Tag: Work

Leadership Week [Day 2] Invitation

... and the most important thing: have fun!Creative Commons License Yatmandu via Compfight

The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.

— Kenneth Blanchard

Today’s Wisdom:

A Good Leader Invites.

 

Some bosses are still tyrannical and ill-tempered. Is it just immaturity, or is some of this vestiges of wartime attitudes that still seep into the management and leadership styles of corporations or even families?

“Do as I say. That’s an order, soldier!”

 

The big flaw in a bossy leadership style is that civilians are not subject to demands of rank and orders from a autocrats.

They can quit.

They can walk off the job, or worse than any of that, they can undermine everything and stay onboard, resentfully.

What kills morale more than passive-aggresive subordinates mucking up the works, sabotaging projects, and sucking the life out of a group? It’s dire.

Instead, Leaders of this era must INVITE rather than command.

That means that good Leaders draw in their followers rather than intimidating them.

Despot types will always be among us, but the focus in Leadership development these days isn’t about demanding respect. It’s about what gets results and makes positive change. It centers on earning respect.

Do you remember a time when a Leader invited you?

 

The best examples often come from the world of coaching and mentoring. These relationships are not forced, but forged, mutually.

There, Leadership is not where Authority is the predominant issue; trust is what counts.

 

I’m happy to be a Contributor at the Deeper Leader SyncrhoBlog that runs September 10-14th.

You’re welcome to add your voice too. Go here to get details. When you contribute, I’ll be sure to check for your link and read your contribution.

5 Ways to Make Money in These Hard Times!

One and Two Half Dollars
Eric Gjerde via Compfight

We’re in the worst jobs markets since the Great Depression?

Well over 23 million Americans are out of work, under-employed, or have quit looking for a job completely. It’s horrible, but that’s NOTHING compared to Greece where 1 out of 4 people have no job. There’s riots and everything.

Yet, none of this means things are hopeless. More creativity and persistence is the key to success!

Here are a few ways you may not have thought of to make some extra money. 

1. Crowd-fund

Crowd-funding is where you use social media to fund your business idea or project. Besides Kickstarter.com there’s

Indiegogo

RocketHub

Peerbackers | crowdfunding big ideas

(I help people do this. More on that here)

2. Be an Expert

What do you know how to do or what do you a lot about that could help someone?

I like what The Art of Non-Conformity author Chris Guillebeau wrote on this in his post “The Instant Consultant”

3. Talk to old friends.

Networking has always been great for getting work. It’s far more effective than looking at want ads. Use your email contacts, or Facebook connections to re-establish ties with old friends while you find out if you could work together or if they have any leads. The closer the relationship, the better this works.

4. Get business cards.

I custom design cards for my clients for about $60 (including printing shipping), but there are places online where you can get them yourself for hardly any investment. List your competencies, and get 500 or more. Then, reach out when you’re out and about, and hand them out. Don’t do this coldly. Really connect and say you’re looking for more work. They might think about you later when they spot an opportunity.

5. Get really ODD jobs

Is there something you wish worked differently?

Is there a service that would make your life easier?

If you see a need then one exists that is larger than just your needs.

Services may have very low overhead and still provide something valuable to people nearby.

 

Some ODD ideas might involve things like…

• pet care or related services

• specific delivery services (medicines, groceries, party supplies)

• specific cleaning services (decks, laundry, windows)

• after-school care

• salving items for re-sale (it saves someone from cleaning or selling items themselves)

 What was the strangest way you’ve ever made money?

Creative Communication: Making the Most of Social Media

So, I’m now officially a Social Media Consultant. A Pro.

This blog has been about communication and creativity for a while now, and today I want to offer a few bits about using social media optimally.

If you have questions about communication or using social media for your new projects, leave them, and I’ll answer then in a future post.

1. Social Media is already over polluted by useless information and peacocking. So, Add VALUE.

2. Add Value by making real connections and conversations

3. Add Value by being a link to helpful resources (and not just your own stuff)

4. Add Value by being other-focused. (Limit announcements of what you’ve just done like: “Had a great taco, now I’m going to an awesome show.”)

5. Ask what other people think adds value…

(this is were you come in….leave your thoughts…)

Your Burning Questions

sensitive noise / obvious 2Creative Commons License Milos Milosevic via Compfight

Today, I’m taking your questions…

About Life, about Creativity, about God, about work, about ministry, about you, about me…whatever.

Do you have any burning questions smoldering about anything?
What do you wonder about?

I’m not promising that I have all the answers and fixes. But, let’s see if we can help each other out today, somehow.

The Artistic Personality

Lonely Gladiator
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Emre Ergin via Compfight

I wanted to call attention to a fascinating article from my bud, Ed featured at Prodigal Magazine.

Launching from a tumultuous topic that men should “bring in the bacon” Ed talks about cultural constructs, expectations, and his upcoming fatherhood. He also touches on something I’d like to highlight here today. That is, the nature of the artistic personality type. Creatives.

Recently, I watched the season finale of the drama series MADMEN. Megan is married to wealthy ad man Don Draper. She pursues a career as an actress for the love of it. She doesn’t need the money, unlike many of her aspiring thesbian friends. Still, failure is difficult to handle for her.

Whether the stakes are one’s livelihood or one’s artistic ambitions an artist desires to succeed. This time, Megan’s mother rues the fact that Megan has an artistic temperament but not the artistic talent…

It was an intriguing comment. When considered it has big implications on many creative types. It’s about temperament. For who else is this true? I wondered.

But maybe this insight from the artist’s mother doesn’t reveal the whole story…maybe the talents are just unidentified or underperforming at the moment. Maybe the niche hasn’t been discovered or one hasn’t found “the zone” for their artistic endeavors. All the angst that comes with that is immense. Finding our way as creatives is the “epic hero journey” (a la Steven Pressfield) that involves mostly struggle.

Do you have “the artistic temperament”? 

What has it cost you?