I woke up this morning with several thoughts rolling through my mind. Most of them were about leadership and parenting. Since my kids are raised and I am now in the business of helping others become leaders, I thought I would share some personal words of wisdom in this blog.
Great leaders…
A great leader doesn’t need rules for others to follow, a great leader simply needs to be a great example for others to follow.
A great leader creates other great leaders.
A great leader knows his time management skills begins with his life management skills.
A great leader is a great communicator and a great communictor is someone who truly wants to know and understand others’ points of view.
A great leader’s private life matches his or her public life.
A great leader knows teamwork is the key element that leads to extraordinary accomplishments. He or she never speaks in terms of “I” or “mine.” Instead it us about “we” and “ours.”
Great parenting…
With kids it’s “monkey see monkey do.” Stop doing whatever you don’t want your kids to do.
God didn’t give us kids to idolize them or flaunt them, he gave us kids so we could help Him make them the best they can be.
If you want your children to give their best effort at everything they do, then you better be giving your best effort at everything you do.
Working long, stressful hours should not only lead to a “play” vacation for Mom and/or Dad. It should lead to a “play” vacation for Mom, Dad and the kids.
If you tell people your top three priorities are your relationship with God, your spouse and your kids; then you best be spending time daily with God, your spouse and your kids.
Text messaging is a great way to stay in touch with your spouse and kids.  BTW..texting is how kids communicate these days. (By the way…if you don’t know what BTW means…you’ve not been texting enough.)
Great leaders and parents…
The key to being a great parent and/or leader is to be “present” in your kids’ and teammates’ lives. Being present doesn’t require a physical presence as much as it does an emotional presence…stay in touch with what is going on.
Employees and kids excel best when they are spoken to in terms of possibilities instead of disabilities.
If you want your kids/employees to become independent and leaders themselves; don’t bog them down with a bunch of rules. Give them a playing field with boundaries to play on and until they go out of bounds…let em’ play.
The best time for a kid and or employee to learn is when they have gone out of bounds. Take that time to teach them problem solving skills.
Great leaders and great parents understand perfection is never going to happen.  They also understand extraordinary is obtained only through the pursuit of perfection and extraordinary will not happen unless mistakes are made and lessons are learned. (You may need to read this one more than once).
Great leaders and parents understand life is all about making the world a better place and thus give far more than they ever receive.
The key to doing anything “great” with your life is having the ability to do the things you don’t feel like doing.
P.E.A.C.E.
