Be positive. The most important thing you can do is to have a positive attitude. This one simple thing can and will get you through tough times, crabby people and down economies. A positive attitude is a must for people who want to create an excellent life. The choice is yours - choose to be positive no matter what.
Be engaged. You cannot feel mediocre about your role or you company and create lasting change at the same time. You must be engaged, passionate and on fire for your organization and its people. If you’re not engaged in your role, you won’t be able to help others to engage in their roles. Asses your current level of engagement and take the steps necessary to re-engage in your role at a higher level.
Engage others. If you’re excited about your job and the future of the company, you’ll be able to get others on board. Employee disengagement is a culture killer. It also affects productivity, effectiveness and the bottom line. Companies with engaged employees have a 200% higher profit margin than disengaged companies. If you’re engaged – you can make a difference. Taking disengaged employees and leading them towards engagement will turn your organization around faster than any other thing. Imagine what your company would look like if every employee showed up and went to work completely engaged and excited about their job.
Pray. I don’t care what you believe or who you believe in – prayer works. Prayer doesn’t need to be religious or formal. It doesn’t have to be a ritual. It just needs to be. Prayer works. Pray for your organization. Pray for your people. Pray for direction as a leader. Just pray and see what happens.
‘BE’ what you want others to ‘BE’. You cannot lead an organization if you say one thing and do another. You must ‘BE’ what you want others to ‘BE’. You cannot lead others somewhere you haven’t been. You cannot ask them to be someone you’re not. If you’re kind – you can ask them to be kind. If you’re honest – you can ask them to be honest. Whatever you ‘ARE’ will impact what they can ‘BE’. Choose to ‘BE’ excellent.
Never stop learning. Your job as a leader is to know your stuff. You need to know your organization, its processes and its products. In addition you need to know how to lead, how to develop your people and how to create an excellent organization. Take the time each week to learn something new. Study your industry, study success and study leadership. No matter what - never stop learning.
By Michelle Neujahr
