Leadership Skills: Invisible Conversations By Joe Tye

If two people are talking and there is no one else in the room, how many participants are there in the conversation?

This is not a trick question, but the answer is four. The two people conversing, both of whom are visible and audible, and the inner voices in each of their heads, both of which are invisible and inaudible.

Though these inner voices cannot be seen or heard, they are very much a part of the conversation. And they might be saying something that is quite contrary to what is being audibly voiced. Consider the following hypothetical interchange between a supervisor and a subordinate:

Supervisor: Mike, you did a great job on that recent project. I really appreciate the contributions you are making to our team.

Supervisor's self-talk: I hope that this "one minute manager" pep talk works, because nothing else seems to motivate Mike to do more than the absolute minimum.

Subordinate: Thanks Jeff, I appreciate it. But it was really a whole team effort, and they all deserve the credit.

Subordinate's self-talk: Yeah, right. We get a pat on the back now, but when bonuses get handed out, it will be Mike going home with the money.

Quite obviously, even though a conversation is going on, it is not real communication. Conversations like this, in which the real meaning is hidden, occur all the time (think of the last time you asked your teenager to clean out the garage).

Of course, you can't read another person's mind (sometimes it's hard enough to read your own mind!), but you can do a better job of monitoring your own self- talk and paying attention to the body language and facial expressions of the other person.
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Joe Tye is president of Paradox 21 Inc., which provides corporate training and culture change initiatives based on a proprietary curriculum of The Twelve Core Action Values of Personal Leadership Effectiveness. He is also the author of several books and audio programs on personal, career, and business success, and a popular motivational speaker. Visit www.JoeTye.com.

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Trust Your Subordinates By Brian Tracy

The Definition of Leadership ...
Leadership has been called "The ability to get followers." One of the deepest cravings of human nature is the need to feel important, to have a sense of meaning and purpose in life and work.

Leaders are invariably those who can tap into the deeper emotions of others and get them to rise above and beyond anything they may have accomplished in the past.

Inspiring Words Lead to Victory ...
Winston Churchill was able to arouse and inspire an entire nation with words like these: "Let us so carry ourselves that if the British Empire should endure a thousand years, men will still say, this was their finest hour."

Spearhead A Turnaround ...
Lee Iacocca stepped into Chrysler Corporation when the company was almost bankrupt. Through the sheer force of his personality, his unshakable determination, his appeals to Congress, to Chrysler workers and to Chrysler customers on television, he spearheaded a turn-around that will go down in the history books as one of the greatest achievements in American business.

Trust Other People ...
The key to getting followers in every case is to "trust your subordinates." Many studies have concluded that it is the mutual bond of trust and respect that acts as the catalyst that creates high performance. Not only must you trust your subordinates, but even more important, they must trust you.

Act With Integrity ...
In order to "get followers," your subordinates must have an absolute belief in your integrity. They must believe that you will abide by the highest ethical standards of fairness and justice. Integrity appears over and over as the most important leadership quality. People can only put their whole hearts into their work when they feel secure and they can only feel secure when they can relax and trust you completely.

Action Exercises:

Here are two things you can do immediately to bring out the very best from the people who look up to you.

First, make people feel important. Tell them how important and valuable they are and then give them both the responsibility and the opportunity to do their job the very best they know how.

Second, set a good example. Be an inspirational leader by being a role model for everyone else to follow. The more people look up to you, the better they will do their work and the happier they will be.
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Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

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What the Best Bosses Do By Brian Tracy

Inspire Others to Peak Performance ...
A transformational leader is one who excites and inspires people to perform far beyond their own expectations of themselves. Transformational leaders practice certain behaviors that cause their people to feel stronger, happier, more confident and more committed.

Delegate Responsibility ...
The first of these behaviors is the delegation of high levels of responsibility for results. Transformational leaders pick the right people, match them to the right jobs, achieve mutual clarity on the desired results and then they get out of the way and leave the individual with maximum freedom to perform.

Let People Do Their Work ...
Lao-Tse, the great Chinese philosopher, had this idea when he wrote, "A leader is best when people barely know he exists... when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say, 'We did this ourselves.'"

In a recent study, thousands of people were asked to describe their best bosses. Over and over, the respondents said things like, "I hardly saw him" or "He left me alone" or "He gave me complete freedom to do the job."

Give Them Freedom ...
There is something liberating and empowering to know that you've been entrusted with a major responsibility and that you've been given the freedom to fulfill it. When the right person has been matched with the right job, the conditions for exceptional performance have been created.

Confidently Expect Success ...
Another behavior of transformational leaders is their confident attitude of positive expectations. They radiate a belief in themselves and in the ability of their subordinates to succeed. They know that the leader sets the psychological tone for the whole organization, so they consciously project a positive attitude no matter how distressing the external situation may appear. They are in complete control of themselves and their emotions.

Action Exercises:

First, delegate complete responsibility for results to your subordinates. Discuss and agree on exactly what is to be done, when it is to be done and to what standard. Then, get out of the way and let them perform.

Second, express complete confidence in your subordinate's ability to do an excellent job. Radiate an attitude of confident expectations. Even if you have personal doubts, never let them be seen by others. This is the role of leadership.
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Brian Tracy is one of the world's leading authorities on personal and business success. His fast-moving talks and seminars are loaded with powerful, proven ideas and strategies that you can apply immediately to get better results in every area. Visit the Brian Tracy web site.

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