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What Are the Key Ingredients When a Great Leader is Setting Goals?

December 28, 2014 By

Great Leaders face the end of the current year with a mixture of emotions. They feel a sense of nostalgia as they look back at the year that is ending. They feel pride in the accomplishments that have been recorded. They feel humbled by the recognition that, perhaps, not every goal has been reached (yet). They feel gratitude for the efforts of others that made goal attainment possible. They feel optimism that the coming year will bring new accomplishments and achievements. They feel excitement for the challenges ahead.

As we anticipate the coming of the New Year on Wednesday night, let’s take a few minutes to look at the goals we’ve set and the key ingredients that are needed if we are to reach the goals that we’ve established.

  • Have the goals been written down and made public? Great Leaders know that goal attainment requires some form of accountability. A quick search of the internet will yield a multitude of websites designed to help us set goals.  Some tell us to write them down on a piece of paper.  Others instruct us to record them in a page on-line.  Still others will suggest that we post them on one or more of our social media pages.  Whichever method we choose, the important thing is that we have them written down someplace so that we can see them regularly.  Making them public doesn’t necessarily mean that they must be posted to social media; but, it is important that others know about them and will hold us accountable for them. Remember that every Great Leader is accountable to someone or somebody; a Board of Directors perhaps. For our accountability partners to be able to hold us accountable for the goals we set, they must know what those goals are.
  • Are the goals we’ve set believable? For a goal to truly motivate us, we have to believe that we can achieve it.  W. Clement Stone wrote that, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”.  To believe, we must be able to visualize ourselves reaching the goal and feeling the satisfaction that will come with the achievement.
  • Are the goals we’ve set specific? Goals that are vague aren’t really goals.  They are vague suggestions that provide no ultimate end point. To be truly motivating, the goals we set must be very specific. If the goal is to purchase a new car, the goal should specify not only the year, make, and model. It needs to specify the color, the options, the interior finish; everything about the car down to and including that “new car smell”.
  • Is the goal measurable? For a goal to truly motivate us, we have to be able to see how we’re progressing toward it and to know when we’ve reached it.  Let’s assume that the goal is to create an emergency fund that has 2 months of actual living expenses in it.  Since we know that our basic living expenses are $2,000 each month, we know that we need $4,000 in the fund.  Each month, we deposit $167 into the account and, when we get our bank statement, we can see the balance increasing by not only the deposits we make but by the addition of interest as well.  Viewing the increasing balance each month allows us to measure our progress toward reaching the goal.
  • Does the goal challenge us? Our goals need to be big enough to make us stretch.  Doing just enough to get by may keep our heads above water, but it won’t help us grow.  The sales person who knows that by doing the same thing every year he/she can reach his/her quota won’t grow and advance.  But, the sales person who challenges himself/herself to increase sales by an amount that requires a bit more effort is the person who rises to the top of the organization; both in terms of professional responsibilities and financially.
  • Does the goal inspire us? As the great motivational speaker Jim Rohn once suggested, setting the goal of earning enough money to pay our bills may be a goal, but it seldom inspires anyone.  Goals that inspire us to “go the extra mile” lead us to greatness.
  • Does the goal have a deadline? My first agency manager, Ray, told everyone that “goals are simply dreams with deadlines”. “Someday” is not a deadline.  “Someday” is a dream … an illusion … a mirage that may appear to be leading us somewhere we want to go; but, is really leading us to nowhere. Goals with specific deadlines help us see exactly where we are and how close we are to reaching the desired end-result.
  • Do we have a plan for reaching the goal by the deadline? Great Leaders know that goal attainment requires more than wishful thinking and hope. Reaching the goals that we set requires that we have a plan that details the actions that must be taken to reach the goal by the deadline. Whether the goal is a personal goal, a professional goal, a short-term goal, or a long-term goal, we need a plan, a road map if you will, showing what must be done to reach the goal. This road map must include “way points” along the way that we can check off and say “got it” because the more often we get to check off a way point reached, the more motivated we become to reach the ultimate goal. There is a real sense of achievement each time we check off a way point and get to say the words “got it”.

One year from today, each of us will look back at what we have accomplished in 2015.  Will we like what we see; or, will we look back with regret for what might have been?  Only you can determine what you will see. Make 2015 your best year yet!

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, Goal Setting, Great Leaders, Lead by Example, Lead from strength, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , ,

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: , , , , , , ,

Remembering Great Leaders on this Memorial Day

May 26, 2014 By

In the darkest days of the first half of the twentieth century, as desperation, tyranny, and brutality ran rampant in the world, Great Leaders came to the fore and shared their visions of a better world; a world in which desperation was overcome by hope and prosperity; a world in which tyranny was defeated and the forces of democracy were victorious; a world in which brutality gave way to kindness and a spirit of sharing. Great Leaders such as …

  • Franklin Roosevelt – In the darkest days of the Depression, President Roosevelt stood before the American People and acknowledged the truths and economic realities of the times. He then reminded them of all the blessings this country enjoyed and shared with them his vision of a better country, a better economy, and a plan to achieve these results. Nine years later, following the attack on Pearl Harbor, this same President stood before the Congress and the American People and shared his vision of victory declaring, “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people, in their righteous might, will win through to absolute victory … With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph.” In both cases, the American People responded and gained the victories he foresaw.
  • Winston Churchill – As the island nation of Great Britain stood alone against the Nazi onslaught, Prime Minister Churchill boldly told the British People that he had “nothing to offer but blood, sweat, and tears.” When asked what his wartime policy would be, he stated plainly, “You ask, What is our aim? I can answer with one word: Victory—victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival.” Churchill shared his vision of ultimate victory clearly, concisely, and inspired his nation and its empire to persevere against all odds; and, in the end, the people responded with dedication, determination, and shared sacrifice until the ultimate victory was won.

The visions articulated by these Great Leaders inspired the people of their nations. Many citizens stepped forward to serve in the various branches of the military; and, many of these citizens made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the survival of our way of life and the rights that we hold dear. As we celebrate this Memorial Day, let us pause to remember those who have sacrificed so much over the centuries to protect and preserve the freedoms that we enjoy. May God bless them and comfort them and their families.

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: , , , , , , , , , ,

Do Great Leaders Know How To Use Their Position To Lead?

January 12, 2014 By

I just finished reading Doris Kearns Goodwin’s book, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, and I am struck by Roosevelt’s recognition of how his position, his bully pulpit, to arouse interest in and support for causes that he felt strongly about.

Like most Great Leaders, Roosevelt recognized that he had an opportunity to help shape both public opinion and public policy in order to effect changes that he believed were essential for the betterment of society. To do this, he did several things …

  • He knew what he wanted to accomplish; his goals were clear. Great Leaders have specific goals. These goals are not vague wishes. Rather, they are specific and measurable with clearly defined deadlines.
  • He refined his message so that it was clear and understandable to anyone who would listen. In refining the message, Great Leaders create a vision that their followers can focus on as they strive to change that vision into a reality. Great Leaders inspire their followers in such a way as to make it possible for the followers to see themselves reaching the goal and enjoying the fruits of their labors.
  • He made allies of those who could help him spread his message. Great Leaders know that they cannot accomplish very much by working alone. They create alliances that are mutually beneficial to all parties. Great Leaders also make certain that their allies know how vital their role is in turning dreams into realities; and, Great Leaders share credit for the accomplishments with their allies and team members.

Do Great Leaders know how to use their position to Lead? You bet they do! Who, in your opinion was a Great Leader who used his or her position of leadership to change the world for the better. Click comment and share your opinion.

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: , , , , , ,

Will Your Goals Create the Future You Desire?

December 31, 2013 By

I recently read a statement on the power of not only writing down goals but sharing them with others. Kristin Armstrong, a professional road bicycle racer and two-time Olympic gold medalist stated, “If we write our dreams and goals down, we dramatically increase our odds of realization. If we share them with others, they become potent and alive.”

Like everyone else, Great Leaders look at the approaching new year with anticipation; questioning what it might hold in store. Unlike many, Great Leaders take actions designed to make the coming year one that will deliver the outcomes that they desire. They do this by setting goals; personal, professional, and organizational goals.

  • They write their goals down. They articulate precisely what it is, what it will look like, what it will feel like when they reach the goal. They make the goal very specific and measurable empowering them to see precisely where they stand when measuring progress toward the goal.
  • They share those goals with others; friends, family, team members. They identify an “accountability partner” who will regularly talk with them and help them identify those parts of each goal that have been attained, which are within reach, and those that require greater efforts. These accountability partners may be a single individual or a small group of like minded people. These accountability partners serve, essentially, as a board of directors that supports and encourages the Great Leader in the pursuit of each goal.
  • Great Leaders believe that the goal is attainable and instill that belief in others. They know that they can reach the goal. They believe in themselves and their teams, knowing that, as W. Clement Stone wrote, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” This belief focuses the brain on the goal with the intensity of a laser. Without this belief, there can be no focus.Great Leaders make their goals measurable. Vague goals that offer mere generalities aren’t really goals. They are wishes that have little chance of becoming realities. On the other hand, measurable, quantifiable, goals must by their nature be very specific … I will make 10 additional sales calls each week … I will write 500 words each day in my book manuscript … I will walk 3 miles every day and eat 100 fewer calories every day so that I can lose 3 pounds per week. Whatever the goal, the more specific it is and the more specifically planned it is, the greater the probability that it will be reached.
  • Great Leaders challenge themselves and those around them. Sure, it feels good to set minimal goals that require no real effort to attain, but that is a surefire way to ensure that there is no growth. Growth comes from having the courage to dream … to dream big … to set goals that truly inspire going the extra mile to make things happen. Great Leaders know that it is not possible to reach heights never before achieved if they are not reaching for the moon and the stars.
  • Finally, Great Leaders recognize the importance of giving themselves a “due date”, the date by which the goal must be accomplished. Without these deadlines, goals remain only dreams. They cannot become realities without specific deadlines. Great Leaders hold themselves accountable for reaching a goal by a specific deadline. They commit themselves to doing whatever is needed to meet the deadline.

As the sun sets on 2013, we can pause and reflect on the goals that we have previously set for ourselves. We take pride in those that have been attained. We re-examine those that were not and decide if they are still applicable to our long-term plans; and, if they are still worthy of our efforts, we refine them and develop plans to reach them in 2014. We set new goals, dream new dreams, create the future that we desire.

You control your destiny. Dream it … visualize it becoming a reality … make a plan … work your plan. The future is in your hands. Make 2014 your best year yet!

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, Lead with Integrity, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , ,

How Can You Create A Legacy by Sending People Out Into the World?

December 16, 2013 By

The privilege of leadership brings responsibility … the responsibility of helping those that you lead to grow and develop so that they can become leaders as well. Consider …

Some managers see themselves as being responsible for assembling a staff of people who can meet the needs of their customers. Once they put that staff together, their primary concern is to keep the staff intact so that it is not necessary to identify new talent and develop it. For these managers, the status quo is the ideal that they strive to maintain.

Other managers, however, recognize that they have been given the privilege of leadership. With that privilege comes the responsibility of helping people improve their skills and cultivate new talents so that they can advance in their chosen careers. These managers have the potential to become Great Leaders. Attaining this status, though, requires that they adopt a new mindset; a mindset that measures success against a standard that involves the number of people they send out into the world to accept new challenges and opportunities. I had the privilege of working with a Great Leader who had adopted this standard.

My first agency manager, Ray, realized very early in his career that he was helped by those around him who recognized his ability to recruit, hire, and develop new agents who had the ability to advance into agency management; and, they encouraged him to use this talent and helped him increase his skills in this area. He saw the help he received as a debt that he could only repay by doing the same for others.

As he grew his agency, Ray sought out talented people and exposed them to the possibility of career growth and the opportunities that agency management could offer them. Even though promoting people out of his agency reduced his income (at least temporarily), Ray began measuring his own success in terms of the number of new agency managers he developed and allowed to leave to develop new agencies. He never begrudged them the chance to grow their careers in new directions. In fact, he encouraged them to do so if that is where their ambitions led them. At the time of his death, Ray counted 29 new agency managers as one of this greatest legacies. Ray was a Great Leader. He accepted the responsibilities that being a Great Leader entail and he thrived on those responsibilities.

Have you had the privilege of working such a Great Leader? Share your story by commenting below.

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, Integrity, Lead from strength, Lead with Integrity, Leadership, Leadership Qualities, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Hopes and Dreams are Important

August 18, 2013 By

While attending the National Speakers Association Convention recently, I heard keynote speaker Walter Bond issue a challenge to leaders everywhere as he said, “Leaders, validation is a lost art. Validate people’s hopes and dreams.”

Validation is defined as substantiating, supporting, or confirming something and this got me thinking. How can Great Leaders validate the hopes and dreams of those that they have the privilege of leading?

Inspire people to dare to dream – Great Leaders encourage their followers to dream; and, to dream big. They know that the bigger the dreams, the greater the internal incentives to turn those dreams into realities. Great Leaders communicate their support of those dreams and demonstrate their willingness to help the follower attain the dream.

Create an atmosphere that is conducive to success – Have you noticed that some plants grow better than identical plants in other locations? Why is this? Friends in the real estate business would attribute the difference to “location, location, location”. I prefer to say, “environment, environment, environment”. Some places simply provide an environment that fosters growth, success, and the achievement of goals. Great Leaders create such an environment in which their followers who dare to dream big can do what is necessary to turn those dreams into realities.

Share the vision – Great Leaders have a vision of what they want to accomplish and the goals that they want to achieve. They expect their followers to see that vision and work for its fulfillment. Why should followers not expect the same support from their leaders? Great Leaders not only look at the visions of their followers, they look for ways to help those visionaries fulfill their visions as well.

Great Leaders, your followers, your team members, have hopes and dreams for their futures and the futures of their families. Just as you expect them to see your vision and support it, you have a responsibility to validate their hopes and dreams; and, demonstrate that you consider them to be worthwhile by providing your support, your enthusiasm, and your help in making those hopes and dreams come true.

Click the “Leave A Comment” button and share how a Great Leader has helped you reach a goal or turn a dream into a reality.

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, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , , ,

As a Leader, Will You Choose to Succeed?

April 21, 2013 By

I was reminded this morning of the importance of mindset and how it impacts everything we do. Consider…

Manager #1 (we’ll call him Peter Pessimist aka Pete) has just been handed a project, the boss’s pet project. He recognizes this as a project that several of his co-workers have attempted to complete and have failed to do so. In fact, he knows that the consensus is that it just can’t be done. While Pete promises to give it his best effort, he is already thinking about all the things that have been tried, why they failed, and how he’ll explain to the boss everything that he tried to do; but, none of it worked; the project just can’t be done. This entire mindset is going to impact not only Pete’s own thinking, but how he communicates the project to his team; and, how they will go about their work on the project. If Pete is the project leader and he doesn’t believe it can be done, how can he expect his team to believe that they can succeed where others have failed. When members of Pete’s team offer an idea that hasn’t been tried, Pete immediately shoots it down with every reason he can think of that tell why the idea won’t work. The result is predictable. After the passage of sufficient time, Pete returns the project to his boss and explains all the reasons why the project cannot be completed.

Manager #2 (we’ll call him Oscar Optimist) is given the same project. He knows the history of the project and its reputation. However, he takes a different approach to the project. Oscar recognizes the attempts that have failed to reach the objective with an attitude of “we know what won’t work, so let’s look for something that hasn’t been tried yet”. Instead of focusing on the old, tried and true, methods, he looks for new and untested solutions. Oscar gathers his team and tells them that they are going to find a way to complete the project; that he has confidence in the team’s ability to think in unconventional ways and come up with ideas that no one else has thought of. When a team member offers up a theory of what can be tried, Oscar immediately looks for ways to encourage the team member and asks for suggestions on how to make the idea work. While the positive, “can do” attitude cannot guarantee success, there is certainly a much greater probability that Oscar and his team will find a way to make things work and complete the project

Great leaders create a vision of success and paint that vision so vividly that their followers cannot help but see it and strive toward its fulfillment. Their belief in the ability of their team is highly contagious and their optimism infects all who follow them. Great leaders do not see the failure of others as predictors of their own outcomes; rather, they see opportunities to succeed in the face of obstacles where others have seen only the excuses for failure. Great leaders choose to work for success rather than opting to accept failure.

How do you choose to lead?

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, What characterizes good leaders Tagged With: , , , , ,