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It's Not What
You
Do
January
2008
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Jim has been successful at launching his career and
it's gone well. He quickly became known for his ability to get
things done and for taking on one responsibility after
another. Jim became one of his company's youngest managers. He
had good strategic grasp and was praised for his commitment.
He was fast, efficient, decisive and ready to take risks.
Looking around, Jim thought: "To be a leader here I
need to demonstrate excellence in what I do, master the
business, communicate clearly, present effectively and deliver
results. I need to be confident and quick to respond and do
better than most." Feeling good about himself he got to work early every
day and focused on getting things done. He told himself:
"That's the way to get ahead here; I need to focus on what I
do, on my actions and on getting results. Then, one day, I am
going to be a 'decider' here."
The Blind
Spot
Fast-forward five years and Jim was in
trouble. He did not get the Director role he hoped for. His
career was stalling, he felt disoriented and he was becoming
disenchanted. Up until this point in his life things had
worked more or less according to his plan. Now Jim couldn't
figure out what went wrong or what he was not doing, and this
disturbed him.
Jim suffered a major blind spot
many managers struggle with. He failed to realize that his
ability to get things done blinded him from seeing what was
even more important. Jim's blind spot was not recognizing that
true success and leadership lie somewhere else: It is not what
you do; it is your way of being when you do
it.
Do They Trust You
Other people respond not just to what you do, but to your
way of being and your intentions and motives. They come to
trust and believe in you more because of how you are than the
results you get. It's your way of being as you work to achieve
results they learn to trust. And they don't always remember
what you say to them, but they never forget how you make them
feel.
The essence of leadership is not what you do -
it is your way of being when you do it, which is an expression
of your intention, reasons, values and the way you relate to
other people.
Your way of leading
Here are some
questions to reflect on to help you gain insight to your way
of being and therefore your way of leading:
1. Are you
having fun doing what you do? Or is it an impossible chore?
Where are you on the scale in between these two positions?
2. If zero is holding back with a mean spirit and ten is
full of positive energy and openly ready to engage, where are
you on the scale between these two points?
3. Are you quick
to blame and deflect issues to others or do you step up to
take responsibility and ownership?
4. How do you approach
the world? Is it a jungle full of threats; a place to work
hard and play hard, or a stage to manifest dreams? What is
your metaphor for engaging in the world?
5. How do you see
the people around you? Are they objects that either interfere
with or help you? Are they people like you with desires,
concerns, fears and hopes? Is it a little bit of both?
6.
Are you always at high pressure and busy or do you make
yourself available and approachable?
7. Do you appreciate
people for what they are and create a space in which they can
evolve and grow?
8. Do you trust first until persuaded
otherwise? Or do you begin on the basis of distrust, needing
to take people through 27 tests before you decide they can be
trusted?
9. Are you fair and do you encourage fairness and
decency?
10. Are you finding more often than not that
helping and serving people's higher interest is the best way
to serve your own higher self interest?
Jim's blind
spot was not recognizing the invisible side of leadership: It
is not
what you do; It is your way of
being when you do it.
Reflect and act
Here are seven things you can do to uplift
the invisible side of your leadership:
1. Practice
awareness about your inner state of being.
2. Focus on the
one or two major opportunities each day.
3. Discover what
situations tend to cause you to blame others and justify
yourself. Make the shift to being present and at the point,
free of the need to justify.
4. Practice centering
yourself by taking a few deep breaths and relaxing for a
moment.
5. Practice seeing others as people like you. Ask
yourself: What are their hopes? What are their concerns? How
can I help them to be the best they can be?
6. Determine
to begin your day with focusing on what energizes you and
makes you happy and grateful.
7. Commit to a life long
journey of personal growth to develop finer awareness and
knowledge of self.
© Aviv
Shahar |
| The 5 Step Success Strategy for
Everything |
|
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I am often asked towards the end of a four or five day
seminar, "How can I sustain what I have learned here?"
Typically this is an indication that the person has found new
insights which they want to act on and not lose. The new
self-knowledge and insight may consist of a clear set of
values, appreciation of personal strengths, a new leadership
strategy, how to better enable and develop their team, new
appreciation about building trustful relationships, a clear
set of goals, a determination to better align short and long
term intentions, or something else. They ask how to sustain it
because they instinctively feel that the pressure system they
are returning to will be challenging. They fear losing the
precious clarity they gained while in the seminar when faced
with returning to the demands of their busy lives.
I usually reply with the five step success strategy for
everything:
- First, you have to be driven. If you are not driven with
a great intensity the other four steps will not be enough.
- Second, you've got to design your environment to support
your success. Build into your life reminders, support
mechanisms and rituals to help you stay on course.
- Third, have a coach or a buddy to help you stay
accountable to your decisions and personal commitments.
- Create or join a mastermind support group with people
whose endeavor is on a similar path with intentions and
objectives that resonate with yours.
- Attend an annual retreat, seminar, development
opportunity to gain further knowledge and insight.
These five steps are the foolproof strategy for sustainable
success.
© Aviv Shahar |
| The 10th Emerald Key: "Living on
Purpose" |
|
Our new Emerald CDs are now available. In this Emerald
Key we help you find and articulate your purpose. Some people
discover their purpose early in life, but most must journey a
long road to find it. To have true personal power it's
important that you find this inner core and the confidence to
believe in yourself. Living on purpose is how greatness
reveals itself. When you realize your potential for greatness,
you can become one with your reasons for being.
To get your CDs visit here.
© Aviv Shahar
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