Early on as a leader, I took a very hands-on problem-solving and decision-making approach. This isn’t a bad strategy, but it’s not something I could maintain as our organization grew. I just didn’t have the time to get involved with every issue we faced. I needed to equip my team and allow them to do their own problem-solving. This represented a complete paradigm shift. When you know how to fix a problem, jumping in to fix it seems like the most efficient thing to do. But if you make all the decisions, you’ll never grow beyond what you are capable of handling yourself. You need to step back and begin to let your team take the wheel. Instead of jumping in to solve things for …

Every leader knows that communication is key. But not all communication produces the desired result. A common mistake leaders make is they don’t cover all the bases. To get results, you need to start with the why, but don’t stop there. Communicate the ‘why’ Before you go into anything else, make sure that you’re clear on the ‘why’ behind what you are proposing. If you jump straight into the details of what you want people to do or how you want them to do it, you’ll lose people. They need to be inspired, motivated and encouraged to want to hear what you have to say. It’s not good enough to say, “Do it because I say so.” When someone joins your team or gets involved …

When you have a dream or a goal, you need to translate it into smaller steps you can act on. Only then will you achieve it. Sometimes we hope that our dreams will just somehow fall into our laps. But in reality, the only way we will ever get closer to those goals is to move in their general direction step by step, day after day. It may not be glamorous, but it’s how dreams come true! The first step is to develop a clear picture in your mind of where you want to go so you can work backward to determine how to get there. Try a little exercise with me today to help determine your long-term goals in life. Pretend that you are …

Most people assume that to get to the top, you have to start at the bottom, become the best, and then you can be promoted to management. Although that’s often how it happens, it doesn’t mean that it’s the best way to groom leaders. For example, just getting great at sales doesn’t make you a great sales manager. The skill set involved in being a top producer can be quite different from the set of skills required to be a great leader. Ideally, there is a natural progression that takes place as people move toward taking a successful leadership role. When they get competent in one phase, they become ready to tackle the next. With that in mind, here is a quick look at the …

Are you secure enough to make people unhappy? At work, you may know someone who tries to get you to do what they want by guilting you into it. I’m sure we’ve all done this at one point or another, but some people seem to make a habit of it. You don’t have to bend to this kind of pressure. You need to stand up for what you believe is right. I’m not saying that you should intentionally make their lives difficult, but you do need to be able to confront people who try to manipulate you by pouting or guilting you. Maybe this person relies on you to fix their problems and holds you responsible for keeping them happy. You’re always doing whatever you …