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Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Asian Invasion

This week I, and two team members from Growing Leaders, fly to Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. We will spend a week doing launch events with students, with business leaders and with church leaders in that part of the world. In my daily blogs, I will include some insights I am picking up as I interface with leaders in these nations.

Growing Leaders works with two partner organizations that teach Habitudes in Asia. They represent our cause of developing a new generation of leaders in that part of the world. This week represents my seventh trip to this region. Each time I am there—I have made observations about life and leadership. Here are a few of them I have made so far…

1. The world really is flat. Thomas Friedman was right on that one. Whether I am talking to parents, or business executives or youth workers—I am stunned at how similar their struggles are, how much people who live there need the same things from their leaders that ours do, and how much we need consistent equipping in our lives to lead well. Leaders need training; and followers need encouragement and clear direction—I don’t care where they live.

2. Parents from industrialized nations share common habits. I noticed in Singapore that, like us, there is a brand new generation of parents raising kids today, just like there is a whole new generation of kids. Parents in developed nations tend to struggle with hovering over their kids, they tend to over-structure their lives and they tend to want to pave the way for their kids as they enter college and career.

3. The use of technology plays an increasing role in the way we do relationships and business. In fact, the U.S. pales in comparison to Asian countries that have more advanced mobile phones and other hand-held devices. Technology is no longer a tool. It is a way of life. People are increasingly dependent on it to simply do their life.

We have much to learn from the countries in Asia—and much to share as well. I love how I broaden my perspective when I travel. I will keep you posted on what I’m learning. Thanks for reading my posts.

Tim

In: Culture, Leadership

Friday, July 1, 2011

Three Rules to Live By if You Are Developing Students

Each week, I blog to teachers, youth workers, coaches, parents and employers who work with young people. In fact, my tagline for the blog is: Leading the Next Generation. Today, I’d like to unveil three rules every leader of young people ought to know about human nature, particularly young humans. If you train students or young adults, never forget the following life rules:

1. People don’t do well when things in life come easy.

It’s true for all of us—but certainly for kids. If students grow up and everything has been handed to them on a silver platter; they’ve never had to work for any of it, in fact, the “poop never stuck to their shoes” (meaning they never had consequences for the wrong things they did), they likely will not fare well in life as an adult. We must teach appropriate consequences to students, for all of their actions.

2. People almost always do better when they are watched.

My friend told me how he runs daily around the track at the local high school in town. One day, a bunch of beautiful young ladies stood beside the track chatting. He told me he made sure his form was perfect and he looked good when he ran by them. Why? Just in case they were watching. The bottom line? We all perform better under surveillance. We need accountability. We do better when we’re watched.

3. People don’t perform well without encouragement and example.

Most of us forget a universal principle in life. Encouragement is not a luxury. It is essential for people to move forward. Additionally, seeing an example is often a necessity, since people generally do what they “see” not what they “hear.” Last year 61% of American workers said they received no encouragement on their job and saw no positive examples. Ugh. As you attempt to train young people, be intentional about the encouragement you offer and the example you set for those students.

So, whoever you’re students are, whether they’re…

An Athlete or a Mathlete
A Musician or a Thespian
A Jock or a Geek
Fuzzy or Focused about the future

I suggest you follow these three rules if you want to prepare them for the future. Are there any other “rules” you’ve found are universal?

Tim

In: Education, Generation iY, Leadership, Parenting

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Catalyst

Leadership is changing around the world, and so is leadership training. We cannot continue to do either the way we’ve done them before. While the essence of good leadership is timeless—methods and styles are radically shifting. Old school is out.

That’s one reason why I participate in the Catalyst conference every October. Catalyst is an event like no other—and is targeted at equipping a new generation of leaders. Each year about 13,000 leaders from all over the U.S. (and the world) gather at the Gwinnett Arena just north of Atlanta, for an incredible two-day experience. Catalyst isn’t for everyone and it’s really more than an event. It is a movement of next-generation, faith-based leaders who are not satisfied with merely dong what’s always been done. Status quo is not enough for these leaders. Nothing short of life transforming, spiritually alive organizations will do.

This year, speakers will be Jim Collins, Dave Ramsey, Andy Stanley, Francis Chan, Judah Smith, Mark Driscoll and others. I will be dong a “lab” the Wednesday before on leading students past “artificial maturity”—and would love for you to join me, and then attend this great event. The dates are October 5-7, 2011. At this point, you can still get the Early Bird rate.

If this sounds good to you, check out this link.

Join me there.
Tim

In: Generation iY, Leadership

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Four Ways to Handle a Toxic Leader

I recently spoke to some very close friends, each of whom had a negative experience with their supervisor. When I say negative, I am being kind. These leaders were toxic—they were critical, rude, selfish, accusatory, looking for what’s wrong and preoccupied with their own needs. They’re mute when it comes to encouragement, deaf when it comes to hearing the cries of those under them and blind when it comes to seeing the damaging affect they have on others. One friend told me she was consistently asked to lie regarding their company’s income (her boss claimed to be a Christian). Another told me her leader knew absolutely nothing about her and didn’t care to build any kind of relationship. (Her company employed only four people.)

These leaders are toxic. They can harm you if you stick around. So, how do you handle these leaders if you serve under them? Let me offer four ideas.

1. When asked to act against your values or to lie to someone, let your boss know you’re uncomfortable and that you’ll send the person to whom you’re supposed to lie—to them. Let your boss commit the crime if they choose to do so.

2. When your leader sends you texts or emails that are loaded with emotion, ask to meet face to face. Email and texts are meant for information not emotion. Force them to exhibit some backbone to face you and have a conversation.

3. When you receive all criticism and no encouragement—let your boss know you want to please them and you feel you’re not doing a good job with that. Ask to meet and clarify expectations. Ask if there’s anything you’re doing right and focus on that.

4. If you cannot sleep at night or consistently get an upset stomach from the mere thought of working under your leader—it’s likely time for a change. Toxic leaders may pay well, but the damage they can do to your emotions isn’t worth it. Get out, and do with diplomacy. Never burn any bridges.

Bad leaders are usually unhealthy people. Because they’re hurting, they hurt others. When they feel intimidated, they intimidate. In fact, I’ve noticed they often act out and accuse underlings of the very “sins” they commit themselves. Don’t lose your empathy for them, but don’t lose your objectivity either. If you plan to stay with an unhealthy leader, identify healthy friends who can support you and hold you accountable to stay healthy yourself.

Your thoughts? Have you ever been under a bad boss? What did you do?

Tim

In: Leadership, Workplace

Monday, June 27, 2011

The Stuff I Experienced Last Week

I just spent three days with some great people. Our organization, Growing Leaders, hosted our 2011 National Leadership Forum in Atlanta. Then, on Saturday, we held a Habitudes certification event, to license 51 Habitudes facilitators.

I met leaders from great schools like Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Baylor, Liberty, Texas and so many more. Three key leaders from Player Development at the Pittsburgh Pirates participated as well. Our theme was “Develop: Cultivating Growth, Engagement & Success in Students.” Over the weekend, I reflected on some of the ideas and highlights from the Forum, and decided to share a few with you here in this blog.

1. One participant shared that students are allowed to write down problems around the world that trouble them on a slip of paper, and fill a jar in her college class with those slips. Then, whenever they get the work done and have some extra time—they can pull out one of those slips of paper and brainstorm what could be done to solve that problem. It gets the students used to problem-solving habits and thinking about solutions instead of excuses and complaints.

2. Another participant talked about how they’ve changed the way they receive incoming freshmen. Instead of immersing them into a series of college lectures and seeing who can last, they get them working on projects. The kinesthetic learners (which is most students today) love the engagement of actually doing something. Immediately, the lectures are relevant and students have incentive to listen to them. Next, those students choose a problem and work with a team to solve that problem by creating an invention or a strategic plan. Again, it fosters problem-solving habits.

3. Still another participant talked about the power of “fun” with students today. If instructors can invest a little time having fun in the classroom—getting acquainted with the students and being “real” it pays off with huge dividends in students liking the teacher, the subject and even realizing higher grades at the end of the semester. Doing something fun seems like a waste of time, but it is so much the language of a young person today—it is an investment in student engagement and success.

If you weren’t there, I wish you could’ve been. May I invite you to join us next year at our National Leadership Forum where our theme will be: “Growing Leaders Not Just Graduates.” We will talk about growing leadership in yourself, in your team and in the students you teach. The dates are: June 28-29, 2012. Mark your calendar now.

See you there!

Tim

In: Education, Generation iY, Leadership

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