Becoming a Motivational Leader By Brian Tracy

Create a Big Vision - To become a motivational leader, you start with motivating yourself. You motivate yourself with a big vision, and as you move progressively toward its realization, you motivate and enthuse others to work with you to fulfill that vision.

Set High Standards - You exhibit absolute honesty and integrity with everyone in everything you do. You are the kind of person others admire and respect and want to be like. You set a standard that others aspire to. You live in truth with yourself and others so that they feel confident giving you their support and their commitment.

Face Your Fears - You demonstrate courage in everything you do by facing doubts and uncertainties and moving forward regardless. You put up a good front even when you feel anxious about the outcome. You don't burden others with your fears and misgivings. You keep them to yourself. You constantly push yourself out of your comfort zone and in the direction of your goals. And no matter how bleak the situation might appear, you keep on keeping on with a smile.

Be Realistic About Your Situation - You are intensely realistic. You refuse to engage in mental games or self-delusion. You encourage others to be realistic and objective about their situations as well. You encourage them to realize and appreciate that there is a price to pay for everything they want. They have weaknesses that they will have to overcome, and they have standards that they will have to meet, if they want to survive and thrive in a competitive market.

Accept Responsibility - You accept complete responsibility for results. You refuse to make excuses or blame others or hold grudges against people who you feel may have wronged you. You say, "If it's to be, it's up to me." You repeat over and over the words, "I am responsible. I am responsible. I am responsible."

Take Vigorous Action - Finally, you take action. You know that all mental preparation and character building is merely a prelude to action. It's not what you say but what you do that counts. The mark of the true leader is that he or she leads the action. He or she is willing to go first. He or she sets the example and acts as the role model. He or she does what he or she expects others to do.

Strive For Excellence - You become a motivational leader by motivating yourself. And you motivate yourself by striving toward excellence, by committing yourself to becoming everything you are capable of becoming. You motivate yourself by throwing your whole heart into doing your job in an excellent fashion. You motivate yourself and others by continually looking for ways to help others to improve their lives and achieve their goals. You become a motivational leader by becoming the kind of person others want to get behind and support in every way.

Your main job is to take complete control of your personal evolution and become a leader in every area of your life. You could ask for nothing more, and you should settle for nothing less.

Action Exercises:
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, see yourself as an outstanding person, parent, coworker and leader in everything you do. Pattern your behavior after the very best people you know. Set high standards and refuse to compromise them.

Second, be clear about your goals and priorities and then take action continually moving forward. Develop a sense of urgency. Keep moving forward and you'll automatically keep yourself and others motivated.
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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.

-What are your thoughts on what you just read? Can you share some specific ways you motivate yourself as well as members of your team? Do you have any examples you can share where you've seen "motivational leaders" in action within your organization or company?

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Corporate Leadership Training: The Styles of Leadership By Mark Bowser

There are three basic styles of leadership. All of us use these three styles. Now, let me pause here for a minute and say that I am not suggesting you change your style. What I am suggesting is that you become flexible with the styles.

Would you agree with me that your style works some of the time and fails miserably some of the time? Why is that? Because one style doesn’t fit every situation. What I am suggesting is that you use a more flexible situational leadership when it comes to the Leadership Styles. Use the style that best fits the situation and the people involved.

Having said that, what are the three Leadership Styles? The styles are:

1. Autocratic
2. Democratic
3. Free Rein

Let me explain what each style is and when to use it...

Autocratic: The Autocratic Leader is more like a general. The commander of an army. They are quick decision makers and they tell others what to do. We saw this style a great deal in the corporate world in the 1950’s through the 1980’s. We still see it today but not quite as much as those earlier decades.

Why did we see it so much in the past? Well, where did the CEOs and Presidents of organizations get their training? Many of them came out of the military. Is autocratic leadership a good style for the military? Absolutely. Particularly in war time. Why? Because we are in crisis or emergency mode. Decisions had to be made and made quickly or people would die. Autocratic leaders took action and won wars.

After the war, these leaders came back and took their place in the corporate world. They discovered that their civilian counterparts didn’t take to orders like their military counterparts. This caused them some challenges. The leaders discovered that their style didn’t work in every situation. They learned that they had to be flexible in their leadership styles. There is still a place for autocratic leadership in the corporate world because we have emergencies and other situations that require quick decisions and quick actions. But what we have to do in order to maximize our effectiveness is not get stuck in one style. Use the style that best fits the situation.

Democratic: The second style of leadership is the Democratic style. This is the leadership style of teamwork. It is run by democracy. We put things to a vote to make decisions and the majority rules. This is great for building team loyalty and participation but let me ask you a question. Should every decision at your office be put to a vote? Of course not. So, when is this a good leadership style to use? When you need to get buy in (by having open discussions where you can answer questions and sell your vision) and when the decisions aren’t a major importance. Use this style to create rapport and teamwork.

Free Rein: In this style of leadership, we get out of the way and let our team do their thing. It is a style where there is definitely no micro management. That is good. The challenge is that your team members have to be excellent, well trained, and go getters for it to succeed. If you have a lot of entry level workers or workers who are new to the job, this is not the best style to be in. Those workers will need more of your input and guidance for at least the short term.

Well, there we have it. Three styles of leadership: autocratic, democratic, and free rein. They all have their pluses and they all have their minuses. Use the style that best fits the situation and the team members involved and you will find yourself succeeding in all leadership situations.
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Mark Bowser is one of the top Leadership Trainers and Speakers in the world today. He is the author of three books Power Nuggets, Unlocking the Champion Within, and Three Pillars of Success. You may receive his ezine "The Empower Newsletter" by going to http://www.MarkBowser.com

-Do you have any thoughts on the leadership training ideas you just read? Anything you would like to add which might be helpful?

Sponsor: Dr. John C. Maxwell's Learning The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership DVD Training Curriculum - You and your team will get clear insight into timeless leadership principles and learn a process for continual growth in the life of your organization. Order your copy of this powerful leadership training program.

*brought to you by BusinessLeadershipAdvice.com

Corporate Leadership Training: The Three Facts of Leadership By Mark Bowser

There are Three Facts of Leadership. If we understand these facts then our influence has the opportunity to grow. And when our influence grows so does our effectiveness as leaders.

Three Facts of Leadership

1. One person can make a difference
2. Start leading today
3. The office doesn’t make the person

Fact Number One: One Person Can Make a Difference

This is probably not a new saying to you, but what pictures came to your mind when you read that statement? If you are like many people, it was pictures of Billy Graham, Martin Luther King, Jr, Mother Theresa, Ghandi, and many others. However, do you see someone missing from that list? I do. That someone is YOU!

Mother Theresa didn’t go out to become a saint, she went out to save one dieing person. She was walking down the street and saw a person dieing in a gutter. She said to herself, “That is not right. Everyone should die with dignity.” And the rest they say is history. Great leaders, great physicians, sales champions, and consultants figure out how their influence can touch a life and by doing that their influence may touch hundreds, thousands, and maybe even millions of lives.

So, the question is where can your leadership grow to make a bigger difference then you are today? You are probably making a difference, but how can your leadership grow? You make a difference and people need you!

Fact Number Two: Start Leading Today

Many times, young leaders for example will say, “I’m not ready to lead. I will wait till I read that leadership book, or go to that seminar, or learn that skill, etc….” Now, those are all important things and I encourage them but the truth of the matter is that your organization and your team can’t wait. You need to start leading today… and learn as you lead. None of us will ever know all there is to leadership. It is a continual growing process. We can’t wait till we know all there is to leadership or we will do absolutely nothing. We must become influential today and grow throughout our leadership journey.

Fact Number Three: The Office doesn’t make the Person

Leadership is not about the corner office. Have you ever worked for someone who thought it was? They were more concerned with their promotion, their prestige, and there accolades. In the process, they lost their team (and many times their customers) as a result.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me, I have no problem with comfortable offices and a comfortable work environment. In fact, I am actually for it. But we must not put the cart before the horse.

Today, my family’s company, the Bright Corp. has a comfortable work environment and the executives have nice offices. But it wasn’t always that way. My dad and my uncle made sure the horse came before the cart and now the company has the resources to support that type of environment. They were more concerned with helping their team succeed and serving their customers then they were about having a cushy sofa and a picture window in their office.

As a result of this wise decision, they don’t have a revolving door for their team or worst yet for their customers. Their team has tremendous loyalty. They have team members that have worked for the Bright Corp. for over twenty years. They have customers that also go that far back. How rare is that? Very!!! Focus on your team and focus on your customers and the rest will take care of itself.
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Mark Bowser is one of the top Leadership Trainers and Speakers in the world today. He is the author of three books Power Nuggets, Unlocking the Champion Within, and Three Pillars of Success. You may receive his ezine "The Empower Newsletter" by going to www.MarkBowser.com

Sponsor: Dr. John C. Maxwell's Learning The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership DVD Training Curriculum - This powerful training resource is designed to meet your leadership training needs! You and your team will get clear insight into timeless leadership principles and learn a process for continual growth in the life of your organization. Order your copy of this powerful leadership training program.

*brought to you by BusinessLeadershipAdvice.com

The Keys to Empowered Leadership By Mark Bowser

The big question we have to ask today is what is leadership? Leadership is probably the most important element to our success.

Leadership can be defined as motivating one or more people to move in a certain direction. That move can be in the form of taking some action and/or acquiring a new belief. So, by this definition, leadership can also be defined as Influence and it also can be defined as Sales. Both are fundamental elements in your success.

You may have never thought of it that way. Be honest, how many of you thought becoming better at Leadership, Influence, and Sales would help prosper your life? Probably not very many of you. However, I am going to give it my best to “influence” you on the absolute truth of that fact.

Effective leadership is the most vital element to any organization. With it and you can reach the stars. Without it and the murkiest swamp will become your home. As John Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

So, what is effective leadership and how do we become that kind of leader? I believe one of the best definitions comes from author J. Oswald Sanders’ when he described leadership as “Influence.” Sound familiar? We all influence people everyday. It may be as simple as influencing your co-workers on where to go eat lunch or as vital as influencing your teenager not to use drugs.

The first thing I think we need to understand is that there is a difference between an “Influential Leader” and a “Positional Leader.” The Positional Leader has the title. I am the President. I am the Director. I am the King of the nation. Well, that is great. But that doesn’t in and of itself make you influential. The Influential Leader may be the peasant of the kingdom or the entry level employee.

Influence is about inspiring and moving people into action in order to reach a desired goal. I hope you have the position, but I also hope you have the trust, respect, and heart of your people. Whatever your position is at this time, I want to help you develop into the Influential Person that you were born to be.

Before we can go any further, I believe it is important that we dig a little deeper into the explanations and actions of leadership. Let me ask you a question. Is there a difference between a leader and a manager? There is, isn’t there. Ok. What does a leader do? What is the first action that they take? Right. They create a vision. They may not create a vision for the entire organization but they definitely do for their part of it. Alright, what does a manager do? Right. They make it happen. They implement the vision.

The leader creates where we are going and the manager breaks the vision into manageable parts and assigns the tasks to the right people and assures that it happens. Ok, let me throw another concept out there? What does a coach do? A coach motivates, inspires, teaches, provides resources, disciplines when necessary, etc…

Which are we? A Leader, a Manager, or a Coach? That is right. We are all three. I don’t think we can separate it anymore. We have to be all three. We are a Leader / Manager / Coach. Now, that makes our task a little more daunting but will make us much more effective and successful in the long run. As I close this article, I encourage you to let this concept be a seed in the fertile soil of your mind. Let it grow. Let it develop and before you know it, so will your influence.
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Mark Bowser is one of the top Leadership Trainers and Speakers in the world today. He is the author of three books Power Nuggets, Unlocking the Champion Within, and Three Pillars of Success. You may receive his ezine "The Empower Newsletter" by going to www.MarkBowser.com

-What are your thoughts? Do you have any thing you would like to add on this topic?

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