Archive for trust
Let’s talk about HONOR
Posted by: | CommentsWhat do you think of when you hear the word, HONOR? Respect, recognition, reward, position? Or is it something else? Today’s post features a Minute with Maxwell on HONOR. See what I think of when I hear it:
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Thank you for joining me on this journey through The 5 Levels of Leadership. I’ve enjoyed sharing a sneak peek at my book and reading your insights into what makes an effective leader. Now we’ve got just one more week before the book comes out. I hope you’ll purchase and read it – not just for my sake, but because I know that the concepts within it can teach you how to grow as a leader.
Here’s a sneak peek at Level 5: The Pinnacle. I hope it inspires you to become the kind of leader who can eventually rise to that level:
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Rare is the leader who reaches Level 5—the Pinnacle. Not only is leadership at this level a culmination of leading well on the other four levels, but it also requires both a high degree of skill and some amount of natural leadership ability. It takes a lot to be able to develop other leaders so that they reach Level 4; that’s what Level 5 leaders do. The individuals who reach Level 5 lead so well for so long that they create a legacy of leadership in the organization they serve.
The individuals who reach Level 5 lead so well for so long that they create a legacy of leadership in the organization they serve.
Pinnacle leaders stand out from everyone else. They are a cut above, and they seem to bring success with them wherever they go. Leadership at this high level lifts the entire organization and creates an environment that benefits everyone in it, contributing to their success. Level 5 leaders often possess an influence that transcends the organization and the industry the leader works in.
Most leaders who reach the Pinnacle do so later in their careers. But the Pinnacle level is not a resting place for leaders to stop and view their success. It is a reproducing place from which they make the greatest impact of their lives. That’s why leaders who reach the Pinnacle should make the most of it while they can. With gratitude and humility, they should lift up as many leaders as they can, tackle as many great challenges as possible, and extend their influence to make a positive difference beyond their own organization and industry.
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P.S. October 4 is the actual date of publication for The 5 Levels of Leadership. I’d appreciate it very much if you would help get the word out. On Twitter, you can use the hashtag #5Levels. And here’s the link that you can share anywhere:
http://tinyurl.com/5levelslead
Thank you!
Level 2 – Permission: You Can’t Lead People Until You Like People
Posted by: | CommentsIn only a few weeks, my new book, The 5 Levels of Leadership, will be on bookshelves. And I can’t wait. Here’s why I’m really excited: this book is about a concept that I’ve been teaching for over thirty years! With that kind of history, I really KNOW that it works.
Lately, I’ve been using this blog to provide a sneak peek at the book and what a reader can hope to learn from it. So far, I’ve given you an overview and quite a few details about Level 1. Now I want to use the time between now and October 4 to give you a basic understanding of Levels 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Level 2 – Permission:
You Can’t Lead People Until You Like People
Making the shift from Position to Permission brings a person’s first real step into leadership. Why do I say that? Because leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. Leaders who rely on their positions to move people rarely develop influence with them. If their subordinates do what they are asked, it’s usually because they think they have to—to receive their pay, keep their jobs, prevent being reprimanded, and so on.
In contrast, when a leader learns to function on the Permission level, everything changes. People do more than merely comply with orders. They actually start to follow. And they do so because they really want to. Why? Because the leader begins to influence people with relationship, not just position. Building relationships develops a foundation for effectively leading others. It also starts to break down organizational silos as people connect across the lines between their job descriptions or departments. The more barriers come down and relationships deepen, the broader the foundation for leading others becomes.
When people feel liked, cared for, included, valued, and trusted, they begin to work together with their leader and each other. And that can change the entire working environment. The old saying is really true: people go along with leaders they get along with.
Moving up to Level 2 is an important development in leadership because that is where followers give their supervisors permission to lead them. People change from being subordinates to followers for the first time, and that means there is movement! Remember, leadership always means that people are going somewhere. They aren’t static. No journey, no leadership.
From my files: Integrity
Posted by: | CommentsGreetings from another hemisphere! As you read this, I’m in South Africa speaking to thousands of people about leadership. (See Events in the sidebar for details.)
For today’s post, I thought I’d do something a little different. Over the years, many people have asked me how I find so much information and material for my teaching. I answer that I’ve been filing it all away since I was a young adult. In case you’re unclear on how old I am, that’s a lot of years that I’ve been filing. (And if you want more info on how I file, read this post.)
At this point in the conversation, the more strategic questioners have one thing to say:
“Wow. I wish I could see those files.”
So this week on the blog, I thought I’d give you a glimpse at what I file. I’m opening up one file drawer and sharing some of my quote collection with you. I hope it inspires and encourages you.
On Integrity
Integrity is: Doing what you said you would do, when you said you would do it, and how you said you would do it. –Byrd Baggett
Always believe what a person does, not what he says. –Fred Smith
One of the primary rules of navigation is this: What’s under the surface should carry more weight than what’s above the surface if the ship is going to make it through storms without capsizing. That’s exactly how it is with integrity. What’s under the surface had better be greater than what you’re showing to the world, or you’re never going to make it through the storms of life. –Pat Williams
Wisdom is knowing the right path to take … Integrity is taking it. –MH McKee
People of integrity expect to be believed. They also know time will prove them right and are willing to wait. –Ann Landers
Watch what direction the feet point, when the mouth stops. You want a consistency between mouth and movement. –James Dignam
Integrity is keeping my commitment even if the circumstances when I made the commitment have changed. –David Jeremiah
Personal integrity is important, not because it gets us what we want, but because it helps us be what we want. –Michael Josephson
A man of character will make himself worthy of any position he is given. –Mahatma Gandhi
Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful. –Samuel Johnson
Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not. –Oprah Winfrey
The time is always right to do what is right. -Martin Luther King, Jr.
Integrity is not a 90% thing, not a 95% thing; either you have it or you don’t. –Peter Scotese
Integrity has no need of rules. –Albert Camus
In order to be a leader a man must have followers. And to have followers, a man must have their confidence. Hence the supreme quality for a leader is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office. If a man’s associates find him guilty of phoniness, if they find that he lacks forthright integrity, he will fail. His teachings and actions must square with each other. –Dwight D Eisenhower
The Right Thing 101
Posted by: | CommentsA few years ago, I published a book called Ethics 101. In it, I proposed that ethics was not a changeable thing, based on your situation or personality or industry. Instead, I explained that I believe that ALL ethics boils down to one thing: The Golden Rule.
Essentially, asking the question, “How would I like to be treated?” is an integrity guideline for ANY situation.
Think about it: How DO we like to be treated?
1. We want to be valued.
Did you know that in the American marketplace today, 70% of those who leave their jobs do so because they do not feel valued? Don’t you want others to accept you for who you are and show you through their actions that you matter?
Valuing others, not for what they can do but simply because they are human beings, is the foundation of ethics.
2. We want to be appreciated.
Closely related to the need to be valued and loved is the desire to be appreciated for what we can do. Don’t you want to excel and achieve? Knowing that what you do matters builds your self-confidence and self-worth.
How do we express appreciation? Begin by thanking people at every opportunity. Give credit to others. And make a point of praising people in the presence of those close to them, like family members. Broadway producer Billy Rose shrewdly observed, “It’s hard for a fellow to keep a chip on his shoulder if you allow him to take a bow.”
3. We want to be trusted.
George MacDonald said, “To be trusted is a greater compliment than to be loved.” Think about it: Good marriages, business relationships, and friendships all require trust. Without it, you don’t have open and honest communication, and the relationship can be only temporary.
It takes a leap of faith to put your trust in another person, especially someone you don’t know well. But as Henry L. Stinson said, “The only way you can make a man trustworthy is by trusting him; and the surest way to make him untrustworthy is to distrust him and show your distrust.”
4. We want to be respected.
When others trust me, I receive responsibility and authority. When others respect me, it touches something deeper within me. It gives me dignity and builds my confidence. As Arnold Glasow said, “The respect of those you respect is worth more than the applause of the multitude.”
The respect of a leader gives people the freedom to perform at their best and the incentive to work with excellence. I can’t think of a more positive working environment.
5. We want to be understood.
Charles Kettering said, “There is a great difference between knowing and understanding. You can know a lot about something and not really understand it.” Likewise, we can know a lot about a person and still not really understand them or why they do what they do.
But the desire to be understood is so strong that many disagreements can be resolved simply when one party (or both) gets the sense that they’ve been understood.
Understanding others means extending yourself and meeting them where they are. You must put the burden of connecting on yourself, not on them.
6. We don’t want others to take advantage of us.
We can cut through almost all of the ethical and moral dilemmas of life by observing this principle with others. If anyone could interpret what I do as taking advantage of them, then my actions are probably a bad idea.
What do you think of the needs listed above? Did I miss anything? And just for the sake of discussion, let me pose a question you can answer in the comments:
Describe a situation in your past in which a person in authority expressed value, appreciation, and respect for you. Why does that instance stand out to you? How did you respond?
Find more on ethics for all areas of life in Ethics 101.
