MANAGE YOUR ENERGY

Some people have to ration (portion) their energy so that they don’t run out. Up until a few years ago, that wasn’t me. When people asked me how I got so much done, my answer was always, “High energy, low IQ.” From the time I was a kid, I was always on the go.

Now I do have to pay attention to my energy level. In “Thinking for a Change,” I shared one of my strategies for managing my energy. When I look at my calendar every morning, I ask myself, What is the main event? That is the one thing to which I cannot afford to give anything less than my best. That one thing can be for my family, my employees, a friend, my publisher, the sponsor of a speaking engagement, or my writing time. I always make sure I have the energy to do it with focus and excellence.

Even people with high energy can have that energy sucked right out of them under difficult circumstances. Leaders in the middle of an organization often have to deal with what I call “the ABCs energy-drain.”

A – Activity Without Direction – doing things that don’t seem to matter

B – Burden Without Action – not being able to do things that really matter

C – Conflict Without Resolution – not being able to deal with what’s the matter

If you find that you are in an organization where you often must deal with these ABCs, then you will have to work extra hard to manage your energy well. Either that or you need to look for a new place to work.

Examine the ABCs. Where do you need to manage your energy?

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.

DEVELOP A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PEOPLE YOU EQUIP

All good mentoring relationships begin with a personal relationship. As your people get to know and like you, their desire to follow your direction and learn from you will increase. If they don’t like you, they will not want to learn from you, and the equipping process slows down or even stops.

To build relationships, begin by listening to people’s life stories, their journeys so far. Your genuine interest in them will mean a lot to them. It will also help you to know their personal strengths and weaknesses. Ask them about their goals and what motivates them. Find out what kind of temperaments they have. You certainly don’t want to equip and develop a person whose greatest love is numbers and financial statements for a position where he would be spending 80 percent of his time dealing with disgruntled customers.

One of the best ways to get to know people is to see them outside of the business world. People are usually on their guard at work. They try to what other people. By getting to know them in other settings, you can get to know who they really are. Try to learn as much as you can about the people and do your best to win their hearts. If you first find their hearts, they’ll be glad to give you their hands.

Make an appointment to get to know someone on 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.

IT’S A STATE OF MIND

Failure is an inside job. So is success. If you want to achieve, you have to win the war in your thinking first. You can’t let the failure outside you get inside you. You certainly can’t control the length of your life – but you can control its width and depth. You can’t control the contour of your face – but you can control its expression. You can’t control the weather – but you can control the atmosphere of your mind. Why worry about things you can’t control when you can keep yourself busy controlling the things that depend on you?

I read an article that highlighted the strength, courage and resilience of the Norwegian people. Some of the toughest explorers in history have come from Norway. It doesn’t matter how harsh the climate or how difficult the circumstances; they always seem to persevere.

That ability has become a part of their culture. They are a nation of outdoor enthusiasts – living on the edge of the Arctic Circle. The Norwegians have a saying that I think captures their attitude: “There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.”

How can you “change clothing” to overcome any bad weather your organization is experiencing?

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.

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.