Listening Leaders Archived Edition

December 27, 2006

LISTENING LEADERS RESOLVE TO BE RESOLUTE

Listening Leaders® recognize the importance of staying resolute in making and keeping resolutions. Although anyone can resolve to make resolutions anytime and anywhere, listeners in growth relish the beginning of every year. For as the calendar year changes, Listening Leaders® engage the opportunity to resolve making changes in their listening Attitudes, Skills, and Knowledge. Resolutions are simply a way to resolve the opportunity to master new Solutions through new Resolutions. The key to fulfilling 2007 resolutions lies in being resolute, determined, firm, and steadfast.

To that end, with the coming of the first day of another New Year, we invite our thousands of Listening Leader® subscribers around the world to activate four simple steps to make and keep meaningful annual resolutions.

First and foremost, leaders make resolutions that are personally meaningful, rather than resolutions that are simply important to others. The critical starting point for all successful resolute resolution makers lies in selecting significant and important resolutions. Personal meaningful resolutions for 2007 will include stretch resolutions, challenging resolutions, and beneficial resolutions.

Second, leaders make resolutions that can be met and kept. Studies of successful resolution makers highlight the importance of limiting individual resolutions in significance, number and feasibility. Insignificant resolutions are quickly forgotten and simply fade away. Too many resolutions become overwhelming and lead to a quick quit. Resolutions that are not feasible ultimately result in frustration and failure. As it is difficult to be resolute with fuzzy objectives, smart listeners resolve to listen to specific individuals, in concrete places, in measured ways, and for clear-cut purposes.

Third, leaders announce their intended resolutions to a small select group of your Target 25 supporters, as it is easier to remain resolute with the support of others. So openly invite the active and positive assistance, reinforcement, and applause of others. One thing is clear: Nothing enhances the resolution to be a better listener than the important feedback of those you resolve to listen to.

Fourth, leaders create a 2007 Listening Journal to record their objectives, actions, and successes. In the world of personal growth, one fact stands out: successful resolution makers and keepers establish measurement benchmarks and rewards for their personal accomplishments. They establish and record a starting mark with time-line goals and measure accomplishments along the way. It is no surprise that practical and successful resolutions are heightened by those who establish precise and specific starting marks, along with recorded accomplishments, goal-line marks, and rewards.

Thus, in our quest of “Advancing listening leadership throughout the world” we invite and challenge Listening Leaders® everywhere to raise their listening bar, refine their listening related resolutions, and follow the established four-step process to enhanced listening and leading throughout 2007.

Resolve to be a “Listening Leader® Role Model” in the service of others and, as a result, everyone within your “Circle of Influence” will profit, and you will be appreciated and valued in 2007.

LISTENING LEADER KNOWLEDGE NUGGET: Listening Leaders® make and keep important resolutions.

During this season of review and promise, we are once again reminded of the unknown sage who observed, “After all is said and done, a lot more will be said than done.”

Although the importance of celebrating new birth, new resolutions and new promises has been recognized for thousands of years throughout the world, some miss the full picture. For as Eric Zorn, correctly and wrongly suggested, «Those who refuse to make New Year’s resolutions because they always break them anyway miss the point. Making resolutions is a cleansing ritual of self-assessment and repentance that demands personal honesty and ultimately reinforces humility. Breaking them is part of the cycle.”

Or, as Shakespeare’s Hamlet observed, “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought. And enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn awry, and lose the name of action.”

Fortunately, Listening Leaders® place the importance of New Year’s resolutions and promised renewal in its proper historical perspective. For as Charles Lamb explained, “No one ever regarded the first of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam.” Confirming the point, Sir Walter Scott noted, “Each age has deemed the new-born year, the fittest time for festival cheer.”

More to the point for every Listening Leader® who is resolved to grow in 2007 is the insightful wisdom of Henry Ward Beecher, who recommends: “Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. …but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were or are past.” Or as Alfred Lord Tennyson so aptly suggests: “The year is going, let him go: Ring out the false, ring in the true.”

So to our Listening Leader® friends and resolution makers and resolution keepers throughout the world, we wish you another year of enhanced listening, prosperity, and a Happy New Year in a variety of numerous languages:

“Feliz A˜o Nuevo!” (Spanish); “Feliz ano novo!” (Portuguese); “Bonne année!” (French); “Gutes neues Jahr!” (German); “Gelukkig nieuwjaar!” (Dutch); “Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!” (Welsh); “Buon Capo d’Anno!” (Italian); “Godt nytar!” (Norwegian); “Godt nytar!” (Danish); “Gott Nytt Ar!” (Swedish); “Hauoli Makahiki Hou!” (Hawaiian); “Shanah tovah!” (Hebrew); “Szczesliwego Nowego roku!” (Polish); “Wilujeng Tahun Baru!” (Sudanese); “Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun!” (Turkish) “Elamat Tahun Baru!” (Indonesian); “Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!” (Japanese); “Sun nien fai lok!” (Cantonese); “S Novym Godom!” (Russian);” Happy New Year!” (English).

LISTENING LEADER TIP OF THE WEEK: Compose and announce your listening resolutions to those who care and count.

GOLDEN CIRCLE LISTENING LEADERS QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

At the beginning is always the word ~ Elie Wiesel
Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account ~ Oscar Wilde
The merry year is born, like the bright berry from the naked thorn ~ Henry Coleridge
The old order changeth, yielding place to new ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson
Man’s main task in life is to give birth to himself ~ Erich Fromm
The greatest thing in the world is for a man to know how to be himself ~ Montaigne

A LISTENING LEADER GIGGLE:

In discussing his New Year’s Resolutions, a friend said he is resolved to find the answers to confusing questions. When asked, “What confusing questions?” he answered: Oh there are many, but here are a few.

“Why is the third hand on my watch called the second hand?”

“Why does ‘fat chance’ and ‘slim chance’ mean the same thing?”

“Why isn’t ‘phonics’ spelled the way it sounds?”

“Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?”

“Why do we sit in front of a dead tree and eat candy out of our socks at Christmas?”

“Why do we put suits in garment bags and garments in suitcases?”

“Why is ‘abbreviated’ such a long word?”

“If all the world is a stage, where is the audience sitting?”

“If everyone loves a listener, why aren’t more people listening?”

Of course, that is what we want to know.

LISTENING LEADERS KUDOS

As 2006 has passed we extend our warm Kudos to every Listening Leader® who shared the insights of our award-winning book, LISTENING LEADERS, and significantly served others throughout the year. For everyone who committed their time and energy to listen to everyone who crossed your path, we applaud you! For every Listening Leader® who enabled Listening Leadership®, of others, we salute you! For every Listening Leader® who is resolved to listen and lead even better in 2007, we commend you!

BECOME CERTIFIED TO TEACH LISTENING LEADERSHIP IN YOUR ORGANIZATION. You will become fully equipped to deliver a unique and proven Workshop that provides practical and measurable results. For certification details, go to www.ListeningLeaders.com

ORDER YOUR “LISTENING LEADERS WORKSHOP ‘IN A BOX’. You don't have to wait for the next live Listening Leaders® Workshop! We now have the entire workshop in a format that you can take at your own pace in the comfort of your own office or home. For details, go to www.ListeningLeaders.com

WE ARE LISTENING and invite your action:
Together, we can change the listening attitudes, skills, and knowledge of leaders throughout the world. We appreciate and invite your assistance in expanding our listening leader’s connections. Eight simple steps in advancing this important movement include:
To help you and your colleagues, family, and friends fulfill your 2007 Listening Resolutions, we invite your reread of our Listening Leaders book which is available at www.listeningleaders.com/leader
Send us your listening leader insights, examples and stories.
Start a Listening Leaders Reading and Discussion Group. Invite your Librarian to purchase our Award winning LISTENING LEADER book.
As meeting, conference, and convention attendees spend the bulk of their time listening, please let others know of our availability to Keynote Conventions and customize Listening Leader Workshops.
Invite us to identify specific needs for listening development of leaders in your organizations.
Ask about our proven listening leader training programs and our customized in-house train-the-trainer strategies and our new Certification program.
We can help, we are committed, and we are listening.
Listen, Lead On & Make Today Count! – Manny & Rick
__________________________________________________________________

LISTENING LEADERS: THE TEN GOLDEN RULES
TO LISTEN, LEAD & SUCCEED

By Dr. Lyman K. Steil
& Dr. Richard K. Bommelje

Publisher: Beaver’s Pond Press
(ISBN 1-59298-073-2)

A pioneering book that directly connects listening with leadership.Based on more than 50 collective years of work with listening leaders throughout the world, Dr. Steil and Dr. Bommelje have created 10 practical, proven, and priceless rules to enhance everyone's listening and leadership success. Although outstanding leaders are outstanding listeners, most leaders have neglected the development of their listening attitudes, skills and knowledge.

“This is the most significant book ever written on listening and leadership and will profit leaders at all levels in all types of organizations and enterprises.” Dr. Ralph Nichols, Father of the Field of Listening

ORDER YOUR COPY at www.ListeningLeaders.com or www.amazon.com

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Dr. Lyman K. (Manny) Steil
25 Robb Farm Road
St. Paul, MN 55127
651-483-3597
LKS@ListeningLeaders.com Dr. Richard K. (Rick) Bommelje
8530 Amber Oak Dr
Orlando, FL 32817
407-679-7280
RKB@ListeningLeaders.com

© 2007 by International Listening Leadership Institute.
All rights reserved

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