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Leadership Starts with Tough Decisions: Five Leadership Skills for Outstanding Team Building

Leadership starts with tough decisions. Let me share with you my recent leadership challenge and the leadership secrets you can use in any team building situation for great leadership results.

I have the honor and pleasure of volunteering for many groups and causes. In many situations, I am called upon to lead as chairperson or co-chairperson. Recently, I had the honor of co-chairing an event that involved leading and motivating a team of volunteers to work together for a successful result. Overall, the team volunteers are leaders in health care, education, business, media, the arts, and faith-based organizations, etc. In other words, this team of volunteers consisted of very motivated and accomplished people who wanted to make a difference.

One committee member became increasingly negative in her communication and actions at the expense of the other committee members. She behaved in a manner that was not in line with our overall mission. After a coaching session agreeing on what was expected from her in relationship to our mission, her behavior became increasingly worse. The final straw was a very negative e-mail that stated she was the only committee member who was doing anything and personally attacked the other committee members.

After consulting with the event organizers to gain agreement on a plan of action, I called this person to let her know that this was not acceptable behavior and invited her to meet with me to discuss how we could bring her behavior more in line with the mission of our project. She rejected my invite, and I let her know that by not excepting my invite, she was no longer a participant in our event. I followed up with an e-mail and letter reiterating my verbal statement. She made the choice to "fire herself."

As leader of the event, I made telephone calls to committee members to explain the committee change, let each committee member know the wonderful job they were doing, and shared with them where we were in relationship to our mission and goals. While making these calls, I soon found out that some committee members were not as involved in the project because of the one negative committee member.  Some members had stopped attending meetings, stopped communicating, and weren't giving 100% for the event. After assuring them that they were valuable team members of the project and that this "negative member" would not be involved in the project's going forward, we experienced a new level of motivation and participation that took our event to a new level of success and broke a record for attendance.

You may be in a similar leadership position whereby the success of the organization, project, or team depends on how well and how fast you make decisions when faced with challenging situations. The following five leadership skills will keep you on the leadership track during challenging situations, no matter whether your organization is for profit or non-profit, so that you can achieve your goals:

1. Live the Mission When Making Leadership Decisions
   Live the mission by constantly communicating the mission so that everyone of the team understands the mission and acts to live the mission. Ask team members the following question, "What did you do today to live the mission and achieve the goals of the mission?" Develop clear and concise team member descriptions so that everyone understands how they make a difference. Motivate and reward team members based on how well they lived the mission.

To read the rest of the article, go to Leadership.

JumpStart Your Employee Motivation: Ten Motivation Secrets to Empower Your Team

One of the important keys to employee motivation is to empower your employees to be successful. An empowered employee leads to the following benefits:

• Increased creativity

• Increased productivity

• Increased teamwork and motivation

• Increased initiative

• Increased ownership of work

• Reduced employee turnover

• Reduced human resources situations

• Better work environment

• Increased results for your organization

• Increased career opportunities

The following are ten motivation techniques to jumpstarting your employee motivation and empowering your team to outstanding results:

1. Motivate Your Employees to Find Solutions
   Encourage your employees to be solution creators instead of problem creators. When employees communicate a problem to you, look at it as an opportunity to empower the employees. Ask the employees how they would solve the problem, express your confidence that they are the person to solve the problems, give them the tools to solve the problem, and follow up with them. You have just empowered those employees to find ways in the future to create solutions and made your team more productive at the same time.

2. Motivate Your Employees by Soliciting Opinions
   Many times during our busy work day, we find it difficult to ask for opinions from our employees. But just the act of asking for their opinions tells your employees that you value their input and motivates them to accomplish more. Just imagine, it may be the first time that an employer has ever asked them for their opinion, and they appreciate it.

3. Motivate Your Employees by Managing to Their Level
   Learn your employees' skill, experience, and motivation levels for performing workplace tasks. Then assign the task and follow-up based on your findings. For example, you may need to follow up more frequently with an employee who is fairly new to the project or organization as opposed to the "veteran" employee who doesn't need much follow-up. Remember, the most skilled employee may not be the most motivated for performing the task you request.

To read the rest of the article, go to Employee Motivation.

Success Lessons I Learned on the Way to NCAA Championship Game!

If you are a basketball fan like I am, then you have given up all your worldly goods other then your television set, and have been watching the NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, otherwise known as "March Madness." The best college basketball teams in the United States compete to play in the men's and women's NCCA Championship Game. The winner of that men's NCAA Championship Game played tonight and the women's NCCA Championship Games are declared the 2008 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Champions, respectively, and receives all the glory with this very special win.

As I watch NCAA basketball tournaments, I realized that the teams exhibited many success techniques that can easily be applied to your business, your career, and your life. The following are many of the success techniques you can use by watching the NCAA Championship Games tonight and tomorrow:

• Develop a Powerful Mission Statement for Success

To learn how to apply these success keys to your business, your career, and your life, go to Success.

You know where I will be tonight and tomorrow. I will be watching the NCAA Championship Games at 9 p.m. EST. May the best teams win!

Leader Brett Favre's Retires

All-Pro, record breaking quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre, has decided to retire from the National Football League.

He achieved many of his accomplishments by being a great leader. Well, what are the characteristics of a great leader? The following are just some of the leadership traits important to leading people that Brett Favre exhibited:

• Leaders communicate clear goals

• Leaders provide ongoing communicate

• Leaders take adversity and create opportunity

• Leaders are not afraid to make mistakes

• Leaders bounce back up after taking a hit

• Leaders constantly motivate others

• Leaders develop teams

• Leaders inspire people to accomplish more than they realize

We know Brett will enjoy just as much success in his retirement.

Pay A Compliment Day - Take Time to Appreciate Someone

What's the greatest investment you can make at work or in life? What is the one investment that doesn't cost you anything, yet you receive enormous benefits from it? What can you do to motivate a person to achieve a new level of success?

A Sincere Compliment

Take the time today, "Pay a Compliment Day," and everyday to "find something good" that an employee, a family member, a friend doing and compliment them on it. It may be the first time the person you are complimenting may ever have been complimented. On account of that special moment, you can make a real difference in their life.

For information on how to give a sincere compliment and praise someone, go to Appreciation.

Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day: Take Time to Appreciate to Motivate Your Employees!

Today is Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day! First, let me say, you should as a motivator always "invest" in the time to appreciate and motivate your team. I use the word "invest" because it is an investment in the overall performance and success of your team. By taking the time to show appreciation for a job well done, you motivate your team to go to the next level of success. Sam Walton said the following:

"Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish."

I challenge you to always find the time to appreciate to motivate your employees in a timely and meaningful manner. The following link will provide you with vast motivation resources to help you start today:

Employee Motivation and Appreciation Resources

Employee Motivation, Don Imus, and: Team Building: Five Secrets to Creating Successful, Motivated Teams

Don Imus, a shock jock (someone who shocks their listening audience by saying outrageous statements), was fired from his jobs on WCBS radio and MSNBC television for crossing the line of decency and making racist and sexist remarks regarding the Rutgers University women's basketball team. From a team building and employee motivational point of view, there are tidbits of motivational wisdom to be learned from this situation.

First, let me ask you, how many "Don Imuses" do you have in your organization, your team, or your department? You know what I mean, the employees, whether they are women or male employees, who continuously cross the line when it comes to behavior; perhaps being overbearing or the bully at work. They make insensitive comments without respect for other people's feelings, and then say the following when you discuss their conduct:

Yet, they proceed to exhibit this inappropriate behavior. Because of this "Don Imus" behavior, productivity decreases, employees are less motivated, transfers and personnel issues increase, and soon you stop accomplishing your goals. Bottom line is that these kinds of people can tear apart your organization and team with their words or behavior.

The following are five secrets to handling the "Don Imuses" on your team so that you keep employee motivation high, build a strong, self-directed team, and achieve a higher level of organizational success:

1. Live Your Mission - When you continuously communicate and act upon the organization's mission, values, and goals, your employees will be motivated to live the mission and maintain a high standard of behavior and productivity. This communication must start at the top and be communicated and acted upon at every level at every opportunity.
   
   One of your organization's top values should be--respect. When you allow an employee to disrespect other team members through words or actions, you are not living your organization's mission, which will lead to organizational and team turmoil, productivity issues, and possible harassment issues.
   
   We know when working with top organizations, the more organizational values are communicated and reinforced, the more success the organization will achieve. This creates a motivated work environment and rewards employees based on the mission.

2. Be Consistent - Whenever you observe this bad behavior, you must address it each and every time. Many times I will hear managers say, "Well, they just said it once" or "It will go away eventually." Well, it doesn't go away. By not addressing this inappropriate conduct each and every time, you enable or empower the individual expressing this behavior. Your "Don Imus" person is thinking, "Well, no one said anything, so it must be acceptable," or "If I can get away with this, then let me overstep the boundaries even further." All the while the other employees, who are conducting themselves in a positive manner, are less motivated to produce. They will retreat to a safe environment where they won't need to communicate with this person and communication fundamental to a successful work environment ceases.
   
   Be consistent each and every time! Have the courage to conduct a private coaching session with the "Don Imus" personality and explain what is acceptable communication and behavior each and every time. Explain in detail what the reward for good employee behavior is and the penalty for continued bad employee behavior.

3. Remember That Words Hurt - "Sticks and Stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me" is the phrase many of us heard growing up. Well, words do hurt. The best advertising copywriters, political experts, speech writers, and screen writers are paid millions of dollars to create emotions with words so that we are persuaded to act in certain and various ways.
   
   Realize that once we say something that is hurtful or can alienate our fellow employees, we can never take it back. Or, as the old expression goes, "It's hard to get the horses back in the barn once the door is opened."
   
   

   We should all be careful with the words we use. You might ask yourself the following:

   Is my language positive or motivating toward my fellow employees?
   Am I showing respect toward my team members with the words I use?
   Do the jokes I use uplift or motivate or tear down and de-motivate my team members?
   
   
   Note: Always use honest communication that respects the recipient of your message. When you are "frank" (Let me be frank with you...), this means you are giving an opinion at the expense of the person receiving your "frankness." Let's leave "frank" out of our conversation and be more honest and respectful.

4. Motivate Towards Good Behavior - Always encourage positive, motivating behavior and recognize good behavior whenever you can. Recognize the person(s) exhibiting positive behavior in team meetings, a memo, or letter from the vice president, etc.
   
   Most of all, your employees will emulate the behavior you show. Always be on your best motivating, respectful, and positive behavior. When it comes to behavior as a manager, you receive what you send out.

5. Be Prepared to Take Corrective Action - If you have a meeting and/or coaching with the employees that are exhibiting the "Don Imus" behavior and they choose to continue with their inappropriate behavior, it's time to take action. Make sure that you, as the supervisor or manager, document, document, and document all discussions relating to this unacceptable behavior. Confer with human resources to receive expert advice on the next steps in the corrective action procedure. Remember, you are never alone when dealing with this kind of employee. Then start implementing the corrective action and follow-up to ensure there is a positive change in behavior. Be timely in your follow-ups so that there is no lapse in time between the next situation of unacceptable behavior and the next level of corrective action. Also, immediately motivate and reinforce positive behavior changes.
   
   Remember, if you show you are quick to take action for unacceptable behavior, this sends a message to your team members that you respect them as employees, individuals, and team members; and they will be far more motivated because of your actions.

Apply the above five employee motivational secrets and eliminate the "Don Imus" personalities from your team, and you will create a motivated workplace that achieves team and organizational goals.

Happy Smile Rejuvenation Day!

I just finished facilitating an exciting employee motivation program with a group of supervisors and managers. During one of the exercises, the group agreed that as supervisors and managers, they needed to set the tone for a motivated workplace. They discussed one way to set the tone is to have a pleasing smile when interacting with their employees.

How many of you have felt motivated to work first thing in the morning and you see your supervisor or manager walk into the office looking like the picture to the left. Are you still motivated? Are you distracted from producing your best work? Are you wondering, "What's going to happen next?"

Wouldn't you rather walk in an environment that looks like the picture to the right? Remember, as supervisors, managers, and leaders, we set the tone for the work environment. If you want a motivated work environment, it starts at the top.

So rejuvenate your smile and set the tone for the day!

Appreciate to Motivate Your Employees!

Today is Employee Appreciation Day!

Take time today to show your employees how much you appreciate their efforts. It could be as simple as saying "thank you." The following resource will give you the techniques to appreciating your employees so that they become more motivated and become more productive:

Appreciate to Motivate

Presentation Skills: Seven Presentation Secrets Learned from the Academy Awards

Academy Awards come and go, but one thing is a constant: bad acceptance speeches. You may never win an Academy Award, but you may be asked to give an acceptance speech for an accomplishment in your business, your career, your community, or your organization. Sometimes your acceptance speech will be for what you accomplished, or for what your team has accomplished.

The following are seven presentation secrets to giving an outstanding acceptance speech in any situation:

1. Prepare For the Moment- You may have heard the Oscar winners say, "I really didn't think I would win," or "I really didn't think I would be standing here tonight," and then give an acceptance speech like they didn't think they would win. Well, my question is, "Why did you think you were invited to this gala event?"
   
   Most likely, you will know ahead of time that you will be possibly winning an award, so take the time to prepare your presentation. Practice your speech using a tape recorder or, better yet, a video camcorder. Also, if you can, give a dress rehearsal of your speech in front of friends, family, or colleagues.

2. Agree Who Will Give the Speech- Time and time during the Academy Awards Ceremony, the first person to the microphone will speak for the full thirty second time limit and not allow the other winners in the group (many seen clutching their own acceptance speech notes) the opportunity to give their acceptance speeches. Where this moment should be one of the happiest moments in their lives, you can see the disappointment on the faces of the winners who didn't have the opportunity to speak.
   
   When you are working as a team on a project and are receiving an award, agree in advance who the acceptance speaker will be. This might be the team leader, the manager, vice president, etc., but work this out before giving the speech.
   
   If you decide on one person to give the speech, then you need to decide on who will be recognized during the time this person gives the presentation. Also, when speaking for the group, make sure the "I's" are changed to "We's." For example, when speaking for the group say, "We would like to acknowledge the following people..." instead of saying, "I would like to acknowledge the following people..." Remember, the designated speaker is representing the group.
   
   If decision is to have several team members speak, achieve consensus on how much time each person will have to speak so that each person has an equal opportunity to express appreciation.

3. Use Notes to Enhance Your Presentation- At the Academy Awards Ceremony, one person read his entire speech from his notes, not once looking at the audience. What he had to say was very heartfelt and sincere; however, his sincerity didn't translate to the audience because his notes were in the way.

   When giving an acceptance speech, use notes as a tool to enhance your presentation and not as a crutch. Only use notes for remembering the opening sentence, important names to thanks, or whatever facts you need to mention. Don't have the entire speech on notes.

   The following are some quick tips for working with notes:

   • Practice with your notes so that your speech is natural.
   • Type your notes. In the heat of the moment and sometimes bad lighting, our eyesight can become a little challenged. Type your notes in 16-18 point fonts.
   • Double space your sentences so that you can easily read your notes.
   • Type only on the top half of a full page so that you are less likely to lose your place after looking up at the audience.
   • Look up at the audience after every two or three sentences to maintain rapport with the audience.
   • Number your notes in case they fall and become scrambled so that you can quickly recover.
   • Practice a smooth transition for pulling your notes out of your pocket or portfolio.
   • Don't flip your notes because the flipping noise will cause a distraction for your audience. Practice sliding your notes.

4. Share the Wealth- How many times have we seen at the Academy Awards ceremony where some persons went on about how they personally achieved the reward or, worst yet, forgot to acknowledge the most important person for whom they would not have achieved the award (Remember Hillary Swank not remembering to thank her husband?).

   Take the time to give appreciation to the organization giving you the award and to those who helped you achieve the award. No person is an island. You achieved the goal through the help of someone(s), so acknowledge and appreciate them. To save time, if it is a few people, acknowledge them by name. If it is a large group of people, department, or organization, mention the group by name. For example, you might say, "I would like to acknowledge the people in marketing for their hard work on the Peterson project for making this moment happen. If it were not for their time and effort, we would not have won the XYZ account. Thank you."

   Also, only thank the necessary people during your acceptance speech. Don't thank Guttenberg for inviting the printing press if he has nothing to do with why you accomplished your achievement. Stay focused on only those people who had a direct effect on your achievement.

5. Let Sincerity Flow Through Your Speech- Let your appreciations come from the heart. Briefly convey your own feelings regarding your appreciation of the award and all that it represents. Be honest and don't over exaggerate your feelings while accepting the award.

   Be clear and concise in your showing of appreciation because you will most likely be under time constraints.

6. Value the Award- Many times during the Academy Awards Ceremony, you will hear the winner of an award say, "I really don't deserve this award," or "I really shouldn't be standing here." When you make statements like that, you devalue the award and recognition given to you. Also you question the judgment of the people who chose you to accept the award. Simply acknowledge their judgment and recognition and continue your speech.

7. Stay Within the Time- At the Academy Awards, the Oscar winners have thirty seconds before the band starts playing the "wrap it up" music. In many cases, the winner attempts to speak over the music. Between the band and the Oscar recipient, who do you think wins? Of course, it is the band. As soon as the band starts playing the music, the audience stops listening to the recipient.

   Many times when you are given an award during a meeting, conference, etc., you are also under time restrictions. In most cases, you will have longer than thirty seconds. Take the time to ask the person in charge of the meeting how much time you have for your speech. Also, make it a habit to look at the agenda ahead of time to see how much time you have been allotted. It may be only three minutes, 10 minutes, or 30 minutes, but find out ahead of time. By finding out ahead of time and staying within the time given to you, you show respect to your audience, the people in charge of the meeting, and most of all yourself. Once you go over the time allotted, you can see the audience members start looking at their watches and stop listening to your important speech.

   Note: If you can't find out ahead of time how much time you have to make your speech, assume you have very limited time and keep you comments brief.

Take the time to apply these seven acceptance speech secrets and you will give an outstanding presentation each and every time you receive an award.

Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day!

Today is "Extraordinary Work Team Recognition Day!" I had a client appointment at 7:30 a.m. this morning and her number one concern was how to implement an employee recognition program to motivate her employees.

Whether it is first thing in the morning or late at night, great organizations realize that employee motivation and recognition is at the top of the list when it comes to organization success. The benefits of motivated employees are the following:

• Increased motivation

• Increased employee satisfaction

• Increased profit margin

• Increased customer satisfaction

Those are just some of the benefits of recognizing your employees for extraordinary work. Take the time today to recognize to motivate your team. For ideas to recognize to motivate your team, go to the following link:

Recognize Your Employee

Increase Workplace Productivity: November 7-13 is World Kindness Week

November 7-13 is "World Kindness Week." We can all use a little more kindness in workplaces all across the world.

Acts of workplace kindness can increase workplace productivity and morale, decrease organizational conflict, and create a vibrant, growing work environment. The following are twelve acts of workplace kindness that you can apply today:

• East lunch with a new co-worker

• Say "hello" in the morning

• Bring someone coffee

• Write a note of appreciation

• Celebrate birthdays and other special events

• Give a compliment

• Help someone when they least expect it

• Cheer up a co-worker having a tough day

• Smile

• Forgive mistakes

• Respect others

• Offer to share a ride

So act today! As you can see most of the acts doesn't require money. It will produce big dividends for you and others.

Tell us about your acts of workplace kindness.

Ed Sykes and Joy Fisher-Sykes are Featured Leadership Speakers at Toastmaster International Convention

Ed Sykes and Joy Fisher-Sykes will be featured speakers at the 2006 Toastmasters International Convention held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, on August 26th. The title of their presentation is "The Business of Toastmasters: How to Create a Vibrant, Motivated and Profitable Club."

Ed Sykes and Joy Fisher-Sykes will share secrets for treating your club, association, or group as a growing business. Ed and Joy, while volunteering for Toastmasters as Club Extension Specialist and District Public Relations Officer, respectively, have created and mentored five new clubs in 2006: Norfolk Naval Shipyard HRSC, GEICO, Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Verizon, and Johnson Controls, with vibrant starting memberships of over thirty plus and growing. They are currently working with State Farm Insurance to start a new club. These organizations realize that outstanding communication skills improve employee morale, customer relations, and, ultimately, better performance and bottom line.

"Many non-profit groups act like they are non-profits," says Ed Sykes. "However, they have an obligation as leaders to market, provide the product or service guaranteed in their "contract" (the membership application), and take care of their "customers" (the members). "Just like a corporation," says Joy Fisher-Sykes, "you are responsible for working with your "shareholders" (your area, division, and district officers) to provide the best product or service for your customers to grow your "business" (the organization).

Career Advice: Five Career Advice Secrets for Being the Perfect Employee Everyone Wants on Their Team - Part 2

The following are five career advice secrets for being the perfect, motivated employee that everyone wants on their team, putting your career on the fast track, and creating great relationship with management:

1. Be Enthusiastic
   Be known as an employee who has a great attitude and is enthusiastic about his/her job and work. Enthusiasm is contagious and spreads quickly in the workplace. Just the opposite, constantly whining and complaining deplete valuable resources of energy in the workplace. Think of people you know at work and ask the following questions:
   
   
   • Who energizes me at work? Who has a can do attitude?
   • Who drains the energy out of the day? Whom do I hate to see come through the door in the morning?
   • How do my co-workers and managers see me?
   
   
   Positive and negative employees, when presented with the same situation, have two different ways of handling the situation. The positive employee looks for the positive solutions. The positive employee is a proactive person who looks at change and challenges as opportunities to grow and develop new skills. The negative person looks at the same situations as being taken advantage of and has the "why is this happening to me" attitude. The negative employee tends to gossip and participate in unhealthy competition. Obviously, management feels more confident with the positive, enthusiastic employee with the "can do" attitude. Be known as the positive employee who creates solutions.

2. Know Management
   You will avoid career landmines and be favored by management by taking the time to "manage your manager." Find out and understand your manager's strengths and weaknesses, priorities and communication style, and how he/she manages people.

   When I was rising up the corporate ranks, I worked for a vice president who was uncomfortable speaking in front of a group of people. Whenever he had a department meeting, you could always see he was nervous and tense, especially when he had to persuade us to accept a very challenging situation. There would always be a team member who would challenge this vice president in front of the group. To say the least, this did not go well for the employee who challenged him. However, I recognized the vice president's weakness, never questioned him in public, and waited until the meeting was over and went to his office to discuss the challenging situations of the day. Behind our closed-door discussions, this same vice president was very open, conversational, and confident. We were able to create solutions for the company and when it came time for promotion to vice president, my name was at the top of the list.

   Remember, to get what you want in your career, you must help your manager succeed. Focus on what is important to your manager and provide the solution. If customer service is important, speak with your manager in terms of creating customer solutions. If your manager is a numbers person, quantify all your results, etc.

3. Walk the Talk
   Show integrity in everything you do at work. Be the employee that management can depend on to get things done. When you prove you are an employee who consistently delivers on his/her promises, this will impress management and you will go to the top of the list for choice assignments and promotions. If you are someone who is known as undependable, you will lose the respect of management, and your opportunities for promotions will decrease.

   Also, the employee with integrity owes up to his/her mistakes. The employee that doesn't have the courage to own up to his or her mistakes and take responsibility is very frustrating for managers. If you make a mistake, do the following:

   • Own it
   • Apologize for it
   • Explain what you learned from the mistake
   • Ask your manager for input
   • Tell what actions you will take in the future so the mistake won't happen again

   This benefits you because it shows you have integrity, you take ownership for your actions, you can learn from challenges and mistakes, and you are developing a relationship with your manager by asking for input and assistance.

   Last, but not least, integrity is also not taking credit for someone else's work. Take credit for your own work and acknowledge others for their accomplishments. Fellow employees have a long memory, and you may need these same people when it comes time for a promotion.

4. Take Risks and Grow Rich
   There are employees who do a good job everyday and do not advance in their careers. The employees who stretch themselves and their abilities are the ones who advance in their careers. Risk takers are comfortable with the challenges of taking the risk and know how to adapt to job situations when they arise. They also know that there may be some challenges that they may not accomplish the first time. However, they will take responsibility for the results, learn from these challenges, and prosper in future opportunities.

   The following are some ways to take risks and grow rich:

   • Volunteer for high exposure, high risk projects
   • Get agreement and an understanding as to the resources needed to succeed
   • Combine questions with solutions in meetings
   • Actively find work challenges and provide solutions

5. Be the Team Player
   Managers look for employees who are not only talented, but work to make the entire team better. Team players work well with other team members and support them emotionally. Team members are proactive about pitching in when and where needed.
   
   They also understand what the team mission is and work with other team members to accomplish its goals and values. Because of this understanding, team players are competitive for the team not within the team.

When it comes to your career, talent helps but is not the sole factor for success. Take time to apply these five career advice secrets and you too will be the perfect employee everyone wants on their team.

July 11th is Cheer Up Day

Today is Cheer Up Day!

Take time to motivate and cheer up yourself and others by doing the following:

• Look at every challenge as a learning opportunity

• Compliment others on their habits, appearance, and how they make a difference

• Treat yourself to extra break, if permitted

• Help someone who needs help without being asked

• Take a moment to sit back and think of something you recently did especially well

• Say your blessings for the good things that you have in your life

• Do something special for someone who seems a little under the weather

• Call your spouse and say, "I love you"

• Go play with your children

• Be as silly as possible while reading "Cat in the Hat" or "Green Eggs and Ham" to your children or to yourself

• Listen to your favorite upbeat music

• View an inspirational movie

• Read a motivational book

• Play your favorite song and dance like you don't care who sees you

• Remember the saying, "This too will pass."

• Remember the saying, "If it doesn't kill me, it makes me stronger."

• Stretch or do some form of exercise

• Jump out of the "rat race" and take time to meditate

When you cheer up, others around you will cheer up. You never know the difference you may make in another person's life.

Life Before Downsizing: Six Secrets to Managing Change and Creating Opportunities for the Future

What would you do if you learned your organization was bought by another organization, was downsizing, or closing its doors tomorrow? In 30 days? Six months? In one year? Are you prepared for the change? What will you do in the future?

In this ever changing world we live in, there is one constant...change. Changes are happening faster and faster. Even what is changing has a different look. Just think of the items in your life that were not available 20, 10, 5 years, or even one year ago. Just think of the iPod, cloning, DNA, etc. Why would we think our career situation will be the same in twenty years?

The same types of changes are happening in the workplace. This is no longer the world of working twenty years for the same company. Organizations are adapting to the local, national, and global marketplaces.

How do you prepare yourself for these changes? The following techniques will enable you to master career change and create opportunities for you:

1. Create Goals
   Many times when you work for an organization for a long time, you may become complacent. Constantly develop your goals. Work on goals in the areas of career, family, education, fitness, health, and spirituality. This will create balance in your life and enable you master change when it comes.

2. Cast Your NETS Now!
   N-E-T-S means Network with Everyone for Total Success! Go out and join various industry and non-industry groups. This is a great way to spread your NETS. Volunteer and be active with these groups so that your skills can be seen and your ideas heard. This is an opportunity to develop your leadership abilities and let others know about you as a person and the skills you have to offer. As I always say:
   
   "It's not what you know. It's not who you know. It's who knows what you know."
   
   Depending on the skills, you will be looked at as an expert. Cast your NETS and let others know what you know.

3. Account for Your CPA
   C-P-A means Creating a Positive Attitude. Create a positive attitude toward your career and life so that you will not miss opportunities when they arrive. Look at challenging situations as opportunities that will prepare you for greater opportunities in the future. Realize that the projects you work on today will create new opportunities for you tomorrow.

4. Seek Knowledge
   Continuously seek knowledge to stay ahead of the change curve. Many times when we work with employees in organizations, we let employees know about educational opportunities that enhance their careers and lives. Sometimes, we receive the following response:
   
   "If the company isn't going to pay for the class, then I am not going to take it."
   
   Folks, we gladly spend (spend as in purchasing something with decreasing value) money on cable TV, DVD's, etc. However, when it comes to investing in our education, we often say no.
   
   Keep in mind that once you receive your knowledge, its your knowledge, and you take it wherever you go. Additional knowledge gives you the confidence to meet challenges and embrace opportunities.
   
   Take the time to find out what benefits and educational opportunities your organization is offering and take advantage of them. Do it today.
   
   Seek knowledge and grow!

5. Relax and Downsize Your Life
   Take the time to downsize your lifestyle. Often when we receive a raise, we buy a bigger car or house, buy additional items on credit, etc. That has become the norm in the "super size me" society. As the comedian George Carlin says, "We have become a slave to our stuff." Think of ways you could downsize your lifestyle if you were faced with a career or life challenge tomorrow. Then act on it before it acts on you.
   
   By downsizing, you will experience the following benefits:
   
   
   • Take back control of your life
   • Reduce stress
   • Allow more time for family, hobbies, and community work
   
   Also, it will allow you to take advantage of a new career or business opportunity, one that maybe you have a real passion for, without being as concerned about "will this job pay my bills."

7. Connect with Your Change Barometer
   Look inward or ask a good friend or family member how you handled change in the past. Ask the following questions:
   
   

   How did you feel?
   What did you look like?
   How did you react (or not react)?

   
   Ask for honest feedback and take the information to learn how to handle career change and challenges in the future. It's okay to feel a certain way during the challenge of change. It's not okay to stay there. Also, understand that everyone handles change differently. So respect your co- workers' feelings.

Take these six secrets to managing change, and you will master the present and create future opportunities

Leadership Techniques for Anyone: How Kermit Shared Five Leadership Secrets with the World

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the funeral of my friend Kermit. A pleasure, you ask? Yes, a pleasure and a honor, because it was a great celebration of Kermit's life and the passion and spirit he brought to living it.

Usually, when I go to funerals, the spiritual leader (pastor, minister, rabbi, cleric, etc.) goes on and on about the deceased, a person he barely knows; and maybe one or two friends or associates might say something about the deceased. Well, Kermit's funeral was special. The pastor spoke briefly, a singer sang a hymn, and then the pastor asked for comments from the audience. That's when the funeral became really special. After one and a half hours later, over forty people had gotten up and shared their positive experiences and what Kermit meant to them. People from their 20's to well over 60-year-old people from different spiritual, ethnic, social, and economic backgrounds stood up to make comments. People who served with him in the Navy (Kermit retired as a Commander) stood up and spoke about how Kermit changed their lives.

There was story after story about how Kermit made the speakers overcome obstacles and made them believe they could do better, and did this with passion. Some of them were as follows:

1. Past ballplayers talked about Kermit's cowbell as a rallying cry at their ballgames.

2. A woman told of having a flat tire on a busy roadway and Kermit, whom she didn't know at the time, stopped and helped her fix the tire; and then they became friends.

3. A businessperson talked about how Kermit volunteered his time to help him launch a business that is still going strong after ten years.

4. A previous player described how he was motivated by Kermit to make something of himself. He went to college and is a very successful basketball coach teaching the same principles that Kermit taught him.

5. A man explained that he was going through a divorce and bankruptcy and was thinking of committing suicide. Kermit heard about his troubles, called him, and helped him through these dark times. Now this person helps others through their challenging moments in life.

Wow! It moved me. Here are five leadership and success secrets Kermit shared with us. How can you apply them to become more successful and outstanding leaders?

1. What is Your Cowbell? Create Passion!
   Kermit truly enjoyed working with people to make them better. It was not just the cowbell, but the emotion and excitement he experienced when seeing other people succeed. The cowbell was just the tool that Kermit used to show his passion so that others became passionate. Let your passion show. Let people know that you are excited about their accomplishments, and the passion will multiple.

2. Expect the Best. Excellence Will Take Care of the Rest.
   It was said about Kermit that when meeting people, he never met a stranger. In his mind they were already someone he knew. Kermit always expected the best when interacting with people, and they eventually rose to his expectations.
   
   Expect the best out of people, and they will rise to your standards.

3. Understand So That You Are Understood
   Kermit's conversations were always centered on understanding the other person. For all the years I knew him, I never knew he was a commander in the Navy. He didn't make his title the focus of the conversation. You see, it wasn't about him; it was always about the other person's interests, needs, etc. Because of this, people naturally wanted to become involved in Kermit's projects and help Kermit make other people successful.
   
   So my question is: How well do you understand your employees?
   
   Take the time to understand their goals, wants, needs, hobbies, etc. The more you take time to understand them, the more your employees will want to help you succeed.

4. Give of Yourself
   Kermit always gave his time, energy, and passion without "keeping score." In return, the people he helped not only helped him, but went on to make a difference in other people's lives.
   
   Take the time to go the extra mile to see how you can help your employees, your team, and/or your organization without "keeping score." Your employees will feel that you care, and then they will go to a new level of caring.

5. Share the Knowledge
   Kermit took the time to share his knowledge with others so that they become more successful. Whether it was coaching a sports team, helping a friend start a business, or sharing his experiences to get a person through a difficult time, Kermit took the time to share his knowledge with others. Because Kermit shared his knowledge, other people became more successful and they shared their knowledge with others so that they could be more successful.
   
   What special knowledge do you have that can help others succeed? Don't hoard your knowledge, share it. By sharing your knowledge, you multiply yourself and become known as a developer of people. Your knowledge, once you share it, will live on after you are gone.

Apply these five leadership techniques and create success in your business, with your team, in your community, and your life. Just like Kermit, you will also see instant results.

Thanks for sharing, Kermit, and making the world a better place.

Explain Yourself! The Reason Why Excuses Sabotage Your Success

Have you ever been in a situation where you were unable to make good on a promise or commitment? Perhaps you were late with a report to your manager, unable to take a child to the playground, or late for dinner with your partner. The question is, after the realization sets in that you can not deliver, how do you explain why you were unable to meet your obligation? Do you stand in the truth, own your actions and give an honest reason, or do you make excuses concerned only with freeing yourself from blame?

Is there a difference?
For many of us, we have probably thought of the two as being one in the same. You may be asking yourself, "Is there really a difference?" At times, the distinction between the two can be difficult to see. After all, excuses have the ability to be disguised as reasons fooling you into thinking, "That sounds like a valid reason." In fact, when you tune in and really listen, the facade of an excuse will quickly give way to expose the truth of falsehood.

Explanations come in two forms - excuses and reasons. Remember: you make excuses and you give reasons.

Explanations
An excuse is an attempt to free oneself from blame by deflecting attention and responsibility onto someone or something else. Excuses diminish your power and say "I am not willing to take responsibility. Instead, I will settle for whatever path others choose for me as a result of my actions." Making excuses will erode others confidence in you, and destroy your self-respect. The refusal to be personally accountable is rooted in the fear of failure - to be known as someone who did not deliver. This defense mechanism results in a plea to convince others to overlook your part and to minimize the damage caused by your role in a given situation.

To say one has a "good excuse" is an oxymoron which implies there is a difference between good and bad excuses. All excuses are bad and unacceptable. Here are some examples:

• "I was late to the meeting because the clock in the lunchroom has been broken for a month."

• "My report is late because my manager didn't remind me it was due today."

• "I am not ready to give my report to the Board of Directors tomorrow because I was on vacation the last two weeks and I didn't prepare."

A reason is defined as a legitimate, truthful account of a situation which includes explanation of your part. Rooted in good judgment, there exists a willingness to own your actions and deal with the consequences. Reasons seek to clarify what happened, who was responsible, and how to deal with the situation and seek immediate solutions so that one can do better now and in the future. A reason is not motivated by fear, but driven by respect and integrity. Here are some examples:

• "The reason I am late is because I had a flat tire."

• "Although I was assigned this report last Friday, the reason my report is late is because the mainframe crashed Friday afternoon and has been down ever since. I have attempted to retrieve the information from our satellite location, but to no avail."

• "The reason I will not give a Power Point presentation is because the projector just died. Since it will be at least an hour before we locate a replacement, I will proceed without it and ask that you follow along via my handout."

Action Steps
When you are in the moment of truth, remember the choice is yours - you can make excuses or you can give valid reasons. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you speak out to determine if you are about to make excuses or provide a reason:

1. What is your intent - is it to release yourself from total blame or to provide a straightforward, honest account of the situation and your actions?

2. Are you willing to accept the consequences of your actions and take steps to improve the situation?

3. Are you willing to honestly acknowledge the degree of your responsibility, and is there anything you could have done differently?

The next time you are faced with the prospect of explaining your actions, ask yourself "Is this an excuse or a valid reason?" Always find the courage to behave with integrity and honor your self-respect. When faced with a choice, the question is what will you do?

March 3rd is Employee Appreciation Day

It's Friday, it's March 3rd, what better time to appreciate your employees. Invest the time to show your employees how much you appreciate them. The follow are forty-five no cost/low cost ways to appreciate to motivate your employees:

1. Call an employee into your office just to say thank you; don't discuss any other issue. Keep it "pure."

2. Create a "Pat on the Back" Award for employees who do an outstanding job. Send a notice of the award to the employee's file.

3. Post a thank-you note on the employee's office door.

4. Create business card size "Thanks," "Good job," "Bravo," and "Keep it up." Write specifically what they did in two or three words. Put the person's name on the card.

5. Volunteer to do another person's least desirable work task for a day.

Eight Leadership Techniques for Outstanding Teams

Apply the following eight leadership techniques to create highly motivated, self-directed, and extremely productive employees and teams:

1. Provide Clear Expectations
   Winning organizations know where they are going and what is required to get there. Employees constantly need to know what they need to accomplish. Communicating expectations in a clear, concise manner is important. It's also important to communicate your expectations on an individual, department, and organizational level. Continue communicating your expectations on an ongoing basis. Whether one-on-one, through memos, or in a team meeting, keep communicating your expectations. Read more...

Today is Pay a Compliment Day!

Give a Compliment Day

"You never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life."

- Zig Ziglar

January 25th is Give a Compliment Day! On this day you are to share five compliments during the day.

Why is this important? Because it is so easy to comment on what is wrong with your employees, your community, and even your family or spouse. But sometimes we forget about appreciating the good things people do everyday. By giving a sincere compliment (not flattery), you receive the following benefits:

• A compliment forces you to find the positive in people.

• A compliment lets the other person know you appreciate them for what they do.

• A compliment can be contagious and create a positive environment.

• A compliment can erase conflict between individuals.

• A compliment can make a difference in someone's life.

Believe it or not, there are people going through life never receiving a sincere compliment or expression of appreciation. Do you know someone like that or you can't remember when the last time someone gave you a compliment? They never receive a compliment at work, from family members, or at school. Remember, everyone has something they do well. Our job is to find it and express our appreciation for it. By sharing a sincere compliment can make the day for them...and you.

So here are my five compliments that I will share with these very special people:

To Joy (my wife and business partner): I appreciate her attention to detail and her ability to constantly push herself and others to be better.

To my kids: I appreciate their independent thinking, their drive, and their initiative to make positive things for themselves and others.

To A.F.: I appreciate you for being a leader and taking the time to invest your time to listen and act on your employee's ideas.

To M.T.: I appreciate your energy and positive attitude at your place of work while fighting through your illness. Especially since your doctor told you not to put in so many hours.

To Amos and the BOA crew: I appreciate the way you always make every customer feel special and attend to them like they are the only person in the bank.

I challenge you to find something you appreciate in five other people and share a sincere compliment with each person. Do it because it's the right thing to do.

You'll be glad you did.

Ed Sykes and Joy Fisher-Sykes Featured on NBC News as Mentors of Young Leaders

Ed Sykes and Joy Fisher-Sykes were featured on the WAVY-TV 10 (NBC affiliate) program, Wednesday's Child, for their volunteer work mentoring the community's young to become leaders. The program, hosted by WAVY-TV 10 news personality, Don Roberts, ran a series called "Where in the World is Wednesday's Child" seeking to find out what happened to children in challenging situations mentored by Ed Sykes and Joy Fisher-Sykes during 1996. Don Roberts featured Ciara the young child mentored by Joy. Ciara now nineteen years old, is an art teacher in a local school and is preparing to go to college for law.

It has been very rewarding receiving telephone calls from indivduals wanting to know how they can volunteer or start their own programs. Even with our busy travel schedule, we continue to volunteer our time to teach children leadership, team building, and communication skills through the Toastmasters Young Leadership program.

Happy Human Resources Month!

January is Human Resources month! Now is a great opportunity to highlight the contributions you make and to honor the special people in Human Resources who make them. Rewards and recognition for Human Resources staff set the stage for another terrific HR year.

This is the perfect time to:

1. Expand your good will and public relations efforts within your organization.

2. Showcase your contributions.

3. Seek the input and feedback you need to effectively serve your customers.

With these multiple purposes in mind, consider these opportunities:

Motivate Your Team! Eight Quick Tips to Motivate for Success

Motivation is the key ingredient for success in any organization. You can have all the technical skills in the world; however, if you can't motivate your team, you will not achieve success. As a leader, a majority of your job is to motivate others to succeed so that everyone's goals are accomplished.

The following are eight quick tips to motivate your team:

1. Everyone Has Motivation
   Your employees are motivated on some level. It is your job to find the level of their motivation and move your employees to the next level. Read more...

E-mail Protocol - 12 Simple Rules to Stay Connected

Electronic mail is a quick, easy, and convenient way to instantly link up with people around the globe. To ensure our messages don't confuse or alienate others, it's important to practice basic e-mail etiquette. Here are twelve simple e-mail rules to keep you connected and make sureevery communique is clear, polished, and professional.

Rule #1 - Be concise. Follow the KISS rule (keep it short and sweet). Get to the point in a clear manner. Keep paragraphs short - three or four sentences at most. If you find you need to send an e-mail that is longer than a few short paragraphs, revise the message or consider picking up the phone or paying a personal visit instead. Read more...

Happy National Get Out of the Doghouse Day!

Today is Happy National Get Out of the Doghouse Day! Are you in someone's doghouse? Is someone in your doghouse?

Being in the doghouse or keeping someone in the doghouse leads to the following:

• Added stress and anxiety to your life which leads to illness and disease

• Lost concentration and focus

• Lost of career and life opportunities

Make the effort to get out of the doghouse. Take the first steps to:

1. Talk it out

2. Apologize, if needed

3. End with a promise for improvement

If you put someone in the doghouse, ask these questions:

• Is it worth all the physical and mental energy to keep this person(s) in the doghouse?

• What am I getting by keeping this person in the doghouse?

• Is my pride getting in the way of reconciling our relationship?

• What's the big picture compared to why this person is in the doghouse?

Remember, as a good friend recently told me, life is way too short to let disagreements get in the way of good relationships.

Take the steps to get out of the doghouse or let someone out of the doghouse!

Click here to read additional information on how to empower yourself or others.

Have you Appreciated Someone Today?

I invested some time with Mother recently and drove her to the hospital to visit with her sick sister-in-law, my aunt. While I was standing in the doorway, a nurse came by and introduced herself as Ruth and said "hello" to us and said "hello" to my aunt. This put a smile on my aunt's face. The nurse then introduced me to the other nurses working at the nurses' station. She let me know that these nurses are hard working and good at their jobs.

I couldn't agree with her more. Theirs is a very difficult job with no margin for error. In many situations they know and understand the patients better than the doctors.

Realizing this, and noticing that some of the nurses looked a little tired, I asked Ruth to bring out all the nurses she had introduced me to at the nurses' station. I reintroduced myself and explained that my aunt was the patient in room 518. Then I said the following:

"I would like to thank you for taking care of my aunt. I personally appreciate the way you make her comfortable during this difficult time, and I know that my aunt is in good hands. My family, and especially my uncle, appreciates the hard work and care you put into making her better. Thank you again and keep doing what you are doing to make a difference with not only my family, but other families."

Well, you should have seen the looks on the nurses' faces. First, they had a look of surprise. Then they were all smiling from ear to ear. Several faces turned red. But all of them had a look of appreciation as they said, "Thank you."

Why did they have a surprised look on their faces? Was this the first time someone other than another nurse had acknowledged them? When was the last time someone showed appreciation to them?

It only took fifteen seconds to put a smile on their faces and have them feel good about themselves. Take the time every day to appreciate your employees, your family, and other people that are doing a good job. It might be the only appreciation they receive and will make a difference in their day.

Read my article, Appreciate to Motivate, to find out how to make your appreciation count every time. You will also feel good doing it.

Survey States that Most Employees Feel Unappreciated

Our February 2005 survey asked the question, "How often do you receive praise for a job well done?" The results came back as follows:

• 25.4% receives appreciation daily

• 12.7% receives appreciation weekly

• 13.1% receives appreciation monthly

• 11.2% receives appreciation a few times a year

• 37.6% stated they never received appreciation

For whatever reason, 37.6% of employees still feel unappreciated. Take the steps to communicate your appreciation of the efforts your employees are making everyday. Take the time to read the following articles to jumpstart your motivation efforts so that you can have a more productive workforce:

Also take the time share your opionion in the March poll, "What would motivate you at work?"

Bite Your Tongue! 10 Ways to Be an Effective Listener