√“A positive attitude is a magnet for positive results.”  Author unknown

√“There is no power on Earth that can neutralize the influence of a high, pure, simple and useful life.”  Booker T. Washington

√”Ride the energy of your own unique spirit.”  Gabrielle Roth

√“Guard within yourself that treasure, kindness.  Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, and how to acquire without meanness.”  George Sand

Inspiration of the Week:

Leadership and Discipline
 

     Maintaining discipline is essential for successful leadership.   For drill team leaders this list of suggestions for maintaining discipline should prove to be helpful:

BE FAIR:  apply the same rules to everyone, reward and punish without showing favoritism.
CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS:  refrain from disciplinary action when emotions are at a high pitch.  Your judgment isn't as good during these times and you are likely to do or say something you will regret.  Ideally, you should learn to control your emotions rather than delay discipline. 
PUNISH IMMEDIATELY:  punish as soon after unacceptable behavior as possible.  You lose effect with time.
EXPLAIN THE RULES UP FRONT:  the consequences for breaking the rules is explained and understood before punishment is administered.
AVOID THREATS:  never threaten punishment for action if you are not willing to carry it out.

These characteristics help leaders succeed in their relationships with others:
WILLINGNESS TO WORK: this does not mean that you cannot stop working or that you become a "work-a-holic".  It means that when there is work to be done that you are willing to finish it.  You should be patient, however, because not everyone around you may be as willing to work as you are and you may end up carrying someone else's load. 
WILLINGNESS TO TAKE RISKS:  successful advisors have learned that the acceptance of responsibility leads to risk-taking.  Often the stakes are high, reward for success, punishment for failure.  The successful leader weighs the alternatives, determines which skills are required, and then attacks a problem if the chances for success are reasonable.
ENTHUSIASM:  the best kind of enthusiasm is the kind that comes with doing a job well.  Successful leaders are enthusiastic about new approaches, and about completing a job quicker or more efficiently.  Such enthusiasm is contagious!
EMPATHIZE:  empathy is knowing what it is like to be in the other person's shoes.  The successful leader uses empathy to decide the proper approach to take with various team members in different situations.  This is basically a matter of understanding why people act the way they do, and using this information to get a job done efficiently.
ABILITY TO MOTIVATE:   allowing others to be responsible, to achieve or to be recognized results in "internal" motivation, which is the best kind.
ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE:  successful communicators know what they want to say and recognize that the message got through.  They use feedback--mostly listening skills--to determine if it got there in the form they sent it.  They know when a message is misunderstood.