How Do You React to Barriers?

How Do You React to Barriers?

by | Jan 27, 2012

Recently I read a great blog by John Williams of Screw Work, Let’s Play in which he advocated that if we still have not implemented the ideas that we have right now it is because there is some barrier or obstacle in our way.  Now we may not be consciously aware of what that obstacle is but rest assured it is there because if it wasn’t you would have already executed the idea.  What I found fascinating was that John reminded me of the fact that none of us has a truly unique idea.  There are 7 billion people on this planet and the chances that your idea has never flitted across the mind of any one of those people are pretty low. What is important is our attitude and willingness to change our original idea to make it work so that we can get round the barrier that is blocking our way.

Don’t believe that it is just you that encounters barriers.  Most successful people come across barriers to their success everyday, but it is how they deal with these barriers and set backs that distinguishes them from the rest.  For example when Anita Roddick opened the first Body Shop in Brighton in 1976, two neighbouring funeral parlors initially objected to the shop’s name. Rather than give up on her distinctive brand name or go hunting for new premises, Roddick fought back by suggesting to a local newspaper that she was a woman entrepreneur under siege. The publicity ended up generating traffic to the store and helped her on her first step towards the global success she later attained.

The challenge of how we react to barriers and obstacles in our life was beautifully illustrated to me last weekend by my ponies Bracken and Thistle.  We were leading them out on a walk through the countryside when suddenly we across a really muddy stretch.  The track narrowed and there was a ditch in front of us that was thick with mud and water.  The challenge was how to get across.  As I gingerly made my own way round the edge of the mud puddle I just knew that Bracken would follow me across.  Partly because she trusts me implicitly but also because she has such gusto.  She takes on anything head on, almost never thinking about the consequences of her action.  This is an admirable trait so I was not surprised when she leapt to the other side of the ditch over the muddy puddle.

Thistle however had other ideas.  She is much more cautious and likes to examine everything before proceeding.  In fact Thistle’s solution to the problem was to just plant her feet and refuse to move.  She was not prepared to make the leap.  For her the ditch was an insurmountable barrier that could not be crossed and as such she was stuck in her tracks.  I waited for about ten minutes and despite offering Thistle some gentle persuasion nothing was going to make her move, she was stuck.  Paralysed by the fear of moving forward.  For me her action so beautifully reflected that I often experience in my own life.  A fear of moving forward  means that I can get stuck when I come across problems obstacles and barriers in my business.

So what was the solution?  Well, Thistle and I went and found another route to get across the ditch, one that was not so muddy and that she could cope with.  Would she has found that route by herself, probably not, which is why we need mentors and business coaches to help us find the way round obstacles when they come up in our own lives.  There is always a solution to everything it is just that often we can’t see the wood for the trees.

So next time you come across a barrier or obstacle in your life you can either leap across it like Bracken, stay stuck like Thistle did initially or seek out support to help you find another way just Thistle finally did.  What will you do to get through the inevitable barriers that will show up in your life or business?.  Post your comments below to let me know.

 

Are You Playing to Win…or Not to Lose?

Are You Playing to Win…or Not to Lose?

by | Nov 27, 2011

I recently came across this article that I wanted to share with you as I feel it could help some of you explain what is happening in your own lives.  Often we fail to do things not because we can’t but because of a fear of failure.  This got me thinking about training my horses and working with my clients.  Do I sometimes not do things because I’m afraid of failure?  I’s love to read your thoughts on this really interesting perspective on life.

If you have a habit of not finishing what you start, you may have attributed your lack of results to disorganization or a lack of focus. For some individuals, however, this habit is signs of an underlying psychological pattern of playing not to lose.

Stuart Emery, author of Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal and Success Built to Last, noted that where most people tackle situations with a goal of winning, others approach life with a goal of avoiding losing. Somewhere in life, they decided that they were incapable of winning and have lowered their expectations to merely not coming in last.

The groundwork for this pattern is often laid in childhood. For example, if a father raves over his young daughter’s drawing, she may have next colored on the wall, not recognizing that the wall is not an appropriate place to express artwork. After repeated incidents of getting in trouble in such a way, she may have drawn the conclusion that she couldn’t win. She didn’t like the pain of not winning, so she unconsciously adopted the strategy of trying not to lose in the future.

Not finishing what you start is one of many habits you fall back on when playing to not lose. The reason this has worked for you in the past is that if something is incomplete, it cannot be judged as not good enough. You can just say that it’s not “finished.”

Other ways we ‘play not to lose” include:

  • Playing the Judge.  By being the judge, you never have to be the participant. By pointing out how imperfectly others are dancing, for instance, you get to avoid dancing yourself, which could open the door to you failing at the task.
  • Being perfect. With this approach, you attempt to not lose by doing everything as perfectly as you can… or at least by presenting a front that you are “perfect.” You never really relax or let your guard down. Instead, you overdo everything instead.
  • Becoming a “problem.” If you take on the role of the identified problem, others will need to stop and take care of you. This is a form of sabotage. Because others are directing their time and energy into helping you and are less likely to win themselves.

If you recognize that you’ve been playing not to lose, it’s time to shift the behaviour.

Embrace Feedback

Your decision to stop playing to win was most likely unconscious. You received feedback that you interpreted as being a condemnation of your abilities and who you are. An important step in shifting this pattern will be recognizing feedback for what it is: Information that tells you whether you are on course or off course.

When you get negative feedback – such as lack of results, little or no money, criticism, poor evaluation, inner conflict, and unhappiness – it’s a sign that you are moving away from your intended goal.  Evaluate what you’re doing and make a course correction. When you receive positive feedback, such as praise, happiness, money and results, you’ll know that you are back on course.

Sharpen Your Focus

Another thing you can do, particularly if you’ve developed a habit of not completing what you start, is to train yourself to sharpen your focus. In the Achievers Focusing System, Les Hewitt, author of The Power of Focus, teaches his clients to focus their attention only on what they want to accomplish in the next three months. They select one goal in each area of their lives during that period.

Then, each week, they identify the three most important things that must be accomplished during that 7-day period to move them closer to their goals. A weekly check-in with your accountability partner helps to keep you accountable for achieving these tasks.

To download a free copy of the Achievers Focusing System 3-month planner, click here.

Chunk It Down

One final word of advice: As you begin to build a new habit of completing what you start, you may feel overwhelmed and lost about what to do next when you look at your list of goals. The best approach is to chunk down your goals into small, manageable steps.

Interview people who have already accomplished what you want to do and ask them to share all of the steps they took. If you can find a book or manual that guides you through the process, even better. Another approach is to imagine that it’s the future and you’ve already accomplished your goal. Start at the end and look backward. Notice what you had to do to get to where you are.

Capture all of these steps in a list or mind map. Then convert all of your to-do items into daily action items that can be plugged into your calendar. Start with the first item on your list, and when it’s finished, cross it off and tackle the next item. Before you know it, you’ll be completing projects and well on your way to playing to win.

Playing not to lose may protect you from the potential pain of negative feedback. But the cost is steep. Every time you fail to live up to the commitments you make to yourself and others, you undermine your self-confidence. Use the steps outlined in this article to identify why you’ve settled for simply not losing and to take the corrective action you need to complete what you start.

Why Consider Horse Assisted Coaching for Your Company?

Why Consider Horse Assisted Coaching for Your Company?

by | Sep 28, 2011

Although Horse Assisted Coaching is a relatively new learning modality it is a form of action based or experiential learning, which is certainly not new.  The earliest beginnings of experiential learning are rooted in programs like Project Adventure and Outward Bound. Corporations around the world adopted outdoor experiential learning as evidenced by a famous segment in the 1990′s sitcom Murphy Brown. Its use began to diminish, as other popular concepts replaced them, from the emotional intelligence movement to strengths-based leadership. But like the timeless needs that corporations have for personal commitment, team collaboration and innovative risk-taking, experiential learning continues to thrive.

Tim Buividas of the Corporate Learning Institute (CLI) defines experiential learning as “activities that include any active learning experience which offers a chance to learn from failure, success and everything in between. It has to include the possibility of transferring learning back to the workplace. Examples of active learning or experiential learning activities include ropes courses, problem solving games, and many indoor events.  Any indoor active learning session includes a learning cycle. For an experiential session to be effective, participants have to experience, review, discuss, and apply their experiences”, Buividas concluded.

Can experiential activities help your individual contributors, teams and leaders develop collaboration and problem solving skills?  I absolutely believe that participating in a horse assisted coaching session will bring untold benefits to any organisation.  In my experience team members leave more focused and committed having had in many cases true insights into what is happening both in their personal and professional life.  These AHA (Accelerated Horse Awareness) moments cause a quantum shift in people allowing them to see things with a new perspective.  Oftentimes a greater appreciation of the challenges faced  by co-workers is observed resulting in a more collaberative environment when team members return to work.

Trust is one of the major new commodities of the environment we live in and horses are great at helping individuals develop this essential life skill.  Let’s face it if we don’t trust the people we work with then we won’t achieve much and all our energy will be taken up focusing on negative things and protecting our position.  How much more effective can an organisation can be when everyone trusts each other?

So if you are looking for a new innovative way to bring a different perspective to your leadership and team building trainings then please consider Horse Assisted Coaching.  Its really effective, fun and the ROI is significant.  Horse Assisted Coaching might not yet be in the mainstream of learning and development but it should be because in my experience most of the current offerings are not delivering on their promises and as Einstein said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing time and time again and expecting different results”.  So come on, try it and see what benefits your organisation can get, I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

The Speed of Trust

The Speed of Trust

by | Jun 27, 2011

Horses, like people, are seeking trusting relationships and none more so than my young fillies Thistle and Bracken. New to the world they are finding their way and learning how to trust.  I therefore found this article by Stephen M. R. Covey on the Speed of Trust really insightful in helping me think about how to build trust with my ponies.  The principles work for any relationship.

Have you ever trusted someone–and gotten “burned?” Have you ever failed to trust someone and missed significant opportunities as a result? The practical issues with regard to extending trust are these: How do you know when to trust somebody? And how can you extend trust to people in ways that create rich rewards without taking inordinate risk?

When you’re dealing with trust, it seems there are two extremes. On one end of the spectrum, people don’t trust enough. They’re suspicious. They hold things close to the vest. Often, the only people they really trust are themselves. On the other end, people are too trusting. They’re totally gullible. They believe anyone, trust everyone. They have a simplistic, naive view of the world, and they don’t even really think (except superficially) about the need to protect their interests.

Extending trust can bring great results. It also creates the possibility of significant risk. The decision to trust or not to trust is always an issue of managing risk and return. So how do you hit the “sweet spot?” How do you extend trust in a way that maximizes the dividends and minimizes the risk?

Life is filled with risk. However, as noted historian and law professor Stephen Carter has observed: “Civility has two parts: generosity when it is costly, and trust, even when there is risk.” The objective, then, is not to avoid risk. In the first place, you can’t; and in the second place, you wouldn’t want to because risk taking is an essential part of life and leadership. Instead, the objective is to manage risk wisely–to extend trust in a way that will avoid the “taxes” and create the greatest “dividends” over time.

Learning how to extend what I call “Smart Trust” is a function of two factors–your propensity to trust and your analysis. “Propensity to trust” is primarily a matter of the heart. It’s the tendency, inclination, or predisposition to believe that people are worthy of trust and a desire to extend it to them freely. “Analysis” is primarily a matter of the mind. It’s the ability to analyze, evaluate, theorize, consider implications and possibilities, and come up with logical decisions and solutions.

As you think about these two factors–“propensity to trust” and “analysis”–how would you rate yourself on each? Do you typically tend to trust people easily–or do you tend to be suspicious and hold things close? Do you tend to analyze, theorize, and ponder over things–or do you give problems your cursory attention and then move on?

While extending trust to other people always brings with it some risk, the often greater risk that’s frequently ignored is what happens when managers don’t extend trust to others. These managers usually incur much larger taxes than they think–including bureaucracy, politics, disengagement, and turnover–and they often lose the dividends that flow from extending trust, such as innovation, collaboration, partnering and loyalty. Sadly, their suspicion sometimes even helps produce the very behaviors they fear, which further validates their suspicion. By treating people as if they can’t be trusted, they help to create a collusive, downward cycle of distrust. And this is one reason why–in this “flat world” global economy–not trusting people is often the greatest risk of all.

With regard to “propensity to trust,” I once knew a business owner who was so suspicious that his employees might be stealing from him, that he would literally interrogate them almost daily. He would even do occasional spot “frisk checks” when they left the office. This man was convinced that people were trying to steal from him. In reality, no one was, but his suspicious actions drove away his most talented people who wouldn’t tolerate working in such a distrustful environment or for such a suspicious boss.

With regard to “analysis,” it’s helpful to consider three vital variables, which you can do by asking these questions:

1. What is the opportunity (the situation or task at hand)?

2. What is the risk involved? (Possible outcomes? Likelihood of outcomes? Importance of outcomes?)

3. What is the credibility (character and competence) of the people involved?

Smart Trust doesn’t mean that you extend trust to everyone. Based on the circumstances, your judgment may be to not extend trust or to extend only a limited measure of trust. In extending trust, the general guideline is to extend trust conditionally to those who are earning it and abundantly to those who have already done so. Keep in mind that even when you extend trust abundantly, there should still always be clear expectations and accountability because those are principles that actually enhance trust.

I affirm that in our “flat world” economy, the ability to establish, grow, extend, and restore trust is the key professional and personal competency of our time. And the ability to exercise Smart Trust is a vital part of that competency. It will enable you to create a powerful balance and synergy between analysis and the propensity to trust, which, in turn, will produce the judgment that enables you to effectively leverage yourself and to inspire the talent, creativity, synergy, and highest contribution of others.

Note: The preceding article is based on the book, The Speed of Trust, by Stephen M. R. Covey.

Inspired by Why

Inspired by Why

by | Mar 6, 2011

You know when you hear something more than once in a few days you really should check in it, well that’s just happened to me. On Thursday at the Academy of Chief Executives Mark Fritz was talking to us About the Power of Ownership in Leading Across Distances and Cultures and during his amazing seminar he told us we should check out a TED video by Simon Sinek on Leadership.  Then I find out my friend Jezz Moore, from Moon Cow, has tweeted the same thing. Synchronicity working or what, but given I’ve been hit with with twice in as many days I felt compelled to watch the video.  You can see it here at:

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

What inspired me most about this video was the fact that we all need to begin with our WHY.  For the last few years I’ve been told by many mentors and coaches that WHY is the most important thing. When you are clear on your WHY then all subsequent actions like HOW and WHEN will fall into place. Personally, I’ve been struggling to find my WHY – although day by day it becomes clearer.  One of my coaches has told me that reason for my inaction is that WHY is not strong enough.  One thing that I have observed is that many of the great teachers and successful business people in this world have really strong WHY’s, in many cases driven from a state of despair due to financial ruin or serious health concerns. I find it kind of sad that it takes a serious personal experience for people to become clear on what their WHY is. Surely we don’t need to all reach these depths of despair to be successful.?

What Simon Sinek so clearly articulates in this video is the Golden Circle that starts at the centre with WHY, then contains another concentric circle with HOW and finally a concentric circle with WHAT.

The Golden Circle

Sinek suggests that really successful organisations and people (such as Apple) start with their WHY. They inspire others to do business with them because they have the same beliefs.  Apple do not pitch their advertising based on WHAT they do but rather WHY they do it. This is why they can sell computers, phones and music and no-one doubts the authenticity of the company.  Compare this to Dell who like many other companies focus their advertising strategy of the WHAT.  Dell make computers and now we are so embedded with the fact that this there is core competency that we can’t conceive of purchasing same a phone or and MP3 player from them.

Furthermore Sinek goes on to explain that purchasing decisions are based on biology not psychology and that the WHAT appeals to the neo-cortex of the brain which controls rational thought whereas the WHY and HOW align with the limbic system The limbic system is concerned with trust and loyalty and decision-making that drives behaviour.  So by appealing to a consumers WHY you instantly put them in a place where the buying decision can be influenced by the limbic brain.

So how does this lead onto today’s lesson from the horses.  It is just that when a horses meets you he is asking three things:

  • who are you
  • what do you want; and
  • how do you operate.

In this way he is concerned with what is happening in our limbic brain. A horse is also always looking to us to determine our ability to lead.  Are we trustworthy and reliable? From this state of why the horse can quickly make that decision on how best to interact with us.  Maybe this is why horses are so good as Teachers. They make sure we stay out of our thinking, rational neo-cortex brain and force us to be congruent with who we really are. They challenge our WHY and who we think we are.  Invariably in coaching sessions clients have AHA experiences as they realise who they thought they were and how they are acting are incompatible.  Horses challenge our WHY are therefore our integrity and congruence and since they are non-judgemental they just feed back what they experience.  It can be an eye-opening experience for most people.

So for today spend some time considering what is your WHY.  Why are you on this earth and what is your purpose in life.  If you need some help here some great resources that I have found really helpful are The Passion Test by Chris and Janet Attwood and Success DNA Detector which can be found on http://www.authorityformula.com/

I’d love to hear your comments below on what your WHY is.

Tenacity – the magic ingredient to overcome challenges

Tenacity – the magic ingredient to overcome challenges

by | Feb 22, 2011

Today’s blog is inspired once again by the behaviour of some horses and the wise words of John Assaraf.  I’m currently following John Assaraf’s the Inner Game of Money programme which involves re-conditioning the neural pathways of the brain to be more accepting of money.  Research has shown that our outer circumstances are dictated and created by our inner being, belief and thoughts. So if you believe that you should be poor you will be poor. However, by focusing on being wealthy you can attract wealth creating opportunities into your life.  This is a 90 day programme and I am on day 69.

On one of the audio tracks John describes the tenacity of young children.  They set their sights on a goal and do everything in their power to achieve it. Obstacles are no problem as children just overcome these any way they can.  Ironically despite the fact that adults have many more resources available to them they seldom have the tenacity and determination that children do to achieve their goals.  When I first heard this I was mesmerised by this observation as it is so true. As adults we see all the barriers and reasons why we should not do something rather than look for creative and innovative ways to solve the challenge.  It’s as if ignorance as a child is bliss as you are unaware that something is not possible.  Indeed if you believe that something is impossible you create that reality and indeed it is impossible.

This reminds me of a story I heard once of a young man who turned up late to a maths class.  On walking in late he saw two maths problems on the board and thinking they were homework he wrote them down and then fastidiously worked on solving the problems. A day or so later he went to his teacher and delivered to him the answers to the questions. The teacher was dumbstruck.  You see the two maths problems on the board were not homework but rather examples on unsolvable problems.  The young man being unaware of this fact, and having no preconceived idea that the problems were not solvable had approached the challenge in a different manner and been successful.  How often in life do we fail to achieve things because we believe that they are not possible.  Who put that mindset out there for us to use as our reference point.  In fact ignorance can on many occasions equate to bliss as you have no limitations on what is possible.

So back to my horse lesson.  This was so funny it made me laugh out loud. You see I have recently adopted two ponies that had been left abandoned to roam on the roads.  I’ve called them Thistle and Bracken and they now form part of my little herd, at least until they have gained some trust in people again and have been given the skills to be safe,child friendly ponies. Well Thistle and Bracken are young, maybe a year old at most and they are currently grazing in a roped off area of field within one of my larger pastures.  The grass in their area is good but the grass on the other side of the fence is much better.  So this afternoon when I went to get the ponies in they decided to go for a run. They galloped round and around the field, their energy ever-increasing.  As they galloped towards the electric  fence (a natural barrier to the lush grass on the other side) my heart was in my mouth.  I was worried they might crash into the fence although instinctively I knew they would probably skid to a stop. How wrong was I.  Seeing the electric fence Bracken effortlessly jumped over it.  The fence was at least a metre high and Bracken can’t be more than taller than that.  Bracken clearly hadn’t seen the fence as a barrier to the lush grass but rather as an obstacle to be overcome, however that might be.  Thistle however took a different approach ploughing straight through the fence and breaking it.  It was so heartwarming to see these little ponies being so tenacious in their quest for the best grass.  They had no pre-conceived ideas that they could not get over or through the fence and so faced with a challenge tenaciously moved forward.  I would suggest that tenacity is perhaps the magic ingredient missing from the lives of many adults today.  What do you think?

Energy is the currency of success, positive attitudes pay off

Energy is the currency of success, positive attitudes pay off

by | Jan 24, 2011

If you want to know the importance of energy to America’s work force, look no further than the lines at Starbucks. Clearly people are searching for more energy to fuel their busy, demanding work schedules and lives. After all, if you don’t have energy, you can’t lead, sell, inspire, serve or advance in your career.

Unfortunately, however, double lattes are not the kind of energy that will enhance our performance and success. Real, sustained energy cannot be found in a can or bottle, but rather in the currency of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy that recharges, renews, refocuses and repurposes us daily.

In today’s energy-strapped, time-constrained business climate, those who want to take their career to the next level must be physically energized, mentally positive, emotionally contagious and purpose-driven.

Life is no longer a sprint. It’s not a marathon, either. Rather it’s a sprint and a boxing match combined where you are not only running as hard as you can, but you are getting hit along the way. Exercising, eating high-energy foods with protein and fiber as part of five small meals throughout the day will help you sustain your physical and mental energy and manage your stress.

Just as athletes must train for enhanced success, you must train to build your energy and strength. But training doesn’t stop at the physical level. To be at the top of your game, you’ll want to cultivate the positive energy necessary to overcome adversity, challenges and obstacles that often derail and sabotage so many careers. What most people don’t realize is that the latest research in neuroscience shows we can cultivate more positive energy, build mental muscle and mold our brains to be more positive and resilient to stress.

One proven way to do this is meditation, which research shows is like gasoline for the mind and body. It’s not just for Buddhist monks, but for athletes and business people who want to enhance their focus, energy, creativity and performance. Anyone who has ever worked for a very positive and uplifting boss or a negative energy vampire also knows the importance of the emotional energy we share with others.

Walt Whitman said we convince by our presence, and emotional energy is what does the convincing. Research from the Institute of HeartMath demonstrates that when we have a feeling it starts in our heart, goes to every cell in the body and outward, and can be detected up to five to 10 feet away. We are broadcasting our emotional heartfelt energy to our co-workers, employees and company every moment of every day.

Positive emotions enhance personal energy, team interactions and career success while negative emotions decrease energy and sabotage productivity and performance. That’s why Jack Welch said that great leaders have tons and tons of positive energy and they are contagious. It’s also why Pete Carroll, the two-time national champion coach of University of South Carolina football, has built a culture around positive energy. Those who want to succeed today must learn to manage their emotions under pressure, to stay positive and focused and develop a currency of positive emotional energy.

Cultivating a state of gratitude especially during challenging times is one way to enhance your energy currency and become more contagious. Gratitude floods your brain and body with positive thoughts and emotions that improve the way you think and feel. This brings us to the final and most powerful energy currency we can tap into: purpose. The fact is, we can eat all the avocado, drink all the water and do all the push-ups we want, but if we don’t have purpose, passion and enthusiasm for what we do each day, we’ll never feel as energized as we could.

Purpose is the ultimate fuel for our life and careers and it is essential for lasting success. When you are purpose-driven, you tap into an unlimited amount of energy currency. So instead of just going to work, find something within your work that contributes to a bigger purpose — something bigger than you, something that makes a difference — and let this purpose energize your success.

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal by Jon Gordon

Top 10 Skills of Successful Leaders

Top 10 Skills of Successful Leaders

by | Jan 14, 2011

Struggling to achieve success? Maybe you need to hone some skills. What skills exactly? Well, after some intensive reading and study of successful leaders in business, industry, government, and personal development, I’ve found that there are 10 core skills that the most successful leaders all share. While these leaders may not be masters of every particular skill, they have, at least, a basic knowledge of them. Anyone looking to achieve higher levels of as a leader, in business, volunteering, or even just at home, would be well served by strengthening their abilities in each of these skill sets.

Critical Thinking

Successful leaders all have powerful critical thinking skills. The ability to quickly survey and analyze a situation then identify the core issues that need to be dealt with is key to business success. As is, the ability to understand new issues and factors that impact one’s goals and designs.

Creative Thinking

These leaders also have varying abilities to think, well, differently. They have the ability to step out of rigid mindsets so that they can explore potential new ideas that others may consider risky, crazy, or silly.

Listening

Great leaders are great listeners. Experienced at focusing their energy to the task, this includes listening, so that when they listen, they are very focused on hearing everything that’s being said so that they can make well-informed decisions.

Reading

The ability to read is vital to lifelong personal and professional success. Leaders in any industry or area all tend to be good readers who are exposed to large amounts of information through reports, newspapers, white papers, books, etc. While they may not be speed readers, they are excellent at grasping the main ideas and context of the material they do read.

Writing

They may not write often. And they may not write a lot. But when they do, successful leaders are clear, concise, and to the point.

Speaking

Perhaps the most important languaging skill, the best leaders are also good speakers. They are able to present their ideas verbally to audiences of all types and sizes, as well as easily change their presentation style so that they meet an audience’s needs. While it may not be a skill that a leader is ever completely comfortable with, she understands that if she can’t speak about the issues her business faces, nobody can.

Motivating

Skilled leaders are superb motivators. They understand that each of us is propelled by our own, personal, motivations. These leaders are able to apply all of their languaging skills (listening, reading, writing, and speaking) to create powerful group goals and visions that spur people to give 110%.

Networking

Successful people have successful networks. They have contacts, associates, and friends in a wide array of fields who they can call on for ideas, input, and assistance. These leaders actively cultivate and grow their networks all the time.

Delegating

To some, this may not seem like a leadership skill, but it is. Leaders who excel are leaders who don’t try to take everything on themselves. Indeed, they understand that they can’t do everything. They easily delegate all but the most important of tasks to their employees, assistants, and networks. They create systems so that they are available to focus on the most important issues at any moment.

Evolving

In evaluating successful leaders, I think this is the most powerful, yet most difficult skill to master. Evolving is the ability to adapt, quickly, to the newest technologies, styles, and modes of thinking that create success. It is a skill requiring a supreme sense of self-confidence coupled with extreme humility. For leaders, it is a skill applied not just for personal success, but also for the success of their business, their workers, and their families. It provides those who can master it, the opportunity to achieve life-long success in all areas of life.

Article by Jim Allen, the Big Idea Coach, helps you make your small ideas big & your big ideas real.  www.BigIdeaCoach.com

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