TEAM: The True Test of a Leader

From my experience working with leaders of all kinds, I have noticed many different styles and approaches can be effective depending on the context, situation, organization or personalities involved. But, there seem to be four essential characteristics that always need to be present. Even those who do not have an official title or leadership position can lead “from the seat” if demonstrating these qualities.

How fitting that the first letters of each quality form the acronym TEAM since the ability to create a sense of team is the gift of the most outstanding leaders.

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Problem Solving Basics: Overlooking the Obvious

I think we sometimes overlook the obvious solutions because those are often the most simple, and we forget that simple can be an option. We want to rise to the expectations of ourselves and of those put upon us. We want to demonstrate our complex problem-solving abilities because we are, indeed, capable of solving the complex. We require ourselves to strategize and come up with educated plans for productivity. And, in doing so, we sometimes forget to stop and try to solve a problem by using the most basic of skills or strategies.

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Social Networking the Old-Fashioned Way

Here we are a few decades later, and, of course, I’ve gotten on board with many aspects of the e-world. In fact, I really wouldn’t want to lose access to most of it. Like you, I’ve found both great use and great fun within the cyber world. It’s interesting, though, to really think about how we’ve gone from electronic communications complimenting our daily lives to where face-to-face interactions and holding an actual phone conversation now, instead, compliment the e-world.

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Acknowledging and Embracing the Emotional Factor of a Career Change

It makes your brain swirl a little to recall your misconception of 40, doesn’t it? Finding yourself in the middle of a career change at 40 is enough to turn that spin into utter turmoil. While there are a number of practical, measurable action items to which you must attend during a job search or other big career move, give the emotional side of such a pursuit careful attention and acknowledgement along the way.

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Who Has Your Back? Support Systems Matter

Now, that’s a notion to which I know many of us can relate – taking that leap we never saw coming. It happens when someone takes notice of something we can offer, approaches us with a, “Have you ever considered …” and we find ourselves where we never could have or would have imagined! And, as an extra bonus, I’ve often found that when this happens, we tend to land in a position that actually means something to us.

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Expecting the Unexpected Makes My Head Hurt: Are Your Expectations In Check?

Driving away from the appointment, though, I couldn’t stop dissecting what just happened in an effort to avoid such frustration in the future. I quickly concluded that the situation rattled my realm of expectations. Prior to the appointment, I based my knowledge only on my own, limited experiences without realizing that the range of possibilities I’d identified was simply not big enough. The reasons for my range turned into my expectations which were then not met.

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Taking a Closer Look: Breathing New Life Into Your Tried and True

It takes a lot of guts to take a look at your own work and say, “Hmmm … really good. But, perhaps it could be just as good or better if I …” I think there are many reasons we might not even consider reinventing or modifying our own work, and those reasons are as numerous as there are people. But, isn’t it intriguing – if not exciting! – to think that in certain areas of our lives we can?!

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