I'm excited to share a great opportunity with you.

For a limited time, the first 5 people to register for our Bud to Boss Workshop or Ultimate Communicator Workshop in any city will receive three free months of our Mastery Coaching Program, a $75 value. 

You'll be set up for success in learning and implementing new skills because you'll have the initial experience — the two day workshop and all the practical skills you learn — and you'll have ongoing support through twice-monthly group coaching calls for three months following the event.

This group coaching experience will allow you to ask questions related to the workshop content, troubleshoot real life challenges with an expert trainer, and learn from others' experiences.

Find out more about the Bud to Boss Workshop and register.

Find out more about the Ultimate Communicator Workshop and register. 

Questions? Feel free to email me. I'd be glad to help! 

Recently, I was catching a flight to do some culture change work with a client in Philadelphia when it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did. When I arrived at the airport the flight had been canceled and the only remaining flight for the evening was already full. I was then booked on a flight that connected in Dulles but that flight was delayed and I was clearly going to miss my connection. The fun continued with a series of bookings and re-bookings that ended with me catching a flight to Baltimore, instead of Philadelphia, and driving another two hours to my destination, arriving there at 3 AM.

Anyone who’s ever been through this kind of travel experience knows the frustration that can mount as you talk to person after person who you hope can help you and yet feel like you are making no progress, or that things are even getting worse. And yet, in this situation, by the time it ended, I was laughing and kidding with one of the gate agents and perfectly happy to make my drive in the wee morning hours. The reason I wasn’t frustrated or upset reminded me of a choice that every one of has but that we often fail to use.

See, as I was running from gate to gate, being further delayed and less optimistic about my changes of getting to Philly by morning, a child, running through the airport laughing, caught my eye. As I looked closer, I realized that the child, who I’m guessing was about two or three years old, had no arms. As I watched him, he ran to his father and was lifted into the air giggling by a man who obviously, as I noticed they were different races, had adopted or was fostering the boy. As I looked closer at the couple, it was clear that they had three children with them, all challenged in some way and all not biologically theirs. They had made a choice to make a difference for these kids. And clearly, each of these kids had challenges far greater and far more permanent than me losing a little sleep that night.

In that moment, my flight delays seemed so minor and trivial that I ceased to care about them. It occurred to me that I could have made that choice even without the catalyst of seeing the boy and the family. And next time I am frustrated or angry at some set of circumstances that aren’t fair or convenient I could make the choice to think about the boy, see that image again in my mind, and once again transform my attitude, my outlook and my actions.

Leadership is about making those kinds of choices as much as it is about anything else. First we have to make the choice to even head down that path of becoming a leader, where we keep score based on helping others accomplish more for themselves. Where we create new opportunities for others through helping them realize their potential or even change an organizational culture so growth and sustainable success are available for everyone. Then we have to make the choice to lead ourselves in a way that helps us become someone who can make those things happen for people, for businesses and even for communities.

Those parents made those kinds of choices and they, along with their kids, led me to a different place right there in the airport. More importantly, they helped remind me that I have the ability to lead myself anytime I choose to. They will never even know they helped me think differently. They won’t get any recognition or pats on the back for doing it and they had to make some really hard decisions that put them in a position where they made my life better, simply because I observed theirs for a moment.

Every time we are faced with a choice, we get the opportunity to lead. We may not know who’s watching, where the choice will lead us or how we will accomplish the things that lie in front of us because of it. But in that moment, we know which choice a leader would make. And we have the power to make that same one.

Leadership doesn’t always come in a speech or a grand event. Sometimes it happens in a small moment, with no real rewards, in an airport.

Today's featured blogger is Randy Hall. Randy is the founder and principal of 4th Gear Consulting. He is passionate about developing amazing leaders and thriving, principled organizations. He believes that nothing will have greater impact on our economy, our communities, our lives and our kids’ lives. Check out his blog, or connect with Randy on Twitter, on his Facebook page,  or LinkedIn. 

We've all attended meetings that were a big waste of time. My experiences usually involved co-workers writing snarky notes about the presenters or how their time would be better spent. I always tried to stay positive, but it wasn’t easy.

There are a lot of ways meetings can go wrong, but as a manager, you have control of many of them. Check your meeting behaviors against the following list, and make changes if you’re guilty of any of these sins:

1. Meeting for the sake of meeting. Don’t fall into the rut of scheduling a marketing meeting for Tuesday at 1 p.m. simply because you always have a marketing meeting on Tuesdays at 1 p.m. If all you want is a brief update on each attendee’s status, ask for it via email; then compile the list and distribute it as necessary. Another option: Set up a team or project wiki for updates. Think of meetings as a last resort; schedule them only when you can’t come up with a better way to reach your objectives.
2. Including people who don’t need to be there. Invite only those people who can contribute or who will benefit—preferably those who will do both. If you’re requiring team members who don’t have anything to contribute to the meeting or who won’t benefit from the information shared, they—understandably—will be bored and frustrated. Their negativity can then spread through the rest of your attendees. Remember: A one hour meeting with 10 employees doesn’t cost one hour of productivity; it costs 10. Note: Make an exception to the rule for limiting attendance to include interns and new hires. Though they might not have information to share yet and won’t be using the material immediately, they’ll benefit from learning about your organization, processes and team.
3. Holding attendees hostage. If you need someone to hear or discuss one topic, dismiss him or her once you have covered that topic. If you’re lucky enough to finish ahead of schedule, end the meeting early. Just because you have an extra 25 minutes doesn’t mean you should drone on or attempt to cover unrelated material. Team members will be annoyed that you are “punishing” them for their efficiency. Plus, they may not be prepared to discuss your new topic. 
4.  Not issuing an agenda. A meeting without an agenda is like a ship without a compass; there’s no telling where it’s headed. Before scheduling your meeting, take some time to think about your goals. What do you intend to accomplish? Who will be responsible for covering which items? How long will you devote to each item? Email your agenda and any background materials to all participants a few days before the meeting—earlier if you are requiring a good deal of preparation from attendees. 
5. Depending on Outlook’s default scheduling. Calendar programs such as Outloook’s typically require 30-minute chunks for all appointments. You can reset the time scale in Outlook to as little as 5 minutes. (In Outlook 2010 you will find the setting under the View tab.) When you send meeting invitations, include the start and ending times.
6. Talking the entire time. If you’re not sharing the responsibility of leading the meeting, you’re making a big mistake. Lecturing to your attendees is condescending; plus, you won’t benefit from your team members’ skills and expertise. Delegate items on the agenda to specific attendees (make that assignment clear when you issue the agenda), and assign one brainstorming task to all attendees. Example: Everyone is responsible for identifying one way to improve our social media efforts.
7. Giving attendees free reign. Micromanaging is a problem, but stepping completely out of your leadership role isn’t acceptable either. If one attendee is taking the meeting off on a tangent, step in to redirect everyone back to the agenda. Example: “Michael, that’s worth looking into, so let’s schedule another time to devote to it. I’d like to get back to our objective here: the Johnson project. Sandra, what do you need from us to get that rolling?” 
8. Letting bad apples spoil it for everyone. Two personality types can ruin a good meeting: nonstop talkers and chronic complainers. Know your team members and who is likely to be a problem. If you have a nonstop talker on your team, issue 2-minute time limits for comments, questions and answers. If you have a negative person who just wants to complain, ask for solutions. Example: “How do you suggest we avoid that issue, Theresa?” 
9. Choosing inopportune times to meet. Don’t schedule a meeting right before a big deadline, unless team members need the information presented for their most pressing project. Avoid Mondays and Fridays, because they’re the most popular vacation days, and team members who are available are likely catching up from the weekend or trying to wrap up work for the weekend ahead. You can meet in the mornings or the afternoons, but be aware that some attendees might show up underprepared if you schedule a meeting for first thing in the morning.
10. Leaving without a definite plan. If you end a meeting without first drawing up clear action items, you might as well have skipped the whole thing. Without set assignments, attendees will quickly forget what the team accomplished in the meeting, and even the best ideas will go to waste. At the conclusion of each item on the agenda, determine the next step by answering this three part question: Who is responsible for what by when? Distribute the meeting minutes, including an assignments list, within 24 hours of the meeting.

What’s your biggest meeting pet peeve?

[Image Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markhillary/370268513/in/photostream/]

Today's featured blogger is Catherine Welborn, web editor for Briefings Media Group. She writes about a variety of workplace-related topics, including leadership, management, communication, public speaking and customer service. You can find her contributions regularly at BMG’s Bud to Boss , American Speaker , Nitpickers’ Nook, and Workplace Survival blogs. Connect with her on Twitter , Facebook,  and LinkedIn.

Diversity.  Mobility.  Productivity.  What are they good for, besides ending with '-ity'? 

Not so very long ago, most people came to the office at the same time every day, dressed the same, acted the same, left at the same time and kind of meandered through the day at a steady pace.

You knew where you stood.  You knew where everyone else stood, too.

Not that there wasn’t any diversity, no sir.  You had women in a low-paid clerical roles,  the proverbial ‘new kid’, a couple of older folks who'd been around forever and maybe even one or two people of a different race or ethnicity.

There was mobility back then, too.  I mean, you could totally work from home, just not during office hours.  And productivity basically meant meeting your deadlines with a couple of minutes to spare.  

Back then, becoming a manager was either a matter of past achievement or favoritism and being a good manager mostly meant looking the part and telling people what to do.

Oh, wait, that part about managers is still mostly true, even though pretty much everything else has completely changed.  And it worked OK back then because things were slower and the workforce was more homogenous so you didn’t need as much… finesse to lead people.  But today?

Today it’s a different world.  And when the world changes, the things you need to do to be successful also change.  Let’s take a closer look at these same ‘ity’s’ that - if we really think about them - make it clear that the old ways of selecting and evaluating managers won't cut it any more:

DIVERSITY 

People eating spicy food and going to church on different days is the least of it.  You’ve got up to 4 generations on your team, 20% contingent workers (on average), different races, ethnicities and attitudes, team members all around the world and all of a sudden everyone’s an ‘individual’ and wants special attention, fabulous development opportunities and flexible working hours.  Not to mention half of them aren’t even THERE on any given day.  

But there it is.  We can either see all this diversity as a management headache or as an opportunity to foster new ideas and ways of working.  Here are some ideas about good diversity management as well as a short post about what makes diversity pay. And don't miss Tim Sackett's foundational guide to white people.

The good news is that good diversity management looks a lot like good management so we can think of good diversity management as a twofer.*  

*Please note this is the ONLY time we will ever use the word ‘twofer’ in conjunction with diversity.  Seriously.

MOBILITY 

WFH. OOO. AOAC.  If you don’t know what at least one of these acronyms stand for you might want check your pager in case 1990’s trying to reach you.  Given new innovations in mobile technology as well as recent studies correlating autonomy and engagement, isn’t it time to  let people work when they want, how they want and where they want?  Just a thought.  

If you're just getting started with the whole 'mobile' thing, here are some tips formanaging remote workers.  I also recommend Patty Azzarello’s various blog posts about how to be effective working remotely.

PRODUCTIVITY 

In an uncertain economy where doing more with less has become the new corporate black, productivity is clearly a business imperative. So why is American productivity at an all-time low?  There are several culprits, although this list is not exhaustive:

• Meetings - A poorly run or unnecessary meeting costs more than you may realize in terms of productivity and opportunity.  Check out this post about the hidden costs of meetings and next time you call a meeting think 'brevity,' another 'ity' word.

• Tools - As soon as you reach a critical mass of people and/or locations, the cost of not having proper collaboration tools - such as a corporate wiki where information can be shared, web and video conferencing, Internet and device access - will start to add up.

• Committees - Nothing is quite as big a time sink as not having a clear topic owner.  Assign one and let them do their job.  Enough said.

• Admin - A certain amount of paperwork is everyone’s lot in corporate life.  However, once dealing with admin exceeds 10% of the standard work week, there’s a problem, Houston.  

And guess what?  If you're the manager, it's your job to help very different people - including 'locationally challenged' people - work well together and do their jobs quickly and effectively.

Diversity.  Mobility.  Productivity.  Like I said, you need an '-ity' strategy.

It isn't always easy.  But hey, that’s why managers get the big bucks and absolute power, right?

Today's featured blogger is Laura Schroeder who writes Working Girl. She is a talent management evangelist, compensation specialist and proud mother of three. You can connect with her on Twitter @WorkGal or connect on LinkedIn. 

We're excited about the new year and our schedule of Bud to Boss training events. In 2012, we will present the Bud to Boss Workshop in more than 50 cities. We're almost ready to unveil a new website that will make it easier for you to find out about the events in your area.

Until then, we want to let you know about a very special opportunity. Now through tomorrow, Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at midnight, you can save $50 off 2012 prices on workshops for all events through May. If you'd like to learn to be more effective as a leader, you'll want to register for the Bud to Boss Workshop soon!

The great news is that this also applies to another of our public workshops, Ultimate Communicator Training Camp, another two day workshop. The Ultimate Communicator Training Camp focuses in greater depth on communication and influencing skills that all leaders need. 

You can register for the Bud to B0ss Workshop here or register for Ultimate Communicator Training Camp here. I'm confident that you'll be enriched, stretched, and challenged by whichever workshop you choose. If you have colleagues, co-workers, or friends who might be interested, I encourage you to share with them about this great opportunity.

I also wanted to invite you to join us for the Leadership Development Carnival. A blog carnival brings together the best and brightest bloggers. The fun is extending all week at Kevin Eikenberry's blog, Leadership and Learning. So far, we've highlighted 20 great leadership posts and we'll be featuring more — through Friday. If you'd like to spend some time learning, reading, and reflecting this week, I encourage you to check out the carnival.