Get your brain in motion

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To lead or not to lead?

There is a vast literature on successful leadership and the right skills to be a leader, but what makes a poor leader?

In an article by Bernard Marr on the World Economic Forum Blog, the author has identified the eight signs a person might not be ready for a leadership position:

  1. Lack of empathy;
  2. Fear of change;
  3. Too willing to compromise;
  4. Too bossy;
  5. Wishy – washy;
  6. Poor judge of character;
  7. Out of balance;
  8. Lack of humility.

Read the full article here.

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Image source: Flickr – Riley and Amos (CC BY 2.0)

Rank & Responsibility

The Diplo calendar 2015 realized by Stefano Baldi and Ed Gelbstein presents a selection of the wisdom accumulated by humanity over the centuries that has stood the test of time and remains as valid as ever. The hope is that it will inspire you and lead you to explore the thoughts of the people who in one way or another have changed human history for the better .

For the month of March the selected quotation is by Peter Drucker (1909-2005) – Management consultant, educator and author, author of several books on management and a leader in establishing management education.

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Photo credit: Stuart Mudie (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

The gift of today

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $ 86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every night, it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use. What would you do? Draw out every cent every day, of course.

However, each of us has such a bank, not in dollars but in TIME. Every morning, it credits you 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost whatever you have failed to invest to good purpose. There is no balance, no overdraft. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss if yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposit.

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present !

(Thanks to Ed Gelbstein for this contribution)

photo-1414788020357-3690cfdab669Image Source: Unsplash – Rula Sibai(CC0 1.0)

Soft skills to succeed in the workplace

How many soft skills you can think of? The Blog Aboutcareers has made a comprehensive list which shows how vast and articulated this domain is.

In this context, Soft skills are defined as the personal attributes you need to succeed in the workplace. Regardless of the job, you need at least some soft skills to be successful.

Here is a list of 10 chosen at random just to give and idea:

  1. Able to Listen
  2. Delegation
  3. Facilitating
  4. Good at Storytelling
  5. Motivating
  6. Problem-solver
  7. Respectful
  8. Sense of Humor
  9. Time Management
  10. Writing Skills

Check the full list  4605043024_c2a7051918_bImage source: Flickr – Elle * (CC BY 2.0)

18 Tips To Become a Young Leader

Hung Vo, Director of Policy of the International Youth Council, has posted on his Blog on The Huffington Post some tips for anyone aspiring to become a young leader or just a more effective one.

1. Be confident, but be careful to not confuse confidence with arrogance.
2. Leadership is about vision.
3. Inspire others to take action by showing your own action, commitment and good work for a better world. Make it easy for people to step in and join forces if they want to help.
4. Be ambitious and do not be afraid to take risks.
5. Never let someone tell you that you cannot do something.
6. Be organized.
7. Be able to articulate your thoughts and speech thoroughly and efficiently (a.k.a. communication skills).
8. Be able to establish your goals and commit to your plan.
9. Make sure your project, campaign or endeavor solves a problem and you that have clearly defined what the problem is and how you are going to solve it.
10. Know the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your team.
11. Be fair.
12. Be clever.
13. Be optimistic.
14. Remember that you are young.
15. Connect! Strive to make a vast and diverse network of friends and colleagues.
16. Know when to give “the talk,” and do give it when it is necessary.
17. Have a right-hand man (or woman).
18. Know when to listen to others, and when to listen only to yourself.

Read the full article: The Huffington Post

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Image source: Flickr – Ian (CC BY-NC 2.0)

 

10 Leadership Techniques That Do Not Work

John Rampton, from Inc.com, lists 10 leadership techniques that definitely don’t work:

1. Lack of Vision
2. Failure to Communicate
3. Intimidation
4. Micromanagement
5. “No Tolerance Policy”
6. Being a Know-It-All
7. Offering Incentives
8. Withholding Helpful Information
9. Taking Credit for Others’ Work
10. Management by Walking Around the Office

The more you learn from your mistakes and improve, the more you truly will become a leader.

For more: 10 Leadership Techniques That Do Not Work

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Image source: Flickr – Olivier Carré-Delisle, Leadership vs management

 

Tackling procrastination

In this video Dr. Barbara Oakley explains why “Procrastination can be a single
monumentally important keystone bad habit, a habit in other words that influences
many important areas of your life. If you improve your abilities in this area many other positive changes will gradually begin to unfold.”

The video has been realized for the course: “Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects” available on Coursera.

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