Jon Gordon does it again!

I have always been a great Jon Gordon fan. His work on the power of negative energy and how it can sap the strength out to a team in workplace has always served to inspire me. This week in his newsletter, he discusses his thoughts on Leadership. Again, he really does a great job with this.

10 Thoughts about Leadership

by Jon Gordon | www.JonGordon.com

1. 1. People follow the leader first and the leader’s vision second - It doesn’t matter if the leader shares a powerful vision, if the leader is not someone who people will follow the vision will never be realized. As a leader, who you are makes a difference. The most important message you can share is yourself.
2. 2. Trust is the force that connects people to the leader and his/her vision - Without trust there is a huge gap between the leader and the vision. Without trust people will stay off the bus. However if people trust the leader they will hop on the bus with the leader and help move the bus forward towards the vision.
3. 3. Leadership is not just about what you do but what you can inspire, encourage and empower others to do.
4. 4. A leader brings out the best within others by sharing the best within themselves
5. 5. Just because you’re driving the bus doesn’t mean you have the right to run people over - Abraham Lincoln said “Most anyone can stand adversity, but to test a man’s character give him power.” The more power you are granted the more it is your responsibility to serve, develop and empower others. When you help them grow they’ll help you grow.
6. 6. “Rules without Relationship Leads to Rebellion” - Andy Stanley said this and it’s one of my favorite quotes. As a leader you can have all the rules you want but if you don’t invest in your people and develop a relationship with them they will rebel. This applies amazingly to children as well. It’s all about relationships.
7. 7. Lead with optimism, enthusiasm and positive energy, guard against pessimism and weed out negativity.
8. 8. Great Leaders know they don’t have all the answers. Rather they build a team of people who either know the answers or will find them.
9. 9. Leaders inspire and teach their people to focus on solutions, not complaints- “The No Complaining Rule”.
10. 10. Great leaders know that success is a process not a destination - One of my heroes John Wooden, the legendary UCLA basketball coach, never focused on winning. He knew that winning was the by product of great leadership, teamwork, focus, commitment and execution of the fundamentals. As a leader focus on your people and process, not the outcome.

Simple and concise. I think he nailed it! I wonder if we could get him to speak at our next Leadership Summit.

Iphone/Ipod Touch for Administrators

This is a neat video introducing the Iphone/Ipod Touch as a tool for Administrators on the go. The video starts off a "scratchy" and skips a little but stick with it. It's pretty interesting!