What’s Your Leadership Style? – Chick-fil-A Leadercast Giveaway

April 30, 2013 By 12 Comments

I’m back from DC! I will do a race recap on the Nike Women’s Half later this week. First, I have a giveaway to announce! I’m working with Chick-fil-A to tell you about the new Leadercast app. Last year, I had the opportunity to attend Chick-fil-A Leadercast in Atlanta. At the time, I was in between jobs and trying to remain optimistic about everything coming ahead. I couldn’t afford to go to Leadercast or any of the satellite viewings since I wasn’t getting paid. In a crazy turn of events somehow in one week I heard Dan Cathy, President and COO of Chick-fil-A speak at a young professionals event and met him in person. Then, I ended up seeing him at the Dwarf House in Fayetteville where a guy I took a guy I was dating at the time because he had never been. I thought surely I was destined to go to Leadercast. But alas, the day came and I didn’t have a ticket.

The morning of Leadercast, I received a phone call from one of my Twitter followers, Kentara inviting me to Leadercast as her plus one. She knew how badly I wanted to go through my Twitter posts!! The two of us had never met face-to-face, despite the fact that we both went to University of West Georgia. Our relationship was Twitter only until that day. Honestly, I felt like my prayers had been answered and Leadercast just happened to be what my soul and heart needed. I had the entire day free, of course, since I wasn’t employed and I had the opportunity to learn, grow and eat free Chick-fil-A for the whole day :) Couldn’t get much better than that. Now, Kentara and I are friends and I’m so grateful for that day last year where she blessed me with the chance to go to Leadercast. As a young professional, it’s vital to build leadership qualities in our professional and personal lives. Listening to all of those amazing speakers last year really motivated me! Leadership has to be cultivated and grown over time. That’s a really important thing that people often overlook!

Attending Chick-fil-A Leadercast 2012

I have a giveaway for my readers! Chick-fil-A Leadercast has a new blog app! The app gives a 7 question test and lets you know your leadership style. Mine is The Visionary:

I think the app did a good job narrowing down my style. I’m good at seeing a situation accurately and not through rose-colored glasses! I also consider myself flexible in group situations. Bravo Leadercast app!

 I’m giving away: 

- 1 Copy of John C. Maxwell’s new book: The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth
- 1 Chick-fil-A Leadercast Exclusive Audio Download Card, which includes access to audio segments from past and present events!
- 3 Chick-fil-A Digital offer cards for a free Chick-fil-A Sandwich Entrée of your choice. 

I can’t lie, I have really wanted to get my hands on that new John C. Maxwell book since hearing him talk about it at Leadercast last year. So whoever wins, I hope that you are just as excited about it as I am :)

To enter: Please use the Chick-fil-A Leadercast App to determine what type of leader you are. Then comment on this post with your results including your email address and if the app did a great job of identifying your style. You can comment up until Friday of this week – May 3, 2013 and I will contact the winner on Monday!

You have to comment and put your email address in order to win. It will NOT be shown publicly!

 

Leadercast is coming to Atlanta on May 10, 2013 at the Gwinnett Arena. To learn more about Leadercast, click here.

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Yep, I Screwed Up

March 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Last Friday, I read the letter that Groupon CEO, Andrew Mason, wrote his staff about leaving the company. Basically, he admitted that he was fired and then went on to explain why. I thought that the letter was honest, revealing and took major guts. How many C-level executives, business owners or anyone in a higher up position ever admit they are wrong?

None I can name from personal experience. Usually one (or more) of the following things happens:

1. Blame the client

2. Blame the marketing

3. Blame the website

4. Attack one member of the company and blame them

5. Blame the economy

6. Blame the “changing landscape of social media”

7. Blame lack of funds

8. Blame the design/designer

9. Blame the investors

10. Blame the content

The list goes on and on from here. Rarely, does anyone admit out loud:

“Hey, maybe it’s me? Maybe it’s our product? We need to improve it. We can’t sell it as is. Maybe we need to stop being so focused on the product and start pleasing the customer? Maybe we need to work together better as a team? Maybe we need to embrace our young talent instead of leaving them out of the mix? Maybe we need to respect our elders and the unique ideas that they bring to the table. Maybe I don’t know it all, but that’s okay.”

Possibly, all of those things I just wrote stem from my personal experience and those of my millennial peers but they are just thoughts about how we you can possibly turn things around without blaming another person or being that might not even be part of the problem. Let’s be real with ourselves for a moment. You know when you mess up. In your mind, you know when it’s your own fault. For instance, just Sunday morning I was running late to church. I have no excuse: I woke up early, I was ready, I just conveniently forgot that I needed to stop for gas. That’s my fault. No one made me late. I knew that I needed gas on Friday. I can blame others, but that’s on me. Surely, the many problems that Groupon has are not Andrew Mason’s fault, but I think that it’s great to see a leader admit that he isn’t perfect and tell the truth. Incredibly rare, but great. Instead of pointing fingers, we all should work on self evaluation.

I love The Simpsons! Homer always makes mistakes, but I appreciate how he does occasionally own up by admitting his faults and apologizing.

Can you respect a person in a leadership role who blames all of their problems on other people, places and things?

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Enemies of the Heart

August 8, 2012 By 2 Comments

This summer has been tough for me. My marketing job at the start up ended. The company failed to raise B round funds and did not have enough money to pay me. So, around mid April I found myself jobless and hunting. Fortunately, I received referrals and freelance opportunities that kept me going. Looking is a frustrating process. About two week ago I had to snap myself out of a depressing rut and I decided that I would have objectives and goals for each week. I refused to drain my brain in front of the TV and lurking the internet (for jobs and on social sites) beyond 2 hours a day, I committed myself to 3-4 workouts a week and I set an objective to start and finish one new book a week. (I also found a new job, but more on that later). From that point on, things drastically took a turn for the better. Scheduling and planning things are tedious, but honestly, I like things better when I have objectives to meet.

My book selections have been based on several factors:

1. My long Amazon cart list of books I’ve added to over the years

2. Personal referrals and online reviews

3. Books that peak my interest

I also have a new Evernote featuring books that I hear about while out, at events or in book stores. Lately, I’ve been drawn to biographies and introspective (self help) type books. I want to throw in some fiction as well. I started off by reading The Girl Who Played With Fire and  The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. Both were great books. I wanted to see more of the relationship between Lisbeth and Mikael. I thought their relationship would evolve much differently than it did. I won’t spoil it ;) The next week, I read Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. I enjoyed reading about his career struggles and this was a fitting choice for this period in my life. On the first page of the book, Steve states:

“I did stand-up comedy for eighteen years. Ten of those were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success.”

I had to remind myself that a successful career takes years to build. I’m barely 5 years into mine I shouldn’t be so frustrated :) This past week, I read Enemies of the Heart Breaking Free from the Four Emotions that Control You by Andy Stanley on Kindle. I picked the book based on the title and description. The actual book drew me in more. Seriously. We all have “baggage” and hold on to things from our past. We ALL do. Anyone who says that they do NOT have this baggage is in denial. Like I was. In our minds we think, “I’m so over that”,”I let that go”, “It’s in the back of my mind”, yeah all of those just don’t work. Trust me, they don’t. If you find yourself doing that, I highly recommend this book. The book breaks down the four emotional forces that compel us to act in undesirable ways. Those emotions are:

Guilt

Anger

Greed

Jealousy

While reading, I felt forced (in a good way). To analyze my own behavior and behaviors of others in my life. The results were eye opening. So many people suffer from “spirtual heart disease”. That means, these emotions are destroying them and squeezing life out of their most valuable relationships. I highlighted so many amazing points to come back to and the book is perfect for reading groups because of the discussion questions in the back. This book will change your life. I truly believe that. Not only does it help you recognize the emotions that are holding you hostage, but most importantly, it addresses how you can change them. At one point the book asks that you make a list of each person throughout your life that has ever angered you and write down what they stole from you. I did this exercise (my list had 26 people on it, coincidently one for each year of my life – less than I thought) and seeing the names and reasons for anger were eye opening.

(from Amazon)

I still plan to read one book each week! Do you have any great books you’ve read this summer? I love recommendations :) Let me know!

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Remember Being Fearless?

June 7, 2012 By 2 Comments

These last 2 weeks have been tough. One day I woke up and my computer was sick. Then 2 days later I woke up with pink eye.

Or at least I thought it was pink eye.

Not sure what it was, but it sucked. After 7 days, 2 doctor visits (urgent care and my Ophthalmologist), 2 sets of drops, some baby shampoo, no contacts for 10 days and staying indoors avoiding light like a vampire..I finally feel 100%. Not feeling and looking your best sucks. I got a few side eyes and weird looks with one bloodshot eye. But pain is temporary and I’m thankful that it’s gone from my eye. While I was locked away under the weather, I had a chance to brainstorm about the direction I want to take my career and life over the next 6 months. One of the main ones is graduate school. I’ve started the process of applying before, but I couldn’t make up my mind about going vs. not going. I’ve looked at MBA programs and MFA in Advertising programs. I want to go part time or weekends and work full time, not online. That much is for sure. Adult decisions are tough, but that’s life.

Another thing I really thought about with my eye in pain is fear. It’s an emotion that we grow into. I don’t remember not wanting to play outside or not try out for things because I was scared I wouldn’t make it or wondered what others would think. I was watching Toddlers and Tiaras the other day and this 3 year old was just standing there digging in her nose in public. Of course, she didn’t know that you shouldn’t do that in public, but she was unembarrassed and unashamed. Those must be feelings that we grow into as well. Her mother was embarrassed and made a joke out of her behavior, but the girl was fearless. I remember wearing 2 different color socks and alternating them in elementary school because I liked them. I wasn’t too phased by what anyone else thought. Even now, I do many things by myself like running, shopping, and going to the movies because I enjoy my own company. Of course, some see this as “odd” but I try not to let that bother me. It makes me feel good :)  How do we get back to that mindset? That childlike fearlessness. I want to be back there. I don’t want to stop trying even if I feel discouraged. Everyone in our lives serves a different purpose, and not everyone is going to support you. I’m talking family, friends, coworkers you name it. Some pretend, but they really don’t. Others have favorites and maybe we aren’t #1 to them, but favor isn’t fair and I understand and accept that. What’s for me is for me and no one else!

But anyway, I’m better and I’m back and not going anywhere for the time being.

Oh, and I found this great pick me up book at Barnes and Noble. It’s a checklist where you check off all of the things you are good at. It definitely lifted my spirit on many locked up pink eye days. Check it out if you need a pick me up too:

taken with Instagram

 

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My Chick-fil-A Leadercast Experience

May 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I’ve known about Chick fil A Leadercast for the last 2-3 years and I’ve always wanted to go. The best thing that I could do was follow all of the inspirational tweets using their hashtag while doing my daily job at work. It just wasn’t the same though. I wanted to go so badly this year. Funny enough over the last 2 weeks I’ve heard Dan Cathy speak at the Fayette Young Professionals event at the Fayette Chamber in Fayetteville (lots of Fayette used in that sentence, forgive me ;) ). He brought his inspirational leadership toolkit. I was so excited because I’ve been inspired by his blog for years. Then last Friday, I heard Dwain Cox, Chick fil A Innovator at Creative Mornings Atlanta. Both were inspiring and motivated me for sure. Their discussions focused on “leadership”. That’s one area that we all can benefit by growing in and I know it’s an area of my life that needs developing. By the way, not only did I get to here those great speeches, but while on a date in Hapeville looking for TCBY, I had to tell my guy about The Original Dwarf House. He’s not from Georgia and didn’t know they existed. We happened to stop this Thursday and Dan Cathy was in there filming. By the way, the TCBY is closed in Hapeville, I was so sad because I really wanted some but at least we found that Chick fil A instead :)

I went to bed Thursday night not really thinking any of this was a coincident and wishing that I could attend Leadercast. I almost bought a ticket to one of the satellite locations but since I lost my job mid April (another blog post entirely), I decided not to. I woke up Friday morning with an invitation to attend Leadercast from a Twitter follower who has since become my friend over time named Kentara. We went to West Georgia, but our relationship has grown because of social media. Working in social media, I always get questioned on the value of using these tools. This, amongst many other amazingly wonderful things that has happened in my life simply due to using social media should serve as examples. Kentara won her Leadercast tickets. The person who was coming with her cancelled. So at 6:59 am on Friday I had to push myself to get ready and arrive at the Georgia World Congress Center before 8:30 am. I didn’t think I could because I stayed up way too late Thursday having a “woe is me moment” and feeling a little down. I’m so glad that I motivated myself to get going! Leadercast was worth me getting up and so much more!

I really loved the colors and setup done by Giant Impact. It didn’t even feel like the Georgia Dome anymore with the cool touches they added.

I enjoyed every single speaker. They all offered something unique and special for me to take away about leadership and service. Here are a few powerful quotes that motivated me:

“Uncertainty drives us crazy and makes us leaders.” – Andy Stanley

“Growth is not automatic, it’s intentional.” – John C. Maxwell

“We are all the sum of our choices, effective leaders empower others and themselves with choices.” – Dr. Sheena Iyengar

“Kids will live down or up to whatever expectations we have for them.” – Dr. Roland Fryer

I was also incredibly motivated by the Burberry CEO, Angela Ahrendts. She discussed how she put what’s best for the Burberry brand first and allowed young people in her company to embrace and flourish in creative and leadership roles. Using their advice, Burberry launched the very successful Art of the Trench and established their digital presence. (The site also has some great original music) I admired her ability to admit that she doesn’t speak “digital” but she had the wisdom to seek out opinions of younger employees for their opinion and she respected their advice. That’s hard for many CEOs to admit.

I also enjoyed learning more about Tim Tebow outside of Twitter trends, media commentary and online opinions of others. He is doing so much for the community and for others. His outreach is admirable and he spoke eloquently about service and compassion.

The volunteers were so nice and helpful. My least favorite thing about the conference was the tight seating arrangements. I felt like we were squeezed in like sardines! However, Tripp Crosby the emcee announced that the Leadercast event has outgrown the Georgia World Congress Center and next year will be held at the Gwinnett Arena. That’s great, I could definitely tell it was a bit cramped in there. I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to attend. Amazing how things fall into place :) Have a great Saturday!

 

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