Week 51 - Wake Up The Passionate Leader

We celebrated Christmas with my children yesterday. Every Dad’s dream is to spend a whole day opening gifts, eating great food, and playing family games. Now if you are my kids, you get one self improvement gift every year, since one of my passions to help my family lead a passionate life. This year it was Simple Truths Books/DVDs (click) . Here’s the breakdown:

• Oldest – Laura, 30 – Every Monday Matters – Her passions are being a Mom and a teacher. I had hoped there were ideas to share with her 9^th grade classes on how they could serve others. She will be a teacher that many students remember all their lives.
• Middle – Molly, 27 – The Essence of Leadership – She is still looking for her leadership voice. This book speaks of how successful leaders found their voice and what is important to consider.
• Youngest – Andrew 21 – The Right to Lead – He has attracted leadership roles throughout his young life. Once there, you must earn the right to lead. It is a must read for anyone in a leadership role looking to sharpen their skills.

Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days a Year

• My favorite quote for the week of December 20^th – 26^th: “Advice is like snow – the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.” Samuel T. Coleridge
• This speaks to the essence of coaching. Advice, or more often options, is considered with a trusted, objective source. This allows the mind to hear and see alternatives which might not be considered otherwise. We don’t make decisions for our clients, we help them discovery what’s best for themselves.

The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit

• Week Fifty: Go Back to Basics
• I look forward to the New Year’s break, a time I reflect upon the previous year and take a look at my passions and how I want to approach living them more fully in 2010.
• Week Fifty-One: Please Yourself
• Can you find the time or energy to nurture yourself during this busy time of year? Ask for gifts that would allow that to happen. It could be babysitting of your kids for a long weekend. A gift certificate for a massage or night out might be possible. Don’t be afraid to ask!!!

Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – A Drop for Your Bucket!!! Send an electronic drop or comment by going to the blog (click on this blog’s heading – Wake Up the Passionate Leader above) and click on the “comment” icon at the end of this week’s posting.

• Last call for a free DNA Talent report. This might be a great way to choose a development opportunity for 2010, based on how well you are performing, in your own opinion, on various mission critical competencies for your current role. Send me an e-mail and complete the report by Dec. 31^st. My final self-help holiday gift for all of you!!!

Week 50 - Wake Up The Passionate Leader

A colleague of mine, Suzie Price, of Priceless Professional Development (click) has a great tag line: “Wake Up Eager”. I endorsed a Small Business Survey software program she introduced me to. She asked me some questions to go on her website. My favorite question was: “what things do you personally do to stay energized, focused and interested in your work?” First and foremost, I have a daily happiness list I review which keeps me connected to my passions and markers (what I want to bring more fully into my life). Physical activity and spiritual practices are also daily habits.

How would you answer that question? What do you do to Wake Up Eager?!!!

Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days a Year

• My favorite quote for the week of December 13^th – 19^th: “Unless you try to do something beyond what you already mastered, you will never grow.” Ronald E. Osborn
• About a dozen people contacted me for their link to take the FREE DNA self-assessment. They get an A+!!! Contact me this week for yours! Here’s what they are learning:
• The DNA Talent Report measures your perception of how you are actually doing in 23 work-related competencies. When these are cross-referenced to a particular job strengths profile, you will have a picture of how you think you are performing in the most important competencies for the job. For those you have “Mastered” (M), that’s great. Is there a benefit of continuing to focus your efforts to further developing it? For those you have “Somewhat Mastered” (SWM), which one would be most useful to try to improve right now? If you have competencies in the “Not Yet Mastered” (NYM), then I’d get right on it. We’ll provide you with some development materials to support your efforts.

The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit

• Week Forty-Nine: Intercepting Self-Sabotage
• What I discovered with this exercise is that lately I have been focusing on what is not happening. Let’s suppose that it is not happening because it isn’t truly where my passions are leading me. Rather, it is my ego with its “self interest” nature, keeping me from discovering how my “G” (God, Genius, Greatness, Goodness) can best serve the world.
• Week Fifty: Go Back to Basics
• Without mastering the basics, you can never move on to the more advanced techniques. How do you create the best year of your life? Take time to go within. What brings you joy (makes you happy) based on the formula G + L + F = Joy. Take time each day to go within.
• For me, the answer is in my passions, an element of “G”. I added a marker to one of them recently, and within a month, two people showed up. Coincidentally, my massage therapist had a vision as she cupped her hand over my face (wings of an angel). She saw a bull, which she interpreted as a Taurus who would help me along my path. I put a bull on my vision board on Facebook. It just so happens one of the previously-mentioned people is a Taurus. So what would you do? PAY ATTENTION!

Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – A Drop for Your Bucket!!! Send an electronic drop or comment by going to the blog (click on this blog’s heading – Wake Up the Passionate Leader above) and click on the “comment” icon at the end of this week’s posting.

• One of the most rewarding experiences of being leadership development coaches is delivering credible 360 data to those we serve. As we wind down 2009, there are many of you who have been and/or will be the recipient of such “gifts”. Please treat them as such! As you “unwrap these gifts”, unwrap them fully and with an open mind and heart. Your boss, direct reports and co-workers are trying to support you in taking your leadership development from where it is today to where you aspire to be in the future. Who could ask for a better gift than that?
• We’ve had the pleasure of delivering several 360’s over the past few weeks. To see each participant embrace their data … “celebrating” improvements and acknowledging “opportunities” … further reassures us that as they graduate, the motivation to reach even greater levels of success is within them. Let your Learning Action Plans guide you into the New Year as you continue to learn and grow. Happy Holidays one and all!

Week 49 - Wake Up The Passionate Leader

One of your fellow subscribers sent me a link to an interview with Captain "Sully" Sullenburger (click), the US Airways pilot who landed safely in the Hudson River. I think you’ll find that he says an awful lot of things that make sense about training, coaching, being prepared, etc… that can apply to any job - not just flying a plane. When he talked about teaching pilots, he shares my philosophy of first trying to describe what a great pilot, or in our case, a great leader looks like. He used general questions (which were very consistent class to class). We use our assessments, behaviors, motivators, talents and values (which are very consistent even though we ask a diverse group to participate).

The defining factor was his passion to be a pilot from an early age. That being the case, including the passion to be a leader, we then need an honest look – both personally and from those we serve. Given what we discover, then develop (maximize) those areas where your strengths match the profile (strive for excellence) – and minimize those factors where you don’t match (strive for competence – just enough so it doesn’t become a career staller or stopper). Check out my free offer at the end of this blog.

Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days a Year

• My favorite quote for the week of December 6^th – 12^th: “Not the time, place or circumstances, but in the person lies success.” Charles B. Rouss
• I picked this one because we talk a lot about success and what it means to us. Defining and describing success is no easy path. It is indeed a moving target - as subjective as it is elusive.
• The latest Simple Truths book: The Best of Success - A Treasury of Inspiration (click), looks at traits that many of those we consider successful seem to share. Why not buy this book or give it as a gift so that it can be a source of inspiration in your journey along the highway to success?

The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit

• Week Forty-Eight: Love Your Imperfections
• I hope you have lightened up a bit on that imperfection you identified last week.

• Week Forty-Nine: Intercepting Self-Sabotage
• If you are not producing the results you want, look at how you may be sabotaging yourself by focusing on that imperfection. Self-sabotage is an indication that you are punishing yourself for something. Self-love is the antidote to self-sabotage.
• When the thought of this imperfection comes around again, and you know it will, ask yourself “what am I punishing myself for?” Identify an action step you can take this week that will support you in forgiving yourself for that. Remind yourself about what you really, really, really, really want in this situation.

Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – A Drop for Your Bucket!!! Send an electronic drop or comment by going to the blog (click on this blog’s heading – Wake Up the Passionate Leader above) and click on the “comment” icon at the end of this week’s posting.

• FREE DNA self-assessment to all subscribers! For most jobs, soft skills are as important as technical skills in producing superior performance. Particularly in management and leadership positions, soft skills are not only transferrable as we move up the ladder, they become more important than technical skills.
• The DNA report is a self-assessment of your perception of how well you have mastered 23 soft skills. Your mastery of these soft skills is then categorized into three levels: Mastered; Some Mastery; Not Yet Mastered. This is my year-end gift to you. Send me an e-mail requesting the link and start out the New Year a little wiser. Remember: “wisdom is knowing the right path to take…integrity is taking it”.

Week 48 - XLR8 The Passionate Leader

One of the folks I follow - Steve Roberts of “Cool Minds, Warm Hearts” - sent me this. “Stopped for speeding in L.A. The macho cop slowly swaggers up to my window and says in a somewhat 'gotcha' tone, 'I’ve been waitin’ for you all day.' To which I replied, ‘Gosh officer, I got here as fast as I could.’ He let me off.” I laughed.

Did you find this humorous? Why? I laughed not just because I am a reformed speeder (my radar detector got stolen from my car after two speeding tickets years ago). I laughed because it reminds me that we are in a hurry to get “here” or worse “there.” But how many of us are in a hurry to get to a clearer understanding about how our life matters? Take a look at the Simple Truth’s latest book/DVD – The Butterfly Effect (click). These are the “here” & “there” worth contemplating.

· Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days a Year

o My favorite quote for the week of November 22^nd – 28^th: “To love what you do and feel that it matters – how could anything be more fun?” Katherine Graham

§ Like many of you, I spent a dozen hours in the car this Thanksgiving weekend. I was listening to a CD of “TED – Ideas Worth Spreading” presentations. One CD in particular, by Sir Ken Robinson, entitled: Do Schools Kill Creativity? (click) was one of my favorites. While he was extremely humorous, his message was not. Schools are so obsessed with academic excellence that it overlooks most of our “genius”. If our parents are on that bandwagon, that’s two strikes against us. I hope you have found someone to help you or the right time to discover yours, and then find out how to make a living at it.

· The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit

oWeek Forty-Seven: Count Your Blessings

§ I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving. I am very grateful to you for subscribing to this blog. It has been very inspiring - something I didn’t expect. I am already looking forward to next year as I use the weekly discipline to focus on writing our book.

oWeek Forty-Eight: Love Your Imperfections

§ We make mistakes; we’re works in progress. My personal mission is to help the degree to which we are able to love and accept ourselves in spite of our imperfections. One way to reframe this is to say: “I’m worthy of my own love and acceptance even though I ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________."

§ Since many of our clients are too tough on themselves, one of their first reading/listening assignments is: Learning to Avoid the Gap by Dan Sullivan. The idea is to celebrate the progress we are making always knowing we can continue to strive to get better … or not. It’s your choice.

• Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – A Drop for Your Bucket!!! Send an electronic drop or comment by going to the blog (click on this blog’s heading – Wake Up the Passionate Leader above) and click on the “comment” icon at the end of this week’s posting.

o While it was a short work week, I had the opportunity to meet a couple of new clients for the first time. They have begun the XLR8 YOU!!! “Leadership Excellence” process and will attend the sold-out March 2010 kick-off week. Our first hour is to get to know each other and for them to share their story. I really love this part! I am always fascinated with how they got to this moment in time and am extremely grateful to be a part of their continuing personal and professional journey.

Week 47 - XLR8 The Passionate Leader

While Peter Drucker didn’t make this up, he influenced many CEO’s by asking: What is “the essence of your company?” The ultimate answer is beyond just making a profit or creating wealth for stakeholders; the essence of a company is making a difference, being really useful and creating something the world truly needs. Employee engagement is the buzz word of the 21^st century, and this is the best way for a company to tap into the full potential of its employees.

At some point in our Leadership journey, this mission becomes more important than anything. We often need to be reminded because we get caught up in our own self interest or the day-to-day challenges our business encounters. These often not so subtle reminders from the universe help us not only to become more deeply conscious of the purpose of our work, but may require us to reinvent the very meaning of our leadership journey. Believe it or not, that process is very exciting even though it may be very painful at first.

Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days a Year

• My favorite quote for the week of November 22^nd – 28^th: “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” George Bernard Shaw
• This is the foundation for the Law of Attraction. So why doesn’t everyone have what they want? Because as author James Allen observed: “We do not attract that which we want but that which we are.”
• I like the way Wayne Dyer explains this in his latest book: Excuses Begone! Who I am is first and foremost determined by what I believe. We really have it backwards most of the time. “I’ll believe it when I see it” should really be “believe it and I’ll see it!”

• The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit
• Week Forty-Six: Create a Plan of Action!
• I added several new markers to my Passions! It is so motivating. Note to self: New Years is around the corner – a great time to celebrate and plan.
• Week Forty-Seven: Count Your Blessings
• This is appropriate for us Americans given that this coming Thursday is Thanksgiving. Most of our discontent stems from our inability to appreciate what we already have. Without gratitude, we become trapped in an endless cycle of wishing and wanting life to be different.
• No matter what your circumstances are on Thursday, make a list of all the things in your life for which you are grateful. If for some reason you choose to feel otherwise, then follow Gandhi’s lead – “the best way to feel gratitude is to serve others.”

• Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – A Drop for Your Bucket!!! Send an electronic drop or comment by going to the blog (click on this blog’s heading – Wake Up the Passionate Leader above) and click on the “comment” icon at the end of this week’s posting.
• Developing people is one of the most fulfilling aspects of leadership. I have the pleasure of working with some “younger” leaders (alright everyone I work with is younger than me). He shared the story of an “older” guy . . . let’s call him Bill . . . who recently talked about getting some new experiences as a direct result of working with him. Bill was given an expanded assignment in his current job not too long ago. With some good coaching, these new responsibilities, which got him out of his comfort zone, reinvigorated Bill. He hasn’t landed a new job yet, but he is getting further out of his comfort zone and interviewing. Congratulations to them both – that’s how it’s supposed to work!

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