Leadership traits – Walk Into the Future

The Energy Bus—team building program!

(Image by Marek Studzinski from Pixabay)

“Thoughts are magnetic. What you think you attract”.

(John Gordon)

Dictionary.com defines teambuilding as the action or process of causing a group of people to work together effectively as a team, especially by means of activities and events designed to increase motivation and promote cooperation.

I have always been a fan of conducting teambuilding activities throughout the years to keep teams focused and pulling in the same direction. I have been fortunate to create teambuilding platforms at UCF and FSU to enhance our team dynamics and set us up to accomplish our work goals. Teambuilding is a critical component to organizational success and is necessary to remind each team member how interconnected we are daily.

I have leveraged the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) at every stop I have made since I left the Air Force. I find the MBTI an excellent way to understand team members’ communication style and allows us to adjust to how individuals prefer to communicate internally and externally.

My MBTI is ISTJ (Introverted/Sensing/Thinking/Judging) and is displayed on my desk to remind my team of my preferred communication style. Each team member gets a desk placard highlighting their MBTI to help them communicate with others and serves as a reminder we all have different preferences and work styles. One is not better than the other, simply different.

I was introduced to Clifton Strengths while at UCF. I was charged with building a teambuilding program for Career Center staff and Clifton Strengths provided us with a platform to build on the strengths of everyone on the team. We reached out and hired a certified consultant to come in and work with us to learn how to maximize team strengths so we could grow the organization. This was an eye-opening teambuilding experience for the group and has remained an integral tool for me when working to build my respective team dynamics.

Ice breaker activities are another great way to bring teams together and enhance socialization. The ice breakers used do not have to be elaborate but should have an element of fun while the team learns more about each other. The platform should enhance communication and help the team find ways to discover new things about teammates.

My latest teambuilding adventure was introduced to me by one of my new team members. She found out I am a huge reader and shared a leadership book from her library with me. I had never heard of the book but was intrigued by the concept after she explained the premise of the book. The full title, The Energy Bus: 10 Rules to Fuel your Life, Work and Team is an international best seller and the author, Jon Gordon is sought by organizations to share his Energy Bus knowledge and help people continue to grow. I watched several of his talks on YouTube to get a better understanding of his concept to determine if this was something I could utilize. He has a ton of stuff on YouTube so recommend taking some time to explore his work to see how it can help you and your team move forward.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=jon+gordon++

The book is an extremely easy read and reminds me of the classic, Who Moved My Cheese but in an actual work environment. I was impressed with how his concepts could be applied to my current work situation as I had to find new and inventive ways to conduct teambuilding while maintaining physical distancing due to COVID-19. Never imagined 6 months ago I would be able to implement teambuilding activities with team members in 8 different locations via virtual platforms. I chose the Energy Bus because the 10 rules identified are easy to follow and fit where I wanted to take the team. We must get creative with our work products now and needed them to understand we must pull in the same direction.

Leveraging the https://www.theenergybus.com/ site, I was able to send each team member a bus ticket to invite them onto my bus. It felt funny generating the ticket, but it seemed to excite people when they received the invitation. Most of the team reached out to ask if they needed to present their ticket at our scheduled teambuilding session. It was not required but a lot of them had their ticket ready just in case. 😊

10 Rules for the Ride of Your Life

You are the driver of the Bus
Desire, vision, and focus move your bus in the right direction
Fuel your ride with positive energy
Invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead
Do not waste energy on those who do not get on your bus
Post a sign that says “No Energy Vampires Allowed” on your bus
Enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them during the ride
Love your passengers
Drive with purpose
Have fun and enjoy the ride

We were able to go through the 10 Rules and discuss the impact each had on our new team adventures. I gave the team my view of the 10 Rules and how I planned to leverage each of them. We went around the virtual room and had each team member provide their feedback on each rule and how they would incorporate the rule daily. I was pleasantly surprised when one of my teammates asked if she could give a full rundown for ALL the rules. She did a fantastic job summarizing each rule and how it would be incorporated in her daily interactions. This set the tone for the rest of the teambuilding session and let me know we are heading in the right direction.

I am always looking for ways to get the team to the next level. Will continue to research teambuilding activities but highly recommend The Energy Bus if you are looking for ways to bring a team together.

What teambuilding activities does your organization use? How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your team’s ability to gel?

“Your positive energy and vision must be greater than anyone’s and everyone’s negativity. Your certainty must be greater than everyone’s doubt”.

(John Gordon)

Mentoring and people building daily

People Builder March 2020

(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)

“We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark”.

(Whoopi Goldberg)

Had an interesting conversation with a good friend today about why I consider myself a People Builder. My explanation comes down to this is something I was destined for—my purpose if you will. There it is—I’m a People Builder!

Got invited to speak with 3 Student Success classes at Tallahassee Community College in December 2019. The professor and I worked together at FSU years ago and reached out to see if I could energize her students. I never turn down speaking roles so decided to work on some new material to help students find the why in their studies.

The invite came the week prior to finals so most students were ready for the semester to end–then I enter the arena. Always love a challenge and the end of a semester provides plenty of them. Didn’t let this deter me as I prepared for my full day working on the TCC campus—I’m built for this! 😊

The main message I wanted the students to take away is they control their destiny.

Education and life are active endeavors and the more they participate, take charge and act the more empowered they will feel in all aspects of life. Wanted to ensure the students understood empowerment by having them create a life and educational why statement while I was with them. Some never heard of this concept but were quick to embrace it since the professor made this an extra credit project prior to finals—it takes all types of motivation. 😊

Had several students share their why statements with me during the class sessions—came away impressed with what they generated during our time together. Also introduced the concept of SMART goals (Simple, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to the students to help them with future educational and life pursuits. Leveraged SMART goals to help the students understand how written goals would impact their why statements.

The professor conducted a survey to get the students to identify what they took away from my visit. See a sample below.

Sample student survey results:

What was your favorite part of the Leadership Presentation? My favorite part of the presentation was what Dr. Williams proved to us. He proved that all of us are leaders of our own lives. He made me believe that I am far more capable of doing great things than I give myself credit.
What did you take away from the perception vs. reality part of the presentation? The perception of a person is how they carry themselves such as how they walk, talk, and dress. For example, Dr. Williams walked in confident, dressed in professional attire, and he was very well spoken. Yet he is a very introverted person.
In your own words, what was Dr. Williams’s why statement? Dr. Williams’ why statement was simply that he wants to leave a positive impact on every person that he meets.
What is your why for your education (including this class)? My why for my education is so that I can grow into a mature and responsible adult and to be able to become an officer in the United States Army. My why for this class is to help make a smooth transition into college which has been interesting.
What is your why for life? My why for life is to recognize that I will not live forever but I want to create something positive that will.
How long did it take Dr. Williams to learn his why? It took him 20 years.
In your own words, describe what happens when everyone in an organization agrees on everything? Everyone stops learning, they all stop growing, and eventually all become complacent.
How was the presentation helpful to you? It helped me realize the many things that I can do right now for my future. It was very eye opening and motivating. Thank you for having Dr. Williams come in.
If you were a tree, what kind would you be? Explain why you would be this tree. I would be a pine tree because I may not be the toughest, but I am flexible and dependable.
Share something you learned that you can put into action this week. I made a game plan of how I can get into ROTC at FSU. After class today (December 2nd) I made an appointment with the recruiter at FSU ROTC for tomorrow.

Happy to report most of the students I spoke with left with the same energy and got active making positive things happen. Several reached out to me on LinkedIn to stay connected for mentorship opportunities. Got invited to coffee recently for additional insight on goal setting—progress was made at TCC!

People building closely resembles being a superhero—Inspiration Man strikes again!

How can you become a People Builder? Who in your circle would benefit from a little construction?

“Our chief want in life is somebody who will make us do what we can”.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Where do leaders come from?

Leadership image

(Image by Pete Linforth from Pixabay)

“I’m a leader not a follower. Unless it’s a dark place, then you are going first”.

(Unknown)

Got invited back down to Orlando in October for my recurring speaking role on the Intern Whisperer podcast.

Season 2, Episode 92 featured me discussing all things leadership to include earliest memories of venturing into leadership roles.

The quote above makes me laugh because I know people who perform in their leadership role in a similar manner. No worries when things are going well but no support, help or empathy when things get tough. These so-called leaders also seek the spotlight in good times and hide out during the bad.

Back to the podcast and why I’m discussing leadership in this blog post. The students who produce the Intern Whisperer podcast are extremely sharp and asked great questions from start to finish. One question that really stood out to me was, “What was your earliest memory of taking on a leadership role and how did it make you feel”?

Seems like a straightforward question but I had to think about it for a bit. I have always been an athlete and grew up playing multiple sports; football, basketball, baseball and track (high jump). Never considered being active in sports as leadership, just a way to pass the time and hang out with friends. Yes, I know leadership and teamwork are integral in a team environment, but I was just having fun during this time frame. My interviewers seemed to think my sports background would have been where my leadership foundation started.

My earliest memory of taking on an active leadership role and embracing everything involved was when I became a Master Instructor at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi (Biloxi).

I served at multiple Air Force installations as a Personnel Systems Manager (HR Data Analyst) and got an opportunity to train analysts Air Force wide based on my work performance and knowledge. So, I went for writing computer code for one Air Force base to training every data analyst in my career field—worldwide. Pretty heady stuff for someone from Jasper, Florida!

This role stands out as my earliest leadership memory because I had to expand my personal and professional goals and understand the importance of ensuring my students got a world class education. Everything they needed to be successful in the career field came directly from me. I couldn’t have a bad day in class because my lack of preparation, patience or knowledge would hinder their abilities to perform; in class and when they returned to their respective organizations around the world.

I went from being responsible for myself to leading a group of 25 students on a six-week educational journey. We routinely graduated 10 classes every fiscal year—I spent 4 years as an Air Force instructor at Keesler Air Force Base before moving back into my career field at Kadena Air Base, Japan (Okinawa).

The Air Force Technical School environment is the incubator that taught me leaders must be able to adjust leadership style, inspirational tactics and provide tough love when needed. The students needed different things to successfully complete our course. My ability to lead was needed daily.

It was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done but it laid the foundation for my current leadership and life philosophy: Make a difference daily!

Leadership article

(Instructor of the Year Presentation)

What are your earliest leadership memories? How do these memories impact you today? (Respond in the comments section—thanks!)

Thanks for walking with me!

Listen to the Intern Whisperer podcast, Season 2, episode 92 here: https://www.facebook.com/internpursuit/videos/769036653552348/

“Be a LEADER, not a boss”.

(Calvin Williams)

The Humble Leader

close up photography of a cellphone — Photo by Prateek Katyal on Pexels.com

The concept of the humble leader sounds contradictory to what most people envision in the workplace. The traditional leadership view (real or perceived) cast leaders as hard charging, take no prisoner and only out for themselves.

Humility: the quality or condition of being humble; modest opinion or estimate of one’s importance, rank, etc. (Dictionary.com)

A true leader understands you lead people and manage programs. Not the other way around.

A humble leader displays a level of self-awareness within the workplace to ensure growth for everyone. A humble leader does not seek or need the spotlight to highlight the great work of the team. The humble leader can inspire better team cohesion, eagerness to learn and a better performance outcome for their teams.

The process of leading by example and a leader with a humble approach when working with individuals and teams is an excellent example of this concept. This consistent approach provides a template for others to follow and allows the team to perform knowing the true nature of their leader.

Humble leaders:

Build relationships
Listen
Enable trust in the workplace
Show appreciation
Reflect
Display authenticity

A humble leader puts the needs of others before themselves. This could be a simple process of ensuring direct reports have the tools needed to perform their duties. Sounds simple but how many times are work assignments delegated with deadlines, but instructions/tools needed to perform are not provided. The humble leader looks to provide tools needed to ensure overall team success. They are also not afraid to ask questions to ensure the assignment is fully understood. Asking follow-up questions does not show weakness but shows the leader cares and wants to optimize time spent on a specific project.

Being a humble leader does not imply weakness. Humble leaders are always looking to improve themselves and focus on larger, organizational goals—not just their individual goals.

A leader is best when people hardly know that they exist. (Lao Tzu)

What impact does humility have within your current work environment? How would this concept enhance overall productivity in the work environment?

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