Food for thought from Deepak Chopra -How to become a great leader

Leadership is a hot topic and will always be one. We seem to linger in a perpetual leadership vacuum. Today's Presidents and CEOs, generals and coaches, don't stand in comparison with the great leaders of the past - or so we are told - and in times of crisis, people cry out for someone who can show them a way to escape the looming threat. There’s a general myth that leaders are born rather than made, that somehow Nature produces a peculiar species of human being who is bigger, more powerful, smarter, braver, and more charismatic than the rest. But waiting for such a rare bird is futile, for there are many crises that never find the natural born leader it needs. The real challenge in leadership is to find a way to build leaders. The main way that business schools and government departments attempt this is by studying the past. Learning from history has its advantages, naturally. There are lessons to be learned about how World War II was won, why the Chicago Bulls were such a successful basketball team, and why Wall St. banks, led by greed and short-sightedness, created the financial collapse of 2008. But today's crises never completely mirror yesterday's, and it would be better in the first place to build leaders who can prevent crises before they arise. In my view, a great leader is inspiring, uplifting, a uniter of differences, and someone who brings out the best in human aspirations. I named this model "the soul of leadership” and set out to see if leaders with a soul could be trained. Knowing that business, politics, and the military are not spiritual enterprises, I didn't formulate the training along "soft" or idealistic lines. Instead, I used a "hard" criterion: what groups actually need. If you aspire to be a great leader, the first requirement is that you look and listen, so that you can find out the true needs that a situation demands to be fulfilled. There are seven such needs: 1. Safety, security Situations of threat and instability. People feel insecure. Discontent is in the air. You can see nervous faces, feel the prevailing anxiety. Who is going to make the situation feel safer? 2. Achievement, success Situations of unrealized achievement. People feel unsuccessful. They want to be more productive, but there’s not enough fire or passion. Who is going to step up and provide the motivation so sorely needed? 3. Cooperation Situations that are incoherent and fragmented. There’s no team spirit. The group disintegrates into bickering and petty wrangling. Meetings go on forever but reach no conclusion. Who’s going to be the glue that brings coherence to the situation? 4. Nurturing, belonging Situations mired in bad feeling and apathy. Everyone is going through the motions, doing what they need to do but inside feeling totally disengaged. The atmosphere is stale and routine. There’s no personal support or trust. Who’s going to bring heart to the situation and make others feel that they belong? 5. Creativity, progress Situations dominated by old solutions and stale ideas. People feel stymied. The atmosphere has no creativity; it feels like yesterday’s news. Everyone agrees that something new is needed, but all that emerges are small variations on the status quo. Who’s going to bring the spark of creativity to the situation? 6. Moral values Situations that are spiritually empty and corrupt. The weak feel hopeless, the strong are cynically taking advantage. People talk about righting wrongs and bringing back the right values, but no one knows where to start. The future feels like wishful thinking; the present is oppressive and suffocating. Who will bring hope and a renewed sense of innocence? 7. Spiritual fulfillment Situations that symbolize the human condition. People are asking the big questions: Who am I? Why am I here? Many are seeking for God. There is talk of a higher reality, yet faith is lacking. Who can bring the light and demonstrate that holiness is a living reality? Having looked and listened, you will know the situation you are in and the need that is crying out to be fulfilled. As you can see, the "hard" criterion that shaped this model of leadership eventually leads to moral values and spirituality, because in reality those aren't "soft" needs. Every human being has a yearning for them. But unless the basic needs are fulfilled, appealing to a group's ideals is usually futile. In the next few posts I'll detail how each need arises and how you as a leader can bring about change in other people's lives. The most common cause of leadership failure is ego, which means that someone is looking out for number one rather than the group. Ego is a legitimate basis for action - it's the second need above safety and security. We all want the good things in life; our instinct is to provide for "I, me, and mine." But the collapse of Wall St. and many disastrous wars have resulted when leaders get stuck on ego. You can be a great leader, with all the rewards this carries, while still serving the needs of the whole group. In essence, that's what the soul of leadership is all about.

Thought it was time to write a new post

As I hit my one year anniversary with my new company and living in Orange County I began thinking it was time to get back to sending out my thoughts on leadership. This morning I found this article and I just had to begin posting today! This article is on retention something that is of growing concern for my new organization and while I have read very similar articles over the years things really haven’t changed. For me the bottom line is that if you are paying your team competitive total compensation packages and you are inspiring them each day to be better and you are helping them achieve their goals you are going to win the battle for retention. Enjoy the article!

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130816200159-131079-employee-retention-now-a-big-issue-why-the-tide-has-turned?trk=tod-home-art-list-small_1

   

Nice spin on this one

I once watched a video of  Steven Covey show you how to prioritize your day by taking an ice bucket filled with small rocks and having a person try to fit in the big rocks. This video and the exercise that we performed following has always left an impression on me and this new video has an interesting twist that takes you out of the boardroom and really shows the even bigger picture in life.  I hope you enjoy it!


http://play.simpletruths.com/movie/the-empty-pickle-jar/?cm_mmc=CheetahMail-_FR-_-08.10.12-_-PickleJarMovie&utm_source=CheetahMail&utm_campaign=PickleJarMovie

Why is it that sometimes you find your self stuck?

We have all been there at some point in our lives when you hit a roadblock of some sort or you get caught up in a "rut". Some of us actually walk around with limiting beliefs saying things like "I can never do that", "I will never lose this weight" or "I could never earn that kind of money". All too many of us just cant step outside of our comfort zone to achieve our goals. Why is that?

Let me introduce you to the subconscious world-  Homeostasis. The subconscious physiological process of maintaining a stable physical state of equilibrium regardless of varying external conditions. In other words the state of being in our comfort zone.Think about when you have had to speak in front of a group and you notice physical changes in your body for example, sweaty palms, butterfly's in your stomach etc. These are reactions to our bodies fight or flight mechanism. Which I think is a great analogy to what we do to our selves when we are working towards any kind of a goal. Some of us choose to fight and some of us choose  flight or flee. When we flee the situation we stay in our "rut" we give in to those limiting beliefs and we remain stuck. However when we choose to fight through our comfort zone we manage the subconscious stress associated with change and we achieve our goal. We grow!

So how do you fight through your comfort zone? Consider the conscious versus the subconscious or real versus imagined. I encourage you to check out a book by Dr. Maxwell maltz who wrote Pscho-Cybernetics. In it he states:
"Change occurs not by intellect, and not by intelligence; change is brought about by experience. Remember, experiencing is the same to the subconscious mind as imagining. The subconscious mind does not know the difference between real and unreal. It accepts what you feed it".

 So start feeding your mind with unlimited beliefs. "I can do it" "I will lose the weight" "I can earn that kind of money". With that going for you the opportunities our boundless! 

The ability to demonstrate positive communication techniques

One of the most important skills for any leader to excel at is communication. Most communication techniques are hard core skills and other communication mechanisms revolve around the leaders actions, behaviors and how they utilize those communication techniques with others. One action utilized with others is to have the ability to describe what matters most to themselves and to the success of their team.

It is easy to let the day to day interactions and distractions take over the leaders line of thought. However true leaders must understand that they must always be focused on what matters most and be able to quickly describe that focus when called upon to do so. This vital piece needs to be a part of any leaders skill set and and it needs to be up to date.

What I am describing is an elevator speech. How often have you been asked by your boss something simple like "how are things going?" This is a perfect opportunity and if you are not properly prepared you can be caught off guard and squander your chances.A two minute prepared speech effectively communicating  the things that matter most to you and to the success of your team will enlist support, help, appreciation and confidence in you that will go along way towards your success as a leader.    

The Essence of Leadership

If you are looking for a shot in the arm for your leadership team. Play this at your next staff meeting to help get your point across. Enjoy!

http://www.theleadershipmovie.com/?cm_mmc=CheetahMail-_FR-_-07.06.12-_-TEOLmovie&utm_source=CheetahMail&utm_camp

Alignment

To be an exemplary leader one must have the ability to align their actions and behaviors with the organizational business objectives. Top leaders must realize that their teams are always watching them and whether they want to be or think they are or not, they are definitely role models. Having said that, successful leaders must walk their talk otherwise inconsistencies occur and a muddled corporate culture with mixed corporate objectives end up being the result.

Here are a few of the dozen or so questions to ask yourself or of your managers to check to see if you and your managers are in alignment with your organizational culture and or organizational objectives:

Has anyone in your organization up line or down told you or described you to others as a good corporate role model?
Has anyone pointed out consistencies or inconsistencies in your executive or management behaviors and ANY corporate business objectives?
Has anyone ever told you that you are not doing what you tell others to do?
Does your HR department assume any role or responsibility in recognizing the need for and making recommendations that would help managers and senior leaders to better align employee strengths and skills with corporate business objectives.  

Once an assessment is complete the key question is what are you willing to do to make improvements in corporate alignment and how will you know if you have been successful.