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You are here: Home / Archives for excuses

Five Excuses People Use for Not Leading

July 4, 2018 By Dave Ferguson Leave a Comment

Five Excuses People Use for Not Leading
Image Credit: Shutterstock

 

One of the questions I am often asked is, “Can everyone be a leader?”

My answer is always a resounding, “YES!”

That doesn’t mean everyone will be in a leadership position in an organization with a team of people to lead. What I mean is that everyone can learn more about leadership and learn how to lead themselves – and possibly others – well.

As we dive deeper into these conversations, I usually start to hear excuses as to why they believe they can’t be a leader.

Here are a few of the excuses I hear most often.

1. I am not in a leadership position.

You don’t have to be assigned a position to be a leader. Leadership begins with leading yourself well.

This is essentially a three-part process:

  • You begin with knowing your values and aligning them with what you do daily. This first step is foundational to everything else you do.
  • Then you develop a vision for yourself, and start the journey of leading yourself towards it.
  • Along the journey, you invite people who share your values and have a similar vision.

2. I am an introvert.

So am I. Yes, you heard me. I have many tendencies of an introvert. Sure, I know how to function as an extrovert, but that is completely out of my comfort zone.

I find that if you are passionate enough about what you want to accomplish, you can muster the skills and talent to lead people to share in the pursuit of those goals.

The bigger the vision, the more uncomfortable we must become in order to bring it to realization. Vision is outside our comfort zone. Otherwise, it would be our current reality. Push to expand your comfort zone…yes, even if you are an introvert.

3. I am not good with people.

I once had someone in a leadership position tell me, “I used to like people, but people have ruined that for me.”

Dealing with people can be challenging. I get it. I’m sure many a person has said that about me.

Don’t let the challenge stop you from making a difference in peoples’ lives.

Most people will accept the role of a follower rather easily. Use that as an advantage – not for your own personal gain – but to lead them to become leaders themselves. Be a leader who turns followers into leaders.

4. I am not influential.

Influence is developed over time, so you can start anytime. I have never met a person who hasn’t influenced someone or been influenced by someone. Good or bad, everyone has some level of influence.

Who have you influenced? Who has influenced you?

Influence is really just getting people to do something they haven’t done or tried before. Used correctly, influence can help people grow.

5. I don’t know how to lead.

This excuse is one of the easiest to remedy. There are resources everywhere to help you. There are thousands of books on leadership. In fact, I have written one called Boss or Leader. I have a list of recommended leadership books that I have found to be impactful. Check them out here.

Read, learn, find a mentor, follow seasoned leaders, practice, and repeat.

Knowing how to lead is a matter of learning and habit. You can learn, and you can practice good leadership habits.

There are many ways to influence others, and the world needs people who can influence others in a good manner. There are opportunities all around us to lead others, and opportunities within us to lead ourselves.

If you have used one of the excuses from this list, consider that your starting point to become a better leader. Face the excuse and put it in its place.

You can do this.

And in fact, if you are going to reach your full potential in life and business, you must overcome these excuses in order to lead yourself and others well.

 


Dave FergusonDave Ferguson is “The Leaders’ Coach”, an internationally recognized executive leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, and author. Are you interested in talking to Dave about coaching or having Dave speak to inspire and motivate your team? “ASK COACH DAVE” at 704-907-0171 or at Dave@AskCoachDave.com.

The Simple Cure for Fence Sitting

May 24, 2017 By Dave Ferguson Leave a Comment

The Simple Cure for Fence Sitting

We have learned what happens when you get stuck on a fence. As a leader, you must be able to lead the charge toward the goals and missions of the company. Sitting on the fence can have serious repercussions.

But how do you get off the fence and start making good progress again?

Here are the actions you as a leader can take, starting today.

1. Stop making excuses.

What have you been telling yourself you are going to do? You know, those things you start out by saying, “One of these days”, or “when the economy gets better”, or “when we get around to it”, or “I’m really going to have to deal with that situation or that person.”

Chances are, if you are goal-driven as most leaders are, things will never settle down. We also know that “one of these days” never comes, and the economy fluctuates like the weather. I can’t predict either one. I coach and consult with executives in businesses that range from banks and hedge funds to automotive enterprises and manufacturing companies, and I have yet to meet anyone who can predict the economy or the weather with 100% assurance.

If professionals with their hand on the pulse of businesses can’t predict an upturn, who can? You can’t base your actions on unknown intangibles, but you can base actions on goals, solid principles, and a strategy for dealing with obstacles.

Waiting for better circumstances is lazy leadership. It is time to get off the fence.

Be a leader who makes no excuses.

2. Face your fears.

Most of my clients know what my biggest fear is. I share it with them, because it’s a common fear that I’ve learned how to manage. By sharing these things, I help them. Will it always be lurking, somewhere inside of me? Yes! Does it prevent me from making decisions anymore? No!

I honestly believe that only fools are not afraid. Especially as leaders, we hate to admit our fears. We hate to admit them because we see that as a sign of weakness. The opposite is true. Admitting that we have fears is a sign of humanity. I can’t recall who said it but they were absolutely right when they said, “Courage is not the absence of fear, it’s making progress in spite of our fears.” Start facing them today, and you will progress.

Be a courageous leader who feels the fear but takes action anyway.

3. Start making progress TODAY.

Not tomorrow, not next week, and certainly not next month or next quarter. Don’t wait for New Year’s either (we all know how most resolutions turn out). You shouldn’t need to plan to get off the fence, it simply requires action. Right now, think of one major decision you have been refusing to make. Take time today to think about the reasons why you are not making the decision. Write them down and visualize them. Make a list of positives and negatives, and then talk to your advisors (totally objective ones if you have any).

As I learned that one day years ago, fence sitting is a very bad practice. The cure is found in recognizing that you’re stuck and taking swift action to get to the other side.

Be a leader who takes action TODAY.

If I can be of help to you or your leadership team, don’t hesitate to contact me. I know a thing or two about getting off the fence!


Dave Ferguson is “The Leaders’ Coach”, an internationally recognized executive leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, and author. For help in getting off the proverbial fence and on to success, “ASK COACH DAVE” at 704-907-0171 or at Dave@AskCoachDave.com.

6 Critical Tactics for Your Business

December 11, 2013 By Dave Ferguson 2 Comments

In today’s crazy and often unpredictable economy, it’s easy for us to lose track of what is most important to our business. We too often get caught up in the day-to-day clutter and distractions (email, voicemail, cell phones, etc.) that must be re-directed, re-focused, and re-oriented continually. Our employees are no exception. As a leader, you need to share your focus and vision for your business with your employees.  If you ignore this critical focus, the possibility of wasting energy, time, talent and resources on trivial matters will keep them from attaining the company’s vision and its mission-critical priorities. Can you afford that?

You probably have heard it said that managers do things right, and leaders do the right things. The first statement speaks to efficiency, and the latter refers to effectiveness. It is easy to be busy but hard to work on the right things. You as a leader should focus on doing the right things – those things that matter most to the success of your department or organization. In short, to be effective, you must drive the focus of the organization. You must channel your time, talent, energy and resources into making an earnest effort to focus on the key priorities and goals of your organization. Keep your focus by constantly asking yourself, “What’s important now?” (something I call WIN).

As you formulate goals, strategies, and action plans for the coming year, I strongly suggest you focus your team’s attention and concentration on these six primary areas:

1. Satisfying your customers/clients.
Your team should know clearly that you expect a culture whereby your team falls in love with its customers and their wants/needs. You are in business to attract, delight, and retain customers in a profitable manner….period.

2. Becoming outcome driven; expecting results, not excuses.
Develop a corporate climate that expects achievement and not just activity. Be a leader who admires thinking and planning.  Be a leader who demands effectiveness and rewards it more than efficiency. It is critical you understand that one of the most important jobs you have is establishing a performance and a goal-oriented environment; then hold employees accountable to it.

3. Learning and continuous improvement.
If your people and systems aren’t improving, your company won’t improve! You must champion an investment and dedication to employee learning. Commit to your employees that you want them to continually learn and improve what they do and how they do it. I’m amazed today at the number of companies that have stopped investing in the continuing education and training of their employees. Crazy!!

4. Maintaining and driving profits.
Lead an offensive, not defensive strategy for success. Don’t forget profits! Remember both top line and bottom line growth. Replace high-maintenance/low revenue customers with low-maintenance/high revenue customers. Watch all your margins, and try to improve them where you can. Now is not the time to reduce your value.

5. Letting them know you are in it for the long run.
Don’t be short-term oriented. Make sure everyone knows you’re in it for the long run. If you have a short-term business mentality, you can’t expect employees to think the other way. Business is a marathon, not a sprint. Pace yourself in 2014, and you will cross the line ahead of the pack.

6. Having fun!

Finally, focus on making your business fun. Celebrate progress and reward your employees for superior results. Make coming to work a meaningful event. If you can master this one, you’ll reduce one of the biggest expenses associated with operating a business…turnover.

If you incorporate these six critical tactics into your business plan and continually focus on “What’s Important Now”, you should be in the WIN column in 2014.

Have a great week! Next week we’ll start adding some RPM’s to your plans. Stay tuned!

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