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Attitude vs. Aptitude: Which is Most Important in Leadership?

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Attitude vs. Aptitude: Which is Most Important in Leadership?

Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” ~ Zig Ziglar

What is Aptitude?

Aptitude is our potential to learn skills, the abilities we develop and perfect over time. Good leadership skills include communication, delegation, trustworthiness, responsibility, etc. But while it is important, aptitude alone will not make you a good leader. It is your attitude that determines what and how much you can do, and how far you will go.

Attitude is Contagious

A bad attitude, especially from a leader, produces more bad attitudes. If everyone around you has an attitude problem, perhaps you, yourself, are a large part of the problem. Ever consider that? Think about what you might be spreading around your social and professional circles.

Your attitude impacts every aspect of your life. Almost all the “attitude issues” I have dealt with over the years, including my own, are the result of allowing someone or something else to control behavior. That is a big problem. No one else is responsible for your attitude. You are!

Be a Responsible Leader

You might be thinking, “Ha! That’s right, they are responsible for their attitudes. Not me.”

While in part that is true, we are also often a product of our environment. As a leader, it is your responsibility to set the tone for your team—to create a positive environment that generates less stress and produces more positive attitudes. That way you can get the desired results with much less effort.

How to Cultivate a Positive Attitude

Aptitude is something you can learn, but attitude is a lot harder to change and cultivate.

Fortunately, there are habits you can begin to implement every day, including:

  • Refueling by taking care of your body and getting enough sleep
  • Getting some exercise to relieve stress
  • Keeping a gratitude journal and intentionally focusing on the good parts of the day
  • Reframing and embracing challenges as experienced for growth
  • Adopting a more positive vocabulary
  • Getting good at failure and rejection, and not letting it harden you against trying
  • Making someone else smile
  • Not letting your attitude get dragged down by others
  • Ignoring whiners and complainers
  • Listening to or reading something inspirational every morning

I recently read this statement, and it has stuck with me:

“We get what we create and what we allow.”

You are in full control. What are you creating and allowing in your business and in your life? If you feel your team’s overall attitude needs an adjustment, first look in the mirror. Think about your attitude and how it elicits different responses from your team. Lead by example. Accept responsibility for your people and the environment you create based on your attitude.

Dave Ferguson is “The Leaders’ Coach”, an internationally recognized executive leadership coach, speaker, facilitator, and author. For help in creating a positive team environment that gets results, “ASK COACH DAVE” at 704-907-0171 or at Dave@AskCoachDave.com.

How NOT to Achieve Your Goals Next Year

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How NOT To Achieve Your Goals Next Year

Over the past few months, we’ve talked about how we are going to tackle our goals and dreams drastically differently in 2014. We’ve also talked about a process I call RPM to help you identify and build a plan to hit your goals. Now, let’s talk about why some people fail to achieve their goals (so it doesn’t happen to you).

I have found these 7 common reasons people fail to achieve their goals:

1. The goals are too many and too big. Yes, it is possible to set too lofty and too many goals for yourself! Some goals can take months and even years to achieve. If you have too many of these, you will probably stretch yourself too thin. Ideally, you should only have a few big lofty goals at one time. You need to ensure you have the time and energy to work on them, so don’t overdo it. A good suggestion is a few killer goals and a half-dozen small goals.

2. They fail to write the goals down. I am amazed at the number of people I ask to show me their goals and they can’t produce anything. Usually, they tell me the goals are in their head and that they don’t need to write them down. I usually answer with some statistics that show it’s much more effective to write your goals down. Folks, use the RPM process we discussed last week…write them down…on paper, in your journal, on a white board, or on your bathroom mirror…just get them down somewhere other than in your head. I carry mine with me all the time!

3. They don’t personalize their goals. Why do you want to accomplish the goal? How will you feel when you achieve the goal? What will it mean for you to achieve your goal? If you don’t have clear answers to these questions, chances are you don’t want to achieve the goal badly enough. You won’t be able to sustain the drive to achieve the goal. You need to be clear about the significance of your goals…crystal clear!

4. They don’t look at their goals often enough. We humans can be forgetful, can’t we? If you don’t physically write down and keep your goals in a place where you can see them every day, chances are you’ll forget about them. “Out of sight, out of mind.” I give my clients a neat little planner they can carry in their pocket or purse. They can carry it with them wherever they go…okay, not in the pool or lake, but it certainly can sit in the beach bag.

5. They don’t review and adjust the goals. Things change, people get off track, and sometimes people set goals way above their abilities. If you are checking in on your goals often enough, you can adjust and change them where necessary. It also gives you a chance to review your effort and plan. Are you really attacking the goals like you planned?

6. They keep the goals to themselves. These are the chickens. They are scared to share their goals with anyone as they fear failure and humiliation. How many times did Thomas Edison fail before he got the light bulb working? Once you have written down your goals, I highly recommend you publicize them. Yes, announce them to everyone you know; family, friends, enemies, co-workers, etc. Post them on your website and on Facebook. It may make you feel a bit uncomfortable but you know what I say about that. “To change, you have to get uncomfortable”. Put yourself out there this year…put it all on the line! You will get to read mine next week.

7. They don’t have a support network. While they are your goals, you don’t have to be out there on an island. This is where a good coach can really assist you. Accountability and follow-up is imperative in the goal process.

Now that you know the many pitfalls, it’s up to you to put yourself in the position to achieve them. Don’t fall victim to these seven common mistakes. If you’re reading this column, chances are you aren’t common. I challenge you to hit it out of the ballpark in 2014! Call me, and I will gladly help you.

Give Yourself the Gift of Good Health

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Give Yourself The Gift of Good Health

I have one more gift for you this year! Each year, late in the month of December and over much of January, many people approach me and ask for advice on fitness, diet, and overall health. As we all know, many people start of each year with some health resolutions. While I am primarily a business coach, I do quite a bit of life coaching along the way. While today’s topic may appear to be a non-business subject, don’t be fooled. Just as business people read this column to assist in their business, there is no reason why health shouldn’t be just as important. Your health is absolutely critical to not only your personal success but also to the overall success of your business, whether you are a business owner, or not.

Today, record numbers of people are losing their lives to cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stress and more. The latest statistic I could find on diabetes is a staggering one. It states that, “one in three children born today will contract diabetes, primarily due to obesity, which is caused mainly by poor diet and lack of exercise.” In addition, the “highly acidic” lifestyles many of us live, which creates massive amounts of toxins in our bodies, is thought by many to be the leading cause of cancer. Can we effectively run a business when we are living lifestyles that destine us for these diseases?

Regardless of the physical or emotional shape we are in, we can always improve it. With good physical health comes energy, which is vital to our success. All the experts tell us that if we truly want to make a change in our life we should find a mentor to help us. In essence, we should find someone who has already made the changes we want to make and model them. Today, if you’ll let me, I’d like to be your mentor for physical health. Without going into too much detail (I save that for my one-on-one clients) I want you to know that this past year I let “things” get in the way, and I lost control of my diet and didn’t take good care of myself physically. I’m taking steps I will discuss with you today to get back on a healthy track. You will not believe the amount of energy and creativity you’ll gain by practicing these habits. I’m excited!

1. Reduce the amount of these you put in your body:

  • Processed Fats and Oils: Cooking fats makes them unusable and toxic to the body, resulting in acidic and disease bearing conditions.
  • Animal Flesh: This is the leading source of saturated fat and cholesterol and a big cause of heart disease. Watch the red meat!
  • Dairy Products: These are also a leading source of saturated fat and cholesterol. They are extremely fatty and one of the most destructive things we can put in our systems. As a former cheese lover, I can tell you this was personally a very challenging change to make, until I really looked at the flip-side.

2. Drastically reduce or eliminate your dependence and consumption of these acid additions:

  • Sugar (there are 14 teaspoons of sugar in one can of soda)
  • Alcohol
  • Nicotine
  • Caffeine
  • Drugs

3. Eat a diet that consists of water rich foods:

  • This should be about 70% of what we put in our mouths.
  • We should also drink half our body weight in ounces of water per day.

4. Make Aerobic training a priority:

  • At a minimum of 30 minutes, 4 days per week.
  • Heart rate should be between 70 and 80% of your maximum heart rate.

5. Include supplements in your daily plan: I will gladly discuss the many options with anyone who contacts me.

6. Exercise daily.That’s right every day. All you need is 25 minutes per day. A mix of strength and cardio exercises is recommended.

While making these changes in your lifestyle are difficult, I can tell you from personal experience, that you will indulge in life much more when you have the energy, vibrancy, and clearness that these healthy habits afford you. You will think, act, and feel at a different level, and your business will follow. Join me! If you need any assistance or if I can answer any questions for you, please do not hesitate to email or call me.

I will close with a quote from the great Zig Ziglar: “Discipline yourself to do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and the day will come when you will be able to do the things you want to do when you want to do them!”

Happy Holidays, and Awesome Health!

Why Resolutions Don’t Work

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Last week, I opened with a discussion around how in December many people start making resolutions for the upcoming year, and less than 1% of them are still attempting to execute these resolutions 30 days later. If you are reading this week, then you must be willing to try something different this year. Are you really? Remember, lists (or as most people call them in December, “resolutions”) are useless without proper focus and a deliberate mindset. Once you have those two things, you still need to develop action plans; but wait, you’re not done yet.  What about executing your plans?

As I mentioned last week, this coming year, I am challenging you to try something new. You’re reading again this week, so I’m assuming you’re on-board. You see, I don’t like seeing busy people waste their time and energy on activities that are fruitless. They may feel like they are being efficient, but are their activities effective?

This week, I’m going to share a few more reasons why I believe resolutions don’t work. My goal here is to get you to move over to a system of progress, not one of change. Wouldn’t you be much happier if you had plans that you continued to execute on because you consistently see progress?  Of course you would.

Let me tell you why I believe most people fail at this type of setting resolutions process.

First, let me recap the first four I gave you last week (if you missed last week, email me, and I will gladly forward them to you, in detail):

1. They get too greedy with their resolutions.

2. They don’t make their resolutions personal.

3. They actually don’t write them down.

4. They don’t make their resolutions visual.

Here are the three additions for this week.

5. They don’t review their resolutions often enough. If you’re serious about making changes and/or progress, you have to review them periodically to check your progress. Just as pilots have to check and adjust flight plans, so must we with our business and life plans. Makes sense doesn’t it?

6. They keep their resolutions to themselves. Why do you think people are afraid to make promises? I believe it’s because most people are afraid to put themselves on the line. It’s not different when we make these annual resolutions. We share them with few to no people. I suggest people tell everyone – and if you’re really serious, take out an ad in your local paper and post your goals for the year. Any takers on this one? Look for mine in the next few weeks.

7. They don’t have a support group. Why be out there on an island all by yourself? I believe you will stand a much better chance of success if you have a support team and/or group. That is one of the reasons I have started my “Synergy Circles” groups. What’s better than having a team of motivated business owners   around you, strategizing to grow each other’s businesses?  Not to mention, a coach leading the group.

I’m sure many of you have been setting New Year’s resolutions for years. While I’m sure some of you accomplished things through the years, think about how much you could accomplish with a proven process and system in place. Next week, we will get into these and I hope you’ll seriously consider giving them a shot in 2014. Of course, I’m always available to assist. Have a great week!

Adopt These Practices to Remain a Cool Leader

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Cool Leader

There is no doubt that these are trying times for many leaders. With uncertainties all around us as business owners, executives, and managers, how we remain cool and successful amidst the madness going on is critical (not only to our business but our health as well). If you are struggling with remaining calm under pressure, cool off with some of these practices:

1. Plan Effectively: This is, without a doubt, the best way I know to reduce the level of stress we as leaders can accumulate. I recommend you set aside time to plan by the year, quarter, month, week, and day. Once you have these plans in place, make sure you are reviewing them daily, before you start your work day. Remember, I recommend planning, not over-planning. You’ll only add stress to your life if you plan for perfection. I have a great planning tool I use with all of my clients.

2. Own your Vital Few: These are the tasks that are the highest and best use of your time. These are the things you get paid to do. Everything else is clutter and stuff you shouldn’t be doing. Either lower the priority on the clutter or get rid of it through delegation or removal.

3. Find a Buddy: We all need a trusted colleague who can help us stay on course, while keeping our behaviors where we want them. While I recommend you hire a coach, when that is not possible, find someone at work who can reel you in when your behavior starts to head towards the bottom of the lake.

4. Prioritize Yourself High: If you’re not taking care of yourself, who’s going to? Schedule your exercise, sleep, and fun activities just like you would schedule an important meeting with a client. By the way, these may actually be more important than the meeting with the client. There are always more prospective clients, there is only one you!

5. Limit Your Portions: Don’t put things on your plate that you shouldn’t and learn to say “no”. As a leader, your job is not to react to the needs of others. Your job is to lead them, not do things for them. Focus on your “vital few” only.

6. Monitor Yourself: If you’re like most of us, you know when you’re showing signs of being overwhelmed. When you see or feel these signs, take a short walk or do some breathing exercises. Find out what is causing you the stress, and come up with a solution that you can implement right away to alleviate it. It may just be a matter of prioritizing what is currently on your plate.

7. Be Positive: Having a positive mindset can do wonders for your temperature. Stay cool by reading positive stuff, spending time with positive people, and having some fun. Join a fit club, go hiking, go drive a NASCAR with my friends at Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure and leave your fears and stress at the track.

nascar-driver

Try some of these out and let me know how they work. Have a great week and I’d love to hear about how you’re keeping your cool!

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