Calling all leaders! "Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others." ~ Jack Welch

Over the years I have concluded that there are two distinctive leadership qualities that are used. The first one is the active leader and the second is the passive leader. Both may very well be successful with the work they do each day in support of the company's success. However, the one big difference in these two leaders is that one is still primarily growing him/herself, and the other clearly understands success for him/her and the company is focusing on and developing others. 

To be a successful leader, understanding your leadership style is essential. What are your strengths, and what areas need improvement? Here is a leadership quiz that will help you learn more about your individual leadership traits. At the end of the quiz it will provide you with the major characteristics of your dominant style. Learning more about your personal leadership style will allow you to assess what qualities are helping or hindering you as a leader. 

Noticing body language:

Your mission is to norm at least three completely different "types" of people.  Look for at least one of each of the following types: shy, powerful/confident, and arrogant/aggressive.  

In a notebook, draw a stick figure of each of the people you are norming.  Now use a Head/Shoulders/Knees/Toes model to scan each.  Write a one- or two-word observation next to the corresponding areas of the body (such as, "head back, nose slightly up, shoulders slumped forward, hip tilted to the left side, hands on hips, feet two feet apart").  Allow yourself to write with plenty of detail, but limit yourself to two to ten minute of observation for each person.  

Once you've done this exercise on paper today, continue throughout the week without writing it down.  Practice this exercise often enough and you'll start doing it automatically-which is the goal.

- Janine Driver, You Say More Than You Think

Selling suicide: to take inbound calls from inquiring prospects and to not have a structured plan for how to guide the call.  Never fear because we have a cheat sheet for you which is a very basic guide for you to build upon.  And guess what?  Much of what is on this free resource can work for outbound calls too!  The added structure to your calls will boost your confidence and gain you more qualified leads and most importantly, MORE SALES. You are welcome. 

Never assume you know what your customers want. 

-Renee Evenson, Customer Service Training 101

While this tip seems so obvious, it's a lesson we can all keep refreshing ourselves on.  It's still so easy to get it wrong, plus it pertains to so many areas: customer service, sales, marketing, problem resolution, and on and on.

Let's looks at a couple of specific sample scenarios to see how it applies.

It remains interesting to me the surprise I will get when a company will do an unexpected service Wow! The overall positive impact that this level of service has on their customers can completely change their business platform, as well as their customer loyalty. In the service industry, awareness is a must. You have to be fully aware and fully present to give the level of service that makes people take notice and want more ~ not to mention, tell their friends. 

How aware is your company/business in regards to service awareness?  

The reason inclusion is so important is simple: When everyone matters and everyone knows he or she matters, employees are happy to come to work, and they're eager to give you their energy, creativity, and loyalty.  On the other hand, when people don't feel included, they become apathetic and perform at less than their full capacity.  To put it simply, all people want exactly what you want.  You want to be included, listened to, respected, and involved, don't you?  You want to be asked your opinion and have it taken seriously.  You want to feel valued.  And you want to be known as an individual and treated as such.  Well, so does everyone else.  That's why great leaders make sure that everyone in the workplace-no matter the rank or position-feels included and no one feels left out.

-Lee Cockerell, Creating Magic