Tag Archives: Leadership Lessons

Being Passionate Is Never Enough

Leadership Development, Personal Development • Tags: , , , ,

imagesBanish the word passionate from your bio. Being passionate should be a given. If you aren’t passionate about what you are doing then why bother doing it at all? Being passionate about what you are doing is a pre-resiquent to your overall success. However, being passionate is never enough. Being passionate about helping others to be successful, to achieve more, to do more or be more will only get you so far. It’s the same as having a goal but not bothering to put a plan together to achieve it.

If you have to tell someone you’re passionate about something then it’s obvious you’re not. Passionate people get into the game – they don’t sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by. Unless you are willing to take the next step you’re no different then a monday morning quarterback. You talk a good talk but you fall short on doing the walk. It’s time to stop talking about it and time to start doing something about it.

Copyright (c) 2014. Brian Smith – Reformed Control Freak. Are you – or someone you know – looking for a speaker who can inform and entertain on a variety of soft-skills topics? Planning a lunch-n-learn or organizing a training session – give Brian a call. He will work with you one-on-one to insure your event is an overwhelming success. To find out more about Brian and what he can do for you and your organization visit http://briansmithpld.com

Going Along to Get Along – The Art of Working With People You Don’t Like 1

Dealing with Difficult People, Leadership Development, Management, Networking, Personal Development, Personality Types, Self-Help, Soft-Skills Training • Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

grumpy ladyYou may not like some of the people you work with – but the truth is – you need to learn how to get along with them. Think of a job that you could do in your life time that didn’t involve working with people. You’d be hard pressed to come up with one.  Dealing with difficult people and challenging situations is a learned behavior. You just need to decide if it’s worth it. But trust me – If you are looking for a career in sales, owning and operating a business some day or managing and leading others then it’s not open for debate – the ability to get along with others is a must have.

Think of someone you are having difficulty connecting with. You don’t know why but there is something about them that drives you crazy. There is something about them that makes you want to pick up a heavy object and smack them across the side of the head. Before you do something that might get you arrested give this 3-step process a try. Remember – you don’t have to like them you just need to learn how to work with them. The 3 R’s will teach you how.

Rapport: Find out something about them that you could use to strike up a conversation. Do they have hobbies? Are they married? Do they have children or grand children? What do they like to do in their spare time? Do they like to hunt, fish, play golf or read books? You need to be able to carry on a conversation with them on a subject that they like. You need to get them talking. Idle chit-chat is important to establish rapport. And you need to establish rapport to move to the next level. You can’t develop a relationship with someone until you’ve established rapport first.

Relationship: Successful sales people understand the value of developing a relationship with their clients. People like to do business with and buy products or services from people they like. You need to develop a relationship with the people you work with and interact with. You need to develop a relationship with the people you’re going to manage or lead. No one wants to let a friend down. If they like you they will go to great lengths so they don’t disappoint you. You need to develop a relationship before you can move on to the final step – respect.

Respect: The final step in this 3-step process is respect. If you have established a rapport and developed a relationship with the people you work with and interact with, then chances are they will respect you for you. They may not like what you said or what you did but, they will respect you and will most likely forgive you. However, keep in mind that respect is reciprocal. You must give it to get it. You can’t demand it. People respect people that they have developed a relationship with.

Copyright (c) 2014. Brian Smith – Reformed Control Freak. Are you looking for a speaker who can deliver an entertaining and informative session on a variety of soft-skills topics including; communication, time management, coping with stress and dealing with difficult people and challenging situations better? Contact Brian today. He will work with you to insure your event is an overwhelming success. http://briansmithpld.com

Never Let a Good Crises Go To Waste 2

Leadership Development, Personal Development • Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Trust 2“I have not failed 10, 000 times. I have discovered 10,000 ways that do not work”. I love that quote by Thomas Edison. If Thomas had let his first fail defeat him I’d be writing this blog post by candle light. Great leaders never let a good crises go to waste. Like Thomas, they learn from it so they don’t make the same mistake twice. Every negative is a positive – because every negative gives you the opportunity to grow. You just have to be willing to look for the lessons, make the necessary adjustments, and try again. And keep on trying until you succeed!

Nothing is ever going to go exactly according to plan. You have to learn how to deal with rejection and dejection because they are both part of the process.  You have to suck it up, rub the “L” off your forehead, and move on.  That’s what great champions do. All winners where losers at one time or another. But they dealt with those defeats and persevered. And you can do the same thing. You just have to believe in yourself and be willing to do what ever it takes to overcome any obstacle that is put in your way.  You CAN do this. You have all the makings of a champions heart.

Copyright (c) 2014. Brian Smith – Reformed Control Freak. Looking for a speaker who can deliver on a variety of soft-skills topics? Contact Brian – he will work with you to insure your event is an overwhelming success. http://briansmithpld.com