Failure Isn’t Forever
Never fear failure. Think of it as an opportunity to learn. If you can approach every challenge without a fear of failure, knowing that you’ll learn from any setback, you will find it easier to work with a free and uncluttered mind.
Find a Role for Everyone
In any organization a leader’s job is to make sure everyone feels confident in their role and that the role is valued. This gives everyone their best chance to compete at the highest level.
Being on TOP
Father Lazor’s theme of TOP (Talent, Opportunity, and Perseverance) is a helpful way to look at any team you lead. Talent and skills are a starting point, but you also need to find opportunities for your team to improve—and cherish the opportunities it has been given. Perseverance is the only way to make good use of the skills you have put in place.
Tradition Never Graduates
We all need to appreciate that, as part of any organization or team, there are those who have laid the foundation for us. Recognizing the organization or individuals who came before us is an acknowledgment that our success is their success too.
Be the Connector
Organizations are dynamic entities. Talented people will come and go. It is a leader’s role to be the connective tissue, introducing newcomers to the culture and taking every opportunity to welcome back those who have moved on.
It’s All About Values
An organization’s core values are its pillars. In troubled times, they are a beacon. In successful times, they are a rudder. Core values reflect what matters most to your program or organization.
Giving Credit
A team or organization performing at peak efficiency is a sign that a leader has the selfByconfidence to empower many members of his team. The more people there are within the culture who are impacting others positively, the more leaders you have and the stronger your organization.
Change It Up
Life experiences can sometimes be the best teaching tool. Inspirational stories, culled from movies, books, or people you may have encountered beyond your team, have a way of touching everyone and can help to clearly illustrate a key point in an unexpected way.
Respect Everyone. Fear No One.
There is only one goal—to give your greatest effort. If someone else gets better results than you, honor them. But maintain your own self-respect for offering your best. This will give you confidence against any foe.
The Invisible Contributions Can Matter the Most
Try never to overlook the humble efforts made by members of your team. It is a leader’s job to identify those instances that others might not see and emphasize that a seemingly simple gesture can generate many positive ripples.
Change Is Inevitable
The only certainty in life is change. Core values are essential yet we also have to remain open to the new, lest we risk becoming stagnant. A willingness to reflect can produce new wrinkles that will invigorate your unit.
The Pressure of Success
When success comes, expectations grow. While thriving under pressure is a great quality, it also can realign your vision, if only slightly, from the values that fueled your rise. When failure does arrive, take advantage of the opportunity to reassess.
More Than a Feeling
When it comes to finding the right people to surround yourself with, take notice of the intangibles, such as work ethic and integrity. When shaping a company or any organization, don’t underestimate the importance of finding the right feeling from people whose values mesh with yours.
Appreciate Your Opponent
Competition gets heated, and on the court or in the boardroom, it’s easy to view the opposition as an adversary. But sports and business aren’t life: The lines between us quickly become trivial in the face of real-world trouble. Your opponent is just trying to do the same thing you are: win.
A Caring Culture
Culture is how you live together as a unit. Any leader has an opportunity to set a tone for how his group or organization lives by being positive, energetic, and invested in those around him.
Listen to Your Team
Offering instructions for improvement is necessary, of course, but it never hurts to solicit input from your team. Try asking your team or your employees what they think the group could be doing better—and also where it excels. Those conversations are often illuminating.
Find Your Leader
The best thing a newcomer to any business can do is spend time around people who are already a success in that endeavor. Listen to their perspective. Not only will it broaden your horizons, but it will also help improve your own listening, a skill that will always be an asset.
Establish the Big Goal—Then Focus on the Little Ones
It’s necessary to set goals for the future, but once you’ve set them, the only way to reach them is by focusing on what’s in front of you. Stress the importance of each step as it comes. A brighter tomorrow is achieved through the toil of today.
Don’t Be Afraid to Err
Admitting a mistake isn’t a sign of weakness. Errors are a universal fact of life. We all make them. Your acceptance of that reality strengthens trust and deepens the bond you share with those in your working relationships.
Show Your Humility
Within the hierarchy that most businesses maintain, there is room to show your humility. Helping someone figure out a new task or volunteering to clean up after a meeting, no matter your title or theirs, is a sign of respect that is always appreciated.
Ask for Advice
Whatever challenge you are facing, it’s almost certain someone else has faced it before. Never let pride stand in the way of reaching out to people who are in a position to give you advice. There is no better salve for anxiety than being well prepared.
Trust Your Team
There are moments when no one knows your team better than your team itself. So don’t be afraid at times to hand control over to those you lead. Your trust in them will bolster their confidence and yours too.
Stay Connected
It’s when you are under pressure that you most need to lean on others. These are the moments where everything you’ve worked toward—your skills, your culture, your values—come together, and the group becomes one force, working toward one goal.