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Great Leaders on a Day in Infamy

December 7, 2014 By

On “December 7th, 1941, a date which will live in infamy,” as President Roosevelt called it, the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor was attacked. Today marks the 73rd anniversary of that attack.

As President of the United States and leader of the American People, FDR made no effort to hide the fact that extensive damage had been sustained and many lives had been lost. He united the country in its resolve to undertake the hardships and sacrifices required in wartime. But he was not the only Great Leader on December 7th and the days that followed.

Men and women in the armed forces stepped up and organized efforts to fight back; led efforts to rescue individuals whose lives were in peril; and, cared for those who were injured and wounded.

Civilians volunteered to serve in  the military; organized and led to scrap metal drives; planted “victory gardens” in which they raised fresh fruits and vegetables; participated in “bond drives” so essential to the funding of the war effort;.

In the days following Pearl Harbor, the American people demonstrated that there is the potential to be a Great Leader in each of us; that, when circumstances require it, each of us is capable of leading others to do what is needed. Let us pause today to remember all of the “unsung leaders” of the Greatest Generation.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

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Let Great Leaders Pause to Give Thanks

November 23, 2014 By

Leaders who would be Great Leaders know that few become who and what they are alone; with no help. It is only fitting then that we as a people, and especially those among us who are leaders, should pause this week to give thanks for the many blessings we have received; and, for those individuals who have shared the knowledge and experiences that helped shape who we are today. Here are a few of the people and things for which I am thankful this year.

  • The love, encouragement, and support of my family – For me, it all starts here. Without the love and support of my family, I could not do what I do. I am especially thankful for my wife, Lin, who supports and encourages the work I do in the Scouting Community to help shape the character and values of the next generation of leaders.
  • The examples set by my parents – Without a doubt, my mother and father set an example of unconditional love and acceptance; honor and integrity; justice and fairness. I recognize today that they did not “preach” these values but rather provided the example by living them every day of their lives.
  • Friends and associates I call “Talent Scouts” – I have been blessed with a number of friends and business associates who have seen talents in me that I never suspected were there; and, they encouraged me to use those; to let them “come out and play”. Even when I questioned my own ability, they were steadfast and encouraged me to exercise and grow those talents. They are far too numerous to mention each by name; but, you know who you are and I hope you know how much I appreciate the encouragement and support you have provided.
  • The selfless men and women of Scouting – A standard and running joke among Boy Scout Volunteers is that “it’s only an hour a week”. For most of these dedicated leaders, volunteering entails far more than a single hour a week; yet, they continue to give of their time and talents … some for many years after their sons graduate from high school and even college.
  • The country in which I live – I am thankful that I live in the United States of America, a country in which I am free to make my own choices and succeed or fail on my own merit and effort. Ours is a country in which a person’s opportunities are not governed by the class into which they were born; not limited by a government that determines the education that they will be allowed to obtain or what job they will enter. I pray that the people of this nation will not cast aside these freedoms to pursue the mirage of “safety and security” wherein someone else makes these choices for them.
  • Finally – I am thankful that I am free to write what I believe and to give thanks for the blessings I enjoy without fear of reprisal from someone who does not agree with what I believe or how I offer up my thanksgiving. May God Bless the USA and all who reside here.

Those who are Great Leaders and those who would choose to become Great Leaders will take time this week to look around them, see how blessed they are, and offer up thanks. For what are you thankful? If you care to share, click “Comment” and tell others what you are thankful for.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Filed Under: Building a Legacy, Dynamic Leadership, Great Leaders, Lead by Example, Lead from strength, Lead with Integrity, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, Uncategorized, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , ,

Great Leadership Requires Teamwork, Right?

November 16, 2014 By

It’s a funny thing about Great Leaders. Their alphabet seems to be missing a letter. The alphabets of Great Leaders also seem to have a letter or character that appears to be missing from the alphabets that many people use. Have you figured out what letter is missing and what letter has replaced it?

Great Leaders seldom use the letter “I”. Listen carefully and you soon realize that you seldom hear, “I did this” or “I did that”. In fact, Great Leaders use the letter “I” so seldom that it is only natural to assume that it has been removed from their alphabet. Instead, they’ve added the letter (character?) “we”, as in “we did this” and “we did that”.

Assembling and using the talents of a team is one of the great talents of true leadership. It is the abandonment of the concept that one must do everything oneself in order to have it done right. It is the mark of a Great Leader to embrace the realization that together, we can do so much more that we could ever hope to accomplish individually.

I remember, as a child, hearing a story told by the great singer Tennessee Ernie Ford. He told of a father watching his son try to move a large rock. The boy tried pushing, pulling, rolling … everything he could think of. Still, the rock remained unmoved. Finally, the boy stepped away from the rock and declared that he could not move it. The father asked if he’d tried everything that could be done and the boy responded “yes”. The father thought a minute and then asked, “are you sure you’ve tried everything?”  Exasperated, the boy affirmed that he’d tried everything. The father waited a moment and then suggested that there was one more thing the boy could do. “What is that?”, asked the son. The father replied, “You could ask me to help.”

Great Leaders do not believe that they must be capable of doing all things well. Great Leaders recognize that there are people who have talents and strengths that they themselves do not possess. Great Leaders willingly accept this fact and ask those others to join a team that, together, will accomplish so much more than any one individual can achieve. And, in the end, when the goal has been met, the Great Leader gives credit where credit is due … to The Team.

Have you had the joy of being part of a team that accomplished more than its individual members could have done individually? Click “Comment” and share what made the leader of that team a Great Leader.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

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Does Great Leadership Requires Foresight?

November 2, 2014 By

You seldom hear a Great Leader say, “I never saw that coming.” Why is that?

Foresight … Great Leaders have foresight. They do not focus so closely on the immediate here and now alone. Rather, they have the ability to keep today in focus while simultaneously looking down the road and foreseeing the likely effects of today’s actions on tomorrow.

When making decisions and taking actions, Great Leaders do not solely ask “will this solve my problem today?”.  They also ask “what are the possible consequences of this decision; this action?” They anticipate and plan for those possibilities. They develop, in advance, what we often call “Plan B”; sometimes, they develop “Plan C” as well.

Looking ahead and planning potential courses of action enable Great Leaders to see and recognize problems before they become emergencies. By anticipating what might happen and developing contingency plans, Great Leaders are able to adapt quickly to changing needs or circumstances. It’s why things usually appear to go smoothly for them. They did not need to “scramble” and look for solutions to problems or difficulties that arose … they’d already thought about what to do.

Does this mean that Great Leaders are never caught off-guard? Not at all. But, when it happens, the Great Leader has developed the talent for being able to identify the cause of the difficulty and quickly weigh each possible solution.

Have you had an experience where planning ahead and considering potential courses of action has made it possible for you to adapt “on the fly” when things did not go exactly as planned? Click “Comment” and share how having a contingency plan made your life easier.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Filed Under: Building a Legacy, Dynamic Leadership, Great Leaders, Lead from strength, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , ,

How Do Great Leaders Show Respect for Self and Others?

October 27, 2014 By

The Roman Emperor and stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, wrote, “Never esteem anything as of advantage to you that will make you break your word or lose your self-respect.” This is good advice for one who wants to be a Great Leader. Consider this example of how a leader pursued a course of action that he thought would give him an advantage but ended up costing him dearly.

Shirley had been a counselor at the Family Counseling Center almost from its inception. As the agency grew, more counselors were brought on staff and everyone played “musical offices” so that clients and counselors could conduct sessions privately. In fact, Shirley had gone from having a private office to sharing the office with other counselors; to having a desk in the front office/reception area so that other counselors could use the office for private meetings with clients. Shirley was a team player and accepted the move cheerfully and was given the assurance that when the agency moved into a larger space in a few months, she would again be given a private office in recognition of her tenure and the nature of the work she was doing in addition to providing counseling.

On the day of the big move, Shirley picked up the box containing her personal belongings and went to the new office. Walking in the door, she was greeted by the FCC’s Director and led to a cubicle in what the floor plan called “the bullpen”. The Director told Shirley that he’d changed his mind, he didn’t feel that she needed nor deserved a private office. Other, less senior, counselors would be given the private offices. Needless to say, Shirley felt that she had been lied to and her dedication to the agency had been betrayed.

In the ensuing months, she wrapped up the various projects that she was working on and, when they were completed, she tendered her resignation and opened her own practice. Today, she has a very successful practice and does not regret her decision to “go independent”. As for the FCC, at last count, the Director had hired four new people to do the work that Shirley had previously done by herself. Over half the people who were on staff at FCC have now left having seen how the Director treated Shirley.

While it is unclear what advantage the Director believed he would achieve by his treatment of Shirley, what is clear is that the FCC lost a knowledgeable counselor who had been a valuable resource for the agency. It is also clear that he did not value or respect the talents and abilities that Shirley brought to the agency.

Great Leaders recognize the talents and abilities of those around them. They treat team members with respect, courtesy, and dignity. They keep the promises that they make. In doing these things, Great Leaders earn the loyalty and respect of the people who make up the team they have been given the privilege of leading.

How has a Great Leader demonstrated that he/she recognized the talents that you brought to the table? How did that individual show you respect? Click the “Comment” button and share your story.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

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What Could a Leader Accomplish If … ?

October 12, 2014 By

What could you accomplish if you believed that it was impossible to fail? Could you reach a goal that you had always thought was unattainable? Could you successfully complete a project that you had always been afraid to start for fear of failure?

What could you accomplish if you had faith in yourself and those who form the team you have surrounded yourself with? What could you achieve if you chose to ignore those nagging voices of self-doubt? What could your team accomplish if they knew that you had the ultimate faith that they could do the “undoable”?

What could you accomplish if you considered success to be inevitable? What could you accomplish if you believed, really and truly believed, that you were born to succeed and that you have all the talent, skill, and intellect that you will ever need to do whatever you set your mind to do?

While Great Leaders understand on an intellectual level that failure is always a possibility, on an emotional level, they act as though failure is impossible; and, they inspire the team that they have been given the privilege of leading with the belief that the only possible outcome is massive success. They have faith in themselves, in their own abilities, and most importantly, they have faith in team members to accomplish whatever the team has committed itself to. Great Leaders act as if it is impossible to fail and in doing so, they inspire their teams to achieve heights far above those that anyone had previously thought possible. Great Leaders believe, as Napoleon Hill stated that, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

Click “comment” and share what YOU could accomplish if you acted as though failure were impossible.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Filed Under: Building a Legacy, Dynamic Leadership, Great Leaders, Lead by Example, Lead from strength, Lead with Integrity, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , , ,

What Is Your Greatest Asset as a Leader?

October 5, 2014 By

It’s interesting the answers you get to this question. Some will say that the leader’s greatest asset is the authority bestowed by the job title, the corner office, the position power. Others will respond that it’s the leader’s ability to change things for the better; to improve systems. Still others will cite tangible assets such as cars, houses, investment portfolios, and the like. Great Leaders know better. They will tell you that all of these things are frills; not great assets.

Great Leaders know that their greatest assets are the people that they have been given the privilege of leading. Great Leaders will be the first to tell you that, without dedicated and committed team members who willingly choose to follow, they can accomplish little.

Great Leaders will also tell you that their greatest investment is the time they spend with their team members; time invested in learning about each team member’s wants and needs; time learning about each team member’s values and priorities. Great Leaders do not use this information to manipulate people. Rather, they use this information to help each individual grow, to showcase each individual’s talents so that they are given the opportunity to excel and advance.

Have you had the opportunity to work with someone who saw you as a great asset? Share your story by clicking “comment”.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

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How Do Great Leaders Inspire Hope?

September 22, 2014 By

Great Leaders know that, in a perfect world, we would live enchanted lives where everything works exactly as we expect it to; where plans always yield the ideal outcomes; where obstacles are few and easily overcome. However, reality has shown us that we do not live in a perfect world. Things don’t always work as we expect them to. The best laid plans can and do go awry and yield less than perfect outcomes. We will encounter obstacles, some of which will not be easily overcome.

This is when the Great Leader is given the opportunity to shine. Great Leaders inspire hope. Inspiration and hope are their “stock in trade”. How do they do this?

  • They see the opportunity – Setbacks only become impediments to progress when we allow them to do so. Great Leaders see that every challenge presents an opportunity for creativity, innovation, to bring the special talents of a team member to the forefront where all can see it.
  • They look for solutions, not who to blame – Great Leaders are not interested in playing the blame game. In many ways, who is responsible for creating the problem is unimportant; who can solve the problem is the key.
  • They encourage – Anyone can be a critic. It takes no real talent to criticize the work of others. Great Leaders, on the other hand, encourage team members to try new things, to be creative, to innovate. Even if an idea does not work, the Great Leader praises the individual for being willing to try something that is “outside the box”.

While people can be forced to follow a mediocre leader due to that individual’s title or position, they choose to follow a leader who maintains a positive and hopeful attitude no matter how discouraging the situation may appear. They choose to follow a leader who inspires them and gives them reason to believe that the best is attainable. Great Leaders inspire such hope.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Filed Under: Building a Legacy, Dynamic Leadership, Great Leaders, Lead by Example, Lead from strength, Lead with Integrity, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Who Made You the Leader?

September 14, 2014 By

As children, we often had the experience of someone telling us what to do and how to do it. We wondered and often asked, “who made you the leader?” or words to that effect. If the person telling us what to do was an adult, hopefully, we were wise enough to not ask that question. But, if the person telling us what to do was another child, a peer, we usually asked the question loudly and with great conviction. Today, I believe we have a much clearer picture of who made you the leader.

The dictionary defines a leader as, “1. a person or thing that leads. 2. a guiding or directing head, as of an army, movement, or political group”. Please note that nowhere in this definition does it say that a leader holds a specific management position, political office, or designated job. Rather, it tells us that a leader is a person who leads, guides, or directs others. So, how does a leader do these things.

  • Leaders inspire others to dream. No great thing is accomplished by dreams alone. But, great accomplishments require big visions, big dreams of what might be possible “if only…”
  • Leaders encourage others to learn. Consider the Wright brothers. They had the dream of one day flying. But they knew that they did not know enough yet to make that dream come true. So, they studied birds and the shape of their wings and noticed what we now know as an airfoil, the shape that creates lift and enables the birds to soar.
  • Leaders motivate others to do more. Great achievements require great effort. When many are tired and tempted to give up, leaders help them keep the vision in sight and put forth the extra effort needed to turn that dream into reality.
  • Leaders empower others to become more. A young man facing an Eagle Scout Board of Review stated that a leader inspires someone to achieve things that he/she never thought could be done. It is still one of the best definitions of a leader I’ve heard.

Who made you the leader? If you did any of these four things, you made you the leader by doing so. If you did all four, you are well on your way to being a Great Leader.

Have you known a leader who inspired you to become more than you already were; to do more than you had previously done; to learn more and grow; to dream of the possibilities? Click “comment” and share that experience.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Filed Under: Building a Legacy, Dynamic Leadership, Great Leaders, Lead by Example, Lead from strength, Lead with Integrity, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Make a Decision!

September 7, 2014 By

In my experience, decision makers are not always Great Leaders; but, Great Leaders are always decision makers.

I remember that, as a beginning life insurance agent, I was often frustrated to hear people tell me that they did not want to make a decision about the purchase of a policy … especially without having the opportunity to “think about it”. The experience of my peers and subsequently my own experience had shown that the longer people thought about a decision, the more likely it was that they would make no decision. I came to believe that the decision to make no decision was, in fact, a decision to do nothing. In hindsight, I can see that my belief was only partially correct.

For a great many individuals, this assumption was accurate. They chose to avoid a decision in the belief that, so long as they made no decision, their circumstances would always remain the same and that they would have ample time to take action when they chose to do so. Of course, we all know that this is not true; that circumstances are always changing and that those changes can and do remove options that we may have previously had available to us.

On the other hand, Great Leaders are very aware of the continuous changes going on around them. This is not to say that they can predict the changes that will occur; or, that they will recognize the change the moment it happens. However, they know that change is inevitable and that indecision only delays the decisions that must be made. They also recognize that the passage of time can alter the options available to them … sometimes offering more options, other times fewer options. So, what do they do?

Great Leaders stop and take time to consider the options available to them, including the option to do nothing at this time. They weigh the plusses and minuses of each option and then make a decision based on what they believe to be the best alternative. They make this decision with confidence and then they lead their team in the implementation of the decision that they have made. They take action … massive action. As a wise man once said, “Massive action provides immediate feedback. It tells you that you are on the right course and you should proceed; or, it tells you that you are on the wrong path and that you need to turn back, reconsider your decision, and make the appropriate changes.” Decision makers are not always Great Leaders; but, Great Leaders are always decision makers.

How do you make decisions? Click “comment” and share your decision making process.

Tom Hoisington is a speaker, trainer, and author whose goal is to provide leaders and potential leaders with tools that empower them to build teams that are creative and cost effective along with a clearer understanding of how personality types interact within those teams. He can be contacted at tom.hoisington@eagleoneresources.com

Filed Under: Dynamic Leadership, Great Leaders, Lead from strength, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, Uncategorized, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , ,
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