Leaders Are Made, Not Born!

For the last 20+ years, I have read plenty of books on leadership, supervision and management. There are some real good ones out there! With that being said, often, when reading a book, it was filled with theory and inspirational stories and I would ask myself, "How do I apply this fluff to the real world?" This book has been intended to be easy reading and organized with short bursts of information which are straightforward and very simple things to do. Because they rest in human nature, they have stood the test of time and will work with all generations in the workplace. The methods and concepts I present have been successful for the thousands of leaders I have had the privilege of working with in all sectors of business.

For the last 20+ years, I have read plenty of books on leadership, supervision and management. There are some real good ones out there! With that being said, often, when reading a book, it was filled with theory and inspirational stories and I would ask myself, "How do I apply this fluff to the real world?" This book has been intended to be easy reading and organized with short bursts of information which are straightforward and very simple things to do. Because they rest in human nature, they have stood the test of time and will work with all generations in the workplace. The methods and concepts I present have been successful for the thousands of leaders I have had the privilege of working with in all sectors of business. There are many leaders who have been promoted because they were good at doing their job. To be brutally honest, many got promoted because they were somebody's friend or niece. If a leader has not been trained properly, the company often will lose a good worker bee and gain a bad leader. It is my belief, many leaders are well intentioned, they know what needs to be done, but they just don't know how to do it…they don't know what they don't know. Management has many resources they rely on to get the job done. Machinery, methods, materials, money, and its employees. Employees are by far and away management's most vital resource. Case and point…if all the leaders of an organization attend a training session off-site, how much of the work actually gets done? If all the employees make a choice not to show up one day, how much of the work gets done? Every day, employees hear management's battle cry. They ask for quality work, they ask "why you don't cooperate?" and "why are you not loyal?" and "why don't you produce?"…If employees had a battle cry, it is quite simple…."why don't you treat me like a human being and not like a pair of hands and a back?" All motivation is self-motivation. Employees make their own choices to work faster, harder, smarter and show up each and every day. Leaders, your job is to activate the want to work in all your employees. The secret to influencing the want to work does not rest in an employee's hands or back, it rests in treating them with dignity and respect. A leader can stare at an employee all day long, but when the leaders walks away how do they influence the want to work in an employee? Employees have no problem being supervised. In fact, they know a leader even needs to rule with an iron fist from time to time. The employees just want you to put a glove on that iron fist. You see, it's not what you are doing, it's how you are doing it that they love to discuss in the breakroom. This book is about many of the worst mistakes that can get you into trouble, but no one has told you about. Most employees do not know all there is about management, but they know when you are off key or out of tune. Just because employees never took a management class does not mean they do not know a boss who is practicing management without a license. The following pages discuss several management techniques that are broken down, simple, yet very effective. The root concepts come from the standpoint that employees want to be treated with dignity and respect, the same way you would like to be treated.

Leaders aren't born…they are made. When a baby is born, they do not say a leader is born. They say it is a girl!, It's a boy!, They never say it is a leader. I have been called the "Professor of Common Sense" for a reason. I firmly believe, my frank talk and unvarnished truth telling will lead to greater profits. I give leaders permission to focus on maximizing their team's performance, without the academic wackiness and theories. A business opens its doors to provide a product or service that meets a demand at a profit. Yet, you sit through some seminars and training classes these days and presenters discuss the importance of "gaining a deeper understanding" of each other. Sounds like they are running a day-care center. What's interesting, often the word "profit" does not appear or if it does, it may come across as a dirty word. Leadership is an intervention. It requires leaders every day if they see something they like or dislike-to say something! Leaders, to be unclear with people on how they are doing is to be unkind to people. If you are not coaching unproductive behaviors and performances, you are allowing these same behaviors to attack your bottom line. Leaders have an obligation to help under achievers meet expectations and become profitable on behalf of the people who are profitable. As a battled-scarred veteran, who is "real" and delivers advice from bloodied-nose experience and not ivory-tower theory, I pour myself into every presentation or training session. I give everything I have because I know an engaged mind is a learning mind. I enjoy teaching, I enjoy seeing the light go off above someone's head! I enjoy persuading people to do things differently in order to make their lives easier. As a frequently-requested presenter and trainer for 20+ years, I have been speaking to audiences, ranging from entry-level team members to all levels of management about topics that promote leadership, encourage communication, motivate teams and inspire groups. Don't forget! Leadership is an intervention! It takes courage to be a leader!