Someone I work with recently said, one of my jobs at work is to make my manager look good. I never thought of it in this way before but I would agree. In order to make your manager look good you need to do what they say even if you don't understand the why, exceed objectives and expectations, and speak highly of them to others including your manager's manager(s ). If you need to know the why ask behind closed doors, but make it a point not to ask questions that could be seen as questioning their authority or judgement in front of others. Being able to deliver results and find the positive in any given situation is a step in the right direction to model the way for those around you and those you love.
Be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them; for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy 31:6 This week talk less and listen more and see if your conversations are different and end up better. When you speak in conversation see what happens if somewhere in the conversation you ask any of these three questions. 1) tell me why you think that/feel that way 2) is there anything else 3) what do you need from me right now. See if you can only speak when spoken to and also count to ten in your head (not out loud ) before you respond to anyone 's comments or questions. Regarding improving your listening skills, use one of these three statements to improve listening 1) clear your mind and focus on the words , tone , pitch and inflection and pay attention (even if you see a squirrel playing in the back yard) so there are no distractions 2) face shoulders squared with person having conversation with 3) make consistently good eye contact during the conversation. Being able to listen more than you speak will improve your communication skills and model the way for others, those you love, and those you converse with . Have you ever heard the phrase "If you scratch my back then I'll scratch yours?" Well I guess it comes from the fact that most everyone likes to have their back scratched. Maybe it's because it feels good or possibly it takes you back to your fond memories of getting your back scratched as a child by one or both of your parents. If you remember getting your back scratched as a child, your parents probably never said "if you scratch my back then I'll scratch yours." You typically only hear this after you get married when you form a partnership and start doing life together. I guess it's not until you grow up that you realize the 1984 Zig Ziglar quote, "You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." Sometimes when this lesson is not learned, you may act like the world revolves around you. Sales is more than just delivering numbers. If you are a top rep, but selfish and don't give your manager what they need or ask for, do you think they should continue to be a servant leader and give you what you ask for or what you need? Next time you don't comply with what your manager is asking you for, stop and think about back scratching. Its true in marriage and its true in work, "If you scratch their back, they'll scratch yours." Teach this lesson to your children and model for them servant leadership and back scratching without the need to get your back scratched in return. Are you a man that is looking ahead or are you a man that is looking behind. In other words, are you looking ahead to your life and your manhood journey or are you looking back, like in a rear view mirror. Do you get more excited about where you are going or where you have been. Would you rather be a family man, with a loving wife and engaged in your marriage and your children OR would you rather be hanging out, playing the field and doing whatever you want to do, like you did maybe in college. Real men are future focused. I challenge you to be future focus. It's definatelty a step in the right direction to model the way for your wife and your children, or to prepare for moving in that direction if you 're not there yet. When given the opportunity or given the task of doing something, don't just do the minimum. Do what needs to be done to get the job done. Doing just the minimum says through your actions that you will just do enough to get by. Teams can't win by doing just enough to get by. Winning teams are built by great leadership casting a vision, team members holding other team members accountable, over-communicating, and by all members pushing other team members to greatness. If you want to win and be part of a winning team you must go far beyond the minimum, you have to aim for the stars to land on the clouds. Doing just the minimum is like never leaving the ground. Model the way for others that doing just the minimum is no way to live, because by doing just the minimum you will never experience your full potential and all that God has in store for you. Dare to be great. One of the best ways to achieve a goal is to break it down from an annual, quarterly, or monthly goal to a weekly or daIly goal. By taking smaller steps towards a bigger goal it's easier to have smaller wins and accomplish the greater task sooner. For example, if your goal is to lose 40 lbs. by Christmas, then focusing on losing 4 lbs. per week over the next 10 weeks will get you there. Then the next thing to do on a daily basis is to change your food and beverage input and your exercise and physical activity output. By changing this on a daily basis and monitoring and measuring, or weighing in on this example, on a weekly basis you can accomplish your goal. It's a matter of the commitment to the goal and keeping it in the forefront of your mind. Being committed to a goal and accomplishing it in this example of losing weight is both rewarding in knowing you can achieve the goal, but also knowing you are disciplined enough to influence true change. Setting shorter daily or weekly goals will position you to have bigger wins where you can become better than you were. What a great example to model the way in showing those that look up to you and those you love how to become a change-agent and win versus losing. BeIng patient is something everyone should work towards being. In today's fast paced, microwave cooking, instant oatmeal making, smartphone immediate information search delivering society people are used to getting these things and much more within a few minutes or less. Our grandparents and great grandparents never experienced this when they were our age. Things took time and waiting was part of everyday life. Waiting is part of life and it still should be. Many young adults and children who have not been show to wait, come across like life is immediate and they want everything now. In other words, they are spoiled brats. Being able to wait shows maturity and conveys the message that it's not all about you. Waiting also shows that you are not in control of everything, but you know who is. Being a "control-freak" is actually a sign of fear and displays your lack of trust in others, and God. What situation are you currently in that you need to learn to wait? Being able to teach your children to wait is a great message to teach them starting now. After all waiting is God's plan for trusting Him and a great life-lesson to master and model the way for others. Do all things without murmurings and disputings. Philippians 2:14 Make sure you get enough sleep. Not getting enough sleep can do more than impact your mood, it can impact your health. You need to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. If you'rre not doing that now, make the change to get 8 hours and see the impact it can make on your mood, your health, and your family. It's another way to model the way by taking care of yourself. |
"Modeling the Way" BlogMark A. Watkins is a Region Sales Manager in the Midwest with Rollins, Inc. and strives to Model the Way as a Sales Leader, Teacher, Visionary, Innovator, Problem Solver, Coach and Mentor. Archives
August 2018
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