37 INSIGHTS TO

PRACTICAL
LEADERSHIP
PRINCIPLES FOR WORK & PERSONAL LIFE

JENN CHEONG
 37 Insights To
Practical Leadership
By Jenn Cheong

What Fans Are Saying

This book is truly inspiring! It teaches any ordinary person to step
up and be transformed into an effective, caring and yet practical
leader. Her angles of perspective are modern and real. It truly
shows me what a heart of a leader should look like!

Roger T.

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Acknowledgements
My Lord & Saviour
For He is faithful

My parents
For their unconditional love

My mentors
For their wisdom

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Table of Content

1. Introduction 5

2. Courage 8

3. Taking Up The Mantle 12

4. Vision 16

5. Motivation 19

6. Strategy 22

7. Awareness 26

8. Meetings 29

9. 10 Inspiring Leadership Quotes 34

10. Resources 36

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 1
Introduction

Excellence is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.

John W. Gardner

For over 20 years, I have worked with some of the best leaders in a
vast array of industries from banking, investments, government,
telecommunications, small local setups, healthcare, and education.
I observed and learned from them and even applied these lessons
into my own life.

I found that leadership is not curtailed to the work realm. Just

where you are, you can be a leader. If you are not one, you can
certainly develop habits and train yourself to rise up as one.

Dont start undermining yourself. You can be working in a non-

management job such as construction or waitressing or you can be
a stay-home parent and you can still allow yourself the opportunity
to step up as a leader. You can also be in an administrative job
thats at the bottom of the hierarchy and step up to be more.

This book is to impart to you the essentials of being a leader. How

can you add the extra to your ordinary? Before I share further
with you on this, let me give you a little introduction about myself.

Upon graduation, I was offered a management trainee position with

a prestigious investment firm. This was a two-year program of
learning from the entire firms various departments.

However, within a year, I became the first and only trainee to

successfully complete the program ahead of the two years schedule.
I was quickly promoted, marked and groomed as the next leader in
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the department of my choice. I started heading two small teams
handling transactions that amounted to millions daily. The firm
also sent me overseas to study and review their operations for Asia
Pacific.

When I left the firm, I moved on to a bank that had over 60

branches nationwide. I reviewed processes, policies, and procedures
for various financial products as well as its branch operations. This
included training all the banks branch managers in new guidelines
and ensuring that new structures are well implemented.

Eager to try new things, I next joined a new startup Telco company.
I was leading a group of consultants and it was exhilarating to be in
a place where you are part of a pioneer team. Unfortunately, this
venture eventually fell through and I faced my first retrenchment in
my career.

I did some consulting work after the retrenchment. Much later on, I
was introduced to the education industry. I started working for one
of the top global Executive MBA (EMBA) and corporate programs.

I worked my way up to eventually head its

operations, finance and marketing
portfolios for Asia Pacific. In this role, I
had the opportunity to meet and learn
from some of the best leaders. The profile
of our clientele was such that only
selected business leaders who had more
than five years of leadership experience are eligible to join our
programs. In addition, our academic faculty was not only
academically renowned in their respective fields but had real
business experience in the corporate world. They were also mentors
to some of the top leaders in some of the best corporate
organizations in the world.

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I would often sit in one of the EMBA or corporate sessions and soak
in the rich knowledge imparted. Watching the professors or
experienced business leaders in action was literally seeing a bridge
built before my eyes between theories and principles to real life
business issues.

Due to health reasons, I eventually moved on and took a less

demanding profile in another health-education company, which was
a collaboration between a prestigious US institution and two
renowned organizations in Singapore. In this role, I was given the
opportunity to work with the top management and learn more
about effective leadership from them.

Looking back at my career, I was indeed blessed to learn so much

from various leaders in each and every single industry I was in. I
picked up success traits from leaders that made a positive impact
in my life and observed habits that made some less successful.

This book is a compilation of essential insights I feel every

successful leader should have in his or her armory for a more
successful life.

Im going to start by asking this: what is the difference between a

real leader and a wannabe leader? A wannabe leader is one who
feels the title by default makes him a leader. A real leader is one
who is never complacent, never grows tired of learning, or applying
new techniques and strategies, and continuously striving to
improve and make a positive change in the lives of people around
him or her. A real leader is a thinker with a positive mindset and a
high performer who executes empowering actions.

Read on and start grooming yourself to be the real leader you want
to be. Start doing the ordinary things in your life in an excellent
way today.

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 2
Courage

You will never do anything in this world without courage.

It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor.

Aristotle

There was once a global corporate organization that decided to set

up a factory in a remote small town. There, they hired the entire
town to work in the factory. It was good times and revived the dying
town where their young were moving out to the prospering cities.

Unfortunately, years later, the

company fell into hard times and
retrenchment became the buzzword of
the day. This remote factory did not
escape this fate and was scheduled to
close down within the month. That
meant the entire town just became
unemployed overnight.

The general manager of the factory was a local girl who had grown
up with everyone. She had been promoted to the position and now
had to be the one to impart this grim reality to her staff, many of
whom were family and friends.

Already, anxiety was running high among the staff from speculation
and rumors. The morning she was to go to the office and announce
the news, she got up from bed after a long, sleepless night. Her
heart was heavy and burdened.

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She got dressed, breathed deep and headed out to the factory. She
was greeted by angry employees who were waiting by the factory
entrance. Some were shouting and screaming at her. Some were
crying and pleading. It was ugly. It was painful. It was sad.

Through it all, she remained calm and steady. Once the crowd
calmed down enough, she got her secretary to arrange one to one
sessions with every single staff. These sessions were filled with more
of the same: anger, threats, disgust she could do this to her own
people; or crying, pleading, begging and hopelessness. She let every
employee take their time to let their emotions out.

She then started making calls to all her connections in her network
for jobs. For herself? No. It was for all her staff. Yes, she could not
find a job for everyone but she gave it her all. In the end, most of
them did find new jobs thanks to her.

That is courage. That is commitment. That is a leader. One might

say she could have yelled back at the mob, I didnt make this
decision! Im a victim too. I lost my job too! She did not have to face
the hate or the despair of the people. She did not have to find jobs
for any of them who did not even take the time or effort to
understand her position. Yet she did. And by doing so, she led her
staff bravely.

This is such an inspiring tale, isn't it? Im here to tell you this was a
true incident. In this world where uncertainty and instability are
rampant, we see more and more companies downsizing, and even
closing down overnight.

In my early 20s, I worked in a high profile company which

shockingly closed down just after one and a half year in operation.
One of my colleagues who was the Head in his department, jokingly
said, You know, my wife is complaining if Im trying to get the title
of being the most retrenched.

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He had been employed in top organizations and had already gone
through three retrenchments. I could tell he was a disheartened by
yet another one. Despite this, he still spent time with his team to
review and improve their resumes, and made calls to his network to
look for opportunities for them.

Never forget what a leader is supposed to do. A leader leads. Being

in the frontline takes courage. Courage requires actions. Actions
that are based on integrity, strength, and compassion.

Whether its in your workplace or at home,

as long as you are in a leadership role, find
the courage in doing the right thing. Dig
deep into your well of strengths. It may not
be a retrenchment. It may be some other
issues or situations that make you really
uncomfortable. It may even be decisions you
need to enforce that wont make you
popular.

Leaders think beyond self, discomfort or popularity. Leaders think

about what is the best benefit or outcome they can obtain for the
team in the face of circumstances they cant change.

So you ask, What if I dont have the strength or courage? In this

book, I will be sharing a few other leadership essentials a leader
need to possess. It is by having these essentials that you can build
up your strength and courage. It is not an overnight exercise. It is
how you ingrain yourself daily to rise up as a leader. When the
storms come, thats where you can draw what you need from.

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Leadership Essentials

1. Every leader should have courage based on integrity, strength,

and compassion.

2. When you have courage, you can move forward with

corresponding actions.

3. Courage helps you transcend uncomfortable situations and

unpopular decisions to obtain the best outcome in unavoidable
life events.

4. Store up your inner reservoir to draw your courage from.

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 3
Taking Up The Mantle

Great leaders genuinely care for and love the people they led more
than they love leading itself. Leadership without love degenerates
into self-serving manipulation.

Rick Warren

I know someone who has refused leadership positions numerous

times. To him, it was not about the promotion. It was about the
commitment to the people involved which he knew he was not able
to put as priority. Why? His first priority in life was spending his
time with his sick partner. So he was content to let these
opportunities pass him by and stay where he was.

The way I see it, there are too many people who take up leadership
roles for all the wrong reasons.

Its a promotion, why not?

I will be looked up to. I will be respected.

I will get a bigger paycheck and better benefits.

Im being pressured to take it up. There isnt anyone else. They

need me.

Ive worked here for 20 years! Its about time I get what Im entitled
to.Everyone can become a boss someone who exercises control or
authority over others according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

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Not everyone can become a good leader. A leader (Merriam-Webster)
is someone who leads, that is, to guide or direct a course for
advancement.

Leadership takes courage and

commitment. Courage to take up that
mantle and say, I know these people are
now under my charge. I truly understand
the responsibilities required to take care
of them and make them successful. I am
committed to that goal with my time and
energy to help the entire team progress forward.

In other words, you need to be a conscious leader when you take up

that mantle. One who takes up the role with a grounded
understanding of all it entails. As you do, ensure that this decision
is aligned with your own life goals; not your pride, ego, obligation,
pressure, or a sense of entitlement or for material incentives.

Be committed to your team. Dont be a general that abandons his

soldiers in the thick of war. Be one that sticks with them. If youre
there for the wrong reasons, the minute you get your money, or
when the difficult times hit, you will probably be the first one with
an exit strategy. Have the courage to stay committed.

Is there a way to practice that? Yes. Start by being an unofficial

leader in your personal life. It allows you the opportunity to step up
and gives you a platform to develop your leadership skills and
habits.

How? Some of us are already unofficial leaders in our daily lives

without even being conscious of it. And if you are not one yet,
whenever theres a chance to volunteer, do it. Leaders start by
taking the initiative to do because they know thats how theyll
learn. Every chance to do is a chance to grow. They dont do it
mindlessly. They do it thinking about how it can be improved for

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the next person who does the same task. They do it evaluating how
the task actually contributes to the overall goals.

How are you an unofficial leader? If you are the head in your family
or the main breadwinner, you may already be the leader in your
family setup. If you are the one everyone calls or goes to when
theres trouble in your social circle, youre probably a leader in your
social life. If you are the one organizing all the social gatherings and
parties, youre already a leader in your social events.

Usually, we take up these leadership roles in our personal sphere

because we have certain end-goals achieved and for things to get
started and moving. We need the kids to get a proper education.
We need to have a functioning house and bills paid. We need food
on our table. We want to make our loved ones happy with a
birthday celebration. We want that dream wedding to take place.

So you take up the mantle to get things

rolling. You may call up your friends,
delegating tasks on getting the guest list
in place, who collects the birthday cake,
who does the decoration, who provides
the entertainment all just to get the
best birthday party for your girl. Sure,
you may do a few of those roles yourself
but it doesnt mean there still isnt
delegation involved.

In doing this, youre learning that delegation isnt without purpose.

Who has an aesthetic eye and is good with art and crafts? That
person probably would do a better job in decorating. Who is a good
driver? That person probably is a better person in collecting and
driving the cake to the venue.

Small and seemingly insignificant tasks now become learning

grounds. Leaders see opportunities where others see mundane and

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routine. When leaders get involved, they find out for themselves
which are the potential trigger points for frustration, conflict, and
failure. The team will also grow respect for a leader who truly
understands and appreciates what they are doing. It speaks of true
ownership.

Essential Leadership Tips

1. Be a conscious leader: understand what the role truly means.

2. Align your leadership goals with your own life goals.

3. A leader stays committed to the team.

4. To develop your leadership skills, start by being an unofficial

leader in your personal life.

5. Understand and appreciate what your team does. Thats a

leaders ownership.

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 4
Vision
Vision is the art of seeing the invisible.

Jonathan Swift

Imagine yourself in a yacht ready to

travel the world with your family.
Everyones on board excited at the
prospect of an adventure. You pull
up the anchor, set the sails and off
you go to nowhere. Every good
leader needs a compass, a direction,
and information on what theyre
likely to face en route to their
destination.

Without a compass, you may end up going in a direction you dont

want to go or even end up back at the same place you set off from.

Knowing your direction helps you prepare how long the journey
may take and how far your supplies can sustain you.

How about information? Are there going to be dangers to your

destination? Unsafe territories or severe weather patterns ahead?

There are people who feel that riding the winds to nowhere allows
for creative freedom to reign. For your team, that freedom can
translate to uncertainty and uneasiness. The unknown always
scares people. Now that theyre on that yacht with you, once the
excitement of an adventure wears off, your team will start
wondering where they are going. And as your supplies wear out,
they will be worried and rethink their decision to join you in your
adventure.
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Thats why a vision is important. Merriam-Webster defines vision as
something seen in a dream or a thought or concept formed by
imagination.

Leaders dream. Leaders imagine. They see the invisible. They dream
about success, victory and a new future. To make these dreams
come true leaders set goals, plan milestones and execute with
controlled direction. They make their hopes into reality.

I know some of you are thinking, Im no Steve Jobs or Bill Gates.

Im just a small manager. Im just an insignificant employee. Im
just a man struggling to make ends meet for my family. Im just a
single mom. Im just

You were never made to be just. You were made for infinite
possibilities and potential. You were made to be amazing. Look at
where you are now and dream a more beautiful future. Imagine a
better life. Can you see it?

Now start setting goals for that dream. Little goals, big goals. Goals
that bring you a step closer, then another and another.

If you are a manager, how can you bring you and your team to the
next level? How can you be even better at what you do? How can
you add even more value? It may mean taking on more tasks to
expand you and your teams skills and experience. It may mean
longer hours taking up extra courses to upgrade your expertise.

If youre the head of your family, what do you see your relationship
with your children twenty years from now? A strong, connected
one? A happy one? What kind of person do you want your children
to grow up to be? An independent, strong and kind person? So what
are the goals you should set right now if thats your vision?

Many times we are so consumed by stress and circumstances in life

that we just let the yacht your whole team or family is in be swayed
by the storms and currents. We dont correct our course or adjust

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the direction back to our original dreams. Thats why holding firm
and constant reminders of that vision is important.

Set a quarterly reminder on your phone, Remember my vision of

Every time it comes up, review where you and your team are at
right now. Is it time to advance faster to your destination? Or is it
time to slow down a bit to let the team re-group back to the goals?
Or maybe theres a need to try another route to reach the
destination? As a leader, you need to think about these regularly
and guide your team closer to the success you have envisioned. A
leader without a vision is a leader without hope.

Essential Leadership Tips

1. Vision is the compass that sends you into the uncertain future.
Without it, you can still keep moving just directionless, and
sometimes a waste of energy and resources with no results.

2. Vision is transformed into reality with a good strategy.

3. Dont let your vision be drowned in the sea of circumstances.

Always adjust your paths in the tumultuous roads to reach your
destination.

4. Set a quarterly reminder to yourself of the vision you want to

achieve.

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 5
Motivation

Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily;

even if you had no title or position.

Brian Tracy

There have been lots written about motivational leadership, of how

a leader can inspire and motivate your team. For this topic on
motivation, I want to ask a simple question whats motivating
you, the leader?

Leaders are so focused on inspiring and getting their teams to forge

ahead; they very often neglect their own needs. Ive seen leaders
working long hours, going to meetings after meetings, and soon
getting discouraged when no one recognizes their hard work.

Why? They are using up their inner well of reserves. Leaders

constantly need to feed positive energy and reframe their teams
mindset. Good leaders are consistent value-givers. By doing that, if
their inner source is not refilled, they will just run dry sooner or
later.

The most effective leaders I know are the ones who know why they
are doing it and keep it close to their heart. Its what motivates
them to keep investing even without any tangible rewards. The most
crucial question for you is, Why do you want to be a leader?

If its for recognition and monetary rewards, how can you get a
deeper motivation for yourself? I believe the best way is by getting
connected to your team. Know them individually their lives, their

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interests, and their dreams. Connect with your team on a personal
level. When you start knowing your team on a deeper level, the
motivation to succeed as their leader becomes deeper as well. They
are no longer just random, replaceable people on the team. They
become people you dont want to fail as their leader.

Another way to be motivated is to start observing other leaders.

There are leaders who really excel in bringing the teams profile up,
getting all the credit but have a team who fears and trembles at the
mere mention of his or her name. Everyone on the team wants a
way out.

Then there are leaders whose very

name brings a smile and brightens up
their teams faces. Their expressions
reflect their pride in belonging to the
team. They are confident of where their
leader is bringing them even if they are
not there yet. Its a team bubbling with
positive energy and genuine care for
each others success.

Which leader do you want to be? The kind of leader you want to be
will motivate you in sharpening your skills in the areas that help
you in that direction. Be motivated to become a leader who enjoys
growing, learning and be the best in grooming others to be leaders.
Jack Welch sums it up like this, Before you are a leader, success is
all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is
all about growing others.

Many effective leaders have one important motivation: something or

someone they love. They understand that in all that they do, they
do it for this source of motivation. If its family or loved ones,
effective leaders connect with them at least once a day. I see many
leaders dealing with challenges but with just one phone call to a
partner or their children, a lasting and potent dose of energy can be

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injected into them. It can even be a friend who's always there for
you and just by speaking to them; they bring clarity back to the
muddled mess youre facing. The point is drawing strength and
energy from these personal connections to keep on going.

Motivation is the fuel for the other two leadership essentials:

courage and vision. The motivation to be a better leader who truly
cares about the team and reaching the common goal together is the
fire that propels courage and fans the vision.

Essential Leadership Tips

1. Find the motivating source for yourself. Hold firm to it.

2. If you have no clear motivation source other than ambition or

money, start connecting with people. When you connect, youll
find more to motivate you in the people around you.

3. Motivation is often fueled by love. Thats the most powerful

injection of energy you can find to push on.

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 6
Strategy

All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what

none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.

Sun Tzu

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines

strategy as a careful plan or method for
achieving a particular goal usually over
a long period of time. An effective leader
doesnt just fight fires or trudge the
team along day by day aimlessly. Thats
why its important to have a vision. After
setting a vision, the next step of action is to formulate a strategy
and execute it to make that vision into reality.

Strategy is one of those topics that have varied opinions for and
against it. There are those who feel that leaders who overemphasize
on strategy are all talk and no action. So is strategy as a leadership
essential a total waste of time? I disagree. Sending soldiers out
blindly to the field to fight without thinking through the goals, risks
and tactics are fatal.

Strategizing is an essential all effective leaders should have. It is

developing a critical and analytical mind. It is breaking your
limiting beliefs. It is losing a few small battles but winning the war.

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Formulate your strategy together with your team:

- What are the battles you need to engage to realize the vision?

- Do not start limiting the types of battles at this stage.

- List every single one down. It does not need to even make sense.

- Review the list and circle the ones that will get you to the overall
vision the most effectively with the shortest amount of time, and
with the least casualty.

- Prioritize them and highlight the top three ones.

- What kind of actions do you need to engage in to make these top

three ones happen?

- Set deadlines for each of these actions and delegate specific

owners for these.

In developing your strategy, you need to think about the ever-

changing world we live in. How can your team give something
unique and of value, but yet flexible enough to adjust your action
plans to continue to stay on top of things?

I find in a lot of strategy sessions that the team is not really in

consensus. Communicating clearly the vision and getting your
team's buy-in is critical for executing your strategy. Adopt an open
approach when developing the strategy with your team. Dont be a
leader that has a limiting or short-term goal mindset, saying, No,
this wont work. Oh, thats too expensive to even think about it. We
tried that years ago and it failed

First, if you dont execute it, you wont know which part of it did not
work. Executing it means the team can fine-tune it until it does
work. Evaluate carefully at the investments involved. Is it a one-
time investment with huge recurring profits? Would it be better to

23
spend the money and get these long-term big returns in a short
time-frame? Or would it be better to spend less money and get
short-term gains in a lengthy time-frame? Which is the best
decision for the team as a whole and in realizing the vision? Finally,
what was tried years ago does not necessarily mean it will fail this
time round, most especially if the circumstances surrounding it
have changed drastically.

The essence is to be open to both old and new ideas. Remember the
objective is to develop an executable plan to achieve the vision.
More importantly, once a strategy has been developed, start driving
and implementing it. Start walking the talk.

Have quarterly review sessions. Dont make them long and

overdrawn affairs. Make it short and goal-focused. Tweak the
strategy and action plans where necessary.

Have an annual sit down with your team to recalibrate. Is your

strategy working out well? Is everyone getting closer to the vision? If
not, which parts of the strategy are not effective? Discuss and
employ new action plans or goals for those parts of the strategy.

So far, it seems as if strategy is only applicable for work life. Or is

it? In life, some people set goals for themselves and their families.
Just like how you set a vision for your family, how can you make
that vision real? Its by strategy. If you think that, Oh well, Ive
already got a vision for my family to be really close and my children
well brought up and able to provide for themselves. Thats enough,
right?

Heres the difference between someone who cares about success

and someone who doesnt. The person who does plans and
executes, and in essence, thats strategy. You discuss with your
partner on the direction both of you want to head and come in
agreement. If its to move into a bigger house, you both start
thinking about the strategy to reach that vision: save certain

24
amount of money by a certain year through action plans of working
more, spending less, etc.

The key thing is not to be rigid. Constant recalibration with your

family or friends is required to succeed in personal strategy
execution. Holding regular communications with your personal
team. Empathize with them when things dont fall in place due to
financial losses, health issues and so on. Be flexible. Strategies are
tools that help you align your actions to your dreams. Dont make
them irrefutable laws that strangle your relationships.

Essential Leadership Tips

1. Strategy is essential for any effective leader. It is about thinking

critically and transcending your limiting beliefs.

2. Transform your vision into reality with a good strategy thats

detailed with well-defined action plans and owners who are
committed to giving unique value.

3. When developing a strategy, think about your necessary battles

and prioritize them.

4. Once you have developed a strategy, implement it.

5. Tweak where necessary with quarterly and annual reviews.

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 7
Awareness

Leadership is unlocking peoples potential to become better.

Bill Bradley

Most leaders know their strengths and weaknesses, opportunities

and threats (SWOT). Good leaders know how to transform their
weaknesses into strengths and turn their threats into opportunities.

However, if you are a leader who thinks you already know what
your strengths are and is happy to rest in your laurel, you risk
becoming the weak link in your team. Effective leaders should
always look for ways to improve not just his or her teams, but
themselves. Never become the weak link in your team.

Many leaders are so consumed by the demands of their business or

personal life; they never take stock of themselves. Do not be
complacent. Self-awareness is not a one-time deal. Our
environment is constantly changing, and in turn, it demands
changes in and from us. What leaders need to do is to take regular
self-reviews.

When you become more self-aware, you can unlock more growth
areas for yourself. By doing that, youre putting in practice what
youre asking from your team. Youre also teaching and showing
how to tangibly transform weakness into strengths, threats into
opportunities.

If you have done team profiling assessments, what do you usually

do with the results? Some look at it and say, Oh well, I already
knew even before we did this, and chucked the information aside.

26
All leaders need to realize that these team profiles are valuable
information. They are data on your teams potential behaviors and
conflicts. It helps you to fine-tune your own leadership style to help
your team become a more cohesive and effective one.

Help your team also to understand the importance of self-

awareness. Teach them the tools you use for yourself in your own
growth. When you become invested in helping them, they become
invested in helping you.

This, in turn, is true also for unofficial leaders. When you look at
your family dynamics, do you look at your spouse or your child and
think he or she is not doing things right? Before we start giving
negative feedback, why not help your partner or child grow by
making them aware of it first?

For instance, you can tell your child,

Son, what did you enjoy doing today?
And what did you not enjoy so much
today? This is a simple exercise in
teaching your child to become more
aware of what they enjoy and are good
at and vice versa. Recognition and
praise your child on their strengths. For those things they dislike,
help them overcome by spending additional time with them and
making it fun.

True change comes from within. And the first step for any leader to
positive change is by being aware.

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Essential Leadership Tips

1. Use available personality or team profiling tools to help you

assess yours and your teams own strengths and weaknesses.

2. Capitalize on your strengths. If someone in your team is weak in

the area you are strong in, guide and teach them to improve
those areas.

3. Similarly if you find yourself weaker in certain areas and

someone in your team is good at it, utilize your team members
skills to transform that weakness into a strength.

4. When you are humble and teachable, you are in turn promoting
an improvement mindset in your team.

5. Dont become the weak link in your own team.

6. Take regular and committed reviews of yourself.

7. When you become invested in helping your team, they become

invested in helping you.

8. Implement self-awareness in your own personal life first.

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 8
Meetings

You dont really manage time, you manage behavior.

Peter Turla

Have you ever gone for a meeting and the only one late is the top
guy? It certainly sends the message that his or her time is more
valuable than yours.

As a leader, one of the most important traits is respecting not only

your time but that of others. It communicates to your team you do
care about what they want to say. It tells them you value their time
and respect them.

So before you think about time

management, think about what message
your own behavior is sending to your
team. No one likes meetings. It takes
them away from the mountain of tasks
they need to do.

And there are usually only two outcomes to a meeting: more tasks
or a complete waste of time. As a leader, you need to convey the
correct message with your behavior. When you do that, you are
leading by example and in turn transforming their behavior.

I agree there are occasions we need to gather folks together to get

things in place, see where everyone in the team is headed, and reset
certain issues if necessary. But not every single issue requires a
meeting with the whole town. Have a clear understanding your
teams individual roles and responsibilities. Involve only those who

29
are affected. Sometimes it may even be more effective to hold a
private one to one discussion.

Effective leaders are always punctual for their meetings, keeps to

the agenda, is a good facilitator and conflict manager. The moment
they step into the room, they bring with them a positive and
energetic vibe. They think about how they can inject life and
enthusiasm by motivating their team in the meeting.

Some of the best leaders I had worked with have already made
these skills as part of their habits. You leave the room charged up
and motivated to do more. You leave the room feeling you have
learned something.

How do they do that?

Leaders must first find their own ways in filling up their own
positive oil tank. You cant be lively when youre empty. Your stress,
tiredness, and negativity if not kept in check can leak out to your
team.

Good leaders pace themselves. Some leaders rush everything and

everywhere. They storm into a meeting room, speak really fast,
rushed everyone and then leave like a whirlwind. And behind him
or her, is a sea of confused and stressed faces.

Effective leaders walk into a room confident, speak in calm even

tones and hold the pace of the meeting. They are always in control
of how they move and talk. They control their time and not the
other way round.

They know there will always be urgent issues to be addressed, and

new fires to quench where everything is a high priority. But they
never let themselves be controlled by these. They keep the power
and control in every aspect and let none of the stress and worry
leaks out to his or her team.

30
Know who you are meeting. Start observing what time of the day
your team members are more alert and effective. What is the
dynamics between your team members?

Understand the agenda issues discussed. Always be prepared to

make a stand and decision on the issues discussed. Dont leave the
meeting without an action plan in place for your team.

Put it on hold can be confusing for your team. Does that mean
they ignore it, trash it, or what? Are they going to be penalized if no
one followed up on it? Instead of put on hold, telling your team this
is a low priority issue and guiding them to the high priority issues
will help them move forward.

Choose your meeting environment for your team. One of the leaders
I really looked up to loves to hold her meetings in a caf. Of course,
if it involves a big group and an extremely sensitive issue, it will be
a closed door event.

But if its a meeting where she wants her team to brainstorm

solutions or even just a simple progress update, she brings her
team out of the office. Somehow, everyone becomes more relaxed.
Creative ideas flow. Smiles come more easily on faces. It even
turned some of the dreaded meetings into enjoyable ones.

The key is selecting venues that puts your team at ease, allowing
their minds to relax and lowers their defensiveness. When you
control the environment and atmosphere of your discussion, you
control your teams behavior.

Similarly in your personal realm, be mindful of the time and place

to hold important discussions. Being sensitive to your family and
friends can help you avoid turning your well-intentioned
discussions into heated arguments.

But theres never a good time. They are always busy!

31
Initiate a commitment date. I really need to discuss something
important. It would mean a lot to me if you could let me know a
date and time this week I can speak to you about this. This allows
your family and friends to prepare their mind or emotions for the
discussion you want and not be blindsided by it.

Choosing the venue is also important for your personal discussions.

A chat over coffee definitely relaxes the person more than an
enclosed study room.

Keeping to the discussion goals is also critical. Do not allow the

discussion to lapse into negative talk such as gossips or
complaints. Tactfully pull the discussion back to the agenda.

As a leader, you will find more success when you deliberately

navigate your discussions so that they emerge meaningful and
constructive. Convey your positive energy and mindset through
your body language and tone of your words.

32
Essential Leadership Tips

1. Respect not just your own time, but that of others.

2. Think about the message you are sending with your actions. You
always want to send out positive messages as a leader.

3. When you lead by example, you are transforming others by your

actions.

4. An effective leader respects time, is focused and is able to

facilitate and manage conflicts well.

5. Inject positive energy and life when you enter any team space. It
perks your team up and charges up the atmosphere.

6. Always control your emotions in a team setting. Dont start

leaking negative emotions.

7. Be confident. Speak calmly. Set the pace. Always control time.

Dont let it control you.

8. Knowledge is power: know the agenda, know the players

involved, and know the environment.

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 9

10 Inspiring Leadership Quotes

1. Sam Walton

Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-

esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's
amazing what they can accomplish.

2. Rick Warren

Great leaders inspire. They maintain a hopeful attitude, even

in the face of discouraging setbacks, constant criticism and
abundant opposition. People don't follow discouraged leaders.
They follow those who persist with hope.

3. Peter Drucker

Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being

liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes.

4. John Maxwell

People buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.

5. John Quincy Adams

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do

more and become more, you are a leader.

6. Stephen Covey

What you do has far greater impact than what you say.

34
7. Rosalyn Carter

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader

takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but
ought to be.

8. Douglas MacArthur

A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to

make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the
needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but
becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of
his intent.

9. Eric Hoffer

The leader has to be practical and a realist yet must talk the
language of the visionary and the idealist.

10. Vince Lombardi

Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just
like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price
we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.

35
 9

Resources

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