The Oft Overlooked Ingredient to Great Leadership

There are a thousand great books out there helping us with perspectives on leadership. A lot of them are worth our time reading.

I do believe that knowledge is obviously an important component of setting up newer managers for success or in helping existing managers succeed in creating teams that are hard working, energetic, committed and that win.

I think it is a huge mistake though to think that knowledge is the only ingredient in the "Great Leader" recipe.

I've had a growing number of industry managers tell me lately that they are disappointed in the lack of performance from people they hired whose Knowledge credits were stacked high and wide. (University degrees, Dale Carnegie, Post Education Certificates etc).

While knowledge is important (I'm not knocking any of the above. they are very valuable), in my experience it isn't always enough to get you where you want to go.

The missing ingredient to turn people into Effective Managers & Leaders is a few cups of Courage.

That is where the upcoming 1st Time Manager's 2 Day Boot Camps in Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver set themselves apart.


Over the years, my leadership classes have been filled with great people who come to realize that they know what they need to do about the situations they are in. Knowledge in reality is not the problem.

What they really need is the courage to walk through the fear of addressing issues with people, communicating both up and down the company ladder, risking conflict: All things they'll need to do to deal with the situations they have.

I understand that. Its a huge issue in today's workforce and its holding a lot of Canadians back from what life would have for them.

I don't want fear to ever stop you from achieving your best.

So, on top of laying down 2 days packed with the knowledge you'll need to be a great leader, motivate teams, manage performance, communicate for clarity, handle change etc...

We'll also deliberate on the fact that Courage is essential and comes with A.G.E., which is not what it seems. (If it was, my wife tells me I should have more than enough)

Mark these dates on your calendar and register to reserve your spots today! Click on the city most convenient for you to access a fax registration form.

Calgary: September 14-15, Glenmore Inn & Convention Centre
Edmonton: November 3-4, Holiday Inn Express Downtown
Vancouver: November 29-30, Burnaby Hilton

Click here for a more detailed Workshop Info Sheet

Special Offer (for registrations before September 10): Register 2 people and bring a 3rd for free!

If you want a new lease on life and practical tools to launch your success, sign up and we'll see you in one of those great cities.

Do you have more than 10 employees that you'd like to take this training? I can cost effectively bring this training direct to your organization. Contact me for more info. david@marketbeamer.com or (403) 874-1044.

Here's to your success!

David

FEAR: Use it!

I don't know about you, but fear has and can stop me in my tracks. I retreat back into myself like a deer in headlights.

It is interesting to note that Fear as an acronym stands for:

False
Emotions
Appearing
Real

Consider the following scenarios:

1) Your Boss hasn't said anything about the project you just completed

Fear: They hate your work.
Truth: They are as run off their feet as you are. They love the fact they can count on you to do what needs to be done. They just haven't had the time to say it.

2) A Co-Worker keeps messing up and is impacting your ability to do your job

Fear: They are an idiot and perhaps doing it on purpose to make your life miserable.
Truth: They ARE an idi...(I knew you'd be saying that!)
Real Truth: They likely never truly understood what your expectations were (there are 1240 reasons why this may happen). Magically, once you take the time to actually clarify expectations they will very likely start meeting them.

So it points us to how we can use FEAR powerfully in our lives. FEAR is simply a call for ACTION. It is a trigger that should motivate you to clarify, communicate, act through something.

After a "How to Deal with Difficult People" seminar, a woman came up to me , thanked me for the class, and asked me if there was an advanced session because she had a really difficult person to go back and deal with.

I encouraged her that there was and that it was free! The advanced class is called experience. I challenged her to go back with the tools she did get from the workshop, walk through her fear and just talk to that person.

Experience will show her that rarely is it as bad as she feared.

Experience will show her that when things are finally said they get dealt with.

Experience will show her that when things are dealt with, people breathe easier and teams succeed.

Experience will make her better each time she encounter similar scenarios.

Experience will continually build her courage in the face of her fears.

It can do the same for you. What lies are you still telling yourself today? What fears are stopping you in your tracks? You now know what to do.

WARNING!: You'll be adding Experience to your resume... but that's always a good thing.

Looking for help with what to say and how to say it ? Don't miss the
1rst Time Managers Two Day Boot Camp in either Calgary or Edmonton. You'll learn 4 ways to successfully give feedback, even in the most stressful of situations. You'll also get an opportunity to practice it. See below or to the left for more details and links to registration.

Contact: (403) 874-1044 or david@marketbeamer.com

Drop the Pretense

A few words for the wise:

To achieve success driven by great communication patterns simply:

1) Drop the pretense.

2) Put it in the past tense.

3) Just be in the present tense.

4) Your future will be far less tense.

Stephen Covey author of 7 Habits for Highly Effective People suggests that most managers spend 80 percent of their day fighting "Fires" or things that are urgent and important. Most of these are a result of miscommunication/ lack of understanding.

If you are going to spend the time (listening to someone) don't commit the crime (not really listening to them.)

There are a ton of pretenses that can get in the way of us being in the moment with someone and truly listening:

1) Being super busy ourselves and thinking ahead
2) Their attitude
3) Their appearance
4) Past experiences with them
5) The environment we're in

just to name a few.

Drop them and experience the time saving, relationship building benefits of being 'in the moment' when speaking with someone.

If you can't drop them, tell them upfront and schedule a time when you can.

They'll thank you for it.

Life is hard. Get over it.

Life is hard. Get over it.

My father is 85 years old and last week while attending a family wedding in Toronto suffered a mini-stroke or T.I.A. It is another blow in a storied life, that on the surface, hasn't been kind to him.

My father, born in Eastern Europe lost his mom when he was a very young boy. He wasn't treated very well by his step mother and at age 16, he got dragged into the horrors of WW2 avoiding the mass graves that claimed the bodies of so many of his friends in the Russian work camp that took 4 years of his life.. He came to Canada with nothing but his clothes and an insatiable work ethic.



Don't feel to sorry for him. He doesn't feel sorry for himself. A lot of people, given his history, would allow him that, but he's never gone there.

My father knows two things:

1) Life is Hard

and

2) Life is so Incredibly Good

His focus has always been on #2 and he's lived a fulfulling life because of it.

It challenges all of us to ask the same question: Do we fundamentally believe life is good or do we believe life is hard?

A human truth is that we tend to get what we focus on.

If we fundamentally believe life is hard, don't be surprised if it turns out to be. It will be hard every moment of every day.

If we fundamentally believe life is incredibly good, it doesn't eliminate/solve some of the hardships we'll face. They just won't matter nearly as much. They won't bog us down. We'll learn from them and move on to receive the good things life has for us.

As a leader in your organization and your family, your focus will determine your destiny.

So my question is: What does YOUR future look like?

Today is a great day to start focusing on something good.


David Benjatschek is a professional speaker/workshop facilitator and rock star change agent. Visit his website at www.marketbeamer.com


Two high energy workshops with the power to transform and change performance are ready to rock Ontario & Alberta this summer and fall. Check out the details below for workshops in Mississauga, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton & Red Deer.

Register today for

First Time Managers Boot Camp

and

Prioritize & Organize for Success!

Ditch your expectations: you deserve it.

This short story just might change your life.. if you let it. A couple weeks ago an experience taught me the power of being flexible around expectations I have.

I was flying into Winnipeg and then driving to deliver a couple workshops on Conflict Management in Sioux Lookout Ontario.

I speak in Winnipeg usually twice a month and my rental with National Rent a Car on a previous trip was this great Volvo coupe. It had it all, or so I thought: stylish, sunroof, great handling, the most ergonomic seats I'd ever ridden in.. it was just one of those cars that makes you feel good.

So with the prospect of a 5 hour drive to Sioux Lookout and then 5 hours back to Winnipeg I did something I had never done before: I phoned the Winnipeg Airport Location in advance and placed my preference for a Volvo with them. They noted it and said that if one was available it would be mine.

So the Sunday came and I arrived in Winnipeg excited about my drive. I approached the counter and introduced myself to the gentleman behind it. He gathered my file, looked up and said: "Mr Benjatschek, I see here you requested a first class car for your long trip today. We are going to deliver that for you. Unfortunately none of the specific Volvos you requested have been returned to us but I am going to place you in a Luxurious Ford Taurus."

Sorry Ford , but the first thought that came to my mind was
"isn't putting the word luxury and Ford Taurus in the same sentence an oxymoron?!!"
Suspiciously, I took the keys and started to walk toward the lot, all along pondering what I was going to say when I discovered a plain Ford Taurus and went back inside to call his bluff and ask for a different car.

As you might guess, I never went back inside.
All that I can say is: Ford.. You have changed!!
Getting to my car I didn't see the plain jane ride I was expecting but instead discovered a very stylish sedan with an ultra comfortable leather interior, sunroof and Satellite Radio.. a must for driving the rolling hills of Hwy 17 North. I wasn't the only one who thought it was a great car .. I stopped for a Tim's on the way out of Winnipeg and when I came back out of the store with my coffee there was a group of men standing around my rental car and quickly asking: "is this baby yours?"

The ride was smooth and I went there and back on ONE TANK of GAS. Incredible.

This was not the Ford Taurus I always knew.

It drove home a great reminder to me: Sometimes when I stubbornly stick to existing expectations I miss out. Miss out on something better, different, interesting. Had I immediately balked at the Taurus based on previous impressions without taking the walk to check it out I would have missed out on a great car that was perfect for my trip to Sioux Lookout and that with satellite radio had me in a gut roll laugh listening to Blue Collar Comedy all the way out.

I don't know what things are stuck in "automatic" in your life. Things around which you've made up your mind, have definite opinions, people you like and people you've written off. Can I challenge you that things change and to step back from a few of them and ask "What's New?" You deserve the best. Sometimes it is just a question away.

David Benjatschek is a professional speaker/workshop facilitator and rock star change agent. Visit his website at www.marketbeamer.com

Making Sense of the House of Commons: A Tale of Personal Power

I finally figured out why they call our parliament the "House of Commons". Its always seemed an ironic name to me. Watch even 20 minutes of Parliament on TV and you'll soon realize our political parties share very little in common. But I've finally figured it out...

It turns out that the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP and their followers seem to share this one thing in common: a mistrust of BIG.

Canadians on the political left tend to have a mistrust or dislike of Big Business.
Canadians on the political right tend to have a mistrust or dislike of Big Government.

So no matter where you are on the political spectrum it is a great time to remind yourself of the power of one (one being you) in your relationship with Big.

Here are 4 fundamental truths regarding your relationship with BIG:

1) As Big Wins so do you.

2) As Big Loses so do you.

1 & 2 provide compelling reasons to give our best in each area of our life. Give your best to your company, your family, pay your fair share of taxes etc. You will never lose always committing your best.

3) As You Win so does Big.

4) As You Lose so does Big.

3 & 4 speak to the inherent interest BIG has in meeting your needs to keep you growing as a productive member of their "society/company".

If you are giving your all to BIG and are unhappy about the environment they are providing, they need to know about it. You need to ask for what you need and what you want.

You'll be shocked with how many times getting changes to make it a more fulfilling place to be is simply a matter of spitting it out, saying it, asking the question! If you don't , if you keep it inside and grow an attitude of disgruntlement you are going to waste a whole bunch of your time and BIG loses as you lose the motivation to provide your best.

So.. what to do?:

1) If your government is not giving you what you need and want, be active in asking for change. Participate in democracy. If they don't after that, use the power of your vote to elect someone else. (kick the bums out, as certain members of my family would say).

2) If your company is not giving you what you need and want, be active in asking for it. If they don't after that, ask yourself a simple question:

Do I stay or Do I go?

If the issue is minor and you can honestly drop it without carrying a grudge. i.e you might say "If this is the worst thing about my job I LOVE where I work" .. then stay.

If you can't drop it and are going to be fundamentally disgruntled then the best feedback they can receive are your heels leaving the door for an environment that will meet your needs.

Ultimately BIG draws it power from the power of its people.

Just like our country: Canada. Canada is BIG.

We have many strengths:

1) An abundance of Natural Resources
2) A variety of stunning landscapes
3) More fresh water than the rest of the world combined.

But for all the inherent strengths of the land in which we live, Canada's biggest strength has been, is, and will always be its PEOPLE. That's YOU and ME. We're not BIG but we can be powerful.

My conclusion: BIG can be great, as long as each of us stands up for ourselves. After all, BIG is simply the sum total of a bunch of ones.



David Benjatschek is an award winning trainer/speaker in the areas of Leadership & Communication. Check out his website at www.marketbeamer.com or contact him by email: david@marketbeamer.com. Check out "Whats New" on the website for details of two powerful workshops hitting Canada later this summer & fall: 1) First Time Managers Two Day Boot Camp and 2) Prioritize and Organize for Success. Early bird rates for registrations by May 15th.



















The Lesson:

If you currently create value for BIG by either a)paying taxes to the government or b) genuinely giving your all at your job



4) As You Lose so should Big.

The Close Shave: A Great Idea for Leaders and Managers.

Many of you have heard that Alberta is introducing a "Distracted Driver" law this fall. It will fine people who are distracted while driving. What "distraction" means is at the judgment call of the officer watching you. It may be for talking on your hand held cellphone. It could also be for flossing your teeth or trying to balance a Wendy's Combo Meal on your lap while also navigating the road.

This past week I would have been guilty as charged!

The culprit: My new electric shaver.

The story: A great reminder of an important leadership principle for personal and team growth.

Before you lynch me: I wasn't trying to shave as I was driving (although I have witnessed that).

I recently bought my first electric razor. While saving on the costs of a $3 disposable blade that might last 4 shaves is great, I have to confess it has taken a bit to get used to.

With the old disposable blade, one swish line around my face and the hairs in my blade's path were gone. With the electric shaver, I'm finding I'm having to take 3, 4, even up to 10 swipes at those same stubborn hairs to get the same result.

So on Thursday of this past week I was at home getting ready to deliver a Supervisors Workshop in Calgary. I spent around 5 minutes swerving my new electric shaver around my face... straight paths up, straight paths down and circular motions. After about five minutes, it looked like I had achieved the desired result: a clean-shaven face!

I was a happy camper until having left our neighbourhood, I glanced in the rear view mirror of my car. Thursday was a fantastically sunny day in Calgary and to my horror (and distraction) the brilliant light of the sun combined with the magnification of the rear view mirror exposed a few things that the dimmer lighting of my bathroom had not. Like:

Two hairs that stood out like pine treees between my upper lip and my nose.

The equivalent to a Red Wood Forest growing beautifully on the left side of my face just under the chin bone and many seedlings still emerging at various and random spots on my face.

I felt like i would have been better cast as a creature in a horror film that day than as a professional trainer of a management workshop. I had to buy a disposable blade on the way and finish what I had started with my electric razor.

The experience reinforced a great management principle to me:

Everyone on your team (including you) is coming to your workplace with their strengths (perfect shave) and weaknesses (my less than perfect shave).

Great individuals and teams are not afraid to shine the full light of the sun on both of them. As a a leader, you know that when team members can feel free to openly share their strengths and weaknesses, you can put each individual in a position to succeed and use their strengths. The strengths of one team member will cover the weakness of another and vice versa. Overall the team is put in the best position to win.

After all, it is only when we are truly comfortable looking at who we really are today that we can create a powerful vision and plan for the person or team we want to be tomorrow.

Happy Shaving! just not while driving please :O)

David Benjatschek is a professional speaker/trainer and rock star change agent whose Leadership & Communication Workshops span across North America. Two new powerful public workshops will be hitting Ontario & Alberta this summer and fall. For details on the First Time Manager's Two Day Boot Camp or Prioritize and Organize for Success CLICK HERE. You can reach David by email: david@marketbeamer.com