Archive for July, 2010

Being a leader can be extremely challenging. It can feel like a never ending treadmill which is constantly on maximum upward incline.

Sometimes, when in the role of the leader, you are so consumed by the needs of the different stakeholders that you forget to take care of you.

When you don’t take care of you, the true value of what you are doing is sometimes lost. You might not be so impactful, productive or focussed as you could be.

So what can you do to take more care of you and deliver great results?

• Set some boundaries around the hours you work.
• Make a point of taking some form of regular exercise.
• Don’t forget about the important people in your life.
• Keep things in perspective. There is always tomorrow.

The truth is, taking care of you on an ongoing basis will always be continual work in progress. It’s not a onetime fix that lasts forever.

So the big question is, what are you doing to take care of you and deliver great results?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

If you are reading this blog post, the chances are you are ambitious and want to progress your career. So what might be stopping you from progressing your career?

Lack of clarity
• Are you really crystal clear on your next role? Do you really know the type of industry or geographical location you want to work in? Getting clarity about these key questions is vital to you progressing your career.

Lack of strategy

• You need to approach your job search systematically rather than just randomly. Make really clear choices about the types of roles you want to pursue, how you are going to find them or how you will create the opportunities you are seeking.

Out of date skills

• The pace of change is extremely fast these days in organisations so you need to make sure that your skills reflect the market needs. Make a point of taking stock of your skills and what needs developing.

Not selling yourself

• Whether you like it or not, you have to sell what you offer in job applications and in interviews. Start keeping track of your achievements and results so that you can sell these effectively. Don’t be afraid to share your successes.

I wonder what else you would add to the list? Why not leave a comment with your suggestions?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

Time is the ultimate limiting factor. It does not matter who you are, you have 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week.

So how can you make better use of your time?

1. Start to view it in the same way as money and invest it wisely.
2. Plan how you are going to utilise your team each day.
3. Do what you do best and delegate everything else.
4. Get clear on your priorities and then focus on them.
5. Track how you are spending your time to spot the time stealers.

So what other tips would you offer to make better use of time?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

As anyone knows who is in, or has been in, a leadership role, it can often be hugely challenging and at the same time rewarding.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with some great and not so great leaders.

For me, the things that differentiated the leaders who stood out included the following:

Genuine interest in others
• All of the leaders that I admired when working in big organisations genuinely had an interest in others. They were often people who made the time to help others progress, learn, grow and develop. At the same time, they still set and expected high standards of performance.

Inspiring

• I worked with one leader who, whilst highly driven personally, really inspired me and others to do what it took to get the best results. Their upbeat, ‘can do’ attitude really acted as a real source of inspiration. At the same time, they took the time to acknowledge when you had done a good job.

Sense of balance

• Most people who are in leadership roles have a certain level of drive. At the same time they are able to keep some sense of balance. They are often people who work hard and smartly when in the workplace but also make time for things outside work.

Do what they do best

• Good leaders don’t try to be great at everything. They know what they do best and build a team of people around them who complement the leader.

So what in your experience makes leaders stand out?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

As a leader, I guess that you ultimately want to achieve success. At the same time, you know that success as a leader is definitely not guaranteed.

So what traits do you want to avoid if you want to achieve success as a leader?

1. Trying to rely on status or seniority to get things done.
2. Never allowing others to have a go and try things out because of fear of failure.
3. Avoiding taking key decisions that need to be made.
4. Trying to do it all by yourself.
5. Failing to trust others in the team.

I wonder what else you would add to the list?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

As a leader or manager, you probably appreciate that first and foremost you are assessed on the results that you deliver.

While this might seem unfair at times, if you expect to get the rewards you need to be willing to get results.

So the big question is, are you really taking responsibility for the results that you deliver?

Taking responsibility means different things to different people. Some of the signs that you are taking responsibility for the results you deliver include:

1. You don’t look to justify your position

   Even the best leaders and managers struggle at times. At the same time, they don’t deny that they are not delivering or try to justify why they are not delivering.

2. You don’t blame external factors

   In tougher economic times, it is easy to blame things like the economy for the failure to deliver results. Good leaders and managers, by contrast, focus on adapting to the circumstances.

3. You don’t blame others on the team

   Blaming others on the team merely alienates you from the team. Don’t forget that your role is to get the best from others. That’s why you are a leader or manager.

4. You take balanced risks and learn

   No successful leader or manager achieved anything without taking some risks. The key when taking any type of risk is to learn from the setbacks.

The Bottom Line: As a leader or manager, you need to take responsibility for achieving results.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here

• PAYING attention to the views of customers or service users.
• PUTTING the organisation’s success ahead of your own agenda.
• Being PERSISTENT in achieving the outcomes you want.
• PROVIDING opportunities to others for self development and growth.
• Listening to the views of other PARTIES.

What else would you add?

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps accountants and health professionals to achieve success and realize their professional potential through being highly effective leaders and managers. For more information and to sign up for his free audio e-course click here