People Respond to Good Leadership! Period! by Shari Strong

Being a leader doesn't always mean being in a position of authority; it can mean naturally leading others - friends, family, coworkers, and sometimes even those in authoritative positions over you. So I'm always looking for ways and pointers to sharpen my skills, and LinkedIn provides many such resources. One good article, People Respond to Good Leadership! Period! (written by Shari Strong) immediately caught my attention. Below is a summary:

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A true leader is highly ethical, honest, respected, and understands that leadership is about connecting with - not managing - people. People will willingly follow your lead if you have these qualities. But if you don't like people, don't put yourself in a position to lead.

Leaders worth admiring seem to have these qualities:

1. They think big.
2. They believe when no one else does; they have good intuition of when to "stick to it" and when to change direction.
3. They involve others and delegate. They allow ownership and give recognition when due.
4. They influence, not manipulate.
5. When goals are met, they celebrate and then set a new vision.

"When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy'. They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life."

- John Lennon

Common Body Language

Happy New Year!

I took December off, for two reasons: to enjoy the holiday season and because my online posts are catching up too quickly to my hand-written notebook. This was to be expected, as I have a huge backlog of books, articles, and quotes which I have not had the opportunity to fully add to my notebook - and it's going to get worse because I have to edit my second book: Frank's Notebook Volume 2!

The first post of the new year gives a few pointers on how to approach body language. While reading body language is more of an art than a science, this little list may be useful for helping to determine whether your friends or family are telling the truth about keeping their New Year's resolutions...

1. Confident
   • Standing tall with shoulders back.
   • Solid eye contact, with "smiling" eyes.
   • Purposeful and deliberate gestures.
   • Slow, clear speech with a moderate or low tone.
2. Defensive
   • Gestures close to body or arms crossed.
   • Minimal facial expressions.
   • Eyes maintain little contact, or are downcast.
3. Disengaged
   • Head down.
   • Eyes glazed or focused elsewhere.
   • Figeting hands, or writing / doodling.
   • Slumped posture.
4. Lying
   • Pupils are constricted end eyes maintain little to no contact, or move rapidly.
   • Hands or fingers in front of mouth when talking.
   • Voice changes in pitch / stammering / throat clearing.