Recently I had an idea for one of my corporate leadership programs that has over 6,000 leaders enrolled. In an attempt to make the program communications more personal, I included an insightful reflection one of the participants “Mark” had shared at the bottom of the email message. I didn’t have to wait long for a response, but I was surprised who it came from. Within minutes an email reply appeared from our company president. He had cc’d me in a reply directly to Mark and included Mark’s entire executive chain of command. Our president began by thanking him for his engagement in the program and leadership in his function and ended with a “proud to have you on the team!”

I don’t know anyone busier than our company president, but he still found time to give a personal kudos. I don’t know Mark personally, but I bet he went home walking on air with a story to share with his family over dinner. “That was really fun to be a part of,” I thought. “I want to do this again.”

One of my favorite quotes of all-time comes from the 18th century English writer Samuel Johnson, who observed, “The applause of a single human being is of great consequence.”

Each of us are “single human beings.” We qualify. Your applause is of great consequence, and so is mine.

Celebrating the success of others is definitely a “nice” thing to do, but if we think a little deeper, it has some real benefits for us as well.

Engage Them and Retain Them

According to a recent Gallup report, only one in three American workers reported receiving recognition or praise from their boss within the last week. Not only that, under-recognized employees are twice as likely to actively seek outside employment. It’s no wonder Dale Carnegie was so emphatic about “giving honest, sincere appreciation.” It’s much harder for employees to leave a boss who heaps appreciation their way.

Become More Aware of Others’ Contributions

You’ve heard the old adage that “what you see is what you get.” Need proof? Do you remember your last vehicle purchase? All of a sudden it probably seemed half the other drivers on the road had the same idea as you. You spotted the car everywhere. Of course the number of cars didn’t change, your awareness did. Become a good-finder and you may be surprised how much there is to notice.

Win Hearts… and Minds

How do you determine whether you trust someone? Is it because of logic or because of emotion? So often, we try to convince our followers and colleagues of the rationale for following our ideas when an emotional appeal would do a better job. When you win someone’s heart, they will often give you their mind as well. The opposite is not always the case.

Showing honest and sincere appreciation is a guaranteed way to appeal to the heart. Do this, and it will be much easier to sell your ideas as well.

Change the Culture

Have you ever been part of a “gotcha” culture? Unfortunately some people find fault like there is a reward for it. What if the “gotcha” was for doing something right, instead of wrong?

In Whale Done! Ken Blanchard observes that Sea World trainers have learned the best way to turn an animal into a top performer is through constant and positive, rather than negative, reinforcement. It’s the same with people. Not only that, when enough leaders jump on board, the entire culture can shift.

It’s a Ton of Fun!

When our president’s email reply came through, I’ll admit I didn’t even read it right away. As soon as I realized what it was, I had to find a colleague to share it with. Even though I was an observer, it was the highlight of my day. We all have the ability to make someone else’s day – and by extension, our own. Words and gestures matter. Even if you have a reputation for being gruff, the invitation is open. You’ll be the one who benefits most.

Speaking of celebrating the success of others, I gave it a shot recently when a colleague Ann was promoted to a new facility CEO. Check out her leadership profile here – you’ll be inspired.

Hope is a strangely human enigma. It can’t be handled but it can be shared. It can’t create anything on its own but it can pave the way for new accomplishments.

Whether you’re celebrating a new beginning (like the start of a new year), caught up in new adventure or struggling to maintain the status quo, hope plays a key role. Not only must leaders be positive (no one wants to follow a pessimist!), they must deal in hope that can be felt and transferred.

Here are several ways to grow and share your hope.

Cast a Fascinating Vision

Plans are critical to any leadership endeavor, but they aren’t inspiring. Plans and goals are actionable. A vision is a picture of what could (and should) be. It can be felt. It has the power to unite. But not all visions are created equal. Even if your goals seem routine, identify the better future they create and share it in a compelling way.

Humanize Your Message

Hope won’t spring eternal for a new sales goal. But it will for a solution to a human need. At the end of the day, every business is a people business. Resist the tendency to get lazy with your message. Find the person on the other end of your goal and make them a focal point for your message.

Blow it Up

Realist goals get approved but don’t inspire hope. Zoom out: how could you make your goal 10% bigger? 100% bigger? It takes discipline to think big – especially when many leaders are overloaded with putting out fires and managing the daily grind. Not every goal should be expanded, and none of them should be arbitrarily. Forcing yourself to think bigger not only ups the ante, it provides the chance to discover a game-changing new alternative.

Identify Your Kryptonite

Hope isn’t restrained by realism. But that shouldn’t prevent you from doing a risk assessment. What could prevent your hopes from coming true? How can you avoid this? How will you continue if it can’t be avoided? If you fail to identify risks, your hopes aren’t any better than whims.

History is filled with leaders who accomplished amazing feats with little more than hope. Even if your situation is much more “everyday” than the heroes in our books and movies, hope must be stewarded. As John Johnson said, “It’s the size of your hope that will determine how far you will go in life.”

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or follow him on Twitter.

So what does career management have to do with leadership? It’s a lot harder to lead if you’re not in the right job fit. One of the best ways to excel as a leader is to choose the right context.

Here’s some of the best conventional wisdom I use with myself and others when it comes to charting out a career path – or just making a change.

Accept Responsibility

At the end of the day, your career is your responsibility – in every aspect. If things aren’t going well, you aren’t loving it, you haven’t been promoted or if you can’t land the job you want – there is only one person you can ultimately lean on – yourself. That’s why Stephen Covey’s first habit is “be proactive.” It’s tempting to pass the blame to parents’ expectations, lack of support from an alma mater, a unreasonable boss or lousy employer. Accept responsibility. Your career is your career.

Follow Your Passion

Passion doesn’t come from the head, it comes from the heart (tweet). If you don’t care about what you do – or the why behind the what – you do yourself (and everyone else) a huge disservice. We’ve all encountered doctors, teachers, pastors, business professionals or service workers who clearly lacked passion – and it showed in their work. At the end of the day, fulfilling work is still work – so do the work upfront to identify and pursue what you are uniquely passionate about.

Consider Your Options

I spoke with an Air Force general a few years back who told me he routinely encouraged younger service members to consider leaving the military. “You encourage them to leave??” I asked. “That’s not what I said,” he replied. “I encourage them to consider leaving. When staying becomes the mindless choice, it’s never the best outcome – both for the person or the service.”

Zig Ziglar used to say, “People don’t know what they want because they don’t know what’s available for them.” The Heath brothers encourage finding many possible options to avoid choosing between only A and B. There are more opportunities available today than there ever were before in human history. If you’re having trouble identifying possible options – that’s your next homework assignment.

Speak Up!

In Rules of the Red Rubber Ball, author Kevin Carroll recounted an experience right after joining the Air Force where he realized he did not want to be an MP. In a moment of desperation, he interrupted a very formal lecture to volunteer for another assignment. It ruffled feathers, but he was granted his request. Often the times we need to speak up most are the times it would be easiest not to (tweet). So speak up – your career depends on it.

Make a Goal (and a Plan)

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry once said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Career aspirations needs to be written as goals with a plan to accompany them. Don’t skip this step because it feels like a drag. Come up with some short but specific SMART goals, and make sure to include target dates. Incorporate an Individual Development Plan so you’ll be prepared.

Embrace the Grind

If you still follow all these steps, you’ll still fail at this last point if you neglect to do the work. Career success doesn’t come easily or automatically. Be willing to sacrifice for it. Get up early. Cut out less important activities. Temporarily put some aspects of your life on hold while you push forward. Take Dave Ramsey’s advice and “Live like no one else so that someday – you can live like no one else.” Without sacrifice, there is no reward.

I’ve always felt that if I am going to spend the best years of my life working, I need to invest it as wisely as possible. After all, every day is precious. As I’ve progressed, I’ve also realized what career success looks like for me is often very different than for others. But I can also tell you every bit of hard work has been worth it.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Everyone wants to work for a strong leader and to have dependable people supporting them. But it’s not a given. So if you’ve ever asked where all the good leaders have gone, it may be helpful to tweak your perspective.

Adjust Your Expectations

How do you answer the question, “What makes a good leader?” Chances are you’ll respond with a leadership quality that means a good deal to you. The truth is, it takes many characteristics to produce a highly effective leader. Blanchard & Miller’s SERVE Model alone lists five of them (see & shape the future, engage & develop others, reinvent continuously, value results & relationships and embody the values) – and there are many models out there. Expectations for leaders should be high. But expecting each leader to master every leadership skill every time is an impossible standard. Not only do we all make mistakes, we have different sets of strengths and weaknesses. You’ve probably worked with a leader who excelled at project management but lacked empathy – or maybe the other way around. Anticipate imperfection.

Look for the Good

At one point, steel mogul Andrew Carnegie was the wealthiest man in America. In fact, he was so wealthy that he once had 43 millionaires in his employ – an unheard of amount for that time. When asked how he produced so many, he responded that men are developed the same way gold is mined. You have to move several tons of dirt to find one ounce of gold. “But one doesn’t go into the mine looking for the dirt – one goes in looking for the gold.”

Not everyone will become a millionaire leading organizations. But each leader – and each person – has a set of good qualities they bring to the table. To the extent that you can become a good-finder in others, you will be able to appreciate and build from their contribution. Do what Ralph Waldo Emerson did. He said, “In my walks,  every man I meet is my superior in some way, and in that I learn from him.”

Develop Your Own

When qualified leaders are hard to find, it’s not just corporate recruiting’s problem. It’s everyone’s problem, including yours. Sitting on your hands while the organization stagnates isn’t an option. Roll up your sleeves and start developing the people you already have. They won’t become the leaders you need them to be by accident. The options are endless: conduct a talent review, hold IDP discussions, build an onboarding process or find training options or stretch assignments. Be proactive.

Not everyone is qualified to lead an organization at the top, but you’ll find great leadership examples all over the place if you stop to notice them. People generally find what they are looking for. The trick is to develop the discipline to look for the good – and then develop it to become great.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

“Think Grey”

Steven Sample shared this concept in his landmark book The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership as an encouragement to resist making a critical thinking judgment sooner than necessary. It’s easy to draw conclusions quickly. We don’t like a certain business approach. We should allocate more money for a particular project. We may be right, but it’s often extremely valuable to postpone the judgment until later when possible – especially when we are in a new environment.

Be a “Kamerman” Teammate

I’ve never forgotten what FBI Executive Assistant Director Janet Kamerman told our consulting team several years ago. She said the FBI needed leaders who were “good at making other people look good.” If that’s good enough for the FBI, it’s good enough for me. I suppose you could call it a “Cliff Paul” teammate as well – being someone who looks to set a teammate up for a slam dunk whenever possible. That’s the kind of teammate I want to be because that’s the kind of teammate I want around me.

Value Personality Differences

I’ve worked with colleagues with near identical personality traits as mine as well as others who were strikingly different. The natural tendency is to assume that my “way” is always best. It’s not. Differences complement – and can add extra spice to relationships. But they also require patience.

Be Known Positively

Did you ever stop to think that people prefer to work with people they like? Guess what? In a large way you are responsible for your public image. The more you need to collaborate with others to get your job done, the more important it is. Don’t be the person who builds a lousy image and then expects others to partner with you.

No Entitlement

I participated in a talent review once where the consensus on one leader was that he had an entitlement complex. He felt he deserved a promotion while management felt he needed more time to prove himself in his current role. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it with the company much longer. The sad thing was that he had the knowledge and skills to succeed. It was his attitude that held back. Make your contribution your #1 concern.

Learner’s Mindset

When was the last time you did something for the first time? As a young professional, everything is new. But as we gain experience, we start to operate from habit rather than creativity. It’s extremely self-limiting. I’m challenging myself to try to learn and grow (not just my skills but also my capacity) as much in the next five years as I have in the past five – but it will require a focused learner’s mindset.

Servant’s Heart

It’s easy to get so busy with our agenda that we forget why we even lead. I’ve had to stop many times to remind myself that I serve at the pleasure of the people writing my paycheck and work for the good of my internal and external customers. If what I produce doesn’t work for them, it shouldn’t work for me either. Leading and serving ought to go hand in hand.

Humble + Hungry

You’ve probably been encouraged to “stay humble and hungry” a time or two. Sometimes it’s hard to balance ambition and contentment, but this theme seems to fit right in the middle of the two. Be humble enough to put others first and hungry enough to put yourself out there.

Grateful Daily

Perspective is a powerful tool. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize how good I have it – a sentiment that is often lost in the long meetings and complicated project planning. That’s why the discipline of gratitude is so important. I’m truly blessed – and so are you.

Blessings in the new year!

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Regardless of what you aspire to do, excellence is a worthy goal. But it probably won’t be your starting point. So how do you get there? Try this.

Is it Worth It?

This may be a new idea for you, but you can do anything you want. You just can’t do everything you want. There are always limits to time and resources. That means you’ll have to make some tough choices along the way.

If you could be excellent at your current endeavor, would it be worth doing? Or is it simply a means to another end? Invest yourself accordingly. Don’t bet the pot on side projects. Go big when it counts.

Don’t Compare

Dave Ramsey likes to say that 15 minutes of fame can take a lifetime to attain. Unless you are a prodigy, someone else’s proven track record of excellence will far outshine your humble beginnings. Don’t let that stop you. Their first attempts probably weren’t excellent either. If you have something to contribute, be willing to contribute your best effort now with the understanding that it will improve over time.

Pick Something You Have a Passion For

Dale Carnegie loved performing as an actor – but he wasn’t very good at it. He also wasn’t a great salesman. But when he discovered a complete lack of public speaking and communications training in his market, a match was made in heaven. He quickly develop a training program that turned shy and timid professionals into confident performers in their everyday roles. That training program still exists 100 years later. When you love what you do, it’s much easier to become excellent. If you don’t love it, wouldn’t you be doing everyone a favor by investing in something else? Possess a passion that keeps you moving.

Harness a Commitment for Growth

Individualism is the American way, but it will kill your chances to go from good to great. “But I prefer to do things my way.” “I have a special system.” That’s great. But if the best still invest in coaches, teachers, additional training and more practice, you certainly should as well. Best practices aren’t always set in stone for all-time (otherwise how would best practices change?). But you need to know the “rules” before you break the them. And once you do, maintain a healthy appetite for continuous improvement through growth. Don’t let a taste of excellence deter you from reaching new heights.

Start

I asked a musician friend of mine once how he wrote so many great songs. He said that he wrote one new song a week. Were they all good? No, some were terrible. But others weren’t. That’s when it clicked. Excellence is more about perseverance than genius.

Zig Ziglar put it this way, “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.”

Start.

Start where you are. Start with what you have. Just start.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

I’m not sure if she ended up pursuing school in the years since or if she’s still waiting for that support. Here’s what I do know: having other people in your corner can mean the world – especially the ones closest to you. But unfortunately sometimes the support of others is unavailable. Then what?

It’s a popular belief these days that no one attains success on their own. There is always a supporting cast. In many cases this is true, but fortunately, not in all. If you’re on your own, you can still make it. Here are the top two reasons:

So Many People Have Done It

The list of examples of all the people who have succeeded on their own is a long one. Chris Gardener, who inspired the movie The Pursuit of Happyness, overcame incredible odds to become a Wall Street legend after being homeless. Carolyn Jessop escaped a cult with her eight children in tow all by herself. So many single parents survived hardship to keep their children clothed and fed and give them a chance at a better life. (Remember Kevin Durant’s “Real MVP” speech?). Millions have migrated to new lands of opportunity with little more than the clothes on their backs and managed to carve out a new life for themselves and their families.

On the other hand, many others were handed success with all the support and resources they could handle along the way but still managed to let things fall apart.

To Say Otherwise Places a Self-Imposed Boundary

The second reason you can succeed on your own is a little more philosophical. It’s this: for the person who truly has no support system, the notion that success is not possible creates a self-fulfilling belief. Obviously the support of others makes a huge difference – and sometimes all the difference. But its absence does not guarantee failure – unless you believe it does.

Henry Ford once said that “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”

Making it on your own may seem impossible. In some cases it’s infinitely more difficult than with the aid of others. Given the choice, it would be foolish to pass up the helping hand of others. But if you don’t have it, don’t give up. Stay in the game. You can do it.

“It’s not the color or your skin or the place of your birth but the size of your hope that will determine where you will go in your life.” – John Johnson.

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

Bold Leaders Don’t Wait Until They Know the All the Answers

Author Andy Stanley explained that while vision AND strategy are both important aspects of leadership, vision always comes first. “Clarity around and unreasonable commitment to what should be,” precedes every bold endeavor. But “how” always comes later on. In fact, the quickest way to stifle a vision is to insist on knowing all the answers before getting started. You usually only figure things out one step at a time.

You Will Face Adversity

Former Navy SEAL commander Rorke Denver admitted that the only response to fear that works is to face it. Avoiding pain won’t allow you to get to the final destination. That’s a tough decision for each individual to make. But it doesn’t have to be a solo experience. Bravery is much easier with a team around you.

Bravery is YOUR Responsibility

Nobel Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai delivered perhaps the bottom line for the entire event: “It is our duty to speak out for what is true and right.” Malala has unparalleled credibility on this sentiment since she survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban for speaking out on behalf of education rights for all children. She continues her work as an advocate, but also as an encourager. “We should not wait for someone else,” she said. “Be brave wherever you are. Bravery has no limits. Stand up. Speak out.”

It Takes Courage to Create Change

Peyton Manning famously said that “Anyone who waits for someone else to make the change is automatically a follower.” If no change is required, there’s no need for leaders. Unfortunately, change is difficult, unsettling and unpredictable. Therefore, Manning added that leaders should expect – and even learn to thrive in –  situations with ambiguity.

A Good Team is Better than a Good Idea

Pixar president Ed Catmull shared that a bad team will ruin a good idea, but a good team will take a bad idea and turn it into a good one. Therefore, we must develop our teams. We can do this by removing barriers to collaboration and sharing in team (rather than individual) successes.

We’ll Never Be Fully Ready

One of the themes throughout the event was that preparation not only greatly enhances the probability of success, it replaces fear with a measure of confidence. However, Seth Godin reminded everyone that many times we cannot be fully ready for the change we seek to crate. Many new ideas, products and technologies were built before the “market” was ready for them (such as the fax machine, printing press, automobiles or Apple products). To create any such change means accepting the possibility that it will fail.

Leaders Must be Optimists

This wasn’t a new sentiment at Leadercast. Both Jack Welch and Condelizza Rice noted the need for optimists at previous Leadercast events. This year, Rudy Giuliani explained again that no one lines up to follow a pessimist. Napoleon once claimed, “Leaders are dealers of hope.” If there is no reason to hope, there is no reason to follow.

If you attended Leadercast this year, what was your biggest takeaway?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his new ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website  or follow him on Twitter.

My first thought was that Coach K must have really messed up his black suit hugging a really sweaty guy (probably a sign that I’d make a terrible basketball coach). The second was how evident the bond between the leader and the followers was that day. It wasn’t an expression of victory, but one of commitment.

In case you didn’t know, “Coach K” is the winningest coach in Division 1 college basketball with over 1,000 wins. He played and coached under Bob Knight at West Point. He’s won four national championships at Duke University. And he’s coached several Team USA men’s basketball teams to Olympic gold.

But Coach K will be the first to tell you that winning it all is too shallow of a goal to play for. Instead, the focus should be on building teams that can consistently be in a position to perform at their very best. Coach K knows how to build winning teams. Here are just a few of his teamwork strategies.

Inclusive Language

According to Coach K, something sacred happens when our language changes from “I” to “we,” from “my” to “our,” and from “me” to “us.” All of a sudden, there’s no longer such a thing as “my” team; only “our” team. And if it’s “our” team, that means every part of the team is equal in value, regardless of the individual roles. The bottom line is this: teams win or lose together.

Collective Goals and Responsibility

At Leadercast 2013, Coach K shared his famous fist analogy which goes like this: any one fist can defeat any one finger. In other words, the best team can always defeat the best individual. That’s why individual goals only work in the context of overall team goals. Only a group mentality can create a team identity. When leaders take responsibility for their own actions and mistakes, it sets a powerful precedent for the team. But leaders need to take responsibility for the performance of the team as a whole – and own it collectively. At that point, commitment takes on a whole new meaning. “When you love your team and are committed to them, you can’t let them down. You might let yourself down, but you won’t let your team down.” The result? A shared confidence – one that is better than a confidence only in yourself.

Trust

We hear a lot about trust from most teamwork or relationship experts. According to Coach K, a team commitment has to be be based on trust, which in turn is based on telling the truth. The quicker teammates tell the truth to each other, the faster they can get and stay on track. When teams trust one another, confrontation is a constructive, not destructive, experience because it is based on the team’s commitment to their collective performance. True friends tell each other the truth, so why shouldn’t true teammates? Confrontation can’t break a relationship that is bonded by trust. Without trust, a team is defeated by within instead of by the competition.

Building Relationships

What stood out to me about the court-side hug between player and coach was that it was simply an expression of a relationship that had been established long ago. Coach K shared in his book Leading with the Heart that “the only way to lead people is to understand them. And the only way to understand them is to get to know them personally. That’s why you need to invest time with each person.” Why? Because people don’t follow a leader who has his own agenda or doesn’t ever show his “real” side. Too many leaders are afraid to show their real side, which is exactly what they need to show to connect with their teams.

Even though I don’t root for Duke, I root for what Coach K stands for. I want to be on a team like the ones he creates. I’d like to create those kinds of teams as well. Here’s the good news: it’s possible. What’s the next step for your team?

Nathan Magnuson is a leadership consultant, coach, trainer and thought leader.  Receive his ebook Trusted Leadership Advisor by subscribing to his website or   follow him on Twitter.

You don’t have to be special to be a leader and you don’t have to be an expert to help other leaders succeed. You can start right now, right where you are.

Trusted Leadership Advisor is a compilation of some of my previous posts on this topic. In the ebook, I show you how to think about your role as a trusted leadership advisor, what to say and how to get started. Take a look – and if you find it helpful, please share it.

I’d also appreciate your feedback. This is my first ebook and I want to know if the format, structure and ideas prove to be helpful for you. You can leave me a comment below or contact me directly.

There’s so much work to do – let’s work together!