Why Polite People Prosper

Being polite, all the time, will make it easier to achieve your goals in life. People are more inclined to want to help someone they like and respect and who likewise shows them the same respect. "Politeness" cannot be something you turn on and off in the right situations. For example, you cannot be kind to your boss yet disrespectful to direct reports. You will only come across and insincere and be disrespected by others for this opportunistic behavior. When you are polite all the time, you will likely be more popular than those who are not polite. In this world of social networking, being popular and well liked can make a big difference in the opportunities that are presented to you. Further, your reputation is the only thing that precedes you and will be remembered when you leave. A reputation as a considerate person can only serve you well. So proactice politeness. In stores, thank the stock person. At work, ask your secretary if you can get lunch for her one day. At home, make a special breakfast for the family. Once well practiced, politeness will easily follow you everywhere.

Why Good Table Manners Show Respect for Others

Simply, etiquette means treating others the same way you want to be treated. But learning etiquette rules can mean much more than this. Proper etiquette helps us identify with important emotions like empathy, sympathy, and compassion. When we are polite to others, we acknowledge that they are important and have the same feelings as we do. With this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why certain conventions of etiquette really help us identify with these emotions. Table Manners Being polite at the table is important no matter where you are. Poor table manners tell others you don't care about their feelings. Further, they can embarrass friends and family. When you share meals with someone you want to impress, whether girlfriend, boyfriend, employer, or client, these are a few tips to get you through: 1) Chew with your mouth closed in a closed and quiet way. Smacking of others is an appetite suppressant for those that have to hear it. 2) If you need to blow your nose or burp, get up from the table to do it. 3) Wait until everyone at the table is seated and has their plates before you start eating your meal. In past centures, the most important person was served first. By waiting, you are showing the rest of the group you respect them as equals. 4) Ask for food to be passed, do not reach across others to grab it. Reaching across shows you do not value the space of others and that your needs are more important than theirs. Further, you reach over their food and can get hair or dirt in their food.

Hold That Door!

Simply, etiquette means treating others the same way you want to be treated. But learning etiquette rules can mean much more than this. Proper etiquette helps us identify with important emotions like empathy, sympathy, and compassion. When we are polite to others, we acknowledge that they are important and have the same feelings as we do. With this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why certain conventions of etiquette really help us identify with these emotions. Holding the Door When you are going through a door, especially in a public place, look behind you to see if someone is about to go through the door immediately after you. If so, once you are through the door, step aside and hold the door open for the person behind you. It does not matter if it is a male or a female. It is just a nice thing to do for anyone. If you are entering a door then you'll hold it and let those behind you go through first. The kindness shown takes only a few second of time and makes others feel good. Holding doors for others reminds us that it's important to care for one another. It's an acknowledgement that we are all in this together.

Looking People in the Eye

Simply, etiquette means treating others the same way you want to be treated. But learning etiquette rules can mean much more than this. Proper etiquette helps us identify with important emotions like empathy, sympathy, and compassion. When we are polite to others, we acknowledge that they are important and have the same feelings as we do. With this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why certain conventions of etiquette really help us identify with these emotions. Looking People In The Eye Eyes are known as the window to the soul. Emotions are often easy to read if you can see someone's eyes. When someone speaks to you it is a matter of respect to answer and look at her in the eye. If you shift your gaze to the ground or the side, you give the impression you are deceptive or can't be trusted. While this perception may not be fair, you can practice looking people in the eye. When you go to the grocery store and are checking out with a clerk, look him in the eye when you give your credit card or cash. Consciously look friends in the eye when you are speaking with them. You can learn this habit and it will make you seem more sincere when you meet new people.

Why We Don't Interrupt

Simply, etiquette means treating others the same way you want to be treated. But learning etiquette rules can mean much more than this. Proper etiquette helps us identify with important emotions like empathy, sympathy, and compassion. When we are polite to others, we acknowledge that they are important and have the same feelings as we do. With this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why certain conventions of etiquette really help us identify with these emotions. DON'T INTERRUPT hen you interrupt someone, you are implying that you are more important than the other person. You also suggest your thoughts are more valuable than others. Waiting until the other person has finished talking let's him know you respect and value him. If something is so urgent that you must interject (There is an emergency!), then touch the person you wish to speak with and say excuse me, wait for acknowledgement, and then proceed. When you do this, you ask permission to break into the conversation and still honor the person speaking.

Using Emotional Intelligence

You must use emotional intelligence to get the best out of people. To get someone's best, you must motivate them. Motivation comes in many forms, such as recognition, responsibility and achievement. Knowing how to motivate effectively requires you to use emotional intelligence, an ability to manage yourself and relationships through self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and social skill. Through self-awareness, you can accurately evaluate your own strengths and limitations and understand your own emotions. Effective self-management allows you the ability to manage yourself and your responsibilities so that you are trusted by others. Social awareness enables you to understand others perspectives and meet the needs of an organization’s constituents. Finally, social skill empowers you to influence and develop others in alignment with the vision of the organization. You can use emotional intelligence to determine which leadership styles will work to achieve an organization’s goals and best motivate your employees. One example - Your report at work does great work, never complains, and is always reliable. Using emotional intelligence, a manager may know what motivates this worker - is it desire for more money, desire for public recognition, is it a mere thank you? Knowing those that work with you and finding the right motivation will continue to keep your organization progressing!

Power of Please and Thank You

Simply, etiquette means treating others the same way you want to be treated. But learning etiquette rules can mean much more than this. Proper etiquette helps us identify with important emotions like empathy, sympathy, and compassion. When we are polite to others, we acknowledge that they are important and have the same feelings as we do. With this in mind, we will discuss the reasons why certain conventions of etiquette really help us identify with these emotions. PLEASE AND THANK YOU When you say "please", you acknowledge you are asking someone for something that you are not necessarily entitled to. It signals respcet and conveys you idnefity that person as at least an equal, rather than implying that he is a servant and required to do what you ask. In the same way, once the request is honored and fulfilled, saying thank you or writing a thank you note implies gratitude for the act. "Thank you" is derived from the word "think." You are basically saying "I will remember what you have done". So it important that adults show children these conventions. They will go a long way to help remove from us any sense of entitlement that rarely serves anyone well.

Team Building (continued)

A good leader will not inject himself and his specific desires into every team he creates. By the time of most team’s first assembly, often a leader already has made numerous decisions about the work the team will conduct, the resources it will have at its disposal, and the people who will comprise the team. A good leader will give his guidance at the outset of the team building process but will allow the team its own gestation period to do its goal setting and determination about the work and resources it needs. Knowing when to step in and assist a team at the right times will be in the skillset of a great leader. When an organization has well-formed teams there is individual team member satisfaction and growth, as well as collective goal achievement. Successful teams lead to successful leaders when they can accomplish the strategy and vision they have outlined for an organization through those teams.

Team Building (continued)

When working in teams, a good leader must allow for team processing of the problem to be resolved. Processes allow a team time for decision making, communication, participation, and interpersonal team management. Time for a team to bond and establish its structure and norms will allow for effective team processing. When the inputs of a team are well planned and the team has time for all necessary processes, a cohesive, functional team results. If this time is not allowed, people will feel isolated and unappreciated and the team will have no cohesion.

Team Building at Work

Everyone is part of a team, whether at work, at home, or in community. Teams can help tackle difficult problems so that they seem easy with each member’s input. Or, teams can take a simple task and turn it into an overthought nightmare of redundancies and bureaucracy. This is why team building and team member positioning is such a critical portion of successful leadership. Great leaders must take care when putting together a team. Before the first team member is assembled, a leader must consider the team inputs such as team size, team members, team goals, available resources, and team leadership. One particularly important input consideration is the team members. Team members should be those who have the skills to achieve the goals set before them and should include both leaders and followers who can work together in a team setting. Further, a leader should design team tasks that are complex and interdependent so that each team member’s input is needed to complete the task.

Create a Successful Business in 2014 - Structure

Any successful organization requires a clearly articulated vision, strategy, and structure. An organization without these is like a house with no walls - purposeless. A leader has the unique position to determine the vision and implement the strategies and structures so that organizations are primed for optimal performance. A vision is “a description of a desired end state.” Leaders should have a vision that is tangible and desirable such that it has concrete attributes that appeal to employees and other stakeholders. A vision should also be feasible, flexible, focused, and simple. That is, the vision is attainable and easy to grasp. If the vision follows these requirements, it will be able to motivate an organization toward the desired result. To implement the vision, leaders then put in place the strategy. To do so successfully, a leader must understand the organization and its needs. Further, leaders must enlist a team of people that can help implement the strategy. Effective leaders of organizations will pay attention to staffing as employees are the mechanism through which any vision will be achieved. Leaders also implement an organization’s structures, the formal systems of task and authority relations that control what people do and how they do it within an organization. Structures provide the framework for execution and must be aligned with the organization’s vision and strategy. Leaders fail when they are unable to fully execute their vision. Leadership does not end at creating the vision and strategy for an organization. Leaders will be judged on their execution through the structures they put in place.

Create a Successful Business in 2014 - Strategy

Any successful organization requires a clearly articulated vision, strategy, and structure. An organization without these is like a house with no walls - purposeless. A leader has the unique position to determine the vision and implement the strategies and structures so that organizations are primed for optimal performance. A vision is “a description of a desired end state.” Leaders should have a vision that is tangible and desirable such that it has concrete attributes that appeal to employees and other stakeholders. A vision should also be feasible, flexible, focused, and simple. That is, the vision is attainable and easy to grasp. If the vision follows these requirements, it will be able to motivate an organization toward the desired result. To implement the vision, leaders then put in place the strategy. To do so successfully, a leader must understand the organization and its needs. Further, leaders must enlist a team of people that can help implement the strategy. Effective leaders of organizations will pay attention to staffing as employees are the mechanism through which any vision will be achieved.

Create a Successful Business in 2014 - Vision

Any successful organization requires a clearly articulated vision, strategy, and structure. An organization without these is like a house with no walls - purposeless. A leader has the unique position to determine the vision and implement the strategies and structures so that organizations are primed for optimal performance. A vision is “a description of a desired end state.” Leaders should have a vision that is tangible and desirable such that it has concrete attributes that appeal to employees and other stakeholders. A vision should also be feasible, flexible, focused, and simple. That is, the vision is attainable and easy to grasp. If the vision follows these requirements, it will be able to motivate an organization toward the desired result.

Becoming a Great Leader - The Foundation (continued)

A final piece of a great leader’s foundation is their experience. Great leaders will take the hard tasks on with vigor. When a leader masters the hard tasks, he alone is uniquely qualified to take on those harder challenges that inevitably occur in every organization. Follow through on hard tasks allows a leader to gain practical experience in an organization, to learn from their mistakes and to know how to build successes in the future. By taking on these difficult tasks, the leader is respected for his courage and easily followed once he has found success. I encourage you all to look for the hard projects in 2014. Cutting your teeth on those projects will be a great step stone toward being a great leader.

Becoming a Great Leader - The Foundation (continued)

One must have the mentorship and encouragement to become a great leader. Mentors help steer young leaders in their formative years. Good mentors help guide leaders when they have missed the mark. They can give leaders the feedback needed when the road to leadership is tenuous. Finally, mentorship provides encouragement needed for success. Negative feedback can often stymie someone in their path toward becoming a great leader. Positive encouragement can help young leaders find the purpose and will to continue on their leadership path. I encourage you all to be mentors to others and find mentors for yourself. Look for people you admire - not because of how much money they have, but because of how they are respected in the workplace. Respect by all is a sure sign you have latched on to a good mentor.

Becoming a Great Leader - The Foundation

The foundation of a strong leader begins with a leader’s core values. A great leader must at all times and all costs do what is right. The leader must have a strong sense of right. That strong sense will trickle down through people and actions of organizations, and, as such, must be at the core of a strong leader. A great leader must not be motivated by personal gain at the expense of organizational good. Modesty in a leader will allow the leader to be solely concerned with the organization’s success rather than personal fortune or accolades. This means a leader will be humble and “channel ambition into the company, not the self.” You have seen it play out time and again - companies have fallen because those at the top did not do what is right - think Madoff, Enron, etc. You have also seen them fail due to the hubris of those at the top that thought they were always right and had no one around them to put them in check. It is supremely important that the compass of those at the helm of any organization points to true north ethically. It cannot be the leader's perception of right - it must be the real right. Everyone knows what this is - you know when some project or idea smacks of questionable ethics. Never let yourself or leaders go down that slippery path of needing to justify what you do. You will never have to justify doing what is right. It will speak for itself.