HUGE Impact!

 

Almost every conversation I had with others this week focused on the question, “How do leaders create a positive impact?” 

 

Having served in the military for more than 50 years, I’m accustomed to acronyms, so here’s one I created that’s based on my perspective of how leaders create a positive impact. It’s HUGE!

 

Be HUMBLE! That can be difficult because humility is difficult, if not impossible, to measure. How do you know if someone is humble? What’s the criteria? The official definition of humility is “a modest or low view of one's own importance.” Who knows whether you have a modest or low view of your own importance? YOU do! No one else! It seems to me that you’re the only one who knows whether or not you’re being humble. You’re really the only one who can make that assessment, but will your followers know? That’s who you’re trying to impact, right? Maybe they’ll know. Maybe not. See how difficult it can be? But here’s what you, as a leader, can do to express your humility. Practice being modest, respectful, considerate, and unselfish. This is the way. (Yeah. I’m a fan.)

 

Be UPLIFTING! As Robert Ingersoll said, “We rise by lifting others.” Zig Ziglar said, “He climbs highest who helps another up.” And, finally, Maya Angelou said, “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Whoever you’re intending to lead today can use a pat on the back, a compliment on their work, even a word or two of encouragement that will empower them to be the best version of themselves. They’re great! Tell them so! It’ll cost you nothing. But the impact you’ll have will be powerful. It’s HUGE!

 

Be GRATEFUL! Create an attitude of gratitude. Be grateful that you get to lead each of your followers, as challenging as that may be some days. But that’s what’s cool about being a leader, overcoming the challenges. Being grateful will have an impact that you may not readily see, and it will be effective beyond your knowledge. I make sure I count my blessings, which are many, when I first wake up in the morning. I live in the greatest country in the world. I work with the best people on Earth. I woke up healthy! I woke up! I have a lot to be grateful for. I bet you do, too. Be grateful. It’s contagious.

 

Be EMPATHIC! Empathy is one characteristic we’re in dire need of today. Empathy is about understanding, not judging. As Stephen Covey taught me, “We can agree to disagree agreeably.” We actually can! I don’t have to agree with you to still care about you and respect you. That’s how you feel about the subject. I don’t agree, but I respect that you feel that way. We’re good. And that’s good. Dr Covey also taught us to “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” The more we practice that, the more impact we’ll have on ourselves and on others. Leading effectively starts with me practicing understanding and not judging. As Pope Francis has said, “Who am I to judge?”

 

These four, seemingly simple, ways of thinking and being will have a HUGE impact on you, your followers, and our world. Think about how you can practice them today. Just one behavior in each category, and I guarantee you HUGE results! 

Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

                     ¡HEIRPOWER!

 

bob vásquez!

Where you at?

I love when my grandkids ask me, “Where you at, Opa?! Although they’re asking for my geographical location, I, being the philosopher that I am, take the question to the next level when I make the time to think about it.

 

For decades I’ve suggested that you have to take care of you first! Yeah, that’s a seemingly selfish philosophy, but as I often say, you can’t give what you don’t have. That’s some Toltec philosophy there.

 

Basically, there are four personal domains, that we all have to balance in order to be healthy, fit, effective leaders. You know them but let me remind you. They’re physical fitness, mental fitness, relationship fitness, and spiritual fitness. You have to maintain each of those domains daily in order to be fit to fight the daily battles, not just as a leader, but as a human being. The good news is that you can do it!  The IMPORTANT news is that if you don’t take care of you, you won’t be able to take care of anyone else.

 

Eric Hoffer, known as the “longshoreman philosopher,” said, “To become different from what we are, we must have some AWARENESS of what we are.”

 

Every self-improvement process begins with self-assessment. Where you at?! You want to improve any, or all, of those fitness domains? Start by taking a minute or two and  think deeply to assess yourself in those four areas. On a scale of one to five, one being “terrible,” three being “okay,” and five being “great!”, how would you grade yourself in your physical fitness…your mental fitness…your  relationship fitness…, and your spiritual fitness. It doesn’t have to be exact, but a measure of where you are so that you can, later, assess if you’ve made any progress.

 

The next step is how are you going to improve. I’ve been around a while. One thing I’ve learned is that if you don’t write down your thoughts, you’ll lose them. I used to think that that was an old-age thing. It’s not. There’s too much information (my grandkids call it TMI) to keep it all in your brain. Write down where you’re at so that you can compare after you’ve done what you just said you’d do to improve. It seems that every improvement we make, even the small ones, will propel us to work even harder. We all like the idea of getting better, but if you don’t know where you’re at to begin with, how will you know you’re better?

 

I did what I just admonished you to do. I’m not at a five in those domains yet, but I know where I’m at and I’m working on getting better. I challenge you to do so, too. 

 

         Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

 

                                        ¡HEIRPOWER!

 

bob vásquez!

Who Needs to Know?!

This lesson may is as important to followers as to leaders. If you’ve read my book, HEIRPOWER! Eight Basic Habits of Exceptionally Powerful Lieutenants!, you may recall that one of the tenets of Building Trust is keeping people informed.

One of the worst things that can happen to a leader is to get a call from higher headquarters asking about something that went down badly that you aren’t aware happened at all. Not knowing makes the leader look as though she doesn’t know what’s going on in her unit. Oh, WAIT! That’s exactly what has happened, or not happened, if you will. 

It seems to me that if something happened that higher headquarters aren’t aware of immediately, the entire unit suffers. A unit that doesn’t share information is seen as untrustworthy by external folks. 

As a parent, I always wanted to know my girls had messed up before hearing it from an external source. Not that I wouldn’t respond in kind to them having done something they knew better than to do, but it was better hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth. 

If, or when, something happens, good, but especially bad, tell your boss! That will not only save face for the boss, but it will help you develop the type of trust you need to get the job done. It may even help you get promoted!

Until next time, Be GREAT! You ARE!

¡HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez!