“One who fears failure limits his activities. Failure is only the opportunity to more intelligently begin again."  Henry Ford

Teachable moments in your Leadership Journey--Inside out, not outside in.

The actuality is that we live in a world packed with aspiring leaders. Simply desiring to be a leader doesn’t mean a person has the personality, skill, and resolution necessary to be a leader. A leader is not always the CEO or the Manager; a leader is the person who can get results, encourage others, and bring them along in a way where everyone flourishes. Every leader will experience shortfalls; it is part of the ebb and flow in the business world, and how we use those opportunities as teachable moments is up to us.

I have a Leadership coach who always tells me, “Leadership starts with Leading Yourself”. If you can’t lead your own actions with purpose, meaning and joy, then you have some work to do. When shortfalls come, and they do, I stop and take a hard look in the mirror at my own postmortem performance, before I can lead the team.

My Plan: Results for sustained performance: Leaders perform--they reliably surpass expectations. Is my planning in place, and if my plan includes others, are my assumptions, timelines and expectations realistic and proportionately balanced?

My Attitude towards others: Results the right way:  Am I resolving the deficit with positive influence and providing solutions or blaming others or not treating them respectfully when results fall short?

My Aspirations: Chasing a statue and not a higher purpose: Do I care about something beyond me, and leading others to a better place-–even if it means taking a back seat? Power often comes with leadership, but it’s not what drives me as a purposeful leader.

My Ego: Taking credit instead of giving it: Leadership isn’t found seeking the spotlight, but seeking to shine the spotlight on others. Do I expect the responsibility for leadership using “I” when accepting failures, as equally using “we” when referring to successes? Am I realistically looking at my part, if the team is failing, what I need to do to change my approach for success?

Go Within
What I keep forefront along with the failures, shortfalls, complex problems, negotiations, metrics, career relationships, and my need to exceed expectations is this simple truth: I never face these things alone. I trust in working with my inner core, my true power to confidently create the ideas worth chasing, the relationships worth building, and the performance worth sustaining.

Inside out, not outside in.

Please join us on Tuesday, June 2 at 7:30 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time)
ANE will host an “Inspired Leadership in 30” phone call.
Call in number: (712) 775-7031 Enter ID #: 251-410-597