Building Successful Careers

Many leaders are proud of their ability to attend to details and put their team members in action. It certainly is a great leadership trait. I also witness many leaders who put high pressure on their team every minute asking for meaningless details. Their goal is not about moving toward a strategic direction, but control. By directing their teams to do unnecessary tasks, they satisfy a personal craving to control every single detail. They remind me of a microwave oven. A microwave oven generates heat by spinning water molecules back and forth but it doesn't move them anywhere. Be an inspiring leader, not a microwave oven kills individual creativity and passion. Be a goal, result oriented leader, not a heat generating microwave oven.

In the 1300s, Timbuktu was a mud hut built on top of salt and gold mines. The city was full of gold. The wise King Mansa Musa had a grand vision of a golden kingdom. King Mansa Musa decided to carry tons of gold while traveling to the holy city of Mecca. He gave away his gold along the way. When he reached Mecca, his gold was gone but his name was golden. People no long thought Timbuktu was a mud hut; they imagined a city shining like gold. The wise king brought back knowledge, books about laws, math and more. Scholars and architects returned with the king and built the golden city envisioned by King Mansa Musa, turning the mud huts into a center of learning, culture, religion and trade. A true civilized golden kingdom was born. In the modern age,Bill Gates gave away much of his fortune, significantly improving the image of Microsoft while avoiding many lawsuits and gaining the respect of the world. When you give away your gold, your name is golden. We all have many

Tip Number 5: Use closed captioning on your television set. Activate the closed caption feature on your television set so you can see and hear the words at the same time. You retain 20% of what you see, and 40% of what you see and hear. Closed captions are not always completely accurate, but they are tools that can be very useful to you. Try it.

100 Ways to Motivate Others: How Great Leaders Can Produce Insane Results Without Driving People Crazy   by Steve Chandler and Scott Richardson Many excellent tips about inspiring your team members . Very useful handbook for managers at current situation. 

Tip Number 4: Speak English at home. Declare an English only time at home. Get agreement with your family members that you will speak only English between certain times, perhaps during the dinnertime. Ask each family member open-ended questions (questions that cannot be answered with a yes or no) so they will have to speak more English. I know it is difficult, but oh so rewarding because your English skills get better and better. ---Pat Zimmerman