Jeff McManus's Blog, page 27

Motivation

“Leaders must be close enough to relate to others, but far enough ahead to motivate them.”
~John C. Maxwell

How important is motivation to your success?  Are you a motivated person?  Do you set goals, try to get better each day?  Okay, now what about your team?  Most leaders want and need motivated teams. If you asked your team what motivates them, I bet someone will say, “more money in my paycheck.”  But do they really mean that?  Most research tells us the link between what you make and h...

Value

“Low self-esteem is like driving through life with your hand-break on.”

– Maxwell Maltz

Teams work best when each member is valued and feels valuable.  Treating one another as a valued member produces results – undervaluing yourself or others produces less.  How we treat each other matters – personally and professionally – and we all struggle with self-doubt.  Sunday, I was inspired by my friend Dan Miller’s email and I want to share it with you.  Mainly, because I’m in the business of growin...

Stakes are High

In our weekly meeting last month, I asked our school’s Athletic Director, Ross Bjork, to share 10-15 minutes with our leaders.   It is always good having another respected voice to encourage and assist in the growing greatness on our team.  Ross talked a lot about going through adversity and drawing closer together as a team.    The overall message left our team encouraged and confirming their role in making the campus beautiful.  They heard that their role is important; they help provide goo...

Enthusiasm

Last week at work in our Leader-to-Leader meeting we discussed the word “enthusiasm”.

I asked the different groups to define the word and I heard, “excited, passionate, eager”. One guy said, “hooah!” and explained that was the Army’s way of showing enthusiasm.  You usually don’t see “displays enthusiasm” listed in job descriptions, but it plays a massive role in meeting production and getting results.   I found that just talking about the word and letting others voice their thoughts on it get...

Can someone call a tree doctor?

When you see this photo what comes to mind?

“What the heck happened to this tree?!” I laughed when I first saw it.  Whatever happened, It is obviously an un-natural occurrence.

“Who would do this?!”  Surely someone is responsible for the damage and neglect.

I took this picture a year or so ago on a property less than one mile from my office, but thankfully, I was not responsible for the tree.  And, the person that asked me to look at the site never mentioned the tree or expressed any concern....

Product vs. Process

“Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.”
~A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

If you have ever seen the TV show The Profit starring Marcus Lemonis, you are familiar with the methods used to take struggling businesses and make them highly successful ones.  He focuses on 3 parts of the business:  People, Processes and Product.  And, with good reason.

As humans, we are always so eager to get to the product – finished and ready to ship, view, consume or use – that the product is often flawed, i...

Collaborate or Cooperate

Does your team collaborate, cooperate, do both or neither? I have worked with all types of teams and by far the collaborative team works with less drama and with great pride.  There is a huge difference between collaborating and cooperating – especially in the outcome.

Invest in growing a collaborative team.

Cultivate your Greatness.

Set Yourself Apart

“I need a raise,” said one of my employees.  I nodded my head and waited for the justification.  No justification was offered other than there should be more pay for the job being done.  I thought of all my employees and did a comparison.  The employee standing in front of me was not doing more than was being asked; no being pro-active; no solution oriented thinking.  Nothing about this employee stood out as being better, more dependable, more of a leader, or more deserving of a raise.

Do you...

Plaintain Attitudes

Do you ever get weeds, like plantain, in your turf areas?  Or, do you ever get the feeling that an attitude of negativity is growing among your team?  What do the two have in common and what does this tell us?  I walked the Ole Miss Grove, a 10 acre green space in the center of campus, and share what I have learned.  Nature lets us know when things are out of balance and needs attention.

Feel free to share this with your team.

Cultivate your greatness!

 

Dare we Disagree

“Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.”
~Mahatma Gandhi

I prefer to give humanity the benefit of the doubt and believe most of us don’t truly enjoy disagreeing with anyone – especially at work.  After all, as a team you have one another’s back; are supportive and encouraging.  In building team unity, voicing disagreement may feel rude or seem out of place.  However, after seeing a project fail, the feeling of regret for having said nothing to challenge or oppose the set cou...