Why Not Establish Key Elements for Leadership Success?

"If your actions inspire others to dream more,
learn more,
do more and become more,
you are a leader."
John Quincy Adams

Leadership is more than just a title or a position. Comprised of numerous and often undefined facets, leaders struggle until they define some simple, fundamental elements that can help to focus energy and talent around those leadership components that will have a positive impact on their business. For me, there are five elements that can help set apart the mediocre from the extraordinary in terms of leadership that can lead to ultimate business and life success.

1. Results centered. The results centered person has not only clearly defined objectives and goals for themselves, but they always communicate and clarify those results to key stakeholders.
2. Influence people. Not through coercion or manipulation, instead, the successful leader has the ability to inspire others to get on board with the key desired results.
   
3. Initiate and manage change. not waiting until the year end financials or customer service complaints arrive, successful leaders proactively measure and monitor consistently employee and customer interests and satisfaction.
4. Business acumen. Understanding the critical elements of their business, successful leaders have an understanding of their products and/or services, as well as their roles and responsibilities.
   
5. Build partnerships & teams. Leaders appreciate that without followers there is no need for leadership. Establishing strong relationships, selecting the right employees, the right partners and the right customers takes skill and talent.
   

Being labeled The Leader can be a daunting responsibility. Establishing key elements can help successful leaders focus time, talent and energy towards cultivating attributes that can lead to thriving relationships, growing business and sustainable communities. I thought I would share with you my key elements. Now, I am interested in learning what others identify as those key elements that have led them to business success.

I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Understanding Motivation

Understanding that our motivations cause us to act or not act is a major key to personal and professional success. To further drive home this point, let's start with some basic definitions for motivation.

1. wordnetweb.princeton.edu -"the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior."
2. en.wikipedia.org - "the activation or energization of goal-oriented behavior. Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic."

If our motivators help or hinder us in achieving our goals, I'd like to offer some tips that can be considered to ensure that we achieve the positive results and goals that we desire.

Tip #1 - Set aside time for reflection and review of your motivators. Identify interests, fulfilled and unfulfilled dreams and goals and create a motivation journal.

Tip #2 -Focus on the positive goals or change that you want. The more positive and attractive the thoughts and images, the more likely you will be motivated to achieve the goal.

Tip #3 - Research individuals who have been successful. Read biographies, view movies and videos, interview successful people in your community.

Tip #4 - Find an accountability buddy or buddies. An accountability buddy is a person who will support, listen and provide honest feedback to help you discover what is hindering or supporting your growth.

Tip #5 - Measure your progress. Create a system that tracks your success, your challenges, your opportunities to change and grow.

Tip #6 - Be adventurous. Get out of your comfort zone, attend diverse social, community and employment opportunities.

Tip #7 - Have fun. Understanding one's motivation is a large part of our life and work journey and so we might as well enjoy the ride.

"The only lifelong, reliable motivations are those that come from within, and one of the strongest of those is the joy and pride that grow from knowing that you've just done something as well as you can do it."

Lloyd Dobens

The Job Doesn't Make Us, We Make the Job

I see this all too often, people are hired for skills and abilities, they are fired for their bad attitude. In this day and age, we can't even settle for indifference in a job - we must come to work fired up and ready to take on the job we signed up for. Starting a job, people come to interviews and the first few days of work with, as my mother would say, company manners, full of ideals, ideas and interest. Then over the course of time, for some shorter than others, interest and motivations are lost.

I recently heard a story about a young man who wanted to produce movies. From a small child, he told everyone that he would be a producer. He went to college and studied film making, graduated and got a job with one of the major networks. Today, he is one of the mail room staff, he starts at 4:30 AM and delivers mail. At first, his parents were very upset, after all he was a college graduate and now he was delivering packages for a living. However, the parents visited him on a work day. The young enthusiast bounded through his work with a light step and an eager hand. People knew him by name, they even sought him out. They commented to his parents how valuable he was and that he made their job and their life so much easier. After that day, the parent introduced their son to everyone a person who was helping to make movies.

I took away from this simple story some profound tips.

1. Know you passion.
2. Set goals
   
3. Appreciate that there is work involved and enjoy it.
4. Act as if you are a contribution and that any task is valuable.
5. Be pleasant, polite and yes eager.
6. Get feedback.
7. Let others know that your work is important.

Time and time again, we get tired of the job because we forget our purpose. Keep focused on your purpose and whether you are carrying packages from the basement or the board room, your job will have meaning and success.

Health Intelligence

You're faced with a health challenge. It may be a chronic illness, or perhaps you are sedentary and over weight. The time to change your lifestyle is "now". Yet knowing how critical this is, you still procrastinate, making excuses and telling yourself "I'll start tomorrow". We all do this.

According to Joshua Freeman, the COO for Six Seconds EQ Network, a nonprofit organization putting emotional intelligence in action. says it begins with 1) "questioning the underlying assumption"-"know yourself". Raise your awareness of your patterns and feelings about taking care of yourself. If the idea of "having to do" something turns you away from it, redirect your feelings by understanding how this activity will help you and who can help you accomplish it.

2) "Accessing Useful Feelings"-"Choose Yourself". Celebrate your accomplishments. If every time you exercise, or choose a salad over pizza you begin to feel frustrated and want to give up, redirect your feelings to one of pride and accomplishment. Acknowledge yourself every time you make a healthy choice by noticing how proud you feel when choosing to be healthy.

3) "Focus on the larger purpose"- "Give Yourself". Give your health activity meaning by focusing on the bigger picture. How will taking care of yourself effect your life, your family, and your kids? Perhaps the idea of being around for you kids and future grand children will keep you motivated? How would you like your future to look?

In addition to these, I get inspiration and motivation from others who are reaching their goals. Giving and getting support is a necessary part of the process of achieving health.

Let's support each other. Write in and tell us what inspires you to take action when it comes to improving your health and how do you stay on track?

Judy Rienzi

The Power of the Vision

"In great deed, sometimes abide.
On great fields, something stays.
Forms change and pass, bodies disappear
but spirits linger to consecrate ground for the vision place of the soul.
And reverent men and women from afar
and generations that know us not
and that we know not of,
shall come here to ponder and to dream
and the power of the vision
shall pass into their soul."
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Life can be a pointless stroll or a purposeful adventure. When we have a powerful vision in front of us, we find motivation and energy. When we lack purpose and strategy, we often miss opportunities to enjoy life and fully actualize our skills, talents and existence.

The leader, whether a parent, a partner, an employer or employee, that instills vision surrounded by clear, healthy, positive values creates a environment of pondering and dreaming. And, once that vision is been embraced, great actions are taken and astonishing results are achieved.

A few questions to consider...

What vision(s) are you pondering and dreaming about?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

What vision are you putting out there today?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

What actions will you take today to achieve that vision?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas and visions.

How to become the Extraordinary CEO of Your Biggest Company – LIFE – 7 Days to Mastery

Everyone is in very important business, all the time, at any age. regardless of our age, our work status (self employed, employee (from executive to staff positions), student, home, or retired – we are all involved with very big business - our LIFE.

Day 1- Introduction to Self

Before we jump into the mastery phase of our life – we need to get to know ourselves. We need to go beyond knowing our strengths and talents and fully connect with our interests and motivators.

One of my favorite quotes is by, E.E. Cummings,

“We all sit around in a ring and suppose, while the secret sits in the center and knows.”

We sit in the center of our life, and , so, we can discover and know what is our secret to being the extraordinary CEO of our biggest business – LIFE.
There are numerous diagnostics and tests to help us learn more about ourselves. The most economical and most reliable ti going to the source – ourselves. The biggest invests, pen and paper. (can be the handy traditional black and white composition book or notebook paper and 3 ring binder , pens and tape.

Now blank lined paper can be daunting, believe me I know – I look at blank pages every day and yet magically at the end of each day pages are filled with words, pictures, drawings, post-it notes, scribbled on napkins, cards and notes from other people, and any thing else that you can name, I find it can be something worth capturing and keeping. It has taken years, even decades and I am still finding that I love working on the greatest mystery – me and how I can become the most extraordinary CEO in my life.

So, are you willing to start?

Tomorrow, Day 2 – Create Your Focus and Attributes

Promoting Health and Wealth - Putting our INSIDE Together

For the past 2 months, I have been exploring and researching the components and elements of Wheels of Life. In this time, I have barely scratched the surface and yet, now, I realize that with each new discovery I have a new appreciation for the what it takes to become a person who lives in flow.

It is so exciting to learn that there is so much more to discover. Earl Nightingale, an American motivational speaker was known to many as the Dean of Personal Development once told a story about a father and a son. The father was trying to read his newspaper and his young son was trying to get his father to play. In order to distract the son, the father found an full page ad with a picture of the world and tore it into small pieces and gave his son some tape. He then told him that once he put the world together they would go outside and play.

A few minutes later the little boy handed his father a fully recreated world. His father was astonished, "How could you put that together so quickly?"

The young boy's response, "There was a picture of a man on the other side. When I put the man together, the world came together."

Earl Nighingale died in 1989. A company he co-founded Nightingale Conant is still one of the leading publishers of motivational works in the world. A great source to help each of us - Working on the person inside will always help us to put our world together.

All the best in health and wealth,

Laura

Promoting Health & Wealth - Prioritizing Goals, Think Critically

Concentrating on clearly defined purpose and goals, already is making life more simple . As I keep my purpose to work with people to liberate their potential, my one clear goal to expand my expertise with human potential is helpful, but can really not be the best priority at this time. After all, I realize that communication, motivation, decision making/problem solving, just for starters now become imperative issues to address. How can I set goals so quickly? How can I use better critical thinking skills.

In a great conversation with a colleague and a master of critical thinking, as always, he helped set me straight - I really had a long way before jumping into setting goals. For starters, he actually helped me to formulate four questions:

1. What questions do I have or problems to be solved that will help me to stay on purpose?
2. Have I gathered enough relevant information to select and prioritize goals?
3. What conclusions or solutions will I select and how will I test their relevance and value?
4. How will I communicate to others my plans and decisions and receive input without allowing ineffective influence?

Well, as you can see it now become imperative for me to do a lot more exploration and fact finding to be sure that I make the best decisions and goals in this process of flow. Otherwise, I'll still be doing busy work that actually distracts me from my mission. I wrote early on today that my life would be simplier with clear purpose and goals, but it sure isn't easier.

I have a ton more work to do. Any thoughts?

All the best in health and wealth,

Laura

Promoting Health and Wealth - Day 7 - Moving out of The Comfort Zone

Today's the day we are going to move our exploring to another level. By asking myself and others the next question, "What interests me?, I often find myself and others giving me a quick, top of mind awareness answer, such as: I like hiking and biking, I like fishing and hunting, I like reading and writing, I like nature, I like the environment. I love helping people.

Once again let's consider how important our subconscious mind is in helping us to discover how to move out of our comfort zone. To help us focus in this exploration - I'd like to revisit the the seven elements of life that I mentioned on Day 3 - physical, mental, family, financial, social, career, and ethics.

My comfort zone might say let's focus on one element at a time, but life isn't that simple is it. In fact, because I sometimes sometimes get so intent on one element - I over look how my interest(s) have many connections that I have failed to overlook because I want to go to the first, easiest answer.

Remember, I mentioned that I am treating this blog as an opportunity for exploration. Well, in exploration, there is danger, discomfort, and even fear. But, according to a book written by Susan Jeffers called Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. I am willing to spend time expanding how one interest really is affecting my success in my family, my finances, my career, my physical health, my mental growth, my social interactions, and my ethics.

Sound like fun, I'm committed to keeping this question in mind today and I will let you know how much I discover about the power of knowing one's interests!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what interests you.

All the best in health and wealth,

Laura

Promoting Health and Wealth - Day 6 - Moving Out of the Comfort Zone

Yesterday, I mentioned that having a visual prop can help move you out of your comfort zone. Which leads me to the next question - "What songs play in my head, even when there is no music playing?" Now I'm sure that you have thought I have totally lost it, but admit it, don't you sometimes find yourself humming, whistling or even singing out loud in the shower a song that makes you smile.

Well, I have noticed that a certain song will pop up in my mind and actually play all day long. This auditory prop inspires me to keep going when I'd rather just take a break. For example, the last week, the classic Rogers and Hammerstein song, OH, WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING, has been playing in my head constantly.

The refrain goes like this...

Oh, What a beautiful mornin’,
Oh, What a beautiful day.
I got a beautiful feelin’
Ev’erything’s goin’ my way.

Now I don't think I've heard that song in years but it sure does make me take notice of how wonderful the world and life is. This song is even playing on the rainy day.

Another song that was big in the 1980's was I'm So Excited sung by Donna Summer. Now, that song pops up for me when a new idea, project or change is happening in my life.

Here's the refrain, just in case your wondering...

I'm so excited, I just can't hide it
I'm about to lose control and I think I like it

I'm grateful that I am noticing the songs that make me more positive, more energized and more willing to move me.

What about you, are there any song's playing that move you out of your comfort zone?

All the best in health and wealth,

Laura

Promoting Health and Wealth - Day 5 - Motivation - Moving Out of the Comfort Zone

Every ask yourself this question, "What in my life motivates me to jump out of bed and get started everyday?" Well, I didn't consciously ask myself that until I opened my own business nine years ago.

Normally, one of my all time favorite comfort zones, especially at 5:30 in the morning, is my bed. However, I will tell you this, once I decide that my day is going to be on purpose and with passion, I rarely hit the snooze alarm. In fact, I'm one of those painfully annoying people that I am up like an on switch.

My purpose and tag line is to create attitudes and strategies tapping limitless energy (C.A.S.T.L.E.) CASTLE is the acronym that I wrote more than 5 years before I started my own company. I shared with a colleague that the image of the CASTLE was motivating to me and came up with the tag line on the spot.) She thought I had totally lost my mind, but today I still often use that tag line to describe my business. And, I have a marvelous collection of castles - visual props are great sources of motivators to move one out of their comfort zone. Do you have any special props to help you leap into action?

Other ways that I move out of my comfort zone, a.k.a.my bed, to actually jump us are to say verbal affirmations such as, "I will liberate potential, I will help people and organizations find extraordinary health and wealth. I close my emails with all the best in health and wealth.

We, as human beings were wired to overcome challenges and explore new terrains. I believe along the way, somehow we have forgotten that. Let's revisit Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs motivation theory. The next to the lowest level of motivation is the "need for safety and security." Now if one wants to move towards the highest level - self actualization - one really needs to move out of their comfort zone.

Any thoughts on this theory?

All the best in health and wealth,

Laura

Promoting Health and Wealth - Day 4 - "How do I deal with challenges?"

Yesterday, after raising the question "How do I spend most of my time?", I made a conscious effort to pay attention to whether I was investing or wasting my time. It's amazing how much my awareness increased about my time use just because I was intentionally focused on time uses.

This leads me directly to the second questions - "How do I deal with challenges?"

The comfort zone supports our habits - the good, the bad and the ugly. We need to increase our consciousness about why, what and how we are doing what we do in order to move out of our comfort zone. This takes effort, much more effort than one realizes. There are numerous studies regarding the subconscious versus conscious mind. As much as we would like to think we are in control (conscious), studies show that the percentage of time our mind operates at the conscious level varies from 15% (mostly relaxed and aware) to 5% (stressed and unaware). Which leaves our minds in whopping 85% to 95% subconscious state!

Recently, a colleague shared with me that we don't have a time management challenge, we have a goal management challenge, and I do believe that is partially true. However, I am becoming intrigued with the theory that we might really have a purpose, passion and then intention management challenge. This quote from one of my favorite self development speakers and writers, Dr. Wayne Dyer supports that theory, "You must match your intention's attributes with your own in order to capitalize on those powers in your life." So how does one "match" intention with power?

I could virtually go on for pages with the challenges that we believe we encounter. But, I do believe, no I know, that for me personally, as soon as I clear up my purpose, passion and intention challenge - my goals and my time magically align. Many responses to my challenges are blow out of proportion, almost to degree that I can justify analysis which leads to paralysis. Or my personal favorite, lack of awareness leading to total oblivion.

What would happen if we took the time to align our conscious thoughts and actions to our purpose, passion and intentions? What would help us to attain Abraham Maslow's highest level on his Hierarchy of Needs motivation theory - full Self Actualization?

This leads me to the third question -

"What in my life motivates me to jump out of bed and get started everyday?"

All the best in health and wealth,

Laura

Promoting Health and Wealth - Day 2 - Exploring the Comfort Zone

How do we move out of our comfort zone? We explore. Whenever I ask a group of people "how many of you like to explore?," invariably, most, if not all hands go up. So, I'd like to get you a little excited too. Raise your hand if you like to explore. If not, you might as well stop reading.

What tools do we need to go on this exploration? Our minds, our hearts, our imagination and a pen and paper (You can even use colored pens, journals, composition books or your handy dandy computer). Very little monetary cost, but certainly this can cost a lot of mental and some physical energy.

In order to explore the comfort zone, we will need to orient ourselves to our present environment. To orient, we will need to ask ourselves several questions.


"How do I spend most of my time?"
"How do I deal with challenges?"
"What in my life motivates me to jump out of bed and get started everyday?"
"What songs play in my head, even when there is no music playing?"
"What interests me?
"What bores me?"
"What puts me to sleep?"


James Allen has a marvelous quote, that actually helps me move past my comfort zone. "Circumstances do not make the man, they reveal him." Every time I think of this quote, I know that I can and will explore my comfort zone so that I discover a health-filled, wealth-filled day. Invariably, my day gets more exciting. New experiences show up. I meet new people and make new friends. I found amazing ways to use my talents and learn something new.

That certainly doesn't leave a lot of time to sit in my comfort zone. What about you? Interested yet?