10 Best Leadership Qualities

Leadership is defined as the ability to get other to follow and commit to a call to action. Every business needs leaders at every level of their operation. Leadership isn't an inherent quality. It's taught to anyone at any age. Here are 10 important traits you must develop to be effective as a leader.

Have a vision. He who is blind is lost. Know what it is you want and how you're going to get there. Hard to have people look up to you if you have no idea what you're all about. Integrity. Integrity is your ability to walk to talk. That you beliefs are in your actions. Being honest, having a calm consistent demeanour, and being fair are sign of integrity. A leader who knows his center will be well liked and approachable to his followers. Gives praise where praise is due. A good leader shares in successes and takes the heat when things don't go well. Ensuring that as many people as possible in their organization will make people feel good about themselves and draw people your team closer. Take the blame, share the blame is a hallmark of good leadership. Humility. Good leaders realize that they are no better than anyone else in their team, and understand that every person is valuable to the success of their endeavour. They also understand that just because they're the boss, that doesn't make them God. Openness. Good leaders are open to new and creative ideas. They think outside of the box. They can suspend their judgements while listening to others, while accepting other ways of doing things if someone else suggests it. It creates mutual respect, it also creates an endless resource of ideas that can further their vision. Creativity. This is the ability to think differently. To be unorthodox in thinking that can constrain solutions. Creativity allows leaders to see things others haven't in order to lead their team into new directions. Effective communications. Good leaders are precise with ideas, and are kind when the need to admonish. They kind, and refrain from vulgarity. People need reaffirmation, good leaders praise for good work. They're people persons. Their best attribute is being able to communicate face to face with confidence, and knowledge, with the power of proper language skills. Team building. No man is an island unto himself. You're only as good as the people you surround yourself with. Effective leaders know that having the right people in key places will afford the best opportunities for success, while at the same time giving them some peace of mind. Respect. A leader understands and respects every person that follows. While being the "boss" they keep up a level of dignity that is given and expected in return. Places known as excellent employers have leaders within their company where the respect is mutually given from leader to follower. Confidence. Nobody will follow a wishy-washy personality. When you know what hit's the fan, your followers will want you to take charge, take responsibility, stay calm, and think straight.  Believing in yourself, will be the basis for others to believe in you, your vision, and in your abilities.

Choosing the Right Dog For You

The decision to get a dog maybe a decision the whole family makes. Or a single person may suddenly stop in front of a pet store and fall in love with the adorable face of a puppy in the window. Dogs can be companions, friends or protection from burglars. Before making the choice of what breed of dog you want take several things into consideration.

FAMILY SIZE. How many people are in your household? Will there be enough room for a big dog? How old are your children? Are these children living in the same house?

If your kids are fairly young, choose a smaller dog that is rugged and can stand the punishment of a child. It may not be a good idea to get a large dog that may be so rough on your children that you have to worry about their safety when the dog is around. Neither do you want to be concerned with your playful toddler hurting a Miniature Poodle. Try a Cocker Spaniel

BUDGET. How much disposable cash do you have after your bills are paid? How much can you afford to pay for dog food consistently month to month? How much have you got in your savings in case the dog has to go to the vet? How much do you have saved for regular medical checkups?

Dogs can cost you as much money as your children. Budget for the expenses of having a dog the same way you would plan a new arrival from the maternity ward of a hospital. If your budget is small and you require low maintenance, consider a Jack Russell Terrier to spend less on food. If your budget can handle lavishly pampering your dog, maybe a Toy Poodle is your ideal dog. Budget's not an issue? Go ahead and splurge on an Akita or St. Bernard.

LIVING SPACE. Do you have a large yard that a happy dog can lose his mind running around in? Are you in an apartment with neighbors who bang on the walls if your television is too loud?

Pet friendly apartments often charge extra to your rent based on the size of the dog. If you've discovered your budget for a new pet is minimal you need a smaller dog. A pug may be your choice. They are too small to make noise if they run around the house, they rarely bark and they'll keep your extra rental costs down.

PURPOSE. Are you looking for a friend in your dog? Do you need your dog to help you around because of a disability? Do you want your dog to deter burglars?

Your desire for a dog influences your choice of dog breed significantly. Labradors make great friends. They are loyal, playful and quite intelligent. Dobermans are statuesque and always look like they are ready to attack. A pair of Dobermans is the perfect deterrent for criminals. The German Shepherds are the universal choice for help because they are so easily trained.

Whatever choice you make in selecting a friend, companion or protector, review all your options carefully. There are many resource sites online that will explain what to expect from various breeds.

The Impact of Narcissism on Charismatic Leadership

Narcissists and charismatic leaders often are so commonly linkec, one cannot determine where one personality trait ends and the other begins. While all narcissists are not charismatic, it is believed that all charismatic leaders have some form of narcissism greater than the average individual. The hard-wiring of narcissists is highly Machiavellian in that they have "changeable" or mutable consciences. Instead of being tied to a specific method of getting things accomplished, narcissists change their minds and paradigm according to the needs of the situation. Consequently, narcissists are difficult to pigeon hole, because they adapt to a situation for the sole purpose of winning.

As Vidal Gore once stated, "It's not enough to win, the other guy has to lose." This will to achieve is believed to stem from early childhood experiences of degradation that positioned the narcissist to excel at all cost. Lubit (2002) asserts that narcissists are inclined to leave projects unfinished once they become bored. Conversely, Fleming (N.D.) contends that charismatic leaders become inextricably tied to a project. So much so that the challenge is motivating the charismatic leader to leave or delegate power rather than remain, once the mission has been accomplished.

Charismatic narcissists are often more persistent than the average individual based on the need to achieve. This drive is a benefit for organizations in that the charismatic will stay the course until the task is accomplished or deem the challenges unwinnable. As noted earlier, the downside is the unwillingness for charismatics to leave or create a succession plan once a goal has been achieved. Evidence also suggests that charismatic narcissists will abdicate the mission or forgo alliances if persisting acts contrary their self-interest.

All in all, charismatic narcissists can be beneficial in creating an innovative, fast paced and groundbreaking environment for employees. Their "Big Picture" sentimentalities allow for individuals to feel a part of something bigger than themselves. For charismatic narcissists, accomplishing a grandiose mission becomes the driving force of their existence.

As demonstrated by Prince, Hitler and Stalin, the mission is so critical for vainglorious and self-aggrandizing measures, anyone who poses either a threat or ceases to be valuable will be eliminated. Charismatic narcissists are persistent in their endeavors and will unload any "baggage" at will. In their minds, they are indispensable where everyone else is expendable.

For organizations wrestling with charismatic narcissists, it is essential to weigh the pros and cons of this type of leadership. For organizations that are receding, irrelevant and complacent, charismatic narcissists can be valuable for jump starting the organization. The cautionary note is to have parameters, boundaries and oversight to the actions of charismatic narcissists. Not to have some measure of control is fodder for the charismatic narcissists to wreak havoc on the long-term aspirations of the mission. Like fire, charismatic narcissists can be beneficial for building an organization or they can obliterate everyone and everything around them if left unchecked.

References

Fleming, G.(N.D.). Student leadership styles: Charismatic leadership. About.com guide. Retrieved from: http://homeworktips.about.com/od/studymethods/ss/leadership_4.htmFf

Lubit, R. (2002), 'The Long-Term Organizational Impact of Destructively Narcissistic Managers', Academy of Management Executive, Volume 16, Number 1, pp. 127-138

Five Tips for Hosting a Murder Mystery Party Game

If you've not hosted a murder mystery party game before, the experience can appear to be a bit daunting. It really isn't as difficult as it may first appear - murder mystery games are very easy to host. But until you've got a one or two under your belt, these few tips should make your life a bit easier.

#1 Getting Started

Take your time. The games themselves are quite wordy and require some time to absorb. You don't need to memorise everything, but it certainly helps to know where everything is. So take your time. Print everything out and read it at leisure. You don't need to understand everything immediately - so skip over anything you find confusing and come back to it later.

At some point you'll need to start preparing the game. You'll need envelopes for each character, into which you will put the character background and whatever rules are required. That's usually two or three sheets of paper, plus possibly some item and ability cards. I usually re-read the characters as I stuff the envelopes - it reminds me of who they are and what clues and abilities they start with.

You'll probably find it useful to have a full set of the game notes to hand as well. So having stuffed the packets, you'll need to print out another set in case you need to refer to something during the game itself.

I like to have everything complete (envelopes stuffed and packed, invitations sent) at least a week in advance of the party. That reduces the likelihood of last minute rushes. They still happen, but with most of the preparations already complete, I find that last minute rushes are easier to deal with.

#2 Casting

There are two ways to cast a murder mystery party game. You can either cast in advance, or do it on the day. Both have their strengths and weaknesses.

The big advantage of casting in advance is that your guests can prepare for the role. They can find appropriate costumes and props and help contribute to the atmosphere of the game. The main disadvantage is that if someone that you have given a critical character to (say, the murderer) cancels at the last minute, then you need to recast. And that may mean that someone has a quite inappropriate costume for his or her new part.

If you decide to cast on the day, you should encourage your guests to dress in an appropriate style. This may mean that you lose a little atmosphere, but does mean you're not relying on anyone particular.

A third option is to combine both. Tell some people in advance which characters they will be playing, and leave some to the last minute to cover all eventualities.

Then there's casting itself - how do you actually decide who gets which character? There's no hard and fast rule for this as nobody knows your friends the way you do. I have both cast characters on an entirely random basis and according to who was turning up. Both seem to work.

(You could of course ask your guests what sort of character they would like - but then you run the risk of someone being disappointed when you can't, for whatever reason, cast them in their preferred role.)

I don't recommend sending out the whole character background in advance. If you do that, you run the risk that your guests (particularly close friends and partners) may actually start playing before the evening! They may well accidentally give away secrets - and unintentionally spoil the evening. You also have an even bigger problem if someone drops out - you can't give their character to someone else (because they know things about their first character) so you would need to try and find an extra person from somewhere.

#3 Catering

First things first - while some murder mystery parties are designed around a sit-down meal, some are not. Instead, the players need the freedom to move around the room, to skulk in corners and to talk privately with one another. They can't do that if they are sitting down having a three-course meal.

If you do want to provide a meal, you really have two options. The first is to provide the meal in advance. Invite your guests early, feed them and then (during coffee) hand out their characters. The problem with this is that dinner parties I've been to drag on into the evening. And I've rarely wanted to do anything other than digest afterwards. Having a sit-down meal in the middle of a mystery game doesn't work either - it breaks the atmosphere and forces someone into the kitchen and away from the game.

The second option is to provide finger food - slices of pizza, a cold buffet, sandwiches or whatever takes your fancy. Finger food is ideal - it can be prepared in advance (with minimal effort in most cases) and the guests can "graze" at their leisure. You could also ask your guests to contribute to the meal to help you with the workload.

Drink is another matter altogether. It's absolutely essential to provide enough soft drinks or water. Murder mystery games are conversational, and your guests will pretty soon become very thirsty. So stock up on soda, water, coffee or juice or whatever you think people will want to drink.

Whether you serve alcohol or not is a matter of personal preference. Too much alcohol almost always ruins a game, so it needs to be moderated carefully. A little alcohol can sometimes overcome players' inhibitions and start the game rolling.

#4 Atmosphere

Murder mystery games are much improved if you make just a few efforts to generate the right atmosphere. An appropriate atmosphere helps everyone with their character, and can turn an entertaining evening into a truly memorable one.

Here, then, are a few tips on creating a good atmosphere.

Costumes: Perhaps the strongest way of creating a great atmosphere is to encourage your guests to wear an appropriate costume. (Costumes look great in photographs as well.) If your guests are finding it hard to find a costume (not everyone has the time or money to search out a good costume), a token effort - perhaps a hat, or coat - can also work wonders.

A Sense of Space: Where you hold the murder mystery game can affect the atmosphere. If you're lucky, you'll be able to find a location suitable for the game. However, murder mystery games are rarely so lucky and are usually held in homes. With a little bit of planning, however, you can create a sense of space.

Anachronisms: For period games you might want to conceal or remove anachronistic items. Computers, lava lamps and other lightweight can be moved to a spare room. As for furniture and heavy appliances such as televisions and stereo systems, try concealing them with a cloth or blanket.

Props: Some murder mystery games involve items such as items up for auction or books for sale. As far as the game is concerned, these are usually represented by slips of card or paper - however, if you have access to suitable props, why not use them? Two caveats. First, if it's important to the mystery that nobody knows who has a certain item, it might be better keeping it as a slip of card rather than a bulky prop. Second, and I can't stress this highly enough, never use props for weapons. Period. It's just too dangerous - anyone passing may not realise that you're just playing a game and if they see someone brandishing a weapon they will call the police. It's really not worth the risk.

Sound: Period music or sound effects can be used to create an atmosphere. Large libraries often have a music section, with a wide selection of sound effects.

Food: If you are preparing food you might want to provide something appropriate to the setting.

#5 Handling Questions

As written, the murder mystery games cannot answer every eventuality. Your guests are likely to be highly imaginative people. They will have ideas that nobody else has thought of - and there's only one person they can turn to: you.

Unfortunately, that means you're going to be asked questions during the evening. You can't predict some of the things that you're going be asked - so I don't even try. My motto: expect the unexpected.

I tend to use three simple rules when it comes to answering player questions.

Is it fun? Often when a player asks something, they already have an answer in mind. If it sounds fun (which often means dramatic) then I'm likely to say yes.

Is it fair? In trying to get an advantage over another character and achieve their goals, players sometimes come up with suggestions that would upset the game for everyone else. In this case I either say no, or add enough requirements so as to make it very difficult to succeed. And then I'll give the other players plenty of opportunity to make it fail.

Make it up. Your guests haven't seen the full murder mystery document. They don't know if the game is supposed to go in a particular direction or not. The games generally go in whichever direction the players take them - but that's okay. As the players don't know that there isn't a "correct" way to run a murder mystery game (they are always different), I can therefore invent anything I think is reasonable. And so can you - your guests won't know the difference.

Remember that the host is impartial - you shouldn't take sides. If someone wants to do something that will put him or her at a significant advantage over another character, you shouldn't necessarily forbid it - just make it difficult. Make them work for that advantage.

P.S. The more time that your guests have to read their characters and the rules, the better. I suggest allowing at least 20 minutes before the start of the game to give people time to absorb the information. That should also give them time to settle down. You'll have fewer questions if you give everyone a chance to read their characters in peace and quiet.

And Finally

Once you've run a murder mystery game once, all of the above will seem like common sense. And it is - running these games really isn't hard. They do require some work, but it is worth it. So go on - run your own murder mystery party game and have a blast.

What's in a Name: Choosing an Effective Domain Name

The choice of a domain name can be pivotal to the success of your business. Much like choosing a name for your business, the goal of choosing a domain name is to make it easy to remember. If potential customers can't remember your domain name, they won't be able to visit your site and check out your business. Chances are, they won't take the time to find refresh their memories on your domain name; they'll just look elsewhere. That results in a loss of potential income for you.

Another consideration in choosing a domain name is the effect your chosen name will have on your site's ranking by search engines. Most people find websites by searching on engines like Yahoo! or Google, and you will want to be among the highest-ranked sites in the search results, so as to attract the most traffic to your site!

That being said, most of the hugely successful online businesses today don't use what is referred to as keyword domains. Instead, they create a completely unique domain and brand it. Think about domains like eBay, Google, and Amazon. You wouldn't need to search for these sites in a separate search engine, because their name is their domain. So entrenched in our consciousness are these sites that they do not need to concern themselves with how far up they are ranked in a search engine. If you want to buy books online, where would you go first? Almost unquestionably your answer would be amazon.com. Creating a domain name that is your business is a good way to go if you are trying to create a brand. For small businesses getting off the ground, however, a keyword domain that will bolster your online presence via search engines isn't a bad idea either.

What Is Recreational Gymnastics and Who Is It For?

Recreational gymnastics is designed for kids that want to learn basic gymnastics skills, stay fit, build strength and flexibility but don't want to commit to long hours in the gym or partake in competitions.

Children of any age and skill level can participate in a recreational gymnastics program. Most rec gymnastics programs are built around USAG recommendations and standards. USAG require each gymnastics coach and business owner to become members and go through a safety training course and test. This is very important and helps decrease the chance of injury to your child.

Recreational gymnastics programs are usually categorizes by both, age and skill level. Mommy and me class, preschool and kindergarten are all designed for specific ages. Mommy and me class is for children usually 18 months to 3 years old, preschool class is for 3 to 5 year olds and kindergarten class is designed for 5 and 6 year olds. All the rest of the rec gymnastics classes are based on gymnastics skills. The classes are arranged as followed: beginner, advance beginner, intermediate, level 1, level 2... so on and so forth. A gymnast must master all the skills in their gymnastics level before they get to move up to the next level.

Recreational gymnasts get to use the floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars, vault, pit, and trampoline. They also get to use many types of mats that aide in the learning of specific gymnastics skills. There is some equipment in a gymnastics academy that rec gymnast do not get to us. They usually don't get use high bar, strap bar, harnesses, etc.

Most rec gymnasts take gymnastics classes 1 to 2 times a week and each class is usually about an hour long. Every rec class starts with a warm up and usually ends with conditioning.