Today, we celebrate International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is a day dedicated to celebrating the cultural, economic, political, and social achievements of women. As a female business owner, professor, author, business coach, public speaker, daughter, and wife, today I reflected on my own journey.
As I reflected on my life, I thought about all my experiences good and bad. I acknowledge the journey has not been easy. I have overcome adversity, negative people, and others trying to hold me back. I realized that my focus, commitment, and determination to my dreams has allowed me to press forward. Therefore, my message to my sisters, is to never give up on yourself. Recognize your value and continue to push forward towards your purpose.
Today, as we celebrate International Women’s Day, give thanks to those who have created a pathway for us to follow. However, take a moment to celebrate and honor yourself. Use this moment in time and determine what trail you will create for others to follow. Please enjoy this video in your honor.
In this episode, Dr. Regina Banks-Hall interviews Ms. Kia Sweeney, the Program Director for Girls Group. Ms. Sweeney shares the organization’s mission, and their efforts to transform the lives of young women. To learn more about this organization, please visit their website at www.girlsgroup.org.
Today, in celebration of Black History Month, I want to talk about Authentic leadership. Authentic leadership is often considered a process, approach, or style. By definition, Authentic leaders are confident, hopeful, optimistic, resilient, transparent, future oriented and focused on developing others to become leaders. They lead with their core values and have courage and self-discipline. They understand the importance for establishing trusting relationships and they are driven by a purpose.
South Africa was ruled by a white minority government for almost two centuries, while blacks made up over 75 percent of the population. Nelson Mandela, tapping into the frustrations of his people, began to focus on overturning the prevailing domination. On trial in South Africa, he said “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an idea I hope to live for and to achieve. But if need be, it is an idea for which I am prepared to die.”
He was sentenced to life in prison. Throughout his imprisonment he rejected offers to be released. He would ultimately be released from prison on February 11, 1990. After being released, he got involved in the political process to end white minority rule and was elected ANC President in 1991. Nelson Mandela, would vote for the first time on April 27, 1994. He never wavered in his cry for democracy, equality and learning, despite his experiences. He is an inspiration for all who have been oppressed and deprived. He remained authentic to his values and purpose. Please visit https://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/page/biography to learn more about his life.
Authentic leadership is important, when you look at the impact you have in your home, workplace, school, church, etc. Followers take a look at your words and your values. They want to see if your talk matches your walk. As you think about yourself today, determine the authenticity of your leadership, and evaluate how that impacts your organization or those you have influence over.
If you are struggling today with vision or identifying your purpose, I end this post with this quote, “Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times, I fell down and got back up again” – Nelson Mandala. Sometimes when we experience adversity, it is preparing us for greatness. Therefore, “fall forward your purpose is waiting for you.” – Dr. Regina Banks-Hall.
Please visit http://www.rbankshall.com to learn more about our leadership development programs. Let’s make 2019 a banner year for leadership.
Leadership is a fascinating subject that influences every aspect of the human experience. We all can identify good leaders, bad leaders, and people in between. Over the next few months, I will be focusing on the impact of leadership, leadership styles, and why leadership is so important in our homes, organizations, schools, churches, and the community. In a previous blog post, I asked if you were a ruler, teacher, or hero when identifying your influence as a leader. Today, I begin this conversation talking about Servant Leadership. Robert Greenleaf, coined the phrase, Servant Leadership based on a philosophy that a leader is called to serve first. Servant leaders place the needs of their followers first, over their own self-interests. They are also concerned with the development of their followers.
For the servant leader, the leader is a servant first, and that attitude of service becomes the secret to their greatness. Servant leadership can be used effectively in so many diverse areas because the leader empowers their followers to develop to their full capacities. I think Winston Churchill successfully, introduced the spirt of servant leadership when he said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give”.
Here are 10 characteristics in Robert Greenleaf’s writings that are central to servant leadership
1. Listening – Communicate by listening and acknowledge the point of view of followers
2. Empathy – Understand what followers are thinking and feeling
3. Healing – Care about and help to heal your followers
4. Awareness – Be attentive and responsive to their surroundings
5. Persuasion – Be able to convince others to change, by using kind nonjudgmental arguments
6. Conceptualization – See the big picture in your organization, church, home or school. This will allow you to visualize and provide direction solving complex issues
7. Foresight – Anticipate the future and the consequences of your behavior
8. Stewardship – Take responsibility for your role when managing people considering the greater good of society
9. Commitment – Commit yourself to helping followers grow personally and professionally
10. The building of a community – Build communities in organizations, churches, schools, and homes, by making people feel safe and connected, while still being able to express their own unique individuality.
As you can see servant leadership is a philosophy associated to a particular style of leadership. Every leader has to determine their style of leadership. As you evaluate your servant leadership potential, know that servant leadership works best when leaders are interested in helping others. The impact of these efforts cannot be viewed as a short-term fix. The results of true servant leadership is recognized over the long haul, but produces a lifetime and meaningful impact for the leader and those that follow.
Dr. Regina Banks-Hall
Breakthrough and Build Your Dreams 4-week Virtual Workshop, February 24th – March 17th
Join Dr. Regina Banks-Hall, for a 4-week virtual workshop where she provides solutions so you can breakthrough issues, challenges, negativity, and fear and build your dreams. You will gain clarity and insight as it relates to your vision. This virtual workshop begins on February 24th, and will meet for 4 weeks. The cost includes the book and workbook. It’s time to move forward. To learn more about the workshop, click on the link below.
Dr. Regina Banks-Hall, shares a message celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She ends her message, asking everyone to find their own dream.
We have all heard the phrase “make it count” but do we really know what it means. When you hear the words make it count, you might be thinking that you should make your life count for something, focus on the positive and live each day to the fullest. All of those phrases are true. However, I want to offer a different perspective on making it count.
When I hear the words “make it count” I focus on three key areas, which are, resources, time and opportunity. When I think about resources, I want you to focus on the people that exist within your inner circle, and the talent and skills that you possess that support your goals. Also, I want you to focus on the excitement and passion that you receive from helping others and the motivation that comes from making your life count.
When you think about time, I want you to make sure you are not wasting time, but maximizing every moment. When you maximize your time, you can focus on your goals, time with family, time for business, work or school, and time for serious self reflection. You recognize the importance of time management, and you prioritize your tasks wisely. Also, you recognize the need to volunteer your time to meaningful and purposeful pursuits and not wasteful meanderings. The reason why I am hammering this point home is becuase, time is a precious commodity. Understanding this fact, we should all examine how we spend our time as it relates to achieving our goals, and maximizing our living. My mind goes to a famous quote, which states, “Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that’s the stuff life is made of.”- Benjamin Franklin.
Finally, I think about opportunity, and its relationship to preparation. Opportunity allows you to do something. The key to taking advantage of opportunity, is the preparation that takes place beforehand. Therefore, as you think about the goals you want to achieve, ask yourself this question. How am I preparing for my opportunities? For example, if you own your own business, what is the elevator pitch that you will give when you run into a perspective client? If you are looking for a new job, how can you define your skills, when asked by an interviewer. If you are a minister, waiting to preach your next sermon, are you ready?
My mind goes to the workshops and courses I teach on leadership, human resources management, small business administration and leadership. Without preparation, I would not be able to deliver training at the highest level, or at any given moment. I had to prepare myself to take advantage of these opportunities.
As you navigate this year, I want you to focus on “making it count” by examining your resources, your time, and your opportunities. When you maximize these three areas, you are opening the door to maximizing your living and “making it count.”
As we say goodbye to 2018 and look forward to the coming year, I believe it is important to get off to a good start and then finish strong. My strong finish to this year is the launch of my new podcast: Maximizing Your Life with Dr. Regina Banks-Hall. This is truly a dream come true.
Please enjoy my first interview with Author, and thriving Entrepreneur, Mr. Michael Hall, as we talk about his new book “The Hamster Wheel.”
Today, I want to talk about leadership and the importance of helping others. Leaders are hard to find. The great leaders exhibit charisma, vision, and character traits that attract people. As leaders, one of our greatest gifts is our ability to build, empower, and coach the next generation of leaders. When you think about the great leaders you admire, it is a good chance that part of your admiration was based on their ability to connect with others.
Another noticeable characteristic of great leaders is their recognition on the importance of empowering others. Empowering people is a key to changing their lives. Therefore, I want you to think about the people closest to you, and ask yourself a few questions. How have you impacted them this year? What teachable moments have you provided? What is the legacy you want to be remembered for? How will you help them reach new heights? How can you share information with them, and give them what they need?
Attached to this message, is a video I want you to watch, which describes how leadership can create a lasting impression. After you watch this video, determine what steps are necessary to impact your family, your organization, your team, and most importantly yourself. We all have an opportunity to impact the world, therefore, determine what steps you will take and let’s create a winning team.
Contact us to today, to learn about our upcoming 4-week leadership course which begins, January 7, 2019 entitled “Maximizing Your Influence”. It is time to create maximum impact.
Dr. Regina Banks-Hall. “Your success is my business.”
Can you believe it, we are almost at the end of another year. I took the time this weekend to identify all the goals I accomplished, and those still on my list. I found that through faith and perseverance, along with my passion for speaking, coaching and teaching, I could not be stopped. Today, if you are an experienced professional or new to the field, I want you to realize the impact of doing something you love. I want to encourage you to fall in love with your dreams, hold fast to what you love and create something with meaning and purpose. When you work a job you hate, your Sunday nights take on a whole new meaning, because you know what is coming in the morning. However, when you are engaged in something you love, you find that when it is time for you to rest, you are still energized and motivated.
Make a promise to yourself, to follow your dreams
Therefore, as we head towards the end of this year, make a decision to start where you are with your dreams. Sometimes we can become attached to our comfort zone and that keeps us from moving forward. Therefore, as a strategy, I want you to start where you are, and begin to identify the reasons why you should write your book, start a business or nonprofit, go back to school, start a ministry, learn a language or take piano lessons.
When you identify the reasons why you should start where you are, you will see they outweigh the reasons for staying in your comfort zone. Therefore, make a promise to yourself to identify something that you love and are passionate about, start where you are and step out of your comfort zone. If you do, 2019 can be your breakout year of success and fulfillment.
Can you believe it, we are quickly approaching the end of the year. Today, I had time to think about my 2018 goals and determined, that I had a pretty good year. I began to think about all the goals I accomplished, and the few goals that are still on my list. I realized that one of my strategies was living life to the fullest.
As I sit here thinking about what living life to the fullest truly means, I want to share my Version of this today.
Do not allow others to control you. It is important that you make the rules.
Follow your own path. Sometimes we allow other people’s opinions to derail our progress. We allow them to determine our steps. When they determine your steps they control your destiny.
Take chances on yourself. One of my goals this year was to create an online course. It required a lot of commitment but I finished, and now the course is available on Udemy. Now I am working on my second course. I took a chance on myself and it paid off.
Identify something that scares you, and make a conscious effort to overcome it. When you face that fear, you free yourself to move forward. This may require a change in jobs, relationships or business opportunities.
Let go of past hurts and mistakes, so you can grow. At the beginning of the year, I put some experiences and some people behind me. I knew that the only way for me to move forward with my business goals, was to let go of some pain and press toward my purpose. It was the best decision I ever made.
As we wrap up the year, think about some of the things that you can still do to move forward with your life. Make an effort to accomplish one goal and use that achievement as a jump start to your successful 2019.
Dr. Regina Banks-Hall, DBA, SHRM-CP 