Leadership Development Program Resources

I recently completed the Leadership Development Program at Franklin University. Each month, we participants attended one of 10 excellent presentation by scholars and leaders here in Columbus, Ohio. It has been an excellent experience, and the presenters have been outstanding. Below I link to my notes from these presentations.

Resources
The resources below could be used as the beginning of any leadership development program. Each presentation includes general principles that can be applied to any leadership situation.

1. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Dr. Karen Miner-Romanoff
2. Business Writing and Communication - Tom McClain
3. Leadership Theories and Decision-Making - Dr. Timothy Reymann
4. Communication and Relationships - Dr. Mike Posey
5. The Power of Mindfulness - Daron Larson
6. Ethical Leadership - Dr. Alex Heckman
7. Leadership Begins with the Heart - Dr. Jim Mahoney
8. Practical Leadership Advice - E. J. Thomas
9. Self-Awareness and Creating Your Personal Brand - Dr. Lynn Hull and Robert Coles
10. Planning - Rick Sunderman

Other Leadership Thoughts

Below are some other leadership thoughts that I have noted over the past few years.

• The 7 Competencies of Self-Leadership
• The 7 Skills of Knowledge Work
• My Leadership Values
• Effective Strategies for Decision-Making
• Strategic Planning
• Leadership and Effective Decision-Making
• 6 Principles for Using Data to Make Decisions

Reflections on Leadership Though Development 
As I reflect on the experience over the past year, these presentations and ideas were very influential the development of my own leadership thoughts. Along with these presentations, I also read perhaps two dozen books on leadership-related topics, and I have extended my own philosophy and awareness of my own leadership style. I am very grateful to have participated in this program and look forward to continually developing my knowledge and understanding of leadership concepts.

Leadership Development: Planning

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently participating in a Leadership Development Program (LDP) as part of my work at Franklin University. This week, I attended a presentation by Rick Sunderman, Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Franklin University. He talked about how to plan effectively as a leader. He first spoke about the big picture approach to planning: Strategic Planning.

Strategic Planning 
All models for strategic planning seem to have similar components, and strategic planning is typically a top-down endeavor. You starts with the big picture of what you want to accomplish as an organization and break it down into smaller pieces until you have operational tactics. The point is to make it granular and focused so that you can take specific actions that you can do and measure. These specific actions should all feed back up to the big picture mission and initiatives outlined in the strategic plan.

Franklin University has a strategic plan that we have developed and revisited several times in the last 6 years. It was approached very systematically and included dozens of participants. I thought it was interesting to hear Rick report that we are 41 percent done with our strategic plan - the leadership of the university are continually meeting and revisiting out plan, to the point that they know exactly where we stand and what else needs to be implemented.
Here is the general sequence when creating your strategic plan:

1. Clarify your Mission.
2. Create Institutional Goals based on your mission. 
3. Develop Major Strategies for reaching those goals.
4. Undertake multiple Strategic Initiatives within each major strategy.
5. Develop Supporting Strategies to support those initiatives.
6. Employ Operational Tactics to fulfill those supporting strategies. 

If done correctly, this is a multi-year, involved approach to planning. Furthermore, you should be willing to adjust and revise your plan regularly to adapt to the volatile changes experienced in the environment. It is critical that you divide and conquer. Enable people to focus on their own aspect, and coordinate efforts.

Rick noted that research indicates that up to 90% of strategic plans fail due to lack of execution. This is critical - the implementation and execution of a plan is the most vital piece. It appears that Franklin University has done well at following our strategic plan, which is encouraging.

Project Planning and Scheduling

Effective project planning enables you to implement specific components of the strategic plan. project planning typically includes the following major steps:

• Define to Scope - what are you trying to accomplish? Who is involved and has a stake in the outcome? What is the budget? What are the goals of the project? What artifacts of products will you create? This is what we call an analysis in the instructional design world - establishments of gaps and goals.
• Design - This is the phase in which you plan everything that is needed for the effective completion of the project. How it will the completed project look? How will it achieve the goals and close the gaps you have already identified?.
• Roles and Responsibilities - Be sure to establish what all participants are responsible for. Who will do which part? How will each part be accomplished? Who receives reports and tracks progress? 
• Schedule - create a specific and clear schedule of how each step of the project will be created. Be aware of the steps that are contingent upon the completion of a previous step and plan the steps in the proper sequence.
• Communication Plan - Develop a system for communication progress regularly to the project manager. This reporting should happen regularly to keep the project on schedule. Rick's rule of thumb is that he becomes concerned when a projects is off by 80 hours (2 weeks). 

Project scheduling

A critical component of successfully complete a project is project scheduling. Major aspects of scheduling include:

• Identify project phases - what are the big milestones or steps for the project?
• Identify key activities - what must be done to complete each of the phases?
• Identify tasks - what specific tasks will facilitate accomplishment of each activity?
• Assign tasks - who will do each of the tasks?
• Identify dependencies and sequence - what tasks need to be done first? what is dependent on the completion of previous tasks?

A good manager works to know the details of the project that his employees are working on. The work you do up front in the analysis should be pretty detailed and comprehensive so that there is a solid grasp of what will be required. A good manager also follows up on employees' projects regularly, provides support, and removes obstacles wherever possible. 

30 Seconds of Reflection

We have been doing 30 seconds of reflection at the end of each leadership session. Here is what I wrote for this one: It's all in completing the project. You must deliver on the project - your team must produce the results required. I'll now be working with the instructional design faculty members as their department chair, and I will need to be as effective as possible in my support to them. I am blessed to be working with EXCELLENT faculty members in i4, and I look forward to working closely with them over the coming months.

Leadership Development: Self-awareness and Creating Your Personal Brand

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently participating in a Leadership Development Program (LDP) as part of my work at Franklin University. This week, I attended a presentation by Dr. Lynn Hull the Dean of Students at Franklin University, and Robert Coles, Director of Creative Services and Brand Management Franklin University. These two excellent presenters share their insights about reflectively and conscientiously creating a "personal brand" to communicate clearly about who you are to others in a variety of media. The notes below are from their presentation. As in previous posts, their ideas and my own are intermingled.

Dr. Lynn Hull in the foreground presenting at the Leadership Development Program at Franklin University. 

Part 1 - the Four-Color Self-Assessment

Self-awareness is critical to success. When we are aware of ourselves, our strengths, weaknesses, ambitions and desires, we can more effectively bring about those things that matter most to us. One way to develop self-awareness is to utilize self-assessment tools. In this presentation, we were directed to identify our preferences in work and communication using the four-color method. We were given descriptions of these four categories and were directed to rank them to most-preferred to least-preferred. Below are descriptions of these color categories, which I present in the sequence that I personally prefer.

1. Green = 5 - 7% of population. Lots of greens in education. They are rational - conceptual thinkers, thinking globally and analytically. Want us to be logical when thinking about things. Why consider something that doesn't make sense intellectually. Strategy is interesting to the green - setting it up and thinking through the process excites the green. Can be detached when things get emotionally charged and sort through the facts. Creative, innovative, inventive. Like to think but not necessarily to act. Diversity of interests. Value competence, not necessarily niceness. Might neglect important tasks because other things are interesting. Might not realize that the debate is not as fun to others as it is to them. They want knowledge, power, willpower, and mastery.
2. Blue = 8 - 10% of population. Idealists. Empathetic and caring about others. Look for the best in people and try to bring it out. They are excellent diplomats and are interested in social issues - working to "right" social "wrongs." Insightful and creative, always trying to read a room and sense what is happening. Enjoy self-development and self-improvement. They always bring a human perspective. They have difficulty saying no. They have a need to feel needed and are extremely sensitive to criticism.
3. Gold = 40-45% of population. Precision. Practicality. Results-oriented. Logistics. Systems and processes. Harness resources without talking about them. Loyalty, stability, and routine. Tell me what you want, and I will get us there. They like rules, responsibilities, and duty. They need to feel a sense of membership and belonging.
4. Orange = 35-40% of the population. Artisans - physical beings. Playful and light-hearted. Don't love routine - they like change and flexibility. "Why get stuck doing things the same old way?" Very action-oriented - they want to do something instead of sitting around and talking. They are tactical in nature and concrete and adaptable to changes. Orange does very well in competitive environments. Bold, generous, bring excitement. Orange can be fairly laid back and might goof around a little too much. An orange might change directions fairly regularly and be a little scattered in their directions.

My name badge from the meeting. The dots show how I ranked my preferences for each category.

As I think about it, my beautiful wife Katie is a Blue/Orange. She is incredibly effective with people (blue) and loves to push the rules to shake things up (orange). She definitely makes my life fun, something that might be missing (since orange is ranked low). My daughter CK is definitely Orange. She likes to jump from thing to thing and doesn't love doing things the established way.

Part 2 - Personal Branding 

"A brand is a promise. By identifying and authenticating a product or service it delivers a pledge of satisfaction and quality." - Walter Landor

With your color scheme, you have a starting point for understanding your personal brand. The next step is to mobilize your brand - to identify how you are perceived, how you would like to be perceived, and begin to work to shape that perception through branding. 

How to Mobilize Your Brand

1. Listen and Understand - Listen to people about your brand. What do they value in you? How do they describe you? Talk to someone who can tell you a little more about your personal brand. "Who am I, and how do I tell it?"
2. Interpret and Simplify - Be clear about who you are. "How can I distill my story to its basic elements?" Assign words and phrases to your personal brand. Create 3 words that exemplify my brand. 
3. Develop and Design - When you know the essence of your brand, ask "what forms and colors best express it?" How can I visually represent myself? We live in a visual world.
4. Evaluate and Collaborate - the imagery should match the vision. "Does the design communicate the brand as it should?"
5. Deliver and Implement - Consistency is the key. Put all the pieces in place so every aspect of your brand speaks with one voice.

Side-note of Reflective Thoughts - I would like to follow this process and use the results to pull my blog, website, LinkedIn page, Twitter account, and other profiles together and demonstrate a clearer message of who I am. It needs to visually capture who I am and what I offer. The same might go for all of my communications, the products I produce, etc. To use Robert's words, "This is what people are attracted to about me." 

Conduct a SWOT Analysis

One way to develop your brand is to conduct a SWOT Analysis. Below are some thoughts I brainstormed about myself as I sat in this session.

My Strengths

• I think clearly
• I pull information together in meaningful ways
• I care about people
• I have a high level of formal education
• I am constantly learning and growing through reading, conferences, leadership development, and credentialing
• I effectively involve people in my thinking and decision-making
• I have mastered several techniques and strategies associated with excellence in academia

My Weaknesses

• I am less aware of the political aspects of work
• I do not have a business background
• I may miss out on opportunities to making money - I am more interested in creating ideas that can influence and help others create positive change.

My Opportunities

• Gain greater focus in my career
• Brand myself to be seen as more effective
• Set powerful goals to achieve

Threats

• Constant change
• Complacency, becoming satisfied 

Key Question: What is my Vision and My Mission?

What do I want to have happen as a result of my work? How would I know that I have successfully accomplished my mission? First of all, I am constantly tweaking and updating my personal mission, and I have made some great improvements. Here is my current mission: To empower, inspire, and equip others to improve themselves, their lives, and the world. 
So, the next question is, how do I know that I have achieved this mission? To me, I think I should likely break this mission down into a set of goals and measures that I can use to determine the effectiveness of my work. Just brainstorming, my thought is that the following measures might be meaningful. Again, these are simply a brainstormed list, and I would likely need to be clearer about this.

• # of presentations given
• # of presentation attendees
• # of publications
• # of publications viewed, cited, or purchased
• # of people who recommend my work

Potential Goal: It might be interesting to work toward 1 million views of my work posted online. This could include my blog posts, YouTube Videos, academic articles, presentation slides, etc. I think this would be an interesting/motivating thing to work toward and could be one way to measure impact (though there are many others, certainly).

What is Brand Identity?

Brand Identity is the visual and verbal expression of a brand that can include the following: Logos, Websites, Print Documents, Packaging, Signage, Mobile/Social Media, Videos, and Photos. How can I audit my current brand and create plans to improve it?

Getting Feedback
The first step identified above is to find out what others perceive to be your brand. This involves getting feedback. However, you shouldn't get feedback only from people who will only focus on your strengths. Also get feedback from people who will help you improve and change the things with which you are struggling. Feedback should be constructive, formative, and objective. It should give you a sense of where you are and how you can move forward.

Homework
Find someone in this room who is of a different color (referring to the color chart, here!!!!). Share the following with them:

1. What do you see as this person's gifts?
2. What might be this person's personal brand?
3. What might you do together to collaborate and move forward together?

Ideas for Application

• Follow the sequence above to really work toward a personal brand.
• Develop a sort of tagline that captures who I am and what I do. This becomes a component of my brand.
• Identify colors, shapes, and images that correspond to my personal brand.
• Update my LinkedIn site to include words and phrases about my brand.
• Adjust my pre-publication drafts to include branding or logos that refer to me and my brand.
• Update my vitae and website to include these words and images.
• Revisit all of my web spaces to reflect my refreshed personal brand.

60 seconds of Reflection

We have been doing 30 seconds of reflection at the end of each leadership session. Here is what I wrote for this one: I am not sure about the homework assignment to meet with someone else - maybe... In terms of the idea of "personal branding," I believe this is likely a key way to improve how I represent myself. Actually, this really aligns with some of the things I have been thinking about. I have been working to gain a greater deal of clarity on my personal goals and my mission. This then spills into how I represent myself through my "brand." I'll keep thinking on this...

Leadership Development: Leadership Begins with the Heart

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently participating in a Leadership Development Program (LDP) as part of my work at Franklin University. This week, I attended a presentation by Dr. Jim Mahoney, the Executive Director of Battelle for Kids. Dr. Mahoney spoke about the dynamics associated with being an effective leader. Below are my notes from the presentation.

Dr. Jim Mahoney speaking at Franklin University's Leadership Development Program.

I will begin by sharing Dr. Mahoney's concluding statement: "Leadership begins with the heart." It seems to me that many of the things he discussed throughout the presentation support that statement. 

Three Verbs to Describe Your Leadership

One of the first things Dr. Mahoney directed us to do was to write down three verbs that describe your leadership. It was a quick exercise, and some of the participants shared the following: verbs, which I thought were great: Listen, Organize, Dependable, Innovate, Maximize, Understand, Empower. For myself, I came up with the following (which I have edited a bit):

• Clarify – Help bring clarity to what the goals are.
• Demonstrate – Be an example of hard work and a positive attitude.
• Collaborate – work with others and help them succeed.

Empowering Your People
Dr. Mahoney paused for a moment when someone mentioned empowerment and said that to empower people effectively, you really must do the following 4 things. 

1. Identify the Problem (which is usually done by the employee)
2. Assign the solution of the problem to the individual
3. Devote Attention and Resources to help succeed
4. Follow Up regularly until the problem is solved

The BFK Connect Framework
We spent some time discussing the BFK Connect framework. You can see the framework in the image below. The framework highlights some of the natural tensions that occur in a workplace and that leaders must always try to find the balance between. We focused on the tension between People and Goal Achievement, and the tension between Stability and Innovative Change. It is likely that any organization undergoing change will constantly struggle to maintain the proper balance between each of these four quadrants.

The BFK Connect Framework.

Four Outstanding Strategies
Dr. Mahoney outlined his four most important strategies for leading effectively. I really liked these and hope to be able to use them as a leader.

1. Praise. This is the number one motivator to bring out the best. Perhaps write a note to someone and show your appreciation. Look for the unexpected and praise it!
2. Involvement. "If you want them to be part of the deal, deal them in!" People want input, they want to feel like their opinion counts. Find ways to involve people in setting a direction and in doing the work.
3. Expectation. Set clarity for what you expect as a supervisor. Then enable them to do it! "If you don’t feed the teachers, don’t eat the kids!"
4. Standing Beside. Be there to support your people in a difficult meeting. Help your people with mundane tasks like writing reports. Do what you can to help people move forward.

Quotes and Anecdotes from the Training

Throughout the presentation, Dr. Mahoney gave several excellent one-liner quotes and anecdotes that are worth repeating. I have documented them here (to the best of my ability).

"Try to imagine you were a patient, and imagine what kind of doctor you would want. And be that doctor." 

“Nothing is impossible for those who don’t have to do the work.”

“Success is simple. Find out what your boss wants and give it to them.”

“How you see your job is how you do your job.”

“The grass isn’t green on the other side. The grass is green where you water it.”

“If you want one year of prosperity, grown grain, 10 years, trees, 100 years, grow people.”

“I know some people in leadership positions who couldn’t lead a group in silent prayer.”

30 Seconds of Reflection

We have been doing 30 seconds of reflection at the end of each leadership session. Here is what I wrote for this one: These are great ideas. I would love to be able to apply these in a meaningful way. When I am actually placed in a leadership position, I hope I can apply ideas such as these in an effective way. It seems like putting together a 1-page document of my leadership philosophy and practices might be useful.

Leadership Development Program: Ethical Leadership

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently participating in a Leadership Development Program (LDP) as part of my work at Franklin University. This week, I attended a presentation by Dr. Alex Heckman, the Chair of the Department of Public Administration in the College of Health and Public Administration at Franklin. Dr. Heckman's presentation was focused around the topic of ethics in leadership, and below are my notes from the presentation. These notes are mine, though much of what I write below is taken from his presentation.

Dr. Alex Heckman presented on Ethics in Leadership.

Ethics can be considered applicable to two entities: the individual, and the organization. From the individual perspective, the question is: Who are you and how will you act? From the organizational perspective: How are you and your organization acting? Policies and procedures that are ethical and create a “virtuous cycle” moving us toward good.

4 General Approaches to Ethics

There are 4 general approaches to making decisions that are ethical. These include:

1. Outcome based – “What will be the outcome of my action?” The difficulty is that the outcome might not be clear. The "butterfly effect" holds – one small action here might have a massive impact somewhere else.
2. Rules based – “Follow the policies and procedures.” There is some perceived safety in this approach - however, the issue is that we might come up with rules for every single situation, which might have negative consequences overall. This also runs the risk of subduing an individual or organization’s creativity in making decisions that are meaningful. Dr. Heckman believes that Rules send the message that we don’t trust people. However, principles set guidelines for making decisions but don’t tell people exactly what to do. I tend to believe n the power of principles and think they can provide excellent guidance while empowering others.
3. Character based – “Characteristics or virtues you are demonstrating.” These include courage, virtue, faith, etc. Setting a mission statement that outlines the values you espouse can give you a set of guiding principles
4. Care based – “How will this affect the relationships in my life?” The goal here is to maintain positive relationships with others.

I find that people likely use more than one of these approaches, depending on the situation they are in. However, as I reflect, doesn't that really add up to being outcome based? I mean, if you select a "care-based" approach so that you can maintain a positive relationship, haven't you just employed an outcomes-based approach in the selection of the approach itself? Are we all using a meta-outcomes based approach?

What are Ethical Dilemmas?
An ethical dilemma is a situation in which any decision appears to conflict with moral or ethical standards. Dr. Heckman notes that to deal effectively with ethical dilemmas, you must first recognize that there is an ethical dilemma. Next, work to make the decision by talking with people, discussing alternative solutions, and working toward the most appropriate solution. There are often many more options than you first realize – you don’t necessarily only have two decisions to make. Dr. Heckman notes that talking with others lightens the load – if you get a sense of agreement with others, it can help you feel better about it.  The final step is to take action on the ethical dilemma based on the decision you have made.

Typical Ethical Dilemmas – “right vs. right”

Below are dilemmas that you might find yourself in.

• Truth vs. Loyalty – this is the dilemma of truth-telling versus being loyal to your cohorts. Think of the question “Don’t you just love my gown?” As another example, the fighter pilot who is shot down and interrogated would likely be more loyal to his fellow-fighters (not sharing secrets to the enemy) than truthful. An example was given of a leader that often misrepresents and inflates the accomplishments and capacity of an organization to visitors. How should the individual respond to the leader? Tell the truth right there, or show loyalty by not interrupting? It is a dilemma!
• Individual vs. Community – The good for the community might be bad for the individual, and the good for the individual might be bad for the community. Example -the old lady who can’t learn the computer but is dragging the organization down. Do you fire that lady, or do you keep her?
• Short Term vs. long Term – Putting a child through college – it will have great long-term benefits, but in the short-term you need to pay the bills. If you always default to the short-term, there will be no long-term. If you always default to the long-term, you will starve.
• Justice vs. Mercy – The expectation is what justice is based on. The exception is what mercy is based on. You cannot have all justice, and you cannot have all mercy. Example – excellent, effective workers who have been committing “time theft” by surfing the internet or running errands during the workday. 

"Should I address this issue?"

If you are confronted with an ethical dilemma and wonder whether you should act, you should consider the following:

• Severity of the harm – how serious is the damage or danger? Will people or property be harmed? Is human life threatened? More severity means more responsibility in addressing the problem.
• Certainty of the harm – what is the likelihood that this harm will happen? If the chance is high, I have a responsibility to act on the problem or danger.
• Degree of involvement – did I cause or create the danger? Am I part of the community? Am I the only person who has the chance or power act on the danger?
• Cost of acting to address problem – what will it cost me to take responsibility? What risks do I run in addressing the problem?
• Certainty of the solution – how certain am I that my solution will actually address the danger?        

To be an effective leader, you must be strong ethically.

30 Seconds of Reflection

We have been doing 30 seconds of reflection at the end of each leadership session. Here is what I wrote for this one: I was surprised how much I enjoyed the discussion. When I saw the title of the discussion, I didn’t initially find interest in the topic. However, the presentation was interesting and helped me think about my own situations and helped me to start to think about how I make decisions. I hope that I am always ethical in my decisions, and I would like to continue to learn about these principles so that I can be more effective in my decision-making.

Previous Leadership Development Program presentations:

• 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Karen Miner-Romanoff
• Business Writing and Communication, Tom McClain
• Leadership Theories and Decision-making, Tim Reymann
• Communication and Relationships, Mike Posey  
• The Power of Mindfulness, Daron Larson 

Leadership Development: The Power of Mindfulness

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently participating in a Leadership Development Program (LDP) as part of my work at Franklin University. This week, I attended a presentation by Daron Larson, a recognized expert in the practice of mindfulness. Daron is a former Franklin employee who has worked with several well-known businesses and universities, and it was exciting to listen to him today.

Daron Larson presenting on Mindfulness as part of the Leadership Development Program at Franklin University.

Below are my notes from his presentation, including some brief exercises we did as a group. Note that my thoughts and notes are likely intermixed with his throughout the text.

Defining Mindfulness

Based on Daron's presentation and on my notes and thoughts throughout the presentation, I sort of pieced together the following definition of mindfulness:

Mindfulness is purposefully paying attention differently to your experiences. It involves observation - a judgement-free awareness of what is happening. It involves suspending the mental narrative that we are constantly playing in our minds and observing reality, including our emotions, body posture, sensations, thought patterns, and the words and actions of others and of the environment. 

What is the Desired Result of Mindfulness?
The result of mindfulness is a strengthened skill of paying attention. The capacity to observe the world around us is fundamental to success in life - without a clear awareness of reality, we cannot function within reality. There has been a fair amount of research on the benefits of mindfulness, and the following are some observed benefits:

• Increased gray matter in the brain
• Slowing of the natural volume loss of brain size with aging
• Improved management of depression and anxiety
• Improved concentration
• Improved attention
• Addiction recovery
• Behavioral and cognitive improvement in children

Developing Mindfulness in Key Areas

Daron referenced the poet David White, who emphasized humanity in our relationships, particularly in three major areas: (1) self, (2) spouse/family, and (3) career. To be truly successful, one must find fulfillment and contribute in each of these areas. He notes that our work in these areas is intertwined and elastic - at times we must spend more effort in one area while the others are stretched. It is a constant effort to keep everything balanced, but it is a worthy effort.

Mindful of self - Perhaps the most important entity that we must be mindful of is the self. We must develop awareness of our habits, thought patterns, and emotions. If we can purposefully and somewhat objectively observe ourselves, we can get a sense for how well we are aligning with what matters most to us. Increased levels of self-awareness are the foundation of contribution and personal fulfillment.

Mindful of spouse/family - The most fulfilling (and perhaps the most frustrating!) relationships we experience in life are those with our families. To build positive, enriching, fulfilling relationships with our families, we must develop awareness of their thoughts, patterns, and emotions and of the dynamics that often play out between family members. The first step toward fulfillment and success is awareness, and it is the same in our relationships with our family members.

Mindfulness in our careers - Most people spend the majority of their lives at their place of employment. How we spend our careers, therefore, is absolutely critical to our own sense of happiness. In addition, a carefully selected career can become an outlet for the achievement of our purpose in life. We can exercise mindfulness in our work through the careful observation of coworkers, ourselves, and the dynamics between each of these. We must be mindful of our own emotional and spiritual reactions to the work and the environment in which we labor. Working toward the ideal in this area will yield great success.

Building Our Mindfulness Muscles
Mindfulness is a powerful skill that can be learned (or relearned?) through practice. One way to do this is through practicing mindfulness in things we habitually do every day. In the presentation, Daron had us list several things that we do every single day out of habit. He advised us to pick a few of these and begin to exercise mindfulness - purposefully pay attention in a different way - to everything we do. Here is the list I came up with:

• Eat breakfast
• Kiss my wife
• Read with my daughter
• Pray
• Drive my car to work
• Drive home from work
• Check my email
• Send an email
• Write in a journal or on a blog
• Fill my cup with water
• Say hello to coworkers
• Make the bed
• Fold clothes
• Mow the lawn
• Shower
• Go on a walk

I will select a few of these and will be more mindful of these activities.

30 Seconds of Reflection

We have been doing 30 seconds of reflection at the end of each leadership session. Here is what I wrote down: I feel like I am pretty good at being mindful of what is going on. I feel like I have obtained many of these skills through my education as a researcher, as well as through self-reflection and through studying and understanding psychology (at least at a basic level). However, there is a certain peacefulness and calmness that comes through the kind if observation and mindfulness that Daron is teaching. I would like to develop more awareness of and gentleness in my emotions. Ultimately, understanding and shaping who and what I am is most important. The development of character is paramount. All of the skills and abilities in the world cannot compete with a passionate, compassionate, centered, purposeful individual. It appears that mindfulness practice can aid me in becoming aware of and developing these kinds of characteristics. 

Leadership Development: Communication and Relationshps

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently participating in a Leadership Development Program (LDP) as part of my work at Franklin University. This week, I attended a presentation by Dr. Mike Posey, the Chair of the Public Relations Program at Franklin University. I have worked with Dr. Posey in the past and it was good to hear from him in this format. 

Dr. Posey shares his insights on the importance of relationships in leadership.

Dr. Posey presented on the importance of relationships in leadership. He started the session by having us view a presentation on leadership styles of orchestra conductors. I enjoyed the video and have embedded it below.

Below are some of my notes from the meeting. Note that these are likely some of my own ideas mixed in with Dr. Posey's.


A Cool "Warm-Up" Activity

Dr. Posey started out the session by having each member individually roll a die and answer one of 6 questions on the slide, based on what they rolled. Here are the questions that were answered:

1. Describe in one sentence your professional life.
2. What are your hobbies?
3. What makes you happy?
4. What don’t you now that you would like to know more about?
5. One thing you want to do professional before you die?
6. One thing you want to do personally before you die?

Dr. Posey observed that people tend to become more excited and animated about their personal goals and less excited about their professional goals. The take-away message was that we should be sure that our work life aligns as much as possible with our interests and passions in life. It was also a really good way to learn more about the others in the group.

Three People You Admire

Dr. Posey then asked us to write down three people we admire. I was thinking of the list in terms of public figures, and here is who I wrote down (I acknowledge that I wrote more than three, here):

• Mahatma Ghandi
• Martin Luther King Jr.
• Gordon Hinckley
• Jesus Christ

Characteristics of Good Leaders

The following were shared as positive characteristics of leaders, which strongly correlates to the people we admire:

• Motivator
• Colleague
• Passionate
• Listener
• Authority
• Controlled
• Teacher

I would say that the people that I wrote down as admirable certainly possess many or all of these attributes.

It's All About Relationships, Empowerment, and Communication

Dr. Posey’s belief is that despite the many different theories related to leadership, it all comes down to three major components: relationships, empowerment, and communication.

• Relationships – everything we do in leadership (and in life) has to do with relationships. We are constantly asking ourselves “How do I relate to this person, object, idea, or environment?” Managing human relationships is absolutely critical. Human beings are relational beings - we must interact with other people to exist and to thrive. For positive interaction, we must have a self-awareness and awareness of other people. The key to relationships to find out what motivates them, what gets them excited, and help them see how they fit within the organization.
• Empowerment – we empower others by giving them responsibility and ownership. This leads to higher trust, productivity, and a positive working relationship. Let people do what they love and are good at.
• Communication – in the workplace, communication is very often extremely disjointed. There are means of communication, which disrupt how we communicate. A leader should communicate in ways that they are good at. In addition, communication should not take place as a monologue - it should be two-way. Listening is absolutely critical.

“The hard stuff is easy – the soft stuff is hard. The soft stuff makes all the difference!”

The people/relationships side of things is perhaps the most difficult, yet it can have the most profound impact on our success as an organization. People need to feel empowered, cared for, supported, protected, and trusted.

30 Seconds of Reflection

We have been doing 30 seconds of reflection at the end of each leadership session. Here is what I wrote down: "I continually think about whether I am on the right track with my profession. Am I doing what is truly important to me? I believe so. I enjoy my work - I am learning and growing, and I love higher education.  Ultimately, I want to live an incredible life and have a positive impact on the people I work with and interact with."

Leadership Development: Leadership Theories and Decision-Making

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As noted in a previous post, I have been attending leadership development presentations on a monthly basis at Franklin University. Today we heard from Dr. Timothy Reymann, the Chair of the Business Administration, Management and Applied Management Programs at Franklin. Below are my notes on his topics of discussion, as well as some reflections.

What is leadership? 

A leader has the ability to influence others. It isn’t directly linked to a position within an organization. Simply sharing ideas with others can have a great impact on others and on an organization. Leadership also includes helping move others toward a specific or shared common goal. Importantly, great leaders start off as great followers. Dr. Reymann shared an example of Dr. Tom Seiler, the Dean of the College of Business at Franklin, who exemplified followership at many levels as he progressed in his career.

Leadership Styles

Dr. Reymann outlined some of the major theories of leadership being discussed today. I'll give a brief outline of these below.

• Transformational Leadership – transformational leaders focus on helping the people they lead to change and improve. They do the following:
• Build Trust – Work hard and pull through for your people.
• Act with Integrity – Work hard, stick up for your people, own your mistakes.
• Inspire Others – Show what is possible. Encourage the growth mindset.
• Encourage Innovative Thinking – Model and reward creative thinking.
• Coach Individuals – work with specific people individually to help them move forward
• Authentic Leadership – The focus here is leadership that is transparent, ethical, and worthy of the trust of the followers. Apparently the Millennial generation wants leaders who are transparent and trustworthy.
• Transactional Leadership - this is typically seen as less-effective, today. I see this as a remnant of past societal needs - in the industrial society, this kind of management style was probably important, but in our current society, people need to be able to do their work without constraint. Transactional leadership tends to employ micro management strategies wherein they are "all up in their employees' bidness" and don't allow them to move forward with faith and confidence.
• Servant Leadership – The servant leader’s goal is to develop others and not to develop his or her own interest. Listening, empathy, and foresight are key skills. It is based on principles of Christianity – the leader is there to develop others and have them carry on as leaders.
• Full Range Leadership – This model seems to show the big picture and help leaders move from totally apathetic to passive, to transactional, to transformational. Transformational seems to be the best fit for the knowledge society, according to this model. I tend to agree, though I might mix in a little servant leadership (as they appear to be very similar). 

“A leader is best when people barely know he exists. Of a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, his aim is fulfilled, his followers will say “We did it ourselves.” Lao-tsu

Decision-making in Leadership

Reymann identified 8 steps for decision-making. These align well with the “scientific” or “analytical” approach to decision-making. Very often we are making split-decisions instead of using critical thinking approaches. The main thing is to take enough time to make the right decisions.

1. Identify relevant facts – gather solid data.
2. Identify ethical issues for the decision – make sure you take care of your ethical obligation.
3. Identify stakeholders – who will be affected by the decisions? How?
4. Identify possible consequences and alternatives – predict what will happen when decisions are made and actions taken
5. Think long-term – how does this decision affect our people and our organization in the long-term? Come up with a 3-5 year plan for increasing your successes.
6. Identify relevant obligations – what are you obligated to do? What if your decision was published in the newspaper? Would you be comfortable with it?
7. Think creatively about courses of action – create many options.
8. What does your gut say? – Get a sense of what your instincts tell you to do. Decisions will tell you what the right decision is.

Other Notes

Self-awareness– without an awareness of your own thinking strategies, emotional intelligence, communication abilities, you will not be able to make the changes necessary to affect positive change.

Risk-taking – leaders must encourage risk-taking among the people they lead. They must not point out when errors are made because this will encourage “playing it safe” and hiding mistakes.

 Leadership Development – to develop yourself toward increased leadership, do the following:

• Have a clear goal – know where you want to go and how you want to impact the world.
• Have a clear path forward – evaluate yourself and identify what you need to do to prepare yourself to move forward effectively. Map out how you will do it and get moving!
• Obtain a mentor – find someone you can go to lunch with, someone that you can rely on for guidance. Ideally, this should be someone who has done what you wish to do in your career. Perhaps have several mentors!
• Risk-taking – do scary things and do your best. Take risks, try your best, learn from the experience, and try again! If you never take the leap, you will always remain where you are.

30 seconds of reflection

(In these leadership development meetings, we are always directed to reflect for 30 seconds. This is my reflection). I would like a clear path forward toward the fulfillment of my goals. Much of this includes gaining an objective view of my current abilities so that I can identify how to really change and improve myself. I've realized that I really need to get clear feedback and guidance from the people that I work with so I have a clearer picture of what my strengths and weaknesses are. This will be scary and potentially painful, but it may yield a practical path forward.

Leadership Development: Business Writing and Communication

This post is part of a series on leadership development.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am currently taking part in a Leadership Development Program at Franklin University. The major part of this program includes attending weekly presentations by local experts on a variety of leadership topics, and this month we heard from Tom McClain, faculty member in College of Arts Sciences and Technology. Tom has had a great deal of experience over several decades as a leader in industry. I worked with him for a few years and know him to be an excellent communicator and a man of integrity. His presentation was titled Communications Best Practices - Key Writing and Presentation Skills. I will share some of my notes from his presentation below.

Tom McClain, faculty member at Franklin University, presenting on effective business writing and communication.

Big Trends in Industry

Tom began his presentation by sharing some of the major trends that are affecting how we lead and communicate as leaders. He believes that these trends include the following:

• Change and unpredictability both nationally and internationally. Change is constant in our modern, global society and will certainly continue.
• Alliance and partnerships. Organizations are increasingly partnering with others.
• Social media, infotainment. Content is created socially, is pervasive, and often entertainment-focused.
• Patience and civility. This continues to be an important characteristic for leaders, particularly in their communication.
• Value and cost of higher education. Higher education's value is sometimes questioned, and its const certainly continues to rise.

10 Guideposts for Rising Leaders

Tom outlined 10 Guideposts for rising leaders. These were particularly useful:

1. Know the organizations history and accomplishments. This informs who we are.
2. Know that the organization itself often assume the styles of their leaders. This means that leaders have great power over how the organization, particularly in how they communicate and manage the people they lead.
3. Understand your community. Who do you serve? Who do you work with? Who do you compete with. 
4. Resist the "walled off" syndrome. Go to and visit regularly with others in the organization, particularly at multiple levels. Be close to the people you lead.
5. Know your organization's communication networks. This includes both formal and informal networks. 
6. Know your business writing and presentation skills. If you can become better than average in both of these, you will have much greater power to influence.
7. Effectively use social media technology. These tools will yield great capacity to communicate and influence.
8. Develop media relations strengths. Know how to work with and communicate to the media. 
9. Learn the art of the "executive speech." You will likely need to speak in a variety of places, so be prepared to speak to many different audiences.
10. Avoid goofy business lingo fads. (I recommend watching Weird Al's  music video Mission Statement).

Writing Skills

Tom gave a series of really key tips for writing effectively. These included the following:

• Know your audience! Tailor to their needs.
• What is the core message? Make it succinct and easy to understand. 
• Work on making your product inviting to read. Avoid long paragraphs.
• Avoid filler words or phrases (now then, etc., so).
• Choose a suitable design and stick to it. 
• Master your own design and work it! (I liked this advice - it implies developing your own style and approach. Very encouraging.)
• Revise and rewrite! Iteration is critical. Let things sit for a while, review them, and revise. 
• Dont overwrite or overstate. Avoid big proclamations. 
• Research is the foundation of good business writing. Base what you say on research.
• Culture can shape your delivery - think of the culture you are writing to.
• Read credible publications. This will help influence how you write.
• Deadlines are useful - they force you to produce and you get better at producing under pressure over time.
• Get feedback from others on your writing.

Presentation Skills

Here are some of the tips Tom gave on presentation effectiveness:

• Know your audience. 
• Know your subject really well. Do the research and be sure you are ready.
• Prepare, prepare, prepare!!! This is the most important step, in my opinion.
• Know the venue. What is the setup? What is the time of the day? Make sure you are prepared for how it is arranged and also for things to go wrong.
• Approach with care. Be prepared, and spend as much time as you would a written document. 
• Warm your moth and your body up so that you are ready when the bell rings. As you warm up, start slowly and do more as you approach go time.
• Make eye contact with your audience and speak clearly.
• Decide whether or not to use visuals. Technical issues can easily occur, so be very careful about relying on technology. 
• Break up your presentation - don't spray with information. Weave in stories, facts, and figures to break things up and engage interest.

Structure

Tom mentioned that structure is particularly important. He recommended the following general sequence:

1. Opening statement - catch their attention and set the tone and theme of the talk.
2. Positioning - frame what you will talk about.
3. Main Message - Use the FEAR approach in presenting your information: facts, analogies, examples, references. 
4. Conclusion - a short summary and a positive end.

I thought it was a timely presentation, and Tom McClain is the classic leader. Solid and poised, I am always impressed with his depth of knowledge and reflective, thoughtful manner.

30 Seconds of Reflection
After each of our LDP meetings, we are asked to reflect for thirty seconds on impressions and ideas we have had. Here was what I wrote: "The most critical message today was that great leaders possess both writing and presentation abilities. I believe I am reasonably strong in each of these areas, and I am working hard to refine and improve them both. I am working to make my presentations less "academic report" and more engaging and meaningful. I also want to make my writing more flexible and engaging. It still has a "boring academic" feel, which makes sense."