Motivation

There is a lot we can learn from history when it comes to leadership, including the different types of leaders and the lessons both their successes and failures can teach. The Founders of the United States will go down in history as having changed the rules of leadership and redefined what it means to spark change in people. One of the most influential leaders of the American Revolution was Alexander Hamilton. Through his example, and the lessons learned from other Founders, we can understand the principals of revolutionary leadership. Here are three key insights:

1. Recognize Your Challenges

In a recent Interact/Harris Poll, 91% of employees said their leaders lack good communication skills. What weaknesses have you identified in yourself as a leader? What about your strengths? As Alexander Hamilton would have realized, the ancient Greek aphorism, “know thyself,” is an excellent place to start in the study of leadership.

There are many practical ways to assess your particular skills and challenges. Read about strong leaders and compare yourself to them. Take online personality tests and skills assessments. Consider part-time work in fields that are related to what you are interested in. Additionally, ask your boss, mentors, coworkers and friends what they think your challenges are—and don't take offense at their responses!

2. Set Personal Goals

Did you know that you are ten times more likely to succeed if you have a stated goal? To start, take some time to determine what your long-term goal is. From there, start setting short-term goals that will help you attain them. You can decide how short the short-term goals are, but a common duration is five years. After five-year goals are established, set up smaller and smaller goals that will help you reach your five-year goals. Remember that each goal should always support achievement of the higher goal.

3. Never Give Up

Failure is scary, but it is inevitable: 90% of all startups fail; 50%–60% of executives fail within the first 18 months of being promoted or hired; and 92% of people fail to meet their goals. However, that doesn’t mean you should give up. No one has ever succeeded by giving up after failure. So, even if everyone else abandons you, it is imperative that you never give up on yourself. So what if you miss that promotion or aren't appointed to that leadership position you thought was so important? There is always another promotion to pursue, another team you can join, or another company you can switch to.

Get more insights from The Leadership Secrets of Hamilton >>

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Decision-making, no matter how big or small, takes a toll on your brain – with each decision, it becomes harder for you to weigh the consequences. Once decision fatigue sets in, your brain looks for shortcuts and settles for the path of least resistance. So what can you do to combat decision fatigue? Simplify your decision-making process! Author Joe Calloway shares a story about an effective way you can do this:

Sir Peter Blake led Team New Zealand to successive victories in the America's Cup yacht competition in 1995 and 2000. The key to this success was that Blake focused the team on one question, which they asked about everything they did: "Will it make the boat go faster”?

Everything they did and every decision they made had to go through the filter of "Will it make the boat go faster”? This applied to equipment, training, nutrition, crew composition— and more.

We can all simplify and focus using our version of that question. Look at your daily choices and ask yourself your own version of "Will this make the boat go faster”?

• Will this get me where I want to go?
• Will this help me to create positive relationships?
• Will this assist me in reaching my goal?

We all have a "boat" we want to go faster. Be sure you are focused on doing things that will help you accomplish your goals. In the process, you will prevent decision fatigue by knowing exactly what you are aiming for.

From Joe Calloway

Learn more ways to Keep It Simple>>

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Every one of us has unique experiences and personalities. That means we all have so many different stories. Do you share yours? It can be hard to trust that we’ll be accepted by friends and family, but to live a life that matters – a life with purpose – you need to embrace who you are, and be honest and authentic with those around you.

That doesn’t mean you need to share every story with everyone you know. But living your life as your true self means that all your interactions will be genuine, and when you do decide to trust someone with a story, you will be able to handle their reaction. Why? Because loving and accepting your true self gives you strength and allows you to see who you are clearly.

How can you express your true self? Here are three purposeful ways to take a closer look at who you are and how you choose to connect with those around you:

1. Mean Your Message – look at your emails, social posts, texts, etc. that you put out into the world this past week. Take an audit: Did you mean what you said? Did you spread positivity or negativity? Be honest with your assessment and then put a plan in place to make adjustments.
2. Cherish Love – find a way to share your love with friends and family in your own creative and meaningfully way.
3. Be a Flatterer – arm yourself with compliments, Post-Its and a pen. You know what you need to do next.

Morgan Vogt, Sourcebooks Employee

Discover more ways to live a life that matters with Every Monday Matters>>

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New Year, New You is all the rage in 2019. Information is being thrown at us across all channels - each platform offering their own definition (and solution!) to become a better, improved, polished, “you.” While I agree that these steps to professional growth are necessary, I was somewhat reluctant to jump in head first to the latest and greatest trend to make me a better version of myself. I wanted something different – a concept that could be learned and understood quickly, but with measurable results. I was looking for simple steps to help me live healthier and happier while allowing for milestones that could be met throughout the year.

Taking a look at the preview of Smarter Next Year, I saw eye-opening information that helped me decide to work on my mind first. If 50% of the population start to show a decline in metal ability by the age of 40, I knew I needed to do something and I needed to do it quickly. Learning further that some of the top causes of of this decline are lack of sleep, poor diet, and physical inactivity, I had a solid plan for what I needed to do right away.

By taking an hour for myself this weekend, I dove into Smarter Next Year. Author David Bardsley helped me change the way I think about my brain by showing me how I could improve my ability to understand, store, and retrieve information with a very simple idea. I learned that there are ways to having a younger, sharper mind… and they are built on uncomplicated concepts – almost easily attainable once I put my mind to it.

I was impressed by the information I read in this book and how relatable it was on both a personal and professional level. After seeing the downloadable training preview, I knew this was something that would go further than a conversation with friends or discussion with my book club. Seeing the slides that offered such relatable data in a simple way was helpful for me to make my 2019 goals and to determine what my New Year, New Me would entail.

Kavita Wright, Sourcebooks Employee

Learn how you can improve your mind and health with Smarter Next Year >>

Change is not easy, but it is simple. Things will always change. We don’t have a choice about that, but we do have a choice on how we react to change; and, as a leader, whether or not we choose to create change. The choice really boils down to this… either we manage change or it will manage us. With these 6 tips, you can start inspiring your team through any organizational change.

1. Walk away from outdated beliefs and practices. How? Forget for Success. Remove flawed data from your memory banks and free up space for more of the "right stuff".
2. What are you good at? Focus on Your Strengths and make them all they can be.
3. Inertia can stop you in your tracks if you don't act quickly. Lead with Speed and never underestimate the significance of early victories.
4. Accept personal responsibility for your behavior and results. Once you do that, you can Inspire Personal Accountability in each individual in your company.
5. Change takes courage, and big change cannot happen unless you Take Calculated Risks.
6. There are many challenges along the way to change because changes takes time to take root. But if you plant the right seeds and Respect the Growing Process, you will see great things happen!

From Mac Anderson and Tom Feltenstein

Read more tips and stories in Change Is Good...You Go First >>