How To Develop Your Personal Leadership Philosophy | Impact 360 Institute

Source: How To Develop Your Personal Leadership Philosophy | Impact 360 Institute

How to Develop a Leadership Philosophy?

How to develop a leadership philosophy? Take time to define your theory, attitude, principles, and expected behaviors, all core to a leadership philosophy.

Source: How to Develop a Leadership Philosophy?

Cultural Diversity in Business | An Art and a Skill

How to be Indispensable to International Teams | Part 2 Cross Cultural Management

When working with international teams there are going to be multiple levels of issues and concerns to navigate consciously and subconsciously.  When discussing this topic (and it is one of my favorites) I love to reference my favorite text on the subject, Understanding Cross Cultural Management by By Browaeys and Price. (Everything below is based on their work).

According to Michael Browne, “[g]lobalization means that modern teams and companies are increasingly staffed by qualified people from around the world. In order to create a harmonic working environment while maximizing team efficiency, it is necessary to understand how different cultures approach things such as meeting deadlines, direct or indirect communication or project mentality”.

Individuals who master the ability to operate and navigate international teams with success and results are people high in demand.  You can too by studying the following aspects of cross-cultural diversity.

Developing Cross-Cultural Effectiveness

We live in a global environment and as such, encounter many different types of people and cultures on a regular basis.  As Americans we’re use to our way of life, norms, behaviors, and assumptions that can rub other cultures the wrong way.

Personal Branding Rules | Social Networking Do’s and Don’ts

Think of the internet as that gossipy girl in high school and imagine that there’s no secret she won’t spill.  You wouldn’t willingly help that gossip ruin your reputation.  However,  you have without knowing it by allowing your private shenanigans to infiltrate your personal brand.  I challenge you to Google yourself and see if you’re truly happy with the results.

Moving on,  I would think that I wouldn’t have to write this post but I do.  There are still stories about people getting fired for posting something inappropriate or having something from years earlier reappear to wreak havoc on their lives, and we never think it will be us on the other end of that story.  Your personal brand is a sacred and precious thing which is the culmination of everything you are.  When you damage that it can be very hard to recover; just look at Mitt Romney’s Presidential race.

For the love of God, lets use our powers for propriety instead of stupidity!

Leadership Presence | An Art and a Skill

How to be Indispensable to International Teams | Part 9 Listening

Listening is something that many of us take for granted.  We confuse listening with hearing when the two are widely different.  Being able to truly listen to your co-workers, colleagues, and managers takes more than just hearing what they’ve said,  it takes real listening skills.  In the following video Julian Treasure talks about five ways to listen better.

Julian Treasure’s Three Listening Positions:

Active/Passive Listening

Active listening is a communication technique which requires the listener to feed back what they hear to the speaker, by way of re-stating or paraphrasing what they have heard in their own words, to confirm what they have heard and moreover, to confirm the understanding of both parties.

Passive listening is when you focus on what you’re listening to, but aren’t doing anything apart from listening. Thus, it is much more active and requires time of a different quality than background listening.

How to be Indispensable to International Teams | Part 3 Communication

…Make it safe for people—especially those with less power—to speak openly about what’s on their mind….

Communication can go two ways; good or bad.  When speaking to another person it is always best if you DON’T follow the hilarious suggestions provided in the following video…and you’re welcome.

No, seriously communication is important.  Without it nothing would get accomplished in a timely, professional, and thorough manner which pleases, satisfies, and/or satiates the company overlords.  If my job is dependent on some small function of your job then we have to be able to properly function and communicate wants, needs, timing, directions, instructions, etc.

Tips for Job Interview Success | Personal Branding

Acing your Job Interview

Way too often many of us get nervous about job interviews.  Its totally natural and avoidable.  Eric Barker of Time Magazine lists the following proven job interview success tips:

• Be similar to the interviewer
• Timing matters – Research shows interviews go better when: They’re earlier in the day and when the weather is good.
• Optimize your first impression
• Feel powerful
• Have a strong handshake
• Know the right questions to ask
• Know how to negotiate salary

How does one Interview like a winner?  Its simple really, and thank you for asking.  Here’s a quick tip to help you break the ice and set the mood.

Q: Interviewer: Thank you for coming in today.  How are you?

A: Goal oriented, thank you for asking.

No seriously,  if the interviewer smiles then you can relax a bit and feel more comfortable speaking with this stranger.  In addition to that, if you’re a character – like my grampa use to call me – then right away you’re demonstrating your brand and personality.  Interviewers want to know what its going to be like to work with you, so show them.