LEAD [Simply]©
An Inspiring Message For Your Leaders
It’s called Lead Simply.
A simple 3-point approach to help your leaders focus on what's most important (and often missed) in creating a special team of people.
Quick to share. Motivating.
Used by thousands of leaders in every industry - profit and non-profit.
It can be shared by giving out the bestselling book (short, 20 minutes to read) or by showing the inspiring 3-minute video. It's the perfect message for any meeting or leadership team.
WATCH LEAD [simply]
It’s an inspiring 3-minute video to help you share the message.
Inspiring Your Special Team of People Starts with this Idea...
MODEL. CONNECT. INVOLVE.
That’s your framework for leadership – your simple, day-to-day, where-the-work-gets-done formula for creating that special team of people that does important and meaningful work … that cares to make things better … continually … every day.
Model the behavior you want to see.
Connect with the people you lead.
Involve them as much as possible.
That’s it. Wonderfully simple.
Customer Favorite Lead Simply
LEAD Simply Book
I love this little gem and have used it over and over again!
I have used this and other Sam Parker products for years! This time I purchased them for new supervisors on my team as we work on developing their leadership skills.Lead Simply excerpts
(excerpt from the book Lead Simply, pages 1 - 6)
MODEL. CONNECT. INVOLVE.
That’s your framework for leadership – your simple, day-to-day, where-the-work-gets-done formula for creating that special team of people that does important and meaningful work … that cares to make things better … continually … every day.
THE FOUNDATION
For many years, The Gallup Organization has conducted surveys and polls to help us understand how into our work we are. The fancy term for this in the study of organizational behavior is employee engagement.
They’ve determined the following (give or take a percentage point or two one way or the other depending on the year)…
• 29% of us are engaged with our work (we care)
• 54% of us are not engaged with our work (we don’t really care)
• 17% of us are actively disengaged with our work (we really don’t care … we spread it … and we thrive on getting in the way of making good things happen)
Those numbers are for people in the United States. Add in the rest of the world and the numbers get worse.
Call the first group what you like. (Start with wonderful but realize that being engaged in our work is really just our obligation to each other.) The last two groups are Gomos and D-grunts. Gomos are the people who go through the motions in what they do. D-grunts are the disgruntled among us.
Add the two groups together and we have 71 of every 100 people going through the motions each day… or worse.
FRIGHTENING, ISN’T IT?
Think about that lost potential … unrealized potential.
(Do the math. What’s your experience?)
Why would more than half the people who go to work every day leave their hearts and minds at home? Why would so many people be so apathetic about their work? Hundreds of variables come into play here, right? Many of them are far beyond our control as leaders.
Perhaps, though, one of the most basic points behind all of it is that too many of us have forgotten we’re ultimately doing what it is we do so that we can make good things happen for other people.
Lead Simply with More Enthusiasm & Pursuit
(excerpt from the book Lead Simply, pages 31 & 42)
MODELING IDEAS
These ideas might be valuable for everyone on your team. (Share what you like.) But the point of the list is to model the behaviors ourselves, as leaders.
MORE ENTHUSIASM…
A simple challenge where everyone wins (you and those around you). No risk. No additional time required.
Within the next 3 weeks (or maybe the next 3 minutes), set a 2-day period as your days (or your team’s days) to inspire others. Two days where you’ll put on blinders to anything negative and be the one in the office who everyone else can count on for words and actions that inspire and encourage. Two days where you’re the light for other people – your colleagues, your customers, your patients, your students – no matter what.
Allow nothing negative and focus only on your service to others … only on your service to others (worth repeating).
Once you set your 2 days, fully commit to the effort regardless of the inevitable challenges and regardless of the weather (please, never the weather). Fall off the inspirational horse at 2:11 on the first day? Get back on at 2:12 – no excuses.
Remember, you wake with an option for your daily attitude. Challenges will come up regardless.
Choose positive. Spread it for two days. Spark a habit.
MORE PURSUIT…
What if no one pursued improvement (personally, professionally, organizationally)? What if no one pushed it, risked it, and pushed it again (and again)?
Our world gets better because of those people who pursue that next step toward truth, development, and the way things could and should be.
What if more of us considered ourselves obligated to being a part of making a positive difference in the world? What if more of us stepped out of passivity (meeting expectations, apathy, indifference) and chose the pursuit of better?
Imagine how inspiring that would be to all of us.
Questions that encourage pursuit…
Where do we want to be? Where should we be?
What do we want to do? What should we do?
What do we need to get there? Who do we need to get there?
How can we push it even further? What’s next?
Buy book | Make a meeting of it | Shop all LEAD Simply© products
LEAD Simply Closing Thought
(excerpt from the book Lead Simply, page 61)
All of this assumes you’ve hired well to begin with and not gomo’d it or wished someone in because you were tired of looking for a solid person and forgot that bringing in the wrong person can cost you more time, money, and people in the long run. Why people? Because, good people don’t enjoy working with gomos or d-grunts. And, if their patience runs out, they might start looking for a better place to invest their time (life).
Leaders with a little experience know that attitude is an incredibly important evaluation point when looking for the right person (team player, service-oriented, results-focused, positive, enthusiastic, etc.). For ideas on how to talk with people during the hiring process and learn where their attitude is, you might enjoy my thoughts at InspireYourPeople.com/Hire.
And when you find that match, be sure to make their arrival experience a good one and set expectations high.
leaders: 2 questions to ask yourself
1. How many people on your team probably shouldn't be there? (hiring mistake to begin with, they've allowed their skills to stagnate or degrade, the need for their role has changed over time, they've mentally quit, their attitude has soured, some combination of a few of these)
2. What are you doing on a consistent basis to cultivate a better environment? (consistent = every day or every other day)
Both questions usually make people a little uncomfortable. Which is good, of course. Being uncomfortable leads to growth, right?
An important part of leading is creating and developing a special team of people who trust each other and are highly committed to the objectives of the team.
If you're a leader, you need to hold yourself accountable to that if you really want to solve your people challenges and make things more enjoyable for everyone ... your team and the people you serve.
If you've got challenges with your team, I encourage you to do the challenging work...
1st If you've got people on your team who shouldn't be there and/or are keeping others from doing great work, ask yourself why you're allowing that. Then stop allowing it.
2nd Embrace your day-to-day opportunity to cultivate that special team of people and special environment you wish you had. Realize that it's in your hands and if you continue to do what you've done (or not done), it's really unreasonable to expect a positive change.
How do you LEAD?
Model the behavior you want to see.
Connect with the people you lead.
Involve them as much as possible.
That's it. Wonderfully simple.
Your day-to-day, right-now, where-the-work-gets-done framework to a more enjoyable day for everyone. We call it Leading Simply.
No parables. No corporate speak. No certifications needed.
Just real-world stuff to think about and do every single day (for you, your managers, and your leaders-to-be). Read it in less than 20 minutes (less time than it takes to watch a rerun of The Office).
Join the thousands of leaders and organizations enjoying a better everything by Leading Simply. (Really.)