You've gotta get along to move along

 

Today I heard the best line I'd heard in a long time.  "You've got to get along to move along".  The context was referring to moving thing ahead and working together in the face of adversity.  It also made me think of the many situations in business where there have been so many blockers and barriers and people effectively 'sabotaging' situations to simply save them going over budget or to save face in the front of management.

In every situation I can think of that I have lead, there has always had to be give and take.  Yes, sometimes things may go slightly over budget, yes, sometimes we don't all agree with decisions, but team work and moving forward for the greater good should always be top of mind if we are good team players and leaders.

 

Many times I've also seen roadblock situations put up due to a reluctance to approach management for sign-off, when in reality in most cases they are supportive of new and innovative ways of thinking to get different or better results.  People can be scared and need support in a united way from peers in this situation and getting along to move things along is vital in this case.

 

As a leader, one of the most important things I have learnt is ensuring you are allowing a clear way for innovation and new ideas and sometimes, you have to take risks and run with those you might think are slightly left field to show support of your team and encouraging them to keep coming up with innovative and new ideas.

 

When people get along, are all focused on a common goal, things will move along.  You will be able to work through tough times and make hard decisions and support each other during the hard bits and celebrate and share triumphs together in the big bits.

 

If you have a situation where the team is simply unable to get along, as a leader, it is you job to assist the team in clearing the blockages and dealing with the situation to ensure people are able to work together as a team to achieve common goals.

 

So lets start getting along and moving along!  Its incredible what results people can achieve when they work together on common goals.

 
 

Becoming an effortless leader

A wise person once told me that great leaders have great mentors or coaches.  I am currently on a journey with my Leadership coach to become an 'effortless leader'.  The though of what this might be sends tingles down my spine!  I can't imagine what this might mean.

My view of an effortless leader is dreaming of coming to work and things just 'happen' around me as I have lead my team so well, they know the goals they need to achieve, these align with the company and their own personal goals and beliefs.  We have trained them at the right time, given them the chance to both fail and succeed and created an environment where they are able to grow and prosper and feel safe to ask the unstructured questions.

My own personal journey with my Leadership coach is removing effortful barriers and taping into 'insights' and recognising as a leader, when we do our best thinking.  Mind power is an interesting thought in itself and the approach of trying to tap into a different area of the brain and recognising it through out the day has been an interesting challenge in itself.

I'm not sure how many leaders out there currently take the time to recognise that 'light-bulb' moment.  For me, its when I have a lot going on.  On holiday I turn into a cabbage and my brain goes to mush.  I have learnt however when I go to Microsoft HQ in Redmond, USA every-year, although I am still running my business via my iPad and phone, and sit through meeting after meeting and session after session, something special happens.  I am stimulated with new thoughts- I am in a different place and time, with different people and different perspectives from leaders in other countries.  Being a Leader in a global environment is significantly different to just leading your own team or company.

This year, we were recognised as a company for our Global Leadership in this area and became a finalist for Worldwide Public Sector- Education, picked out over 3,000 other companies in over 100 countries.  I think I have only just come to realise the enormity of this achievement.  Our team have achieved more than they even realise and as a leader, I have taken them there.

My journey to becoming effortless is a new challenge for me and I'm sure other leaders or managers would love to feel the same.  So 4 weeks in, how do I feel?

Bruce, my Leadership Coach has stated he feels I am speaking slower and pausing more and I am taking more time to reflect, this is a great achievement for me, over-coming 'foot and mouth' disease is something I have been aware of for many years and have always been wary of!  One of my goals is to also remove the level of 20% frustration that I hold each day- this will be an interesting one to remove as I also feel that perhaps its 'ok' to run with a small amount of this each day.

Ironically just before my last coaching session, I opened a fortune cookie given to me by the famous 'Wah Lee' on Hobson street I visited yesterday.  It simply said "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials".  I am sure this is what my constant levels of frustration is all about!

Leadership reflecting and tapping into insights has already helped me 'take the pause' and reflect on a situation as its unfolding and using the questioning technique of 'asking questions' of me team, rather than reverting to my old style which would simply have been to 'tell them' how to fix a problem has been a mammoth shift in my style.  I discovered the 'questioning' technique from Jo Healey, Managing Director at Fujitsu.  I was the Keynote at a Woman in IT Conference in Christchurch a few weeks ago and Jo was on an IT Leaders  panel after my talk, she was asked about her own style of leadership and she stated her Mentor was getting her to walk through the 'questioning approach' with her team and she also mentioned how she was using this approach. 

I challenge other Leaders out there- were you are in a meeting or discussion with your teams, instead of 'telling them' the way something will be done, simply ask them things like "why do you think that might work?", "what could you have done differently?", "How might you approach this next time?", "What will you do to make sure you achieve the/ result or goal"?.

As leaders, I believe it is out moral responsibility to create succession plans for those beneath us, we have an obligation as leaders to share our knowledge and to teach others how to lead.  I welcome any thoughts, comments or feedback on this topic...

Expose yourself- it feels great!

Usually its Labour Weekend when I bare my white pins and throw my tights in the draw for a few months, but this year, its taken me an additional month to get there.  I saw a post last week from my Wellington cousin saying she had done it, so I figure being in Auckland I no longer had an excuse.
Rummaging through the back of the cupboard to find the fake tan did bring a smile to my face too, although not so much when in my haste to apply it, I had some rather interesting new designs on my thigh that I had not intended- someone needs to invent a fake-tan eraser pen.

So coming into work with bare legs made me feel slightly exposed, but also super good as I was able to wear a stunning dress I had not been able to all winter.  Exposing yourself does feel good!

A further dilemma was met this morning about exposing myself .This evening Wayne and I are to meet his step brothers new fiance.  This is a dilemma mainly in one area- not that we have never met her, but more that she owns a major woman's clothing label in NZ with stores all over NZ.  So what does one wear to work that will be suitable to go right out to dinner afterwards that can be scrutinised by a fashionisita?

Tearing madly through my wardrobe, I decided exposing my now blotchy legs from fake tan is no longer a good idea, this means trousers are a must.  I ran around trying to decide on what to wear with it and finally decided on my skinny black pants with a fitted jacket and Super High Heels purchased in Oz, this conclusion was reached after about 7 costume changes which has now left me running late for work...arrggh.

So now I am left with a further dilemma- and I have to expose myself in a work sense.
I've be having leadership coaching recently which has been a fascinating journey so far.  Bruce from Ignite is putting me through my paces.  Its quite odd to have someone to account to for homework, certainly not something I'm used to or have had to do for a while!

I have to come clean on this one and expose my self further.  I was given a Reflection Journal in last weeks session, I am supposed to sit quietly at the end of each day and write in it to reflect on the day and how it went.  Its been an odd sensation, firstly, writing on paper is not something I do much of these days, so this was an odd experience.  The second was to find a quiet space to do the reflection.  This has been rather challenging as we have an open plan office as I am a firm believer in this style of open and approachable leadership.

This means two choices- in the car or in the loo.  The later did not really seam that appealing and given by the time I have reached into my handbag this morning for my keys to see my Red Reflection Journal poking out, it has reminded me I have not done it and I am now in my car, running late for work.

So realising this dilemma I did what any intelligent multi-tasking girl would do- drove off down the driveway and realised that I could not drive properly in Super High-Heels selected for this evenings dinner, darn.  My super skinny pants have also restricted me from taking off my shoes- I can only reach to take one off while sitting in the traffic.  I am now driving with one shoe- at least no one can see.  So here I am sitting in the traffic waiting at the lights, I search for the Reflection Journal amongst the piles of tissues in my bag (paranoid I won't have one from being ill last few weeks).  I find my pen and start Reflecting and noting down my thoughts about the prior day.  I managed to get almost to the end when the light changed.   Darn.

I had to drive one shoed all the way across the harbour bridge until the lights in Union Street where I could have another go at updating.  Managed to get the last bit finished and turned the page over- shoot- Fridays has not been done!

Now at work I am sitting in the car park 'Reflecting'.  I am writing down how I felt about how the day went and what thoughts I had during the day.  I think people think I am weird, but I don't care, I am going to get this done!  What I have neglected to tell you is that our neighbours are renovating their building and there are a pile of builders cutting concrete just meters away.  So much for my quiet space!

I race through Friday's reflection, and felling pretty good, I grab my little red book and then realise I have to put my shoe back on while in my super skinny pants for my evening out.  I unfold as graciously as I am able and put on my Super High Heel with all of the buckles on, holding the car for support.  Once I start walking away and push the remote to lock the car, I hear a wolf whistle from the building site next door.

I just smiled when the builder (who I have not met) next door actually came over about 30 mins later to speak to me after receiving an email yesterday from Wayne about building safety concerns we were having after I rolled my ankle on some building rubble sprayed from out their windows yesterday. 

The odd thing was he seamed to have no idea I was about to grill him about the safety issues his workers were causing to our staff and property from the glowing hot re-bar sprayed over our car-park.  I think he thinks I must have been a wolf in sheep's clothing!  He did apologise at least 8 times in the conversation. 

Yes, I wore the correct outfit today- I have Reflected on this and how I felt.  Exposing myself more than I would normally with my Leadership Reflection journal and my dress today has been a positive experience.  I am still to have the dinner this evening and my Leadership coach will be 'checking my homework' so lets see how the day ends and what Reflections I may have after the days wraps up!

My technology has the flu

I think I have man-flu.  Given I am one of only 2 females in our office and 1 has been away on leave, I have been to Dr Google and apparently my symptoms show I have the man-flu, so this is what it must be.  I have tried the process of lying on the couch and ensuring both the cat and husband know I am on my death bed, but that did not work and I am still dragging myself up to the stove to cook dinner and dish out cat food. 

My voice has finally found me again after going on holiday for the long weekend to somewhere I was not.  I have found my sign-language and recently acquired gesture skills to be most useful when testing our new ASLO technology, however on the down side have found testing the Te Reo Maori Voice Controlled language teacher to have rather interesting results.  It seams I still have issues with the word 'Whare' no matter which way I pronounce things, voice or no voice!  I do find however I am able to still show-off the Back-Assessment module, thankfully I can use gesture control instead of voice only which I normally use to say "next and back!"

I've found an odd thing happen to me this week, my technology has the sympathy flu with me.  I went to a presentation 2 weeks ago and the presenter said 'when was the last time you had a blue screen'.  I had 2 that week on two different machines!  So in the last week, I've had 4 different laptops, yup four!  My technology has definitely got the flu like me.

So on machine 1, I managed to fry the hard-drive- this was the cause of the first set of blue screens.  So that got taken away.  The second machine was actually a rebuilt lightweight 1kg laptop I'd been given back.  Somehow, I've managed to destroy the graphics driver and now I have blue screens about twice a day on this.  So this prompted fast action.  I went out and purchased machine number three.  I don't normally purchase the technology in our office as its not my area, but with no machine and presentations in two days time, I needed to do something fast.  I was so proud of me, I think it may actually be the first laptop I have ever purchased from memory, as they have always been purchased for me.

So I did the usual thing, checked the processor requirement- I needed 2.66ghz to run ASLO and a dedicated graphics card- check (it was a dual processor 2.5ghz with turbo boost to 3.1 each- (I didn't actually know what turbo boost meant and decided anything I've ever driven with a turbo was worthwhile so why not?).  Memory- 8GB- check.  HDD- 750GB- check.  And the price....under $1000.  Oh my gosh, did I get the best deal.  I was so excited that I actually ordered two, one for someone else in the office.

The next day the machines turned up.  One of the technical services team walked up with the new laptop and said, "here's your new laptop, I've set it up for you, where would you like it?"  I turned around to see it perched on the edge of my desk.  My heart sank.

The laptop actually took up 1/3 of my desk.  It is possibly the largest laptop I have ever seen.  It reminded me of the laptops I saw in the late 80's or early 90's.  Huge.  My good deal suddenly took on a new meaning.  I looked longingly across at my dead 1kg laptop and looked back at 'the beast'.  Firstly, it was NEVER going to fit in my hand bag, or for that matter my laptop bag.  Not only did it have the flu, it had taken growth hormones!  I lifted it and it was more like 3kg.  I am a personal trainer and I think I could use it for training my clients for weighted squats- it would be a perfect size and weight.

Needless to say, the laptop was used the following day for a demo in Palmerston North.  I almost had to purchase an extra seat just for my laptop to sit on, but thankfully AirNZ fast bag meant I did not have to work out how the heck to fit a massive bag into a ridiculously small overhead airplane locker or somehow wedge the thing under the even smaller seat cavity.  I assure you, neither would have happened.

So this has now prompted laptop number 4.  After surviving 2 days with laptop number 3, my man-flu and I were begrudgingly dragged along to a computer shop in the weekend.  Don't get me wrong about this next piece as I do love technology, but I cannot think of any worse way of spending my weekend, especially with man-flu.

So as I entered geekdom, I was prayed upon before I'd even walked 2 steps into the shop.  This reminded me why I shop online!  I was surrounded by what seamed like a bunch of people who spend most of their life indoors and not in the garden or out cycling.  Most of them were in the gaming aisle so I guess this explains things.  Down the back of the shop in the laptop division were a bunch of parents and their kids.  Mainly kids taking pictures of themselves using the web cams and morphing their images- fills in time I guess.

So I'm starting to get head spins at this point, my man-flu is worsening and I now have to make a decision.  I ask the nice man in the shop to 'log me in'.  I said to him, all I want to use is email, office and browser mainly and Kinect for Windows to demo our new ASLO software to customers.  He said "Sorry Madam, we don;t have office on these machines, and we don't have them connected to the Internet so you'll be unable to use browsing".  So with my basic requirements not met, he then proceeded to ask me if I would like to purchase one.    

At this stage, my head is thumping and for some reason I heard my voice and had an out of body experience.  I was quite odd as I recall myself saying "Yes please" and then  turning to my husband saying- can you please pay the man.  And I then left the shop.

The odd thing was, I came home and sitting on the coffee table was a brand new Apple Mac Book Pro.  It was the oddest experience and I still think it may not have occurred as on my desk is my lightweight 1kg laptop with the blue-screen tendency.  Lets see what happens when I get rid of my man-flu with machine number 4!

The 60's have the money and the 20s the ideas?

Over the past week I've been exhibiting at a conference in Christchurch.  Our stand was positioned under a glass like conservatory area.  Isn't it odd how your inner wimp comes out and takes over and before you know it, you've made 20 trips to the little girls room.  Glass in an earthquake zone does make me nervous, more so when I was shown the place where the building had dropped heights compared to the one it used to be adjoined to.  If no one had shown me, I would have thought it was just a ramp!

What a sad sight the city is, we drove right around Christchurch over the week we stayed, thankfully we had a 4x4 as we needed it.  The roads are still very damaged and although there are signs of rebuilding, there are still suburbs which are now like ghost towns, a very empty and sad feeling for those having to drive by all day.  It also upset me to see the vast amounts of tagging and graffiti around these condemned houses.  These graffiti artists should be locked up, the city has already gone through enough without visual garbage being added to the city for no reason! Who-ever they are- shame on them. At least the container artists have found a better outlet for their creative skill and have added beautiful images to what is normally a huge eyesore. Kia kaha Christchurch.


So last week I heard an interesting comment which I don't totally agree with.  It was someone who had spent a great deal of time in the public sector and said, "The problem is, the 60- something-year-olds have all the money but the 20-something-year-olds have all of the ideas".

My first thought was how very brave to say this comment out loud to a nearly 40 year old ideas person who runs a technology company, who also has the money to make the decisions!

My second thought was, there was actually some truth in what they said.
Yes, in many traditional cases, management or the approvers, the people who sign the checks are sometimes older and yes, the new, younger, recently graduated talent coming through have a different way of looking at the world.  But isn't this just about risk taking?  The older you get, the less you want to take risks as you are older and wiser and know the consequences.  The younger you are, the more willing you are to take a risk as you have no clue what is around the corner.
I am still inspired by people like my father-in-law.  He came around to watch the rugby last weekend and we asked- how was your week? He replied 'good, had great Peking duck in China last week'.  So there he is, gold card in hand, yet still young enough to drop everything and fly to China with 1 days notice for a business meeting!  He knows about risk, gain, globalisation and ideas.  Who said you can't have both the ideas and hold the purse strings??

Myself, I like to think I sit in the middle of that sea-saw.  Old enough to know better, young enough to still take risks, and purse strings.....oh, I forgot to mention I have a great bank manager!

I did have an odd set of circumstances last week which relates to our bank which made me smile.  We launched our new 'ASLO' brand last week which is primarily a blue logo.  Our Business Mechanix colours have a lot of green.  I smiled to myself as we started the conference wearing our green shirts and for the ASLO launch put on our blue shirts.  The last day back to green.  The same but different?

It did remind me of the call from the National Bank, our manager saying- 'we're still the same- just changing from Green to Blue'.  I thought it was awesome that he gave us a personal phone call to take us through what was happening and to re-assure us the changes were not going to be an impact.  I did take the chance to ask for a discount in rates as a customer loyalty bonus, but I don't think that one got through for approval in this case!

So coming back to the original comment about the 20s having the ideas and the 60s with the cash, to be fair, I must add some context around the comment. The conversation was about public sector funding and how innovative ideas and products often got stomped on by those in power who had been in the same organisation nearly all of there life and had not been exposed to new ways of thinking. This then forced those in the organisation to do other, cheaper, easier things as it was just too hard to do what they originally proposed.

I came to the conclusion that what I learnt from the originator of the comment is that he ended up solving his own problem.  Isn't this what we all do? When times are tough, we innovate more.  No time to build a new website?  Just create a blog using a free blogging tool?  Need a CRM system but can't afford the hardware- go to CRM in the cloud.  Sometimes those who won't take risks encourage a deeper level on innovation and creativity.  So think about the next proposal you have declined....is there a way to innovate more with what you have or smarter ways of doing things?  Using technology to solve your problems?  I'm sure there is!

Productivity through desk jumping- it works!

My work life balance has definitely been out of whack in the past few weeks.  
I have turned into a pumpkin on at least 7 of the past 10 working days. 

Its pretty sad when you get home and your cat has taken pride of place in your side of the bed as she has given up waiting for you to come home (insert guilty 'pang' sound here!).

 And I don't just have any cat.  Nope.  I had to have the 'gadget cat'.  Pedigree with high intelligence.  Shes a Bombay- one of the smartest cats around.  This also means, when I do finally fall into bed, she decides it is actually morning, which sadly she is technically correct and she knows it.  This also means its 'play fetch time' with her favourite toy. However at 1.00am in the morning on a school night I have "Angry,Annoyed, where-have-you-been-cat, I-want-to play-now cat".  It still manages to somehow be 'cutsey' and does at least leave me drifting off with a smile on my face, even though what I really need is sleep!

This morning however, I was woken up by kisses, I woke up smiling thinking how lovely the thought was from my beloved husband.  I opened my eyes...darn that cat.....again!  I'm not sure how I feel about being woken up by cat kisses to be honest.  I look over- and realised, my husband was already gone- had to get up to go to Hamilton earlier than even I was getting up. Yup, he is also working hard.

So how does one become more productive when already juggling so many balls at once, working ever hour you can and getting home at un-godly hours?  I think I have found the secret formula...I call it Desk Jumping.

Yesterday was crunch day for us at work. We are launching an exciting new service line as well as being extremely busy with a great deal of work on with our existing customers and some excellent new prospects coming along. I have also been asked to keynote a conference the week after next in Christchurch and will be launching our new products nationally next week.
The new technology we are working on is dependant on space for testing. 

This meant sitting at my desk was not an option.  Myself and one of our consultants had the job of polishing the technology so its ready for market.  We both spent the day in our boardroom, its amazing when all you have is your laptop, and a wireless mouse and a totally clear desk how much more productive you become in a space that is simply empty of all things paper related.  No checks to sign, no invoices to approve, no job descriptions to review or mail to open and of course emails that constantly come through. 

Needless to say, working in the boardroom I still go distracted, I think my count was up to 12 interruptions from staff by the end of the day, however it did not feel like as much of a disruption when there are less things going on. I normally work in an open-plan office. It certainly has its benefits, but its disadvantages also. Concentration can sometimes be difficult and there are always things happening and people moving around, but you tend to be able to keep your finger on the pulse.

At a guess, working in the boardroom yesterday, I would say I was at least 25% more productive than normal. I achieved things I have not been able to get through for weeks. We have polished off our new products and today will put the final touches on the last one, ready for show-off day on Monday in Hamilton.

We used to have a consultant who worked for us about 7 years ago who is now in Canada, I'll never forget him as many days when I'd  be at work, I'd look up and see him sitting at a different desk and could never understand why as he did have a fixed desk.  Now I'm really starting to get it after all of these years. 

Clear you mind, clear you space, focus on the same problem in a different way.  Our boardroom is the classic all white walls, big board room table (also white) and lots of chairs and not too much else.  From my seat yesterday if I look out the window right in front, is simply the building next door, with a solid white brick wall, no signage, nothing.
So having a totally clear room seams to equate to a clear mind, hence the productivity improvements.

I sometimes hibernate and working from home .  This has its advantages, but its still distracting.  First there is the said cat who I have discussed in previous blogs.  She just has to be part of your day if you are at home, then there is the office desk.  Its hard not to look at the filing to do, the things still to be listed on Trademe and the whiteboard full of things like 'replace broken tile in laundry' or 'fix roofing membrane'.  Or when I look out the window there are constantly cars going past or people walking along the road.  Visual and physical noise everywhere.

My suggestion is to at least try my desk jumping idea if you really want to get some serious gains in a project, new product, or simply finish something off.  

So here is the secret method- Productivity through Desk Jumping:-

1/ Find the blandest room you can- preferably white walls with not much on them. 
2/ The room must have nothing else in it- no phone, no papers, nothing, just a desk or table and a comfortable chair (you may want to move the one from your desk for this purpose).
3/ Grab your laptop and preferably a second screen (yes, stats are 2nd screens make you more productive).
4/ Grab you colleague if needed.
5/ Clear your schedule for the day (easier said than done, but its only 1 day- just try it)
6/ Get set to work.  Stay in the room all day and only leave for lunch, toilet stops etc.  Do not get distracted or dragged back into your main space. 
7/ Have someone take messages for you for in coming calls.
8/ Review your work at the end of the day- progress?  More productive?

9/ And.... If you have a cat, lock them in the laundry for the night to guarantee a good nights sleep!

I look forward to hearing from those of you who have given this a go.

Leading is not just a state of mind- its a way of life

Today I was thinking of the phrase 'born leader' and wondering if genetics really do play a part in leadership skills.  If my mother was asked about how I was as a child, I was definitely not a born leader! 

Not only was I hopeless at most sports (except table-tennis, but don't hold that against me!), I was generally bad enough to never be chosen as the 'team captain'. (Ironically, I am now a fully qualified Personal Trainer who leads Group Fitness classes and has another business specialising in Personal Training for people with back problems!).

My mother was a Deputy Principal of a school before she retired.  My father used to call her a 'born organiser'.  I think this is why they divorced in later years, perhaps she was too organised for him?  I believe I do possess a number of traits from my mother, but these only developed in later years.  Sometimes we clash because of it, but as I have gotten older, I appreciate the reasons why.  Two headstrong leaders with a 'thruster organiser' style are always going to butt heads at some-point!  Yes, I am a true "D' style, for those of you who know DISC profiling. 

I am proud of this fact.  I love being a leader- it is the most satisfying, rewarding, frustrating and mind boggling thing I think I will ever have to do, but I wouldn't change a thing.  Actually, I'd probably just change the disappointment of not being a leader when I was younger, knowing how rewarding it has been later in my life.

Even my Grandmother (my mothers mother), was a leader- she used to run the hospital auxiliary for many years and was always leading new drives for charity events and spurring people on.  So my guess is that perhaps you can be a born leader...or at least pick up some of these traits from your up-bringing.

Being an average student with average grades also never saw me as 'head girl' material, although in my later years I excelled, ironically in English and Computing.  I used to think that successful people were always only the smart people with straight A's.  How wrong i was! 

So, after studying leadership and management and learning all about different leadership and management styles, at the prime old age of 20, I was ready to now be a leader.  I had my qualification and I really thought that was it...isn't that all there is to it?

Strangely enough I soon realised that Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of life.  If you are a good leader, people will follow you.  Can you inspire others to come on the journey with you? 

I am in the middle of leading the launch to market of a brand new technology service line.  One of my responsibilities also falls to Sales and Marketing and product and brand development.  I am so excited to see the impact Leadership can make on a team of committed individuals and the trust they have in me that we can all make it by the 1 October deadline.

One comment I heard this week from one of the team about this new technology line was "That looks good enough to eat"!  probably not what I expected to hear while sitting in a review session looking at the products design, but he was so pleased with the look and feel, I don't blame him!

Leadership is about inspiring others, getting people to believe in themselves, but also  and perhaps most critically, communicating the message, good or bad and dealing with those who are perhaps not playing as part of the team. 

So 'cheers' to those reading this blog in leadership roles, even though it can be tough at the top, just remember to keep inspiring others to follow you and that leadership is not just a state of mind, it should be a way of life.  Leaders are not born, they are made, it is a skill that is learnt, with hard knocks, disappointments, triumphs, tribulations and a general learning about yourself as a person.   So go out and lead, the world needs more people like you!