Excerpted from The Truth about Getting Your Point Across…and Nothing But the Truth

If you're like many people, the thought of speaking in front of a group of people is like bamboo under your nails.  Truth be told, the audience wants to see you succeed and doesn't want to see a crash-and-burn on the stage.  The audience is rooting for you.

Next time you have to take to the podium, keep the following in mind:

• Let your passion flow – The audience wants to not only hear about what you have to say, they also want to see your passion and excitement about your topic.  Allowing yourself to get passionate about your presentation will help get your mind off of the audience and more on to the topic you’re presenting. You’ve got something important to say, so get up there and say it with passion.

Many people hate their jobs, but see it as a necessary evil if the mortgage is going to get paid and Junior is going to go to med school.  While paying the bills is of utmost importance, it doesn't mean you have to hate your job at the same time. If you're contemplating a career change (or if the current job environment is forcing you into an unplanned career change), give these few tips a look to help you find a new career you'll actually love:

Secrets of success?  Oh puh-leeze.  There aren't any secrets of success in my opinion.   Success is achieved through things that we've been taught to do for years and years.  Good old-fashioned hard work is one of your strongest foundations to ensure meeting your life goals.  In addition, building the following pillars on the foundation of hard work will increase the likelihood that you can meet those goals and achieve your dreams.  Check out these four pillars and see if any resonate with you:

It's happening more and more; managers are being asked to manage virtual teams of people that may or may not have a direct reporting relationship to the manager.  Some find it easy to do, but many others find it difficult to garner the respect from team members who don't have to follow the manager.  Get a few helpful tips to help you next time you're asked to manage a virtual team.

We all know a procrastinator . . . the person who does Christmas shopping on December 24th, pulls an all-nighter to get a report done, or avoids making even the simplest decisions.  Many times the procrastinator puts forth a defense of, "Well, I do get it done, don't I?"  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Even if things do get done, though, the stress put on the procrastinator (and those around him or her) is greater than it needs to be.  If you know of a procrastinator (or are one yourself), use these tips to help make life a bit easier for not only the procrastinator but for those around him or her as well.

As a child and young adult I was very independent.  Regardless of the situation, if I was doing something I was determined to do it myself and not ask for anyone's help.  In my eyes asking for someone's help was akin to admitting defeat or somehow showing others that I was weak or incompetent.   My attitude was "If someone else can do it, I can do it".   How Naive.

As a young consultant I really thought I had it all together.  I was getting great ratings, great raises, and wonderful accolades from clients.  Because I (in my own mind) thought I was such hot stuff, I was not active in seeking out advice from more experienced colleagues.  After all, what could they teach me?

As I matured from an inexperienced hot-shot to an experienced manager, I developed a much stronger appreciation for the wisdom my more experienced colleagues could impart.  This appreciation didn’t happen naturally; I had to get my butt chewed off a bunch of times to realize that a wiser and more experienced colleague could help me get through the tough times and learn from my mistakes.  I also needed a wiser colleague to hold a mirror up to my face to help me see my weaknesses.  I needed (and still need) a mentor to help me be more effective as a leader.

Whether for personal or professional reasons, having a mentor to turn to for advice and counsel is a very effective means of transforming knowledge into wisdom.  Before I go any further, let’s get a definition of wisdom in place:

Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom

Talk about your character-building experience...

I was a young hot-shot project manager on an engagement that I had sold to a client.  I had it all planned out and had delusions of completely delighting my client with an issue-free project.  It all seemed so simple, then the project started...and never finished.

I'll spare you the gory details of my harrowing experience but what I can tell you is that I put more focus on selling and planning the project than I did on its execution.  I took a naive attitude of the project being able to pretty much run itself with some junior analysts running the day-to-day aspects of the work.  It blew up in my face and I got booted from the client never to return again.  It was my inaugural visit to the project management guillotine. 

Colleagues, I feel your pain on this issue.

Scenario #1: You’ve got a critical position that needs to be filled by a qualified candidate, and quick. For every day the position doesn’t get filled, your in-box fills up a bit more with work to be done because your unfilled position hasn’t been staffed. You see tons of resumes and have interviewed scores of candidates, but the rock star you’re looking for isn’t emerging. You refuse to “settle” for a mediocre candidate, but the work is piling up and you’ve got to do something. 

Pride. Envy. Gluttony. Lust. Anger. Greed. Sloth. You either recognize these as the seven deadly sins or as themes for prime-time television. Nonetheless, you were probably taught as a child that these are bad and you shouldn’t do them. For purposes of this article, do as you were taught and think bad when you commit these similar sins in the workplace. 

As leaders, we are continually being introduced to new techniques and theories. Hammer & Champy’s Business Process Re-engineering Model, McKinsey’s 7-S Framework, and Kenichi Ohmae’s 3C’s Strategic Triangle are all examples of strategic models designed to help leaders think about their business in different and innovative ways. What sits on top of all of the models and frameworks, though, are a series of foundational attributes that every leader should possess if he or she is going to have demonstrated, sustained success as a leader.