A LEADERS IMPACT- FAR BEYOND TODAY

I am looking for individuals to share with me their most influential leader in their life and why they were so inspirational.

I will be sharing your stories in a book I am working on publishing sometime in the next few months.

Please take a moment to share by clicking: http://goo.gl/cZN6iH

Here is an example of my own story:

Shay Dulle, Author:

If we skip forward to right before I became a manager, we find the key that helped me get my foot in the door to a successful path. Her name was Jan and she was a well-known artist that lived in a small rural town in Missouri.
I was an associating working in a Copy and Print center during the beginning of my career. One morning I walked into work and saw my supervisor looking at my previous night copy and print work. She was disappointed because I altered Jan’s artwork and changed her specific copy orders. She wanted me to call Jan and explain to her what I had done as she was one of our top clients. I was frantic, and concerned I was going to upset Jan.

I will never forget the day Jan came in and I had set out all of her artwork across a table. The artwork was her hand drawn traditional artwork that I digitally enhanced completely. She walked towards me, looked at the artwork, looked up into my eyes and as I weakly spoke “Jan I’m so sorry-“she cut me off. She looked down at the work shook her head and simply and elegantly said “Fabulous”. My heart felt with a joy that has rarely been replicated in my life. From that point on we started to design art together and did various projects throughout the next year with our artwork.
It was one of the most exciting times of my life, and in that time I learned how to funnel my energy, my creativity, my time management, and my drive into the artwork. I had to talk to managers of businesses, sell the ideas to companies, research manufactures, and ultimately manage a small business.

I developed so much in such a small amount of time I remember going to my supervision and asking them for a promotion into leadership. I came up with a business plan and the benefit of what I could do if they put me into that position and I very quickly followed his action plan to get promoted.

This is an example of what I am looking for, I am greatly looking forward to working with you in the future and thank you in advance for the support!

Shay Dulle

-Develop Daily!

Flourishing in Our Environment

Wake Up To The Ones You Love

Sleep in the house you love, and wake up to the ones you love. -leadhow.com

The Heart Needs the Mind

Understand Our Own World

How to Win a Client for Life- Marriott Inspired Customer Service Story

I am always the first one to give credit for great customer service, but the reason I must publicly acknowledge Marriott is because of my recent interaction with them this morning.

The story:

I call Marriott for a routine hotel booking this morning. The lady who answered my phone was INCREDIBLE! From the moment we started talking she made things simple and tailored for my situation. What stands out most to me in the interaction was that she had to deal with a problem during our interaction, but executed with perfection.

Without skipping a beat this flawless employee said “We are fully committed this night, so let’s explore some other options for you.” THAT’S RIGHT! Not: “We’re booked, sorry.” She asked all the right questions, she was personable and had an abundant amount of energy- she made my day.

I was so enchanted with her resilience I didn’t even care that we were moving on to other options. I gladly took her recommendation for a different hotel under the Marriott brand and will be staying there this week. I am emotionally attached to a brand, and that is power. How can we replicate this situation in our everyday lives?

So let’s explore the power this conversation had:

• I hosted a conference call today where I discussed the impact of great customer service to 40 leaders
• Many of those 40 people will share this with their friends, family, coworkers and so on…
• I’m posting this article which will reach on average 70k people in one way or the other
• Marriott keeps me as a loyal customer for life and even got a booking for another night

You might think this situation was routine, but you are absolutely wrong. Think about how many times hotels have to tell clients that they are booked, or that they can’t accommodate a specific need. The power that confidence, communication, and care provides us is beyond what we recognize. All the training in the World will not keep a disgruntled employee from providing awful customer service.

First of all, thank you Marriott for a wonderful experience. I think it is important to recognize passionate employees, and even more important to replicate their efforts within our own teams. Believe in the power of one, and develop daily!

Michael Dooley

leaderdevelopmentblog.com

T-https://twitter.com/MdooleyBlog

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Question: what stood out to you as great service? What do you think is most important?

Leadership Quote- What’s Loved

What’s loved will be lost if what’s loved doesn’t know.

 

How to Embrace Transitions with Minimal Damage

In both professional and personal environments it can be very difficult to embrace and include others in a timely manner. For some, it’s incredibly easy to embrace and understand other’s points of views, for many it can very difficult. There are many ways to smooth a transition and get to know teams before damaging relationships and preventing a smooth transition. Here are my views on How to Embrace Transitions with Minimal Damage:

• Don’t have any preconceived ideas and visions of the other party. If you walk in thinking a certain way, you’re going to struggle to have an open mind about the reality. It’s okay to be educated and prepared to question for understanding, but don’t use labels until you have the opportunity to collaborate.
• It’s a lot of fun to point out opportunities of others, but doing it too quickly can be beyond damaging. I recommend seeking feedback about your own opportunities; if the other team invites your perspective (which they usually do); you are free to share at that time.
• Dig for strengths of the other team. I recommend this not only for relationship building, but I promise you each team and individual brings something to the table.
• When others ask you specific personal questions; respond, and then ask them the same question. Other’s inquiries are often open invitations to sharing something they care about themselves.
• Be authentic with your intentions of strengthening your team otherwise people will see right through your true feelings.
• Find a strong mixture of both professional and personal-professional questions to enhance trust within the group.
• Question the other team on what you can do to continue supporting and building your relationship together.
• Make sure you introduce yourself to as many people as possible and learn the names and roles of these individuals.
• Follow-up with those you met with a personal e-mail or phone call expressing your appreciation for your conversation.

Whether your families are merging, teams are working together, or you get a new leader, embracing these transitions are very important. Try to remember that each person has a value; make it your mission to find these values and grow a relationship based on them.

Develop daily,

Michael Dooley

leaderdevelopmentblog.com

T-https://twitter.com/MdooleyBlog

F-https://www.facebook.com/leaderdevelopmentblog

 

Questions: I didn’t even scratch the surface – what other ways can you share to grow unity?

Leadership Quote- Money and Family

Money bought me the car to see my family, the couch to watch movies with them, and the necessities to care for them- our time is priceless, everything else is excess. 

10 Tips on How to be Presentable in a Group Setting

So you have another meeting and you want to make a great impression eh? You should definitely keep your drive and enthusiasm going because meetings are far beyond informative group sessions. Meetings are often in environments that provide your only exposure to other employees. How you represent yourself both as a listener and communicator might be far more important than you imagined. I want you to analyze and think outside of what you know about meetings and review my 10 Tips on How to be Presentable in a Group Setting:

1. Note taking: even if you find no value, the perception of taking notes shows a presenter you care about the message. Don’t find yourself sitting in a room being the only one not taking notes.
2. Eye contact: give whoever is speaking your undivided attention. Keeping your eyes on the speaker not only shows them you care, it keeps you engaged in the moment.
3. Come prepared: speaking from personal failure, make sure you are prepared for a meeting. Gum, writing utensils, paper, whatever it is, make sure you pack it before going into the meeting.
4. Cell phones: face down, turned off, left in a locker, do whatever it takes to keep that thing out of your hand. A great best practice is to let a personal contact, and a professional contact know where you are and how to get a hold of you in a meeting without the use of your cellphone.
5. Facial expressions: all it takes is one person to see you roll your eyes or laugh in disagreement. Your expressions are incredibly easy to decipher and everyone will be scanning the room for them. Smile, relax and be aware of your body language.
6. Professional thoughts: the feedback you give needs to be productive and collaborative. By all means, state your opinions and give your perspective, but do it professionally. Feedback that singles someone out should be left for 1:1 discussion, not group settings.
7. Provide feedback: following up from #6, you need to be engaged in dialogue. This could be your biggest opportunity if you are constantly being asked to speak up during meetings. Study the topics the night before if you are struggling coming up with your thoughts on the spot. If you sit silently time after time in meetings, others will perceive this as lack of knowledge, or lack of care.
8. Team accomplishments only please: whether you are proving a point or providing feedback, be careful with leading in heavily with your accomplishments. It’s not flattering overcoming other’s thoughts with your personal triumphs. Use words like “we” instead of “I” to build community and avoid bragging about your individual achievements.
9. Break networking: use breaks to network with others and don’t be shy doing it. Find others in the room that are sitting alone and approach them by asking “how are you doing today?” Introduce yourself and build relationships that will mutually benefit throughout your career.
10. Mix it up: don’t make your leaders separate you when you walk in a room. Say hello to those you know, and go sit by those you don’t know. Building relationships, stepping out of your comfort zone, and showing leaders you are driven to grow teamwork will improve your advocacy.

Try to prepare and understand your role in each meeting and how important it is to employers. Meetings should be viewed as auditions for your next role, and should be taken seriously. Find value, seek guidance and ask for feedback if this is a challenge for you.

Develop daily,

Michael Dooley 

leaderdevelopmentblog.com

T-https://twitter.com/MdooleyBlog

F-https://www.facebook.com/leaderdevelopmentblog

Question: Which best practices can you share with the World?