How To Spot A Leader

The following is taken from Leaders At Levels by Ram Charan:

Many people who think they know how to recognize a leader focus on highly visible attributes and skills, such as analytical brilliance, charisma, the ability to make great presentations, and the drive to succeed. These are fine things to have, but they aren’t sure signs of leadership ability. Look instead for the actions, decisions, and behaviors that reveal true leadership potential:

What is the person’s ambition? Is it clearly for a leadership role, or is it oriented more toward making an individual contribution?

Do they take pride in accomplishing goals on the basis of their own ability, or do they talk about bringing together and motivating others to achieve those goals?

Does the person seem curious about subjects outside their area of expertise?

Do they have a grasp of the business (organization) and basics of success?

Can the person articulate clearly the requirements for doing their bosses job? Their bosses, bosses job?

How does the person ensure that she is continually learning?

How well does the person deliver results, and what is extraordinary about the results?

Does the person have an incessant drive to shape the external environment and make progress?

Does the person like to work with divers, high-caliber people, or do they bring along with them to a new job the people they are comfortable with and who are loyal to them?

How driven and passionate are they about leading? Is it just talk, or is it realistic?

Is the person dealing with increasingly complex and uncertain situations and using the occasional failure as an opportunity to learn?

Is there clear evidence that this person has a methodology to continue to build new skills and hone their personality traits to achieve their dream of what they want to become?

Daryl Fast

Goals worth having require sacrifice and hard work. Another John Maxwell quote that I love is that “You have to give up to go up”. In order to focus on achieving this years goals I am starting the year with a 40 day fast. The goal of the fast is to focus in on God and hopefully create some good habits towards my goals.

Here are the things that I will be doing without for the first 40 days of this year:

• No computer at home for me.
• No business emails outside of work hours.
• No late nights. All bedtimes before 10pm (other than nights with bowl games :-).
• No sleeping in (all days will start at 5am).
• None of the following food or drinks:

Beef, lamb, pork, and fish.

Milk, cheese, cream, butter, and eggs (execept limited amounts of low fat cheese).

Sugar, raw sugar, syrups, molasses, and cane juice.

All leavened bread.

All refined and processed food products including but not limited to artificial flavorings, food additives, chemicals, white rice, white flour, and foods that contain artificial preservatives.

All deep fried foods including but not limited to potato chips, French fries.

All solid fats including shortening, margarine, lard and foods high in fat.

Beverages including but not limited to coffee, tea, herbal teas, carbonated beverages, energy drinks, and alcohol.

There it is….The Daryl Fast….The next 40 days of my life. It isn’t designed to help me with all my goals but rather to focus me in on where God is leading me (to be healthier physically, spiritually, mentally). Don’t let me slack!!

The Law Of The Price Tag

The Law Of The Price Tag stats that “you fail to reach your potential when you fail to pay the price” -J. Maxwell.

I believe this is why many of us set goals this time of year and 365 days later we are scratching our heads wondering what happened.

The best thing about January 1st is that you get to start the new year with a blank page and the possibilities for this year are unlimited!! Maybe the difference for me and for you this year will be what we do with the Law Of The Price Tag. Will I and will you be willing to pay the price for our goals?

Here are my goals for 2010:

Health

• Loose 60 pounds by July 2nd and keep it off Until Decemer 31st.
• Workout 4 days a week.
• Save money and get a Trikke 8 Air and ride it.
• Make water my drink of choice.
• Less red meat, sweets and coffee drinks.
• Go to bed by 10pm 5 days a week.

Spiritual

• More structured quite time this year (5-6AM daily)
• Daily paper journaling.
• Rely much more on the Holy Spirit and less on me.
• Help my family take their next steps spiritually.

Home

• 3 Date nights a month with Kelli.
• Specific hang time with each kid (1 a week).
• Pull more weight with household choirs (dishes and repairs I have been putting off).
• Kick debt in the teeth (knock bottom 3 items off of debt list).

Work

• Implement leadship pipeline principles throughout our organization.
• Invest more time in people.
• Play to strengths more (less plate spinning and more points scored).

Play

• Get a hobby!!

With goals like these their is a hefty price tag. I will need a good plan, good accountability partners (you) and I will have to give up a lot of things. See my next post on Daryl Fast to see what I plan on giving up for the first 40days of the year in order to kick start this process.