By: Joe Brodnicki ©2011
If you learn something and you’re unable to repeat it under real life stress conditions you don’t know it at all. ~ Colin Cox
Year after year, we continue to be bombarded with new, latest, greatest books about leadership that proclaim the shortage of leadership and provide all sorts of useful concepts and pithy quotes that inspire would-be leaders. They also go off to great conferences and training and, while they are inspired to share these useful concepts and pithy quotes with everyone else, nothing really changes. Certainly not the way they lead.
It’s as if knowing about concepts such as “leading by example” (and these would-be leaders do—the problem is the example they lead by), Emotional Intelligence, communicating with excellence, driving out fear, having inspiring vision, treating people with respect and countless more great concepts is the very same as embodying them. If they gave a written test, they’d be paragons of leadership. But, when it comes to the ‘front lines’ of everyday living and working, we’re left to wonder, “Where’s the beef?”
You may know someone like this. You may even see that person in the mirror.
We all know the real test of leadership is in making the concepts real in your life first, then in the lives of others. If anyone asked most would-be leaders if they actually practice and embody these great concepts, they would find they fall far short of the image they have of themselves. Who do they think they are kidding?
The issue of self-deception is not new. Many books, beginning with the Bible (or maybe even before) speak to our infinite capacity for self-deception. The back cover of the book, Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box, makes an astounding assertion: “Most personal and organizational problems are the result of a little-known problem called “self-deception.”
So, let’s come back to our topic: are you serious about unleashing your leadership potential? Here are a few questions to help you decide:
– Is it important to you? Are you personally and passionately called to lead from your station in life? Or, is it just a nice idea or a career enhancer?
– Does the change to leading require a transformation in both who you are and how you are?
– Does it have to happen right now? Can you afford to wait?
If you’re ready to begin the journey of unleashing the power you have within you to lead, here are three tips:
1. Claim your full personal power. This means two things:
• Clearly define what it is that you want, stay focused on both the goal and what can help you move toward that goal right now. “Personal power is the ability to get what you want, given what is available from your environment right now (1).” If you want to buy a new car, what can help you get to the goal? What can you do right now to help you make a decision? Who can help? How can you make or save money right now to help you get to the goal?
To turn wishes and ideas into reality, you need both intermediate goals and specific actions, especially those that can be realized in the present, to help you get there.
• Become aware of and claim your personal powers. All of us have the same four powers: thinking, feeling, speaking, and doing. Become aware of your powers, claim them (don’t be shy, be honest!), and put them to use to become the leader you want to be! Start right where you are, right now.
2. Develop a system to put great ideas and concepts into reality. Turn these into “muscle memory” to handle the opportunities and challenges you face in everyday living. Make them real!
1. Identify the idea, concept, or idea you want to make real, the one you want to put in your muscle memory so it becomes as automatic as brushing your teeth
2. Describe the principle as a belief in a way that you really believe it.
3. Decide to do it and state the belief as a decision.
4. Try on the decision as a feeling or an experience.
5. Action: Step forward and state it as an action. What one thing will you do tomorrow that will
begin to manifest this in your life? And the day after that?
6. Imagine carrying out that one thing you will do today and let the change, the accomplishments, and the possibilities spiral and reinforce the decision you have made.
The idea of unleashing one’s own leadership potential isn’t for everyone. When you are ready to accept the challenge of living fully and realizing your dreams, best, and highest, remember you are not walking this path alone and to seek guides and like-minded people. Together, we will make a difference!
Footnotes: (1) Karp, H.B (1986). Power to the Practitioner in The 1986 Annual Handbook for Group Facilitators by J. William Pfeiffer & Leonard D. Goodstein (Eds.), San Diego, CA: Pfeiffer & Company
Author: Meta-Coach, Neuro-Semantic NLP trainer, and organizational development consultant a Joe Brodnicki works with teams leaders, organizations, and individuals who seek to create excellence. He can be reached at joeb2665@mindspring.com
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