The Leadership Principle of Process (part 1 of 3)

Leadership develops daily, not in a day. Leadership skills are like investing – they compound. It’s a lot like investing in the stock market. If you hope is to make a fortune in a day, you’re not going to be successful. What matters most is what you do day by day over the long haul. The secret of success is found in your daily and weekly agenda. If you continually invest in your leadership development, letting your “assets“ compound, the inevitable result is growth over time. Although it is true that some people are born with greater natural gifts in leadership than others, the ability to lead is really a collection of skills, nearly all of which can be learned and improved. But that process doesn’t happen overnight. Leadership is complicated. It has many facets: respect, experience, emotional strength, people skills, discipline, vision, momentum, timing – and the list goes on. Many factors that some into play are somewhat intangible. That’s why leaders improve with seasoning. In a study of 90 top leaders from a variety of fields, leadership experts Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus made a discovery about the relationship between growth and leadership: It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers. Successful leaders are learners. The learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline and perseverance. The goal each day must be to get a little e bit better, to build on the previous day’s progress. So whether you do or don’t have great natural leadership ability, your development and progress will probably occur over the following four phases: 1. I don’t know what I don’t know. 2. I know what I don’t know. 3. I grow and know and it stars to show. 4. I simply go because of what I know. To be continued... Want to get started on the process of improving your leadership? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

The Leadership Quality of Charisma (part 2 of 2)

Continued from earlier... How would you rate yourself when it comes to charisma? Are other people naturally attracted to you? Are you well liked? If not you may possess one of the following roadblocks to charisma: Pride – No one want to follow a leader who thinks he is better than everyone else. Insecurity – If you are uncomfortable with who you are, others will be too. Moodiness – If people never know what to expect from you, they stop expecting anything. Perfectionism – People respect the desire for excellence, dread totally unrealistic expectations. Cynicism – People don’t want to be rained on by someone who sees a cloud around every silver lining. If you can stay away from these qualities, you can cultivate charisma. Pearle Mesta, the greatest Washington hostess since Dolly Madison, was asked the secret of her success in getting so many rich and famous people to attend her parties. “It’s all about the greetings and the good-byes, “ she replied. When a guest arrived, she met him, saying, “At last you’re here!” and as each left, she said, “I’m sorry you have to leave so soon!” Her agenda was to focus on others, not herself. That’s charisma. Here are some tips for getting started on the path for a more charismatic life: • Change your focus. Observe your interaction with people during the next few days. As you talk to others, determine who much of your conversation is concentrated on yourself. Determine to tip the balance in favor of focusing on others. • Play the first impressions game. Try an experiment. The next time you meet someone for the very first time, try your best to make a good first impression. Learn the person’s name. Focus on his interests. Be positive. And most important, treat him as a “10”. If you can do this for a day, you can do it every day. And that will increase your charisma overnight. • Share yourself. Make it your long-term goal to share your resources with others. Think about how you can add value to five people in your life this year. They can be family members, colleagues, employees, or friends. Provide resources to help them grow personally and professionally, and share your personal journey with them. Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

The Leadership Quality of Charisma (part 1 of 2)

How can you have charisma? Be more concerned about making others feel good about themselves than you are making them feel good about you. Most people think of charisma as something mystical, almost undefinable. They think it’s a quality that comes at birth or not at all. But that’s not true. Charisma, plainly stated, is the ability to draw people to you. And like many other character traits, it can be developed. To make yourself the kind of person who attracts others, you need to personify the following: 1. People Enjoy Leaders who Enjoy Life: Think of the people you want to spend time with. How would you describe them? Grumpy? Bitter? Depressed? Of course not. They’re celebrators, not complainers. They’re passionate about life. If you want to attract people, you need to be like the people you enjoy being with. 2. Put a “10” on Every Person’s head: One of the best things you can do for people – which also attracts them to you – is to expect the best of them. It’s like putting a “10” on everybody’s head. It helps others think more highly of themselves, and at the same time, it also helps you. According to Jacques Wiesel, “A survey of 100 self-made millionaires showed only one common denominator. These highly successful men and women could only see the good in other people.” The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal him to his own. If you appreciate others, encourage them, and help them reach their potential – they will love you for it 3. Give People Hope: French General Napoleon Bonaparte characterized leaders as “dealers in hope”. Like all great leaders, he knew that hope is the greatest of all possessions. If you can be the person who bestows that gift on others, they will be attracted to you, and they will be forever grateful. 4. Share Yourself: People love leaders who share themselves and their life journeys. As you lead people, give of yourself. Share wisdom, resources, and even special occasions. When it comes to charisma, the bottom line is other-mindedness. Leaders who think about others and their concerns before thinking of themselves exhibit charisma. To be continued... Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com 

The Leadership Principle of Influence (part 2 of 2)

Continued from yesterday... Here are five common myths about leadership: 3. The Knowledge Myth: Sir Francis Bacon once said, “Knowledge is power.” Most people, believing that power is the essence of leadership, naturally assume that those who possess knowledge and intelligence are leaders. But that isn’t automatically true. IQ does not necessarily equate to leadership ability. 4. The Pioneer Myth: Another misconception is that anyone who is out in front of the crowd is a leader. But being first isn’t the same as leading. Example: Sir Edmund Hillary vs. John Hunt and the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Leaders often go first and lead by example, but those who go first are not always good leaders – it takes more than that to be a good leader. 5. The Position Myth: As mentioned earlier, the greatest misconception about leadership is that people think it is based on position, but it’s not. As Stanley Huffy once affirmed, “It is not the position that makes the leader, but the leader who makes the position.” There are Five Levels of Leadership – each one an increasingly better leader. A Position based leader leads from the title that has been assigned to him/her. A Permission based leader leads because he has earned the respect of others who will follow him/her. A Production based leader not only has their respect, but also gets things done and produces results on a consistent basis. A People Development leaders is a Production leader who also realizes that they will be more successful in the long run if they invest in their followers to enhance their leadership abilities as well. A Pinnacle leader not only invests in his followers’ leadership ability, but he makes sure they are producing leaders as well – hence, he leaves behind a legacy of leadership development. Positional leadership doesn’t work with volunteer organizations. Because these leaders don’t have leverage – or influence – so they are ineffective. In volunteer organizations, such as churches, the only thing that works is leadership in its purest form. In other organizations, the person who has position may have incredible leverage. In the military for instance, leaders can use rank and, if all else fails, throw people into the brig. In business, bosses have tremendous leverage in the form of salary, benefits, and perks. Most followers are pretty cooperative when their livelihood is at stake. But his is still not true leadership. Here is my favorite leadership proverb, “He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.” If you can’t influence others, they won’t follow you. And if they won’t follow, you’re not a leader. That’s the Principle of Influence. No matter what anybody else tells you, remember that leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less. Need help improving your ability to influence others in a positive way? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com 

The Leadership Principle of Influence (part 1 or 2)

The true measure of leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. If you don’t have influence, you will never be able to lead others. Great examples are Princess Diana and Mother Theresa – neither had any real authority, but both exercised an incredible amount of influence. Colin Powell once said, “You will have achieved excellence as a leader when people will follow you anywhere, even if only out of curiosity.” People have many misconceptions about leadership. When they hear that someone has an impressive title of an assigned leadership position, they assume that he is a leader. Sometimes that’s true. But titles don’t have much value when it comes to truly leading. True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that can’t be mandated – it must be earned. The only thing a title can buy is a little time – either to increase your level of influence with others or to erase it. Here are five common myths about leadership: 1. The Management Myth: A widespread misunderstanding is that leadership and management are one and the same. Up until a few years ago, books that claimed to be on leadership were often really about management. The main difference between the two is that leadership is about influencing people to follow, while management focuses on maintaining systems and processes. Consequently, a great way to test whether a person can lead rather than manage is to ask him to create positive change. Managers can maintain direction, but changing it is difficult for them. To move people in a new direction, you need influence. Michael Hammer, the father of Reengineering (the science of fast, radical business change) frequently said, “the hard stuff is the soft stuff”. He was referring to the fact that successful change is always accomplished by influencing people. 2. The Entrepreneur Myth: Frequently, people assume that all salespeople and entrepreneurs are leaders. But that’s often not the case. Just because someone is buying what they are selling, does not make them leaders – people are not really following them. At best, salespeople and entrepreneurs may be able to persuade someone for the moment, but they hold no long-term real influence over their customers. This is often evidenced by how many of these individuals go out of the business as soon as there is a shift in the market. To be continued... Need to improve your ability to positively influence others? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com 

The Leadership Quality of Character (part 3 of 3)

The king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province... Daniel 2:48 The private life of a leader impacts his public life as well. Daniel illustrates why character plays such a vital role. Daniel could have tried merely to survive his experience as a captive in a foreign land. Instead, he never left his disciplined life of character and personal commitment. Ponder the character he displayed during his times of testing under the kings of Babylon: 1. His Diet: He wouldn’t compromise on ritually unclean foods, but ate only vegetables. 2. His Motives: He didn’t take credit for interpreting dreams, but glorifies God instead. 3. His Honesty: He spoke the truth to authorities, regardless of its unpopularity. 4. His Disciplines: He continued praying daily, even though it might cost him his life. 5. His Integrity: He had no interest in bribes or payoffs. 6. His Convictions: He stayed committed to his friends and beliefs even as he rose through the ranks. Character is the foundation on which a leader builds his or her life. It all begins with character, because leadership operates on the basis of trust. People will follow a leader only so far as they trust him or her. Character communicates credibility, harnesses respect, creates consistency, and earns trust. Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Character: Be a Piece of the Rock (part 2 of 2)

Continued from yesterday… If you’ve found yourself being sucked in by one of the four A’s: arrogance, aloneness, (destructive) adventure-seeking, and/or adultery – call a timeout. Do whatever you must to step away from some of the stress in your life, and seek professional help. Don’t think that the valley you’re in will pass with time, more money, or increased prestige. Unaddressed cracks in character only get deeper and more destructive with time. If you’re not struggling with any of these four areas, you should still examine the condition of your character. Ask yourself whether your words and actions match – all the time. When you say you’ll finish an assignment, do you always follow through? If you tell your children you’ll make it to their recital or ball game, are you there for it? Can people trust your “handshake” as they would a legal contract? As you lead others at home, at work, and in the community, recognize that your character is your most important asset. The respect that leadership must have requires that one’s ethics be without question. A leader not only stays above the line between right and wrong, he also stays well clear of the “gray areas.” • Search for the cracks. Spend some time looking at the major areas of your life (personal, family, vocation, faith, community), and identify anywhere you might have cut corners, compromised, or let people down. Write down every instance you can recall from the past 3 months. • Look for patterns. Examine the response that you just wrote down. Is there any particular area where you have a weakness, or do you have a type of problem that keeps surfacing? Detectable patterns will help you diagnose character issues. • Face the music. The beginning of character repair comes when you face your flaws, apologize, and deal with the consequences of your actions. Create a list of people to whom you need to apologize to for your actions, then follow through with sincere apologies. • Rebuild. It’s one thing to face up to your past actions. It’s another to build a new future. Now that you’ve identified any areas of weakness, create action plans that will prevent you from making the same mistakes again. Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

The Leadership Quality of Character: Be a Piece of the Rock

A man took his young daughter to a carnival and she immediately ran over to a booth and asked for cotton candy. As the attendant handed her a huge ball of it, the father asked, “Sweetheart, are you sure you can eat all that?” “Don’t worry, dad, “ she answered, “I’m a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside.” That’s part of what real character is – being bigger on the inside than on the outside. How a leader deals with the circumstances of life tells you many things about his character. Crisis doesn’t necessarily mold character, but is certainly does reveal it. Adversity is a crossroads that makes a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time he chooses character, he becomes stronger, even if that choice brings negative consequences. And the development of character is at the heart of our development as leaders. 1. Character is More Than Talk – Anyone can say he has integrity, but action is the real indicator of character. Your character determines who you are. Who you are determines how you see and think about things. How you see things determines what you do. That’s why you can never separate a leader’s character from his actions. If a leaders actions and intentions are continually working against each other, then look to his character to find out why. 2. Talent is a Gift, Character is a Choice – We have no control over a lot of things in life. We don’t get to choose our parents. We don’t select the location or circumstances of our birth and upbringing. We don’t get to pick our natural talents or IQ. But we do choose our character. In fact, we create it every time we make choices – to cop out or dig out of a tough situation, to bend the truth or stand under the weight of it, to take the easy money or pay the price. As you live your life and make your choices, you are continuing to create your character. 3. Character Brings Lasting Success with People - True leadership involves other people. Followers do not trust leaders whose character they know to be flawed, and they will not continue following them. And if you think you’re leading and no one is following, then you’re only taking a walk. 4. Leaders Cannot Rise Above their Limitations - Have you ever seen highly talented people suddenly fall apart when they achieved a certain level of success? The key to that phenomenon is character. Steve Berlas, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of The Success Syndrome, says that people who achieve great heights but lack the bedrock character to sustain them through the stress are headed for disaster. He believes they are destined for one or more of the four A’s: arrogance, aloneness, (destructive) adventure-seeking, and/or adultery. Each is a terrible price to pay for weak character. To be continued… Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

The Leadership Principle of Potential

Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. And everyone is a leader – from the stay-at-home mom, to the elected government official, to the big brother/sister, to the CEO. Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. The stronger the leadership, the greater the effectiveness. Your leadership ability – for better or worse – always determines your effectiveness and the potential impact you can have on those around you and your organization. A great example of this is the story of the McDonald’s Corporation. Success is within the reach of anyone. But personal success without leadership ability brings only limited effectiveness. A person’s impact is only a fraction of what it could be with good leadership. The higher you want to climb, the more you are going to need good leadership skills. The greater the impact you want to make, the greater your influence needs to be. Whatever you will accomplish in life is restricted by your ability to lead others. Wherever you look, you can find smart, talented, successful people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership skills. Leadership ability is always the limit on personal and organizational effectiveness. If leadership is strong, the limit is high. That’s why in times of trouble, many organizations look for new leadership. When a country is experiencing hard times, it elects a new president. When a company is losing money, it hires a new CEO. When a church is floundering, it searches for a new senior pastor. When a sports team keeps losing, it looks for a new coach. The good news is that getting rid of the leader isn’t the only way. You can break through the limitations on yourself by improving your leadership skills. The laws of leadership are immutable, they never change. They have existed for thousands of years. They can be studied and learned. They can be mastered through application. Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

“7” Questions That Will Change Your Life:

The following “7” Questions can change your life. Consider each one carefully... 1. Are you as productive as you would like to be? Do you achieve the results you desire on a daily basis? Do you feel your talents are being fully utilized? 2. Do you need more time in the day? Are you fully satisfied with your work/life balance? 3. Are you able to plan effectively and execute your plans? Do you have documented goals and do you consistently achieve your goals? 4. Would you describe your relationship with your spouse, children, and those close to you as healthy? Do your supervisor and co-workers not only respect you, but also like and admire you? 5. Are you able to influence and motivate others in a positively impactful way? 6. Are you living a life full of purpose and meaning? Is your life turning out the way you hoped it would? If it ended today, who would remember you and for what would you be remembered? 7. Are you fully satisfied in all aspects of your life (personal, family, vocation, faith, community)? Or are there improvements you would like to see? If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions, you are not living the life you could be. You have the opportunity to move from good to great, from success to significance, and/or from consumer to transformer. Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Core Values & Roadblocks

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:6 Core Values: What are the “must” rules of your life? Core Values are the rules by which you will only play the game of life. They are the Rules of the Road, your Bedrock beliefs. It is not only what you say you believe in, but also what you must practice. You must walk the talk for it to be a core value. These need to be the baseline for all the decisions you make. Any decision not made within the boundaries of these values will cause you anxiety and distress. Decisions made within these boundaries will give you a sense of peace, fulfillment, contentment, and joy. Facing Roadblocks: Roadblocks are the obstacles you see that are keeping you from living out your core values and achieving your goals to the best of your ability. Some examples include: • Not being willing to totally surrender. • Not willing to be content with what you have / can become. • Blaming others – feeling sorry for yourself – feeling victimized. • A deep-set need for affirmation. • Not trusting enough to be intimate. • Not having mentors. • Not being in a favorable situation for growth. • Having one life domain that overwhelms all others preventing growth (e.g., vocation over family). • Not willing to face the truth about yourself or your circumstances. • Being paralyzed by fear. What’s holding you back from living out your life plan and accomplishing your goals, while being true to your core values? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Helpful Relationships

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:6 We all need to develop certain relationships that are for growth, development, and blessing. Surround yourself with people that have complementary gifts, different driver/comfort zones, different thinking wavelengths, and listen to their wise counsel. Keep in mind the need for complimentary gifting in this “inner circle”. There are many different kinds of mentors. Identify your historical mentors (those who have gone before you, died, documented their learning’s) and study them. Identify your living mentors (those who are still alive) and spend time with them – share with them and listen. Identify your spiritual mentors (those who are concerned primarily about your spiritual life and transformation). Be transparent with them and be held accountable. Have a Life Plan mentor (who is not your spouse – see the book for many reasons why). They will help you to: Be accountable and to keep your promises to yourself. Think things through. Encourage you when you need encouragement. Keep your deepest secrets in confidence. Help you review your Life Plan periodically and offer suggestions/counsel. Qualifications for a good Life Plan partner: Practicing Christian. Close friend of the same sex. Someone who is loved and appreciated by your other family members. A secure, confident, person of wisdom. Someone who will tell you what you need to be told. Someone who can be a prayer partner. Someone who will always be there for you. You should never feel as if you are “imposing” on him by calling him. Someone who can physically get together with you at least once or twice a year. Keep in mind the need for complimentary gifting in this “inner circle”. Do you have an inner circle of friends? Friends who will speak the truth to you in love, even if it hurts? Friends who will encourage you? Friends who are mentors and will invest in your life? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Burnout, Burros, & Horses (part 2 of 2)

Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9 Continued from yesterday… What happens in a true burnout? A metamorphosis – a change in character, substance, and appearance. Top executives are often guilty of pushing their employees to the point of burnout. Their answer to the problem is usually to give the individual time off – perhaps even several months - to refresh him. But it doesn’t work. The fire cannot be re-lit. All people have a natural propensity as to how much work they will take on. It’s kind of like the difference between a burro and a horse. A horse loves to run. S/he will accept every assignment, take on incredible amounts of work and say no to nothing. Burros are much smarter than horses. Don’t be offended – I, myself, am a horse! Burros refuse to go into overload. Put too much on the back of a burro and it will sit down. It will refuse to move – a burro knows when enough is enough! Burros can be very frustrating to their senior management. They know when to say no to excessive responsibilities and overtime. However, they are a much more stable part of the workforce. As a senior manager, the trick is twofold: keep the burros motivated at their maximum level and don’t let the horses take on too much. On the personal side, you must know who you are. Most people do. If you are a horse, you must pace yourself and give yourself permission to say no to some projects, promotions, and commitments. If you are a burro, recognize that you will likely need to prod yourself to test your limits and to maintain your maximum healthy level of productivity. Horses must learn to restrain themselves and take a vacation. Burros need to learn to keep themselves motivated. God never forces us to take on responsibilities that will drain us of all our energy or destroy one of our life domains. God made both burros and horses, neither is bad. God gave us all a capacity for work – find yours, fill it, but don’t exceed it. To avoid burnout, ask yourself the following questions: • What action do I need to take regarding my thinking wavelength and the work that I do? • In what ways may need to adjust my expectations regarding others? • In what ways do I need to adjust my communi8cation with others? • Do I have a tendency to take on too much work and put myself in overload? If so, what changes do I need to make? • Do I have a tendency to say “no” when an opportunity seems overwhelming? If so, what do I need to do to make sure that I don’t miss an appropriate opportunity? Suffering from burnout? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

Burnout, Burros, & Horses (part 1 of 2)

Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:9 What happens in a true burnout? A metamorphosis – a change in character, substance, and appearance. People who complain of burnout usually haven’t. They may have approached burnout, but they are not there yet. The person who has undergone true burnout has experienced an irreversible change. If a surgical nurse burns out, she will never go into the operating room again. She may do pediatric intensive care, or nursing in some other specialty, but she will not go into the operating room. She will have changed to the point that she, along with all those who work around her, will recognize that she is no longer capable of peak performance in the surgical suite. Top executives are often guilty of pushing their employees to the point of burnout. Their answer to the problem is usually to give the individual time off – perhaps even several months - to refresh him. But it doesn’t work. That light will not be lit again,. The person must be repositioned in another area. The person’s same talents remain, but he has lost ALL motivation for the old job and will not be able to regain it – it is an irreversible condition. Burnout is exactly what it sounds like – the ground has been leveled and scorched. All the fuel is gone. The fire cannot be re-lit. All people have a natural propensity as to how much work they will take on. It’s kind of like the difference between a burro and a horse. A horse loves to run. S/he will accept every assignment, take on incredible amounts of work and say no to nothing. A horse may work until s/he becomes ill, burns out, and possibly even loses its life. These people assume more and more duties well past the point of overload. To their credit, horses tend to be the 5% of the workforce that produces 50% of the work (and profits). In the end, however, they have much shorter tenures with a company and shorter lifespans! They cost the company in excess recruiting costs, training and personnel development, and severance pay. To be continued tomorrow… Suffering from burnout? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

What Kind of Thinker Are You? (part 4 of 4)

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. Psalms 143:8 There are several concepts important to keep in mind related to the thinking wavelength. If you follow this advice, you will be more productive, as well as avoid 2 types of stress: stress from boredom and stress from burnout. People don’t change their thinking wavelength. There is very little potential for movement. So don’t burden others with discussions that are outside their thinking wavelength by more than one category (see the previous blogs on the categories). They will not be able to relate to the problem or to the solution you are proposing. If the boss is a finder, he may understand a problem exists, but he won’t know the specifics on how to fix the problem. In like fashion, the theorist has little capacity to understand why he must cut his budget on his pet research project. Abstract thinkers may be able to do a concrete thinking job for a brief period of time, but they quickly will become bored with such a position and become very frustrated with the details. Finders are quick to move from company to company and from challenge to challenge. They often leave in their wake a pile of unfilled forms. Those who are their minders or keepers often feel as if they are going to go crazy in trying to tie down all the loose ends and keep their finders on track. Finders can’t be nailed to schedules, protocols, or paperwork. A finder or a theorist will become more and more frustrated – with increasingly negative results – if he is required to do the administrative work of a keeper of a minder. Illness can even result. The child who is an abstract thinker may be able to concentrate for a few minutes on picking up her room and doing mundane chores, but the chores probably need to be segmented into brief time periods. Concrete thinkers are not able to engage in abstract thinking and will be overwhelmed if asked to do so. Keepers often become frustrated when they ask minders or grinders for suggested improvements to the company or department. Their suggestions often seem to be petty and minute. Grinders are only being true to their calling. They cannot think of corporate image, new products, or new ways of enhancing product appeal to customers. But they may be expert in improving their own work or work unit. Children who are concrete thinkers need very specific instructions, usually given verbally (as well as written). They need to be shown how to do tasks, as well as told how to do them. People who are asked to perform a job outside their thinking wavelength will experience stress and internal discomfort. Those who are operating to the right of their thinking wavelength are likely to feel a frustration with not being able to do the job. Those who are operating to the left of their thinking wavelength are likely to feel a frustration at having to do the job. Both kinds of stress lead to burnout. Your job responsibilities may span a range of the thinking wavelength, but it has a point of critical mass. If this critical mass is outside your thinking wavelength, you had better switch jobs. If it is within your thinking wavelength, talk to your supervisor to see if you can trim the duties that are furthest outside your wavelength. This job may have needed to be reengineered and re-packaged for some time. Your thinking wavelength defines the type of roles that will make you most fulfilled, least stressed, and most successful. What is your thinking wavelength and what actions do you need to take as a result? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

What Kind of Thinker Are You? (part 3 of 4)

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. Psalms 143:8 The result of trying to function in a role for which you aren’t mentally wired is going to be distress and dysfunction. Each one of us is born with a built in thinking wavelength, a way of organizing the world, tolerating change, and juggling variables. We must recognize that we may have a thinking wavelength that may or may not be the same as the person we married, our supervisor, those we manage, or others we regularly interact with. The thinking wavelength is directly related to the work you are going to do successfully. The continuum, is from left (administrative/operational) to right (development/strategic), the categories are grinders, minders, keepers, finders, and theorists. Today we will explore the work of the “Finders” and “Theorists”… Finders open up new territory, close important new accounts, reclaim lost accounts, and/or transfer new applications into a territory. They are entrepreneurs. Finders are abstract thinkers, so they often don’t complete the paperwork that most concrete thinkers require. They can appear to be loose cannons within a group structure. They are innovators and creators. Follow-through is not their strength. They need grinders, minders, and keepers (see prior blog) to follow in the wake of their creativity. Finders have these characteristics: they sense and seize opportunities, spot voids and fill them, are bored by the steady state, are good site locators, love a new challenge, must be thrown “raw meat” regularly. Sample positions best occupied by finders include CEO, chief visionary, product or market manager, joint venture leader, founding pastor, advanced development engineer, and entrepreneur. Theorists are bright, articulate, and persuasive. But in working with them, don’t expect things to come to closure. Theorists can lead a company down a primrose path. They have a role best suited for universities, seminars, and pure research laboratories. They don’t belong in business. They cannot manage others well, and their ideas rarely become commercialized. Translation is not their thing. There is a world in which the idea is the whole of it. In the proper environment, however, they can make highly significant contributions. Theorists have the following traits: they embrace risk, draw/sketch/diagram, can make quantum leaps, welcome change, are strategic, produce seminal concepts, enjoy many variables, are opportunity oriented, have a high tolerance for ambiguity, postulate the new, don’t execute, and love the 40,000 foot macro-view. Sample positions best occupied by theorists include scientists, researchers, and professors dealing with theoretically-oriented topics. Your thinking wavelength defines the type of roles that will make you most fulfilled, least stressed, and most successful. What is your thinking wavelength? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com

What Kind of Thinker Are You? (part 2 of 4)

Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, for I lift up my soul to You. Psalms 143:8 The result of trying to function in a role for which you aren’t mentally wired is going to be distress and dysfunction. Each one of us is born with a built in thinking wavelength, a way of organizing the world, tolerating change, and juggling variables. We must recognize that we may have a thinking wavelength that may or may not be the same as the person we married, our supervisor, those we manage, or others we regularly interact with. The thinking wavelength is directly related to the work you are going to do successfully. The continuum, is from left administrative/operational) to development/strategic), the categories are grinders, minders, keepers, finders, and theorists. Today we will explore the work of the “Minders” and “Keepers”… Minders can manage a unit team, having both the people skills and the organizational abilities to do so. T/hey can supervise the performance of work. They are basically concrete thinkers and are likely to function best in front line supervision. They Havre the ability to conduct diagnoses and to problem solve. They will “mind the store” well and put out brush fires when they flare up. Minders have the following abilities: can run a department, have diagnostic tendencies, are usually not innovative but perceive no reason to be, and can manage people in their area of expertise. Positions often best occupied by minders are supervisors, teachers, chief engineers, software programmers, section leaders, and department foremen/managers. Keepers, on the other hand, are capable of managing the whole store. They possess an appreciation for the administrative and the strategic. They may have both concrete and abstract thinking skills, but will be biased to administrative/operational work. They make great mediators because they can relate to both ends of the thinking wavelength spectrum. Keepers have these tendencies and basic traits: handle details and see the broader vision, handle variables well, are operationally biased, have a sense of the strategic and appreciate the strategic, are organized, and are good with people. Keepers make good personnel managers, directors of departments, plant managers, general/operations managers, division managers, chief operating officers, school principal, executive pastor, academic dean, and executive assistants. Your thinking wavelength defines the type of roles that will make you most fulfilled, least stressed, and most successful. What is your thinking wavelength? Truth@Life can help you, regardless of your location. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a free consultation. If you receive value from these blogs, please consider donating to keep this blog site up and running. This ministry cannot continue without the generous donations of its readers. Just click on the "Donate" button in the upper right. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/ or email me directly at curtis.songer@gmail.com