THINGS EVERYBODY NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND ABOUT PEOPLE

Knowing what people need and want is the key to understanding them. And if you can understand them, you can influence them and impact their lives in a positive way. If we were to boil down all the things we know about understanding people and narrow them down to a short list, we would identify these five things:

1. Everybody wants to be somebody. There isn’t a person in the world who doesn’t have the desire to be someone, to have significance. 

2. Nobody cares how much you know until he knows how much you care. To be an influencer, you have to love people before you try to lead them.

3. Everybody needs somebody. Contrary to popular belief there are no such things as self-made men and women. Everybody needs friendship, encouragement, and help.

4. Everybody can be somebody when somebody understands and believes in her. Once you understand people and believe in them, they really can become somebody.

5. Anybody who helps somebody influences a lot of bodies. What you give to one person overflows into the lives of all the people that person impacts. The nature of influence is to multiply.

Try to let everybody you encounter today know that you believe they are somebody.

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.

ATTITUDE TOWARD CHALLENGES

I once heard a lecturer say that no society has ever developed tough men during times of peace. The old adage is true: What doesn’t kill makes you stronger. Think back to the times in your life when you have grown the most. I’m willing to bet that you grew as the result of overcoming difficulties. The better your attitude, the more likely you will be to overcome difficulties, grow, and move forward.

I’ve been told that in the Chinese language two words are often combined to create another word with a very different meaning. For example, when the symbol for the word meaning man is combined with the symbol for the word meaning woman, the resulting word means “good.”

Possessing a positive attitude can have a similar effect. When a problem comes into contact with someone who has a positive attitude, the result is often something wonderful. Out of the turmoil that problems cause can emerge great statesmen, scientists, authors, or business people. Every challenge has an opportunity. And every opportunity has a challenge. A person’s attitude determines how she handles those.

Let your positive attitude transform every challenge into an opportunity.

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.

DEALING WITH THE WEAK LINK

If you’re a team leader, you cannot ignore the issues created by a weak link. For the various kinds of teams, different solutions are appropriate. If the team is a family, then you don’t simply “trade” weak people. You lovingly nurture them and try to help them grow, but you also try to minimize the damage they can cause to other family members. If the team is a business, then you have responsibilities to the owner or stockholders. If you’ve offered training without success, then a “trade” might be in order. If the team is a ministry and training has made no impact, then it might be appropriate to ask the weak people to sit on the sidelines for a while. Or they might need some time away from the team to work on emotional or spiritual issues.

No matter what kind of situation you face, remember that your responsibilities to people come in the following order: to the organization, to the team, and then to the individual. Your own interests - and comfort - come last.

If you are the leader, it is your responsibility to address the problem of a weak link on your team. 

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.

FAILURE IS AN INSIDE JOB

In our culture, too many people believe that contentment comes from attaining material possessions or positions of power. But they aren’t the keys to contentment either. If you are tempted to believe that they are, remember the words of John D. Rockefeller. When a journalist asked him how much wealth was enough, the millionaire, who was at the time one of the richest and most powerful men in the world, answered, “Just a little more.”

Contentment comes from having a positive attitude. It means:

Expecting the best in everything – not the worst

Remaining upbeat – even when you get beat up

Seeing solutions in every problem – not problems in every solution

Believing in yourself – even when others believe you’ve failed

Holding on to hope – even when others say it’s hopeless

No matter what happens to you, a positive attitude comes from within. Your circumstances and your contentment are unrelated.

Rely on a positive attitude today to get you through difficult circumstances.  

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.

GIVE ENCOURAGEMENT

Too many leaders expect their people to encourage themselves. But most people require outside encouragement to propel them forward. It is vital to their growth. Physician George Adams found encouragement to be so vital to a person’s existence that he called it “oxygen to the soul.”

New leaders need to be encouraged. When they arrive in a new situation, they encounter many changes and undergo many changes themselves. Encouragement helps them reach their potential; it empowers them by giving them energy to continue when they make mistakes.

Use lots of positive reinforcement with your people. Don’t take acceptable work for granted; thank people for it. Praise a person every time you see improvement. And personalize your encouragement any time you can. Remember, what motivates one person may leave another cold or even irritated. Find out what works with each of your people and use it.

UCLA basketball coach John Wooden told players who scored to give a smile, wink, or nod to the player who gave them a good pass. “What if he’s not looking?” asked a team member. Wooden replied, “I guarantee he’ll look.” Everyone values encouragement and looks for it - especially when his leader is a consistent encourager.

Look for opportunities to encourage your team today.

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.

GENEROSITY

Nothing speaks to others more loudly or serves them better than generosity from a leader. True generosity isn’t an occasional event. It comes from the heart and permeates every aspect of a leader’s life, touching his time, money, talents, and possessions. Effective leaders, the kind that people want to follow, don’t gather things just for themselves; they do it in order to give to others. Cultivate the quality of generosity in your life. Here’s how:

1.         Give something away. Find out what kind of hold your possessions have on you. Take something you truly value, think of someone you care about who could benefit from it, and give it to him. If you can do it anonymously, even better.

2.         Put your money to work. If you know someone with the vision to do something really great – something that will positively impact the lives of others – provide resources for him to accomplish it. Put your money to work for something that will outlive you.

3.         Find someone to mentor. Once you reach a certain level in your leadership, the most valuable thing you have to give is yourself. Find someone to pour your life into. Then give him time and resources to become a better leader.

Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote, “All that is not given is lost.”

What are you currently losing by holding on to it?

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.

VISION STATEMENTS

What you see is what you can be. This deals with your potential. I have often asked myself, does the vision make the leader? Or, does the leader make the vision?

I believe the vision comes first. I have known many leaders who lost the vision and, therefore, lost their power to lead. People do what people see. That is the greatest motivational principle in the world. Stanford Research says that 89 percent of what we learn is visual, 10 percent of what we learn is auditory, and 1 percent of what we learn is through other senses.

In other words, people depend on visual stimulation for growth. Couple a vision with a leader willing to implement that dream, and a movement begins. People do not follow a dream in itself. They follow the leader who has that dream and the ability to communicate it effectively. Therefore, vision in the beginning will make a leader, but for that vision to grow and demand a following, the leader must take responsibility for it.

Hubert H. Humphrey is an example of “what you see is what you can be.” During a trip to Washington, D.C., in 1935, he wrote this in a letter to his wife: “Honey, I see how someday, if you and I just apply ourselves and make up our minds to work for bigger and better things, we can someday live here in Washington and probably be in government, politics, or service… Oh, gosh, I hope my dream comes true – I’m going to try anyhow.”

Are you communicating vision and pursuing it with passion?  

Reference:

Maxwell, J. C. (2007). Maximize your day: 365 days of insights to develop the leader within you and influence those around you. Manila, Philippines: OMF Literature Inc.