2013

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10 Ways to “Deal With” Quiet People

Leadership Freak

Outgoing people have advantages in Western Culture. We’re often perceived to be smarter and stronger than quiet people, at least at first. One of my fatal leadership blunders was underestimating quiet people. Big mouths don’t guarantee great leadership. Quiet doesn’t equal: Weak. Push over. Soft. Stupid. Detached. Uncaring. Untalented. Never assume quiet is weak and loud [.].

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Eight Things Not To Say During a Presentation

Kevin Eikenberry

'We have all sat through many presentations in our professional lives. Unfortunately far too many of them are, shall we say, “less-than-awesome”. Unfortunately, we see some of the causes for failures over and over. In other words the wrong things get repeated by those who aren’t thinking, or don’t know any better. With that in […].

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The Three Power-People You Need on Your Team

Leadership Freak

'The enemy of success is isolation. The higher you go the easier isolation becomes, but, it’s a devastating problem at all levels of leadership. Isolated leaders fear conspiracies and feel misunderstood. Worse yet, ivory-tower leaders resort to control through authority. Us/them thinking destroys influence. Defeat isolation and enhance success by developing a high-power inner circle. […].

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The Seven Choices of Exceptional Leaders

Leadership Freak

'#1. Choose to be known for what’s in your heart. Intelligence and skill matter most when they express your heart. Leaders who bypass their heart end up cold. #2. Choose small now. Don’t wait for dramatic. Don’t despise small steps that produce small results. Do something small rather than nothing at all. Small beginnings that […].

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SME Relationships: Proven Solutions for Seamless Collaboration and Success

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

💢 Do you find yourself stuck in never-ending review cycles? Are you wondering if your Subject Matter Expert actually got that last review request? Are you having trouble trying to decipher impractical or conflicting feedback? 💢 If any of these scenarios sounds familiar, you may benefit from a crash course on managing SME relationships!

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Don’t Make a Resolution; Find a Word

Leadership Freak

'Leave a comment on today’s post and become eligible for 1 of 100 copies of, “One Word That Will Change Your Life.” What if one word could transform your life? I don’t blame you if you’ve stopped making resolutions. You’re busy enough and the last ones didn’t work. One Facebook contributor summed up the […].

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How to Spot and Overcome Manipulation

Leadership Freak

'“There is perhaps nothing more dangerous than a bad person with good people skills.” Bob Burg in Adversaries to Allies. Manipulators are skillful persuaders. Leaders become manipulators when self-serving goals outweigh shared goals. Self-serving goals require manipulation, coercion, deception, and pressure tactics. Shared goals, on the other hand, pull everyone forward.

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8 Secrets to Eliminating Negativity

Leadership Freak

One bad experience outweighs one good. A gallon of bad weighs more than a gallon of good. Setbacks nag; success whispers. You overemphasize what went wrong and minimize what went right. Down is easier than up. Small setbacks increase frustration more than small successes enhance satisfaction. One negative defeats one positive. It’s worse! One negative [.].

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The Essence of Leadership in Five Letters

Leadership Freak

Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller capture, “The Secret,” of leadership in five letters, SERVE. The beauty of SERVE is inescapable simplicity and actionable clarity. Serve See the future: envision and communicate a compelling picture of a preferred future. What do I want to be true of the future? Why should anyone care? How will progress [.].

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33 Ways to Tell if You’re a Jackass

Leadership Freak

'You’re a jackass if: People who think you’re a jackass are always wrong. Holding back negatives makes you a nice person. Having the last word is normal for you. Making others squirm keeps them on their toes. You know more than most. Others are jealous because you’re “all that.” Pointing out faults and problems comes […].

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Looking Down on Young Leaders

Leadership Freak

'The hope for dying organizations isn’t found in old leaders who don’t have the guts to say they created the problem. Organizations reflect the age and attitude of their leaders. The older some grow, the more they lean toward no, and “no” isn’t going anywhere. Transform organization by integrating young leaders. Dedicated young leaders: Feel […].

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Change Management 101: A Practical 3 Part Guide

Implementing new tools or business processes in your organization? Lemon Learning put together a practical 3 part guide to prevent the pitfalls of change management. Drive a successful change management project from diagnosis through to measurement.

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Five Leadership Resolutions for 2014

Leadership Freak

'A history of failure prevents you from making New Years resolutions. You fell short last time. Why try again? What’s the point? One friend said, “The only resolution I’ve kept is the one not to make New Years resolutions. But… Those who can’t start fresh are doomed to repeat the past. People who get it […].

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The End of Gossip

Leadership Freak

'Image source Leadership is relational. Plans and programs shrivel compared to the relationships you create, nurture, or tolerate. Organizations are only as strong as the relationships that hold them together. Gossip weakens and destroys relationships. Gossip is about power. Those without power, gossip to get power. Manipulation, twisting truths, and speculation are symptoms of feeling […].

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10 Stunning Benefits of Failure

Leadership Freak

Success teaches repetition. Do more of the same because more of the same produces more of the same. In changing times more of the same is deadly. Success teaches confidence. Without confidence progress stalls, second-guessing prevails, the status quo persists. On the down side, success inflates confidence. Bill Gates said, “Success is a lousy teacher. [.].

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Twelve Ways to Spot Fools

Leadership Freak

'Spotting and dealing with fools challenges leaders. Foolishness has nothing to do with intelligence or talent. Smart, gifted people are prime candidates for foolishness. Twelve ways to spot fools: Believe they are right. Hate accountability and practical strategies. Love blaming and reject responsibility. Pursue personal ease rather than challenge.

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Is Training the Right Solution?

Speaker: Tim Buteyn

Let's set the scene: you’ve identified a critical performance gap in your organization and need to close that gap. A colleague suggests training, but you suspect there’s something going on that training can’t address. How can you determine if training is the right solution before you commit your budget and resources to a new training program? In this webinar, you will learn how to determine if training is the right solution using the Behavior Engineering Model.

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12 Ways to Fuel Your Own Fire

Leadership Freak

Image source Burned-out is easy. Neglect your energy and you’ll go out like an unstoked fire. Fire always cools without fuel. Ten years ago, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz wrote, The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. It still sells like hotcakes. They wrote: [.].

Energy 101
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Five Reasons Great Leaders are Great Networkers

Kevin Eikenberry

Networking. For some that word brings images of hotel meeting rooms, coffee (or a cash bar), and a room of people trying to give you their business card. Others think networking is for sales people and those looking for a job. If your first thought was either of those things, keep reading. [.].

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Why the Best Leaders Have a Big Heart

Kevin Eikenberry

'To be clear, there are as many different leadership styles as there are people. Yes, lots of smart people have created models to define and describe basic leadership styles, and yet all of us bring our uniqueness to the equation too. Perhaps the simplest of leadership style models divides leaders into “people leaders” and “task […].

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Top Ten Qualities of Exceptional Leaders

Leadership Freak

'Fitting in is the formula for mediocrity. Average is safe, boring, and deadly. I’ve been rubbing elbows with outstanding leaders from organizations on the Great Place to Work list of exceptional companies. Excellence electrifies the air at their annual conference. Outstanding leaders live by bold principles. Exceptional leaders courageously declare themselves.

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Revitalizing Dry Content: A Lesson in Engagement

Speaker: Tim Buteyn, President of ThinkingKap Learning Solutions

We’ve all been there. You’ve been given a pile of dry content and asked to create a compelling eLearning course. You’re determined to create something more engaging than the same old course that learners quickly click through, but how do you take this “boring” content and create something relevant and engaging? Many instructional designers will say, “Boring in means boring out.

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Solving the Problem of Dumb Leaders

Leadership Freak

Maxwell said, “Leaders are learners.” The trouble with learning is unlearning. The trouble with learning is it changes past thinking. Learning amplifies, modifies, or invalidates past learning. The trouble with learning is rethinking. New thoughts evaluate old thoughts. Learning tests old assumptions, strategies, or methods. The trouble with learning is being wrong.

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Confronting Toxicity

Leadership Freak

'Average leaders feel successful when they get things done. Exceptional leaders feel successful when they build exceptional places to work. Average leaders fix and do. Exceptional leaders build. You begin thinking leadership is all about results but come to learn it’s about the way we treat each other. Results matter, but how you achieve results [.].

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Popping the Self-Delusion Bubble

Leadership Freak

I woke up this morning disturbed at the subtlety of self-delusion. The trouble with delusion is illusion. What do you call someone who believes they’re: Supportive but demanding, instead. Humble but in reality, arrogant. Listening when they’re talking. Able to do everything “right” while others fall short. Informed when they don’t know. You call them [.].

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Drucker: Treat Employees Like Volunteers

Leadership Freak

'Accept the fact that we have to treat almost anybody as a volunteer. ………………………………………… Peter Drucker I caught an awkward glimpse of myself when I asked my wife, “Would you like me to tell you what I think you should do?” Surprisingly, she said, “No, not really.

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Brain Fog HQ: Memory Enhancement Techniques for Professional Development

Speaker: Chester Santos – Author, International Keynote Speaker, Executive Coach, Corporate Trainer, Memory Expert, U.S. Memory Champion

In October, scientists discovered that 75% of patients who experienced brain fog had a lower quality of life at work than those who did not. At best, brain fog makes you slower and less efficient. At worst, your performance and cognitive functions are impaired, resulting in memory, management, and task completion problems. In this entertaining and interactive presentation, Chester Santos, "The International Man of Memory," will assist you in developing life-changing skills that will greatly enha

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10 Power Tips for Dancing with Elephants

Leadership Freak

'The more uncomfortable the conversation the more important it is. The more it matters, the tougher it is. Weak leaders choose manipulation over honest exchange. Wise leaders choose tough conversation over mediocrity. Successful leaders address issues others avoid. Mediocrity is the result of avoidance. Excellence is a function of confrontation. The danger of tough conversations […].

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The Secret to Defeating Manipulators

Leadership Freak

Don’t get played. Cowards, manipulators, and backstabbers encourage you to take risks so they don’t have to. They posture in shadows. Let others get dirty. They step into the light when it’s safe. Leading requires risk-taking. Don’t lead if you can’t take responsibility. Backstabbers and players, on the other hand, manipulate leaders. They want benefit while [.].

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Finding Your Leadership Style

Kevin Eikenberry

Here is some very good news for you. There is no perfect leadership style, which means there is more than one way to lead effectively. Why is this good news? Because it means you, yes you, can become a highly effective leader. Read that again and let it sink in. Whatever your past experience, whatever [.].

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Seven Positive Responses to Negative Feedback

Leadership Freak

'Image source Negative feedback isn’t the issue. You are. How you respond to correction, criticism, and negative feedback tells me who you are. It’s even more telling when it comes from someone of lower status. Negative responses: “It’s your fault too.” Making it personal. Standing aloof Minimizing. Arguing. Feeling attacked. Finger pointing. Excuse making.

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Crushing 5 Urgent Leadership Challenges

Leadership Freak

'#1 Productivity: The difference between success and failure is doing things others put off. Protect time with priorities. Some things feel urgent but they don’t matter. Urgencies control weak leaders. Courageous leaders bird-dog priorities. Mission and vision are the purpose behind productivity. What are you really getting done? Daily persistence is the secret to long-term success.

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How to Open Closed Minds

Leadership Freak

'You aren’t open minded if you haven’t recently changed your mind. Discussing, debating, and exploring are window dressing if you aren’t adapting. Manipulators pretend to be open-minded but they’ve already made up their minds. Decisions lead to closed minds. That’s not all bad. Come to the place where exploring stops, decisions are made, and action […].

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Top Five Qualities of an A **e

Leadership Freak

'“We have a no a **e policy at Baird.” (Beth Kavelaris, Director of Culture & Integration, Robert W. Baird & Co. at the Great Place to Work Annual Conference 2013) I was impressed with Beth’s candor. Baird manages nearly $97 billion in client assets at more than 100 locations scattered around the globe. Definition: “How do you [.].

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20 Ways to Give Negative Feedback

Leadership Freak

'Growth always hurts. But, stagnation is death. Growth requires feedback. Successful leaders are great at giving feedback. Good intentions don’t compensate for poor execution when it comes to negative feedback. Done well, negative feedback is a gift. Done poorly, it devalues, demotivates, and discourages. Benefit: Successful feedback is turning on the lights.

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20 Ways to Gain the Respect you Deserve

Leadership Freak

'The danger of disrespect is disconnection. You cannot connect with someone you don’t respect. The power of respect is loyalty. Leaders receive respect because of position, but lose it because of behavior. Earning it back requires sweat and patience. 10 Ways to lose respect: Act like you know when you don’t. Keep a bus handy […].

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How to Get Where You Want to Grow

Leadership Freak

'Growth is a function of engaging in new activities. “New” is the difficult thing. Everyone wants to grow but not everyone wants to step from the known into the unknown. The edge and beyond: Growth happens on the fringes of leadership where comfort and discomfort meet. You can’t grow if you can’t be uncomfortable. Growth [.].