Personal Power: Diplomacy

Not too long ago I wrote an article about "Meat Eaters vs. Grass Eaters: Personal Power." In that article, I described the elements of personal power—Diplomacy, Information, Manpower, Economics, Professionalism and Competition.

The first element noted was Diplomacy. Diplomacy is building and maintaining relationships outside of your personal sphere of influence. It is not becoming a sycophant. It is about having mentors. Take note, the powerful have many mentors. Mentors should be both male and female. Mentors should cut across ethnicities, race and culture.

Diplomacy is also about expanding your horizons with friendships. It is often said, and correctly said, if you are the smartest one in your group of friends, you need another group of friends. I advise you to expand your group of friends.

In this article, I briefly discuss how to go about building a mentor relationship. Expanding your circle of friends is something I am going to leave to you. I will say this about friendships—my Grandmother gave great advice in this area. It is not earth shattering; nor is it original—you want to make a friend? Be a friend.   (Read more)

An Issue of Integrity

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am hoping Gentlemen are reading this section this month. I am working with a female executive who bent my ear over the word integrity.

Her boss continually changes his mind on situations that impact the entire organization causing an inordinate amount of rework. The changes are creating a strain in leadership meetings. The executive is behind on completing the project. She feels it is a direct result of what feels like never ending changes.

The boss does not see how his minor changes are creating problems. He denies that there were changes in the first place. He points out that he was clarifying the requirement.

The question—is there an integrity problem or is it something else?

I offer the issue is not integrity. The problem, in this instance, may be a communications issue or a decision-making issue, not an integrity issue.

There are tremendous integrity issues plaguing businesses today. Questioning a person's integrity is a serious matter. Before arriving at the conclusion that impugns the reputation of another be sure it is not something else.

Leaders if you are afraid to make a decision or are afraid to take responsibility and be accountable for the decisions you do make—get help and get it right away. My contact information is in this newsletter.

Integrity

I am often asked for leadership advice based on my Marine Corps experience for use in business. This section is providing short leadership tips you can use in becoming an Exceptional Leader. Being good on any given day is easy. Being exceptional requires daily effort. Enjoy the read.

Guard your reputation. The fastest way to ruin a reputation that takes years to build is to have your integrity questioned.

Let's not confuse integrity with an inability to make a decision, I see that quite a bit. Integrity is having uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles; including the qualities of truthfulness and honesty. Something as simple as an inaccurate travel claim can damage a career beyond repair.

Being a leader is not for the weak.

Current Happenings

July has been a busy month with foundations being laid for an exciting remainder of the year for you exceptional leaders.

• I will be a resource for Strategic Leadership Instruction this summer at the International Development Institute's "Strategic Leadership for Sustainable Development in the 21st Century" workshop. This July event will be a week long and held in Washington D.C.
• An audio book accompanying the eBook "Leading with Fortitude—The Essentials" is completed. It will be available for download via the FortitudeConsult.com website in July.
• We will launch a webinar series based on the eBook "Leading with Fortitude: The Essentials" in August. The series is short and will provide immediately actionable leadership tips.
• I will be launching a VIRTUAL GROUP EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP COACHING program this fall. It will be advertised soon on the website. Stay tuned.
• A new eBook "Developing Business Leadership Skills: The Practical Guide to Being Effectively In-Charge" will be ready for download later this summer.
• Don't forget to click on the Facebook icon below and "like" the site!