Showing posts with label challenges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challenges. Show all posts

Leaders Use Resolve Rather Than Avoid


By Richard Brody

One of the determining factors between true leaders and wannabes is whether they have enough personal resolve to face confrontations and difficulties, or opt instead to prioritize merely avoiding conflict. While a great leader always tries to create a meeting of the minds wherever possible, he is always prepared to persist and persevere in pursuit of his most meaningful objectives, goals and ideals.

1. Great leaders are always proactive. They never merely sit back and wait for things to happen or come to them, but they understand and appreciate the need to proactively pursue goals, because it is a necessity of achievement. Many of those in positions of leaders opt to procrastinate or in other ways avoid taking any type of even potentially controversial actions or activities, and thus they never are transformed into true leaders. The impact of avoiding taking meaningful action is often a tendency to become irrelevant.

2. A real leader never has the luxury of merely advising others what they should do, but must rather commit fully to leadership by example. That means avoiding the overwhelming tendency of wannabe leaders that basically transmit a message to do as I say, not as I do. When someone leads by example, it tends to motivate far more others to become more involved and commit. It also accentuates the message by indicating that the individual is not merely telling you to do something, but showing a personal commitment that makes it far more compelling to follow and commit to a greater extent.

3. When someone who leads has obvious personal resolve, and does not tend to give up (or change his message and/ or goals because of resistance, challenges, obstacles or criticisms), he sets the tone and direction. A leader's focus on getting his objections done, and having contingency and backup plans in place to assure successful implementation, creates a positive aura and an overall can - do type of mindset and atmosphere.

4. When someone who leads has the right attitude and commits to move forward consistently in his desired direction and/ or mode, he best potentiates accomplishing what needs to be done. This often requires addressing issues at early stages and reducing any negative impacts. This creates a positive mindset that sees obstacles and issues as merely challenges, as opposed to the often seen mindset of focusing on perceived problems.

We often hear discussions about strong leaders or strength of leadership. This is only relevant when it translates to meaningful, proactive actions and personal resolve to achieve one's goals, regardless of the resistance or obstacles.

Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has professionally run events, consulted to over a thousand leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for over 30 years. Rich has written three books and well over a thousand articles. His company, PLAN2LEAD, LLC has an informative website http://plan2lead.net and Plan2lead can also be followed on Facebook http://facebook.com/Plan2lead
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Brody
http://EzineArticles.com/?Leaders-Use-Resolve-Rather-Than-Avoid&id=8049961

Leaders and Influencers: Are You Willing to Go to the Root?



By Susan S Freeman

Early April brings springtime and the season when new life emerges around us. Is it also unfolding within us? Are we seeing "below the dirt?" "Are we getting to the root?"

I read a book last weekend that changed the way I was looking at a problem. The more I reflected about the book's offering to me, the more I appreciated the mindset shift I experienced. My approach to a long-standing issue had changed radically in a few hours.

The familiar quote "Can't see the forest for the trees" comes to mind.

It is used when someone is too involved in the details of a problem to look at a situation as a whole. I'll take it one step farther.

It's not just about being too involved in the details of a problem; it's about being too involved in our own mindsets to see that they are mindsets.

Mindsets can be changed.

Why are so many people engaged in systems that aren't effective and often are harmful? Why is it that so often we get buried in the details (the trees) and can't see that the solution to our problem may require our pulling back to see the entire forest?

We have to get out of the trees and above the forest before we can go to the source; the root.

I see struggles we all have in getting to the root of a problem. As a coach, I am trained to dig deeply, through powerful questions, to explore what is below the surface. What I often discover for myself and for clients, is that the problems we all have are rarely taken to their root level. People get "stuck" and repeat patterns that are harmful to them because they don't go to the root. Even for people who are trained to do it for others, it can be impossible to do for oneself.

Failure to go to the root of a problem challenges many levels of our society. The prevailing mindset is "I am too busy to stop and think about how I might get to the root, so I will just keep doing what I have always done."

Getting to the root doesn't necessarily take longer. It requires the ability to slow down and stop engaging in the habits that keep us safe, yet stuck.

Here are some tools for leaders and influencers to use to get to the root:

1) Stop periodically and quiet your mind

2) Breathe deeply from your belly with your eyes closed

3) In this state connect to your care and ask what matters most

4) What question needs an answer?

5) Pay attention to any signs, words, or ideas that come to you

6) Have a "root" explorer in your world; someone who asks the tough and challenging questions

My wish is for you to see the trees and the forest, while remembering that it all begins at the root. Look "below" the symptom. Get curious. Keep probing.

To your "up-rooting!"


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Susan_S_Freeman
http://EzineArticles.com/?Leaders-and-Influencers:-Are-You-Willing-to-Go-to-the-Root?&id=7600789
Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How You Can, Versus Why You Can't

How You Can, Versus Why You Can't


By Richard Brody

How do you face the inevitable obstacles that we each face every day? Is your initial reaction to adopt the negative perspective of focusing on the reasons that you might fail and what might go wrong, or do you take the positive path of seeking what you need to do to assure that you can? This difference in approach often impacts our results as well as our effectiveness, because one methodology propels us forward and enhances our potential, while the other one is self - defeating, demoralizing, and a sort of self fulfilling negative prophesy.

1. Do you perceive obstacles as problems or as challeneges? This perception often is the most significant precursor in determing our inevitable results, because merely focusing on something as a problem conjures up an unpleasant image that makes most of us want to avoid and escape from. On the other hand, when we conceive of things as challenges, it helps us to expend our energies expeditiously and efficiently. The visualization of a challenge is productive because it creates a positive mindset, and challenges are often viewed as an adventure, while problems are considered a sort of disaster.

2. Why you can philosophy uses our energies in a productive and proactive manner, while the why you can't approach generally produces worry and anxiety! We must realize that worrying about things and having anxiety never solves anything. All these behaviors do is bring on additional stress, which, for those who ponder on the negative, is counter - productive and self - defeating.

3. Do you learn from your stress, or do you let stresses control and manipulate you? Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Hans Selye describe the two types of stress as positive stress (he labelled it as eustress) and negative stress. While eustress is valuable and enriching, negative stress is debilitating and destructive. It is how we react to stressful circumstances that determines our end result! Stress used productively moves us to greater heights, because it teaches us how to do things better and more effectively. On the other hand, when stress is permitted to control us, we achieve less, and attempt less, often giving up and giving in to obstacles that we face.

Each of us control our destinies to the degree that our mindsets place in either the position to succeed or to not only fail, but to contribute to that failure. Only an absolute commitment to a can - do philosophy and performance enhances us!

Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has professionally run events, consulted to over a thousand leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for over 30 years. Rich has written three books and well over a thousand articles. His company, PLAN2LEAD, LLC has an informative website http://plan2lead.net and Plan2lead can also be followed on Facebook http://Facebook.com/Plan2lead
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Brody
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-You-Can,-Versus-Why-You-Cant&id=7961471
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net