Rich Leaders and Learners
Tim Sanders was the third speaker at the L2:Learn-Lead event on October 10, 2014. Tim was the “Maverick CEO” of a company called NetMinds and is a former Yahoo executive and a noted author and speaker.Tim’s emphasis was on People-Centric Tools for Leadership. Here are some notes from his talk at L2.
- Talking about purpose, he remembered a book he read titled Working the Room by Nick Morgan. Nick said that the only reason for giving a speech was to change the world.
If you don’t want to change the world, then get off the stage. -Nick Morgan
- Success is not a destination, it is a direction: FORWARD.
The Modern Leader Needs to be Able to Lead With
A Clear Mind
To Unclutter and Clear Your Mind
- Reduce your sources of information. Own the first 45 minutes of your day and avoid email and social media. Spend the time in devotion and reflecting on someone who helped you in the past and think of someone who will help you.
- Create a culture in the workplace that is upbeat and hopeful and action-oriented. Remember that culture is a conversation about how we do things around here.
- A Clear Mind is an educated mind. READ DAILY books and periodicals of significance that help you grow.
- Remember if you let your calendar get full you will be an ineffective leader. You need time to think; to be curious.
Curiosity didn’t kill the cat, it killed the competition. -Sam Walton
A Creative Tendency
- Most issues in a company are design issues, not people issues and need creative solutions
- He has found that highly successful salespeople have creative projects within their life.
- Creativity = Problem Solving
- Make NEW mistakes
- Trust people
- Policy is the scar tissue of an organization.
If you have to rely on policy, you need a corporate cultural change.
A Compassionate Way
- You can only effectively lead those you love.
- Treat everyone like family
Mentorship is a program of highly effective leaders, not HR
- Learn to listen without power – give empathy
What I like about Tim Sanders is that I believe he “gets it”. Tim has learned that motivating through fear, dismissal, and non-emotional focus just doesn’t work for any extended period of time. Either people burn out or they become totally disengaged.
Work is personal.
You can’t spend 1/3 or more of your day in one place and not have it be personal. As a result, the rest of our lives are influenced by what happens at work and what happens at work is influenced by what’s happening in the rest of our lives.
If you want to create sustainable productivity and empowering employee engagement, as a leader you must spend time learning about your people. Their hopes, their dreams, their fears. You don’t have to solve their problems, in fact if you do then you are doing them a disservice; but you do have to know where they are and what’s going through their minds.
That’s how a modern leader achieves success.