Great Quotes on Leadership
"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." - John Quincy Adams
"Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things." - Peter Drucker
"To lead people, walk beside them. As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. When the best leader's work is done, the people say, 'We did it ourselves!'" - Lao Tzu
"Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence, and making sure that impact lasts in your absence."- Sheryl Sandberg
"Average leaders raise the bar for themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar." - Orrin Woodward
"Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing." - Albert Schweitzer
"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." - Rosalynn Carter
"Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity." - Reed Markham
"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy." - Norman Schwarzkopf
"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality." - Warren Bennis
"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear." - Rosa Parks
"All of the great leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership." - John Kenneth Galbraith
"Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want." - Dianne Feinstein
"Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well." - Dwight Eisenhower
"A leader is a dealer in hope." - Napoleon Bonaparte
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln
"True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up." - Sheri Dew
"A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better." - Jim Rohn
"What you do has far greater impact than what you say." - Stephen Covey
"To be a leader, you have to make people want to follow you, and nobody wants to follow someone who doesn't know where he is going." - Joe Namath
"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate. and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand." - Colin Powell
"The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things. He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things." - Ronald Reagan
"Leadership is the ability to guide others without force into a direction or decision that leaves them still feeling empowered and accomplished." - Lisa Cash Hanson
"You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader." - Henry Ford
"To have long term success as a coach or in any position of leadership, you have to be obsessed in some way." - Pat Riley
"Our emerging workforce is not interested in command and control leadership. They don't want to do things because I said so, they want to do things because they want to do them."- Irene Rosenfield
"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails." - John Maxwell
"Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish." - Sam Walton
PS: Great leaders take the time to reflect on what it really means to be a leader. They turn theory into action. Towards that end, choose a quote above that you most resonate with and ask yourself how you can embody its particular wisdom on the job.
Leaders communicate their responsibilities to their teams
Go beyond the team leader overload syndrome
Idea Champions
Illustrations: gapingvoid
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September 14, 2020The Poop Revolution!
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September 13, 2020AL SIRAAT COLLEGE: Team Leadership Training Testimonials
What follows is a sampling of testimonials from some of the 33 graduates of Idea Champions' Team Leadership Training, delivered to Al Siraat College, in Epping, Australia in 2020.
SHORT AND SWEET
"This is the best professional training I have ever done in my life. I wish I'd done it many years ago, so I could have incorporated its excellent ideas and practices earlier in my professional and personal life." -- Wayne Semmens
"An extraordinary experience." -- Rahat Arain
"Invaluable to my professional development. Will definitely be carried throughout my life." -- Gulcan Ayvaz
"Amazing. Gave me a different perspective on my role as a leader. I enjoyed the creativity of the program and how huge concepts were unpacked in a simplified manner." -- Shahidah Osman
"Fantastic. A great way to interact with other Team Leaders, share ideas, and learn from each other's experiences." - Misbah Aqeel
"Delivered in a very simple and unique way, making it easy to apply in my daily life. Helped me develop confidence in my leadership." - Maryam Omer
"Never a dull moment. A very enjoyable and relaxing experience that helped keep our minds open and look for creative ideas to improve ourselves and our teams." - Daniel Saleh
"An eye opener. Empowering. Helped me look at things from different perspectives and find new ways to improve things." - Suffian Mohammed Amin
"I now feel we have a process that will be followed by all stakeholders." - Leah Hamel
"Relevant, engaging, and fun. If we are able to implement even half of what we learned, we will become a different organization." - Fazeel Arain
"I got almost immediate, desired results!" - Sitki Esenyel
"It was a blessing to have the opportunity to go inward, outward, and onward. Each session was targeted and practical. The design and delivery were always engaging and stimulating." - Evla Han
"Generated many creative ideas to improve our teams and the school." - Noori Ahmad
"As a result of the training, my team is now working more collaboratively and sharing ideas. Trust has built over time." - Elif Boz
A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE TESTIMONIALS
"This is the best professional training I have ever done in my life. The breadth of topics was better than anything I have done before. The experience was both inspiring and practical. It was so good, in fact, that I wish I'd done this training many years ago, so I could have incorporated its excellent ideas and practices earlier in my professional and personal life." -- Wayne Semmens
"Being in the Team Leadership Training has been an extraordinary experience. We have learned through listening and peer-to-peer dialogue. It was supportive, with no 
judgements, a variety of tools to extend our thinking, and no homework! What more could we have asked for? I do believe I'm starting to understand and appreciate people a little more. You have modeled, for us, a beautiful way to acknowledge others in a way that will help us build good relationships with our teams." -- Rahat Arain
"Thank you very much for the wonderful training sessions! The time I spent in the Team Leadership Training has been invaluable 
to my professional development and will definitely be carried throughout my life. I have been equipped with skills that assist my parenting of teenagers too, which was an unexpected bonus. I look forward to implementing the knowledge and tips you taught me and passing them onto others who will benefit, too." -- Gulcan Ayvaz
"The Team Leadership Training has given me an opportunity to develop my leadership skills to a different level than before. It helped me be reflective and embrace my challenges with grace and resilience. Mitch is an inspirational trainer who gives 
his utmost energy with passion and engagement throughout the training. He amazed me in the way he presented his uplifting and thought-provoking creative ideas and succinct content. The training gave me a different perspective on my role as a leader. I learned, immensely, about ways to improve myself and the practicality of different leadership strategies. I enjoyed the creativity of the program and how huge concepts were unpacked in a simplified manner." -- Shahidah Osam
"I was blessed to take the Team 
Leadership Training. I found the training was very much targeted to develop my skills in many areas because it was delivered in a very simple and unique way, making it easy to apply in my daily life. The program helped me develop confidence in my leadership." -- Maryam Omer
"The Team Leadership Training is great way to interact with other Team Leaders, to share ideas, and to learn from their experiences. Mitch is a fantastic facilitator and, during each session, not once did I think of the time or when it would end! 
I have benefited a lot from this training, have definitely learned to run meetings better, gel my team together, and clarify our roles and responsibilities." -- Misbah Aqeel
"Mitch is a very enthusiastic facilitator, with great character, and makes everyone feel welcome. Even though there were many people in the sessions, he always made time to give people one-on-one feedback. I liked the way he infused each topic with storytelling to help get the message across. I also liked the 
way he got people out of their comfort zone. There was never a dull moment. All in all, it was a very enjoyable and relaxing experience that helped us keep our minds open and looking for new and creative ideas to improve ourselves and our teams." -- Daniel Saleh
"The Team Leadership Training is an eye opener and empowering. It helped me look at things from a different perspectives and to always find ways to improve things. I appreciated the time taken to unpack all the learnings and the practical examples shared by Mitch. As a result of this program, our team meetings 
ehave changed for the better. Efficiency has improved." -- Suffian Mohammed Amin
"The Team Leader training allowed me to follow a set procedure in regard to implementing any new process within my team and with external teams. It assisted me in with dealing with others, particularly those in more senior positions than myself, since they have also been through the training. I now feel as though we have a process that will be followed by all stakeholders." -- Leah Hamel
"The Team Leadership Training was a relevant and practical dive-in to improve ourselves and our teams. If we are able to implement even half of what we have learned, we will be a different organization than what we are now. The training was relevant, engaging, and fun." -- Fazeel Arain
"My team leadership has definitely improved because I valued the content of the training and saw its inherent value. And then, when I went to implement the theory and turn it into practice, I got almost immediate, desired results! 
If I could graph my progress, it would resemble an upward trajectory." -- Sitki Esenyel
"The Team Leadership Training is much more than just professional development. I'm grateful to be part of a community that invests in people. In this process, some of the things I've learned is that there are emotional and cognitive barriers to receptivity and helping and that leadership and learning are seriously complex. It's a blessing to have the opportunity to go inward, outward, and onward. Each session was targeted and practical. The design and delivery was always engaging and stimulating." -- Evla Han
"As a result of the training, my team is now working more collaboratively and sharing ideas. Trust has built over time." -- Elif Boz
"I liked how the training brought all of our leaders under one roof and better understanding what everyone is going through, learning from each other. I also liked the way it was organized and how many creative ideas we came up with to improve our teams and the school." -- Noori Ahmad
What does it mean to be a team leader?
Designed and facilitated by Idea Champions
The back story
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September 04, 202041 Ways Business Leaders Can Foster a Culture of Innovation
Yes, we know you want your organization to be more innovative. And yes, we know you want to improve your organization's culture of innovation. The best place to start? With YOU.
1. Give up needing to be the smartest person in the room.
2. Seek out people who think differently than you do.
3. Reward new thinking.
4. When you delegate, delegate.
5. Listen more, tell less.
6. Create an environment where no idea is considered dumb.
7. Be a learner, not a know-it-all.
8. Require that 30% of all budget proposals include innovative
products, processes, strategies, business models, or management
approaches.
9. Celebrate failures and learn from them.
10. Don't rush to resolve differences. Tolerate ambiguity while
gaining a deep understanding of the thought processes underlying
all positions.
11. Surface conflict and support minority positions.
12. Let go of your way of doing things.
13. Explore the territory before seeking a destination.
14. Reward people who disagree with you.
15. Protect the new from the old.
16. Get feedback to test whether what you think you communicated is what people actually heard.
17. Do whatever is necessary to deeply engage employees in the realm of the possible.
18. Do whatever is necessary to create widespread understanding and commitment to a shared vision of the future.
19. Reward teamwork and unselfish effort -- not individual heroics.
20. Accept as much of yourself as you can.
21. Recognize the talents of those around you and leverage them to the max.
22. Pave the way for your subordinate's success.
23. Develop all your reports to be your successor.
24. Provide very specific, timely, behavior-based positive feedback.
25. Begin your feedback with what you like about a new idea.
26. Make the path to considering, evaluating, and deciding on new ideas clear and easy to navigate.
27. Look behind "wild ideas" for potential new directions.
28. Never write anyone off. Try to understand where they are coming from before judging them.
29. Don't forget that everything you do is scrutinized for meaning.
30. Spend at least 20% of your time in two-way communication with people at all levels of your organization -- and spend most of this time listening, not explaining.
31. Be intentional and deliberate. Be clear about what you are trying to achieve and test whether that is what you are getting.
32. Stick your neck out for what you believe in and value.
33. Acknowledge when you don't know -- and rely on others to help you figure it out.
34. Give the work back. Your job is to get the best that everyone has to give -- not come up with all the answers yourself.
35. Eliminate fear from the workplace. Foster excitement and commitment.
36. Acknowledge when you are wrong. Don't defend yourself. Just learn from your mistakes.
37. Engage others in the exploration of what is possible. (Don't create unnecessary limits).
38. Keep your organization in the zone of "productive disequilibrium." Resist efforts to revert to the "tried and true."
39. Increase freedom and accountability. Let employees experiment with whatever approaches they think are worth exploring while remaining accountable for results. Let them own the "how." You own the "what".
40. Provide timely feedback and data to everyone so they can identify what is working and what needs fixing.
41. Remember that the only person you can change is yourself.
-- Barry Gruenberg
Idea Champions
Brainstorm Champions
Storytelling as a way to change culture
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