How to Lean ​I​nto Your Leadership Potential​

Rob:

(00:14): Back in the 1940s Abbott and Costello did a great comedy routine called “who’s on first” and most of us have heard that routine. It’s really funny when you think about the fact that the first baseman’s name was “who”… the second baseman’s name was “what”… the third baseman’s name was “I don’t know”… the left fielder’s name was “why”… the center fielder was “because”… the picture was “tomorrow”… the catcher was “today” and the shortstop was “I don’t give it darn”. Well, you know, as I was thinking about that routine and thinking about this podcast where I want to talk about the leadership mentality that we all should have, I kind of wonder, are we a little bit like that Abbott and Costello theme” We really don’t want to put our name next to a position when we know we should. Hello folks, this is Rob Brown of the truest fan podcast.

(01:20): Welcome to episode number six. And as I said today, we’re going to talk about developing a leadership mindset and why it is so important for everyone, no matter what you do, no matter what your calling in life may be, needs to think of yourself and to act as a leader, whether it’s with your family, in your business, with your clients, with the causes that you care about leadership is needed, and we all need to step up to the plate. It’s incumbent upon us. No matter how qualified we may think we are or are not. We can be a leader. We can make a difference. We don’t have to hide behind a funny name or a funny position. And the real challenge is that it’s really easy to take a backseat. There are a lot of people and things today that try to take the front seat.

(02:29): Think about some of those crazy politicians in Washington, who no matter what the party, talk tough talk like leaders. When it actually comes down to getting something done, to take action, they hide. That’s a shame. They shouldn’t do that. They’ve been elected to take the lead, but we see that kind of noise. And it spreads into lots of other different things. We say, you know, let’s somebody else take the lead. We’re happy just to kind of maybe not take a backseat, but at least just to listen and, and to not not to step forward, we’ll let somebody else take the lead. And, and maybe if we think what they’re doing is the right thing. We’ll come on board. That’s not the right way to think about it because you know, as I talk about in this podcast, has this idea of developing the truest fan effect, where you begin by thinking about your biggest dreams.

(03:27): You believe in yourself, you put together a game plan that will get you are from where you are today, to where you want to be in the future. It all relies on you taking a action, taking the lead for yourself and in turn taking the lead for other people. And again, it’s not easy to be a leader when other people aren’t leaders or other people quickly kind of brush you off and say, why should I listen to you? Well, they should listen to you because you’re a smart, amazing, intelligent human being. And you can make a difference in the lives of lots of people. If you take the lead, if you look for the opportunities to help people advance in the different things that they’re doing, think about it this way. What about that small child? I just had a grandchild and I know being the leader of a grandchild sounds like an overstatement, but I know just having that new grandchild sitting in my lap, encouraging him to hold my finger, knowing that it’s one of the first fingers he has ever held is a way to reach out to him and for him to come to me and say, Hey, grandpa, take the lead.

(04:44): You can do that with your family and things even bigger than holding out your finger for a small grandchild. I know I love it in my business. I have one client Trish who listens to this podcast and I love it when she sends me an email and says way to go coach, or thank you, coach. I just love that feeling of being a coach and somebody acknowledging that they appreciate my leadership and we can be coaches to lots of people. We can be coaches in our families. We can be coaches to our teammates and the work that we’re doing. If we’re sitting in those boring committee meetings, for some of those things that we’re volunteering for, and everybody’s sitting back saying, oh, no, not me. I’m not gonna be in charge. You can say, you know, I’ll put me in, I’ll be the coach. I’ll help take lead. I’ll help advance the call. That volunteer opportu you wouldn’t, you wouldn’t be there if you didn’t think it was worthwhile. And if it’s worthwhile, it’s worth taking the lead or at least helping take the lead,

(05:54): Are you ready to discover your true purpose, live with impact and build an ever greater legacy. Then you need to make time for what truly matters most. Go to truest fan.com/challenge to begin the free truest fan seven day quick start. I work with a lot of fun financial advisors through my coaching process. And one of the things that I love hearing from my clients, words of appreciation they receive from their clients. You know, it’s quite a feat when you’ve been working with somebody for 10 or 15 years, and you’ve been helping that client plan for their child or their grandchild to go to college. And then you get the call to send the check to pay the first semester’s tuition. And they say something like, Hey, thanks for taking the lead in helping me plan so that my child, my grandchild can go to college because without you, that may not have happened. When you are doing that planning, when you’re helping others accomplish their goals, you are being a leader. Appreciate that leadership, appreciate the importance of what you’re doing. And of course, another way that you can appreciate what you do and who you are as a leader is when you look at the accomplishments of what your team or what your business is doing.

(07:32): You know, I love it at the end of the year, when I do reviews with my clients and they talk about the plans we had set for the new year, they talk about the leadership role that different members of the team took for different goals, for different accomplishments. And when we celebrate, we’re not just celebrating the goal, we’re celebrating the leadership, the leadership of the person who led the whole team and the leadership of every member of the team who took responsibility for one of those goals. And it doesn’t matter if it’s the top salesman on the team, bringing in more money than he or she has ever brought in before, or it’s the person sitting at the front desk, answering phones, greeting clients, as they come into the office because they are the leader of first impressions. We all are or should be leaders.

(08:30): We need to take that responsibility. Seriously. It’s part of being a truest fan. It’s part of believing in yourself, believing in and your others living in a way that you really wanna serve others because the best leaders are servant leaders. They don’t look at their leadership as a position of power. They look it as a position of service. How can I serve you leaders serve. So let me close this podcast by offering four specific things that you can do for calls to action, things that you can do. As soon as you’re done listening to this podcast, to establish a greater leadership mindset, to step up as a leader in all that you do. First of all, think about the opportunities, the places that you have a chance to be a leader, whether it’s at work or at home and define clear goals, what is it you’re trying to help your family accomplish?

(09:33): What is it you’re trying to help your team accomplish seconds lead by example, leadership is not about the words you use. It’s about the actions that you take. And we all learn better by watching people take action. And that is particularly true of leaders. Third, look for your opportunities. If you see somebody struggling, pull them aside, tell them how much you appreciate them, let them know that you understand that they’re struggling, ask how you can help them. That sounds like being a friend, but maybe being a leader is a lot like being a really good friend. And when you, you see that person that’s doing well, don’t be afraid to congratulate them, to give them attaboys, encourage them to do more because helping other people is a key third step in developing a leadership mindset and being a leader. And fourth, this is where I like to tie in the idea of the truest thing and effect, because the fourth thing that you can be do to be a leader is to be a truest fan, which means being a cheerleader.

(10:45): I said rooting people on, but also encouraging others to believe in themselves so that they take the opportunity to take on some leadership roles. And maybe in a way reciprocate the leadership. You give them by giving leadership back to you in some of the ways that they can. So those are your calls to action set, clear goals, lead by example, help others, encourage others, be a cheerleader, be a truest fan. This world needs more leaders. And I want you to take your responsibility as a leader seriously. And of course, if I can help, just let me know, because remember I’ll always be your truest fan. Thanks for listening.

As always, I want you to know that I am your truest fan. If there’s anything I can do, please reach out.

Take care.

Rob Brown