Post Written by Jennifer Olney

It is the desire of every leader to see their vision become reality. The challenge leaders face translating vision to reality is having the focus and clarity to bring their vision to life. Prior to any discussion of bringing a vision to life you need solid plan, a foundation.

A learning organization is one in which people at all levels, individually and collectively, are repetitively increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about. Why should your organization care about creating such an environment? Because, the level of performance and improvement needed in the workplace today requires learning, lots of learning.

Many employers seem to overlook the little things. When it comes to recognizing their employees they tend to try and wait until the end of the quarter or year end to create awards for accomplishments, it's the everyday subtle events that matter to employees to keep them motivated.

When leaders are faced with adversity, they do not panic. They take action. A leader is one who can assess the challenge, create a plan of action and not second guess themselves in the process or become a victim of analysis paralysis. In business and life there are many "arrows" shot in our direction.

Leadership today is a process of growing and evolving. A solid foundation involves always trying to develop better leadership skills and fundamentals. No leader should be stagnate in their skill set; to believe that you have learned everyone is a fool's game. The leader's toolbox should always be updated with the latest developments in leadership processes.

We need to stop giving millennials or as they are called "Generation Y" a free pass on the real world. Far too many are recommending that we bow dow n to their demands in the workplace and change how we do business to fit them into our cultures.

Yesterday on ESPN during their show "Around The Horn" ESPN analyst Kevin Blackistone unleashed a tirade on the military, Pat Tillman and the US Nationa l Anthem that can only be described as disgusting. Once again, sports and political statements collide.

As Peter Drucker once said, "Good manners are the lubricating oil of organizations." Effective leaders of today know that good manners and civility are critical to success in workplace relationships as well in life. Our manners and civility can affect team performance and have a ripple effect in how our teams respond to our customers.

Are you a collaborative leader? Have you assessed your ability on how you bring together the talents of your team together? We know from the many books and blogs written on the subject that a collaborative leader has direct impact on the bottom-line by their unique style to eliminate or lessen the types of human behaviors that stall out the missions and strategies of organizations.

We have all faced them.Difficult People.Whether they are co-workers, bosses, or clients, our life would not be complete unless we have had to navigate these types of folks at one time or another.The trick is not to let drag us down to their level but rather what separates us from having a complete meltdown when they arrive on the scene is how we handle them.

When you hear the word "leadership," the images that come to mind are mighty men and women who held grand titles and positions - the Churchill's, the Patton's, the Thatcher's etc. Leader is not a title one would give themselves if they're not in a position of great power.

By Jennifer Olney, Founder of GingerConsulting, LLC. Prejudice is, by definition, an unfavorable opinion formed beforehand or without a true knowledge of facts. Prejudice comes either from observation or it is learned. We judge based on limited perception and knowledge that we have of others. There are two types of prejudice.

Jen Olney is a friend of mine. We have plenty to talk about; Jen is passionate about leadership and organizational design. Jen is a mentor who works with people to develop their leadership, and the host of the #BeALeader tweetchat on Thursdays at 4:00 PM Pacific Time.

Guest Post by Jennifer Olney / @gingerconsult #bealeader - this is the first in a series of guest posts on elumn8.me during the month of November a number of which will celebrate the power of gratitude. Enjoy what these great writers have to share and be sure to connect with them if you have not already done so.

A leader's personality and points of view are integral to his or her effectiveness. Employees respond positively to leaders whom they know are real people, those who communicate honestly and well. They want to know they are led by individuals who are willing to acknowledge their own strengths and weaknesses.

If you have been on LinkedIn for any period of time you know that it can be a powerful platform to extend your professional network. LinkedIn is your professional contact Rolodex, providing you the ability to connect with important people and showcase your business skills training.

When I was a little girl my father would gather us up on Friday nights to take us on a family car ride. When I'd ask where we were headed he tell me we were going to"jedbip" - a word of his own creation. These rides were the highlight of the week, especially in the summer.

Our comments matter to others; in fact, it's the highest form of gratitude you can pay another for their ideas. We need to keep in mind that comments are not just for self promotion, rather, an ability to connect on the space with writers and expand the conversation of the blogs we read.

When most folks start out on their blogging journey, they are a one man band. It's up to them to set up the site, write the content and promote their posts. There is a large investment of time and effort to make it work.

One of the main goals with my blog is to bring value and education to my audience. Today, we take a look at the key elements of typography and why it matters for your site. You can have all the slick graphics and great design but if your site is not readable, it will not matter.

In the early days of Twitter, #FollowFriday or as the hashtag has turned #FF was a way for brands and users to give a shout out to those followers whom they want to highlight and thank for their following.

As the saying goes "My word is my bond". When we give our word, we commit ourselves to the actions behind our words. This is where a leader's integrity comes into play. The most successful leaders I know do what they say they are going to do when they say they are going to do it.

The web is crowded with "authentic" and "original" individuals and Brands. In fact, the word "authentic" has been used so much that it has become a cliché'. Everyone is striving to be original, different and "unique". Everyone, or so it seems is using every tool and trick to be seen or heard.

Social media has the power to amplify your brand. Attracting and retaining your audience attention on these platforms is critical to your brand success on social media. If you can attract, retain your audience on social that converts to money. Ultimately brands and individuals business owners want to convert their audience into buyers or clients.

Lately I've noticed this trend from some pretty "respected" voices in social media. Some who feel they have reached a level of success where they feel they can pontificate that they are just too busy to say thank you to others for sharing their work or perhaps even feel that guest writing is just beneath them.