Personal

  You can do everything right at work and manage yourself well there, but if your personal life is a mess, it will eventually turn everything else sour. What would it profit a leader to climb to the top of the organizational chart but to lose a marriage or alienate the children? As someone who spent many years counselling people, I can tell you, no career success is worth it.

For years one of my definitions of success has been this:
having those closest to me love and respect me the most. That is what is most important. I want the love and respect of my wife, my children, and my grandchildren before I want the respect of anyone I work with.
Don’t get me wrong. I want the people who work with me to respect me too, but not at the expense of my family. If I blow managing myself at home, then the negative impact will spill over into every area of my life, including work.

If you want to lead up, you must always lead yourself first. If you can’t,
you have no credibility. I’ve found the following to be true:

• If I can’t lead myself, others won’t follow me.


• If I can’t lead myself, others won’t respect me.


• If I can’t lead myself, others won’t partner with me.

That applies whether the influence you desire to exert is on the people above you, beside you, or below you. The better you are at making sure you’re doing what you should be doing, the better chance you have for making an impact on others.

– The 360-degree Leader

HOW WELL ARE YOU LEADING YOURSELF AT HOME?

Adaptable

  Teamwork and personal rigidity just don’t mix.
If you want to work well with others and be a good team player, you have to be willing to adapt yourself to your team. Team players who exhibit adaptability have certain characteristics.


Adaptable people are:

Teachable: Diana Nyad said, “I am willing to put myself through anything; temporary pain or discomfort means nothing to me as long as I can see that the experience will take me to a new level. I am interested in the unknown, and the only path to the unknown is through breaking barriers.” Adaptable people always place a high priority on breaking new ground.
They are highly teachable.

Emotionally Secure: People who are not emotionally secure see almost everything as a challenge or a threat. They meet, with rigidity or suspicion, the addition of another talented person to the team, an alteration in their position or title, or a change in the way things are done.
But secure people aren’t made nervous by change itself. They evaluate a new situation or a change in their responsibilities based on its merit.

Creative: When difficult times come, creative people find a way. Creativity fosters adaptability.

Service Minded: People who are focused on themselves are less likely to make changes for
the team than people focused on servicing others. If your goal is to serve the team, adapting to accomplish that goal isn’t difficult.

The first key to being a team player is being willing to adapt yourself to the team;
not an expectation that the team will adapt to you.

- The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player

     ARE YOU WILLING TO ADAPT TO YOUR TEAM IN ORDER TO SUCCEED?  

Teachable

  All the good advice in the world won’t help if you don’t have a teachable spirit.
To know whether you are really open to new ideas and new ways of doing things,
answer the following questions:

1. Am I open to other people’s ideas?
2. Do I listen more than I talk?
3. Am I open to changing my opinion based on new information?
4. Do I readily admit when I am wrong?
5. Do I observe before acting on a situation?
6. Do I ask questions?
7. Am I willing to ask a question that will expose my ignorance?
8. Am I open to doing things in a way I haven’t done before?
9. Am I willing to ask for directions?
10. Do I act defensive when criticized, or do I listen openly for the truth?


If you answered no to one or more of these questions, then you have room to grow in the area of teachability. Remember the words of John Wooden: “Everything we know we learned from someone else!”

SOFTEN YOUR ATTITUDE, LEARN HUMILITY, AND REMAIN TEACHABLE TODAY  

Pareto Principle