Here are 5 tactics utilized by the Zen Master, Phil Jackson to become one of the greatest winners and leaders of our lifetime. You can pick up on these methods of managing to become a more effective leader for your team.

One of the reasons I wrote my first book, Success With People, is because of the realization that I had leadership tendencies rather than true leadership skills.

Years ago, I was speaking with a coworker about a particular manager. The coworker commented that the manager really felt he was a leader. After further consideration, we realized he was more of a competitor than a leader…

One important aspect of effective leadership is to make certain you and your people are focusing on key priorities each day. You can’t do that unless you are communicating with your team and hearing from them regularly.

The solution? A daily huddle.

It’s been four years since we launched Dave's Charm School’s online platform and many people have benefited from the courses, not least of which is the Communications 101 course covering active listening, body language, communicating respectfully, and more.

One of the lessons in the course is titled “Email, IM, Texting Standards” and includes my Dirty Dozen Email Rules. These rules are incredibly helpful for any executive, manager, or front-line employee that wants to present themselves professionally and communicate effectively via email.

Every rule may not apply to you, but most of them probably do. Feel free to copy and edit my list to create your own list that works at your company.

We just launched our latest course, Solving NOT Selling, in Dave’s Charm School.

This 14-lesson course is designed for service technicians who are uncomfortable discussing unexpected problems that cost a Client additional money.

However, everyone in your organization needs the skills and habits to discuss difficult topics.

Although this training is focused on service techs, we encourage everyone in your company to complete this course. This includes owners, CEOs, executives, receptionists, maintenance workers, and warehouse staff. Everyone means ALL your people.

Do you want to have a strong team? Teach them how to disagree productively.

A good starting point is to first evaluate how you and your team argue with others.

There are different ways people disagree, argue, or debate. Typically, some disagreeable situations are more emotional than others. Disagreement is not bad. However, the way people disagree can be unproductive and/or hurtful.

Back in 2007 the The Wall Street Journal published an article titled Too Many Companies Lack Succession Plans, Wasting Time, Talent.

In the article, Carol Hymowitz discussed the importance of succession plans and how “Only about half of public and private corporate boards have CEO-succession plans in place… This is the case even at giant global companies that have thousands of employees and spend millions each year to recruit and train talent.”

Carol’s article primarily focuses on large companies, but succession plans are just as important for SMBs (more on that below).

Does you have a succession plan?

Soft skills. It’s a term you’ve probably heard before. From executives and consultants, to Seth Godin and Inc Magazine, people are talking about the importance of soft skills so much it feels like a new diet craze.

However, when you take some time to investigate, it becomes clear that “soft skills” just means “likeable”, “conscientious”, or “admirable”. It’s a broad term used to describe almost all non-technical skills.

A consistent training regimen is important for you and your team. Effective training provides new hires and existing employees with the skills and knowledge they need to not only do their job but improve their performance. However, like many companies, you may not be sure how to train your employees, when to train them, and when to retrain them on previous skills.

How can you combine team bonding, education, and training?

And laughs?  Lots of laughs!

Ryan McFarland, Service Desk Manager at vertikal6 has a solution.

Are your days overflowing with firefighting, reacting to interruptions, and a lot of drama?

… As Charlie Brown would say, “AAUGH!”

When our lives are like this, time passes quickly.  Opportunities are lost.

It’s the end of 2018.  Did you achieve all of your objectives this year professionally and personally? Did you even have objectives for 2018? If you are honest with yourself, the likely answer is no.

The good news is, you get another chance in 2019.

The bad news is, your unproductive habits are ready to sabotage 2019.

In the book, Flawless Execution, author and former U.S. Air Force pilot James Murphy describes how the Air Force uses a continuous improvement process to reduce errors, casualties, and losses.

Two of his recommendations struck me – how the Air Force prepares for missions, and how they learn from them – the debrief.  I think the debrief is a serious weakness in most companies.

What happens to the taste of a stew when you add something fiery hot, meaty, and so overpowering that it can stand on its own?

Last Spring the Golden State Warriors, winners of 3 of the last 4 NBA Championships, announced they had acquired free agent DeMarcus Cousins.

A big part of engaging your team is showing them you appreciate their work.  You can do this in a number of ways.

In 1995 Gary Chapman published a breakthrough book titled, The 5 Love Languages.

Ask any 6 year old about their dreams or what they want to be when they grow up.

None will say, “I want to be homeless, begging for money, and addicted to drugs.”

Yet... that’s reality for some people.

It wasn't the plan.

Do you want a real assessment of your performance?

Here is a simple exercise to get a glimpse of your current leadership strengths, weaknesses, and impact of your company culture. It takes less than 5 minutes.

Job descriptions are dead. They are static documents that died on completion. Into the file folder they go... never to be seen again.

Instead, why not create a success plan for every team member?