What makes a good leader?

WholeLife Matrix: Financial Viability – Resource Management - People – Leadership

“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”

 —John Maxwell.”

When you think of a good leader, what qualities come to mind? How does this person connect, communicate, follow through on commitments and treat others? Good leaders have similar characteristics whether they are in business, politics, religion, or sports. Good leaders are not born, but made, and to become a good leader, you must start by leading yourself first.

1.  Create Win-Win Situations

A good leader has a vision for the future that encompasses the good of all. He or she does not want to win at the cost of loss to others but wants to succeed while helping others to succeed as well. This is a primary difference between good and bad leadership. Good leaders understand that you get back what you give, so they focus on being as positive as possible and giving positive energy to others. They are not complacent about things that may not be working but move ahead to find and implement solutions for the betterment of themselves and others.

2.  Courage to Do Things Differently

Good leaders have the courage to take the path less traveled by to explore new ways of doing things. They know that doing things the same way as has been done before will not lead them to discover new ideas and solutions, so they embrace the challenge of exploring new possibilities and taking new paths. They have the courage to face the unfamiliar and keep the faith even in the face of pressure, or when things look hopeless. They take the road of honesty, truth, love and non-violence.

3.  Motivate and Inspire Others

Often, people need motivation, encouragement, and inspiration to get to the next level, whether it is on a business level, such as encouraging an employee, or on a personal level. Great leaders take the initiative to create positive support and give hope, life, and joy in the face of hopelessness and despair. 'Inspiration' means 'breathing life into', which is what a great leader does for people.

4.  Effective Communication Skills

A good leader communicates well with people, connects with them and builds bridges. He or she is approachable, connects people with others and touches their lives. People respect a good leader because they know that the leader will take action and will do as he or she says.

5.  Create Next Generation of Leaders

Good leaders train the next generation and next level of leaders to continue their legacy and encourage leadership qualities in them. They guide and encourage the younger generation so that when it is time to step down, good leadership will continue. It is important to train the next generation of leaders so that they can match the performance of the previous leaders and keep the organization running smoothly.

Are you ready to win?

Employees - Your Most Precious Resource

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Resource Management - People

"People are definitely a company's greatest asset.  It doesn't make any difference whether the product is cars or cosmetics.  A company is only as good as the people it keeps." - Mary Kay Ash

A vital component of Financial Viability is Resource Management.  Your company must be a good steward of the people, products, capital, and information it has available if the company seeks to be profitable.  The most valuable resource of all is your people.  In these challenging economic times, it may be easy to think that it is an "employer's market."  Many people are searching for work, and it could be tempting for employers to cut wages, benefits and incentives thinking that their workforce can be easily replaced.

Here's the thing...you wouldn't purposely buy inferior products, because the lack of quality will cost more in the long run.  Excessive employee turnover is another huge cost to an organization.  Better to hire, train and nurture excellent people who share your commitment to making the company great.

To properly care for your employees, you need to be taking the following actions:

1. Create a human resources department that can handle your employee needs and comply with all pertinent rules and regulations.
2. Train your employees well, and cross train them so they have a better understanding of other roles.
3. Provide consistent, visible leadership.  Make sure your employees know where they fit in to the company's goals and why you are asking them to do what they do.
4. Evaluate employees regularly and reward excellent performance.

If you recruit and train great people, you will want them to stay.  The best teams are those that have worked together over time and who feel like valued partners in the company's success.  When you have your A-team on the field, you have a much better chance of winning the game of business.

Are You Ready to Win?

Managing Sales & Marketing Actions

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Marketing and Sales - Managing Actions

"Sales are contingent on the attitude of the salesman, not the attitude of the prospect." - William Clement Stone

If you are going to be successful at marketing and sales, your actions must reflect your commitment to the sales process.  You must have a disciplined approach to managing your sales and marketing actions.  Sales requires a lot of constant effort in order to keep clients moving along the sales cycle and to keep new opportunities coming in to your pipeline.  If you're not careful, you can easily drop something out and lose an important deal.  You can use the WholeLife Matrix as a guide to managing your sales actions.

The most successful salespeople know that these four attributes are essential to an effective sales process:

1. Training
2. Attitude
3. Setting Goals
4. Time Spent in Sales and Marketing

The best salespeople understand that they need continual training to stay on top of trends and technology.  They set specific goals so that drive their actions.  They spend time every day in sales actions, and they know that a good attitude shows through to prospective clients and keeps them in the game when times are tough.  There will always be days when you want to throw in the towel, but if you focus on consistent sales and marketing actions, you will soon find yourself in the winner's circle.

Are You Ready to Win?

Sharpen the Saw

"There's only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that's your own self." Aldous Huxley

The most successful business people are those who are continuously learning to perfect their craft. Even if you're the best sales person in your organization, there is always room for improvement. That type of improvement comes from getting sales training in a professional setting that allows you to role play, brainstorm and explore new ways to uncover opportunities you may be missing. Even the seasoned sales professional can get set in his ways and while successful, could be leaving a lot of money on the table. As Stephen Covey says in his 7 habits of highly effective people, it is important to sharpen the saw (http://www.stephencovey.com/).

Whether you are an accountant, health care professional, legal professional, or are a member of a trade which requires a certification or license to practice, you are mandated to complete a certain number of continuing education classes to maintain that license or certificate.

Sales professionals should impose similar requirements on themselves as if their "certification in sales" were at stake. The canvas is changing all the time. People used to "cold canvas" i.e., knock door to door to sell their products. Now you don't even have to meet - all you need in some cases is connectedness over the internet. Through online/social networking sites, internet sites and blogs you can outsource some of the less productive functions to a third party - giving you more time for selling. The point is that you have to keep yourself fresh and on top of all the new trends, not just from your products and services and those of your clients and prospects, but also of new ways in which people want to buy. You need to stay fresh by participating in sales training on a regular basis. Change happens quickly and you need to stay on top of everything that is going on so that you can win in the game of business.

To help you sharpen your saw, Possibilities Unlimited offers a Sales2Win course. The program is 8 one-hour telesessions conducted over 16 weeks. Ralph White leads this course with the assistance of Bonnie Landau, our online marketing, search engine optimization, web development, and social networking expert; Lee Ann Farmer, our time management, productivity and sales efficiency expert; and me, Mary Mullenhoff, our prospecting, sales strategy, marketing strategy, getting in at the highest level of an organization expert! Our combined diverse experiences make us the perfect team to add to your mastermind alliance (http://www.naphill.org/points/). We team with you to help upgrade your sales pitch, acquire high quality, high revenue and highly profitable targets and develop winning strategies to turn them into satisfied customers. Email us or call to reserve your spot in the next Sales2Win class (for every friend you refer to us, we'll give you 10% off of your 8-session fee!)It's a win/win for all!

Are you ready to win?