Wingman Leader Warrior

Wingman Leader Warrior

Find Your Voice - A Professional Platform for Developing Military Leaders
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Who Are We

Welcome to the Air Force Leader. We are a blogging community for military leaders. Our purpose is to give all leaders a voice, a platform to be able to freely share your insights with a like-minded community.

This page is hosted and moderated by an active duty Airman and is made publically available for every Air Force Leader, be they an Amn, NCO, or Officer.

Guest posts are openly solicited in order to maintain diverse articles, so please consider contributing and opening your voice to this community. If you see any post or comment that is questionable or in violation of our terms of use, please flag and/or report it via our contact form. We are committed to maintaining Air Force Leader as a constructive forum for everyone. Open feedback and constructive discussions are always welcome and appreciated.

Who we are is to help develop who you are. There’s much to see here. So, take your time, look around, and learn all there is to know about us. We hope you enjoy our site!

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You don't lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership.
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President Dwight D. Eisenhower2
If we should have to fight, we should be prepared to do so from the neck up instead of from the neck down.
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Gen James H. Doolittle0
The hardest part is starting. Once we get that out of the way, you'll find the rest of the journey much easier.
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Simon Sinek0
Great leaders don't try to be perfect, they try to be themselves. And that's what makes them great.
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Simon Sinek0
I'd rather feel uncomfortable pushing for better, than feel uncomfortable settling for less.
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Simon Sinek1
If we are unwilling to take the risk to trust others, than others will be unwilling to take the risk to trust us.
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Simon Sinek0
A good leader lives by a set of rules. A great leader knows when to break them.
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Gen McMahon, War Machine1
Leadership is not about being in charge. Leadership is about taking care of those in charge.
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Simon Sinek1
It doesn't matter how much we know, what matters is how clearly others can understand what we know.
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Simon Sinek0
The last thing people need is words. Actions speak for themselves.
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AFLeader0
Leadership is solving problems. The day [Airman] stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.
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Gen Colin Powell1
Leadership is like a well-fitted suit or dress. One size does not fit all, but what fits another may also fit you, so take every opportunity to learn from the leadership style of others.
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AFLeader0
The happiest moments in life come from making someone else happy.
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AFLeader0
The truth of most truths is that they are perception and not, in fact, true.
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Simon Sinek0
We shouldn't take any credit for our talents, it's how we use them that counts.
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Madeleine L' Engle, A Wrinkle in Time0
Face tough challenges with a positive attitude. Emotions are contagious.
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AFLeader1
Our reputations, our character, are the only things we leave behind when we depart this dear Earth.
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John McCain0
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
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Winston Churchill1
In the end, it matters less that you can fight. What you fight for is the real test.
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John McCain1
It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
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William Ernest Henley, Invictus1
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
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John Quincy Adams1
We don't know them all, but we owe them all.
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Unknown1
The organization of your personal space reflects the status of your mind.
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AFLeader0
Leave your comfort zone behind.
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Anonymous0
Good is the enemy of great.
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Jim Collins0
The challenge of our unknown future is so much more exciting than the stories of our accomplished past.
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Simon Sinek0
Always strive to do better than your best.
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AFLeader0
If you don't respect yourself, no one else will respect you.
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AFLeader0
We're Americans, and we never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.
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John McCain0
If you ever give up, you are lost. Fight with every breath, the last if you must, but don't give up, not ever.
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Terry Goodkind, Stone of Tears0
If you can't fly, then run. If you can't run, then walk. If you can't walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.
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Martin Luther King, Jr.0
Do not take time for granted. There is only now.
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AFLeader0
Someday sounds a lot like the thing people say when they actually mean never.
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Dolores Abernathy, Westworld0
They may forget your words, but they will never forget your actions.
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AFLeader0
Light thinks it travels faster than anything, but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.
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Terry Pratchett0
There is no such thing as a mistake. There is only what you do and don't do.
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Unknown0
Perfect behavior is born of complete indifference.
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Cesare Pavese1
It always seems impossible until it's done.
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Nelson Mandela1
Never mistake motion for action.
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Ernest Hemingway1
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
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Gen Colin Powell0
I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs, but by how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
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Gen George Patton0
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
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Reinhold Niebuhr0
There is no wrong decision, only the failure to make one.
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AFLeader0
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It takes a village to raise a [leader].
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AFLeader0
The American Dream means giving it your all, trying your hardest, accomplishing something. And then I'd add to that, giving something back. No definition of a successful life can do anything but include serving other.
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President George H.W. Bush0
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
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John C. Maxwell0
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson1
The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes.
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Tony Blair1
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A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.
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John C. Maxwell0
A leader is not an administrator who loves to run others, but someone who carries water for his people so that they can get on with their jobs.
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Robert Townsend0
A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
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Lao Tzu0
A plane in the hanger is safe, but that is not what planes are built for.
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AFLeader0
In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.
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Theodore Roosevelt0
“We will either find a way or make one.”
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Hannibal0
If you wish a general to be beaten, send him a ream full of instructions; if you wish him to succeed, give him a destination, and bid him conquer.
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Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles Hare1
Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They’re absolutely free and worth a fortune.
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Sam Walton0
Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly, and they will show themselves great.
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Ralph Waldo Emerson0
Nothing so conclusively proves a man’s ability to lead others as what he does from day to day to lead himself.
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Thomas J. Watson0
True leaders always practice the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others, Responsibility for all their actions.
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Anonymous0
'Failing forward' is the ability to get back up after you’ve been knocked down, learn from your mistake, and move forward in a better direction.
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John Maxwell0
He who has never learned to obey cannot be a good commander.
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Aristotle0
They may forget what you said, they may forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
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Carl W. Buecher0
To be able to lead others, a man must be willing to go forward alone.
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Harry Truman0
The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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Max DePree0
Remember the difference between a boss and a leader; a boss says 'Go!' ... a leader says 'Let’s go!'
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E.M. Kelly1
The goal of an effective leader is to recondition your team to be solution focused rather than problem focused.
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Jim Rohn0
If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulder of giants.
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Isaac Newton0
January 20, 2019
As work gets more complex, 6 rules to simplify | TED Talk: Yves Morieux
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Today's businesses are increasingly and dizzyingly complex -- and traditional pillars of management are obsolete, says Yves Morieux. So it falls to individual employees to navigate the rabbit's warren of interdependencies. In this energetic talk, Morieux offers six rules for "smart simplicity."
January 20, 2019
How Not to Be Stupid
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Stupidity is overlooking or dismissing conspicuously crucial information. People think stupidity is the opposite of intelligence. In fact, stupidity is the cost of intelligence operating in a complex environment. Here are seven situational factors that compromise your cognitive ability and result in increased odds of stupidity.
January 20, 2019
Hitting the Wall: When Speaking Truth to Power Gets You Nowhere
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Dealing with the good experiences – when your advice is accepted – is relatively easy. The bad experiences tend to build “scar tissue.” So, how do you deal with those negative experiences? What are you supposed to do when you speak truth to power and no one listens?
If you're going to tell the truth, you'd better do it well. Speaking “truth to power” was never an issue for me. I’m not one to hold my opinion, especially when the topic is important. I did so understanding that there were often consequences to voicing my opinion, not all of those consequences being positive. I believe, as French philosopher and historian Michel Foucault stated in 1983, speaking truth to power is “a duty to improve or help other people,” an obligation that transcends “self-interest and moral apathy.” Learn how to express your opinions more adeptly, to speak truth to power in ways that are less brutal and more finessed.
January 20, 2019
Getting Stronger Is All About Strengthening Your Weaknesses
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There’s strength in being strong enough to admit your weaknesses. After all, we all have areas in which we excel, and others in which we could use a little work.If you can commit to personal growth so that you can strengthen your weaknesses, it can make you a more well-rounded individual and more diligent worker. This can have incredible effects on your career.
January 20, 2019
10 Ways Leaders Can Influence Company Culture
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The influence of leaders on their environment, and the people around them, is difficult to overstate. Like magnetism, their disposition and decisions tend to affect everybody in the vicinity. If you're a leader, it's a good idea to remember some of the many ways you can influence company culture — sometimes without even trying to. Here are 10 of them.
January 20, 2019
To Get People to Embrace Change, Emphasize What Will Stay the Same
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A root cause of resistance to change is that employees identify with and care for their organizations. People fear that after the change, the organization will no longer be the organization they value and identify with. By explaining how the envisioned change will result in a better and more appealing future, leaders can overcome resistance to change.
Our dialogue in America today has lost the respect for the views of those that disagree.
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John McCain0
Success always takes help. Failure is done alone.
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Simon Sinek0
We trained hard — but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we were reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing, and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while actually producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
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Gaius Petronius Arbiter0
When you're done learning, you're done leading.
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Anonymous0
How many hours you spend at work is less important than what you do with your time.
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Anonymous1
There are no wrong decisions. There are only right decisions and lessons learned.
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Simon Sinek0
Humor is the universal solvent against the abrasive elements of live; hatred corrodes the container it is carried in.
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Senator Alan K. Simpson0
January 27, 2019
How to Increase Your Mental Toughness for Physical Tests
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Success in challenging physical events comes down to physical and mental preparation. Acing these requires a high state of motivation, self-confidence, and most importantly, discipline. How to build upon these intangibles is a tough question to answer. Here are some recommendations to prepare for the toughest of goals set in your future.
January 27, 2019
In Case You Didn’t Know It, Things Are Very Different Now
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The expectations of a Major are very different than those of a Captain, and not everyone knows what these expectations are or the impact they have on personal and professional success. I want to share my thoughts on this to help you be successful – successful for the right reasons.
January 27, 2019
5 management lessons found in 'The Last Jedi'
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Hold your team’s would-be hero in check, and other practical lessons for managers. Here are some lessons from "The Last Jedi" that you can use to lead a successful team. Lightsabers are optional.
February 2, 2019
6 Ways a Smart Leader Can Better the World
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The world functions easiest in a state of inertia -- Break the status quo and move against the grain. Here are 6 ways to make something happen that helps people in a positive way.
February 2, 2019
The Galactic Empire: 5 Leadership Mistakes
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You probably wouldn't want to work for Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. It's not just because they're villains – they've made some serious management blunders ruling the Galactic Empire.
February 2, 2019
3 Reasons Why Han Solo Is A Better Leader Than You
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Even with the odds against him, Han knows that his secret weapon in getting out of sticky situations is his mastery at pinpointing key pain points that he can ameliorate, thus allowing his audience to save face and partner going forward. This doesn’t always work out for Han, but he doesn’t give up on it … May the Force, and Han’s leadership guidance, be with you as you continue your own Jedi leadership training.
February 2, 2019
31 Genius Tips for Making your Workday Easier
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Number 3 combined with 7 is my personal favorite strategy.  Work in sprints -- stay focused for a period, then take a break and get out from behind your desk to feel more energized and increase your efficiency.  What works for you?  And what's on your "To-Don't" list? Because word doesn't always have to be hard.
February 2, 2019
Your To-Don't List: 9 Things to Stop Doing Now
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Perhaps you’ve heard of a “not-to-do list.” CEOs and productivity experts recommend the idea as a huge productivity booster that will help you free up time and headspace for all the things that really matter. But what should go on it? Here are nine suggestions of bad work habits that you need to desperately eliminate.
February 2, 2019
Why Companies Won’t Let Bad Projects Die
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If “the essence of strategy is choosing what not to do”, then the essence of execution is truly not doing it. That sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly hard for organizations to kill existing initiatives, even when they don’t align with new strategies. Instead, leaders keep layering on initiatives, which can lead to severe overload at all levels.
February 2, 2019
My company implemented a 5-hour workday — and the results have been astounding
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The 9-to-5 grind has created a cult of workaholics. Mondays are dreaded. Wednesdays are "hump days." Friday mornings bring relief because they're the final push before the weekend. The idea that workers are expected to endure 70% of their week so they can enjoy the other 30% is collective insanity. The Information Age represents the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution -- why my company decided to implement a 5-hr workday?
February 2, 2019
It’s Time to Become a Time Realist
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Time realists look at a task and break down the math of it. They’re conscious of how long things take, and they factor that in to their plans for the day. Time optimists, by comparison, are just that: hopeful about things they would like to do. It leads to them to overstuff their days and become frustrated when their list of to-dos doesn’t get completed. Be a time realist. Here’s how.
February 2, 2019
The Science and Art of Being a Major
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An Army perspective. As a field grade officer your job is to implement, manage, and optimize systems that keep your organization running. Rather than only solving the problem at hand look beyond to the root cause ... don't fight fires, curate systems. Take the time to think through the tools required for success.
February 2, 2019
20 Brutal Truths About Life No One Wants to Admit
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Time is your most valuable asset--you need to prioritize how you spend it. Unfortunately, the more time you spend pretending that ultimate truths don't exist, the more time you waste not being your authentic self and getting the most out of every precious second. Here are 20 brutal truths that every single person needs to hear.
February 2, 2019
The 10 ways smart people stay calm and in control
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Top performers are skilled at managing their emotions in times of stress in order to remain in control. The ability to remain calm under pressure has a direct link to your performance. Calm people know that asking “what if?” will only take them to a place they don’t want — or need — to go. Here are 10 ways smart people stay calm and in control.
February 2, 2019
These are the traits the worst managers have in common
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We hear all the time about what great leaders should be like. But what about the traits that make for poor leaders? In reflecting on what sort of leader I want to be, now, I draw from those negative experiences just as often as I do the positive ones.
February 2, 2019
Time management isn’t the problem – our attention span is
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Most of us are pretty good at managing our time. What we’re not as good at is managing our attention. One study found that when we’re working in front of a computer, we focus on one thing for an average of just 40 seconds before switching our attention to something else. We’re distracted a lot. At the same time, we rarely choose where we direct our attention – the world decides for us. We accomplish our intentions more often by taming distractions ahead of time. Here are a few ways to do this.
February 2, 2019
How To Overcome Mental Fatigue, According To An Expert
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Do you constantly feel overwhelmed or mentally drained? If so, chances are you might be suffering from mental fatigue. Here's how you can beat mental exhaustion and improve mental clarity, according to a psychologist.
February 2, 2019
10 Communication Secrets Of Great Leaders
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Great leaders realize if their message doesn't take deep root with the audience then it likely won't be understood, much less championed. It is the ability to develop a keen external awareness that separates the truly great communicators from those who muddle through their interactions with others. Here are a few of the communication traits, which if used consistently, will help you achieve better communication results.
If serving is below you, Leadership is beyond you.
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Anonymous0
February 3, 2019
How Leaders Use Rules to be Good...and then Break Them to be Great
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No one is just born with all of the traits necessary to lead others. So how then do great leaders evolve? Rules are particularly helpful when learning something new, like leadership. They are helpful when learning to break a bad habit or establish a new one. Rules become habits. Habits become the foundation of great leaders.
February 3, 2019
Is Positive Thinking Enough To Achieve Success?
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Positive thinking needs to do with having the capacity to control your concentration paying little heed to what sort of difficulties you are confronting. In this article, we examine the significance of having the capacity to think emphatically and will offer you a few hints on how you can utilize this to change your life. We can only handle so much in the way of emotional demands, so avoid the switch from feeling empathy to just thinking emphatically.
There are three kinds of people: Those who are immovable, those who are moveable, and those who move them.
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Li Hung0
February 3, 2019
The power of introverts | TED Talk: Susan Cain
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In a culture where being social and outgoing are prized above all else, it can be difficult, even shameful, to be an introvert. But, as Susan Cain argues in this passionate talk, introverts bring extraordinary talents and abilities to the world, and should be encouraged and celebrated.
A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
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John C. Maxwell0
Speaking truth to those in power means saying out loud what everyone is thinking.
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Simon Sinek1
February 16, 2019
Defining Balance as a Military Professional
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Balance – it’s a concept many military professionals embrace philosophically but fail to employ in their day-to-day lives. How do you balance and structure your schedule to be able to push pause and enjoy time away from work? Read this article to learn how to effectively distribute energy between life's priorities.
February 16, 2019
Time Out: How to Manage Free & Focused Time
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How do you arrange your minutes at work to reach optimum productivity? How do you sort your priorities? Do you lead or manage? Politics aside, this is a great short clip to answer these questions and help identify "how to find time at work to escape from the grind."