Week 10 - XLR8 The Passionate Leader

Remember, if you are a subscriber and want to comment, please click on “Wake Up the Passionate Leader” on the top of this e-mail you are reading. If you are on the actual blog, scroll down to the bottom of this week’s post and click on “comments”. This week’s theme is Intention.

• Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days A Year
• My favorite quote for the week of March 9^th – March 15^th: “You are the way you are because that’s the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be different, you would be in the process of changing right now.” – Fred Smith
• We are getting ready for the kick-off week for XLR8 YOU!!! Leadership Excellence at Bristol Harbor this week. It is a great time to get in touch with what you want to be different through your passions, writing them down and then sharing them with those who can help you. Are you ready, willing and able?
• A great book to help you is What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith. Upon request, I can send you an Audio-tech book summary transcript.

• The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit
• Week Nine Assignment – The Power of Choice
• Be the first to share the two choices you made this week and the impact they had to win a FREE SIMPLE TRUTHS BOOK/DVD of your choice. (Go to the blog and click on the comment icon at the end of this week’s post).
• Week Ten Assignment – Take the Week Off!
• This is the week to appreciate what you have already accomplished.

• Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – A Drop for Your Bucket!!! Send an electronic drop
• While packing for Leadership Week, I came across Joe’s rocks. He came to Leadership week with the intention to get out of his comfort zone in order to learn what he needed to learn. He found three rocks during his morning runs. On the last day, he shared this story. The first rock looked like a baked potato cut in half - kind of the way he felt on the first day - sliced open for all to see. The second one was more fully formed but had several blemishes on it. This is how he felt by mid-week - like he was making progress. The last one was almost a perfectly-formed baked potato. Through all the self reflection, feedback and support from his new-found coaches, he recognized himself and his potential and as importantly, he had a plan of action. I love those rocks - thanks Joe!
• If you don’t want to blow your horn – how about recognizing someone else’s leadership success - big or little – please share your comments.

To date, we have 147 subscribers. My goal is to reach 1,000 by year end. Invite a friend or colleague this week.

Week 9 - XLR8 The Passionate Leader

I’ve answered several questions this week about blogs. If you are a subscriber and want to comment, please click on “Wake Up the Passionate Leader” on the top of this e-mail you are reading. Once on the actual blog, scroll down to the bottom of this week’s post and click on “comments”. This week’s theme is Choice.

• Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days A Year
• My favorite quote for the week of March 2^nd – March 8^th: “You become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration.” – James Allen
• A great example of living this was on CBS’s Sunday Morning today. Michele Obama’s brother was being interviewed. After graduating from Princeton, he took a job in finance making six figures. What he learned was: “if you take a job based on the pay, ultimately, you are not going to make enough money to put up with the mess.” He now coaches the Oregon State basketball team - going back to his first love - coaching and teaching.
• I’d recommend watching the video (10 minutes) which also includes Michele’s mother.
• That’s why discovering your inner guidance system: Passions; Unique Ability; Personal Mission & Values are the centerpiece of the Leadership Excellence process!

• The Best Year of Your Life: Get Debbie Ford's Kit
• Week Eight Assignment – Forgive
• How did it go? For me, it frees my energy for more productive uses.

• Week Nine Assignment – The Power of Choice
• Reflect on an area of your life where you’d like to create a different result. For those with your top five passions from The Passion Test, score your passions and use the one with the lowest score. Write down exactly what you’d like to change in this area. Allow yourself to see the choices you have made recently that have worked against this desire or passion.
• Identify two choices you can make this week that will move you closer to the result you desire.

• Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – Sharing Best Practices: Choosing to break down silos.
• I read a good book this week: Silos, Politics and Turf Wars by Patrick Lencioni. I think Patrick is a young Ken Blanchard – using fables to convey a message that everyone can identify with. Part of getting everyone on the same page and going in the same direction is developing a thematic goal – “a single qualitative focus that is shared by the entire leadership team – and ultimately the entire organization – and that only applies for a specific time period.”

• While this client wasn’t reading the book, he shared with me what I would describe as the thematic goal for his leadership team – “to create a culture of teamwork through relationship building and dedication to high standards”. The XLR8 Teams!!! process will be an integral part of executing this goal.

Please share your comments and experiences!!! To date, we have 123 subscribers. Invite a friend or colleague this week.

Week 8 - The Passionate Leader

Whether you spend a couple minutes reading for inspiration and insight, spending a few minutes completing The Best Year of Your Life! Exercise, or sharing your own leadership best practices - we thank you! Sign up your whole team and share your thoughts and experiences together every week.

• Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days A Year: Watch the Video @ Inspiration 365
• My favorite quote for the week of February 23^rd – March 1^st: “As I grow older, part of my emotional survival plan must be to actively seek inspiration instead of passively waiting for it to find me.” – Bebe Moore Campbell
• Alright, I have to admit, I had a birthday this week. While I still refuse to join AARP, I have qualified for some time now. This quote has been true for me for many years. I continue to search for new ways to stay inspired including this blog. I feel that it an integral part of achieving my number #1 passion – being at peace with myself and those I love.
• Please share in a comment below how you actively seek inspiration every day!!!

• The Best Year of Your Life
• Week Seven Assignment – Question Your Beliefs
• Did you come across a limiting belief? By exposing it, you have completed the first step in changing it. Use this week’s assignment to transform it.
• Week Eight Assignment – Forgive
• Resentments drain our vital energy. They act like a barrier around our heart - preventing us from receiving all the love we desire - particularly the love of ourselves. The stronger they are, the more power you gain from this act of forgiveness.
• Think about someone you’ve been harboring a grudge against. They probably reinforce a limiting belief you have about yourself. Allow yourself to let it go - to soften your heart and help you forgive.

• Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – Sharing Best Practices:
• In my travels this week, I saw a great XLR8Forward preamble for Challenging the Process. “Challenging the Process is an important step in making something happen with a sense of urgency. We need to make it safe for others to experiment and build confidence in all to provide the way to success.” The stories your 360⁰ raters share with you make it easier for them to make suggestions on how you can do better!
• Please make a “comment” about a great leadership experience you had this week!

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Week 7 - XLR8 The Passionate Leader

Valentine’s Greetings! I’m sure you share my gratitude for all of the love that surrounds you. For those familiar with my G + L + F = JOY formula, the “L”, love, is central. It goes beyond loving those around you by starting with loving yourself. Then, loving what you do in service of those who love what you do is the icing on the cake! Don’t forget to subscribe (box to the right) to get new blog postings directly. Sign up your whole team and share your thoughts and experiences together every week.

• Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days A Year: Watch the Video @ Inspiration 365
• My favorite quote for the week of February 15^th – 22^nd: It’s not where you start – it’s where you finish that counts – Zig Ziglar
• This quote reminds me of how we start Leadership Week – completing our lifeline. We draw a line on a sheet of paper that begins with our birth and ends at a point 10 years past our current age. Above the line are positive experiences; below are the negative ones. On that page, place an “X” at the points in your life (above the line are positive; below the line are negative) that to you represent major turning points in defining who you are.

• I’m always amazed by people’s stories and the situations that have been overcome to get us where we are today and what we are looking toward in the future. Many people have taken this exercise back to their teams. If you’re one of those who have, please make a comment and share your experience.

• The Best Year of Your Life:
• Week Six Assignment – Become the Person You Want to Be
• If you haven’t already, tell those folks you chose what qualities you admire in them. Then, practice “feedforward” – ask them how you could develop more of that quality.

• Week Seven Assignment – Question Your Beliefs
• The conclusions we form as a result of our life experiences become the beliefs we hold about ourselves, others and the world.
• This fits into the quote for the week. Look over your lifeline and ask:
• What belief did I form as a result of one of the experiences I made with an “X”?
• Does this belief serve me today . . . in a positive or negative way?
• How do I change the negative belief?

• Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – Sharing Best Practices:
• In my travels this week, someone showed me a terrific vision board. They used a manila folder with an important picture on the front, with cut-out pictures and drawings taped and drawn in the inside. It was simple but elegant. He is leading a new team and was going to use this exercise and a way for the team to get to know each other. Brilliant!
• Please make a “comment” about a great leadership experience you had this week!

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Week 6 - XLR8 The Passionate Leader

Let’s stay on the topic of vision. Don’t forget to subscribe (box to the right) to get new blog postings directly.

• Zig Ziglar’s Inspiration: 365 Days A Year: Watch the Video @ Inspiration 365
• My favorite quote for the week of February 8^th – 14^th: Choice, not chance, determines human destiny – Robert W. Ellis
• This fits perfectly with The XLR8 Team’s vision to help ourselves and others “surrender to the magnificence of our limitless possibilities.” I remember the elation I felt when we finished. I believe articulating this vision was indeed my destiny choosing me - providing an avenue to fulfill my purpose.

• The Best Year of Your Life:
• Week Five Assignment – Envision Your Best Life
• I hope you made some progress putting together your vision map. Add to it on an ongoing basis. Reward yourself every time you refer to it before making a choice.
• Week Six Assignment – Become the Person You Want to Be
• Whenever you admire a quality in someone else – whether it’s a strength, style, determination, or creativity – you can be sure that this quality also exists within you. If you want to discover your greatest self, all you have to do is notice who you admire.
• Next, think of a person you love and / or respect – someone you know personally or from afar. Identify three qualities that you appreciate the most about this person.
• Finally, begin each day this week with the question: “What action can I take to nurture these qualities within me?”

• Creating a Culture of Leadership Development – Sharing Best Practices:
• Thanks to Kevin for his comment last week about how DISC has helped with his self awareness. Check it out at the end of last week’s blog. We are back to work this week – looking for best practices to share with you.
• Please make a “comment” about a great leadership experience you had this week!

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