Love Life, Embrace Risks, and Live for Eternity

Fully Present

Everyone seems to be attached to their cell phones nowadays. Think about it. Throughout the day we constantly see people on their phones. Either texting, talking, or using the internet. It is unbelievable!

Over the past week and a half, I took around 17 of my staff team through 36 hours of intense training. Over the first few trainings, I was a bit relaxed on the cell phone use. My staff were texting and even checking their facebook page during training. I soon realized that they were not fully present. Not only were the staff not giving 100% of their attention to the information that was being delivered but they were neglecting each other. I recognized that that can hinder the dynamics of a team.

On Saturday, I decided to make the training into a cell phone free zone. I had all 17 of my camp staff leave their cell phones on my desk for a four hour training. It was amazing! They were fully present!

I encourage you to go without your cell phone for a few hours. Try focusing on face to face interaction. Embrace what is going on around you. You might be amazed on how much you miss out on.

Advice for Leaders

Leading 30-40 staff along with 125 volunteers is a handful. They definitely keep me on my toes. Over the years, I have worked hard on my leadership skills. I have failed as a leader many times but I have also been shaped.

Here are a few tips from the One Minute Manager that I strive daily to hold onto.

• Encourage upward feedback. Ask your staff how you are doing and how you can be more helpful.
• These staff expect you to be professional. They expect you to be above reproach. If you act unprofessional in any way, it only undermines your credibility.
• We talk alot about leading by example. Your example is very powerful.

Leadership Styles

A few weeks back, I gathered with around 25 leaders in the Metro Detroit Area for a two day training. A portion of the training focused on leadership styles. I must admit that this portion of the training was my favorite seeing that I am constantly trying to strengthen my personal leadership skills along with my staffs.

We dissected three major leadership styles.

1. Autocratic Leader-In the autocratic style, the leader takes decisions without consulting with others. The decision is made without any form of consultation. An autocratic style works when there is no need for input on the decision, where the decision would not change as the result of input, and where the motivation of people to carry out subsequent actions would not be affected whether they were or were not involved in the decision-making. 

2. Democratic-In the democratic style, the leader involves the people in the decision-making, although the process for the final decision may vary from the leader having the final say to them facilitating consensus in the group. Democratic decision-making is usually appreciated by the people, especially if they have been used to autocratic decisions with which they disagreed. It can be problematic when there are a wide range of opinions and there is no clear way of reaching an equitable final decision. 

3. Laissez-Faire-The laissez-faire style is to minimize the leader's involvement in decision-making, and hence allowing people to make their own decisions, although they may still be responsible for the outcome. Laissez-faire works best when people are capable and motivated in making their own decisions, and where there is no requirement for a central coordination, for example in sharing resources across a range of different people and groups.

We each guessed what we thought was our own leadership style that we tend to practice. Then, we took a questionnaire that pointed us to what style we are prone to using.  

At that point, we had an in depth discussion with the strengths and weaknesses of every style. We tend to view the autrocratic style of leadership as a negative approach. However, there are times when it is needed.

I believe that it is extremely important that all three leadership styles are used in some way when it comes decision-making in the work environment, volunteer environment, or even church environment. There are times the leader must rise and make an autcratic decision. While there are other times, the leader needs to trust their team and empower their team in making the right decision.

Saying Thank You

When it comes to work, it is so easy to get all wrapped up in strategic planning, event planning, program development, fundraising, operations, paper work, and stuff that just takes up our time. When we get tangled in that mess we often forget to focus on the power of a thank you.

Thanking our staff and volunteers is extremely critical in the workplace. Yet, we often neglect them. I heard someone once say that we should spend 20% of our time thanking people. To add to that, we should thank our staff and volunteers 5-7 times a year. Wow!

Saying thank you is powerful. Now, why should we should we do it? To cultivate relationships. To show that you care. To show appreciation. To retain healthy and happy volunteers and staff.  

Ways to say "thank you"

• Hand written note that is warm and personal
• A thank you phone call
• A face to face thank you with a smile
• Treat them to lunch
• Visible gift of recognition
• Recognize them in a newsletter or a special event

The bottom line is that if you do not have time to thank volunteers and staff, you might just lose them. Gotta go now. I have plenty of people that I need to say thank you to! :)

Measuring Performance

I am a strong believer that there needs to be checks and balances in every organization, business, school, and even church. Especially when there is money involved. 

One simple way to instill checks and balances is to measure performance from all employees. And yes, it includes the top dogs. It is also known as an appraisal. Appraisals help assist everyone into performing their duties in a more competent manner. Areas of strength are identified as well as areas of weaknesses.

Currently, I am in the process of setting my staff's goals for the year of 2009. If they pass with a certain grade, they will receive a raise. It is simple!

I set three to six goals with measurable objectives. One to two of their goals are financially driven. I tend to set goals that tap into their strengths but goals that also stretch them as individuals.

It is all about building leaders!

A Healthy Obsession!

     

The first season of my men's adult basketball league was a success. At first, I was extremely nervous about serving adult men but I was relieved after I had a chance to get to know all of the teams. I have teams coming from all over Metro Detroit. It is an intense league but it is also filled with lots of laughter. It is a league filled with men that are obsessed over basketball. 

Watching these men has taught me that I need to be obsessed with what I do. I need to be just as passionate with the areas I am overseeing. Hard work and a healthy obsession will lead to success!

"To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way." Pat Riley

Round Two of this league starts this Sunday!

Town Hall Meeting

Last night, I was part of a town hall meeting in the city of Birmingham. This meeting was about the development of our new building. There were many individuals of influence that attended the meeting. Some were connected to our organization while others never even stepped foot into our building.

One of the highlights of the meeting was when a few of us were called on to share stories on how we have impacted those that we serve. Some the stories brought forth laughter while others brought tears. Personal stories always tend leave a lasting mark on those that are listening.

The purpose of the meeting was to dream up the spirit of the building. We discussed what types of thoughts or feelings we want people to experience as they walked into the new building or even participate in our programs.  We talked about what we want to be known for. We talked about what seperates us from many other gyms.

New beginnings. Celebrations. Raising Leaders. Team work. Relationships. Pride. Life skills. Success. Community. Values. Diversity. Confidence. Character. Strong Mission.

That evening, we realized that the key leaders and the people of influence that attended the town hall meeting are expecting a lot out of us. We, the staff team, are ready to meet that challenge. The good thing is that many are willing to team up with us in the big challenge as we move forward with the development.

A Year Long Commitment

About a week ago, ten of us gathered in Downtown Detroit for a project that we have been elected to do. I sat around a table with a CEO, COO, a few vice presidents, and a few others that have a great deal of influence in the organization that I work for. I definetely was the lowest one on the totem pole and I have no clue why I was selected to serve on this project team. However, I humbly accepted the invitation.

The year long project entails telling the story of the organization that we work for along with figuring out what type of social impact we have on the Metro Detroit area. By serving on this team, we will be developed personally and professionally. We will also be focusing on what the community wants and needs.

We were warned that this project will feel messy at times but it is extremely important that we continue to press on. I am excited and even scared about sitting on this assessment team. This qualitative project will take a great deal of time and energy but we are ready to accomplish it in order to take our organization to another level.

More to come.

Tips On Interacting with Others

Here is some great advice when it comes to dealing with others in the workplace and even outside of the workplace.

The least important word: I

The most important word: We

The two most important words: Thank you

The three most important words: All is forgiven

The four most important words: What is your opinion?

The five most important words: You did a good job

The six most important words: I want to understand you better

By: John C. Maxwell

Unleashing My Fear in the Workplace

It is just straight out rough in Michigan right now. The bad economy has impacted companies and organizations to the point where drastic measures have been taken. Layoffs, salary freezes, turning lights off, and much more have been the main focus of many organizations in order to save them from shutting down.

Jack Welch once said, "Leadership is seeing opportunity in tough times."

In the midst of the bad economy, I have been forced to find opportunities. I was forced to step out of my wonderful comfort zone that I love so dearly. I need to serve more individuals which in result brings in more revenue in order to make budget.

For years, I have served hundreds upon hundreds of chidren in my youth sport leagues. I love it. I serve children from 3 years and up. In the past, I had no desire to serve the adults when it comes to leagues and classes. I actually was afraid seeing that dealing with adults can lead to arguments on the courts along with cussing and fights. That is something I just wanted to avoid.

A few weeks ago, I broke my fear. I started a Men's Adult Basketball League. Surprisingly, the league filled up quickly with very little promotion. I must say that word of mouth was the most effective marketing peice that was used.

Right now, I am serving 60 adult men in my basketball leagues, 9 adults in golf class, and 30 in the adult volleyball league. The next step that I need to take is to create an action plan on how to grow each one of those areas. Ahhh!

Gotta love unleashing my fear in the workplace! So, do you have any fears that need to be unleashed?

Why I Work for the Y!

The career that I am currently enlisted in surely keeps me on my toes. We serve thousands upon thousands in fitness, personal training, aquatics, sports, day camps, gymnastics, judo, and so much more. 

This video that our association created sums it all up. Click here!

Building Strength in the Marketplace

Throughout this year, I will be working on some strategic marketing when it comes to my programs, classes, and leagues. One of my goals is to focus on participant loyalty and retention. Another goal is to get the word out when it comes to what we have to offer.

I want to pour my time, energy, and money into what works when it comes to marketing and promotion. I want build strength in the marketplace.

Just recently , I created a new position for someone to help me grow the departments that I oversee numerically and financially. Right now, we are gaining momentum and expecting great results even though we are facing a rough economy. Here are a few items on what we have been doing so far in 2009.

• Calling and e-mailing all of our past participants and reminding them of the registration
• Instead of postcards, we will be running consistent newspaper ads
• An editor of a local newspaper will be interviewing one of my coaches that has volunteered in my leagues for a few years now. He will be highlighting one of our most popular leagues
• Hitting up some of the local private and public schools

We our programs up to where we can measure the success of each marketing piece. So far, it is working. We are seeing the expected results.

Gotta love markering tools and action plans that work!

Developing Relationships with Those You Lead

Healthy leaders develop healthy relationships with those they supervise or work alongside with. Some would beg to differ. Over the past few years, I have come to realize on how important relationships are in the workplace. At times, I have learned the hard way. My goal is to develop healthy relationships particularily with the staff and volunteers that I supervise.

Here are a few tips from John C. Maxwell.

• Ask your teammates and employees about their hopes, desires, and goals. Give 100% of your attention to them. Show that you truly care about them as an individual.

• "Treat every person as if he or she were the most important person in the world."

Creating an open door policy in my office has helped create a welcoming atmosphere when it comes to my staff. It all starts with being approachable. I then try to be fully present when they are talking to me. This has then helped me develop healthy relationships with the best staff ever!

A Promise to the Community

On Monday night, around forty to fifty individuals of great influence gathered together in downtown Birmingham to discuss the next stage of growth for the organization that I work for. The demands for more program space and the daily wear and tear of our current building is immense.We are desperately in need of a new facility. Currently, we are in the midst of raising money for the capital campaign for our new building.

That evening I along with three others led discussions that particularly revolved around the urgent and evolving needs and desires of the community. Here are a few questions that were discussed and answered.

• What are the shared values of our community and service area?
• What are the top three societal challenges that our organization is best positioned to address in the community and service area?
• What needs would we have to address to remain relevant if we were the only resource in town?
• Imagine that we had no financial restraints, what would our vision be 25 years from today?
• What qualities and values do we have that children, families, and experienced adults in every community can flourish from? 

That evening, we were all reminded of the beauty of our organization. A good portion of it has to do with the spirit of the building and not necessarily the look even though some of our people of influence want the country club style building.   

We are all gearing up to make a promise to the community that will impact many many lives!

Timing is Everything

"Good leaders recognize that when to lead is as important as what to do and where to go. Timing is often the difference between success and failure in an endeavor."  John Maxwell

"When the right leader and the right timing come together, incredible things happen."  John Maxwell

Does a Title Make You a Leader?

For several years now, I have worked under a phenomenal leader that I look up to as a mentor when it comes to personal development. This individual has poured so much into me developing my strengths and working on my weaknesses.  He has challenged me to overcome my fears of the unknown and to take risks. Most of all, he has expressed confidence in me especially during the times when I didn't have any. This leader believes in me. He cares about me! 

As of this past Wednesday, this phenomenal leader has transitioned out of my workplace to raise money for our capital campaign to build our new building. A new leader has been put in place.  I must admit that I have had several different emotions during this leadership transition. I have been sad, depressed, anxious, excited, nervous, and scared to death.

You see, I personally do not see one as a leader just because of the title they have. I have sat under different types of leaders in the workplace and in the volunteer realm. Some were great while others were given their position just because of who they knew. Titles do not mean squat to me. Leadership comes with influence. The title of a leader must be earned. John Maxwell once said, "If you don't have influence, you will never be able to lead others."

How true is that!

So, I am now looking forward to sitting under this new leader ready to learn and ready to be stretched in different ways. I am ready to follow him. I am ready to be invested in. I am ready to give this new leader a chance to take our lead team to a higher level to impact lives in our city.

"One measure of leadership is the caliber of people who choose to follow you."  Dennis A Peer

The Power of the Whistle

On Sunday, over one hundred men and about four women who are all athletic coaches or directors gathered in Birmingham for seven hours to listen to a former professional football player for 13 years speak. Joe Ehrman played for the Colts and was named as 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America. Joe is a man that is on a mission to impact lives while coaching. He is a man that is mentoring coaches to not just coach a sport but to instill character values inside the lives of young men and women. You can read about what he is all about here.

All of us that gathered at Seaholm High School were challenged and yet encouraged to take our power, position, and platform to speak into young people's lives. We were inspired to truly love our participants, to rewire their mindsets, and to boost their self image and self esteem.

This former NFL player redefined what sports is all about. Now, we are ready to nurture wounds and teach valuable life lessons. To talk openly about racism, poverty, violence, and sexism with our kids while out on the ball fields or basketball courts.

I am looking forward to implementing everything that I learned into my sports programs in order to develop young leaders. After today, I have realized that there is much power in a whistle!

"You have one of the most responsible positions in society."  Joe Ehrman

Personal Development

I am currently reading the book "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John C. Maxwell for a class that I am looking at taking in October. Thankfully, this book has given me a great deal of insight when it comes to leading people.

Putting together the right staff team can be quite challenging at times but yet so rewarding. Over the past few years, I have learned a great deal on interviewing, hiring, training, and leading staff. I have made many mistakes and I have took some big big risks. Above all, I have learned that putting together the right team will make my life easier.

Here is a list of the typical qualities I look for when it comes to interviewing individuals to be on my staff team are as follows:

• Great work ethics
• People oriented and task oriented
• Enjoys working at a fast pace
• Fun
• Hard worker
• Laughs a lot 
• Has the ability to lead
• Smiles a lot
• Can Multi-task well
• Truly cares about people
• Is willing to develop relationships with the people we serve
• Optimistic
• Good morals and values

John Maxwell stated, "Who you attract is not determined by what you want. It's determined by who you are." He also stated, "The better leader you are, the better leader you will attract."

After reading those quotes, I have decided that I need to continue to work on myself. I need to develop myself into a strong leader. I need to work on my weaknesses and run with my strengths. Then, I can focus on recruiting those that will compliment my leadership!

Saying Hi!

There are days where I am straight out disappointed when it comes to the lack of friendliness in today's culture. How many times have you walked past someone making eye contact while saying hello and they do not respond at all? Ugh! That kills me!

I experience this all the time seeing that I am a people person. In stores. At my workplace. In downtown areas. Walking outside. And sadly even on Sunday mornings with people I was close with.

Those that know me know that I love making eye contact with people. I love smiling. I love meeting new people. I love engaging in conversations. It frustrates me when people do not respond the way I would like them to. Maybe they are grumpy. Shy. Hard of hearing. Or they were taught to not talk to strangers.

Why can't people just do it? A smile and a hello can be so simple. And yet people choose not to respond.

Hospitality Oriented

Managing a large staff team can be challenging at times. I have discovered how critical it is when it comes to staff screening, hiring, training, and coaching. I want the right people in the right positions.

Lately, I have created a few procedures in all of my program areas. I want my staff to be hospitality oriented. I want them to have great people skills. Here are a three items we are focusing on.

• Know our member's names and use them!
• Make every member feel welcomed!
• Make sure our members know that they are missed when they have been MIA!

Every day my staff team are strongly encouraged to be aggressive when it comes to good customer service and so far they are doing a great job at it.

Attached to His Hip

Over the past few hours, I was attached to the hip of a man who is an incredible leader. This man has a great deal of influence in Oakland County.  I was asked to shadow him for a few hours. I followed him everywhere. I shook hands with all those he shook hands with. I drilled him with several questions. I picked his brain. 

Shadowing this individual over the past few hours was quite an experience in which I enjoyed.

Tonight I sat back and thought about all of those who I would love to shadow. I thought about individuals that are alive and those that have passed. I would love to see these individuals in action. I would love to spend some Q & A time with them. I would love to just pick their brain and get to know them. I would love to see their passion and catch it.

In no particular order:

Mother Theresa, the Apostle Paul, Jesus, Shane Clainborne (a young man who risks his life every day for an eternal cause), Chauncey Billups, John Maxwell, Nehemiah, Rip Hamilton, George Mueller (a man who approached God with confidence), Howard Schultz (Starbucks leader)

Who would you want to shadow?

Dishing Out Great First Impressions

Parents form first impressions quickly when it comes to programs that involve their children. Just about everyday, I remind my camp staff that they need to be on alert at all times when it comes to customer service. It is extremely important that they look and act professional seeing that the parents are entrusting us with their children. It is also important what each staff member says to the parents and child especially when they meet for the first time.

Parents and children tend to be a tad bit nervous when it is their first day in our camp programs. Several questions and concerns probably brew up in their head way before they reach our site. This summer, It is my goal for every parent and camper to feel at ease when they arrive at our site. I want them to leave feeling confident that the campers are left in good hands.

We have implemented a new welcoming technique when it comes to our 2-3, 3-5, and 6-11 year old day camps. My staff know this technique by heart. It has been engraved in their minds. The technique is a brilliant acronym called WESTI which was designed by Michael Brandwein. Check it out!

• W- Warm smile. Welcome every parent and child with a sincere smile
• E-Eye Contact. Make eye contact with the parent and the child. Stoop down to the child's level.
• S-Shake the parent's and child's hand or share a high five.
• T-Tell them how you feel about them being at camp.
• I-Introduce the child to another camper.

As long as I am in this leadership position, it is my desire for every parent and child to be welcomed with much excitement by all of my staff. I want my staff to blow the parents away.

A warm welcome is a great start when it comes to customer service. That will then lead towards a high retention rate along with word of mouth marketing.

Forgetting Ourselves This Summer

Summer time is the craziest time of the year for me. The kids are out of school so that means my workplace is jam-packed with children in our days camps. We serve 2-3 year olds, 3-5 year olds, and 6-11 year olds in our camps.

Mainstreaming children with autism and other types of special needs has been requested from the community we serve. This year, I received a large grant to work with children with autism. The grant will help us mainstream children that have autism in our summer day camp program and provide them one on one ratios with the staff.

Autism is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests. Children with autism have difficulties with social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors or narrow, obsessive interests. Children with autism tend to be outcasted in today's society. Our goal is to include them!

This summer, my kick butt staff are thrilled about serving children with autism along with children with cerebral palsy, down syndrome, and speech impediments. We will eagerly embrace every child that applies for our inclusion program. Our goal is to forget about ourselves and reach out to serve these amazing children. Our goal is to mainstream them and include them in our summer day camp program. Our goal is to teach the other children the power of diversity and how to interact with children with different abilities.  

Let the summer begin!

37 Hours with Over 300 People

Well over three hundred of our energetic camp staff in the Metro Detroit Association spent 37 hours together at one of our residential camps which was quite entertaining. The past weekend consisted of team building, leadership development, diversity initiatives, risk management, nose jousting, a camp fire with much laughter, one massive square dance, a limbo competition, a dance off, very little sleep, and an ample amount of bonding time with our staff. 

My staff team closed the weekend off speaking words of encouragement to each other which set the exact tone I wanted for the summer. It was awesome to sit back and watch them speak into each other's lives. 

I love my camp staff team! I am looking forward to getting to know them more and more. I am looking forward to leading them this summer while they are impacting hundreds upon hundreds of young people's lives. Gotta love summer time!

Interviews

Interviews can be quite nerve recking but I surely enjoy them. I think it is because I am the one that does the interview most of the time. I find it strange that I am known in our association to give an intense interview. I wouldn't necessarily call my interview process intense. I just enjoy getting to know the individual that is applying for the position. I want to see if they would make a good fit so I take them through an in depth interrogation. Ops, I meant interview!

Lately, I along with my lead team have been interviewing like crazy trying to find the right individuals to join our staff team. One of my favorite fun questions that I always throw out is "What motivates you in life? What makes you want to roll out of bed and live life?" Their reply tells much about them. Over the past few weeks, I have heard the following answers.

• Family and Friends
• Money
• Material things
• God
• I don't know. Good question.

So, what motivates you in life? Why do you roll out of bed everyday? Why do you live life?