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Archive for July, 2013

Intentional Leadership — D5, W1, M7 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on July 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Good morning, and Happy 5th of July! Hope you all enjoyed a marvelous day yesterday, with family, friends, and celebration of all that’s great!

My day, yesterday, was a bit off-track. I had intended to get a lot of work done on my computer, but the internet wasn’t really working. All the signals said it was fine, but it wouldn’t fully load any pages until much later in the evening. Consequently, I got a lot of cleaning done and cut the grass (more like mowing hay!) in my back yard, finishing about 5 minutes before the rain began to come down! Guess it was meant to be how I should spend the day. Got some of the computer work done before bed last night (that’s right — I did not watch any fireworks, although I heard plenty in my neighborhood).

And here we are, at Friday, again!

I have a couple of coaching sessions today, and will have dinner with someone new looking for information about coaching and mentoring. And, I will indulge my love of handmade arts and crafts by attending what I understand to be a large Arts & Crafts fair (large — at least by West Virginia standards; the ones I used to attend in Washington would easily have 400 artisans in attendance, displaying their wares) this afternoon. Hopefully, the rain will hold off until I’m done!

As I typically do on weekends, I will study, write, and prepare the content for the next lesson in my Empowerment Mentoring program: “Attitude.” This is powerful content and I’m having fun with it. I have some errands to run, and some people I need to take the time to reconnect with. I will be meeting with a group of John Maxwell Team Coaches Monday evening, and am planning a trip to visit family later in the month. So, lots to do. And, still trying to catch up on my sleep.

What about you…what are you up to this weekend and in the weeks ahead?

As you know, I encourage those I work with to be intentional — thoughtful about how they spend their time and energy. I hope you are taking this to heart; it makes a tremendous difference in what you are able to accomplish and how you feel about yourself in the process.

I look forward to hearing the stories of what you are up to!

Have a great weekend, and I’ll “see” you Monday!

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Intentional Leadership — D4, W1, M3 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , on July 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Happy Independence Day, for those of you who celebrate such days!

What better day than this to spend some time in reflection?

Now that you’ve written the obituary you would want to be published when you go, what is true about where you are in life today?

What might you need to change in your life to achieve your desires…to create the legacy you want to leave?

What directional shifts will you need to make?

Who can you enlist to support you in this endeavor?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W1, M7 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , on July 3, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Have you asked yourself the question, yet: What do I want to be remembered for? What legacy do I want to lead?

You see, this is like success; unless you can define what success looks like for you, you won’t reach it…So, if you want to leave a certain legacy, you need to go about doing it intentionally.

Here’s an interesting exercise for you; perhaps an uncomfortable one…but I promise, if you are open and actually DO it, it will be most revealing to you!

Write your own obituary, as you would want it to be published when you’re gone.

I’m serious — get started today!

Then, share what you’ve written with someone you trust and respect. Ask them for feedback; if that is how you want to be remembered, are you on track and what do you need to do or stop doing to make it real?

Ask them, “If I did nothing more, and died tomorrow, what would I be remembered for?”

I’d love to hear what you come up with!

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Intentional Leadership — D2, W1, M7 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , , on July 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

When you think of the word “legacy,” what person or organization comes to mind? Are you thinking of someone or organization because they left a positive legacy, or a negative one?

Why do you think their legacy made such an impression on you?

Think of it in terms of the ripple effect; envision the concentric circles formed in a pool when you drop a stone into it. The center-most circle is the first impression the person/organization made on you. The next ring is when they did or didn’t earn your trust. The third ring is what they did to maintain (or break) your trust and respect. The fourth ring is their current impact — what they are doing now, in real time. The outer-most ring is their future impact, and this one reaches the farthest.

What was your first impression?

What initially earned your trust and respect?

How does the person continue to earn/maintain your trust and respect?

What is the current impact of this person or organization?

How will tomorrow be different because of this person’s/organization’s impact?

Yesterday, I introduced you to one of my former leaders, Tom Stokes, CEO of Tree Top, Inc. My first impression of him was that he was a regular guy. When I interviewed with him, he was clearly comfortable in his role and in his skin. He was open, welcoming, treated me with respect and as if I had expertise the organization needed. While my position would be a couple of layers beneath his in the org chart, he treated me as if we were equals — equally valuable and with much to offer.

He was open, honest, transparent about the challenges facing the organization, and about its strengths. He had a vision and a plan for what he needed to do, and was building his inner circle to ensure he had competent, confident people around him to carry out the work. He was supportive and straight with me, even when circumstances called for difficult conversations. He conferred with his inner circle, gave serious consideration to the various inputs he received, and did not shy away from making the hard decisions.

While I’ve been away from the organization for five years, I understand he has not changed in these respects. I maintain my connections and friendships with former co-workers, and they respect him, as well. He’s done enormous good within the communities where the company operates, both in terms of financial support and through staff expertise and collaboration.

Personally, aside from everything I’ve said about him so far, he has proven to me that functional, healthy organizations do exist. And having worked for a number of them, I’ve personally experienced the opposite in terms of dysfunction and poor leadership.

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Intentional Leadership — D1, W1, M7 — Legacy

Posted in Leadership, tagged , , , , , , on July 1, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Can’t believe we are starting the second half of this year, already. It seems like it was just January!

I’m sure you can think of leaders who have left a lasting legacy; some positive and some not so much!

When I ponder this concept, I think of Tom Stokes, long-time CEO of Tree Top, Inc. I worked with Tom a number of years ago, and have a great deal of respect for him. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked for 10 different companies, and Tom stands head and shoulders above any other executive I’ve worked for or with over the past 20+ years.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t put him on a pedestal as the perfect leader, but he did a number of things I’ve not personally experienced to-date. First, he worked his way up through the company, so he knew the organization from all angles. He was/is conscientious about building strong relationships with the people around him, both inside and outside the organization. He hires the talent he needs and empowers them to do what they were hired to do, respecting their expertise and listening to their advice before making decisions. He’s open, humble, has a good sense of humor, and knows what he’s there to do and who he’s there to serve.

I’ve been hearing he may be thinking of retiring in the next few years. If that’s the case, he’s certainly earned it, as he has carefully steered the company through many years — some quite prosperous and some quite bumpy! I imagine the Board will be hard pressed to replace him with someone of equal caliber.

There’s no doubt in my mind, Tom will be leaving a positive, lasting legacy.

As a leader, it’s critical that you behave in accordance with your espoused values. If you merely pay lip service to them, it will become quickly apparent, and will have a damaging affect on your effectiveness, credibility, and potential for accomplishing anything. However, when you are in sync with your value, and authentically model them over time, the ripple effects of your influence can be felt over the course of several generations.

Take some time today to consider how well you have modeled the values you claim to hold dear. What effect are you having on those around you?

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