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Looking In All the 'Right' Places

Written by: Donna Karlin

Article Overview: What do you need to strengthen your leadership? Are you looking in all the expected places? What aren't you thinking of?

Looking In All the 'Right' Places

At a recent conference presentation, one of the other presenters was a person I’ve worked with on a few occasions. She is a dynamic fireball of energy, a leader in every sense of the word, ‘lives’ professionally and is a key player in the middle of where things happen in government, from policy to how the workings of the government are decided and implemented. Her presentation was dynamic, energetic and very, very powerful. At the end of her talk she took questions from the hundreds of people in the room.

I sat at a side table watching this unfold. She’s a what you see is what you get person with a fabulous sense of humor, and as I’ve worked with her and knew her style, I was eager to hear how she would answer the questions put on the table. I figured some of the questions would be the kind many people ask country leaders, i.e. those aiming for the magic wand kind of answers. They were asked and answered in as honest a way possible.

What really delighted me was when she answered one of the questions which was “What do you read to strengthen your leadership? What books would you recommend for us to read to grow as leaders?” She gave them a list of what came to mind, not only books but articles and speeches but then threw in the unexpected: “John Cleese’s videos on Leadership.”

For a moment the room went silent and then everyone started talking at once. Earlier she had mentioned loving Monty Python so everyone in the room thought she was pulling their leg. My table mates had seen me deep in conversation with her recognizing I knew her, so looked at me as if I would confirm that she was in fact pulling their leg. My answer was “She’s right! It’s an amazing series. You should watch it as it’s unlike any other training video you’ll ever see”. They thought I was kidding. I sat there with a grin on my face and then added “It really is a great series. Are you only looking in what you think are the ‘right’ places, reading the ‘right’ things and speaking to the ‘right’ people? What makes them all ‘right’?

I am constantly asked what books l read to hone my professional skills and my answer is “Everything I can get hold of”. If I stuck to books only on coaching I’d miss out on the rest of life and coaching isn’t only about coaching. It’s about working within the context of life. One can’t be separated from the other. Just as leadership can’t be found in a canned course or book it’s snippets of everything we live, experience, read about and learn, all mixed up and filtered through our unique personalities to come out when we need it and how we need it to lead, direct and question.

Are you looking in only the ‘right’ places and feeling as if you’re coming up short? Many look for the perfect book, course or direction. Life isn’t like that. True leaders glean information from everywhere. They soak it up like a sponge, are constantly growing, rethinking and reinventing.

What are you reading? What are you not paying attention to that you should be paying attention to?

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Article Tags: conference presentation, country leaders, fabulous sense, fireball, john cleese, leadership, magic wand, mates, monty python, occasions, sense of humor, speeches



Related Forum Posts
Re: How can I promote my site? - I recently added my details to Google Places. Is that the same as a Google Local Business Listing?
Re: Significance of Review Sites - I also heard that if your place your site on Google Places you are almost guaranteed to rank on the first page of Google for your keyword. That might be another one people should take into consideration.
Re: How can I promote my site? - [quote="smartcompanysoftware":1buq8jkk]I recently added my details to Google Places. Is that the same as a Google Local Business Listing?[/quote:1buq8jkk] Yes, they're the same. You add your business information so that you can be found on the web. You can engage with customers and much more. You just reminded me to add my business there as well. Thanks!
Advantages with Social Media Sites - I just want to share my article about social media sites. Local Google Traffic - Social Media Sites There are other important ways to connect with your customers beyond Google Places, however. Some we already mentioned – other Google properties – which we will cover in more detail shortly. But first, let’s look at a relatively new way to reach your customers to promote your mortgage brokers marketing business – social media. One of the fastest growing segments of the internet over the last few years is what's known as Social Media. Facebook and Twitter are the two most well-known examples of social media sites that are gaining popularity these days as worthy means to promote online businesses. Having a Facebook page is becoming more and more important and now can function as a marketing tool for mortgage broker, because people have come to expect it. There are over 600 million users on Facebook, and if you don't have a presence there you're missing out on a lot of potential business. Plus, for many people Facebook has become synonymous with the internet. A lot of people spend most of their time online using Facebook, so if you aren't reaching them there, you may not have a chance to reach them at all. Facebook started out as a way to connect on a personal level, but over the last couple of years they have added a lot of features that are targeted at businesses. You’ve probably already started to notice a lot of big companies adding “Find us on Facebook” to their websites, advertising and other places. It can work just as well for local businesses; in fact it can work even better. Because Facebook is by nature a place to be “social” a local business fits in much better than a big, faceless corporation. Setting up a Facebook Page for your business gives you a way to connect with your customers “virtually” and it can help to create a real sense of community particularly in marketing your mortgage business. Twitter is another social media site where you should definitely have a presence. It’s a little different beast, because the whole point is to post short updates (up to 140 characters at a time) so you can only share so much information. It can be useful for sending out messages about special offers and other news, but more importantly it’s another way for your customers and potential customers to contact you. Your customers can send you messages, called “Tweets”, via Twitter so it is similar to email in some ways. But because the messages are so short, it can be an effective way for them to ask quick questions or give you quick feedback, without having to invest a lot of time to do it. Aside from reaching potential customers, there's another reason you should have a presence in these places - managing your brand. People will talk about their experiences with your company on the internet whether you're part of it or not. It's important that you are aware and updated.


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