~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. June 2005 - Volume 8, Issue 12 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – The Miracle of Teamwork * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – Inspirational Influence * Quick Quotes – Play Time ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE MIRACLE OF TEAMWORK By Dr. John C. Maxwell They called it the "Miracle on Ice." Twenty-five years ago, a team of American college hockey players overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to beat the heavily favored Soviet team—and, soon thereafter—win the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics. "It may just be the single most indelible moment in all of U.S. sports history," "Sports Illustrated" wrote of the team's gold medal run. "One that sent an entire nation into a frenzy." Another team that sent the country—or at least the part of the country that enjoys professional basketball—into a frenzy was the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls. Led by the likes of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, this team posted the best regular-season NBA record of all time (72-10) and went on to defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1996 NBA Finals. The 1980 U.S. hockey team and the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls were quite dissimilar. One was made up of little-known amateurs; the other of superstar professionals. One was a significant underdog; the other was a dominant force all year. Despite these and other differences, however, both could easily show up on a list of the greatest sports teams in American history. The way these two groups of players melded together to reach their goals is inspiring, especially for people who value teamwork as much as I do. Individually, none of them—even the immensely talented Michael Jordan—could have accomplished what they did together. They needed each other to succeed. As obvious as it seems to me now, I didn't fully grasp the importance of teamwork until I was 40 years old. When I began to evaluate the first half of my life, I got discouraged because I realized I had not achieved what I wanted to accomplish thus far. I was disciplined, I worked hard, and I thought I was helping people. But something was missing. Eventually, I realized what that something was. Although I had concentrated on developing myself, I had not focused enough on building a great team. That, I concluded, was a major mistake—one that had kept me from reaching my full potential. At 40, I realized that my success wasn't going to be determined by my gifts, my abilities or my opportunities. It was going to be determined by my ability to develop a great team. This realization was so life-changing that it birthed one of my 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership—the Law of the Inner Circle— which says those who are closest to you determine the level of your success. Ever since then, developing my team been my No. 1 priority. Even today—more than 16 years later—I devote more energy, more time and more resources to growing my inner circle than to anything else. The results are well worth the effort because of what my team does for me. 1. My team makes me better than I am. If the members of my team were here, they'd tell you the same thing. 2. My team multiplies my value to others. These people don't add to my worth when it comes to contributing to others; they multiply it greatly. 3. My team enables me to do what I do best. Because the members of my inner circle complement me and do things I don't do well, I am able to focus on the things that I can do well. 4. My team allows me to help others do their best. Having a team allows me to move people around until they're in what I call their "sweet spot" or "strength zone"—the place where talent meets passion, resulting in fulfillment and excellence. 5. My team gives me more time. Without this group of trusted colleagues, I'd have to do everything by myself—or at least keep a close eye on it all. With a great team, others can shoulder key responsibilities, freeing me up to concentrate on my top priorities. 6. My team provides me with companionship. I'm happy to say that some of my best friends are my team players. 7. My team helps me to fulfill the desires of my heart. Not only that, but they help me fulfill them in a way that often far exceeds my expectations. 8. My team compounds my vision and my effort. When you're surrounded by a great group of people, the well-known acronym for TEAM really is true: Together Everyone Achieves More. The best part is that these benefits don't just apply to me. A great team can do all this for any leader who, as I did at age 40, stops trying to be a one-person show. As Andrew Carnegie said, "It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you can do alone." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GO TEAM! There's no question that a great team can achieve more than an individual any day. But even the best teams go through periods of discouragement and low morale. In a recent e-newsletter, the Center for Creative Leadership offered several tips for boosting team spirit. Here are a few: • Celebrate together. Recognize team members' birthdays with a cake and a card. If people in your group are into sports, plan parties for special events such as the Super Bowl or other broadcast sporting events. • Learn as a group. "Choose relevant books or articles for the team to read and discuss," the CCL says. Or take educational field trips to similar organizations, research institutions or client sites. • Stay updated. "Hold a weekly meeting, preferably on a Friday afternoon, to share key accomplishments and give a preview of key activities for the coming week," the CCL suggests. "Follow the update with a social time on or off site." When implementing these and other morale-boosting ideas, leaders must take care not to overdo it. "Announcing, ‘We need better morale, spirit and pride! Here's what you need to do!' is likely to be met with sniggers, sneers and skepticism," the CCL cautions, "Instead, integrate a tactic or activity into your routine work, teach by example and expect gradual change. The result will be genuine buy-in and trust." For more information, see: http://www.ccl.org/CCLCommerce/news/newsletters/enewsletter/2005/MAYtips.aspx?CatalogID=News&CategoryID=Enewsletter(Newsletters) _________________________________________________________________ LESSONS FROM THE COURT What does playing pick-up basketball have to do with leadership? Plenty, according to Chuck Wielgus, executive director of USA Swimming and co-author of "The In-Your-Face Basketball Book" and "The Back-In-Your-Face Guide to Pick-Up Basketball". In a recent article on "Fast Company's" web site, Wielgus—who, at age 55, describes himself as a "lifelong pick-up basketball player—outlined several leadership principles that he says "translate from the basketball court to the business office." Here are some excerpts: • See the court. "Great leaders are able to look at a problem, an issue or an industry and see things that others don't," Wielgus writes. "A true leader is not only constantly looking for the new opportunities, but they're also looking to get the ball to teammates who are best positioned to take advantage of the situation. Like a blessed point guard, an experienced leader will visualize the expanded benefits that reveal themselves like falling dominos as one action naturally leads to another. Equally important, the good leader will keep their team out of trouble and not put the ball into the hands of the wrong person at the wrong time." • Don't lose touch. "Your job, your skin color and your bank account mean nothing in a pick-up basketball game," he says. "The court is indeed a brutally—and beautifully—honest common ground. As one who sits in a corner office, I know how easy it can be to become disconnected. Playing pick-up ball reminds me of the constant need to stay in touch. As our economy increasingly moves from providing commodities to providing services to providing experiences, it is going to be increasingly important for leaders to be in touch with their customers and experience providers." For more information, see: http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2005/04/basketball.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INSPIRATIONAL INFLUENCE "Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders" By John Baldoni (McGraw-Hill, 2005) The first holiday weekend of the summer begins in less than 24 hours. The weather outside is perfect for gardening. At least three partially-read books beckon from various locations around my workspace. In other words, as I prepare to write a book review for this issue of "Leadership Wired", I am in desperate need of some self-motivation. The fact that my deadline is quickly approaching is usually all the incentive I need to complete such a task, but this time, there are too many pleasant distractions getting in the way. Fortunately, the inspiration I seek can be found in the very book I'm reviewing—"Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders" by leadership communications consultant John Baldoni. "Keep on schedule," Baldoni writes in a section called "Tips on Motivating Yourself." "Focus on what needs doing in your life, and do it. Don't put off doing important things that need doing right away." That bit of common sense is just what I need to spur me into action. It also is only a taste of the highly practical advice Baldoni has packed into "Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders." His premise is this: Despite what you may have read elsewhere, leaders don't motivate people. Instead, they create conditions for people to motivate themselves, thereby allowing them to "get things done in ways that they find enriching and fulfilling." To show how to create such conditions, Baldoni explores the leadership styles of influential leaders from various eras and walks of life, including politics, the military, business and sports. Each highlighted individual—from Ronald Reagan and Earvin "Magic" Johnson to Ernest Shackleton and Frances Hesselbein—provides a unique snapshot of what motivation can look like in the real world. By offering such an eclectic mix of examples, Baldoni effectively dispels the notion that "all leaders who motivate are cheerleading, rah-rah types." "Some are and some are not, but all of them lead more by example than by oratory," he writes. A useful tome for aspiring leaders in any field, "Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders" offers a nice blend of management principles and leadership stories. In addition to distilling the motivational techniques of great influencers into step-by-step solutions that any leader can implement, Baldoni also provides several "motivation planner" checklists to help readers evaluate their current motivational activities and identify specific opportunities for improvement. Most of the book has to do with the ways that leaders can inspire people to do their best—by setting the right example, communicating clearly, empowering with authority, coaching relentlessly, challenging appropriately and sacrificing for the team. That's all important, but readers will not want to miss a section at the end called "Raising and Fulfilling Your Own Expectations." In these four short pages, Baldoni provides succinct guidance about how leaders can motivate themselves—a process which must occur before they can even think about creating ideal motivational conditions for anyone else. -- Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLAY TIME "Some relaxation is necessary to people of every degree; the head that thinks and the hand that labors must have some little time to recruit their diminished powers." — Bernard Gilpin "Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer, since to remain constantly at work will cause you to lose power of judgment. Go some distance away, because then the work appears smaller, and more of it can be taken in at a glance, and lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen." — Leonardo da Vinci "People who cannot find time for recreation are obliged sooner or later to find time for illness." — John Wanamaker _________________________________________________________________ Leadership Wired is written by Dr. John C. Maxwell and is available via e-mail on a free subscription basis. You can subscribe at: http://www.INJOY.com/Newsletters. Questions about document transmission or editorial comments? Contact mailto:feedback@INJOY.com. Visitors may use the information contained in this e-newsletter by placing the following credit line: "This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.INJOY.com." This information cannot be used for resale in any manner. Copyright (c) 2005, INJOY, Inc.