Let Go of That Ego

We all have egos. We wouldn’t be human if we didn’t and there is certainly a bit of ego in everything we do. Yet egos, especially those in overdrive, can be the biggest barrier to both leaders and team members working collaboratively and effectively.

Why do some people have trouble putting their egos aside and place what is best for their organizations, team members and stakeholders first? That is a difficult question to answer and the answer is certainly not the same for everyone. Egos are related to our need as humans to feel both special and in control at the same time. It is also easy for us to conflate being good at one thing with being good at everything.

Whatever the reason, when leaders let their egos get in the way, they begin to put themselves first. Their agenda, their status, their success and their gratification comes before everything and everyone else—especially their colleagues, those who are affected by their ideas and actions. In today’s work environment, where we must all work together to meet expectations and garner results, being led by someone who feels the need to be the center of attention can be the kiss of death.

As a leader, it is then critical to remain grounded, check your ego at the door and take constant stock of why you are doing what you are doing. Ask yourself: “are my decisions motivated by ensuring the collective success of my organization rather than my personal gain?”

Here are few tips to keep in mind when working on not letting your ego get in the way:

• Understand your ego triggers—recognize situations that have caused you to put yourself first.
• Practice humility and remember that it is team work that makes the dream work.
• Seek honest feedback from both team members and stakeholders. Provide a space for those you trust and respect to evaluate your leadership.
• Learn from others and seek out those whose skills you admire and respect.

By keeping your ego in check, modeling humility and putting success of your organization and team at the top of the list, you will increase your value as a leader and inspire others through your example.

Don't Get Spooked

With Halloween recently passing, now is the perfect time to talk about fear. Or more specifically, how not to let fear get in your way of leading.

Sure, there are times when you will face significant challenges or be forced to make a risky move. And sometimes, you will fail. We all have experienced failure, but that’s because we have demonstrated the courage to try.

As leaders, we are confronted every day with situations that can make us anxious and second guess ourselves, but in order to be effective we must face our fears head on. As a leader, here are some common fears that we must learn to conquer in order to lead effectively:

Making the wrong decision: I think each day I have to make more than 50 decisions—some big and some small. Will, I bat a thousand? Nope. It is easy to get overwhelmed but keeping the weight of decisions in perspective and be willing to accept that you made a bad call and move forward from there is required in order to stay in the game. It is also important to remember that making a decision—even if it turns out not to be exactly the right one—is better than kicking the can down the road and making no decision at all.

Serving as an authority: You are a subject matter expert in your field. You would not have gotten to where you are without the ability to speak effectively on your chosen subject. But it is easy to get nervous and be afraid to speak out publicly. The best way to overcome this fear is to relax and be prepared. Everyone flubs a line now and then. Mistakes make us human and what make us relatable to others.

Being judged for your leadership style. We all lead differently—some use humor, some of us remain more authoritative and professional. We all have our unique personalities and the ways we relate to people. The important thing to remember is that if you are treating team members with respect and communicating clearly, you will be successful. Don’t be afraid to show who you are and be yourself. Again, that will make you relatable to your fellow team members.

As a leader, the buck stops with you. Your team looks to you for guidance and direction. The moment you let fear--even a rational one--get in your way, you will find yourself on shaky ground. Overcoming fear can be difficult but it is certainly possible and necessary if you want to continue to be successful.

Riders on the Storm

As I have often said, your ability to lead and lead well is tied to your capacity to make decisions - both the tough calls as well as the no brainers. Frankly, leadership is really all about decisions - the skill to navigate choice after choice and keep moving things forward. Of course, when you are new to a leadership position, there is always a bit of an additional learning curve when it comes to directing your organization and decision making.

Well, I am here to tell you, there’s nothing like a once-in-a-century storm coming directly towards your hospital on your twelfth day in a job to kick things up a notch! I am certainly confident about my ability to lead and work hand in hand with the great team here at Tampa General Hospital, but preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irma made my second week of work a little more exciting than I had expected.

Thankfully this was not my first storm and my team had put all the necessary procedures in place long before I arrived. When all was said and done, we were fortunate that Irma was not as severe here in Tampa as predicted. Still, caring for 700 patients in a waterfront hospital is a major undertaking – and my team handled every aspect like champs. We had 2,700 team members and close to 200 physicians in the hospital around the clock for three days. No patient was ever in harm’s way.

For me, the arrival of Irma was somewhat of a blessing. It allowed me to get an immediate sense of how my team works together and how I can work with them to harness the best possible results. It also got me thinking about some tactics to deploy when leading during an emergency:

• Use the crisis as a learning experience. Seize the opportunity to learn about and from your fellow team members. There is nothing like working together for three straight days to gain more insight into who your team are as people. I also doubt there is a better opportunity to learn from them than during a crisis situation.
• Preparation is vital. Our TGH team has an extensive emergency plan and that preparation allowed us to focus on our mission and care for patients.
• In a crisis, leaders must be present, engaged and focused. It’s important that you stay calm to keep your team calm and focused. Know when to step aside and let your team do the work that needs to be done and conversely, when to step in to keep everybody moving forward or even when to lend an ear or offer a comforting word.

And while leadership is about making decisions, one of the easiest decisions to make was to step out of the way to allow my team to shine during the storm and help out in any way I could.

Best Video Links

Hello Guys,

Welcome to BVL ( Best Video Links )

After Getting frustrated from the crap posted by newbies ( to get views )  i have wasted a lot of my precious time because of the clickbaits (if you know, what it is) on youtube and other video platforms. I started saving the links of good videos available on the web, so that, i could save someone's ( yes, its yours ! ) time and energy.

Yes guys, it consumes hell lot of energy to exactly find what we are really searching for.

Also, the content available on the web is highly redundant and doesn't make a value addition if we are exploring a specific topic of interest. So, We should make sure, that each and every "click" that we "click" should be directed towards a quality content which could match our expectations.

There are huge number of great videos which are not shown on the first page of youtube because of low views and less knowledge  of the uploader regarding - tagging, keywords and other SEO, SEM techniques. As a result people are unaware of such great entertainment and knowledge resources.

People Generally make the search in a fixed pattern which can't get them what they are searching for.
Hence, you should have a bro like me who spends most of his time in exploring the web using special and secret techniques :P to bring out the most amazing and high quality content as per your need.

Just tell me what you are searching for and i promise. You, will always be happy with my recommendations.

Choose any topic of the world and let me create a list of BVL ( Best Video Links ) for you.

Any TOPIC means ANY TOPIC :D

Cheers... !