Leadership Success Predictors: Do You Amplify Others?

Do you encourage others to become greater or do you speak and act in ways that actually discourage others? The key metric of a servant leader is: Has your influence helped others grow and develop themselves personally and professionally? Are people better off knowing and working with you? Are others accomplishing their goals, objectives and dreams by being associated with you?

Amplify is defined as making something become greater in scope and stronger. Pixar's Randy Nelson reveals the top four predictors that determine if you and your team amplify others. This ten minute video is worth your time.

After watching the video, here's a quick way to self-assess your ability to amplify others:

• Depth of Experience: What is something you have truly mastered? And, how does this mastery demonstrates your ability to achieve mastery in other things?
• Breadth of Knowledge and Experience: Are you more interested in other people and how things work or do you speak and act in ways to make yourself interesting to others?
• Quality of Communication: How well do others understand you? When you do speak, do others tell you they have a better understanding of a situation?
• Create a Collaborative Environment: Do you create an environment that promotes authentic collaboration versus people just doing the basics to cooperate with one another. Is the team creating new possibilities? 
• Bonus - Question to Statement Ratio: What is your question to statement ratio? Do you speak out your ideas more than you ask questions to understand others?

When Does The Leader Make A Difference?

This blog title began germinating early last week week after a friend posted a link to an article "People Don't Leave Companies, They Leave Leaders." 

By the end of the week, he let me know he had left his job. I'm assuming he had considered his departure and the article may have quickened his decision. We get together this coming week and I'll find out more.

The premise of the article - it really is all about the quality of the leadership. This should be a quick kick in the rear for anyone in a leadership role. Being the leader really does mean - within the domain of your authority, everything and everyone is your responsibility. A leader is absolutely held accountable for what they think, do and say. In the case of this friend, the difference the leader made appears to not be positive for the company.

If the leader is not learning why good people are leaving that leader may not realize good people won't put up with low quality leadership. (later in this blog, you can learn how to measure the quality of leadership) 

If a leader is not willing to learn why people are leaving, they are not learning to think differently and they will not act differently. They keep doing the same thing expecting different results. Such leaders keep running off good people and eventually attract only people who will put up with a low quality leader. The result is the low quality leader finally gets fired. Einstein identified that as insanity. And, there is a solution for leaders who are willing to think and act differently than they have in the past.

Leaders Need A Roadmap In Order To Meet People Where They Are

Whenever I hear stories of good people leaving because of the leader, it makes me wonder if both the leader and the employee have a roadmap so each knows where the other is on the map. While they may have clearly defined job descriptions, I find very few leaders truly have the capability to meet people where they are. 

In other words, does a leader know:

• What's important to the employee? 
• What are their development or resource needs so they can excel at their job? 

Most leaders want people to meet the leader where they are. Ironically the leader expects people to do this without any kind of roadmap. By the way an organizational chart is not a roadmap.

Thousands of books and millions of articles about leadership attempt to define the traits and characteristics of leaders and create labels for the various types of leaders. Traits, characteristics and labels are like the streets, roads, cities and towns on a roadmap. Very important information, but it's only of value when you can accurately pinpoint where you are on the roadmap, making it easy for you to plan how to get to your destination.

Without a leadership roadmap, leaders typically wander around making it difficult for others to follow. A wandering leader (most don't know they are wandering), will not ever truly get to the heart and soul of WHEN and how authentic leadership makes all the difference. 

This infographic is a basic leadership roadmap I use with leaders. After an initial use of this infographic, it becomes easy to tailor a leadership roadmap to any leader and/or any situation. Take a moment to review before you read the rest of this blog.

How To Know The "WHEN"

A leader who understands the "when" of leadership will know the right thing to do, with the right people at the right time. This takes ongoing practice, making a leadership roadmap essential.

Yet, even with the roadmap, the "when" of leadership is like looking for the hidden image in an autostereogram. Autostereograms are computer generated 2D images that create 3D visual illusions in the brain. Sometimes you see it and sometimes you don't. It takes practice and skill to be able to consistently see the hidden images.

While any leader can look at a 2D image (what's easy to see about a situation), authentic leaders have developed the skill and knowing to consistently see the hidden 3D images (what's driving a situation). When the leader can clearly understand the how, why and what of leadership, it becomes easier for them to know when they are most likely to make a meaningful difference.

Why A Leader Struggles With The When - Low Capacity

Based upon my personal leadership experience and numerous opportunities to work with leaders at all levels, I know a leader begins to leave their struggles behind when the leader fully embraces the concept that an authentic leader is one who serves versus being served. 

The moment they become a servant-focused leader their leadership roadmap becomes like the autostereogram and the "when" becomes like the hidden 3D images. Not easy to see, but consistent practice starts producing different and meaningful results. And, other people begin to see how quality leadership makes a difference. 

No matter how much a leader knows about leadership, it is only when the leader genuinely understands that leadership competencies only make a difference when integrated with a servant-focus. When a leader has this understanding they know how and what to do, why they do it and, most importantly, the right time (when) to do it. 

Time and again, during conversations with leaders, the less their servant-focus, the lower their capacity for dealing with all the people, situations, changes and uncertainties that come with the role of leader. A leader with low capacity will struggle. It is easy to recognize a struggling leader because you will hear them make "either/or" type statements. They will say things like, "Either Joe gets with the program or he will be fired!" 

The leader's comments and opinions are typically stated as if everything is either black or white. This same leader will also have wide and abrupt mood swings. They blame others and often even appear bipolar. A leader with low capacity is easily overwhelmed and has very little self control to take time to think "gray" about a situation versus always reacting in a black or white manner. The lower a leader's capacity, the lower their ability to exercise genuine leadership competencies.

An authentic leader will be just the opposite of this "either/or" type leader. The authentic leader will be skilled at "both/and" thinking. Both/And thinking opens an authentic leader's mind to new possibilities (see the gray), making it easier to see when to do the right things. They have trained their brain to see the when, like being able to see the autostereogram 3D images, in their mind. An authentic leader will have the capacity to think through a variety of scenarios until they are able to know when to act and with whom.

How To Instantly Measure Authentic Leadership

The infographic is called a ZMap. For a leader this ZMap empowers you to quickly pinpoint which quadrant best defines your current level of leadership. Once you pinpoint where you are, it becomes easy to design your development plan to get to where you want to be. If you work with a leader, you can use this same ZMap to gain some insight, understanding and appreciation for a leader's quality of leadership.

While the topic of leadership can be a very complex discussion, this ZMap quickly cuts through all the noise. Once you know where you are it is simple to plan the journey to your destination. Authentic, sustainable leaders have developed a personal leadership roadmap though trial and error. They use it to know when to do the right thing with the right people at the right time.

A leader can use this simple ZMap to quickly develop a personal leadership roadmap much faster than the traditional leadership development processes. When you know where you are on this ZMap, you can instantly focus on what you need and know where to find or ask for the right resources to help you improve your quality of leadership.

It Begins With Being Honest With Yourself

Answer these two statements and pinpoint where they intersect on the ZMap. 

• Rank your Leadership Competencies. (Y axis) The higher your knowledge and execution of quality leadership competencies, the higher your point on the Y axis.
• Rank your Servant-Focus. (X axis) The more time you spend thinking about serving those who work with you and actually doing and being a servant leader, the further out on the X axis is your pinpoint.

Based upon where these two points intersect, what are your thoughts about where you find yourself on the ZMap and what actions do you see you need to take to get to where you want to be? 

When I work with leaders, this simple ZMap gets the two of us on the same page and engaged into a meaningful discussion that creates immediate and lasting value for the leader. More information on how to plan your leadership development journey will be shared in future blogs. 

My experience is those leaders who genuinely want to improve will take this ZMap and get started by first observing what they think, say and do - and begin making appropriate changes. This blog reviews how to become a skillful thinker.

I encourage you to do the same. You will be amazed at how quickly you begin to start thinking differently and experiencing when your leadership makes positive, meaningful differences for others.

Best to your becoming a servant-focused leader.

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

ZFactor blog explores and discusses a variety of techniques, tools and discoveries by successful people that will assist others to achieve greater personal and professional success. ZFactor is a proprietary coaching methodology based upon the premise that successful people think and act differently. The ZFactor methodology is proven to accelerate a person's ability to think and act differently.

What's Your Lifetime Value Potential?

You can easily estimate how much money you will make over your lifetime. Have you ever pondered on your potential to create value for others over your lifetime?

Through my work with ZFactor Group, I get to see people make this simple shift in their mindset. Imagine the possibilities when you focus on creating value for others. My experience is when people do this, their lifetime earnings potential increases substantially.

This is why ZFactor publications focus on Revealing And Releasing Your Untapped Potential. When people choose to think, act and communicate differently, it's like they have finally found that essential key to success.

ZFactor books helps others find their key for success by providing a:

1. Simple map to plot where you are; 
2. Compass to determine the direction you want to go; and, 
3. Guide of defining characteristics to help you know what to do to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.

Through our various engagements with others - comments from readers, presentations, coaching sessions or workshops - we are continually amazed at how quickly people shift the way they think about their current situation as they recognize where they are and have a simple map. As people embrace thinking differently, they immediately find themselves in the midst of a personal transformation that propels them from me-focus to others-focus. 

There is no complicated formula or long drawn out training or session-after-session with a guru to figure out the meaning of life. It begins with stop focusing on yourself and focus on others. Sometimes, it can even be as simple as a good friend, Peter Strople, describes how one question can create Instant Change. 

It is in this transformation when people immediately become what we refer to as Value Creators. Instantly, their expertise, knowledge, talents and skills can be focused on moving their life forward and/or a new idea, concept, project, team or organization. The result - other people benefit as you increase their financial value and your lifetime financial value potential increases, as well. And, being others focused doesn't have to be about financial value.

So, what's your choice? Will you maintain a me-focus or will you ponder the question - "What's Your Lifetime Value Potential?" If you are ready for Instant Change in your life, you will choose to ponder the question, engage into thinking, acting and communicating differently and develop a deep understanding for making a difference and creating value for others. 

If you choose to ponder the question, I guarantee your life will change and you will experience all you have ever imagined possible and most likely experience the impossible, as well.

Happy pondering...

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

ZFactor blog explores and discusses a variety of techniques, tools and discoveries by successful people that will assist others to achieve greater personal and professional success. ZFactor is a proprietary coaching methodology based upon the premise that successful people think and act differently. The ZFactor methodology is proven to accelerate a person's ability to think and act differently.

The genesis of this blog is based upon a current engagement by ZFactor Author, Cindy Goldsberry, who is in collaboration with Zilliant, who provides companies with data-driven guidance, enabling smarter pricing and sales decisions to help businesses increase profitable sales. Read Cindy's blog for more information. Learn how Zilliant is definitely a Value Creator for their clients. In fact, they can measure how much more financial financial they provide to their clients.

Other Important Links:

Instant Change (Friends of Peter)

Lifetime Earnings Calculator

4 Most Common Behaviors Of Ineffective Leaders

For a servant leader this INC article is good reading to do a checkup and refinement. For an ineffective leader who masquerades, as an effective leader, this should be a wake-up call.

Authentic servant leaders will take a moment to think through these behaviors while the ineffective leader probably isn't reading the article in the first place.

In this article by Les McKeown, his experience with ineffective CEOs reveals these behaviors:

1. The weaker the leader, the more they know.
2. The busier the leader, they don't spend quality time thinking strategically.
3. Their general perception of others is negative.
4. The weak leader is either in the room and dominating the conversation or they aren't in the room.

What I enjoy about articles like this is it appears in a publication that has many readers who are not in the leadership role. For them, it gives them a way to measure whether they are working with an ineffective or effective leader. 

That is important for continually learning servant leaders because it confirms that not only are you being watched, followers are learning how to measure your leadership.

Think about it.

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

Entrepreneurial Leaders Do What Matters

"Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can." ~ John Wesley

These are times of rapid change, uncertainty and opportunity that call forth leaders with a deep desire to make a difference and leave a lasting legacy in business, community, church and government. People want to be part of something that matters. Yet, the challenges of getting others willing to confront the issues at hand and execute workable solutions require leaders who have the adaptive capacity to get others on the same page and moving in the same direction, at the same time. Leaders must have a deep understanding of what it takes to be highly effective and influential leaders. 

Leadership is no longer about declaring the vision or direction and then looking to see who is following and then focus on those who follow. This is a time for leaders to embrace the heart of a servant and spirit of the warrior. Authentic servant leaders observe all that exists around them and apply what they learn to develop a deep understanding of the art and science of leadership. Each must put forth the required time and effort to make themselves authentic servant leaders with a clear focus on others and set the course for things to come. Great leaders throughout history maintain a sense of providence as to who they are, where they are and what they are called to do. The opportunity, like no other time in history, is the possibility to create a world great leaders throughout history have desired to make reality.

Those who choose to pursue this leadership opportunity quickly realize the process to become an authentic servant leader involves reconciling immense personal and professional challenges. Change becomes a way of life. Leadership is a self-development process that requires daily attention as society requires leaders to have a servant-focus, be of solid character and maintain high standards in leadership practices and principles. Leaders are expected to continually learn and with a trusted mentor become a highly capable leader who knows themselves, cares about people and has a deep understanding of the business or organization they steward. 

For those leaders who answer this call into servant leadership, the Servant Leader Framework serves as a highly effective methodology for thinking and processing through all the situations, possibilities, challenges, changes and complexities of leadership.

This xy graph or ZMap becomes a ‘one page book’ for those who desire to know and understand who they are as an entrepreneur and servant leader. This simple xy graph provides clarity and focus on what to do to get to where you want to be. The challenge for entrepreneurs is reconciling their desires for success with doing good to make a difference. For those entrepreneurs who can stay focused on both success and doing good at the same time will know what it means to go from success to significance. It is possible to have it all. Just look at all the entrepreneurial leaders who have proven this is true. This is one of the ZMaps in my upcoming book The Servant Leader Framework.

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

Glowing Embers - A Little Idea Sets Off a Roaring Fire

I love to play with a good campfire. I love everything about getting the campfire started - that's probably why I've done so many start-ups and love working with folks making something new happen.

I've got some great stories about building campfires in all sorts of weather conditions, but the absolute best memories are all the friendships made and deepened around a good campfire. I'm an Eagle Scout, my two sons are Eagles, as is an older brother and many other friends - all Eagle Scouts. So, between Scouts and all the other camping trips I've done as an adult, I've built a fair number of campfires. And, will be doing that this weekend as we head out for a campout with good friends. Some gourmet cooking, great wine and a good campfire to get warm and cozy.

A well built campfire starts with good dry bits of kindling. I've seen many novices take a little paper, add some big pieces of wood on top and set a match to the paper. When the paper quickly burns out they look for more paper or lighter fluid and give it another go. The best method is to start tiny, then a couple of small twigs and then little bit bigger twigs. As a flame gets going, add a bit bigger twigs and then some small sticks - until you hear the snap and crackle of the sticks. You've now got a fire to begin building. Just like anything else, you always have to start small, first.

There's something magical about a good campfire. People are drawn into the campfire, especially as it burns down to the glowing embers. My wife loves to imagine herself being small and walking through an ember forest. A good campfire left undisturbed overnight, will be ready to fire up in the morning. Initially the embers are covered with a light gray ash, yet with a little kindling and a few puffs on the glowing embers, a bit of smoke appears and then a flame. I love to watch small children and even some older adults as they see a new fire be born, with just a little bit of effort.

So, it goes with Glowing Embers. They may be covered with a little ash, but give them a kindling of an idea and a little bit of breeze and they can burst into a raging campfire, once again. Get those fires a'ragin'.

God Bless,

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing

Glowing Embers Refreshed

Updating this blog post for folks in APE: Authors, Publishers, Entrepreneurs Community. I highly recommend you check it out if you have not joined the community and you are an aspiring or accomplished author.

I have noted several postings in the community about having a book in me or I know I want to write a book, someday. Maybe this will give you a little perspective and inspiration to get 'er done.

A Glowing Ember defines people who have genuinely lived with "fire in the belly" and have sustainable success to prove it. Their stories of success inspire others yet the challenges they have overcome astound and leave you in a sense of awe and wonder for how they did it. They have lived through those times when their "fire in the belly" consumed all of them - body, mind, heart, and soul. Many have endured a crucible life event, some medical, others physical and mental. In the midst of this time of "personal quest" or "crucible" they expanded their capacity and capabilities for doing good while pursuing their dreams and passions. And now, many of these once "fire in the bellies" driven to accomplish big goals have become glowing embers covered by a fine dust of ash. Whether by their choosing or a society slowly learning to honor and respect this vast wisdom, knowledge and expertise available for achieving greatness, only imagined. Herein lays a vast untapped human and spiritual potential never seen before and ready to become a roaring fire again.

A light breeze blowing across these glowing embers can ignite forest fires of possibilities for doing good, contributing to and serving others. The release of this potential has been longed for by all of humanity and imagined as possible throughout all history. It is no longer the dreams of prophets and writings of the philosophers. These possibilities for doing good for others have become the reality within every neighborhood, workplace, place of worship,  and school across the entire planet. Many of these Glowing Embers are fully engaged in this fast paced techno-mobile world and glowing ever brighter - attracting the attention of authentic leaders. Others may need an authentic leader to recognize them and be that light breeze of encouragement to bring forth their untapped potential.

Throughout all history, Glowing Embers are the mark of an aging and maturing population. The distinction today is the vast numbers of Glowing Embers who are healthy and highly capable with the wisdom and capacity to imagine the possibilities and take the necessary actions to make it happen. They envision and embody a sense of servant-hood, mentoring, and servant-leadership. All the traits, behaviors and characteristics truly recognized as essential for creating value. They expect to continue to be actively using knowledge, skills, and expertise they have acquired over a lifetime and they are continually learning. It is who they are, where they are, what they do and have always been.

This xy graph (ZMap) presents how a Glowing Ember is positioned for mastery to mentor others and be builders of other leaders and communities as they refine their skills to now apply their highly developed capabilities and match that with an expansive capacity for managing change and dealing with the uncertainties of life and organization.


Glowing Embers have achieved success, most often unnoticed and without acknowledgement as to the impact and results they produced for their organizations. They do what they do, not driven by the need for fame and fortune, but because it is who they are. They are Value Creators. They have developed and refined essential skills and behaviors with intensity and focus on excellence. Most of all they care deeply about making a difference in every situation they find themselves. They embody the core values of the organization without compromise to their personal values and consistently exceed expectations.

Glowing Embers desire to be part of making big things happen that make a difference for others, their neighborhoods, communities, and the planet. Take a moment to consider who the Glowing Embers are near you. You may be one yourself.

This topic will be explored more deeply in upcoming blog posts and XY Glowing Embers will be recognized and acknowledged in order to more clearly distinguish who they are and what they are doing today to make a difference. If you have any suggestions or want to share your Glowing Ember story, please feel welcome to provide your comments.

Are you a Glowing Ember? Interested in discussing a collaboration with ZFactor Group Publishing to publish a book related to your area of business expertise? Click here for more info on the ZFactor Group website.

~ Alan Goldsberry, Author and CEO of ZFactor Group Publishing