Craffies Coaching

I blogged on exercising the mind on Friday. One of the thoughts was on playfulness. The part of being like a child had me thinking…

As children can also be very cruel or is it honest with each other and the impact of that on their community and the productivity of the environment.

So I had a discussion with my kids and quickly a few themes emerged:
Negative kids draw negative kids.
Positive kids need to avoid this energy or they are drawn in.
Positive kids, make constant long term contributions on all levels.
Short-term illusions is sometimes created that the Negative kids get results, which the positive kids do not get. However how Steven Covey puts it, Principals will always rule over the long-term.

So in future if I refer to being playful like a kid, it is with reference to the pure form of being like a kid.

Regards.

It is easy said that leadership is not about position but about serving other. In tough times it easy to forget this and the focus can shift to production. Now the question arises how do I get the production from my team while still maintain my character of servant leadership?

The following is central to the above according to “my world”:
It is said to be trust worthy one needs to be consistent in all circumstances, one need to be competent and lastly dependable.
One’s choices must be reflecting that one has all stakeholders at heart and not making choices to cover one’s own ass or playing for the crowd.
One must give recognition to the team members that contribute to even the small successes.
Did one realise that credibly is a victory and not a gift? I takes continues effort to build.
Lastly the above is in my mind all part of character. Now the question can be asked do I work on these elements of my character or am I building my image that I want the world to see?
Just as afterthoughts never forget good honest communication and feedback so that everybody knows what you think and do?
Best wishes on your journey of growth.

This morning I heard an interesting way The “Kleipot Gemeente” run their way of interacting as a Christian community, based on values, with the following metaphors:
1 : God is central with, God’s massage of love,
Clock : God is 24/7 Central to each members life,
Plug : Time spend with God, to connect with God and get his message and power for one’s life. Prayer and “Being quite” before God.
Bread: Community with people, to share with the people one like and do not like.
Puzzle: Accept all people for their unique gifts they can contribute.
Shoes: Carry out the message of God, but also putting yourself in the shoes of other, to really understand their world.
Downward slope: Move away from the EGO, and always ask what Jesus will do in the situation.

This was a beautiful message that I will take with me on my journey through life.

I pray that your week be blessed, with God’s graze.

The “Kleipot community” blogspace is: http://www.kleipotgemeente.org/

Leadership…

Sometimes things do not want to turn out as we want it, what can then be going wrong?

If we do not get out plans to execution we need to look at the following:

The hard stuff:
Do we have clear goals, not more than three crucial drivers, and everybody in the company is clear on it?
Roles. Who is responsible for what?
Processes. How must things be done? Are the tools to do the job in place? Is the process effective?
Soft stuff:
Process
Thinking = Climate / Culture / Attitude of employees and company
Who is responsible for decisions? Empowerment?
How is problems handled? Active or Reactive?
Communication.
Leadership style. Is it relevant to the cycle of the business? Is it adaptable for different scenarios?
Conflict, how is it dealt with?
Interpersonal
Diversity. To create innovation. To value people for what they can contribute.
Personality differences.
Trust???

Enjoy jour week.

At the Ken Blanchard Presidential Leadership summit during May 2008 the panel consisting of some of the world’s most influential leadership guru’s determined the following four broad leadership competencies as the most important:

Self Awareness.
The ability to create and manage highly effective teams.
The ability to listen to diverse opinions.
Having a strong set of core values.

Interesting… again looking at these competencies how integrated they are and all starting with the self. Self I define as a conscious/mindful contributor, in this context.