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January 2025 | Leadership, Change, and Growth in the New Year

Writer's picture: Mister MikeMister Mike

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January 2025 | www.SOGiants.com

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Sir Isaac Newton 1643-1727

 

As we anticipate a New Year, let’s consider an interesting statement: “People tend to care less about our personalities and our personal strengths than they do about our making significant contributions to others.” What do you think about that statement?  How DO we see others? Do we appreciate our people only because of what they can do for our company, or do we mostly appreciate their stimulating personalities? When we evaluate our team members, do we include significant contributions they make for others? Our initial answer may be that “all of our team is judged by personality AND by their personal strengths,” but let’s pause for a moment and consider what they really do for the entire team and how they come across as they are doing it. Are they mentors and true leaders, becoming people who will one day be able to have others “stand on their shoulders?”

 

The “speed of change” which I have noted so many times in this newsletter forces us to not only change but to do so on an accelerated scale just to keep up. Jobs which we once saw as fixed and stable are today neither fixed nor stable. Many people have wrenching experiences, leaving them feeling left behind in a seemingly high-tech world. If we are left behind, where does it leave our team and those that are standing on our shoulders? Where does it leave our organization and company?  I bring all of this up because I feel that some people on our teams are so intimidated by how fast things are changing that they are afraid to take some steps necessary to change for the better of the team and the company.  We need to be willing this new year to provide support and encouragement for all team members to realize there is room for each member to grow and move forward on the team.  They just need to cultivate good habits, which often are demonstrated by the leaders that are right there in front of them.

 

In his book, High Performance Habits, Brendo Burchard tells us that “If we study high performers, we will find that they have systems built into their days that drive their success. In both their personal and professional development, these systems and procedures are, ultimately, just “habits.”  Through our “systems,” we and our team can develop significant energy!  Burchard goes on to say, “It takes a lot of energy to succeed over the long haul.  High performers have the magic of the capital “E” type of energy…which is … “holistic but includes both positive and enduring mental, physical, and emotional vibrancy.” (Those types of both personality and personal strengths we so admire, mentioned above)

 

In his book “Leadershift,” John Maxwell comments on transformational leadership. He asks us, “Do you know what happens when a transformational leader has something to do? They get moving! In fact, they are often so eager that their actions follow this pattern: Ready-Fire-Aim. Their strong sense of purpose propels them to do what others are not even willing to attempt to do.”  These kinds of leaders can motivate even those team members that are otherwise intimidated by the fast changes taking place, which can be broken down into step-by-step changes and modeled by the real leaders already in the company.

 

Leaders do need to be aware and look for people (team members and potential team leaders) who have strong personalities and strong personal skills. They should not have to look far.  Ideally, those people are already at the top of your team, demonstrating leadership skills, including both strong personality strengths AND personal skills that contribute to the team and company.  They will be ready at the helm to help those who may still be a bit intimidated and just need someone’s shoulders on which to stand.                                                                                                                                       

                                                      

In my coaching years I came away with some thoughts that I tried to instill in all we did.  We may not have won a lot of games, but still, as coaches we needed to: (1) provide direction that would give teams an understanding of our goals along with how we were going to achieve them, and (2) be sure that we were motivating and energizing the team, coaches and support staff, therefore, creating a feeling that everything was possible and that working together was the secret to achieving our team goals. It was great fun. But I also told them that when they graduated, the “try-outs” were over, and that “the games were about to begin.”




Leadership Vision Value Power Knowledge

Michael M. Carney mr.mikecarney@gmail.com

A special thank you to my support team!


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Leadership Change and Growth




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