Your Champions Brew for Friday, March 3, 2023

Welcome back brew nation!   As the “Friday Coffee Guy” I am excited each week to provide a weekly assembly of material I am reading, listening to, watching, or thinking about that is designed to equip and call you to uncommon leadership, and I am grateful you choose to spend a few minutes with me!

Did you know that many of the things that I discuss in The Champions Brew are subjects that I coach other leaders and organizations on?  If you would be interested in having me discuss 1:1 or group coaching with you or know someone who is looking to move from Underperforming to Uncommon in their business or life, I would love to chat with you.  Click this link in the show notes to set up a FREE CALL to discuss how coaching might benefit you and your team)

Here is your weekly sip of what I have been reading, listening to, or watching to equip me to:

• Read More – Over the past several weeks, I have come across some really good podcasts to listen to and thought I would share a few takeaways and links if you want to add them to your list:

Corporate competitor podcast 3/1/2023 – Interview of John Maxwell (37:26) – “Reflection turns experience into insight” (36:56) – “The bookends of success are Preparation and Reflection”

The Burn Podcast – Muscle Centric Medicine with Dr Gabrielle Lyon

(18:48) – “For all the people trying to build the best versions of themselves, they’re only going to perform as good as your physical health.”

Grow Leader Podcast with Chris Hodges – (13:05) “There is nothing so precious as to say a person’s name”. For me, it is a tough discipline to remember people’s names. The podcast Co-host suggests a tip to ask others to assist you: “Keep telling me your name until I say your name first.” Once you know their name, THEN you can ask them to tell you their story to learn even more about them, but first… get their name right!! I serve as the team leader of the parking team at church and see so many familiar faces every Sunday. I am going to try this discipline out!

Flow Over Fear Podcast – (32:29) “The hierarchy of fear is 3 things: 1) Uncertainty, Failure, and Judgment. You can get out of those fears through Clarity, Confidence, and Community.”

Coming Up Clutch with J.R. (48:24) Your Body is Designed to Heal – In this interview with Dr. Ben Rall, he states, “the greatest medical breakthrough is not a pill, not a medical procedure, it’s your lifestyle”. (41:54) “We have to entertain the realization that today’s modern medical complex causes more harm than good. The solution is not a drug. The greatest pharmacy is in your body. It is the power that God put into your body.”

I have been switching up my podcast playlist recently and have found these newer podcasters to be very informative, professional and entertaining.

• Network Well – Are you an interesting person to converse with?  Do you find your conversations with new people you meet ending abruptly?  Maybe you suffer from one or two or all three of these “conversation killers”:

1. You interrupt others

2. You one-up others

3. You give unsolicited advice to others

 If you want to get to know someone better, first let them know that you care about them by using their name (see note on Grow Leader Podcast above!) and then, be aware of whether or not you are violating any of these conversation killers (read the  full article from Inc.com).

• Read More – I have committed to reviewing one law per week from John Maxwell’s 25^th anniversary edition of the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.  I really hope you are finding these helpful.  For me, going back through this read for the third time has been truly enjoyable.  This week’s law is:

Law # 19 – The Law of Timing

When to Lead Is As Important As What to Do and Where to Go

Good leaders recognize that when to lead is as important as what to do and where to go.  When a leader makes a move, there are really four outcomes:

So, how do I know if the timing is right? The author outlines some important factors and associated questions to ask to help you answer if your ‘timing’ is right:

Understanding – Do you have a firm grasp on the situation?

Maturity – Are your motives right?

Confidence – Do you BELIEVE in what you are doing?

Decisiveness – Can you initiate action with confidence and win people’s trust?

Experience – Have you drawn upon wisdom from others to inform your strategy?

Intuition – Have you taken into account intangibles such as momentum and morale?

Preparation – Have you done everything you must to set up your team for success?

Now, if you wait to implement a decision until the answer to all 7 of these questions is ‘YES’, you may not ever make the decision and risk missing the timing completely, or worse, not acting at all.  Rather than Ready-aim-fire, you end up with Ready -aim-aim-aim-aim-aim… You get the picture?

 So, if you have some questions where you answer ‘no’ to above, here are two questions I ask myself to help me move past the ‘no’:

• Are there any preemptive countermeasures I can put in place to mitigate or reduce the negative impact of that ‘no’?
• Can I take the worst?  If the decision is made, can I absorb or accept the worst thing that can happen?  If I can, then I can take the risk.  If I can’t take the words, then I may delay the decision and work to reduce the risk.

The Law of Timing really can be a leader’s best friend… and its worst enemy.  Reading a situation and knowing what to do are not enough.  If you want your organization, department, team, or family to win, you must pay attention to timing.  Don’t be like the proverbial “bull in a china shop” as I remember my mom often telling me.  The right action at the right time will bring success.  Anything else may exact a high price. 

Quote

“Do the thing with excellence SO THAT you can do the things with excellence.” – David Jack

What You Need to Do:

Call to Action:  It has been said that managers do things right while leaders to the right things.  The Law of Timing says that successful leaders do the right things at the right time.  How much do you take timing into account as you lead?  Review the major actions you’ve initiated in the recent past, and reflect on which outcome you had.  What can you learn from that to change or improve the Law of Timing in the future?

I hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Champions Brew. If you did, I would appreciate it if you would share it with someone who might enjoy it as well and ask them to subscribe! I will make sure they automatically get this email every week.

Until next time, Network Well, Read More, and Grow Champions!

P.S. – Are you a podcast fan?  Maybe the Uncommon Leader podcast is for you.    Are you interested in being a guest on the Uncommon Leader Podcast?  Do you have a story to tell?  Email me [email protected] and let’s have a chat and set something up!!