Month: June 2021

By: David Novak Leadership

As a leader, your mindset influences everything. It affects your attitude, how you handle challenges, and ultimately your success.

If you have the wrong mindset, it will show.

Here are some tips to help you have the mindset of a leader that people will want to follow:
Leadership is not just a job:

A leader’s role is to inspire, motivate, and help others to be great at what they do. If you are the chosen one so-to-speak, then it’s important to realize the privilege you’ve been given. When you recognize this responsibility, it will transform you and your actions. Have you ever noticed how people flock towards a leader that acknowledges what a great opportunity they have? A grateful leader is inspirational and humble, and therefore will take people with them that are like-minded, and will, in turn, inspire others to get all kinds of good things done.

Recognize people are counting on you do to your job:

Great leaders know their purpose is to support their team. By doing your job well, you give them the ability to do their job well. If you aren’t helping and inspiring them, you’re probably hindering them. Goals can’t be met efficiently if you don’t give your people the resources and leadership tools they need. As a leader, you set the precedent for others. If you do your job well, others will win. And remember, when they win, YOU win.

You cast a shadow:

Whatever a leader does, others follow. This is true of every organization. People will look to you to model their behavior. If you’re always scowling and pointing out the negative, your team will feel the effect of it. This gloom will trickle throughout the organization. If you’re energetic and passionate about what you do, others will be inspired to do the same. Think about the behaviors you want to inspire in your team and live them out. As a leader, you make or break the culture.

Do you want to transform your leadership?

By: David Novak Leadership

Have you ever noticed a great team and wondered, “how did they build such a dynamic team that gets such good things done?”

Here’s how they did it, and how you can too.

A winning team needs four kinds of people:

Promoter

A promoter has plenty of drive. Their strength lies in growing others’ ideas and contributing to their team. They are passionate and energetic and inspiring.

Supporter

The supporter is the backbone of the team. They are givers who seek to help their team members. They thrive on recognition and value respect.

Controller

The controller is the “doer” of the team. Controllers are decisive, confident, and focused. They get the job done.

Analytic

Analytics are the problem-solvers. They are goal-oriented, detailed, and logical. They’re disciplined and their systematic approach gets great results.

Does your team have all of these components? If not, figure out how you can build your team to look like this.

Why is this important? Say you have a team full of ideas-people but no implementers, how would anything get done? An unbalanced team is like an unbalanced diet. An unbalanced diet does not provide you with the nutrients needed to maintain a good, all-around level of health and will cause you to become malnourished. Same thing for an unbalanced team.

Once you’ve built that winning team, the next step is to lead them according to their strengths.

By: David Novak Leadership

Have you ever wanted to tap into the thoughts of a hiring manager to learn why some people get hired and others don’t? You might be surprised by what you discover. If you think a great resume and prestigious qualifications are enough, think again.

We’ve asked David Novak of How Leaders Lead what he looks for when he hires someone, and these are the 2 questions he asks himself:

1. Why will this person be a great addition to our team?
2. Does this person have the ability to learn?

David believes the difference between a good performer and a great performer comes down to a desire to learn.

Are you the kind of person who wants to learn from others? Do you seek out best practices in your field?

Hiring managers look for candidates who are curious because they strive to learn throughout their careers and, as a result, raise the game for other members on their team. When interviewing, be prepared to share how you are passionate about learning, and talk about how you want to continue to grow, and be humble enough to speak about how you don’t know everything. This just might set you apart from other candidates.

After the interview David then asks himself:

Would I want my daughter to work for this person? If the answer was no, then that person wouldn’t get the job. But if David saw someone with special leadership traits and characteristics, someone who would invest in his daughter and help her become the best she could be, he would hire that person.

Being a learner and a leader are equally important. Keep that in mind and you will be ready to land that next job and kill the interview! You’ve got this!

By: David Novak Leadership

If you want to be a successful leader you have to start to learn the behaviors of other successful, great leaders and learn about the behaviors and habits that set them apart.

Here’s the routine of what a successful person looks like:

Prepare the Night Before

David’s daily routine starts the night before. Before he goes to bed, he looks at his calendar for the next day and asks himself, “What’s going to make each one of those meetings successful?” Then he tries to envision what a successful meeting would look like. By thinking about it the night before, David can go into each meeting prepared and focused on coming out with successful outcomes.

Cultivate a Positive Attitude

Ken Langone, Co-Founder of The Home Depot, asks himself, “What can I do today to be as good a person as I hope I can be.” By asking and answering this question, Ken is preparing himself to look for ways to be the good person he wants to be, rather than hoping it will happen by chance. This a step in personal development that will help you to leady at any level.

Physical Exercise

Brian Cornell, Chairman, and CEO of Target Corporation recognizes the importance of exercise, so he is creative about building it into his schedule each day. Whether it’s 20 minutes in-between meetings or 20 minutes at the end of the day before a dinner function, he gets on the treadmill, which helps him manage his stress and refreshes his energy.

Schedule Management

When David realized that people tried to avoid him until around 10:00 in the morning, he learned not to schedule any major meeting till after 10:00 AM. This allows him to be at his best. Learn what times you are at your best. This small habit will change your day and the others you work with.

Connect with Others

Milind Pant, Chairman of Yum! China makes it a habit to walk throughout the office talking to employees, which ensures that he is available and visible to his team.

These daily habits work!

These are simple things that make great leaders.

Which habit do you think will help you become the best leader you can be?

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By: David Novak Leadership

Ok, everyone knows it’s never fun implementing new initiatives when you have reluctant people on your team. Reluctancy can come in all shapes and sizes cautious or fearful, unenthusiastic or wanting control. Whatever type of people there are in your life, managing reluctant people will always resist change and, ultimately, slow down progress.

Fortunately, it is possible to inspire reluctant people to move forward. All you need is the right strategy.

Here are two steps to motivating reluctant people:

1. Align Your Team: Give your team all the facts. Once everyone is on the same page, you should ask for their input. Let your team speak into the initiative, and give your most reluctant team members an opportunity to offer their ideas. Everyone should have a voice. You will more than likely end up discovering the reason behind the reluctance, and have the chance to address any concerns.
2. Get Them Involved: No involvement equals no commitment. After you get input from your team, it’s time to figure out where your most reluctant people will fit best. Give them opportunities to contribute. If they become involved in your initiative, they’ll be more committed to seeing it through.

By communicating to your team that you value their input and believe they are capable of bringing about change, they will be more willing to embrace new initiatives.

For more tips on leading others head over and listen to our podcast How Leaders Lead.

By: David Novak Leadership

Self-awareness: it’s a big buzzword right now. But how do you really know who you are to become better as a person, a friend, a leader?

And for that matter, why should you care?

Being self-aware means knowing what drives you and what knocks you on your back. It helps you to figure out your motivators, breaking points, and inclinations.

So why does that matter?

Because great leaders lead people. If you aren’t able to manage yourself, then how can you manage your team?
Do you know the one thing that is absolutely necessary to develop your self-awareness?

Here’s a hint: it doesn’t come from you. The leadership tool every great leader needs to develop in self-awareness is FEEDBACK. Yep, good old-fashioned, give it to me straight, feedback.

At David Novak Leadership, we recognize that great leaders need feedback specific to their leadership skills, which is why we’ve developed a set of focused questions that help people analyze their leadership style. Questions like, do you work to ensure that each person on their team knows the team’s vision, and can they explain it? And, does this leader directly involve others in setting goals so everyone can feel ownership of them?

Every leader has weak spots, but it’s hard to know what they are unless someone tells you. Real, honest feedback will help you to see those weak spots and improve your performance.

By: David Novak Leadership

Every leader wants to have their dream team. You’ve got to have a great team to succeed. Those right people will drive success.

David asked top leaders what they look for when identifying future leaders on How Leaders Lead. Here is what they shared:

Daniel Lubetzky, Founder of KIND Snacks looks for people that will challenge him, raise their hands and speak up, and not just go along with everything he says, this creates “a permission culture to take risks and challenge.”

Indra Nooyi, former Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo, looks for people who throw their head, heart, and hands into the job. It’s not enough to come to work and say, “It’s a job,” to Indra. She looks for someone who sees their job as a passion. She wants her leaders to be willing to bring everything they’ve got to work and throw themselves into the job because they love what they do.

Kevin Johnson, CEO of Starbucks, looks for authenticity, and good values. Those two together build trust. “I think authenticity is very important, and the second thing is that values matter… especially in times of adversity. And then you build trust. Trust is earned.”

You can now use what you’ve learned and run with it! Let’s go!

Learn even more about becoming a successful leader at https://davidnovakleadership.com/.

By: David Novak Leadership

Like we say all the time over on our podcast, How Leaders Lead, all great leaders have their own style and their own way of leading. When everyone comes together with these different leadership styles, characteristics, and traits; conflict is bound to happen. Conflict isn’t a bad thing. Productive conflict can grow you and your team for the better, and is part of development as a leader.

Here are 3 tips to help the next time you know what hits the fan:

1. Mine for conflict – It’s important to pay attention to others and how they react when ideas are shared. Rather than assume that everyone agrees or ignore those who don’t, take time to feel out the room and everyone’s reaction. Ask each individual where they stand on a scale from one to ten. After everyone shares their rating, ask follow-up questions and invite input on how to get everyone aligned. This is part of what creates a culture where everyone makes a difference and is inspired to work together.
2. Listen for understanding – When others are talking, look them in the eye, suspend your critical thoughts, and really focus on understanding what they are saying before you respond. Dig deeper by asking them follow-up questions: “What did you mean by…?”; “Explain that point to me again… I want to fully understand what you are saying.”
3. Have courage in your convictions – Remember to always listen to input from others with your mind open to the possibility that they might be right. But when you feel strongly that the input is not right for you have the courage to move forward with what you believe is best for the organization. People will respect you for listening, considering all opinions, and then making a decision, and moving on. But only after you’ve done those things. Don’t cave to people’s ideas to make them feel validated or to avoid conflict. Seriously consider what’s said and make the right call.

With you leading the way carrying these simple leadership tools, you can turn conflict into something that can change and grow your organization and even make a better world. Don’t pass up the opportunity! Go towards it, embrace it. Be the one to make a difference and inspire others – this will only drive you towards success! Do this and it’s a total gamechanger.

Want to learn more incredible tips like this, give TPWY a try! All proceeds go to support the World Food Program.

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