Top Twelve Trends in Leadership Today

Here are some key trends happening in Leadership today. 

1. Authenticity rules- Transparency, vulnerability, honesty and full disclosure are in.

2. The rise of the Free Agent and the "Gig" economy- it's now a "free agent" nation. Around 35% of the current workforce is self employed or project based, and that is only going to grow. 

3. Connection of identity, calling, vocation and assignment- Leaders want to connect purpose with passion, and are not willing to stay in a role or organization just "because" anymore.  

4. Digital and Social Media Power and domination- Social media is now one of the most important parts of a leaders influence. 

5. The rise of the tribe and network- Community is crucial, and relationships win. There is tremendous power in the people you're on the journey with. The tribe rules and leads. 

6. Reverse mentoring- younger is now mentoring the older as it relates to technology, open source, social media and digital engagement. 

7. Content is a commodity- Move towards free in all areas. Which puts a premium on the experience. 

8. Decline of hierarchy- organizations are becoming flatter, which puts more accountability in the hands of each employee.

9. Succession happening at every level- Transitions are crucial, and as the boomers continue to hand off the reigns to Gen X and Y, healthy succession is crucial. 

10. Mobile team- people want to, and are, working from anywhere and everywhere. Which again puts more accountability on the results, and less on "office hours."

11. Influence is everywhere- everyone has influence, because creating influence has never been so readily available to anyone at anytime. 

12. Collaboration is in- Open source and generosity are key currencies in making things happen and getting things done. 

Leaders Should Write it Down

Young leaders consistently ask me: "what's one practical piece of advice for becoming/being a leader who gets things done?" A leader that is trustworthy and reliable. The kind of leader when you ask them to get something done, you have complete confidence that it will happen.

My answer is always the same: Write It Down. Always. What do I mean?

1. never show up to a meeting without a pen and a notebook. My preference is a sharpie and a moleskine notebook. But doesn't matter whether it's a legal pad or a Red Big Chief pencil, Or your iphone or laptop. ALWAYS show up to a meeting ready to record thoughts, ideas, takeaways, and action items. I tell my team this all the time, whether we are having a group meeting or individual meetings.

2. carry a pen and notebook with you wherever you go. If you have a thought, write it down. Remember a task that needs to be completed while in your office, capture it in an email or in a running to do list on your desktop or in Evernote. In the car?.... capture it on your iphone audio memo or on a dictation machine. Great ideas seem to always hit us at random times. Especially in the shower. But always make sure it is captured somewhere. Always.

3. create a system for organizing your ideas and thoughts. I did a blog post a while back about this entitled The Way I Get Things Done. Highlighting how and where I capture ideas and the way I organize them on my computer and in different email folders and notebooks.

BONUS thought: One of the most important, if not THE most important person in the room during a brainstorming or creative session is the notetaker. And if you don't have a notetaker for these meetings, find one. Don't have another meeting without one. It has to be someone who is really good at listening, filtering, and capturing. It CAN'T be someone who is actively engaged in the creative or brainstorming elements.

By doing these things, it frees you up to have energy to be creative, think outside the box, dream, and ultimately have a list that works and a way to keep a running account of what items are on your list to get done.

My NEW book H3 LEADERSHIP releases TODAY

H3 Leadership: Be Humble. Stay Hungry. Always Hustle. officially releases TODAY!

Excited to get this book into the hands, hearts, minds and souls of thousands upon thousands of leaders around the world.

That includes you! I hope the book is personal, applicable, practical, inspiring, challenging and easy to implement into your own personal leadership journey.

You can buy it here.

The book outlines and breaks down the 20 Key Habits that all great leaders have in common, built around the 3 pillars and my own leadership mantra of HUMBLE, HUNGRY, and HUSTLE. If your leadership journey is just beginning, or you have been walking in it for years, this book is tailored made to help you be a better leader now, and ultimately guide you to the finish line well.

And, as a special bonus::: anyone who purchases the book this week, from September 22-27, scan and send your receipt to h3leadership@gmail.com and you'll receive over $100 of extra leadership resources for FREE, all for simply purchasing the book during release week from any outlet.

If you're interested in purchasing 5 or even 10 copies of the book, there are way more goodies for you. Check them out. 

Thanks for being on this journey with me. I believe together we can be a force for good. Change makers all raising the tide of leadership. Impacting our generation. Let's do this!

Again, you can purchase here! 

5 Points on Decision Making as a Leader

Leaders are decision makers. Period. Whatever the time of year and season of life, lots of decisions are probably on your desk or in your to do list waiting to be pushed forward. It's something we must do. Constantly.

So here a few thoughts on making decisions:

1. Understand that it's part of your job. Making decisions as a leader is normal and ordinary and required. It's why you are a leader. Embrace it.

2. Sleep on the big ones. For big decisions, always sleep on them. The extra time will allow your decision to be made without the spontaneous emotion that comes with a spontaneous response.

3. Know your values. As Roy Disney stated, "It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are." Many times indecision occurs because of lack of clarity on vision and values. Values are foundational and must be in place in order to move the organization forward.

4. Understand the context. Do your homework and make sure you are informed. Plus be aware of the situation- in the case of a good/bad decision, those are pretty easy. In the case of a better/best decision, those take a bit more time to push forward and get to a final decision. Different decisions require different levels of involvement, awareness, and information.

5. Just do it. Create a culture of action in your organization. Many leaders quickly become overwhelmed with several decisions in front of them and then unintentionally paralyze the organization by avoiding them all. Create a system of action that demands completion and execution, and ultimately your system/culture will demand decisions from you.

7 Ways Coaches are Great Leaders

My dad coached high school football in Bristow, Oklahoma for almost 30 years. They won three state championships, played in the state championship game another three times, won district titles basically every year, and in the 1980's were one of the winningest high school programs in the state. Growing up in Bristow meant high school football.

I asked him what makes a good coach. Here were a few of his responses:

1. First and foremost, coaches must be great leaders. Players and other coaches want to follow them. They will make the tough decisions, and also have no problem surrounding themselves with other coaches who are more talented than they are.

2. Ability to motivate- they have enthusiasm, and are able to pull the best out of kids. They also create great camaraderie among their staff.

3. Create a great program- great coaches carry with them a certain aura; they are incredibly competent, but also have the "IT" factor. People want to be around them. Kids want to do their best for them, parents want their kids playing for them, the school embraces them, and the community loves them. They create a winning tradition and other schools don't like to play them.

4. Competent- they know X's and O's. They are highly organized, lead well, and skilled at their profession.

5. Never complacent- great coaches don't allow for complacency to set in once they've established a winning tradition or system. And with each year they find new ways to raise the bar and make sure everyone are creating new goals and getting better constantly.

6. Winners through and through. The best coaches have a knack for winning. They play to win, not playing to lose. Their perspective is always a positive approach to win, not a negative approach of trying not to lose.

7. Teacher at their core- there really is a connection between a great coach and great teacher. Coaches love to teach- the best coaches can take a player and raise their level of skill and ability because they not only can motivate them, but also can instruct them on how to be better.