Yesterday, in preparation for a future speaking engagement, I phoned the organizer to get some clarification on who would be in my audience. He said something that gave me pause when he offered that the group I was speaking to “were mostly not leadership types.”
His intention was not to be mean-spirited, more of a casual toss of an opinion. The specific roles this audience held were not necessarily deemed as leadership ones in that organization, simple enough. But that by no means discards them as being potential leaders or leaders amongst their inner circles.
Every person can lead. We already do in our own lives, our starting point is self-leadership:
Like any pioneer, Pixar struggled. Those able to tap into their superpowers are those able to transcend the rules. I watched The Pixar Story on Netflix this weekend. I looked forward to a unique story of this adorable powerhouse (I mean, that lamp). And the documentary delivered on that. The surprise came as I watched how Pixar became a lauded innovator.
I love being inspired. I love getting teary eyed, choked up, and goose-bumpy…truth be told, it’s not that hard to get me there .
Since I was feeling a bit nostalgic with the New Year, I compiled a list of my own. 2 leadership stories, 8 quotes, and 7 books that either leave me feeling like I can do anything, or a bit like I should be doing much, much better and to go make that happen!
I hope you feel the same…
Gratitude is one of those habits we all know we are supposed to do, but why? What does it do for us? Yes, I’m not proud of this, but I’m shamelessly asking Gratitude “What’s in it for me?”
With the arrival of Thanksgiving comes the final push of 2018, with the timeless underlying theme of gratitude. Grateful for the food we are about to eat, the people around the table with us, and for some…the deals to be found clawing through Black Friday.
I am going to save the rest of the reasons to be grateful for you to find on other posts this week. Today, it’s all about why gratitude works, why is it at the top of every guru’s list, and let me tell you…it is more than just being grateful because you should be. If embraced as a practice, it moves you forward in all aspects of your life.
f you don't feel centered, energized, and purposeful in your work, you will not be able to lead, inspire, or influence anyone.
Part of being able to support this is the ability to have some discernment on what tasks you decide to take on, what you say yes to.
Are you able to honor your own commitments?
Sometimes, we are proud of taking on tasks for others, even if we shouldn't, because we're known as the problem solver.
If leadership is a skill that can be developed, which I believe is true, then how do you go about it?
Here are some traits that I believe are essential for good leaders, my hope is as you read through these, you picture a scenario you've had, did you exercise some of these traits? How and if not, how could you have? How did that impact their and your work, the relationship?
Think of a time a leader showed you these traits and how that impacted you. Reflection of personal experiences will help you understand why each trait is so important.
Have you ever been in a situation when there are differing opinions amongst the team on a decision that must be made? Whether it’s about who takes what responsibility, how to handle a client, or a policy or operational decision, there are times when all of you will be unanimous and times when you differ. How do you know when to let democracy prevail or when to make an authoritative decision that goes against the majority? When should you stand alone?
