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Do you have what it takes for Franchise Approval?
Deciding to start your own franchise is just one of the first steps to getting started. Buying a franchise is a lot like dating. You and the company have to be a good fit. The company you are considering starting a franchise with must fit your...
How To Build "Home-Grown" Trainers
How To Build "Home-Grown" Trainers
Have you ever wished you could reduce your organization's
dependence on outside trainers? How about developing your own
workshops? Join the ranks of organizations that have benefited
from developing their...
Innovation Management – the need for Knowledge Managers
But what do we do with all these ideas?
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.
There are other useful...
New Recording Artist
Copyright 2005 Brian Beshore
The big recording label’s woes over the digital revolution are only going to get worse. For a decade or longer, the major recording companies have grown rigidly opposed to anything or any idea that is truly new.
...
The 10 Natural Marketing Advantages of Small Business - Small Is the New Big
Copyright 2005 John Jantsch
Large organizations are beginning to wrestle with the reality
that their markets want something more personal, more honest and
real, from the companies they buy products and services from.
It's obvious that small...
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IF YOU WANT TO BE A BETTER LEADER – OIL YOURSELF
IF YOU WANT TO BE A BETTER LEADER – OIL YOURSELF
Maybe this happened to you before…if you don’t add oil to your car or your lawn mower, you are soon going to soon have problems. Why? Because oil is the magic ingredient that reduces friction.
In the workplace, there can be tons of friction. As the leader, part of your job is to reduce that friction and keep all the units working together smoothly. One way to day that is through developing a higher level of trust between yourself and those who report to you. Low levels of trust stifle innovation. If you aren’t trusted, your team will not act as a cohesive unit; they will provide you with excuses instead of answers to problems; they will not seek out new information or ideas, and they will treat any suggestions with suspicion.
It’s an unfortunate fact that many employees and executives spend a good part of their work day documenting their words and actions. People feel that that they need to reverse document everything they do in order to be “covered” in case of a problem. The cost to do this with regard to time lost and money spent is staggering.
Trust is the expression of faith that makes it easy to have confidence in another person’s ability to perform well and keep promises. A leader must give his or her word and then stick to it. The moment that he or she does not, all trust is lost.
To develop a high level of trust, you need to be honest, straight forward, and act
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with integrity. People must have faith that you will always do the right thing, not the safe or easy thing. A leader must act in unselfish ways, caring about others before their own interests. Additionally, a leader must encourage innovation and risk, without the fear of being reprimanded or fired. Through innovation and creative ideas, company members will begin to explore new ways to be more productive and work together more as a team.
As you develop this level of trust, you will find that your team will begin to view you as a leader, as opposed to the “one who can fire me.” You will sense of lessening of friction, because your team knows where you stand and how you feel. Your team will know that there is no such thing as a “dumb idea” and that you welcome creativity and progress.
To be a more effective leader, you need to lubricate yourself and your team with the magic “oil” of trust. Unlike that for you car or lawn mower, this oil doesn’t cost you anything but time, discipline, and dedication.
About the Author
A successful entrepreneur for over 20 years, Bob Garner is the author of "Masters of Motivation" which has been called a “blueprint for success.” The creator of a number of CDs that have empowered thousands, Bob writes for numerous business magazines and speaks extensively worldwide on motivation and success. Sign up now for his free monthly newsletter called "Personal Success" at http://www.bobgarneronline.com.
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