Friday, March 27, 2009

Everyone Needs Some Direction

Hello from lovely New York City. I figured out why so many people are lost right now during the financial "crisis." Since I travel so much, there are many mornings when I wake up, that I actually have to "think" about what city I am in. It dawned on me this morning at 6:00am Eastern Standard Time when my wake up call arrived. I had only been back in the states for 2 days from Asia Pacific when I left California for New York City.

I needed some direction - I looked out my window and saw all the highrises and realized exactly where I was - but in the dark, with my curtains closed, I was confused.

I think this is our problem today - many people are living in the dark, eyes shut, listening only to the media and not asking for direction. Each of us need to open our eyes, ask questions and try to figure out solutions...not stay tucked away in the dark waiting for sunlight.

As leaders today, you need to step up to the plate and provide on going leadership and direction to your employees - now more than ever. Where is your business headed, what issues lie ahead, how can employees step up right now and what is the overall strategic plan.

Remember that many younger employees - fresh out of college have never seen this type of recession before and they need your direction to move out of the disaster and into the future.

In my leadership training, we focus on developing team members - there are beginners to masters and each step needs different leadership. You have some people on your team that "think" they are a master, yet are producing like a beginner. What have you done about that? What feedback have you given them, what development steps have you put in place and what inspiration are you giving your team to keep their heads held up high and shoot for the moon. Remember if they shoot for the moon and come up short they at least will hit a star!

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