Posts in category: Leaders Connect

As an excellent leader, you need to feel the pulse of your team members by putting yourself in their shoes. You must be able to listen to them without being distracted and not judge them based on their situations.

Someone will ask, I am the leader; Why do I need to bond with my followers? Why do I have to listen to them? Why do I need to be empathetic towards them?

The answer is simple. It is because you need to get your desired result. If one of your team members is emotionally unstable because he is faced with one challenge or the other, such a person will never be able to fully deliver. But if you already have an idea about his state of mind, you may be able to proffer solutions to such a person. That way, you will be assured of getting him to give your work undiluted attention.

Rubbing minds with your team members doesn’t mean you have lost control over them, as a matter of fact, they get to be more submissive and loyal to you because they know you have their best interest at heart.

Alfred Alder’s quote on Empathy speaks volumes, it says “Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another”.

If you, as a leader try to put yourself in these positions, you will find out there’s absolutely nothing you and your team cannot achieve together if you set your minds to it.

The other day, while keeping tabs on what was happening on social media, I watched a video of a Young man who was trying to sell bottles of what he referred to as “success water” to his potential customers. According to him, usage of the water would make people rich.

I took a critical look at this young man’s appearance and nothing about him suggested wealth or affluence that he was trying to sell. This brings me to today’s message. Are you a reflection of what you are selling?

One of John C Maxwell’s quotes sheds light on this question, it says “People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision”.

What have you done to capture the hearts of your potential team workers? How do you want to convince people about what you stand for when it doesn’t even reflect on you and your lifestyle? How do you, as a leader intend to make your followers key into your vision when you also seem clueless about it.

Have you worked on yourself?. Are you equipped for the journey ahead? You need to ensure that all of these are in proper perspective before you embark on selling your vision to others. First, make them fall in love with you, the Visioneer, they will naturally buy into your vision.

Congratulations in advance!

If you say you are a leader, and your leadership traits do not reflect in the lives of the people around you, then you still have a long way to go. As an effective leader, you must master the ability to influence others.

According to Brian Tracy, “Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people”.

Leaders must set high standards and continue to beat their own records. By so doing, you inspire your followers, admirers, and mentees to want to do more and be more. There is no limit to what you can achieve in life if you set your mind to it. Your mind is elastic, stretch it.

Be extra and intentional about life. Develop the capacity to inspire others with your mindset and skill set.

Identify the people that have the burning desire to run the race with you, run with them, and together you can make a great difference.

To be a leader, you must be an inspiration dealer.

Everyone wants to be successful, everyone wants to be a leader. But how many are ready to pay the price to be a successful leader?

To be a great leader, you need to deal with the number one enemy of Success which is laziness.

Laziness is a deadly disease that eats deep into the system of its prey. A lazy man never wants anything done and when he does, he gives himself one reason or the other why he may not be able to meet up with his target.

A lazy man has perfected the art of procrastination, which is one of the ways he tries to make himself feel as though he’s making headway. He runs away from tasks that will challenge him and cause him to exert too much energy into doing anything.

This brings us to this interesting quote by Jack Welch…,” Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself, When you become a leader, success is all about growing others”.

Are you ready to pay the price for leadership? If yes, why don’t you start now?. Delay can be dangerous!

Do you know that if you want to become a great leader, one who is keen on getting things done, you must learn to say NO? A lot of leaders run away from this word because they are afraid of appearing harsh to their followers and not getting enough love and approval from them.

As a leader, you need no approval from anyone as long as you know you have fundamental decisions to make. You need to stand your ground at all times and learn to say NO regardless of whose ox is gored.

It is true that in order to be a great leader, you must also learn to serve. In the course of your service, never allow the people who look up to you to see you as being weak and thereby take you for granted.

Oftentimes, people take liberty for license. Once they notice how approachable you are as a leader, and how you try not to hurt them by saying yes to all their requests, they stretch their limits and at the end of the day, nothing constructive may be achieved by the team.

According to Tony Blair, “The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.

The word “No” is heavy and powerful. It is a word, only used by the brave-hearted, the decisive, the goal-getters and people who are ready to be extraordinary leaders. Wouldn’t you rather be one of them? Saying No is an Art, Master it!

The former president of the United States Of America, Barrack Obama has simplified the best way to attain greatness, enjoy peaceful life, and not be part of evil or anything that will hurt someone else in the journey of your life.

His voice is a unique voice of nature that spoke to my conscience and soul this morning and I decided as someone who truly believes in Nature and Nurture to share with you this great message.

“When I think about the depth of the grave and the kilos of sand that are going to be thrown at us, there is no need to harm my brother;
When I think of the darkness that pervades the tomb after it has closed, there is no need to hurt my sister;
When I think of the heat-driven back by the ground and the amount of water that will drown me during the rains in this grave, I cannot make my neighbor suffer; When I think that I will be alone abandoned by all, I prefer to enjoy communion when I am alive;
When I think my relationships are cut off by my past, I want to perfect my future.

If I could be reborn and start all over again, I would no longer make mistakes in my actions. After a long meditation, I understood that all is vanity on earth.

May God help us to cultivate humility and love of neighbor, because vanity only gives vanity, everything will be vanity. Be happy and make someone happy. ”

Barack Obama.

Drugs take over your mind and make you extra energetic. The result is usually an addiction – a terrible one that makes you disregard important things in life. There are better things to get addicted to, like the desire for greatness. First, you have to breed a mental image of your great self and sustain this image in your head. Absorb it, inject it into you, let it possess you. When Michael Jackson was alive, he would rehearse and rehearse. Greatness is not cheap. It comes with sacrifice, and what will fuel the drive to be able to sacrifice so much is your tempt for greatness.

Mike Tyson said, “the tempt for greatness is the biggest drug in the world”. You know why? Because it’s what will give you the capacity to make certain sacrifices. Not everyone can pay the price. Not everyone can stay up all night reading, practicing, rehearsing, conceptualizing ideas and putting them down, researching on new things or inventions or even having the strength of rising again after falling so many times.

You can, not because you are that strong. But because the undying spirit of never giving up, the determination to succeed, the strength, working like a drug in you is coming from the tempting, the burning desire for greatness. That’s where the strength is from. You see people on drugs are able to withstand pains and even lift heavier things than they usually can do without drugs in their system. It’s not them, it’s the drug.

So when you make certain decisions, go all out, people will wonder where you get your passion from, and how you’re able to be so persistent and firm. But it’s not you, it’s the drug in you; the tempt for greatness.

We all know the popular saying, “the downfall of a man is not the end of his life.” That you failed while you are at the verge of hitting your goal does not mean it’s the end. When you fail, you try and keep trying again. Persistence is key in achieving our goals in life.

Life is full of lots of challenges, but what we make of it determines whether we’re victims of the circumstance we are faced with or not.

You see Vice president of the United States, Kamala Harris inspiring lots of people today. Oh well, guess what she said? She said she was raised to be an independent woman and not a victim of anything. Does this mean she didn’t face any challenges in life? Definitely not!

So what’s your current situation like? What are you going to do about it? Are you going to let that situation weigh you down and make you a victim? Don’t do that. Rise and soar above it like the champion that you are!

Have you ever been propelled to ask someone what brand of cloth, or watch they’re wearing? The cloth doesn’t have a mouth to speak so what attracted you? Skills, Excellence, Outstanding finessing! Those were probably the things that caught your attention. Your skills have a voice, and they can speak to those who value excellence.

You must adopt good marketing and advertising structure, but more importantly, let your skills speak volumes! People will pay for whatever they are convinced is of sound value and worth their money. You don’t have to sweat over convincing people to let go of their cash. Offer value and watch them do it freely, and even give you free recommendations

Henry J. Kaiser said expressly in his quote, that when your work speaks for itself do not interrupt. Your work can speak, and when it does, you just have to enjoy the view because you put in the much-needed efforts. Don’t sweat, don’t struggle to try to force people over. Quality can draw people close.

Remember that results don’t lie, and your excellent work can convince people more than your words can ever

Sometimes, as a leader, you get caught up in the business of keeping the system running, and meeting set deadlines. In the middle of all the busyness, it’s highly essential that you find time to relate with others.

How do the people working under you view you? Like the stereotypical leader who gives orders and set unrealistic standards only? Truth is when you know your followers, it helps you set realistic and practically achievable goals because the communication improves, you know the challenges they face.

This will increase the level of successes and wins recorded which will further serve as a motivation for everyone to do more. A good relationship with others will also create a happier, healthier environment which boosts overall productivity and performance.

John. C. Maxwell, a popular American author & speaker said “Leaders must be close enough to relate with others but far enough ahead to motivate them.” It’s incredible how this quote strikes a balance between self-development as a leader and not neglecting the people under you.

So while you relate with them, you’re fully conscious of your position as a leader. You know you have to stay ahead, work twice as hard to ensure you’re not the one dragging the team behind. Remember that you first are a leader in your actions before a leader in words. Others should be able to see you in action and find motivation. They should see and be inspired to do more

As a leader, you must live up to the standard you set and even beyond. This is the biggest form of motivation.