₦airaland Forum

Leadership Advice

As a speaker and consultant I meet a lot of new people over the course of a year. Every single one of them is different but the start of our conversations is always the same.

There are only two questions people ever ask me when we first meet.

Unless we are in Lagos, or a Yoruba speaking state, the first question is normally “how do you pronounce your name?”

The second question normally comes after they have found out what I do for a living. At that stage, what most people really want to know is “what do great leaders do?” I don’t blame them. I have devoted the last 10 years of my life trying to find out the answer. However, in that search, I have also realized that it is the wrong question.

There is a question that comes before what do great leaders do and that is “what’s a leader?” The answer is simple; “someone who is followed”. This being the case, the most important person in the equation is the follower. A great leader is someone who manages to have a great many followers, prepared to give up some of their freedom to act, in search of something greater than they can achieve alone.

When looked at it in that way, forget “what do great leaders do?”; the key question becomes “what do great followers want?” With that question we can explain why seemingly different people become great leaders. We no longer have to hope we can be “like somebody” but rather can feel free to explore what we are like when we are at our best. Development stops being about aping someone else and starts becoming about being a better, more skilled version of ourselves in the service of our followers.

When we make the switch from the “great leaders” to the “great followers” question we no longer need a model of what we ought to be but rather a set of principles that will help us to find out who we truly can be.

Having worked to support others in that search for over a decade there are four things I know to be true.


1 – THERE’S A TICK IN “AUTHENTICK”

I have always been appalled by trite business sayings like ‘there’s no I in team’ (there should be) and ‘assume makes an ass of you and me’ (it doesn’t). Yet I admit to being fascinated by their staying power. So for the last decade I have been trying to come up with my own. So here goes “There’s a Tick, in authentick”. It may be bad but it makes the point!

That point is that leadership is entirely dependent on authenticity. You will always sub-optimize your impact if you try to be someone other than yourself. And you cannot be authentic if you don’t understand what makes you tick. To be yourself you have to know yourself and what you stand for.


2 – SURROUND BUT DON’T SURRENDER

People are always keen on giving advice. Everyone has a view or opinion they like to share. Even if you are high up in an organization and the people below you find it hard to give you feedback, peers, analysts and shareholders are never shy at dispensing their wisdom.

While surrounding yourself with advisers enlarges your view, you should not surrender to their advice. It is your leadership, your principles and your points of view that matter. Becoming a mouthpiece for the conflicting views of others or acting purely as a curator for those views is a sure way to fail in engaging others.

This is the hardest balancing act of leadership. We shouldn’t be stubborn when faced with a reality that questions the very essence of our views. Yet we must remember that it is only reconciliation, never compromise, that is necessary.


3 – THINK MADONNA AND CHILD

The key to success lies in our ability to achieve our goal of attracting others whilst remaining true to ourselves. I have developed a simple test for self-regulation which I call the madonna and child principle.

If your mother (the madonna) would be ashamed of whatever you are considering doing, or if you can’t explain it to a six-year-old (the child), or both, then don’t do it.

Effective leadership relies on a strong moral compass (the madonna test) and clarity of your intent (the child test). The madonna and child test preserves your integrity and, in tandem with my next and last “truth”, should enable you to make the most critical of development decisions and choices.


4 – BUY AN EGG TIMER

To understand who you are you need to reflect. Whilst you can think quickly, reflection takes time. I am not advocating a retreat or a long reflective walk, although I would if I thought you might do it. What I am advocating instead is developing an ability to think things through in the moment.

So buy an egg timer and put it on your desk. Don’t try to get away with a watch or a guess – there is something powerful in the novelty and physicality of the egg timer. It also helps you signal in a playful way to others around you that you are thinking and value this thinking time. When faced with a decision to make, turn over the egg timer.



Thanks for reading this and I hope we meet someday. And when we do, Oshoba will do just fine, and if you struggle with that one, blame my parents and just call me Babs

http://gidibusinessmen..com/

Thanks!

Raymond Call me on 08107024162. You can also drop your email here so I can send you Useful Articles andd guides that can help you excel in blogging.
Cheers.

So you want to become a blogging superstar huh? Earn the passive income online, do what you love, inspire people and work only a few hours a day? I know how that feels. The temptation is certainly there, to create a successful blog and live the life you always wanted. The main problem that prevents most bloggers from creating a successful business online is the very draw of success in the first place.

Some bloggers think it’s gonna be easy, that you will have to simply just apply some tactics and automate everything.. Then the money will start rolling in.

It isn’t like that. I’ve been at this game for over a year now. I’ve tried so many different things out there and failed a ton of times along the way.


Here are 9 realistic points of advice that can help you gain blogging success



1 – Be good at one thing

In the world of blogging there are so many different aspects to it all.

You can write, do videos, podcasts, webinars or just scout for something cool online to share with others.

It’s tempting to think that you need to do all of them for online success, but that’s not true.

Align yourself with your passion and what you’re good at. Then stick to that ONLY. Keep at it and soon you’ll be known as a professional of that subject in your field. This is how you have real focus online and eliminate distractions. Besides, you don’t want to be the jack-of-all-trades and end up becoming a watered down version of other bloggers.

Stick to one thing only and keep honing that craft. Personally, I only write. I don’t do video or podcasts. I’ve tried them before and not only did I not feel good about it, the content came out mediocre and ultimately useless.


2 – Then grow later

Many bloggers have this mixed up. It’s kind of understandable as all the talk of having massive amount of traffic, eyeballs and subscribers can easily get to you.

Yes, gaining exposure is important, but it’s useless to attract people to your blog filled with mediocre content. You’ve got to attract them, but then also make sure they STAY, and you do that only by being good at something and being recognized for it.


3 – Stop it with the tricks, tactics, hacks and whatever.

“Top 10 Twitter TRICKS…”

“This traffic LOOP-HOLE….”

“AUTOMATE your blog today…”

The list goes on.

Remember this now and forever: These are just tactics. They’re just the icing on the cake.

You need a strong foundation consisting of good content and then you need to create a strategy for yourself. This is why the tired, but true line, “Content is king” is still around. It matters the most. Be good at one thing and then you can grow with all these tactics, otherwise, it’s all going to crumble down as you don’t have a strong foundation with quality content.


4 – If it’s too good to be true, then it’s definitely not true

“Top 10 Twitter TACTICS to gain a million followers overnight”

“This traffic LOOP-HOLE accidentally made me $9,424!”

“AUTOMATE your blog today and earn $(insert another very specific number) while you sleep”

If it sounds too easy, it’s most likely not true at all.

Consider the fact that people, or the “gurus” who are trying to sell you on these ideas are complete scammers and liars.

Don’t fall for them.

Blogging is a business after all. It’s not going to be easy. If it’s as easy as simply buying some cheap “guru” product, then everybody would quit their job and start making tons of cash online today.


5 – It’s okay to spend money before you start making money online

When I started out blogging, like most others, it was my way out of the corporate 9 to 5. I thought it was going to be easy and hence, I didn’t need help at all. I ended up learning everything the hard way on my own. You can do that of course, but why not give yourself a little boost? Put in the money to start investing in a good training programme or even a mentor. These will help you learn things the right way and definitely speed things up.

You don’t want to start out feeling lost and lonely. Or worse, learn all the wrong things that will only slow you down or steer you in the wrong direction.


6 – That being said, you don’t have to do everything on your own

You aren’t the heroic solo-preneur who absolutely has to overcome everything on your own.

Again, it’s tempting to think that way since the internet is supposed to make everything “easy”.

Nope. You’re bound to run into some challenges and discover things you aren’t very good at.

Outsource the things you aren’t passionate about.

Like for me, I write all my content, but I outsource my design and programming, I merely give the directions from there.

It’s also okay to seek help. Put in the effort to ask questions and email other bloggers if they want to work together.

No business is truly a one man-show. Everybody needs help and people work together for success.


7 – Don’t quit your job just yet

How often have you heard of the successful guy who left everything behind to pursue his dream?

Or, they’ve even been fired from work and then they later call it, “The best thing that happened” in their life.

Those are certainly very inspiring stories, but that doesn’t mean you need to follow suit just like that.

This is life. We need to be real. We may have our dreams, but we also have responsibilities in life.

I left my job to do this myself. I paid for it later on when my savings depleted (thanks to a lot of partying).

There’s really nothing wrong with holding on to a job while working on your dream at the side.

If you want to quit your job. Then do it when it’s realistic. Make sure you’ve a substantial amount of savings left aside and also a clear direction and purpose on what to do next.


8 – Ignore everyone and don’t underestimate yourself

Maybe this point is a bit contradictory to seeking help online, but hear me out.

In business, you definitely need to learn all the concepts, theories and also get some help from others.

But you will eventually hit a point where you need to call the shots on your own. This means believing in yourself and doing what you think is right.

And trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

I used to lack a lot of confidence in myself, so much so that I had to get an “Okay” from some other blogger or get the virtual green light by reading up a lot about something online.

I ended up not taking action at all. I also got very confused as everybody else seems to swear by their methods and kept telling me what to do. (This will happen A LOT).

When I finally decided that I would do things my way, real, tangible results came. Don’t ever underestimate yourself. Ignore what others say especially when deep down, it doesn’t feel right to you.

Once you’ve studied and learnt enough, just take action. You’d want to create a business you can truly call your own anyway.


9 – It gets easier

And finally, yes, it gets easier.

It’s going to be tough at first, but it gets easier.

So work hard, believe in yourself and keep pushing.

Online success will come and your dreams will come true

SEE YOU AT THE TOP!!!
SEGUN BABS

So you want to become a blogging superstar huh? Earn the passive income online, do what you love, inspire people and work only a few hours a day? I know how that feels. The temptation is certainly there, to create a successful blog and live the life you always wanted. The main problem that prevents most bloggers from creating a successful business online is the very draw of success in the first place.

Some bloggers think it’s gonna be easy, that you will have to simply just apply some tactics and automate everything.. Then the money will start rolling in.

It isn’t like that. I’ve been at this game for over a year now. I’ve tried so many different things out there and failed a ton of times along the way.


Here are 9 realistic points of advice that can help you gain blogging success


1 – Be good at one thing

In the world of blogging there are so many different aspects to it all.

You can write, do videos, podcasts, webinars or just scout for something cool online to share with others.

It’s tempting to think that you need to do all of them for online success, but that’s not true.

Align yourself with your passion and what you’re good at. Then stick to that ONLY. Keep at it and soon you’ll be known as a professional of that subject in your field. This is how you have real focus online and eliminate distractions. Besides, you don’t want to be the jack-of-all-trades and end up becoming a watered down version of other bloggers.

Stick to one thing only and keep honing that craft. Personally, I only write. I don’t do video or podcasts. I’ve tried them before and not only did I not feel good about it, the content came out mediocre and ultimately useless.


2 – Then grow later

Many bloggers have this mixed up. It’s kind of understandable as all the talk of having massive amount of traffic, eyeballs and subscribers can easily get to you.

Yes, gaining exposure is important, but it’s useless to attract people to your blog filled with mediocre content. You’ve got to attract them, but then also make sure they STAY, and you do that only by being good at something and being recognized for it.


3 – Stop it with the tricks, tactics, hacks and whatever.

“Top 10 Twitter TRICKS…”

“This traffic LOOP-HOLE….”

“AUTOMATE your blog today…”

The list goes on.

Remember this now and forever: These are just tactics. They’re just the icing on the cake.

You need a strong foundation consisting of good content and then you need to create a strategy for yourself. This is why the tired, but true line, “Content is king” is still around. It matters the most. Be good at one thing and then you can grow with all these tactics, otherwise, it’s all going to crumble down as you don’t have a strong foundation with quality content.


4 – If it’s too good to be true, then it’s definitely not true

“Top 10 Twitter TACTICS to gain a million followers overnight”

“This traffic LOOP-HOLE accidentally made me $9,424!”

“AUTOMATE your blog today and earn $(insert another very specific number) while you sleep”

If it sounds too easy, it’s most likely not true at all.

Consider the fact that people, or the “gurus” who are trying to sell you on these ideas are complete scammers and liars.

Don’t fall for them.

Blogging is a business after all. It’s not going to be easy. If it’s as easy as simply buying some cheap “guru” product, then everybody would quit their job and start making tons of cash online today.


5 – It’s okay to spend money before you start making money online

When I started out blogging, like most others, it was my way out of the corporate 9 to 5. I thought it was going to be easy and hence, I didn’t need help at all. I ended up learning everything the hard way on my own. You can do that of course, but why not give yourself a little boost? Put in the money to start investing in a good training programme or even a mentor. These will help you learn things the right way and definitely speed things up.

You don’t want to start out feeling lost and lonely. Or worse, learn all the wrong things that will only slow you down or steer you in the wrong direction.


6 – That being said, you don’t have to do everything on your own

You aren’t the heroic solo-preneur who absolutely has to overcome everything on your own.

Again, it’s tempting to think that way since the internet is supposed to make everything “easy”.

Nope. You’re bound to run into some challenges and discover things you aren’t very good at.

Outsource the things you aren’t passionate about.

Like for me, I write all my content, but I outsource my design and programming, I merely give the directions from there.

It’s also okay to seek help. Put in the effort to ask questions and email other bloggers if they want to work together.

No business is truly a one man-show. Everybody needs help and people work together for success.


7 – Don’t quit your job just yet

How often have you heard of the successful guy who left everything behind to pursue his dream?

Or, they’ve even been fired from work and then they later call it, “The best thing that happened” in their life.

Those are certainly very inspiring stories, but that doesn’t mean you need to follow suit just like that.

This is life. We need to be real. We may have our dreams, but we also have responsibilities in life.

I left my job to do this myself. I paid for it later on when my savings depleted (thanks to a lot of partying).

There’s really nothing wrong with holding on to a job while working on your dream at the side.

If you want to quit your job. Then do it when it’s realistic. Make sure you’ve a substantial amount of savings left aside and also a clear direction and purpose on what to do next.


8 – Ignore everyone and don’t underestimate yourself

Maybe this point is a bit contradictory to seeking help online, but hear me out.

In business, you definitely need to learn all the concepts, theories and also get some help from others.

But you will eventually hit a point where you need to call the shots on your own. This means believing in yourself and doing what you think is right.

And trust me, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

I used to lack a lot of confidence in myself, so much so that I had to get an “Okay” from some other blogger or get the virtual green light by reading up a lot about something online.

I ended up not taking action at all. I also got very confused as everybody else seems to swear by their methods and kept telling me what to do. (This will happen A LOT).

When I finally decided that I would do things my way, real, tangible results came. Don’t ever underestimate yourself. Ignore what others say especially when deep down, it doesn’t feel right to you.

Once you’ve studied and learnt enough, just take action. You’d want to create a business you can truly call your own anyway.


9 – It gets easier

And finally, yes, it gets easier.

It’s going to be tough at first, but it gets easier.

So work hard, believe in yourself and keep pushing.

Online success will come and your dreams will come true

http://gidibusinessmen..com/2013/05/9-important-things-you-should-know.html

COOL!!!

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emmyforeal: @lanredo what's the total package fro the self Contain at Ilupeju?
can we get pictures too?

Pics of Room Self Contain? Agents don suffer o. Lanre the photographer oya post pics as Oga don talk o

Pls call me on 08107024162 or leave your number so I can call you. I'm really interested. I understand if you don't want to disclose much infos here. I know how we can raise the funds. Look forward to doing business with you. Cheers.