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Nancy J. Lewis, MS, SHRM-CP, PHR, RCC  Leadership is a skill that we all have to demonstrate at some point in our lives and careers. The key factor is do you model leadership traits others want to follow. Leadership is about walking in integrity because the example teaches. So you have to walk the walk and talk the talk. Below are three critical skills I feel leaders in the changing world of work must exemplify to be successful and have others "want" to follow them.
1) Be willing to do whatever you expect your team to do. If a job needs to be done and you are there, jump in and lend a helping hand. Don't let your title of leader go to your head where you forget the basics of creating a great team. This means letting go of your pride and be willing to humble yourself and do whatever is necessary to build a winning team. Don't tell people how much you value them, show them. 2) Communicate and talk to your team not just when you are giving them a project or providing constructive feedback. A philosophy that was great in the 80's and 90's was Management By Walking Around (MBWA) and we need to get back to it and make it a part of our daily routine. Managers need to be visible and stop hiding in their cubicles and offices and get out and start talking to their team to see how they are doing, what they need to be successful and offering feedback as necessary. Communicating to your team that you care about them as employees will go a long way in creating a dynamic team. Communication can be done in a myriad of ways and today, we must find the best way to connect with our team, but talking to people face-to-face is still a key skill everyone needs to have. 3) Celebrate differences and find ways to utilize the strengths and talents of your entire team. Recognize that different doesn't mean deficient; it simply means different. Be mindful of how you relate and connect with others as it relates to your biases whether conscious or unconscious. That is an entire blog by itself. Challenge yourself to spend time with people who are different from you and ask about their story and then listen to it. You just might learn something. People are willing and happy to share when they feel you genuinely want to know. The key message in this is to be authentic and true in your willingness to find out about others who are from diverse backgrounds. Determine to move from tolerating differences to celebrating them.
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By Debra W. Gould, MS  As a leader, do you realize that every action you take and every interaction you have leaves a lasting impact on others? You can have the best of intentions, but if your impact isn't aligned with the intention, then your leadership may not be as effective as it could be. Why? Because in the end, what matters is not who you think you are, but the experience that other people have with you. Your impact leaves a lasting mark and this blog we share these steps to ensure you have a positive impact.
1. Detail the kind of impact you want to have. Most leaders have never detailed their personal creed, but doing so can be incredibly powerful. Therefore, get clear about who you think you are. Who are you and what do you stand for? What do you value? What is your personal creed or stance in the roles that are most important to you in your life? How do you want to be known in your company and industry? Once you have those questions answered, ask the most important question of all: "How do the things I just detailed show up when I'm frustrated or when things aren't going well? Who am I then?" It's easy to be all of those lovely things when everything is going well. But what about when things aren't going well? How do you want to show up during the hard times? How do you want to be known when things are tough? How do you want people to experience you in the midst of adversity? Most leaders lose credibility when things are bad because they haven't thought about who they are in those situations and the kind of impact they'll have. 2. Change your impact, not yourself. If the results of the feedback you receive don't align with your personal perceptions about yourself, it's time to make some changes-not to you, but to your impact. As long as the new approach you try supports your values and what you deem as important, then you're acting with integrity and in alignment with your goals. In closing, find out how others view your impact. An example of a direct approach is talking with someone you trust face-to-face and asking specific questions so you can get key insights. Debra W. Gould, MS is the president of Debra Gould & Associates, Inc. based in New Orleans and provides management consulting and training services to commercial and government clients. Debra is one of the founders of The Ebony Speakers and co-author of the book, Real Women, Real Issues - Positive Collaborations For Business Success. Debra can be reached at: (504) 244-6576 email: djgould@gouldassoc.com and website: www:gouldassoc.com  By Debra W. Gould, MS It appears that more women than ever are stepping up to positions of leadership, but the path are still not as clear and unobstructed as one might hope. Alison Levine, who served on the faculty at the United States Military Academy at West Point, had a career on Wall Street and was team captain of the first American Women's Everest Expedition, said it's crucial to find the people, both men and women, who will help you gain access.
We share these tips for being (or supporting) a successful woman in leadership. Heroism is a trait that is rarely associated with being female, but the acknowledgement that women leaders often behave heroically could move us closer to recognizing that women are natural leaders. If it sounds like we're making a connection between heroism and leadership-you're right. In a survey of people's beliefs about heroes and what heroism represents, eight traits were identified as predominant: smart, strong, resilient, selfless, caring, charismatic, reliable and inspiring. Interestingly, when women executives were asked what qualities were present in women who have risen to the highest ranks in their organizations, many qualities echoed those heroic traits. They listed confidence, grace, diplomacy, tact, insight, listening with good eye contact, moral integrity, global intelligence, warmth, compassion, understanding, transparency, authenticity, passion for their work, competence, good communication skills, self-assurance, being welcoming, and seekers of the best outcome for all parties. Women are entering the ranks of leadership in increasing numbers and are demonstrating that those qualities attributed to the female gender actually enhance productivity. If you are a woman who has gained access to a leadership position, hold on to those qualities that are the secret to your success. Here are a few more tips: •Keep your eyes open for other talented people who may need a foot in the door. They may become an asset in your organization. •Motivate others by showing personal appreciation and approval rather than neglect or disapproval. •Continue to be sensitive to other people's feelings and be willing to provide interpersonal support. This can be as simple as a sympathetic look or a message of support. •Communicate with staff so they know you are aware of the stress they are experiencing on the job. •Clarify your ultimate goals and allow people on the day-to-day operational level the autonomy to work within those goals without micromanaging them. •Monitor your staff as to their assignments and abilities. Match job assignments with workers allowing them to work at the top of their competency. All of these qualities are attributes with which women leaders have excelled. You will find your supporters and your place. ============= Debra W. Gould, MS is the president of Debra Gould & Associates, Inc. based in New Orleans and provides management consulting and training services to commercial and government clients. Debra is one of the founders of The Ebony Speakers and co-author of the book, Real Women, Real Issues - Positive Collaborations For Business Success. Debra can be reached at: (504) 244-6576 email: djgould@gouldassoc.com and website: www:gouldassoc.com  by Nancy J. Lewis, MS, PHR, SHRM-CP, RCC In the world of work today, it is essential that managers learn the art of leadership skills. You may have the title of manager, but that does not make you a leader. Leadership is about people following you whether you have a title or not and a key factor for this is how you make people feel.
The following leadership essentials can help you navigate in the changing and diverse world of work. 1) Spend time getting to know the people that support you. It is important to walk around and talk to them on a regular basis, not just when you are assigning them a task or going over their performance development plan. It is important to recognize that for employees to be more engaged in the workplace that you value them and get to know them as a person who has a life beyond the workplace. I am not asking that you get to know everything about them or vice versa, but find a happy medium where you know some general things about the people who support you. Remember people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. 2) Communicate with those who support you. In an age where we have so many forms of communication, it is vital to know which method is most effective with your work group and use that when you can. Nothing replaces human interaction where you communicate face-to-face. The important thing is to leverage the different ways we communicate and make sure we keep our employees in the loop of organizational and departmental changes. 3) Address behaviors and attitudes that don't line up with your organizational culture immediately. It does not serve you well to ignore dysfunctional behavior or attitudes that you think will go away. They will not and will grow and create more challenges for you with your team and lead to a toxic environment. It is vital that you approach these concerns with tact and diplomacy sharing specific actions where you have observed these behaviors taking place. Be willing to take the necessary actions required in addressing these concerns. These are three practical strategies that can help you as you move forward in leading your employees. Happy Leading!! By Debra W. Gould, MS  Debra (in red jacket) surrounded by students from Xavier University in New Orleans. We all know one--a person who is an innovative thinker, a "household name." That person has transformed into an expert or "thought leader." Today, we share six tips to help you through the journey of transforming to a thought leader.
1. Help people understand how you see the world. 2. Let them know to what you're paying attention. 3. Give shout outs to people who inspire and inform your thinking. 4. Try to frame the bigger conversation for your field or industry. 5. Listen to what's being said. Avoid debate over trivial stuff. 6. Focus on what's being overlooked but truly matters. When it comes to your community, you become a leader when you take care of those around you. Demonstrate your commitment to collective well-being, and people will naturally turn to you for guidance. Be earnest in your approach and you'll naturally become a leader in your field. Being recognized and appreciated for your efforts is an obvious by-product. People like to spread and share great things. Take care Debra W. Gould, MS is the president of Debra Gould & Associates, Inc. based in New Orleans and provides management consulting and training services to commercial and government clients. Debra is one of the founders of The Ebony Speakers and co-author of the book, Real Women, Real Issues - Positive Collaborations For Business Success. Debra can be reached at: (504) 244-6576, email: djgould@gouldassoc.com and website: www.gouldassoc.com 
 By Nancy J. Lewis, MS, PHR, RCC
In the complex world of change, chaos, and uncertainty, we must examine the attitude we embrace. One quick way to assess an attitude of another person is to ask yourself how you feel when they leave your presence? Do you feel inspired and charged up ready to take on the world or you do feel like the life has been zapped out of you? Ask yourself, how do people feel when they leave your presence? Each and everyday you must decide the attitude you will embrace. You maybe faced with challenges and difficult people, but it is still a personal decision as to how you allow the attitude of others to influence your attitude. Consider the following seven strategies for improving your attitude. 1. Surround yourself with positive people. Look at those people that are a part of your network and examine the weather (attitude) that they carry. If gloom and doom is all they bring to you consistently, give them a reality check and make them aware of what they are doing. So often people who are consistently negative are not aware of their negative energy. If they are non-responsive, you may have to minimize the time you interact with them. People who fail to change often become toxic and if you stick close to them that toxicity may rub off on you. Seek out those people who recognize the challenges of the day but continue to face them with a positive attitude. Strive to align yourself with people with energy, excitement for life and a positive outlook on the circumstances they face. 2. Read and listen to motivational and inspirational books and tapes. This is a great way to keep yourself inspired and focused on the possibilities of life. When you wake up in the morning, instead of turning on the television, spend those first minutes reading inspirational, biblical, or motivational books. If you drive to work, put in a CD or tape. If you ride the train or bus, read books or invest in a personal CD player and fill your mind with positive thoughts. You have no excuses because you can go to your local library and get books and tapes. Information on anything you want is on the Internet. You simply must have a desire to find ways to maintain a positive attitude. 3. Count your blessings. Recognize that no matter how things maybe, see the blessing in the midst of the chaos and confusion. As you reflect on the blessing that will help you get things in perspective and help you see the glass half full versus half empty. 4. Smile. Be mindful of your countenance and body language. What messages do you send to people when they interact with you? A smile says to others that you are approachable and it costs nothing. 5. Take time to appreciate the simple things in life. Take a walk in the park and don’t just rush by the roses, instead take time to enjoy and smell them. Take time to watch a sunset and remember who to thank. Spend time with those less fortunate and seek opportunities to give words of encouragement to those who pass your way. 6. Believe in yourself. Recognize that you are special and unique. There is no one else quite like you. So let your positive attitude shine. Walk and talk with confidence and know that you have something special to contribute to the world. 7. Live each day to the fullest. Quit putting off some of the things you want to do in life and go for the gusto now. Learn to maximize the minutes of each day. Practice these strategies to help you maintain a winning attitude; an attitude others want to catch! ================= Your Comments Are Welcome.  L to R: Debra Gould, Nancy Lewis, Michelle Porchia, Carole Copeland Thomas By Debra Gould, MS Ebony Speakers first successful creation was a book project entitled “Real Women, Real Issues: Positive Collaborations for Business Success” is a unique collaboration between four dynamic women coming together from many years of varied experience and from their mastermind group experience. Out of that experience came the concept of communicating with other women on the importance of maintaining quality personal, professional and business relationships with other people who promote positive living. Ebony Speakers is excited to announce that our second project was a recent webinar on Wednesday, June 18, 2014. It was just another example of the next level of connecting our audience to the powerful message of real women working in collaborations. During one of our unique mastermind sessions we all determined that it was time to launch a webinar. We are blessed to have a technology savvy business woman like Carole Copeland Thomas to lead the way to address the program logistics to host this webinar series. Nancy J. Lewis agreed to take on the online registering process and it was onward to create the webinar entitled Savvy Sisters: Share Strategies for Everyday Life. The day of the webinar Carole Copeland Thomas welcomed our guests to sharpen up their skills while moving forward in life. This important webinar will covered these topics. Your Personal SWOT Assessment by Debra W. Gould Taking Charge of Your Career by Nancy J. Lewis Using INNOVATION to Get Things DONE by Michelle Porchia Reinvent Yourself & Stay Relevant in Technology by Carole Copeland Thomas Here are a few highlights of what we shared with our listening audience on June 18. Debra's conversation on how can I use the SWOT Assessment to validate my strengths and opportunity to attack the guilty feelings every time I decide to take time for myself. Nancy's conversation was discussed the difference between whining and winning and addressed the tough questions regarding taking charge of your own career. Michelle's conversation discussed technology, tools, your game plan, and work boundaries. Carole's conversation was on the rapidly changing world, connections, collaborations, and effectively using social media including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LInkedIn. We realize seating was limited for this online registration at only $29.00 per person. If you missed out on June 18th due to meetings, business travel or whatever let me suggest a way to get you plugged into this informational, educational, motivational and inspirational webinar. Ebony Speakers still want to invite you to attend our exciting “special one hour” webinar held on June 18, 2014. Here's how it will work: First, register and purchase the webinar. Then...
1. Go to www.ebonyspeakers.com 2. On the top menu bar drop down the Savvy Speakers box found underneath the Webinar Series Box. 3. Our Savvy Sisters Webinar is a Password Protected webpage on our website. 4. You can also download the slides on this page All I can say is WELCOME and get ready to explore your ability to excel, enjoy the webinar and thank you to our guests. Lastly, we are in the process of scheduling future webinars by Ebony Speakers. From years of experience in training, human resources and corporate consulting Debra W. Gould, Nancy J. Lewis, Michelle Porchia and Carole Copeland Thomas have crafted a power-packed business guide for women and men of all ages and ethnicities. We hope you'll join us for future webinar discussions! Topics in the webinar toolkit include: •Global Diversity •Career Transition •Networking •Relationship Economics •Starting and Running A Business •Working Through Difficulties and Challenges ================================== Debra W. Gould, MS is the president of Debra Gould & Associates, Inc. based in New Orleans and provides management consulting and training services to commercial and government clients. Debra is one of the founders of The Ebony Speakers and co-author of the book, Real Women, Real Issues - Positive Collaborations For Business Success. Debra can be reached at: (504) 244-6576, email: djgould@gouldassoc.com and website: www:gouldassoc.com  Nancy J. Lewis, MS, PHR, RCC
In today’s world of business, it requires you redefining your process, redesigning your process, retooling and reframing how you do business. It is no longer business as usual, but rather business as unusual. So get over the way things have always been done and don’t think outside the box; throw the box away. One thing is certain, you must understand the VIP effect to propel your business or career forward in these challenging times. So here are my pointers on the VIP effect. V-Visibility is key. You must may sure people know who you are and what you do. A friend once told me the first rule of networking is you must show up; but once you show up what happens next. You must learn the art of connecting. Find ways to get your name or company name in the spotlight. It might be in newspaper articles, blogging, volunteering, etc. just get visible in ways that work for you. I-Image is key. What kind of image do you radiate to others and does it represent the authentic you? You must make sure you are true to yourself and the image you project to others. How you dress, talk, act are apart of your image. P-Performance is essential. Once you are visible and have the right image, you must be able to perform the job in the spirit of excellence. No excuses will do as you must autograph your work with excellence. Perform so people will tell others about how great you are. Go for it and create a winning VIP!! Your Comments Are Welcome! How AME India Was Founded by Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA, CDMP   Left: Dr. Karla Cooper Right Rev. Sarah, Rev. Abraham, Beverly & Issac Piddiny by Carole Copeland Thomas, MBA, CDMP
The adventure of traveling to India as an exchange student would have been enough excitement for most seminary students. However, for (now) Rev. Karla Cooper it became a door-opener to a much larger launch into AME history. The African Methodist Episcopal Church (www.ame-church.com) founded in 1787 by freed slaves, has always been a global outreach denomination. With churches in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Central/South America, Europe and Africa its membership of 2.5 million represents one of the oldest historically Black denominations in the United States. Asia, however, was always a distant outpost with few opportunities to save souls in that region of the world until 2003 when the door opened even wider for this mainstream church organization. That was the year seminary exchange student Karla Cooper met and formed a friendship with another student at Gurukul Theological Seminary in Chennai: Indian born Rev. Minnie Sarah (Peddiny). Rev. Cooper shared church history with Rev. Sarah and told of the visionary leadership of the church’s co-founder, ex-slave and first elected and consecrated bishop Richard Allen. It was a match made in Heaven. At that time Rev. Sarah and her husband, Rev. Abraham Peddiny, were shepherding a dozen or more independent “family churches” in India, especially Southern India. Many of the members were Dalits, one of the lowest categories in India’s long history of the caste system. Many were also dark skinned Indians, making it difficult to advance the socio-economic ladder in an ancient and complex social system. When the Richard Allen story was shared with Rev. Sarah, her husband and others, the similarities were too remarkable to ignore. Slaves purchasing their freedom to become entrepreneurs, business leaders, abolitionists and church leaders in an independent Christian denomination. Marginalized dark skinned Indians looking for respect and dignity in a nation that systematically overlooked their humanity. From 2003-2007 the idea was floated to invite the Indian churches into the fold of the AME Church. By 2008 when the AME General Conference was held, the church voted to accept the 20 Indian churches into the AME Church. Originally a part of the Fifth Episcopal District “AME India” was shifted to the Fourth Episcopal District at the 2012 General Conference under the guidance of their original executive sponsors and advocates Bishop John and Rev. Cecilia Bryant. Rev Sarah and her husband were to become the AME Church’s first Presiding Elder couple. In less than seven years AME-India has grown from 20 to 105 churches located across India. Their commitment to Christ is unwavering and their devotion to their brothers and sisters throughout the denomination is unquestionable. AME India is one of the fastest growing regions in the entire denomination. The combined cultures, traditions and vision form one of the most unique collaborations in modern church history. Gratitude is paid to two classmates from different parts of the world who were nurtured and supported by a Bishop and his wife who valued and respected the global outreach of the teachings of Jesus Christ. In May 2014 a group of 40 AMEs from US, Canada and South Africa attended the Fifth Anniversary of AME India. The week long trip included the Annual Conference attended by more than 200 members of AME India from around the country, a visit to one of the AME India churches and a mission visit to an orphanage in Channai, Tamilnadu. This all took place during the conclusion of the India national elections, the largest democratically held election in world history. I will have complete photos and details from the 2014 AME-India Annual Conference in the coming days at www.tellcarole.com. 
By Debra W. Gould, MS
When you communicate, are you communicating with love, care, and service? Watch out for the language you use that speaks to your life. The language you speak to yourself determines your attitude. Here are a few practical tips: - Make your words "speak power" as a means of communication that will determine the action you take for your relationship. - Avoid words like "I wish" because it means surrender. Do say, "I will" because it means you are determined. - Your attitude determine your energy level =============== Debra W. Gould, MS is the president of Debra Gould & Associates, Inc. based in New Orleans and provides management consulting and training services to commercial and government clients. Debra is one of the founders of The Ebony Speakers and co-author of the book, Real Women, Real Issues - Positive Collaborations For Business Success. Debra can be reached at: (504) 244-6576, email: djgould@gouldassoc.com and website: www:gouldassoc.com |
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