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One of the challenges that every team leader has is the task of bringing people together to function as a team. People don’t become a team simply because someone labels them as one.

Most supervisors and managers might agree that there have been times in their careers when, for whatever reason, they were not able to build the team they wanted and needed. Maybe team members lacked commitment…maybe one or more team members refused to work with others…maybe upper management “said” they encouraged good work, but their actions spoke louder than their words…maybe accountability was low…goals and expectations were non-existent…and the list could go on. Maybe some of these reasons even apply to you. Whatever those reasons may have been, today is a new day.

What can smart leaders do to make a great team?

Many of today’s leadership experts contend that there are common characteristics shared by great teams. Following are some that consistently stand out. Read on and see if you agree.

Great teams have a common goal. Things run smoother when team members are equally committed to a common purpose and hold each other accountable to do their part. If you are the team leader, you have the opportunity to set the goals for your team. After all, it’s important that everyone knows what needs to get done. One thing to remember, though, is that while you may not always be able to select all the goals the team works on, you can – and should – still engage team members in conversation about how the goal can be accomplished.

For example, if you sense there are concerns about being able to complete a goal (or task), ask, “What would we have to do, or do differently, to make this happen?” You’re always better off addressing concerns at the start so that you can help the team work through any roadblocks, either real or perceived, that could get in the way of progress.

Great teams are driven by challenges. Teams thrive on performance challenges; and a good challenge can energize a team to greatness. Have confidence that your team – given a challenge – will rise to the occasion. When you trust your team with challenging work, you’re saying, “I know you’re capable of this, and I trust you to do a great job.” Smart leaders look for ways to challenge employees—whether by developing new projects specifically for their talents or just being more aware of what each person does best and assigning tasks accordingly.

What makes a great team? Great teams respect the contributions of each team member. Everyone on the team has a unique contribution to offer; and it is important that each team member knows that it would be harder to accomplish goals and objectives without everyone doing their part. The smart leader looks for opportunities to make this point in one-on-one conversations with team members, and in team meetings. It’s one of the best ways to encourage mutual respect.

As leadership expert John C. Maxwell states,

The bottom line—even if you don’t like the person, value and respect what they bring to the team.

Great teams win. It doesn’t matter whether you are on a sports team, or in a business environment— with smart leadership, great teams accomplish their goals and tasks. After all, anyone can win if given ten “perfect” employees to do a job. The problem is that in the real world, this just doesn’t happen. There is a mixture of people. A few may fall into the ideal category (whatever that means), many will be somewhere in the middle; and a few will likely prove to be a challenge. And that’s okay.

It’s important to remember that challenging employees are not bad. In fact, they are often the people that help to strengthen our leadership ability. So make it a priority to work with all the people who are part of your team, to formulate a positive vision, to set challenging goals; and to acknowledge each team member’s contribution.

When this happens, the smart leader will find that their team’s chances of accomplishing something extraordinary increase tremendously.

The more that people know how they fit on a team, the more they will desire to properly make the most of their fit and maximize their contribution.”

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NINE – Find a true mentor. When times are challenging, find someone who has been there before, learned his or her lessons, and is willing to guide you along the way. A good mentor should have the experience you want to gain, and should also have a sincere desire to the help you along the way. Mentoring has to be genuine and positive to be truly meaningful.

TEN – Take care of yourself. The best leaders take care of others, especially in challenging times. But if you neglect yourself you will soon be overwhelmed by pressure. Do what you need to do to keep yourself sharp and healthy, and remind yourself often that what you do is valuable.

By Lolly Daskal Used with permission

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The word "leadership" evokes an image of great men and women--people who, in a moment of crisis, always rise to the occasion with the right response, the right decision, the right direction.

Unfortunately, that image is based on the misconception that leaders always know what to do. That's often far from the truth; most of the time leaders don't know what they're doing any more than the rest of us do. That's why every leader needs a kit of solutions that work against the most common challenges life throws at us.

Here are some practical and effective strategies that work for the challenges we face.

ONE – Develop your personal leadership style. No one is born knowing how to be an effective leader. Spend time learning as much about yourself as possible. When you work on yourself, you're working on your leadership. Consider finding a good leadership program, coach, or mentor.

TWO – Learn from experience. Think strategically about how you can gain the experience you need. Delve into challenging projects that may give you unusual problems to solve; practice observing situations from different perspectives and learn from everything you do.

THREE – Don’t be afraid to fail. Unless you're not trying at all, you will almost certainly fail, maybe more than once. The important thing is to learn how to take responsibility for your failures, extract their lessons, and change directions while still moving forward.

FOUR – Have a compelling vision. When a crisis hits--and it will--having a vision and knowing that people are aligned with that vision keep things in check. If you are trusted as a leader, you'll be perceived as someone who can bring people through and keep things on track instead of falling apart.

FIVE – Polish your people skills. Great leaders have great interpersonal skills. They care for their people. As a leader, you need to know how to listen quietly and hear what people are really saying, by asking questions and being open to the truth. When challenges come, it's especially important to open up and show you care.

SIX – Motivate yourself. Your commitment is a model for others. If people can see that you are working hard toward attaining a goal, they will join you. Learn to tap into the motivation that gives you energy and passion, so in turn you can inspire others through difficult times.

SEVEN – Keep people informed. When times get tough, it's always tempting to hide, but that's the worst thing you can do. Stay visible and keep people informed even when it's bad news. People don't like to feel excluded from progress or from problems; when you keep them current, they will be invested and prepared to help.

EIGHT – Inspire others. Inspiration is empowering; when you inspire people, you also give them a sense of purpose. When you lead by example and people feel inspired by who you are, it empowers them to be more effective and productive.

Lolly Daskal is one of the world’s leading executive coaches, working directly with Fortune 50 CEOs and top political leaders. A pioneer of heart-based leadership, she is a regular columnist for Inc., Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, the Huffington Post, and Psychology Today. She has been named one of the “The most inspirational woman” by the Huffington Post, and “100 Great Leadership Speakers for Your Next Conference” by Inc. She has consulted with corporations across the United States and Europe. Lolly’s mission is to help all leaders learn to lead from within. Her new book: THE LEADERSHIP GAP: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness is being published by Penguin/Portfolio in 2017. You can find out more about Lolly Daskal at www.lollydaskal.com

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“The problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” Albert Einstein

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to find out how to do it. I expect that you will do your job without me always looking over your shoulder—which is what I expect you want too.

We also know that sometimes people haven’t had a lot of experience managing themselves or their work. That’s why we’ll do everything we can to help you. We’ll send you to training, and help you use the training back here on the job. If you put time and effort into this, you’ll pick things up quickly and accomplish a lot. The better you get at it, the more independence you’ll have; and I think you’ll have more fun too.”

Provide training when needed. For starters, consider programs in time management, project management, balancing priorities and productive work habits.

Give assignments that require employees

to use the training they receive. For instance, you might ask an employee to develop a plan for a project and discuss it with you.

Notice and recognize every improvement in self-management, no matter how small. Nothing is more important than this. Has someone who couldn’t identify where to start a project before learned how to sketch out a beginning series of steps. Notice it, and recognize the individual for having accomplished it. Then recognize each step further on. Also, remind the employee every so often, at whatever stage of progress, how far they have come from where they began.

As employees become proficient at managing themselves, have them help to train new team members on self-

managing. This can be a big “win” for everyone. Not only will your “seasoned” employees become even better at self-managing, they’ll also understand how to approach new team members without self-management skills since they were once there themselves.

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NANCY JOHNSTON, Director, Division of Personnel

ALLAN FORBIS, Director, Center for Management and Professional Development Editor and Layout

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The situation: “The people I hire these days just aren’t dependable. I have to look over their shoulders constantly. You can’t believe how often I give one of them a project only to find out the next day that they haven’t even started it. As soon as I find someone that’s reasonably productive, she leaves for another job. I wish I knew what to do.”

Sound familiar? If so, it’s possible the problem here is not that employees lack motivation. Rather, it may be that employees lack self-management skills. They don’t know how to organize their time or their work, and don’t understand how important being able to do that is to their success.

What can you do?

Expect that workers will learn to manage themselves, and make that expectation

clear. The conversation might go like this:

“I expect everyone here to manage themselves. What does that mean? Well, I expect you to be able to plan your day and follow through on your plan. When you receive an assignment, I expect you to do it, or to ask me or another co-worker questions

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Have you ever walked by some of the employees on your team, and wondered what they were thinking? That’s a scary notion to be sure—but if you could read their minds, you might be surprised.

In our training programs over the years, we’ve heard a lot of comments from employees at all levels about their supervisors and managers. Usually, when asked if they would tell their “boss” what they just shared with us, the answer is often “No!” for various reasons. Maybe they don’t feel comfortable, maybe they don’t know how to say it, maybe there is low trust, maybe they consider their boss to be too intimidating, etc.

Whatever the reason, there are likely a lot of things your employees are thinking, but wouldn’t tell you. Just in case you’re wondering, here are three of them. “Sometimes, we know best.”

While many leaders know that their decision-making process should include input from employees who will be impacted by their decisions, when “the rubber meets the road,” some employees believe this doesn’t always ring true.

The LESSON: When you need to make an important decision, don’t forget to consult the employees closest to the issue. They know their work processes, and will often have insights and knowledge that you aren’t familiar with. Additionally, a Fierce survey a few years ago indicated that nearly 80% of respondents who reported a good employee-supervisor relationship claim that the most important thing a boss can do to create a positive working relationship is to both solicit and value their input.

So seek out employee perspectives and encourage a rich exchange of information. The insights you receive may not only lead to better decisions for your team and organization. It might help to build trust and improve working relationships too.

“We can take the ‘wheel’ now and then.”

Employees want to be autonomous and have the freedom to make decisions. They want to be part of the team and have a clear understanding about their role in the big picture—all the things most everyone wants, and probably you too.

The LESSON: You may say you trust your employees to make their own decisions, but to make this empowerment actually work, you also need to be clear about which decisions are truly theirs to make. To do this, make sure what you say and how you act are in sync.

For example, if you tell your employees that they can be the lead on a project, but you offer feedback and make changes every step of the way, they may not be sure what their role really is—and what they are truly accountable for. To address this, set clear delegation guidelines, establishing which decisions need to be jointly made, which should be passed along to you or someone else, and which decisions you’re entrusting to the employee. Then, stick to it.

“It’s good talking to you…”

As a leader, it’s sometimes difficult to balance how to connect with your team, while being sensitive to those who want to keep their professional and personal lives separate. The thing is that most of the time your employees DO want to talk to you…and they want you to talk to them…about anything and everything!

The LESSON: By opening up and connecting with employees you’ll build trust, improve morale, and be able to better relate to them as people and co-workers.

Whenever possible, check in with your team on a daily basis to learn how they are doing, both personally and professionally. This should be more than just a brief “How’s it going?” Rather, it should be sincere and unique for each person. Get curious and ask questions to gain a deeper understanding of the people you’re working with.

The takeaway from this is that employees want communication. They want honest, open conversations with each other and with their leaders, and they want to feel heard and appreciated. That’s why smart leaders aren’t afraid to ask questions, value different opinions, and be as transparent as possible. It will eventually create a culture where employees feel comfortable to speak their mind. And yes…that’s a good thing!

One of the classic problems or challenges of smart, successful people is adding too much value. What does this mean?

Picture this: A young, smart, enthusiastic employee comes to you with an idea; and you think it’s a great idea. However, rather than just saying, “Great idea,” our natural tendency is to say, “Oh, that's a nice idea, but why don't you add this to it?”

The result of doing this is that the quality of the idea may now go UP five percent—but the person’s commitment to its execution may now go DOWN fifty percent. Why? Because now it’s no longer their idea. Now it's your idea, as the boss. Effectiveness of execution, again, seen as a function of the quality of the idea times the commitment to make it work.

One of my clients is the CEO of a huge company. I asked him this question, “What have you learned about leadership since you have been a CEO?” He said, “I have learned a very hard lesson. I’ve learned that my suggestions can become orders.”

Let me say more about that. I teach in the new admirals program for the United States Navy. I get to see these brilliant men and women who've had a fantastic achievement getting that star.

One message I always try to deliver in my classes: When you're an admiral, you don't make suggestions—because as soon as you get that star, your suggestions become orders.

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So, again, I asked my friend, “What did you learn from me that helped you the most?” He said, “You gave me one lesson that helped me be a better leader, a better CEO and have a better life.” I said, “What was it?” He said, “Before I speak, I stop and breathe and ask myself one question: ‘Is it worth it?’ Fifty percent of the time as the CEO of this company, what do I conclude? Am I right? Maybe. Is it worth it? No.”

Learning point for you:

Before you leap in and add value, stop and breathe. Look at the face of that other person and ask yourself this:

“Is my adding value really helping that person become more motivated, or might it make them less motivated? Will the quality of the input I'm going to provide increase value enough to take away from the enthusiastic response that they have to their own strategy right now?”

If the answer is, “It's worth it,” then go for it. If the answer is, “Hey, this value isn't worth adding,” take a deep breath and let it go.

Adding Too Much Value Transcript of a MyQuickCoach video lesson from Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

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“Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish.”

- Sam Walton

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enhance the team's performance. In this stage, the team makes significant progress towards its goals. Commitment to the team's mission is high, and team competence continues to grow. For the team leader, it becomes a time to set new goals and vision while recognizing and celebrating success. After all, it’s a wonderful feeling to be part of an extraordinary team!

The four stages are a helpful framework for recognizing any team's behavioral patterns. They are most useful as a basis for team conversation, rather than diagnosis. Nonetheless, having a way to identify and understand causes for changes in team behaviors can help the team maximize its productivity.

Changes, such as members coming or going, or large-scale changes in the organization, can cause a team to regress back to an earlier stage. However, if these changes and their resulting behaviors are recognized and addressed in a timely fashion, teams may successfully remain in the Performing stage indefinitely.

No team truly ever “hits the ground running.” They go through various stages of development. That’s why understanding these stages and how to navigate them is an important part of every leaders’ job. If it’s been a while since you’ve thought about this, following is the most commonly used framework to describe these stages, developed in the mid-60s by Bruce Tuckman. While there have been variations to his work, his descriptions of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing continue to be just as accurate today as they were years ago. Here’s a brief explanation of each stage to keep in mind.

During the Forming stage of team development, team members are usually excited to be part of the team, and about the work ahead. Members often have high expectations, but may also feel anxious, wondering how they will fit in to the team, and if their performance will measure up. There will likely be many questions from team members, reflecting their excitement about the new team and the anxiety they might be feeling about their place on the team.

During this time, it’s important to establish clear structure, goals, direction and roles so that members begin to build trust. Attention to these factors can help to solidify the team's mission and goals, and establish team expectations about both the team's product and, more importantly, the team's process (i.e., how things need to work). During the Forming stage, much of the team's energy is focused on defining the team, so task accomplishments are relatively low.

As the team begins to move towards its goals, it’s possible (and likely) that members will discover that the team can't live up to all of their initial expectations. Consequently, the focus for some may shift from the tasks at hand to feelings of frustration with the team's progress and processes. Members may also express concerns about being unable to meet established goals.

Behaviors during the Storming stage may be less polite than during the Forming stage, with frustration or disagreements about goals, expectations, roles and responsibilities being openly expressed. This frustration might be directed towards other members of the team, or management; and if not addressed, can significantly impede team deliverables.

During this stage, the team may need to refocus on its goals, perhaps breaking larger goals down into smaller, achievable steps. The team leader may also need to encourage development of both task-related skills and group process and conflict management skills. A redefinition of the team's goals, roles and tasks can further help team members past the frustration or confusion they may be experiencing.

During the Norming stage, team members begin to resolve many of the concerns they had about their expectations for the team and “live” the reality of what the team truly is. Members feel an increasing acceptance of other team members, recognizing that the variety of opinions and experiences makes the team stronger. Constructive criticism is both possible and welcomed as members start to feel part of a team and take satisfaction from increased group cohesion.

Typically, there is more frequent and meaningful communication among team members, and a willingness to share ideas or ask other teammates for help. For the team leader, it’s important to recognize what is going right just as much as what may need to be corrected, and to encourage continued growth (stretch goals, training, etc.). Doing so can help members to further gain confidence and shift their energy to increase both individual and collective productivity.

In the Performing stage of team development, members feel satisfaction in the team's progress, become attached to the team as something “greater than the sum of its parts,” and experience satisfaction in the team’s effectiveness. Roles on the team generally become more fluid, with members taking on various responsibilities as needed. Differences among members are appreciated and used to

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Microsoft Office Tips From the Center for Management and Professional Development’s Computer and Technical Skills Training Team

Inserting a linked Excel chart in PowerPoint 2010 Sharing a chart between Excel and PowerPoint is easy to do in Office 2010. The steps to insert a linked Excel chart in PowerPoint are shown below:

1. Open the Excel workbook that has the chart that you want or create a chart in a new workbook. o The Excel workbook must be saved before the chart data can be linked in the

PowerPoint file. If the Excel file moves to a different folder location the link will be broken.

2. Select the chart in Excel.

3. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy .

4. Open the PowerPoint presentation that you want and select the slide that you want to insert the chart into.

5. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the arrow below Paste, and then make the appropriate selection:

o Keep Source Formatting & Link Data allows the chart to look as it does from the Excel file.

o Use Destination Theme & Link Data allows the chart to use the look and appearance of the PowerPoint presentation.

If the Excel file is updated, you will need to update PowerPoint by following these steps:

Select the chart Click on the Design tab From the Data group, click Refresh Data.

0

1000

2000

Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4

January

February

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Comment Follow Theodore Hesburgh's advice, the former president of the University of Notre Dame. He said, “My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make them because they're popular; you make them because THEY'RE RIGHT.”

Foundational Ethical Principles

In this brief article I can't give you complete, specific step-by-step ethical guidelines to use in every situation. But let me give you three principles to follow.

First, watch your thoughts. Don't even think such things as “just this one time” or “no one would ever know.” Your THOUGHTS turn into ethical or unethical BEHAVIOR. Frank Outlaw says it this way: “Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

Second, forget your feelings. It doesn't matter if you don't “feel” like doing something. Novelist and missionary Pearl S. Buck said, “You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings.”

Third, do more than just enough. Consultant Michael Josephson said it very well. He said, “An ethical person ought to do more than he's required to do and less than he's allowed to do.”

ACTION:

How would others judge you if they were asked about your ethics? Would you like their answer? If not, you've got some very important work to do ... or you'll never be a great leader in your team, your organization, or your family. Used with Permission.

The other day I was flying back home from a speech I'd given at a large association meeting. I couldn't help but overhear ... well, actually I was eavesdropping ... the two men behind me. They kept going on about keeping a certain transaction “quiet” for a while. And they said something about their “deal” not being “totally honest,” but it would sure look good on the annual report.

It hit me. I was hearing the kind of stuff that makes the headlines in newspapers day after day—another example of unethical leadership.

Of course, when most people talk about leadership, they talk about charisma, vision, teamwork, communication skills, and the like. But very few people talk about ETHICS or even think about ethical leadership. After all, how many people even took a course on “ethical leadership?” Not many. But I would submit that GREAT leaders can only be called GREAT if they're also GOOD. They're ethical.

So let's explore—in brief—what it means to be an “ethical leader.”

An Ethical Definition

I could get all fancy on you when it comes to defining ethics. After all, I took a bunch of philosophy classes at the university.

Personally, I prefer the simple definition given by William Penn, the founder of the State of Pennsylvania. He said, “Right is right, even if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

In other words, Penn didn't leave room for little white lies, justifications, or distortions of the truth. And he didn't hold focus groups or take popularity polls to figure out what was right. He just said, "Right is right." And ethical behavior is all about doing what is right.

"The right to do something does not mean that doing it is right." --William Safire, Journalist

The Importance of Ethical Leadership

Now you may wonder, "What's the big deal? What's wrong with being a little unethical once in a while? Why are ethics so important?"

They're important if you want a world, a company, a work team or even a family that is filled with goodness, kindness, fairness, and justice. The great English statesman Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” And two hundred years later, President Dwight Eisenhower noted, “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

I would even submit that there is no way you can feel good about your success or yourself if you come by it unethically. As Dan Zandra, the CEO of Compendium, Inc. stated, “Live your life so that your children can tell their children that you not only stood for something wonderful—you ACTED on it.”

The Battle for Ethical Leadership

The trouble is ... most people “believe” in ethics. Most people think they “should” lead ethically and do what is right. But it's easier said than done. There will always be lots of people pushing them in the other direction.

Dramatist Lillian Hellman felt that in show business. She said, “I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions.” And General Douglas MacArthur saw that in the military arena. He said, “It's the age-old struggle—the roar of the crowd on one side and the voice of your conscience on the other.”

In other words, it may not always be easy or popular to be ethical. So be it.

Dr. Alan Zimmerman, author, national speaker and President of Zimmerman Communi-Care Network has spoken to more than a million people. The Center for Management and Professional Development is proud to offer Solutions readers the opportunity to benefit from Dr. Zimmerman’s expertise and his solution-focused approach to leadership and personal enrichment.

I’ll never forget where I was the day that a mental image changed the direction of my life. It was March 2002, and I was laying on a beach south of Cancun, Mexico, doing a visualization exercise from a book I’d picked up at an airport bookstore. It required imagining the details of the life I wanted to be living ten years out. I had just moved to the USA from Australia where I knew close to no-one, had three children under four and wanted to embark on a new career path.

So I’m lying there doing my visualization and suddenly, without warning, into my mind’s eye popped an image of my family ten years out. The only problem was that in it were four children, not three. What??? I slapped my face!

It was too late. Deep down I knew that the highest vision for my life was to pursue my new calling in coaching and empowerment and to have a fourth child. Needless to say, the idea of doing both terrified me as much as it inspired me. I simply didn’t think I could and, back then, I didn’t know anyone that was.

Fortunately for me, I married a man who has often believed in me more than I have myself (still does!) and with his support, we took the plunge toward baby number four. A year later, Matthew Raymond arrived into the world—screaming loudly. He’s thirteen now.

Looking back, it’s easy for me to see that having four children and pursuing a new career path was possible. A bit chaotic sometimes, but infinitely possible with a ‘forget perfect’ mindset. That’s why, when asked what advice I would give to a younger me, I always say this:

While I know we all have our own unique set of unconscious biases, one that can have a huge toll on the course of our lives is our tendency to overestimate the risks and to underestimate ourselves. This can show up in every area of your life and impact not only the size of your ambitions but your willingness to change those aspects of your life that don’t inspire you.

We underestimate our ability as leaders and change-makers. We underestimate our ability to take risks and handle failure. We underestimate our ability to stand on our own two feet. We underestimate our ability to weather life’s storms. We underestimate our ability to handle the pressure that comes

with power and authority.

From Margie Warrell

Of course, not everyone underestimates themselves in all these ways. Some never do. But I’m sure that if you don’t recognize yourself in any of these, you’ll recognize someone you know.

Which begs the question: What possibilities would open up for you – in work, love, leadership and life – if you dared to trust that you are capable of anything you set your mind to?

I’m not saying that you can do everything, perfectly, now. I’m simply saying that if there’s some goal or vision that’s calling you – whether to lead a business, have another child, return to study – whatever, that you have everything you need inside you to turn it into a reality.

A few thousand years ago the Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu observed:

This is as true now as it ever was.

So before you finish reading this article, cast your mind ahead ten years from now and connect to the grandest, highest vision for your life. What would you love to be doing? Who would you love to be impacting? How would you be using your strengths, skills, creativity and passion in a way that not only honors the best of who you are, but makes the biggest possible mark on the world you inhabit?

The truth is that there are amazing things that will never be done if you don’t do them. But doing them will take courage.

Courage to trust that you are more than enough. Courage to risk failing or falling short in the process. Courage to put yourself out there, again and again and again. Courage to pick yourself up when you slip up. Courage to stand in your power, and own your imperfection.

And courage to let go of the beliefs, excuses, doubts, people and safety-blankets that are keeping you from becoming, creating and contributing all that inspires you most deeply.

Are you ready?

Go on, be brave.

Used with Permission. An intrepid Australian, Margie Warrell is a master coach, speaker and bestselling author who is passionate about helping people live and lead more bravely. Sign-up for Margie’s 10-day "train the brave" challenge at www.trainthebrave.com and enter MO as the receipt code ($97 value).

Don’t underestimate yourself:

Dare to dive in!