areas. Leaders
decide how to use an employee's time, and must therefore ensure a good return for
their time investment.
Define what "inside your boat" and stay focused on it. Do not worry about things
that are outside your control. Concentrating on the things that you can do something
about helps retain focus.
Collect the best information you can quickly, then use your leadership intuition to
make the decision. Once you have all the facts, waiting will not improve the decision.
Using leadership intuition can create a defining moment for a leader.
Listen at least 50 percent of the time. Your ability to make proper, informed
decisions is directly related to how well you listen. Also, the higher you are in an
organization, the more filtered the information you receive, so listening to employees
will help give you proper insight for future real-time decisions.
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7 Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders by Lee J. Colan
Store information about your network in an easily accessible system. This allows
you to quickly access information and resources when needed.
Use your system of information and people to answer any question within 12 hours.
This is the best and most efficient use of these resources. Today's fast and wired
world allows for this speed, which is twice the previous one.
Choose team rituals that fit your style. Rituals should fit both your leadership style
and the chemistry of the team. They should also be comfortable and natural in order
for them to be effective. Team rituals can be focused outward as well as inward.
Implement fewer rituals deeper. Effective rituals must be fun, simple and
meaningful, and should never be compromised. Having a limited number of rituals
helps ingrain their importance, making each one more special.
Coach well the first time to ensure learning and prevent re-coaching on the same
skills. This is the most time- and cost-effective way of coaching. The best return is
generated from a proper investment of a leader's time and energy.
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7 Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders by Lee J. Colan
Give your life and wisdom away. Passing the baton to someone you have
invested in and seeing your values reflected in that person is one of the most joyful
moments for any leader. Living your legacy defines yourself and others by a life of
excellence.
No investment is too small. Even small investments can pay off big, if made
properly. Investment in others is not about money, it is about time.
Use your downtime as mental uptime-- read, listen, learn, visualize. Visualization
sends signals to your body that can lead to a stronger and more effective
performance during the actual event. The mind does not know the difference
between physical and mental practice.
Use mentors to get valuable answers to tough questions. Mentors are a great
source of information. As your goals change or new stages of life Mentors are a great
source of information. As your goals change or new stages of life are entered, your
mentors will naturally change. For the greatest benefit, seek out mentors with
specific skill that you wish to acquire.
Delight in discomfort
Keep your momentum in seeking discomfort... and delighting in it! Discomfort
allows you to keep your momentum and gives a healthy alertness of where you can
improve. Delighting in this makes you more relaxed and more likely to find good
solutions. It helps you stay on the offensive and thrive, rather than remaining
defensive and merely surviving.
When you feel you are cruising to victory, take a look around... but not only at your
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7 Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders by Lee J. Colan
opponents. Looking at those who perform well, even in other fields, will keep you
humble and focused on improving yourself. Excellent leaders are never satisfied and
never complacent.
Lead beyond the status quo--always focus on the next level. Goals should force
changes, require tough decisions and inspire bold actions. Those that are easy to
achieve are not big enough and will not allow you to get to the next level.
Know fear
Get rational about your fears-- identify the primary cause of your fear. Since fear of
the unknown is always the strongest, defining moments can occur when you choose
to know your fears. Fear can be used as a good motivator.
Get to know your fears and act on them-- don't react to them. Fear is a secondary
emotion. The key is to identify the primary response, think about it and act on it.
Causes of behavior are usually easier to address than the symptoms, like fear.
Seek out different opinions before they come to you. Excellent leaders seek no-
holds-barred input. Your greatest fear should be of wasting a potentially defining
moment. Leadership excellence is rooted in knowing that what is discovered will
pave the way for improvements in the team.
Change your world with one small act. Your goal is not to change the world, but to
change the lives of those whose paths you cross. The same amount of time is
required for a positive act and a negative one.
Make a positive change every day. As a leader, you must be the difference maker
for your team. Making positive changes reinforces this. You should always pursue
excellence for you and the people around you.
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7 Moments...That Define Excellent Leaders by Lee J. Colan
expressed for what remains. This attitude will make you happier and more resilient.
Convert turning points into learning points. Adversity should be used as a time to
pinpoint opportunities to improve, learn, grow, rebuild or test your character or faith.
With the right attitude, roadblocks can be turned into stepping-stones.
Plan for the future but live in the present. Do not obsess about yesterday and do
not be seduced by the promise that tomorrow will be better. Facing the present allows
you to conquer adversity and create your own defining moment.
Hang onto humility. Taking a stand requires courage to conquer outside forces,
and humility to conquer the inside ones. Excellent leadership is not about you, but
other people. Humility is the fuel for leadership excellence.
Stick to it
Keep the faith in your leadership-- stick to it long enough to win. Most people fail
because they do not stick to it long enough to succeed. Sticking to it long enough to
win can be a defining moment for leaders and their teams.
Ignore the odds and critics. You must trust that doing the right thing will yield the
desired results. This is done in everyday things, but may seem more challenging
when applied to your team.
Never, ever give up. Mediocrity involves constantly changing direction, while the
signature of excellence is sticking to it. You must always have faith in yourself.
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