It is not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It is what you think you know that isn’t true that causes all the problems…
Category: Leadership & Influence Page 19 of 20
How many times do you tell people around you (workers, employees, family, etc.) what they have done wrong or the mistakes they have made? Many times we spend more time making corrections and pointing out what is wrong than we do pointing out what is right and acknowledging a job well done.
Think back to when you were a child… How many times did you hear “yes” for every “no”? Most people are craving for acknowledgement and encouragement. As a leader, your job is to support people to get things right – focusing on what is right and acknowledging a job well done will give you many times more results that pointing out what is wrong.
Singapore 2009: About six years ago, we signed a one year lease on a Villa on the cliff in Bali. We spent our days watching the whales, dolphins, fisherman, and the sun rise and set. We sat under a coconut palm and our favorite cashew nut tree. Our maid and gardener took care of everything around the Villa.
That period is one our most memorable because we took the time to unwind from the busy work-a-day world to ponder the future, reflect on who we really were, and what we wanted to do with our lives. The Goldzone vision is the result… What do you want to dream, create and manifest?
If you continue a lifelong journey of improving and developing yourself, this can only lead to one place – LEADERSHIP. Most people are busy trying to get somewhere – rather than working on becoming someone. As you improve your ability to communicate, to confront difficult situations and people, to postulate future realities… Your ability to lead, persuade and inspire increases in proportion.
What is the difference between changing something and transforming it? Change is when you make small incremental adjustments. Over time, these small adjustments add up. However, the basic foundation is the same as what you started with.
On the other hand, when you transform something, you throw out the plans, the model, the past and invent something that was not there before: a new paradigm. It does not resemble the past, is often unrecognizable and is a fundamental shift that often cannot be predicted.
“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.”
– Tolstoy
Leadership skills are as vital at home and in family situations as they are in the office and on teams. In fact, many people’s leadership behaviors at the office either mirrors or is the exact opposite of their leadership behavior at home. An example of the latter is the power executive who dominates everyone at the office, and when it comes to home and family matters – abdicates everything to others.
We are at the effect of anything that we abdicate… Taking responsibility means including ourselves in both work and family leadership situations.
The definition of FLOW is:
“Being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.”
– Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Whether you realize it or not, you lead every day: in your relationships, with your family, friends, colleagues, clients and associates. Since you must lead, why not be good at it? It can make a big difference in your results and quality of life.
If you don’t like people saying “No” to you – then don’t ask questions that require a NO answer. The secret is to only ask questions that people can say YES to. This requires a different mindset, and language than most people are familiar with.
If you see only black and white, consider what would happen if you could see many more alternatives (shades of grey) and possible ways of saying something than you use right now. This requires creative thinking…