by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Planning, Tools, Wellbeing
Links to other parts of the miniseries:
5 truths about attitudes
8 Choices to change an attitude – Part 1
8 Choices to change an attitude – Part 2
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 0 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 7 Axioms to understand the impact of attitude
— From Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
Yesterday we learned five truths about attitudes. We also learned that a good attitude does not guarantee success, but a bad one definitely guarantees failure.
At this point, very likely, you are nodding affirmatively because you know a good attitude vs. a bad one when you see it. But, can you describe what attitude is? John Maxwell, author of Attitude 101, says, “Attitude is an inward feeling expressed by behavior. That is why an attitude can be seen without a word being said. Haven’t we all noticed ‘the pout’ of the sulker, or the ‘jutted jaw’ of the determined? Of all the things we wear, our expression is the most important.”
“For some, attitude presents a difficulty in every opportunity; for others it presents an opportunity in every difficulty.”
Maxwell was intrigued by the fact that attitude can make or break individuals, so he put together seven axioms to help us better understand how attitude impacts a person’s life.
1. Our attitude determines our approach to life. “We are individually responsible for our view of life. […] But almost daily we witness jobs that are held but hated and marriages that are tolerated bur unhappy, all because people are waiting for others, or the world, to change instead of realizing that they are responsible for their own behavior.”
2. Our attitude determines our relationship with people. “All of life is impacted by our relationships with people, yet establishing relationships is difficult. You can’t get along with some people, and you can’t make it without them. That’s why it’s essential to build proper relationships with others in our crowded world.” It is very important to lead with empathy: to have an attitude that places others first, that sees people as important, that walks a mile in their shoes, and that reflects their point of view.
3. Often our attitude is the only difference between success and failure. “There is very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.”
4. Our attitude at the beginning of a task will affect its outcome more than anything else. “Most projects fail or succeed before they begin… The right attitude in the beginning ensures success at the end. You are acquainted with the saying ‘All’s well that ends well.’ An equal truth is ‘All’s well that begins well.’ […] Many times we have been guilty of viewing our future challenges as the sunset of life rather than the sunrise of a bright new opportunity.”
5. Our attitude can turn our problems into blessings. “In Awake, My Heart, J. Sidlow Baxter wrote, ‘What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty and every difficulty has an opportunity.’ ”
6. Our attitude can give us an uncommonly positive perspective. “An uncommonly positive perspective is able to help us accomplish some uncommon goals.” Maxwell cites the story of David and Goliath. Upon seeing the giant warrior Goliath, his opponents thought He’s so big we’ll never kill him. Whereas David, a young shepherd, looked at him and thought, He’s so big I can’t miss. Individuals who approach life from an entirely positive perspective are not always understood, as they won’t settle for what is “normal or accepted” in terms of limitations. “Certainly they have limitations. Their gifts are not so plentiful that they cannot fail. But they are determined to walk to the very edge of their potential and the potential of their goals before accepting defeat.”
7. Your attitude is not automatically good because you are a religious person. Maxwell mentions that sins “are all matters of attitude, inner spirit, and motives. Sadly, many people of faith carry with them inner-spirit problems.” The problems are further accentuated when they confuse a poor attitude with righteousness, and nothing could be further from the truth.
ACTION
TODAY: Take a moment to evaluate your attitudes against these seven axioms. Within the spectrum of each axiom, where do you fall? Jot down some actions that you can take to turn your attitude into a more positive one.
FUTURE: As with any other skill, a positive attitude can be learned. Be mindful of the truths we talked about in yesterday’s post and in today’s axioms, and keep them in mind. Practice makes (not perfect but) permanent. And the more you practice, the more you will enjoy the ride. Maxwell says, “The future not only looks bright when the attitude is right, but also the present is much more enjoyable. The positive person understands that the journey of success is as enjoyable as the destination.”
Please share this post with someone who has a bright and wonderful attitude, they’ll be grateful! Email, Facebook, Twitter.
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Goals, Growth, Leadership, Mindset, Miniseries, Tools, Wellbeing
Links to other parts of the miniseries:
7 Axioms to understand the impact of attitude
8 Choices to change an attitude – Part 1
8 Choices to change an attitude – Part 2
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 19 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: 5 truths about attitudes
— From Attitude 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell
“Good attitudes among [team] players do not guarantee a team’s success, but bad attitudes guarantee its failure,” says leadership guru John C. Maxwell in his great little book Attitude 101. That is why the Harvard Business Review published an article entitled Hire for Attitude, Train for Skill a few years back, as this has become quite a prevalent philosophy among leaders who are putting teams together where sufficient knowledge and skills can be acquired on the job for optimal performance.
Maxwell continues, “As an individual, your attitude has a profound impact on your life. As a leader, you cannot ignore the attitudes of the people you lead and expect to achieve success—whether you’re leading a business, a family, a sports team, or a group of volunteers. A person’s attitude colors their view of failure and defines their approach to success.”
In short, “Attitude can make or break you.”
To this effect, Maxwell shares five truths about attitudes to illustrate how they affect a team:
1. Attitudes have the power to lift up or tear down a team. Maxwell cites Denis Waitley’s book The Winner’s Edge: “The winner’s edge is not in a gifted birth, in a high IQ, or in talent. The winner’s edge is in attitude, not aptitude.” Nowadays, says Maxwell, talent alone (or talent with experience) is not enough.” If you’re looking for outstanding results the formula is: Great Talent + Good Attitudes = Great Team.
2. An attitude compounds when exposed to others. While talent, experience, and willingness to practice are unique to each individual, attitude is contagious. “People have a tendency to adopt the attitudes of those they spend time with—to pick up on their mindsets, beliefs and approaches to challenges.”
3. Bad attitudes compound faster than better ones. “There’s only one thing more contagious than a good attitude—a bad attitude.” Need we say more?
4. Attitudes are subjective, so identifying a wrong one can be difficult. “People always project on the outside how they feel on the inside. Attitude is really how a person is.” Maxwell shares a few of the most common rotten attitudes so that we can recognize them and nip them in the bud when we see them:
- An inability to admit wrongdoing.
- Failing to forgive.
- Petty jealousy.
- The disease of “me” (overpowering belief in their own importance).
- A critical spirit.
- A desire to hog all the credit.
5. Rotten attitudes left alone, ruin everything. “Bad attitudes must be addressed. You can be sure that they will always cause dissension, resentment, combativeness, and division on a team. And they will never go away on their own… [but] because people with bad attitudes are so difficult to deal with and because attitudes seem so subjective, you may doubt your gut reaction when you encounter [them]. After all, if it’s only your opinion that he has a rotten attitude, then you have no right to address it, right? Not if you care about the team. Rotten attitudes ruin a team.”
Abounding on this last point, dealing with a person that has a negative attitude can be tricky. It’s important to learn first the way in which attitudes affect an individual. And that is the subject of tomorrow’s idea. Stay tuned!
ACTION
TODAY: We all have had the experience of dealing with the proverbial bad apple. How has this person’s attitude affected you and your team? What have you learned from that attitude? Conversely, think of a person whose attitude brightens up a room and changes the mood from black and white into bright, vivid color. How has this person’s attitude affected you and your team? What have you learned from that attitude?
FUTURE: Resolve to have a positive attitude always, especially when things go wrong. Remember President Jefferson’s quote: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
Please share this post with someone who has a bright and wonderful attitude, they’ll be grateful! Email, Facebook, Twitter.
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 30 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The habit should serve the mission
— From Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
In their book Switch, brothers Chip and Dan Heath talk about change and what it takes to make it happen for the better of people, teams and processes. One of the tools to shape the path of change is forming habits.
“Habits are behavioral autopilot, and that’s why they’re such a critical tool for leaders. Leaders who can instill habits that reinforce their teams’ goals are essentially making progress for free. They’ve changed behavior in a way that doesn’t draw down the [habit doer’s] reserves of self-control.”
The authors focus on the fact that habits will form inevitably, whether intentionally or not. And they point to all of us creating lots of team habits, albeit unwittingly: “If your staff meetings always start out with genial small talk, then you’ve created a habit. You’ve designed your meeting autopilot to yield a few minutes of warm-up small talk.”
The key, and the main question for the leaders, “is not how to form habits but which habits to encourage.” And thus the authors cite the example of General William “Gus” Pagonis, who led the logistics operation for the Gulf War (Desert Storm) under President George H. W. Bush.
“Every morning, General Pagonis held a meeting that started at 8 a.m. and ended at 8:30 a.m. No great innovation there, but Pagonis made two changes to the routine. First, he allowed anyone to attend (and he required that at least one representative from each functional group be present). That way he could ensure a free and open exchange of information across the organization. Second, he required everyone to stand up during the whole meeting.”
Holding the meeting standing up ensured that everyone involved got to the point fast and in a concise manner, and then yielded the floor to the next person. The authors say, “It would have been just as easy for [Pagonis] to enshrine a two-hour, seated blabfest. What’s exciting here is not the existence of the habit, but rather the insight that the habit should serve the mission. … A stand-up meeting won’t guarantee any of that, but it will help and it’s “free”—it’s not any harder to create than the blabfest would have been.”
When looking at creating a habit that supports the change that you’re trying to make, the authors say that there are only two things to think about:
1. The habit needs to advance the mission, as did Pagonis stand-up meetings.
2. The habit needs to be relatively easy to embrace. If it’s too hard, then it creates its own independent change problem.
On this second point, let’s imagine that you’re trying to exercise more and make a habit of “going to the gym.” The Heath brothers point out that you’re only renaming the core problem. It will be more productive and faster to build a simpler habit, such as laying out your workout clothes the evening before or having a workout buddy pick you up on his way to the gym.
In sum, any behavior you select will become habitual if you stick to it. Just remember that the habit should serve the mission as you select which habit to build for optimum purposes.
ACTION
TODAY: Take one habit that you/your team members have built and analyze its effectiveness. How well is it serving your mission? Should you keep it or should you ditch it in favor of another one that better serves you?
FUTURE: When creating a new habit, you may run into opposition (whether your own—as you keep hitting the snooze button—or your team’s reluctance to change). The best way to figure out whether it serves your mission is to try it out for a period of time, say three or six months, or more, depending on your case. Make sure you can measure the results vs. the old way of doing things, so that you can have a baseline for comparison. If it doesn’t work, you’ll know it. Yet if it does work, you may have a full group of enthusiastic supporters (your team) when you see the results.
Please create the habit of sharing these daily ideas with someone who will enjoy reading them! Email, Facebook, Twitter.
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 52 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The Law of Persistence
— From The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success by Brian Tracy.
“Your ability to persist in the face of setbacks and disappointments is your measure of your belief in yourself and your ability to succeed,” says business guru Brian Tracy in his book The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success.
“Persistence,” Tracy continues, “is the iron quality of success.” And he points to persistence as the most important asset we can have, because our ability to persist longer than anyone else is what will give us the edge.
“Never give in, never, never give in.” – Winston Churchill
“When you persist in the face of the inevitable setbacks, delays, disappointments, and temporary defeats you will experience in life, and you continue to persist in spite of them, you demonstrate to yourself and to the people around you that you have the qualities of self-discipline and self-mastery that are absolutely indispensable for the achievement of any great success.”
And this last point is precisely what Tracy refers to as the corollary of the Law of Persistence: self-discipline in action. That means no excuses, just focusing on the end in mind.
The combination of unshakeable determination and persistence is what will make you unstoppable. “You will become an irresistible force of nature. Your goals of high achievement will become your realities.”
ACTION
Both actions come directly from the book. I love them because they’re very similar to what I would have written as it relates to the Law of Persistence, so I’m leaving them here verbatim for you.
TODAY: “Make a list of the problems or challenges that you are facing right now. In what areas are you feeling discouraged and unsure? In what areas do you need to persist even more than you are today? Keep reminding yourself that ‘Failure is not an option!’ ”
FUTURE: “Resolve in advance that, no matter what happens, you will never give up. Remember that if you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, and you resolve in advance that you will never quit, you must ultimately be a great success. No one can ever stop you but yourself. Go for it!”
Know someone who is thinking about giving up and needs a pep talk? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset
Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 49 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Remember the “luxuries” you no longer have
— From LEAD RIGHT by Steve Ventura
In his clever and funny style (read this other post), Steve Ventura, author of LEAD RIGHT, states that when we become leaders, we lose some of the “luxuries” that we had before. Those “luxuries” that he refers to, are “ways of thinking and acting that only non-leaders can exercise and enjoy.”
These tongue-in-cheek luxuries are everything that a leader is not. The opposite is true: “The mindsets and behaviors [that these lost luxuries] represent are the essence of leadership. More than anything else, they are what separate leaders from followers… they are what separate poor leaders from great ones.” So, here is the list, verbatim, of those lost, so-called lost luxuries.
As a leader, you no longer have the luxury of…
…thinking mostly about yourself—putting your own needs first.
…acting on feelings, rather than facts—jumping to conclusions and reacting in a “knee-jerk” fashion.
…whining to others or commiserating with their discontent.
…forming opinions and making judgments knowing only “one side of the story.”
…continually blaming “them” and “they”—and expecting someone else to fix what’s broken.
…not listening to others’ ideas, concerns, and opinions.
…taking sides, overtly favoring some people, and excluding others.
…wearing your emotions “on your sleeve.”
And as a leader, you no longer have the luxury of…
…closing your eyes or walking away when things happen that just aren’t right.
ACTION
TODAY: Give yourself some time to ponder the list above. While Ventura puts it in a funny way for us to better absorb it, analyze your thoughts and actions, and recognize if you’ve acted like this in the past. Analyze why. Ask why 5 times. Get to the core of the issue and learn from it, so that you can no longer give yourself that luxury in the future.
FUTURE: Keep this list handy and check it often, remember that you can no longer engage in those luxuries, and that is a great thing! Share the list with your circles, we are all leaders in one way or another, and we should all lose these luxuries in exchange for a better, gentler and more empathic way of treating each other.
Know someone who would enjoy reading this post? Please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
