Daily Optimistic Leadership Thoughts

By Roy K. Lintz

The intent is to place this book on your desk in your office or at your home for daily reading to provide you with an optimistic leadership thought for the day. Optimistic leadership thoughts are important for successful leadership roles in todays world. I have provided you with a thought for each day of the calendar year in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 24, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477265123

Roy K. Lintz

Roy K. Lintz has over 35 years as a Solider and Army Civilian. He served in the United States Army as an Installation Provost Marshal Sergeant Major and currently as the Senior Mobilization Advisor on the largest Army Installation on the east coast. His education includes the Organizational Leadership for Executives and Strategic Leadership for Executives Courses at the U. S. Army Command and General Staff College; U. S. Army Ranger Course; and U. S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.

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© 2012 Roy K. Lintz. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 9/18/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6511-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6512-3 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-6513-0 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012916124

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Leadership Philosophy

Leadership Principles to Live By

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Be Professional

Source Notes

Dedication to my Wife and Son

To my wife Rosalba - We’ve been through so much together over the years, older, wiser, with wrinkles on our faces and hair of grey. Years have passed, good times, hard times, but never bad times. We have a great life together. Our love and respect has endured, we are one. To my son Erik - You are my Bambino and a great young man with a very bright future. I’m proud to be your Papi.

Other Books by Roy K. Lintz

Leadership in Our Society

Leadership That Works Faith vs. Reason

Choices in Life

I would welcome your comments at the following e-mail address:

[e-mail]

Introduction

The intent is to place this book on your desk in your office or at your home for daily reading to provide you with an optimistic leadership thought for the day. Optimistic leadership thoughts are important for successful leadership roles in today’s world. I have provided you with a thought for each day of the calendar year in this book. Years ago I started to keep track of stories, quotes and experiences in my life. Maybe these stories, quotes and experiences show something about life and leadership. Life and leadership can’t be about me, they have to be about us. They have to be about people, because only people get things done. I find it amazing that the older I become, the less I seem to know. No matter how much you learn, it just continues to open up more questions and how to do things better and better as we travel down this road of life. Life is about successes and failures. But more than successes and failures, it’s about how we touch and are touched by the people we meet. It’s all about the people.

What comes to your mind when you think heroes and leadership in today’s world? As children our super heroes were Superman, Batman, and Spiderman, each hero had their supporting cast, fighting the villains. Watching those Saturday morning cartoons were great times and they were our super heroes, black and white, right and wrong, no middle ground or compromise. It supports my idea of black-white, right-wrong way of viewing the world. Everything was straight forward, good won over evil.

As a kid, my entertainment was watching the masked rider Lone Ranger, his white horse, Hi-Yo Silver, and his faithful Indian companion, Tonto, which led the fight for law and order in the early west. There was something magical about this hero behind the mask fighting the bad guys. The Lone Ranger Credo was I believe that to have a friend, a man must be one. That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world. That God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself. The Lone Ranger Credo is still a good philosophy to live by in today’s world.

Another view is real life heroes such as Abraham Lincoln, General George S. Patton Jr., and Martin Luther King Jr. Our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln, maybe our greatest president of all times, due to holding the United States together during the Civil War and we are still one nation today. But his success to a large degree was due to General Ulysses S. Grant, the great General during the Civil War. We may have won World War II because of General George S. Patton Jr., old blood and guts as he was called by his Soldiers. He kept peace in the world by using force. But his success was partly due to Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley. Martin Luther King Jr. did more for human rights than any other single person. He changed lives in the United States and the world through non-violent means. But his primary ideas came from Mohandas Gandhi of India and his philosophy of non-violent protest. Our heroes in real life are about finding the middle ground with lots of compromise. Our real life heroes, just like our super heroes, all had their supporting cast. But heroes are heroes and they provide us with solid leadership in today’s world. Who are your heroes today? Who will they be tomorrow?

I think most creative people want to express appreciation for being able to take advantage of the work that’s been done by others before us. I don’t make my own food or any of my own clothes. Everything I do depends on other members of the human race and the shoulders that we stand on. Many of us want to contribute something back to our society and add something once we are gone. It’s about trying to express something within the skill set that has been provided to us. We try to use the talents we do have to express our deep feelings, to show our appreciation of all the contributions that came before us, to add something once we’re gone. That’s what has driven me to serve a career in the United States Military, have a Son to carry on the family name, and write books on Leadership. This is my way of leaving something behind once I’m gone from this place.

Leadership Philosophy

B

Be honest, always do the right thing.

Leadership Philosophy

As your Leader, you have the right to know what my priorities and expectations are. My intent is that we have this understanding early and use it as a point of focus. Feel free to question me about this at any time. The workplace is a PEOPLE BUSINESS. We all have the right to excellent, dedicated Leaders who treat their personnel with dignity and respect. Insist on high goals and standards for your organization. Develop and maintain effective management systems, which maximize the efforts of all members of your organization. Effective Leaders lead from the front; set the example both morally and professionally. I understand that while mission is always first, our personnel will accomplish it. If we do not take care of our personnel, we will not be able to accomplish our many and varied missions. The four major factors of leadership are always present and affect the actions you should take and when you should take them. They are the led, the Leader, the situation and communications. True Leaders will lead people and manage things. Work hard, but work smart. Work with synergy, it means that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. One plus one equals three or more; focus on teamwork. I will expect you to conduct yourself as a highly trained, SELF DISCIPLINED and COMPLETELY COMPETENT WINNER. You can, and should, expect the same out of me.

Leadership Principles to Live By

E

Effective Management Systems, do things right the first time.

Leadership Principles to Live By

Effectiveness - Leadership ability determines a person’s level of effectiveness. If your leadership rates a 10, then your effectiveness will never be greater than a 9. If your leadership rates a 5, then your effectiveness will never be greater than a 4. Your leadership ability, for better or worse, always determines your effectiveness and the potential impact of your organization.

Influence - If you don’t have Influence, you will never be able to lead others. Is management and leadership the same? Are those that possess knowledge and intelligence leaders? Are those that are out front leaders? It’s not the position that makes the leader; it’s the leader that makes the position, leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less.

Process - Leadership develops daily, not in a day. There are four phases of leadership growth: I don’t know what I don’t know; I know what I don’t know; I grow and know and it starts to show; and I simply go because of what I know. To lead tomorrow, learn today the secret of success in life is for an individual to be ready for their time when it comes and champions don’t become champions in the ring, they are merely recognized there.

Navigation - Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. The secret to navigation is preparation. A leader is one who sees more than the others see, who sees farther than others see and who sees before others do.

People Listen - Being in power is like being a Noncommissioned Officer in the United States Army. If you have to tell Soldiers who you are and who you are not, you will have issues. The proof of leadership is found in the followers. People become real leaders because of: Character, who they are; Relationships, who they know; Knowledge, what they know; Intuition, what they feel; Experience, where they’ve been; Past Success, what they’ve done; and Ability, what they can do.

Solid Ground - Trust is the foundation of leadership. When it comes to leadership, you just can’t take shortcuts, no matter how long you’ve been leading your people. You may fool your boss, but you can never fool your colleagues or subordinates. To build trust, a leader must exemplify competence, connection, and character. How do leaders earn respect? By making sound decisions, admitting their mistakes, and putting what’s best for their people and the organization ahead of their personal agendas.

Respect - People naturally follow leaders stronger than themselves. When people respect someone as a leader, they follow them. The more leadership ability a person has, the more quickly he recognizes leadership, or its lack in others. The greatest test of respect comes when a leader creates major change in an organization.

Intuition - Leaders evaluate everything with a leadership bias. Who you are dictates what you see. There are three levels of leadership intuition: those who naturally see it; those who are nurtured to see it; and those who will never see it.

Magnetism - Who you are is who you attract. The better leader you are, the better leaders you will attract. If you think the people you attract could be better, then it is time for you to improve yourself. If you think your people are negative, then you better check your attitude.

Connection - Leaders touch a heart, before they touch a hand. People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care. To lead yourself, use your head, to lead others use your heart. The stronger the relationship and connection between individuals, the more likely the follower will want to help the leader.

Inner Circle - A leaders potential is determined by those closest to them. Never stop improving your inner circle. Get the right people in your inner circle:

37805.jpg    Potential value; those who rise up themselves, every leader must have the ability to lead and motivate themselves.

38203.jpg    Positive value; people that boost morale in an organization are invaluable and a tremendous asset.

38207.jpg    Personal value; those who rise up leaders, it’s lonely at the top, so you better take someone with you.

38212.jpg    Production value; those who rise up others, value people who can rise up others.

38216.jpg    Proven value; those who rise up people who rise up other people, the greatest value to any leader is someone who can rise up other leaders.

Empowerment - Only secure leaders give power to others. The people’s capacity to achieve is determined by their leader’s ability to empower. A key to empowering others is to have high belief in people.

Reproduction - It takes a leader to rise up a leader. People cannot give to others what they themselves do not possess. Followers simply cannot develop leaders.

Buy In - People buy into the leader, then the vision. People don’t at first follow worthy causes. They follow worthy leaders who promote worthwhile causes. People want to go along with people they get along with.

Victory - Leaders find a way for the team to win. Successful leaders feel the alternatives to success are totally unacceptable, so they figure out what must be done to achieve success, and then they go after it with everything at their disposal. An organization doesn’t become successful if its people have different agendas.

Momentum - Momentum is a leader’s best friend. Leaders always find a way to make things happen. If you can’t make some heat, get out of the kitchen.

Priorities - Leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment. The three priorities are: What is required? What gives the greatest return? What brings the greatest reward? Everything has a purpose based on priorities.

Sacrifice - Leadership means setting the example. When you find yourself in a position of leadership, people follow your every move. When you become a leader, you lose the right to think about yourself. The higher the level of leadership people want to reach, the greater the sacrifice they will have to make.

Timing - When to lead is as important as what to do and where to go. Timing is everything. The wrong action at the wrong time leads to disaster. The right action at the wrong time brings resistance. The wrong action at the wrong time is a mistake. The right action at the right time results in success. If a leader repeatedly shows poor judgment, even in little things, people start to think that having him as the leader is the real mistake.

Explosive Growth - To add