Time Management

What do you do when you are watching TV? Do you just sit there and watch it? Catch up on social media and email? Do homework? Cook dinner?

There are endless possibilities to what you can be doing when watching an hour of TV. A lot of people I know like to do a quick work out when they watch TV. This way they are not wasting time throughout the day. The problem with a lot of others is they just sit there and watch TV. Unless you are watching something informational that will really help you succeed in your career TV should be on the background. Time management is huge to be a successful leader. My previous notes about what you do when you watch TV is probably the easiest way to create an extra hour in your day.

This is a video from Bruce Almighty. He takes on the role of being God. He with such an important job comes huge responsibility and a lot of work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0cG11lTS1E At first Bruce does not know how to use his time and divide his tasks up so he is not overwhelmed by answering every single thing in the world. This particular example shows Bruce trying to figure out how he is going to sort all of the prayers. He shows good leadership when he decides which method to use. First, file drawers. Second, sticky notes. Third, E-mail. What he does not do well, and what most of us fail at, is designating time for certain tasks.

Do you have a budget for your money? You know you have a certain amount of money for that particular day, so you designate money to the most important products/services you must buy and go down the list. Time should have a budget as well. We all want 8 hours to sleep, 3 hours to eat (all meals added together), 8 hours to work, 1 hour to work out, 1 hour of traveling, 3 hours to study… etc. That is 24 hours already with out whatever entertainment or activities you want to add onto the basics. So to have proper time management one must decide which tasks are the most important to them and designate the most time to those. Maybe you have to cut out 2 hours of sleep every night so you can prepare meals for the day or get ahead on your work tasks. A good leader will know when to stop doing a task as well if they need to move on to a new one. Just because you got assigned a project that will take 8 hours of work doesn’t mean you have to do all that in one day. A good leader will break it off into segments.

Who are you to say?

Today I am going to talk about how credibility is a key factor into followers being 100% motivated to do as their leader says. Here is a clip talking about credibility with CEO’s

This video says how leaders cannot just be credible like a judge in a court room. There is no transparency shown. Followers have to know you are going to tell them what they need to know good or bad. This is very important for leaders because many people try to hide the bad news to try to see if it will go away in the near future. This almost never happens and always seems to build up into a bigger problem for more people now. If the leader shows transparency they will be able to tell the group good and bad. Another big issue with credibility and leaders is when someone asks “Who are you to say?”. For example, if an english teacher is making a presentation to a large group of people about physics he has no credibility because it his not his subject of study. This goes for sports as well. I have seen this a lot over my sports career. Someone on the team will try to step up as a leader but has not prior success to back up their methods of leadership everyone else will say “Who are you to say?”.

Leaders need to first make sure whatever subject they are trying to lead they are the most knowledgable single person in their group. There is no way to be more knowledgeable than an entire group of people. This is the reason leaders want followers, it expands their minds as well as creating more potential. Leaders also will gain credibility by showing transparency with what they are asking for and telling their followers. Showing both sides of the story and letting the followers ask questions shows the followers the leader is willing to listen and if the leader has good answers will gain even more credibility.

Stereotyping

What do you think when someone walks in for an interview or see someone on the streets and they are wearing a certain type of clothing? skin is a certain color? wearing a religious symbol? speak a certain language? or have a certain accent? Stereotyping is something this 2nd generation of post slavery and racism has not fully understood how to control. This video is comical, but it shows some easy ways people misinterpret what they see at that moment.

Today major events have created a huge stereotype leaders must overcome. I believe the most recognized stereotype today are “terrorists” from the horrific event of 9/11. This created the belief in americans eyes that all people from the middle east are out to get us. What does a pilot think after that when a middle eastern looking person walks onto his plane? This is just one of the horrible examples people today stereotype with. Leaders will succeed most by the common term “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. I believe the best way to pick people for an interview is to take away everything besides their qualifications. Someone should not have to state if they are a certain nationality, religion, or gender. I once saw a documentary of a Mexican student who was finishing up his degree from a good 4 year college. The main purpose of the documentary was to show how when he applied for jobs using his Mexican last name he did not get many interviews from his applications. But when he decided to change his last name to a normal American name the interviews began to consistently come after applying for the same jobs. The leaders he was trying to connect to gain a job were guilty of stereotyping. These are the leaders we do not want to see because they can be missing out on very qualified and great people just by profiling someone a certain way.

I have witnessed stereotyping first hand in the classroom. Many professors and students I have been around tend to think certain races here at Purdue have different skill levels. Whether it is doing a project, studying for an exam, a question asked in class, or doing a paper.. professors and students always seem to stereotype. This is critical in the learning process for individuals because if someone believes they are being stereotyped of lesser capability then someone else they may not bring out their full potential because people do not believe in them.

Stereotyping for woman is shown the most in workplaces where they are seen to be less superior. The pay gap between men and women is still outstanding to this day. For every dollar a man earns, a woman earns 70 cents. This is not due to the fact they are under qualified , as we see women in prestigious colleges and CEO’s of fortune 500 companies now. This is due to the fact people still stereotype in the workforce and leaders who do this will not be able to bring out the full potential of every individual in their organization.

American Sniper

Chris Kyle is well-known today for the movie “American Sniper” that was just released. He shows his heroic efforts and leadership sided with failure and many struggles. The movie was good, but it did not show the true struggles he faced as a leader. In his book he wrote he goes into detail about how he struggled to lead his family while he was still a soldier and talks more about the struggle of becoming a civilian after war. Once a leader become successful at what they do it is very hard for them to ever switch their teaching styles and try something new. This is what Chris Kyle did very well in war and struggled with at home. In war he was trained to be a cross functional leader. He was mainly a sniper, but he knew how to create intel, perform home invasions, hand to hand combat, and most importantly to lead. As a successful leader he must understand what skills and requirements are needed for every part of their operations to be able to really think like one of the employees. Chris Kyle knew he was not going to be able to help out a lot being on watch for a home invasion team. He instead went against hierarchies decision and decided to lead a home invasion team on the ground. He knew what skills he needed to show this team and was able to turn the team’s success around and move them in the right track. This is an example of his success as a leader being adaptive to different situations. I believe he was successful in war because it was his comfort zone. This is what he trained for years for. His failure as a leader was talked about in his book. When he came home he was not able to adapt to the civilian lifestyle in between deployments and after he retired. He said he was not able to connect with either of his new-born children while he was home in between deployments. He felt his job was to be on the battle field and being home was letting his country down. He was not able to adapt and tried to be a leader as much as he could. He had to cheat the system to try to be a leader. He used alcohol to try to cope and become a different type of leader at home. This is where he really struggled and had to find something at home to make his life worth while. This clip from the movie shows him talking to a counselor trying to find out what his problems are right now. He says he is not able to stop thinking about the men he was not able to protect and the fact the enemy is still out there and he is still at home.

I believe he was not able to succeed as a leader at home because he was not trained to be a leader at home. His whole adult life was revolved around training and fighting his enemies, never to create love and affection of the ones around him like his family. Chris Kyle is a great example of a adaptability as a leader.

Punisher

Before reading this blog watch the two videos to decide 1. What type of leader you want to be and 2. what type of leaders you have had in the past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpuuVKl7TAg      (12 years slave)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NKUARW0hQw    (football limits)

These two videos reflect greatly the past experiences I have had with leadership. I know what you are think… and no I have not been physically abused by leaders in the past, but I have had aggressive leaders who have no limits and scare you into believing what they say. The football coach video reflect leaders who want to be motivational and gain your trust by showing what you are capable of doing by using motivational words and examples. To answer the 2nd question I asked you all to think about first I believe in two types of leaders: Aggressive/scary leaders and motivational/friendly leaders. Earlier in my sports career I had a leader who was the aggressive scary leader. When we lost it was because we didn’t do what he said, even if we did. He would run us, scream at us, and make us pity ourselves. This was a leader I never wanted to be around. I like when a leader feels to me as if they are a friend and family member. I do not want my leader to treat me as if they are my mother or father, but I do want the friendly appeal. The second type of leader is where I have had the most success in my life with. When a coach has been motivational to me, showing me what I am capable of when failure is present, I have had to great results. For example, there was a class my freshman year I had no idea what was going on in. Usually when this occurs I will go talk to the professor and they will say, “Find your TA”, “Look at the syllabus” or “Its in the book”. This professor I had told me to meet me after class every day for a quick ten minute study session and review of what we talked about. He did not make me feel stupid as other professors seem to do to show off their seniority and knowledge over their students. This professor instead acted as if he did not know what was going on in the class and he was a student as well. He showed me how he would look at the class and material presented if he did not know what was going on either. Where am I going with this? When a leader shows he understands how you are feeling and thinking and is able to related to you and show you the way by using motivational factors is when greatness is achieved. Trying to scare someone into believing what you are saying may work short-term, but behind your back as a leader the followers are going to resent what is going on in that certain organization. When the followers are compelled and moved by a follower is when they want to make sure they do everything they can to grow and prosper to gain the results the leader had desired for the individual and group.

Why did I name this blog “Punisher”? Well one should never look at the top of anything and say to themselves, “This is going to own me” whether it’s a book cover, headline of a paper, or the title of an employee. Just because someones title says GM, executive, or any other title name does not mean they want to punish whoever is below them to stop them from getting close to where they are. The true leaders are the ones you let into your life and find a way to move and compel you without punishing you for your wrong doing.

Legacy

I have always thought leaving a legacy means being the greatest of all time. For example, Michael Jordan with basketball, Derek Jeter with baseball, Brett Favre for football. Now I have realized leaving a legacy is based on your followers who succeed. Reading the “Its your Ship” book for class has opened my eyes to this new view on leadership. A leader should not be strictly worried about how successful he is, but he should be worried about how much his followers grow into being a leader as well. A legacy is not one person, a legacy is an empire. This would be compared to Ancient Roman Empire. They did not have one leader who made them great by himself. They had multiple “teachers” one after another teaching others how to succeed. If one leader teaches another it doubles every times.. one turns into two, then four, then 8, 16… etc. This is how a legacy is made. The closest thing to this I have seen would be Phil Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers. He taught people one by one how to lead. MJ, Scottie Pippin, Kobe, these are just a few examples of his followers that became successful to carry on his legacy. With out Phil Jackson teaching his followers how to be like him, to be committed to his goals his success would have vanished when he retired. Now there are multiple “Phil Jackson’s” in the NBA today. They have carried his legacy for years after he has retired now. There are many ways I believe a leader can create a legacy. The main ones would be getting your followers committed to your goals, always being positive and urging your followers to be greater, and ethically being successful. These are what I believe to be the most important ones.

This is a clip from a 50 minute interview. This proves how a legacy is made by the ones who follow you. Michael Jordan is said to be the best of the best and his legacy continues because guys like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant, Bob Knight etc say you are the best. These are guys today we consider the best in the game, yet they are willing to admit their leader and role model is someone they grew up following.

Getting what you need vs want

There are times I envision myself with a Rolex watch, brick mansion next to the ocean, and a cherry red sports car. These are things I believe can make some mad as well drive someone forward. I do believe everyone needs to have dreams of things they want to keep their motivation levels high. I believe a good leader knows how to decide whether something is a need or want. First let me start with what I believe the definitions for a need and want are. A need is something that is critical to your performance, without a need slim to none will be able to be done. A want is the nicer, newer, more expensive need. An example would be when someone is looking for a new car. They have $30,000 to spend on a new car. They need to get something that is going to be safe and reliable for their family. Like a common ford car. The difference with what they need and want is all the gadgets or different brand to use all the available money instead of save some away for later. Now in the business world these issues come across a lot for leaders of an organization. Especially when it comes to production machinery. A leader is going to know what his quota is for a particular project or time period. Now they must be able to do a cost analysis of all the options that are available for how to get the project done. Where this turns into leadership and not just being smart is greed. There cannot be a significant amount of greed in a leaders mind when making decisions. Of course there has to be a certain amount of greed as you cannot save someone else face and must look out for yourself at the same time. If option A can produce 10,000 items in a year for $50,000 and option B can produce twice that amount for only $10,000 more one might look at option B to always be the right answer. What if the company only asked you to get 10,000 items produced for them? A good leader has to take the need and put it in front of the wants. He has to push the greed to the side and lead the group to the objective in the most efficient manner to make everyone below and above them as happy as possible to continue for more chances to evolve.

http://www.wingclips.com/movie-clips/dallas-buyers-club/azt-treatment

This video clip is from the movie Dallas Buyers Club. The female doctor shows the need portion in this clip by wanting to stop the big name company coming in and using their wants to shadow what truly matters. The big company rep wants to skip all the testing and go straight to humans to try to make as much money as possible. His need is to help people, but his want of making as much money as possible is blocking making the right leadership decision of his need.

Down and Out

What do you do when you are leading a group of people and then all of a sudden something tragic happens? Did your loved one die? Did you have a medical emergency? These are the moments where a leader has to be at his strongest. There are points in life where someone may not be able to lead a group at work or sports because of a life event. For example, I just finished reading the book “American Sniper” and he explains in the book how his family during his active duty was his Navy Seal Team, not his wife and kids. When a major event like a new-born son and daughter came across his life he still knew who he had to lead. He chose one option over the other knowing what the costs are going to be. A good leader cannot take a major moment in their life and show weakness. If you are committed to leading a group you have to show it in times of great need to prove to your followers you are their leader. In my life right now I am battling an arm injury. I am a leader on the baseball team. Now I am down and out. My shoulder is injured and I cannot pitch for a couple of weeks. What do I do? Do I step back and let someone else lead? Do I change my method of leading? My personal favorite way of leading is to lead by example. I want to be the one showing the most physical effort and endurance in whatever we do. I want to always be the one working the hardest with the best results to show for it so my followers and teammates see what it takes to succeed. Now that I am injured I cannot do this. I believe a good leader has to change his ways when it comes to times like this. I have to become more of an influential leader. I have to use verbal and body language to lead. Times like these are only going to make me stronger as a leader. I now have my mind opened to a new style of leading. I will better be suited as a leader now that I have more styles of leading. I will also be able to scan my environment and see what type of leadership strategy I am going to impose for a certain group. When I think of a leader trying to lead when they are down and out I think of the TV series Friday Night Lights. It was an amazing leadership show. Inspirational speeches, motivational moments, and dramatic events changing people’s lives. This video is a speech Coach Taylor has after the teams QB, best player, and leader breaks his neck https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYIzhV2uIbw . He says how someone can only lead in times of difficulty if they believe in the people who still believe in them and block out the ones who have written you out. This is one of my main views on life now. There are a small group of people who are always going to be by your side when in times of doubt. These are the people you have to focus on when leading. This is the building block of your leadership plan and the only step you can take if you want to gain back your team. These are the people the leader has to follow when down and out to make sure he still is able to display his leadership qualities to gain back followers.

Personal Strengths

Today I took a online test named “Gallup Strengths Finder” It is an amazing test. Its derived from over 90 combined years of two leading psychologists studying what people believe are the top words as one may say to describe a good employee. I am going to connect my findings to how I believe these 5 words explain who I am as a leader and person. My biggest strength was the word “Competition”. They describe this as someone who compares themselves to the people around them and want to be number one. As a person I believe this is my biggest strength. No matter what I am doing I always want to be in first place. If I am playing pool against my family, darts against my mom, eating food next to my older brother, competing on an athletics team, in the weight room or classroom I want to be first. But it also means I believe if I work hard enough I will be able to reach my goals. I believe I can make the future a reality by putting forth tremendous effort. This translates to being a leader as I want to obvious be number one in the group I lead, but I also want to lead the best group. If I am working for a company and am managing a sales team I want to have the highest sales numbers at the end of the year, I want to have the most new customers, I want to have built the most relationships. My second word I received from the test was command. They describe it as someone being able to go into a room and have presence and control. I believe this fits me well as well. I am not a guy that wants to control someone. I do not want to force somebody to do something on a consistant basis. I want them to respect me because they know I am leading them. I want my presence to resemble a leader, not an owner. The next word I received was futuristic. The define it as someone who is inspired by what can be and inspires others by that possibility. I believe I do everything I can to make sure I am preparing myself for the future. I have big goals for the future: getting drafted to the MLB, being an executive, getting a job in general. But I believe this is one of my strongest suits as I know how to make the smaller goals to get to the big goals. A good leader knows his main goals for the company he is working for. Most of the time they are sent down to them by people higher up then them. It is his job to teach his followers how to set smaller goals and have the will to fulfill the smaller goals to reach the higher goals. See everyone wants to succeed. Everyone has the will to try and make a million dollars a year. The people that make a lot of money are the ones that have the will to fail. Being a baseball player I have to deal with failure a lot. The saying goes “A hall of fame baseball player fails 70% of his at bats”. I am not going to expand on this and say why this is completely false. Anyone who knows the game of baseball well could tell you. But for this example we are going to stay with the true meaning of this saying. The reason they are able to get these 30% success rate is because they do not let the other 70% of failure knock down their will. They know they have a plan to be the best player in the league, maybe in history, so they set goals pitch by pitch, at bat by at bat, out by out, inning by inning. These are the small goals that allow them to become such great successful players. They have a futuristic approach to life and they inspire others by showing them how to do it. I am not going to expand on the next word as there is not much difference between it and command. My 4th word was significance. It is saying I want to be known well by others and look impactful. My final word I received was focus. This is not the typical focus you think about. It is not being able to sit down and study or read for hours on end. This focus, and why it relates to me, is meant by someone who is able to focus on what they want in the future. It is more of a knowledge about their goals and being able to keep the will to reach them. They are able to stay on track. This describes me well and really wraps my strengths up. I believe to stay competitive, have command, be futuristic, and have significance one must stay focused. You have to be able to stay on the right track to keep moving forward. You have to be able to make sure if you are the leading engine of a train that the carts behind you aren’t falling off the track. You have to make sure you are the one working the hardest to make sure everyone is following behind you and seeing that you are the most powerful one.

Leading my Decisions

Every night I lay in bed and drift off the thought of “how am I going to make myself better tomorrow?” First, I think about what activities I have planned for tomorrow: workout, which classes?, baseball practice, homework, quizzes, exams, relationship friends, food, entertainment, etc. The list goes on forever with what I think about. Every small detail of these planned activities can make my day better somehow and the best part is, I get to make the details ALMOST all by myself. Some things I can not control like time, location, the weather, etc. But there are things like effort, motivation, my thoughts and actions that I do get to control. For example, the hardest part about working out is getting yourself to go to the gym. Waking up at 5am to work out is not the most exciting thing to do, but it is a great feeling. I lead myself into this course of action and give myself motivation to go to the gym so early because I know I will feel better after the work out knowing I accomplished something already. But going to the gym is not enough for me. I need to thrive and excel in the gym. I know I need do this because this is how I am going to get better at baseball (my passion). I lead my thoughts, motivation, and effort mainly by having positive thoughts. I set goals for every visit to the gym: I want to get this much stronger, run this much faster, do this many more reputations. Being lazy will never allow for somebody to create a path or let them lead their own decisions. I got the honor to listen to Eric Thomas speak at Mackey Arena. He spoke to all the athletes and gave us some great stories of leadership and how you must lead your own decisions. I attached a link to a story that really hit me deep. This is a story that shows “When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful” — Eric Thomas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPqprN5nrJg

I related to this story by looking back at my past. I knew I needed to make changes, if I was supposed to do 10 reps, and I only did 9 I used to be ok with it. I wouldn’t want to get too out of breath where I was out of my comfort zone. After I heard ET talk I felt embarrassed about not leading myself. Every time I work out now I think to myself. How bad do you want to throw that 1 mph harder off the mound this season? How badly do you want to be able to lift 10 more lbs? They may seem like small goals but they are all steps to help me keep motivation and positive thoughts in my head.