5 THINGS ALL LEADERS MUST DO AT THE END OF THE DAY

The end of the business day is the most anticipated time of day. Everyone, including leaders, looks forward to the end of the day. However, as a Leader while it may be tempting to get up and leave, things are not as simple. All leaders should have an end of day routine that focuses on planning for tomorrow, preparation all the time, and addressing issues of the day. The end of day routine must become a habit for the leader to succeed. Success will come in the form of being a great leader and in turn creating greater leaders.

Plan for tomorrow and the next day (and the next)

As a leader, the most essential skill to master is time management. Once mastered the world is your oyster and success is your pearl. However, every leader must begin long before they can master anything. Therefore, working and working through planning and preparation on a daily basis means one thing your proficiency and mastery will increase. Therefore, start with pen and paper. Put down in writing tomorrow’s plan of action including those involved as well as, materials or items you will need to achieve success. By putting your plan in writing, you have now made it real. Having a tangible plan a leader has a point of reference by which to launch more actions and activities, thus on to bigger and better things.

Recognize Others

Do not let the sunset without reaching out and recognizing those individuals that deserve that recognition. Of course, you should always recognize individuals the moment they do something extraordinary; however, it does not hurt to recognize those individuals one more time. At the end of the day, those recognized should get another congratulatory handshake, pat on the back and a Thank You big enough to take home and share with family and friends. Taking the recognition home is a great morale booster especially for those employees that find themselves feeling like the management and leadership does not even know they exist. As a leader, it is your job to create new leaders. Without recognition, they will never know if they are on the right track to becoming the leaders you are creating. Give them something to go on, something to build on.

Address Workplace Issues

Just like not allowing employee recognition to go unnoticed, the same applies to those annoying workplace issues. Leaving unresolved issues for tomorrow is not an idea any leader should entertain. Quite the opposite, when the unresolved issues involved personnel matters there is not time to waste or delay. There should be no exception when it comes to addressing personnel matters, the sooner the better. Any delay will create stress, increase any animosity, contribute to confusion, and most of all, taint the memory of those involved in the issue(s). By addressing issues immediately, everyone involved can close out today and start with a clean slate, tomorrow.

Take No Work Home

Taking work home is something that is best left for the kids. Homework is usually something that teachers use as a tool for memory and understanding by either writing spelling words or working math problems. For the rest of us, bringing work home is not something that should be considered an option. It is not to say that homework is wrong, it is that if it can be avoided or postponed until the next workday it should. There will be those times you will be tempted to bring work home but do not do it. There has to be a demarcation, a line, in the sand per se but a leader has to know when to close the book on work for the day and pick it back up tomorrow. Then again, if you have to, absolutely have to, then stay a little late and finish what has to be finished, otherwise get home, your family awaits.

Say Goodbye To Everyone

At the end of the day, a leader should try to say goodbye to his/her employees. This is not to say that you should make them wait at the door for permission to leave but you should at least wish them a great evening, say goodbye and say Thank you. While saying goodbye, make certain you are not taking roll or writing down at what time people are leaving. That is now what saying goodbye to everyone is about. What saying Goodbye to everyone is about is ensuring your staff members know you appreciate them and their participation in making your organization better.
Once an individual makes it to a position that allows him or her the opportunity to lead others, as well as manage and supervise others a completely new set of rules are bestowed on that leader. With those rules come responsibilities. Those responsibilities are key to remaining a leader. Remaining a leader is hard work, which is why creating new daily habits to accompany those new rules will ensure that your tenure as a leader remains solid.



Thank you,
David Guerra

I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra • visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

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12 QUESTIONS LEADERS MUST ASK THEMSELVES EVERY DAY!

A Leader that makes it a habit to follow daily procedures is a leader that knows where he wants to go. However, the type of habit will get a leader faster or not at all. Make it a habit of asking and answering the following twelve questions every day. They are not difficult questions to answer, either you did or did not, a simple yes or no will suffice. If you are not already asking and answer one or more, if not all then, then it is time to start. Remember, to be honest with yourself.

1. DID I GREET EVERYONE TODAY?

The late LTG Hal Moore (US Army) author of “We Were Soldiers Once…And Young” once said, “I will be the first one on the battlefield, and I will be the last one to step foot off the battlefield.” A leader in the modern workplace is not about who wears the coolest J’s or who can ride the most Ubers to work, or who drinks the most wine on the clock. A leader is more than that. A leader must be the first person in the door at the morning and the last one to leave. Someone has to turn out the lights. If you can and you should find a way to do so, stand by the door and greet your guest, in this case your staff. Shake their hands. Say “Good morning”, wish them a “Great Day”, and always call them by their name.

2. DID I SPEND ONE-ON-ONE TIME WITH MY STAFF TODAY?

One-on-one time is critical to not only building deeper lasting relationships but also the understanding between the leader and followers allow stronger bonds to form. Seek out those one-on-one times with every staff member. Obviously, the bigger the organization the more difficult it is it to get to do the one-on-one with every member of the company. Set aside some time every day to meet with some of your staff until you have met with everyone. Then start all over again.

3. DID I HAVE BRIEF AND EFFECTIVE MEETINGS TODAY?

Meetings are the necessary evil of the modern workplace. The “meeting” needs an overhaul. Luckily, there is a small revolution taking charge and taking over when it comes to meetings. The revolution directly attacks the effectiveness of meetings and their length. Keep them brief and most of all keep them on point. If at all, avoid them especially when all that needs to be disseminated can be done in an email.

4. DID I PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO MY STAFF?

Are you telling them how you feel about them? Are you providing the information they need to make themselves better at what they do? Do not criticize but give true and honest feedback. Good or Bad feedback is a thousand times better than no feedback. Feedback makes the change happen. Feedback is the starting point of new and innovative change. Change from feedback means you (and them) are on the right track to building something different from the starting point of where the feedback originated.

5. DID I BACKUP MY STAFF?

When there are issues that involving external stakeholders never throw your staff under the bus. Even if it is blatant that the staff member is at fault. Your job as a leader is to lead both sides and come to a rational conclusion without leaving your staff member(s) hanging out to dry. Deal with them after the situation has been defused. Your followers want to know you got their back even when they are wrong.

6. DID I TRAIN MY STAFF ON SOMETHING NEW TODAY?

Every day is an opportunity to learn something new. Train them on something new, especially if what you are training is outside of your sector/market. Who knows it might inspire them to do something new and innovating for your organization. Training also shows your staff that you care enough about them and their future with or without the organization. Daily training opportunities shows your followers that self-improvement is a continuous process and ignoring it is not an option.

7. DID I EAT LUNCH WITH MY STAFF TODAY?

Eating lunch with your staff members is a great idea. It helps tear down walls and helps create solid foundations. It is also time away from the front lines to help those staff members decompress while sharing what is causing the stress. Again, if the company is too big then schedule lunch with everyone a few at a time until you have had lunch with everyone then start over again.

8. DID I DELEGATE MORE THAN I MICROMANAGED?

I find it difficult to believe that ALL leaders, before they became leaders, wanted to be micromanaged. Seriously, if people wanted to be micromanaged they do NOT deserve even considering expanding their career to include a leadership position. Micromanaging means no one is trusted. Micromanaging means you are NOT being an effective manager and most of all, NOT a trusting leader. Stop it, if you are doing it.

9. DID I COUNSEL STAFF THAT NEEDS A LITTLE EXTRA GUIDANCE?

There will always be problems. There will be problems with your staff. No organization is immune and if it has not happened to your company please know it is not a matter of if but when. It will happen and when it does, you must be prepared to counsel those individuals that you are leading. Remember, a leader is many things including a counselor. However, there will be issues that will be out of your league, do not attempt to go at it by yourself but guide those staff members to someone trained to handle such issues. If they come to you that means they trust you. Do not let them down.

10. DID I ADDRESS IMPROPER WORKPLACE BEHAVIOR BEFORE IT GOT OUT OF HAND?

The sooner the better. Unfortunately, too many managers hope any and all problems will address themselves. Usually, they do especially when people realize they are adults and recognize that any improper behavior is not tolerated in the workplace. However, there are those that will push the envelope until the behavior cannot be reined in. A leader will address issues in the workplace immediately with direct intent and the sooner the better.

11. DID I MAKE IT FUN FOR EVERYONE?

FUN is the number one thing everyone wants. So, make the workplace fun! Just because work has to done does not mean it cannot be fun. If you looked around, you would be hard pressed to find a policy and procedure manual that says “NO FUN IN THIS WORKPLACE”. Look in your own company’s rulebook and if you find the “NO FUN IN THE WORKPLACE” clause then you are exempt from answering this question. Otherwise, you have your challenge right in front of you. How much fun can you make it?

12. DID I SAY GOODBYE TO EVERYONE?

When it comes time to say “Goodbye” at the end of the workday, it behooves you to go and say Goodbye to each employee and do so by name. Shake their hand and Thank them for being here today. When you do that, make certain you are doing so without any judgment, sarcasm, or anything like that in the tone of your voice. Be authentic by wishing them a good evening. Of course, there will be incidents, circumstances and situations where you cannot be the last one out the door but do not make it a habit. Remember, be the first one on the battlefield, and be the last one to step foot off the battlefield.

Thank you,
David Guerra

I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra • visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

To order your copy of Great To Follow: Amazon paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble paperback
To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble

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The Conversation Demands Dialogue To Make Change Stick

The national conversation has been going in many directions and that’s great. I truly believe that conversation should go in all directions. There should be conversation about every topic that affects everyone not just for this group or that group or that group over there but for everyone as a whole.

The conversation, the conversation must be a two-way dialogue.

A dialogue, information going out information coming in. It’s not a monologue. Many people want the only word to come from their monologue. Many people are demanding changes through the monologue. Unfortunately, that is not the way change works.

For those that do not know what it is, monologue is “a long and typically tedious speech by one person during a conversation.” As an example, monologue is what those late-night talk show hosts do for the first five minutes of the show, they tell jokes, try to make a point or two and some even try to they try to influence the viewers. That’s a monologue.

What else is a monologue? In school, the teacher stands at the front of the classroom teaching, telling you things, showing you new things. That's a monologue, however, that's not how change happens. In the classroom, monologue is how you learn and that while is considered change it is not the social change groups are demanding. Real Social Change happens through dialogue. Creating two-way conversations and working things out together is how change is made.

Dialogue is how you create change. Dialogue is how you make change that is sustainable. That is how you make change that is going to last for a long, long time. However, when every group decides to have an attitude of "it's my point and no other point matters" that is why we have problems. That's why we're in the situation we are in. This applies to any situation. That is why we're there or here.

Whether it is because of natural disasters, man-made disasters, other people's problems, or whatever the reason we are in that situation because of conversation not being a dialogue. All it takes for two people, two sides to want to talk, work things out and make things happen.

Remember, change is good just as change is bad because it won't last. It will not last if it is coming from one side. It is a one-sided conversation. It has got to be agreed upon by both sides or all sides for change to work. Everyone has to agree and if no one wants to work to be part of everyone then you've got nothing. When you have nothing then nothing is ever going to change.

Of course, you can sit there and spew all the monologue you want but if there is no dialogue nothing is going to happen. Count on it!

So stand up, speak up, join the conversation and make real change happen.

Thank you,
David Guerra

I invite you to follow me on Twitter: @daveguerra • visit my website: www.daveguerra.com

To order your copy of Great To Follow: Amazon paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble paperback
To order your copy of The Walking Leader:  Amazon Paperback / Amazon Kindle | Barnes & Noble

Here are some Tags: Tags: • The Walking Leader • Great To Follow • Leadership • Dave Guerra • Leadership • Leading • Leadership Development • Professional Development • Lead, Follow, or Get out of the way • Ready, Fire, Aim! • If it ain't broke, break it. • Hire Crazies • Ask dumb questions • Pursue failure • Spread Confusion • Ditch Your Office • Read Odd Stuff • Avoid Moderation • Higher, Admire, Desire, Require, Satire, Inquire, On Fire, All Possible Scenarios • Give to the American Red Cross • Hire A Hero