Leadership advice from your trusted advisor and partner in success: My Executive Solutions Welcome to My Executive Solutions' Power of One Newsletter! We strive to create new and innovative ways to invest in you and your organization's growth. We believe an important aspect of this investment is to continuously research the latest leadership trends and to share with you our insights. We want you energized, focused and motivated to deepen your leadership competencies and to expand your impact. We will be targeting those areas that we believe will make a difference in your leadership effectiveness. Let us hear from you! My Executive Solutions Team Join our Mailing List! OUR FEATURED ISSUE LEADERSHIP JOURNEY - PART II POWER OF ONE LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES Leadership Journey - Part 1  (6/19/2011) As a leader, you have reached a level of success. What’s next? It is time in your leadership journey to make an intentional and focused investment. An investment that will take you out of your comfort zone, and will require a focus on improving yourself. Leadership Courage  (6/5/2011) Great leaders demonstrate bold but reasoned judgment, spirited but calculated risk-taking and an assertive but reflective disposition. Followers want leaders who make decisions decisively but inclusively, interpret situations with rational and emotional intelligence and exude confidence and humility. In short, they want to join a leader who exemplifies behaviors that brings out the best in them. The Challenge Of Communicating And Connecting  (5/22/2011) There are certain people that we cannot seem to communicate clearly with - on the job, at home or in our community. No matter what is said, something different is heard and the frustrations may lead to a project failure, people leaving a team, or even broader conflict in the organization. Wisdom of Successful Teams  (5/8/2011) In working extensively with executives leading teams, successful teaming does not simply happen. Teaming takes effort and time. Specifically, teams require active guidance and support from the leader. They thrive in environments- in organizational cultures which enables and fosters teamwork. What are the most important factors which influence team dynamics and effectiveness? Exploring Motivation  (4/24/2011) Most of us believe that the best way to motivate others and ourselves is with external rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. According to Daniel H. Pink in his book “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”, the secret to high performance and satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home. The Myth Of Executives "Work-Life Balance"  (3/27/2011) Perfect balance is an illusion. Holistic Wellness is a conscious choice and an active lifelong intentional process. Beyond work and professional success, there are many as¬pects to an executive’s overall life experience. Holistic Wellness is a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential. It directly affects one’s quality of life at home and work. The Power Of Your Voice: Owning Accountabiiity For Your Connections  (3/13/2011) Most leaders operate under the false assumption that what they say is what their team hears. We often believe that the amount of information or the way it is delivered was appropriate and sufficient, failing to recognize that people may interpret messages in different ways. Individuals need different levels of information, communication and engagement. Trust: A Timeless Investment  (2/27/2011) Executives often ask us for advice on how to build trust with their employees. Often times, those asking for assistance are hoping for a quick fix, when in fact, building trust is a serious long-term commitment and investment, which starts from the senior leadership and cascades down to each single leader within the organization. Building trusting relationships is vital, particularly in hard economic times when we are asking our employees to do more with less. Compelling Storytelling: A "pull" strategy  (2/13/2011) Influential story telling is one of the quickest and most effective ways to gain executive understanding, buy-in, action or funding. It attracts support and cooperation from reluctant users during times of change, implementation and operation. We spend too much time "talking to" a person's rational brain; while we neglect the needs of their emotional brain. A strong story is a pull strategy. If your story is powerful enough, people of their own free will come to the conclusion that they can trust you and the message you bring. Lead With The End In Mind: Your Legacy  (1/30/2011) As you start the new year, ask yourself, what kind of long-term impact will I have on my organization, my team, and others? What will people think, say, or do, after my time as a leader is ended? Is it my time to "lead with the end in mind? We believe it's never too early to consider your legacy! Best Leadership Books 2010  (1/16/2011) My Executive Solutions believe that it's important to stay on top of our game. This means to stay current with cutting edge, best leadership practices. In the past year we had the opportunity to review several leadership books. We have selected the books we felt were the best leadership books published in 2010 and want to share with you in the spirit of continuing to walk with you in your leadership journey and helping you stay focused on what makes a difference in your leadership effectiveness. We encourage you to pick up these books if you haven't yet! Fiercely Focused on Execution  (1/2/2011) As you experience some of the more profound changes in your business environment such as slower growth, fiercer competition, new roles for government in national economies, and greater emphasis on risk management, what can you as a leader do to ensure focus and execution during this coming year? The Investment Of Redescovery  (12/19/2010) The Beginning Of A New Cycle: A Unique Opportunity A unique opportunity to step back and reflect on what you have created. It brings a unique opportunity for you to assess YOURSELF. To objectively examine yourself in the multiple roles we play-as the father, the husband, the mother, the wife, the son, the daughter, the brother, the sister, the friend and any other important role in your life beyond your title and role in your organization. Take the time to rediscover and create a vision for 2011 that will integrate YOU with your important relationships to increase your sense of well being. A Sense Of Urgency  (12/5/2010) A look into Sense of Urgency as a sustainable core capability. The opposite of having a sense of urgency in an organization, is complacency. At a time when change and the need to anticipate and adapt is a constant, complacency quickly becomes the enemy. If we were to see complacency on the playing field, the team would become win-less and the players useless. Why would we allow that to happen in our own organizations and businesses?! Winning Lessons From ESPN: The Company  (11/21/2010) Success stories with “winning lessons” is told in the book “ESPN The Company” by Dr. Anthony F. Smith with Keith Hollihan. ESPN: The Company tells the fascinating story of how ESPN managed to sustain its growth, innovation, and brand in a highly competitive and rapidly evolving marketplace…a great story to learn from. We share some success practices... Expect To Win  (11/7/2010) Expect to Win’s essence is based on Carla Harris belief that the power lies within each of us, no matter what your job, your gender, or your skin color, If you recognize, harness, and use your power properly, it will become one of the key drivers in your career. In this newsletter we share Harris “pearls of wisdom.” lessons Sustaining Change  (10/24/2010) In "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, the authors show that successful changes follow a pattern, a pat­tern we can use to make the changes that matter to us and whatever change we aspire to. They introduce a model that includes DIRECT the Rider, MOTIVATE the Elephant, and SHAPE the Path. They explore the impact of appealing to the RATIONAL AND EMOTIONAL MINDS. An "Unreasonable Leadership Journey"  (10/10/2010) The mindset of an unreasonable leader. A leader who “envisions the future, finds and articulates the proverbial “big hairy audacious goal" one that holds fast to convictions, inspires colleagues to move beyond their comfort zones, silences the naysayers, and achieves the impossible mission…whatever it takes.” Inspired on the book "Unreasonable Leadership" by Gary Chartrand. Our consultants are continuously researching the latest concepts on leadership.The Power of One Newsletter delivers concepts, techniques and ideas to keep you focused and motivated. Do you have any particular leadership topic you would like to know more about?  Share your thoughts with us and let us do the research for you! Participate in our Leadership Poll now!