WORDS TO LEAD BY - Attitude

Repost from January 13, 2013

Continuing with lessons from Wally Adamchik's book, titled Construction Leadership from A to Z which explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is ATTITUDE

ATTITUDE

Attitude - Disposition; feeling; orientation, especially of the mind

"There is 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." - W. Clement Stone

(c) Pakorn

The winners in the world are able to silence the negative voice and listen only to the positive voice. Leaders impact people. This is external, but everything you do is based on how you think and feel internally. Ultimately it is your attitude that determines much of your success: your attitudes about yourself, your employees, a given situation,the market, and so on. And, of course, you are responsible for, and can choose, your attitude.

"...a man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts..." - James Allen

Good ideas and attitudes give birth to good results.

To begin thinking more positively, simply look for and embrace the good. Then get rid of the negative. For most people, the first step toward improving job performance is improving how they feel about themselves.

"A positive attitude may not solve all your problems but it will annoy enough people to make it work the effort." - Herm Albright

Attitude Jumpstart:

• Stay hydrated. Dehydration can make you confused, angry, tense and blue.
• Make a list of things you are grateful for.
• Know that nothing will bother you. If it does, give it ten seconds then move on.
• Smile.

Things happen to us every day - some good, some bad. We don't always have a choice over our daily events; however we ALWAYS have a choice regarding our attitude - good or bad - toward these things. A good attitude allows us to learn and grow from the experience and develop an effective action plan. A bad attitude prevents us from learning, growing and improving the situation. A good attitude is just as contagious as a bad one. Let's choose a good attitude today and every day!

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

WORDS TO LEAD BY - Timely

Continuing with lessons from Wally Adamchik's book, titled Construction Leadership from A to Z which explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is TIMELY

TIMELY

Timely - occurring at a suitable time; seasonable; opportune; well-timed

"How does a project get to be a year behind schedule? One day at a time." - Fred Brooks

(c) Renjith Krishnan

The 1916 short story "Obvious Adams" shares five tests of obviousness, the fifth one being: Is the time ripe? Sometimes the time has passed and you should let the idea go. Sometimes the time just isn't right yet and you would do better to hold on to your idea.

We believe leaders must be outstanding and ruthless in their use of time.

Team time is about changing the question from "What should I be doing now?" to "What is the best use of our time?" This recognizes that top performance is a team effort requiring close synchronization of values and effort. When you are late to the meeting you called, you are in total ignorance of the concept of team time. When you don't get back to someone when you say you will, you are violating team time. This is a surefire way to tick people off and confirm a lack of leadership on your part.

...One of the marks of a professional is to be on time.

Just be on time.

"He [the manager] meant that I should not try to do everything at once but meet my deadlines as they came. If I was going to miss a deadline, I needed to see that it got handled by somebody else or to let my boss know that we might miss it. Keeping my manager's advice in mind, I only committed to what I knew I could accomplish, and I prioritized my work in a way that allowed me to succeed as an individual and also as a member of the team."

"Punctuality is the stern virtue of men of business, and the graceful courtesy of princes." - Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton

Timeliness Jumpstart:

• Cut 20% from your things-to-do list.
• Use a calendar system.
• Complete a time log and analyze your day / week.
• Be on time.

What time is it?
  What time may I expect you?
    Will it be done on time?
      What time am I supposed to be there?
        .
        .
        .
      I DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME!

Well, we all have all the time there is - 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, or as we commonly hear now, "24/7". That's all there is. What separates winners from losers and leaders from followers is how they use that time. Let's choose to be on time today and everyday!

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

WORDS TO LEAD BY - Self-___

We are continuing our lessons from Wall Adamchik's book titled Construction Leadership from A to Z.

His book explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is SELF-___

SELF-___

Self-knowledge - having knowledge; conscious; cognizant; informed; alert

"Self-knowledge and self-improvement are very difficult for most people. It usually needs great courage and long struggle." - Abraham Maslow

It all starts with self-awareness

(c) ddpavumba

Sun Tzu wrote, "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you will win a hundred battles."

But why face your demons, fears and flaws when you can just as easily deny them? Because in facing them, you can conquer them - and know that conquering a fear is sometimes not ridding yourself of it. Philosopher Lao Tzu said, "Knowing others is intelligence. Knowing oneself is true wisdom."

When we have self-awareness, we can begin to develop self-esteem

With that said, I prefer the two-pronged definition of self-esteem being comprised of self-respect (i.e. "I have value as a person") and self-efficacy (i.e. "I am capable and competent in my ability to think, decide and act").

Self-esteem leads to self-confidence, that quality that organizes all our efforts and unifies them toward achievement of some great goal. Self-confidence instills in us the belief that we really can get what we want.

Unfortunately, self-esteem and all that stems from it is perishable. You must nourish and feed it. Words, deeds, articles, experience, positive self-talk - all must be put to work to keep your self-esteem oriented toward the positive. And do not forget that the biggest impact on your self-esteem is your own self-talk. Be sure to make it positive.

John Wooden said, "Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are." Concern yourself with protecting your self-esteem and your character will take care of itself.

"The better you know and understand yourself, the better decisions you will make and the better results you will get." - Brian Tracy

Self-___ Jumpstart:

• Spend time with people who like you and care about you.
• Ignore (and stay away from) people who put you down or treat you badly.
• Do things that you enjoy or that make you feel good.
• Do things you are good at; reward yourself for your successes.
• Always do what you believe is right; be true to yourself and your values.

Self-doubt, self-conscious, self-loathing, self-pity and self-(add any negative word you wish to use) are part of us and therefore cannot be denied or ignored. However, we cannot dwell on these self-destructive thoughts. We need to recognize and acknowledge our shortcomings, and then move on.

Move on to pursue and embrace our self-confidence, self-awareness, self-loving, self-worth and self-(add every positive word you can think of).

As John C. Maxwell says, "You will never change your life until you change something you do daily." Let's choose to know our "self" today and every day!

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

WORDS TO LEAD BY - Results Oriented

Continuing with lessons from Wally Adamchik's book, titled Construction Leadership from A to Z which explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is RESULTS ORIENTED

RESULTS ORIENTED

Results Oriented - a desirable or beneficial consequence, outcome or effect.

"Git'er done!" - Larry the Cable Guy

As hockey great Bobby Orr put it, "Forget about style; worry about results." Leaders would do well to heed his advice.

Just because you want something to happen doesn't mean it will happen. Yes, thought precedes action that, in turn, precedes results. But directed action is still required. Or, as General Gordon R. Sullivan, US Army (Ret) liked to say, "Hope is not a method."

At face value, execution is about getting things done; it is about results.

"...the leader must be in charge of getting things done by running three core processes - picking other leaders, setting the strategic direction and conducting operations."

Clearly, a results orientation is just the start. Delivering results is where leaders truly gain credibility.

I often remind myself and others not to confuse effort with results.

Results create a wave of success for you to ride to higher, greater successes. Results also instill trust and confidence in you from others. If leaders are to influence, they must be trusted. Delivering on what you say you will do is the fast lane to trust.

"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results, not attributes." - Peter Drucker

Results Orientation Jumpstart:

• Develop a goal plan for the next twelve months.
• Celebrate success.
• Keep score.
• Do things you are good at.

We are expected to lay that ton of asphalt, crush that ton of stone, blend that ton of liquid and produce that cubic yard of concrete. That is what we do. However, production is not the only thing we are expected to do - we are expected to be safe; environmentally friendly; quality-conscious and customer-focused while being efficient and productive. That is what we do! That is our culture! Let's choose to produce results we are proud of today and every day!

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

WORDS TO LEAD BY - Quality

We are continuing our lessons from Wally Adamchik's book titled Construction Leadership from A to Z.

His book explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is QUALITY

QUALITY

Quality - high grade; superiority; excellence

"It is easier to do a job right than to explain why you didn't." - Martin Van Buren

W. Edwards Deming may have said, "Quality is everyone's responsibility," but it is the leader who establishes and communicates the standard of quality desired.

Margins are tight and will remain that way. When you look at the profit and loss statement for any business, there isn't a line for rework. Quality is the key. It is the ante in the game of business. High quality has multiple payoffs. It means less waste, less rework, fewer rejections, fewer complaints and fewer returns. All this leads to lower costs and higher productivity.

William A. Foster put it this way: "Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

Quality breeds quality. Aristotle told us that excellence is a habit.

"...inspect what you expect." He required us to be where quality was happening - to go out and see the job from a quality perspective and an end user viewpoint. "Leading quality" was another cryptic term he used.

"One of the rarest things that a man ever does is do the best he can." - Josh Billings

Quality Jumpstart

• Measure / track / record / display critical success factors.
• Raise your standards. What was good enough yesterday isn't good enough today.
• Communicate the new standards.
• Facilitate a discussion at work to define quality for your team.

How many times have we heard, read and even said, "There is never enough time to do it right, but always enough time to do it over"? The quality of our work is not controlled by our Quality Control Department, it is controlled by each of us and the decisions we make daily. Can we honestly say that we did our best today? Let's choose to improve quality today and every day!

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

Good Housekeeping Promotes Safety

Good Safety Housekeeping Practice

Housekeeping is everyone's responsibility and it requires all of us to keep the workplace clean, tidy and organized to make it safe to work in.

A clean work area free of debris and clutter is critical to maintaining a safe work environment. Housekeeping is a continual effort, but one where the rewards are far greater than the effort.

Good housekeeping promotes safety and also indicates a level of professionalism in the work area. Effective housekeeping requires you to:

• Organize your work area and equipment
• Keep your work area clean and clear of rubbish.
• Roll up hoses after use
• Clean up spills
• Store things in their proper place
• Keep walkways clear, floors and access-ways unobstructed
• Regularly dispose of rubbish in bins provided

Poor Housekeeping Promotes Problems

Poor housekeeping leads to a variety of accidents, injuries, damages and problems:

• Slip and trip accidents occur when tools, equipment and scrap materials (i.e. damaged pallets and cages) are left lying on the ground, in corridors and walkways. Cluttered work spaces and spills that not cleaned up immediately leave room for only injuries.
• Splinters, cuts and eye injuries occur when metal filings and dust from chemicals are not cleaned up on top of work benches or trailers. Serious injuries can occur when sharp or damaged objects are left in walkways and not reported for repair.
• Crush injuries occur when unstable stacks (i.e. pallets stacked unevenly or too high) or overburdened storage shelves collapse.
• Time is wasted because tools, equipment and freight are always being moved and re-arranged.
• Serious injury or death can be caused by damaged or broken objects and when people are trying to evacuate a building or access way and emergency exits are blocked off or obstructed.

A cluttered, untidy and disorganized workplace is difficult for everyone to work in and does not encourage quality work.

Benefits of good housekeeping are:

• Less risk of accidents and injuries;
• Less risk of fires
• A more organized workplace and less time wasted trying to find tools, equipment and materials.

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

WORDS TO LEAD BY - Power

We are continuing to share lessons this year from Wally Adamchik's book titled Construction Leadership from A to Z.

His book explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is POWER

POWER

Power - ability to do or act; having the capability of doing or accomplishing something

"Lions don't need to roar." - Debra Benton

Power moves us from potential to action.

Al Gini, co-founder and editor of Business Ethics Quarterly, writes, “To have power is to possess the capacity to control or direct change. All forms of leadership must make use of power. The central issue of power in leadership is not ‘will it be used?’ But rather ‘will it be used wisely and well?’”

A person has the potential for influencing five bases of power over another. Researchers John French and Bertram Raven identify these:

1. Coercive Power - Effectiveness based on fear.
2. Reward Power - Compliance is achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable.
3. Legitimate Power - Authority a person holds due to his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization.
4. Expert Power - Influence based on special skills or knowledge.
5. Referent Power - Influence based on possession of desirable resources or personal traits.

So power essentially comes from one of two places: the position (reward, legitimate, expert) or the person (coercive, referent, expert). Both are important. But what we must recognize is that power really comes from action. It is what I do that really matters and adds to or decreases my power. In reality, a leader obtains the best results by skillfully combining positional power and influential power in his life.

"Power consists of one's capacity to link his will with the purpose of others, to lead by reason and a gift of cooperation." - Woodrow Wilson

Power Jumpstart

• Explain, don't demand.
• Be diligent about using rewards and punishment.
• Cultivate allies / win enemies over.

We all have power of one form or another, and we all exert power at one time or another. So, the phrase "I'm powerless to change things" is simply not true. However, to fully realize this power requires action. What action can you take now to make things better tomorrow for yourself, your family and your co-workers? Let's choose to exercise our personal power wisely today and every day!

Donald G. Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc