timmilburn.com

Video: Got A Minute? #2

tim milburn — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:56:47 +0000

You greet people everyday. You say “hi” in all sorts of ways.

In this edition of Got A Minute? I offer one strategy that can dramatically change the tone of your conversations – and it starts with your greeting.

Go ahead and hit play. It’s only a minute long. I bet you’ve got that much time to improve your influence.

Got A Minute? #2 – Compliment Before The Question

Got A Minute #2 from tim milburn on Vimeo.

Got A Minute?

tim milburn — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:04:27 +0000

We’re busy people. I get that. So I have one question for you…

Got a minute?

Most people do. Even if they don’t, they’ll often say, “I’ll get to it in a minute.” Everyone has a minute.

With that in mind, I want to introduce a new video series I will be producing and posting on this site called: Got a minute?

This one-minute video will offer a simple principle with a practical action step. I am going to give you tips and tools to increase your influence. This will help you to be a better leader.

Here is Got A Minute? #1. It’s called “Written Is Remembered”

5x5s – Five Minute Training Worksheet

My Leadership Lessons From P90X(2)

tim milburn — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:29:48 +0000

I discovered P90X during the summer of 2010. It changed my life.

If you’re not familiar with P90X, here’s a brief overview from Wikipedia:

P90X, or Power 90 Extreme, is a home exercise system developed by Tony Horton in conjunction with Beachbody.com . It claims to significantly improve physical fitness in 90 days through a rigorous segmented training program combined with a nutrition and dietary supplement plan. P90X’s advertising emphasizes “muscle confusion”, a method of cross-training and periodization achieved through switching the order of exercises and incorporating new and varied movements. Muscle confusion supposedly prevents the body from adapting to exercises over time, resulting in continual improvement without plateaus.

Here’s my own personal, brief overview: It’s hard! It kicks your butt everyday!

I’m now in the process of completing P90X2. While it’s similar in format, the workouts are very different. Basically, it’s all about your core…and your arms and legs come along for the ride. I’ll complete my 90 days on March 25, 2011.

There’s a lot that you learn about yourself when you put yourself through a rigorous process like this. I liken it to climbing a mountain. In order to get closer to your goal each day you have to climb. The only way to the top is to climb. No climbing, no progress.

As I’m working through P90X2, I can see how it connects, relates, and effects other areas of my life. For the purpose of this post, I want to focus on leadership. Specifically, how P90X2 (and the first one) has taught me some valuable lessons that enhance and encourage my leadership.

Discipline in one area fuels discipline in other areas.

The other day, I posted a tweet that said: When people ask me how to spell discipline, I tell them: D…A…I…L…Y! Discipline is so powerful because it’s so daily. One day at a time, repeat. I am discovering that the momentum that comes from doing P90X2 on a daily basis is fueling the discipline to write more, think more, and accomplish more.

Personal fitness and health gives one energy to do more.

This is one of the best rewards from P90X2. Increased fitness and health translates into increased energy. Some people feel like they don’t have the energy to exercise. Yet, I find that I have more energy when I do exercise. Some people feel like they don’t have the time to exercise. Yet, I find that I make better use of the other hours when I take one hour to dedicate to my personal fitness.

Modeling is a leader’s best illustration.

It’s simple. As I DO P90X2, people notice the change. They’ll see how I’m reshaping myself. Most people want to get in better shape. But a lot of people struggle with it. They are looking for someone who has figured it out. When they find out I’m not simply exercising, but I’m engaged in extreme fitness on a daily basis, I gain credibility. Credibility translates into influence. This is the type of influence that comes from modeling. People are more willing to do what they see. It’s the power of example at work.

Respect

There aren’t a lot of people who can do P“90″X2. It’s not just the time commitment, difficult workouts, or being in poor shape physically. It’s the perseverance to stick with it and climb the mountain. I see a lot of people on Twitter who have done P”3“X or P”10″X. But very few can say they’ve done all 90 days. There’s something significant and a great sense of satisfaction for one who is able to claim that he or she is a P90X Grad. Respect comes from those who look on from the sidelines, thinking to themselves, “I could never do that.” Hopefully, I can take that respect and use it to encourage them by replying, “You can. Not all at once. But one day at a time. For 90 days in a row.”

Are you a P90X grad? What lessons did you learn from your experience?

How To Evaluate Your Leadership Style

tim milburn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:09:03 +0000

//NOTE: This is a guest post by Ken Blanchard, author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life

Today, I’m going to give a short, one-question quiz. Here’s the question: How do you rate as a leader?

I don’t ask this question flippantly. It is a question I’ve asked countless people at the leadership seminars we conduct.

As leaders, most people rank themselves as being very close to a minor deity or at least Mr. or Ms. Human Relations. Seldom do leaders give themselves low marks. Strangely enough, when the tables are turned and people are asked to rank their boss’s leadership style, we often find many supervisors graded as being adequate, merely OK, or at worst, office autocrats who depend heavily on the often-referenced “seagull management” technique as their sole line of attack — they leave their people alone until something goes wrong, and then they fly in, make a lot of noise, dump all over everyone, and fly out.

More often than not, we find that leaders lull themselves into thinking they are top-flight leaders because they think they use a supportive or coaching style, which someone told them are “good” leadership styles. Not too surprisingly, this isn’t the way they are seen by those in their department, office or store.

To get a true and accurate answer about the question above, it is necessary for you as a supervisor to honestly determine how your employees perceive your leadership style. These are the folks who know you best. They have first-hand experience with your leadership style and operate on their own perceptions about it. They are the best judges of your managerial effectiveness. However, getting an employee or subordinate to give his or her honest feedback on your leadership style is difficult. People fear being the messenger who will get shot for bearing bad news. Hence, they are naturally reluctant to be totally candid.

Employees are sharp observers. In the past, they may have gone to their leader and made an honest suggestion such as, “Ken, I think our Thursday afternoon meetings are a waste of time.” If the supervisor answers with an outburst by saying, “What do you mean a waste of time? Are you kidding? Those meetings are important,” it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that one thing the leader doesn’t want to hear is the truth.

It is important to remember that when people you supervise tell you what they honestly think about your style of leadership, they’re really giving you a gift. When someone gives you a gift, what is the first thing you should say? “Thank you,” of course! Then it’s a very good idea to follow up by saying, “Is there anything else you think I should know?” When a person learns that you won’t become defensive or hostile when he or she gives you an honest evaluation about your style, you’ll find that you’ll be given many nuggets of truth which are extremely valuable. My advice would be to encourage people to give (feedback) at the office, and to give often!

Just remember, what you think about your own leadership style really doesn’t matter. In addition, there is no one correct style, nor is there a “good” or a “bad” style. Rather, style is judged by those immediately influenced by it. It’s your people’s response to your style that matters. If you are getting the right response consistently — high productivity and morale — then you’re doing just fine. If not, then perhaps it’s your style that needs changing, not your employees.

As originally published on “How We Lead”

Author Bio
Ken Blanchard, co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, is cofounder and chief spiritual officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies. He is the author or coauthor of 50 books that have sold more than 20 million copies, including the iconic One Minute Manager®.

Connect with Ken Blanchard on Facebook and follow him on Twitter here and here. For more information on the book please visit http://greatleadersgrow.com.

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35 Ways To Put The “Leader” In Student Leader

tim milburn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:06:47 +0000

One of the questions I get asked is: What do student leaders have to do to be considered a “student leader?”

Great question. I actually wrote a short ebook (pdf) on the subject: STUDENT LEADER – 35 Ways To Put The Leader In Student Leader.

Here are three of the ideas in the ebook.

#3 DO FEW THINGS REALLY WELL.

Which is better: to accomplish eight things that people would consider a “3″ on a scale of 1-10; or accomplish three things that people would consider an “8″? People are impressed by excellence. Mediocrity is so average that others don’t even recognize it. A great illustration of this is juggling. I can juggle three balls pretty well. People watch me juggle three balls and they think, “Wow, he’s a good juggler.” But the moment you throw that fourth ball into the mix, there are balls all over the floor. Over and over, I drop the balls. When people see this they think, “Man…we need to find ourselves a new juggler.” It’s your call. You can say “yes” to a lot of things or just a few things. But the more you carry, the more you dilute your chances of being excellent.

#4 YOU’RE DEAD IF YOU MISS DEADLINES.

When you, as a student leader, agree to a deadline, you are making a promise. When you miss your deadline, you aren’t keeping your promise. Deadlines are typically necessary because other people are relying on the work you are doing. Deadlines are expectations that work will be done. If you want to impress people, get your work done before a stated deadline. The time to negotiate a deadline is when you’re creating or accepting it. Try this: Push a deadline out a bit further and then turn your stuff in early. People will think you’re amazing, organized, disciplined, dependable, and a valued member of the team.

#5 MAKE SURE PEOPLE ARE “IN THE KNOW.”

For most people, the ability to predict the future with 100% accuracy is only a wish that will never come true. Life has a way of happening. Circumstances mess up the best strategies and plans. When you find yourself with an unforeseen obstacle, let somebody know. If you’re going to be a little late – tell someone. If you’ve got a problem, be honest about it. When your list of “If’s” starts growing…make sure you’re communicating. The worst thing that a student leader can do is to withdraw, thinking that she can handle everything on her own. When people are kept in the loop, then they’re not surprised. People like surprises for birthdays and holidays. But they don’t like surprises when all of a sudden you’ve blindsided them with your inability to meet expectations or commitments. The rule of thumb is: as soon as you know let someone else know.

Want to read the other 32 ideas? Download the ebook with my compliments.