Leadership

Stumbled across this and thought it was worth sharing....

The Kind of Leader Others Want to Follow

The key to becoming an effective leader is not to focus on making other people follow, but on making yourself the kind of person they want to follow. You must become someone others can trust to take them where they want to go. As you prepare yourself to become a better leader, use the following guidelines to help you grow:

1. Let go of your ego.
The truly great leaders are not in leadership for personal gain. They lead in order to serve other people. Perhaps that is why Lawrence D. Bell remarked, “Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things, and I’ll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.”

2. Become a good follower first.
Rare is the effective leader who didn’t learn to become a good follower first. That is why a leadership institution such as the United States Military Academy teaches its officers to become effective followers first – and why West Point has produced more leaders than the Harvard Business School.

3. Build positive relationships.
Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less. That means it is by nature relational. Today’s generation of leaders seem particularly aware of this because title and position mean so little to them. They know intuitively that people go along with people they get along with.

4. Work with excellence.
No one respects and follows mediocrity. Leaders who earn the right to lead give their all to what they do. They bring into play not only their skills and talents, but also great passion and hard work. They perform on the highest level of which they are capable.

5. Rely on discipline, not emotion.
Leadership is often easy during the good times. It’s when everything seems to be against you – when you’re out of energy, and you don’t want to lead – that you earn your place as a leader. During every season of life, leaders face crucial moments when they must choose between gearing up or giving up. To make it through those times, rely on the rock of discipline, not the shifting sand of emotion.

6. Make adding value your goal.
When you look at the leaders whose names are revered long after they have finished leading, you find that they were men and women who helped people to live better lives and reach their potential. That is the highest calling of leadership – and its highest value.

7. Give your power away.
One of the ironies of leadership is that you become a better leader by sharing whatever power you have, not by saving it all for yourself. You’re meant to be a river, not a reservoir. If you use your power to empower others, your leadership will extend far beyond your grasp

It's 2010!

Hey everyone, I was indeed correct and it is now 2010 and it has been too long since my last post. Just wanted to give everyone who was interested a quick update:

Humanitarian Bowl - Went very well in what some are calling one of the best bowl games of the season. I am very thankful for the experience and learned a ton about what it takes to run a bowl.

Boise State - Just got back from the Fiesta Bowl. What an unbelievable experience and easily the greatest sporting event I have ever been to. My roles are changing quickly and next Monday, January 11th, I am moving over with Bronco Sports Properties, a division of Learfield Sports. I am ecstatic for the opportunity and look forward to all that I will learn. Check out their website here - http://www.learfieldsports.com/

School - Finished up my two fall classes. Both went very well and I am learning a lot. This spring I am taking Issues in Sports Admin, Sports Marketing and Sports Law. Should learn a lot!

Hope everyone's Christmas was great and you got to enjoy quality time with family and friends. I know I have a lot to be thankful for and I thank God for all the blessings in my life.

Check in soon!