Dave Guerra (the official blog): June 2022

27 June 2022

10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership (Intro & Part 1/10)

10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership (part 1 of 10)

Glitz, Glamour and Glory are usually the words most people associate when they hear the word LEADERSHIP. Well, in perfect conditions the 3Gs are correct and spot on. However, life is NOT all glitz, glamour, and glory. It never its. Life is not perfect and thus the misconceptions of the 3Gs sadly refuses to go away.

Life is usually the opposite of perfect. Life is more often than naught dirty, rough and tumble, and downright mean. However, for some odd reason or another people seem to gravitate only to the opposite of reality. They would rather believe the life of a leader is problem free and the easiest thing to achieve. Of course, those that have tasted LEADERSHIP, even if was for a brief moment or for the long term know anything claiming to be easy is a falsehood, a tall tale.

On the premise of anything worth having or being is easy, I have compiled this list. I ask you, the reader, to let me know if I have missed something or need to fine tune the content on this list, I invite you to please reach out either via email at Dave@DaveGuerra.com or on Twitter at @DaveGuerra and fill me in.

Of course, some, if not everyone, may know these 10 things but for those that do not know these 10 things please review them and I also invite you to take a look and check it out as there may be a different perspective for you to think about.

Without hesitation and delay, let’s get started…

Part 1: ANYONE CAN BE A LEADER

There is absolutely nothing in writing declaring LEADERS ARE BORN, NOT MADE. There is no resolution or declaration or proclamation. There is bias. There is laziness. There is people not wanting to step up and be a leader, in doing that they put others down.

As a young child, I was witness to others that by today’s standards were more charismatic than I was, yet my elders were quick to point out that some people were just born to be leaders. ‘If you are not born a leader then you can never be one’ was the overtone, the party line if you will, that was fed to me for a good part of my early life.

Then one day, someone saw that I had the ability to lead others. I didn’t see that. I stopped seeing that a long time before that day. That day was the day I decided to join the US Army. While I am the oldest child in my family as well as the oldest cousin (on both sides), some people were too wrapped up in their misery they never thought about that by using a couple of words of encouragement, growing up I would have felt good about myself.

Then again, they did not feel good about themselves so naturally all bets were off for anyone else. Most people don’t see that their words or actions can have a lasting impact on the growth of a child into adolescence and then into young adulthood.

Over the years, I have discovered and met others that had those individuals in their lives that were negative and quick to put them down. I also met others that were encouraged from an early age and have done good for themselves because they had a head start in life. Please note, the head start was not a silver spoon but instead, positive encouragement. Encouragement through the use of words like ‘I have trust in you’, ‘I believe in you’, ‘you have my support’, ‘I got your back’, ‘I am in your corner’, and so on throughout their early life. Folks, words have a deeper impact than actions. Then again, actions rooted in ignorance and incompetence also play a role in stunting the development of a child.

Sure, it is easy to say “leaders are born and not made” when the response is based on not knowing the difference. What is difficult is knowing that everyone has the potential to be not just a leader but a Great Leader. Everyone has it in them to be the leader they have always wanted. Unfortunately, for far too many people it is their past experience that curtails their ambition and in turn, brings others down.

The negativity that others pass along can be disheartening and demotivating to others especially when the others are young and highly impressionable. However, as we grow, we realize that it is not too late to be a leader. It is never too late to step up and lead. We know this because we also know that NO ONE is born a leader and EVERYONE has it in them to lead.

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Until Next Week, I Thank you.
- David Guerra, MBA

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

P.P.S. 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

20 June 2022

#10 of 10 Leadership Hacks (a few ways to help you develop your leadership skills)

Being recognized as a leader means you have been identified and accepted by others. You will hold the title of Leader until you are recognized as someone that can no longer lead others. Trust me on this, the title of Leader is NOT a lifetime guarantee. The title of leader means you will have to work hard every day to keep the recognized title.

While you might hold a position consider a "leadership position" but is it really? If you look at the position itself, it is a manager position, at best, with a potential of being held by a leader but there is no guarantee.

Also, not guaranteed is have a degree or title after your name such as B.Sci, MBA, Ph.D., PA, JD, or MD. None of those are guarantees of being recognized as a leader. What is a guarantee is doing something with that degree, something worthy of being recognized as a leader by those that give those that are looking for someone to follow.

In this blog series I share with you the 10 Leadership Hacks that will help you develop or enhance your leadership skills. None of these are guarantees to being a recognized leader but through the use of common sense and constant & consistent utilization you might just find yourself a better place than when you were when you started.

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10. HAVE FUN - Seriously? Do I really have to tell you to have fun? If I must, please know and understand you have a lot more to worry about and plenty of work to do that this blog post will never be of any help to you.

I mean if you, as a current or future leader, are not having fun then what's the point? What is the point of getting in front of others a leading them if you believe that to be a successful leader to be serious all the time, then you got much bigger problems. Leave the being serious all the time to the managers. That's why the are called managers. Leaders connect with their followers. Leaders connect in a manner that accomplishing a mission or achieving a goal will be something that followers believe they succeed in doing with the guidance of manager.

Remember, a manager, a really bad manager will dictate, talk down, tell people what to do and how to do it. A Leader sets the vision or the expected outcome and lets their followers get there, get to the finish line. Gettingt to the finish line is where fun is.

However, if you have no idea how or where to begin as a leader then I share this piece of advice on where to start: Learn How To Have Fun, NOW!

There they are. The 10 Leadership Hacks to help you develop yourself as a True, Genuine, and Authentic Leader. Each hack serves a purpose to help creating the end product. However, this blog post is not the end all, be all on how to be a leader. This blog post should serve for the novice as a starting point, for the more advance it serves as a benchmark to see just how far you have gone and how far you still have to go. For the more advance, let this serve as a tool to help you remember where you came from and to keep checking back every once in a while.

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As always if you find yourself with concerns, comments or questions please drop me an email at dave@daveguerra.com and let’s begin a dialogue.

Until next week.

David Guerra

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

P.P.S. 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

13 June 2022

#9 of 10 Leadership Hacks (a few ways to help you develop your leadership skills)

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9. SHOW UP - The single greatest action any leader can do is also the simplest thing they can do: SHOW UP

They show up not because people are expecting to see them. Leaders show up not for themselves but for those they lead. For those that choose to follow them.

A leader that leads by example goes out of their way to set the standard. By showing up, the leader exemplifies the basics in all that they do. Others see what is important and where their attention and focus should be.

By being present, YOU, the leader has made yourself an initial point of contact. You have become the person that people will turn to when there is a question to be answered, a need to be addressed, or a concern to be recognized. Most importantly, a person that people can go to without hesitation. They do so because they recognize that you will get done what needs to be done.

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As always if you find yourself with concerns, comments or questions please drop me an email at dave@daveguerra.com and let’s begin a dialogue.

Until next week.

06 June 2022

#8 of 10 Leadership Hacks (a few ways to help you develop your leadership skills)

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8. LEAD BY EXAMPLE - Current and Future Leaders your life will be under a microscope. Everything you say and do is amplified, at least, 100X.

That is why leading by example becomes your life. What you say, where you say it, who you say it to, when you say it, why you say it and how you say it will be under that microscope. There is no escape.

The same goes for what you do. What you do, when you do it, where you do it, who you do it to, why you do it, and how you do it, all under that microscope.

Also what you do NOT say or do, is right there along in that microscope.

As a leader, at any level, your words and actions are everything. The words you say and do not say. The actions you take and do not take. It all matters to those that follow you.

It matters in that as a leader your job is to build trust. By keeping your word and doing what you say you are going to do is how trust is built. The same goes for doing what you say you are going to do.

Failing to deliver and not keeping your word is not what true leaders do. However, there will be times when a leader cannot deliver. In those occasions leaders must communicate to ensure the reason is understood by the followers. Then as soon as possible, make it happen.

"Do as I say and I do" is Leading by example. Genuine leaders need not worry about leading by example as they embody the discipline of leading by example. They know nothing else.

Future leaders, at first there may be a misconception on what leading by example may or may not be. The misconception comes from not understanding that everyone is different and everyone has a different definition to what is "leading by example". By taking the time to accept that all people are different and everyone carries their own definition. The leader becomes aware that to be their authentic self is more important than how others see them.

When current or future leaders accept themselves for who they are then their authenticity moves front and center. As the leader is behaving in a manner appropriate to themselves, others will recognize then authenticity the leader(s) bring. The leader is then leading by example.

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As always if you find yourself with concerns, comments or questions please drop me an email at dave@daveguerra.com and let’s begin a dialogue.

Until next week.