Transformational Leadership With Billy Martin

  Check out our newest podcast episode  Remove this From You Verbiage Any time we say some version of the forbidden phrase, we're casting blame. But a great leader never gives blame. You need to remove this verbiage because it's damaging and it's holding you and your organization back. If you want to be a successful organization you have to have a mindset that we won't accept excuses. You can make an excuse or you can make a difference but you can't make both. Instead of saying "Our People Won't" we need to say "We Have Not Lead them Too" and take ownership of the state your organization. A great leader always takes responsibility.   Here are 4 simple things you can do to create that shift. Show them why or what you care about matters. Tell them again, and again, and again. Celebrate any forward progress. Tell stories about someone who gets it right. Over time, you can change the outcome. That's what leaders do. Ending… This week I want to leave you with 2 Thought QUESTIONS: What is the numb

Check out the newest podcast episode on Creating a Culture that is Results Driven If you have a healthy culture there are some definite benefits. Strong values attract the right people and weed out the wrong people. Right values result in right actions. Clear values reduce the need for policies and procedures. People love to be a part of a place with clear direction and values. To develop a great culture Determine honestly what your actions say you value.  Narrow down your values to ten or fewer.  Once you clearly define your values, describe them in short, life-giving statements.  Identify the values through you or your key leaders.  Shape your culture and build your people around your values.  Culture guides discretionary behavior and it picks up where the employee handbook leaves off.   So make sure you Hire and recruit for your values. You can teach skills, but you can't teach values. And one more thing – as the leader, If you don't like where you are going, change d

Check out the newest podcast episode on Maximize your Time to Maximize your Results Schedule your values. Say 'no' to many small things to say 'yes' to a few big things. Create artificial deadlines for increased effectiveness. Empower others as if your future depends on it, because it does.

  Check out the newest podcast episode on 6 traits shared by successful entrepreneurs   Curious - See things no one else does, you have to be a detective, you have to ask questions, but you have to ask the questions, no one else is. Daylight - Just as race-car drivers keep their eyes fixed on the road ahead, creators focus on the future, knowing that where they go, their eyes go first. Shifting - Creators continuously update their assumptions. In rapid succession, they observe, orient, decide, and act. Failing Forward - They hone the skill to turn setbacks into successes.  Connectivity - You have to be able connect people and connect individuals to harness brain power that doesn't necessarily think in the same ilk. Generosity - In an increasingly transparent and interconnected world, generosity makes creators more productive. Being and entrepreneur is challenging and hard work is key. However, you need to know that certain traits will give you a leg up on your

Check out the newest podcast episode: Jump Start Your Company Goals First, ask yourself (and your team) the following question: What one or two specific shifts would make the biggest difference for the success of my unit or for my own career? Then, based on your answer to these question, engage your team and others in a rapid-cycle, high-energy innovative process — actions To have your best year don't be afraid to step outside your current paradigm and question it things. But you must couple that with action and execution

Check out this week's podcast show on Capturing & Creating Innovation   How much of innovation is inspiration, and how much is hard work? If it's mainly the former, then management's role is limited: Hire the right people, and get out of their way. If it's largely the latter, management must play a more vigorous role: Establish the right roles and processes, set clear goals and relevant measures, and review progress at every step. Innovation is real work, and it can and should be managed like any other corporate function. But that doesn't mean it's the same as other business activities. As Peter Drucker so eloquently states, innovation is the work of knowing rather than doing. How is innovation created: Knowledge Innovation - knowledge innovations such as the computer, the automobile, an many other examples like this. Knowledge based innovations are vital to the ever changing economy. However, more than likely you many never have interact with a knowledge based innovation unless you're an i

Check out our newest Podcast Show on How to Have a More Productive Week Vision Focused - Begin with the end in mind. It will help you to prioritize what's important and what can be put on the back burner. Positive Attitude - So much time and energy is used up by a bad mood. Productive individuals revel in the excitement of what they can accomplish Start the Week Before the Week - Plan out your week the week before. Say No - Don't say yes to everything. In fact be very judicious in how you use your yes's. By saying no to things, you'll be saying yes to something important down the line. Use Technology - There are a number technological items that will assist you in becoming more effective ~ such as Evernote, Nozbe, and my fav Trello. These will allow you to become a master of your schedule and be more efficient. White Space - Create white space in your schedule.   In order to reach your goals and being more productive you have to create some guardrails and protect yourself so

Check out the newest Podcast Show on Getting your employees to offer honest feedback Getting candid opinions from your direct reports can be difficult. But hearing messages from down the ranks is imperative for a healthy organization; including input from your company's customers, feedback on your performance, and information from other departments or units. How can you encourage your team members to have honest conversations with you and to speak up when it's important? Here are a handful of things I've suggest over the years that will help create an atmosphere of honest candor within the rank and file.  - Be explicit about the need for honesty.   - Listen, but don't judge - Start small - Model Candor and Openness Eliciting honest, constructive feedback from employees can be difficult, but not impossible While positive feedback encourages people to continue doing what they do well, it's the constructive feedback that helps people and businesses, grow  

Check out the newest Podcast Show on Creating a Vision that Excites  You mustn't just have a vision for the future you must have a clearly defined vision, because if the vision isn't clearly defined then it's really more of an idea or a dream If you don't have a clearly defined vision for the future, you'll always return to the past.  So how do you create a vision that excites. Distill It - Is you vision easily repeatable? Your vision needs to be a simple short repeatable thing that everyone can say and understand.   Paint the Picture - Employees need to have a sense of how their roles interweave with the larger goals of the company in order to take pride in the importance of their work and to do the best possible job on every project. Poor communication will hurt the execution of the vision. Keeping an Open Ear - Be an active listener. When people feel they are being heard especially if they don't necessarily agree with the vision it will create credibility among the populous ev

Check out newest Podcast Show on GroupThink What Is Groupthink? GroupThink occurs when a group values harmony and coherance over accurate analysis and critical evaluation. GroupThink causes individual members of the group to unquestioningly follow the word of the leader and it strongly discourages any disagreement with the consensus. Problem with GroupThink - the suppression of individual opinions and creative thought can lead to poor decision-making and inefficient problem-solving. The Most Common Symptoms of Groupthink Rationalizing prevents members from reconsidering their beliefs and causes them to ignore warning signs. Stereotyping leads members of the in-group to ignore or even demonize out-group members who may oppose or challenge the groups ideas. Self-censorship causes people who might have doubts to hide their fears or misgivings.   How to Prevent or Minimize Groupthink However, there are steps that groups can take to minimize this problem. First, leaders can give group members the opportu

  4 Main Political Climates  Minimally politicized, where the atmosphere is amicable and team oriented  Moderately politicized, where rules are sanctioned and conflict is not pervasive  Highly politicized, where rules are invoked when convenient and conflict is pervasive  Pathologically politicized, where rules are circumvented and conflict is long lasting and pervasive

      3 Signs to look for if your organization is dying:  - The same results require double the effort  - The team has lost its swagger  - You deliver more excuses than results 4 Things You Can Do Fix it Right Away  - Revisit your strategy  - Fresh eyes  - Keep honest metrics  - Examine your budget Recognizing a dying organization from within is challenging, most notice it when it’s too late The one thing you can do to shift from a dying organization to a healthy organization is double down on innovation    

Organizations hoping to survive over the long term and wanting to stand the test of time need to do one thing and one thing only - remake themselves. Companies and organizations that are successful will have to remake themselves into better competitors along the way.  There is a couple of presuppositions that need to be stated:  - Change is always uncomfortable  - Real change takes a long time  - The most successful change is when there is relational trust involved When those involved with the change understand these presuppositions, it makes navigating through change substantially easier   First step in Leading Change is creating the need Next step in Leading Change is to create a team of influencers who can execute the vision, strategic goals, and initiatives that come about to lead change Then make sure the vision is clear - once the vision has been established form your strategic goals and initiatives that are birthed from those strategic goals Next step is to start execution &nbs

  It’s important that your team has buy-in on a project. If they don’t you won’t get the result you want or the results you need in the time you want them. Identify what ownership means.  - Communicate what you expect out of your team and what they can expect from you Give your team a great environment in which real responsibility takes place  - Makes it a point to invest in them and then in turn give them permission to lead Start by answering, “Why?”  - Give purpose to a mission, there must be a reason that resonates with your team. When a team has buy-in it’s running like a smooth machine.   

In a healthy organization, as leaders we are tasked with one and only one goal - get results Know who you can trust and who you can’t. Kill conflict Break the lone leader model  

If you want your organization to continue to grow you must make sure it stays true to the vision. Always go back to WHY Be intentional Make the hard decisions Don’t sweat the small stuff Ultimately staying true to your vision is about being self aware   

Communication is vital if you want them to move with effectiveness The ability to communicate is a skill that’s non-negotiable and will give you an edge over other managers and supervisors Here are a handful of techniques that I’ve used over the years that have help me: Be focused on helping If you’re more focused on helping the listener, and less focused on yourself, that creates empathy between you and the hearer Get ahead Vision casting Likability factor You want people to understand that you’re a real person As a leader it’s vital to communicate in a manner that motivates Leadership naturally comes with a microphone, it’s your job to use it properly to not just benefit you or the organization but to benefit those you lead in a healthy manner  

  How do you build the trust once you've increased the accountability. 1. Be honest right in the beginning 2. Take the time and meet as many individual contributors as you can as soon as you can 3. Be transparent with your team about your accountability 4. Ask for their advice Increasing accountability can be beneficial for your organization if needed, but you have to do so with wisdom   

Management would be easy if only everyone were highly motivated. But that’s like saying basketball would be simple if only everyone could dunk. Don’t 1. Use your positional power as a manager in a way that shows you don’t fully respect your employees as individuals 2. Take credit for a project one of your employees actually did most of the work on 3. Lose your temper 4. Don’t stand up for your employees when under personal or organizational attack.  5. Be emotionally stingy Things to do to motivate an unmotivated employee 1. Align individual economic interests with company performance 2. Take a genuine interest in the future path of an employee’s career 3. Take a genuine interest in their work-life balance  4. Listen 5. Ownership  6. Ask for their opinion  7. Do unto others as you would have done unto you  Motivating an unmotivated employee is about channeling a few things in the right manner to get your team going in the right di

  Creating an Incredible Team Culture is vital - I can’t state this enough of how important that creating a great team culture is to the success of your department. Your results are tied to the health of your team culture whether good or bad.   So how do you create an incredible team culture? Very simply it’s about having your team aligned with the mission and values of the organization. All culture really is - is what your organization or department values as it’s played out in everyday operational tasks. Culture is what you environment say you value. Culture is the limits test for is the mission and vision statement in the day-to-day by your team. That’s why if your team is aligned with the mission and values of the organization you will have a great culture. Define your cultural filters Introduce systems that reinforce culture Equip and Empower When the organizations values are lived out in the day to day operations, teams are effectively executing within the same rhythm w