personal leadership

How Great Leaders Exhibit Decision-Making Excellence

March 21, 2019 by webadmin

So as a leader, how would you describe your skills when it comes to decision making and understanding what’s involved in the decision-making process? Are all the decisions made by you, or are there times where you need to be able to be able to engage your team in the decision-making process?

I believe that this is a critically-important skill and something that leaders need to consider as to whether or not they already have it in their repertoire of leadership competencies. So what would you say about your ability to make those decisions and to be able to engage others, and to know when to be able to engage others? Because sometimes the worst thing you can do is to not make any decision at all. And that can be extremely costly to your business, to the future of your business.

And recognizing that by standing still, it may actually be the worst thing that you can do. So sometimes making a decision, even if it might mean that you make a mistake when you make that decision, is totally okay. Because at least you’ve moved in a particular direction rather than just been frozen in time. And, again, making that decision can be a game changer for your business. So it all has to do with your confidence to make the right decision and to know when to engage others to help you make the best decision for your business.

This article is a transcript from Michelle Ray’s Leadership Secrets at YouTube YouTube.

Michelle Ray (Twitter) is one of the best international leadership keynote speakers in Vancouver. She helps you discover your potential through presentations, coaching and consulting. With over 20 years of experience Michelle has worked with hundreds of companies around the world. She is taking bookings for speaking engagements and can be contacted at MichelleRay.com

Leading Self – Demonstrating Ethics and Integrity

March 14, 2019 by webadmin

So according to The Society of Human Resource Management one of the categories for key leadership competencies is leading self. One of the first pieces of being able to lead one’s self is operating with high ethics and integrity.

Absolutely critical to your success as a leader is to be conscious of your own integrity and how your reputation is everything. The fact that people are paying attention to you as a leader and your values, and how you operate in the world and your character, because if we’re gonna be successful as leaders we need to realize that it is not about our title, it is about the essence of who we are, it is about operating at the highest level possible, realizing that we are absolutely under the microscope as leaders.

So to be a leader that manages one’s self with integrity in every single action is really the key to your success to be able to rise above any kind of challenge and do so with your reputation always remaining in tact because you are able to lead yourself.

This article is a transcript from Michelle Ray’s Leadership Secrets at YouTube YouTube.

Emotional Intelligence as a Leadership Trait

March 7, 2019 by webadmin

As a leader your ability to hone your emotion intelligence is absolutely one of the best things you can do for yourself. Emotional intelligence is all about managing your own emotions and being in tune to the emotions of others, being really dialed in, recognizing when you yourself have to keep your own emotions in check. And as a leader this is, it goes without saying that you are gonna be invariably, and you are everyday being pulled in a myriad of different directions.

So, to manage your emotional intelligence, as Daniel Goldman says, emotional intelligence is everything. And it’s one thing to have intellect and to have a great business sense and to have business acumen, but all of that can be undone so quickly if we aren’t sensitive to our own emotions and the emotions of others recognizing when we are feeling frustrated, when we’re feeling angry, when we’re feeling impatient, when a meeting isn’t wrapping up as quickly as we’d like it to, when someone else might be rambling on, but what they are saying is really important in that moment and you as the leader can sense that in yourself that you need to give that airtime to other people. So, emotional intelligence is actually also equated to how charismatic you are, how much energy you have, how you channel that energy in the right direction, how you’re able to bring other with you without being over the top, being able to manage yourself and how much emotion you bring into every situation. So, people need to feel that positive vibe from you.

They need to feel that energy. But, they can also be just as aware of when you might be frustrated, when you might be getting angry, when you might be losing it. And all of that can have an impact of course on your overall business. So, the best leaders know how to manage themselves, how to manage their emotions, and how to recognize the emotions of others, and be sensitive to that as well.

This article is a transcript from Michelle Ray’s Leadership Secrets at YouTube YouTube.

Why is Courage an Important Trait of Great Leaders?

January 10, 2019 by Michelle Ray

What does it mean to have courage as a leader? To have the courage of your convictions, to stand up for something that you truly believe in. Courage to me is a value. Click To Tweet When people are living their values, rather than just saying they have a value of speaking their truth, and having no fear, and standing up for what they believe in, to me there is a really big difference between actually living out that value every day. I’ve seen it very often where a person will just lack the courage of their convictions. As a result of that, they may live with regret. They may, again, end up demotivating their work environment, the team environment, when all of that could have been avoided if they actually just spoke their truth.

I think that a lot of this happens because people often hide behind a veneer, and they don’t necessarily understand, as a leader, that it’s okay to be transparent, that it’s actually very attractive to be authentic and stand up for what they believe in. People will gravitate towards that. Think of the last time where you needed to make a bold decision, you needed to act with courage as a leader, you needed to make a tough decision. Whether it involved making cuts to your team, as painful as that might have been, or maybe it meant that you needed to take the business in a different direction, you needed to make a business decision that you’d never made previously, whatever it might have been.

You needed to go after a different customer base, because you realized that what you were doing was old school, or you were losing customers, and you recognized that you needed to capture that market share again, whatever it might have been. You said to yourself, “I really need to do this differently, if we’re going to sustain the business and we’re gonna grow the business.” It doesn’t matter what the issue is. It’s really important for you to be true to yourself, true to your team, true to your business, and act with the courage to make those tough decisions, because that is what great leaders do.

This article is a transcript from Why is Courage an Important Trait of Great Leaders YouTube.

Leading Self: Developing Adaptability

December 27, 2018 by Michelle Ray

Leadership Competencies is all about honing your ability to be adaptable, to be flexible. Today, I would say more than any other time, we are seeing the pace of change accelerating and so of course, we need to be flexible. We need to be adaptable, and along with being adaptable, we need to be willing to be flexible. There is no room today to stand still.

So, how adaptable are you to move with the pace of change, to recognize that things are happening outside of yourself faster than you can even imagine, faster than your business can even keep up with at times. So, if you are willing to be adaptable, and if you are willing to remain flexible, then you are in a position to teach other to do the same. You are in a position to be able to transcend change and you are able to remain on top of ever changing business dynamics and where your customers are going.

So, remaining flexible, is that you? Remaining adaptable, is that you? Because that is what we need to do as one of the core competencies to lead yourself.

This article is a transcript from Leading Self: Developing Adaptability YouTube.

The impact of a Stable Personal Life on Leadership Ability

December 20, 2018 by Michelle Ray

A key characteristic of great executive is to have a stable personal life, a balanced life. You may think to yourself, how realistic is that? Well, the best executives recognize that burnout is not the optimum state. They know how important it is to take time for themselves, to take care of themselves, to prioritize in their life the most important things: family, health, personal health, mental health, physical health, all the things that make them most productive. It’s not about working ourselves 14, 15 hours a day. It’s about realizing that the more balanced our lives are, the more effective we can be, the greater the difference we can make to our people at work and at home. So to be that great executive, we sometimes need to take an honest look in the mirror and see what needs to change, and if that’s you, the change can start right now.

This article is a transcript from The impact of a Stable Personal Life on Leadership Ability YouTube.

Leading Self: Increasing Your Capacity To Learn

December 6, 2018 by Michelle Ray

It was Eric Hoffer who once said that “…the learners shall inherit the earth, whilst the learned will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.”

What an incredibly highly relevant statement that is. I love it, because it’s all about the ability to remain open, to see yourself as a lifelong learner. It makes sense that as a leader, there will never be a day where we should say that we know it all. How can that be possible when we remain open to learning, we will become better leaders, we will become sought after leaders in our organization. We will remain humble, and we will be seen as people who are sponges, who are always willing to grow.

Today, with the pace of technological change, and the speed of change, it is essential that we remain open to being a lifelong learner. Do you see yourself that way? Because that is one of the critical components to be able to lead yourself.

This article is a transcript from Leading Self: Increasing Your Capacity To Learn YouTube.

Three strategies to respond positively to negative feedback

June 30, 2015 by Michelle Ray

“You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar”…Anon

If you have ever been at the receiving end of criticism, either from a co-worker or manager, it is likely you have found yourself struggling to respond positively…or worse, have defaulted to apologizing when you have done nothing wrong. Even if the criticism is warranted or offered inappropriately, you cannot control the other person’s intention, words or delivery. What you can do is respond in a positive fashion while maintaining respect…for yourself and the bearer of disparaging comments. Whether the feedback pertains to your work, your relationship or a specific situation that transpired between both parties, your goal is to rise above the negativity and respond, rather than react. [Read more…] about Three strategies to respond positively to negative feedback

Four ways to deal with a bad boss

March 9, 2015 by Michelle Ray

A recent Gallup survey reported that 25 per cent of people would like to fire their boss, if they had the power. Interestingly, the majority of those 25 per cent were reported as the “highly disengaged” cohort.

On the other hand, those who enjoyed a healthy relationship with their managers were reported as “highly engaged” in their work and consequently had no desire to oust the boss.

The reasons for disengagement, however, aren’t necessarily a one-way street. Poor leadership plays a significant role in the engagement equation and it is a fact that managers and employees alike become disenchanted and disconnected due to the negative impact of mediocre leadership at the highest level.

The trouble with leadership: It’s Time to Lead Yourself First

September 23, 2014 by Michelle Ray

Leadership is always a subject that finds its way into the headlines. Unfortunately, we are witnessing a decline in the high standards that we expect to see from our leaders. Whether we are talking about sports, politics, business or religion, why are we so often profoundly disappointed in our leaders? Why do so many fall from grace and how does it come to pass that character becomes secondary to title?

personal leadership

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