Positive Leadership: Be the Inspiration!
Showing posts with label Inspirational Leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Inspirational Leadership. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
Friday, September 13, 2013
Positive Leadership: The Importance of Being a Role Model
“Every child deserves a champion — an adult who will never
give up on them, who understands the power of connection, and insists that they
become the best that they can possibly be.”
Rita F. Pierson, a professional educator since 1972, taught
elementary school, junior high and special education. She was a counsellor, a
testing coordinator and an assistant principal. In each of these roles, she
brought a special energy to the role -- a desire to get to know her students,
show them how much they matter and support them in their growth, even if it was
modest.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
Positive Leadership: Being the Best You Can Possibly Be
Imagine being the best you could possibly be!
How often have you seen the line “creating an environment
where staff can achieve their full potential”? It’s a great
aspiration, that’s for sure, but what does it really mean and can it ever be
possible? Well, we are all born with an innate capacity to learn, a sort of
learning instinct, a playful spirit of enquiry and curiosity about who we are
and how the world works, and this should never be underestimated, but as we
progress through life blocks and barriers arise which limit and obscure the
potential that lies within us. We are bruised by often brutal experiences in
both work and education and we start to limit ourselves and the service we
offer others in ways that are both conscious and unconscious.
So, how can we start to win this inner game? Back in 1975
Timothy Gallwey in his wonderful book The Inner Game of Tennis put forward in
the form of an equation the simple but fascinating proposition that
POTENTIAL – INTERFERENCE = PERFORMANCE
This proposition challenges us to change our focus and our
thinking. Rather than trying to push performance or naval-gaze at potential, it
invites us instead to focus on the interference that inhibits the former and
blocks the latter. Remove the interference and the other two can flow together.
This can be a personal quest, a valuable piece of self-discovery, but it can
also be the basis for an approach to leadership: liberating leadership which
aims to set potential free by focussing on interference and which uses empathy,
compassion and passion to move towards a more fully engaged workplace and
learning environment.
There are four fundamental types of interference that block
personal performance:
Low inspiration,
Self-limiting beliefs,
Deficit relationships,
Pain language.
Let us look briefly at each of these and share some ideas
about how to win the inner game and the role of the liberating leader.
1. Low inspiration:
How often are we actively inspired? Inspired in a way that gives us
life, fresh energy, enthusiasm, vigour and positivity? Inspired in a way that
enables us to inspire others, perhaps? It can be a rare thing and certainly a
quality of being that is hard to summon at will. Well, maybe Andy Murray’s
historic success at SW19 in June was an example of collective inspiration. The
FTSE 100 share index went up 1.1% the very next day after his Wimbledon
Championship victory – as it always does after a great sporting success ( the
‘bulls’ have their day…). So, here are some steps you can take to combat low
inspiration:
Find things that actively inspire you,
Visit them frequently,
Carry them with you all day long.
Developing a scrapbook of inspiration has never been easier
with pictures, video clips, music and articles available to everyone on the
internet. Start building your inspiration scrapbook today!
A liberating leader will look to tune-in to the things which
inspire individuals, teams and even organisations. They will also openly share
the things which inspire them. In their
approach to business planning and achieving change they will focus heavily on
the inspiration that lies behind the initiative. They know that we are inspired
by a dream not a plan and will look to make the ‘dream’ or vision a clear part
of their dialogue around goals and performance.
2. Self-limiting beliefs: The beliefs we are looking at here
are the things we tell ourselves about ourselves, our inner dialogue about what
we can and cannot do and crucially what we are good at and what we are bad at.
We all have a combination of supporting beliefs, based on our core values and
successes, and limiting beliefs stemming from the outcomes and consequences we
have experienced and also importantly the messages, often much repeated, given
to us by significant players in our lives (parents, teachers, bosses, friends,
partners, the media, community leaders, and so on).
Winning the inner game involves raising self-awareness
regarding these limiting beliefs and challenging their origins, basis and
validity. It involves challenging the troll under the bridge that says to our
potential ‘you cannot cross’. This is not “you’ll believe a man can fly”-type
stuff. For example, no matter how strong my beliefs it would clearly be a
delusion to think that in my middle-years I could ever become an astronaut. These
are beliefs about things within the sphere of the individual’s reality.
Stemming from a steadfast faith in human potential a
liberating leader will work with individuals to raise awareness of
self-limiting beliefs and release potential through coaching, great feedback,
developing relationships and demonstrating personal commitment.
3. Deficit relationships:
Avoiding or transforming deficit relationships is a key way of keeping
the flow of potential going. They seem friendly enough, these corridor conversations
or chats over coffee, but they actually latch onto your negativity, double the
feeling and take you lower. The catharsis is false, as the emotions are
intensified rather than purged. These relationships are often cynical,
deflating and uncaring. There is no winner, just a sharing of interference that
makes doing challenging work/study more onerous than ever.
A liberating leader will look to set the tone in terms of
creating relationships based on empathy, compassion and passion. These
relationships are energising, inspiring and fulfilling and go beyond the
difficulties of today. They are based on trust, respect, warmth and a desire to
understand the emotional needs of others.
4. Pain language: The language we use, the language we
choose to use, has a powerful impact on how we feel about ourselves and our
performance. Our outer dialogue has a very strong influence over our inner
dialogue and can become a source of interference. Pain language like I can’t… I
have to… and it’s never going to happen… feeds through into our thoughts,
beliefs and even values. They can create or reinforce self-limiting beliefs.
Monitoring this dialogue, this choice of explanatory style, and moving from
pain to power language will have a transformative effect. Moving from “I can’t”
to “I choose not to” or from “I have to” to “I want to” is both empowering and
enriching. It links demonstrably with the other three points covered so far.
A liberating leader will aim to lead with a narrative and a
way of interacting that is all about power language. She or he will set out to
model power language for colleagues in all directions, not just the immediate
team, and will develop relationships on this basis.
So, just imagine…
Imagine these four transformations:
From low inspiration to carrying inspiration with you,
From self-limiting beliefs to empowering beliefs,
From deficit relationships to liberating relationships,
From pain to power language.
Imagine the interference this would reduce and imagine the
potential it would release, and imagine working with a liberating leader
committed to these principles.
When working with staff a liberating
leader knows –
That we are inspired by a dream not a plan,
The importance of removing interference so that people can
thrive, and
The value of creating organisations that people enjoy.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Positive Leadership: The Attributes of an Inspirational Leader
Monday, February 11, 2013
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Positive Leadership: Counting Back
New Zealand scientist and an all-round disruptor, Sir Ray
Avery, has a unique approach to keeping himself on track and motivated - he
counts down how many days he has left on the planet to ensure that he makes the
most out of life.
“I’ve got about 5,625 days to live,” the 65-year old told an
audience of entrepreneurs recently. “When you’re born, you’re born with 30,000
days. That’s it. The best strategic planning I can give to you is to think
about that… Every day I do a chart on what I’ve achieved and where I want to
be. And it makes you scary-as-shit clever.”
Most of us don’t like to think about ‘the end’, but the idea
of a reverse engineered calendar means that instead of having x amount of days
left, we have x amount of days to fill with life. An inspirational thought.
Monday, January 14, 2013
Positive Leadership: A Broken Body isn’t a Broken Person
A champion cross country skier in training for the winter Olympics, Janine’s life changed forever when she was hit by a truck during a bicycle ride in the Blue Mountains of Australia. Doctors did not expect her to survive and, when she did, they warned her that she would never walk again.
Janine focused intently for years on healing both her broken body and crushed morale. A turning point came watching small planes flying overhead. She decided: “If I can’t walk, I’ll fly.” While still in a full body cast, Janine was lifted into an aircraft for her first flight. Within a year she had her private pilot’s license. Later, she earned her commercial pilot’s license and instructor’s rating. Janine recently served on the board of Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and became its youngest -- and only -- female director.
Janine is the patron of the Australasian Spinal Research Trust and is committed to helping find a cure for spinal cord injury in the near future. In the meantime, she seeks to inspire those coping with physical disability. She is the author of five books, including The Gift of Acceptance and Never Tell Me Never. And while doctors told her after her accident that she would never have children, she now is a mother of three.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Positive Leadership: How Great Leaders Inspire Action
“If you hire people
just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money. But if you hire
people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat
and tears.” (Simon Sinek)
Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for
inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question
"Why?"
His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers.
His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Positive Leadership: Paralympics Opening Speech from Professor Stephen Hawking
“Ever since the dawn of civilisation, people have craved for
an understanding of the underlying order of the world. Why is it as it is, and
why it exists at all. But, even if we do find a complete theory of everything,
it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the
equations, and makes a universe for them to describe?
We live in a universe governed by rational laws that we can
discover and understand. Look up at the stars, and not down at your feet. Try
to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist.
Be curious.
The Paralympic Games are also about transforming our
perception of the world. We are all different, there is no such thing as a
standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit.
What is important is that we have the ability to create.
This creativity can take many forms, forms, from physical achievement to
theoretical physics.
However difficult life may seem there is always something
you can do, and succeed at. The Games provide an opportunity for athletes to
excel, to stretch themselves and become outstanding in their field.
So let us together celebrate excellence, friendship and
respect. Good luck to you all.”
Professor Stephen Hawking, Paralympics Opening Ceremony.
London 2012
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Positive Leadership: The Olympic Spirit - Never Quit!
The incident has become a well-remembered
moment in Olympic history, having been the subject of one of the International
Olympic Committee's 'Celebrate Humanity' videos and been used in advertisements
by Visa as an illustration of the Olympic spirit and featured in Nike's
"Courage" commercials in 2008.
Friday, April 27, 2012
Positive Leadership: Inspired By Sport
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Positive Leadership: 'Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man'
This is an inspiring piece from Henry Winter in The Daily Telegraph:
(For the full article, see: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/bolton-wanderers/9154414/Bolton-Manager-Owen-Coyle-has-shown-inspirational-leadership-during-these-troubled-days.html )
"The Glaswegian has been an inspiring leader during these
troubled days, not simply in the support he has shown [Farbice] Muamba’s family and the
way he has tended his distressed flock.
Coyle has handled the media adroitly, always exuding
positivity. In times of darkness, football needs beacons of hope and Coyle has
lit them across the land.
A humble character, Coyle will hate this sentiment but it
needs chronicling for all time that he has embedded himself so deeply in the
affections of the Bolton public.
As a player, Coyle lifted Bolton up once before, helping
them rise to the Premier League via the play-offs in 1995.
As a manager, Coyle has now lifted the club off its knees.
The nation has also seen and admired somebody assuming
responsibility when most required. So ‘66 was a great year for English
football: Owen Coyle was born.
This is a man of principle, a figure who inspires trust
amongst his players.
It is astonishing to consider that earlier this season
Coyle’s leadership credentials were being questioned. Not now. Not after these
past few days.
Whatever fate befalls Bolton this season, and the feeling
endures that they could be acquiring the quickening resolve (as well as players
like Rio Miyaichi) to scrap their way out of the relegation basement, Coyle’s
reputation has been enhanced. His critics have been scattered.
Some men are made for such moments. Again, Coyle will hate
the praise. That’s not his style. Never has been.
In company, the former Republic of Ireland international is
modest and bright, talking almost too quickly such is the abundance of ideas
spilling forth.
Attending one of Kevin Davies’ golf days last year, I
suggested a quick coffee with Coyle in the clubhouse and listened spellbound to
his espousal of the passing game and of football’s role in the community.
Coyle enthuses people, especially players. It is little
surprise that managers like Arsenal’s Arsène Wenger entrust him with youngsters
like Miyaichi and particularly Jack Wilshere, who flourished on loan under
Coyle.
Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge also matured as man and player
during his spell at the Reebok.
It is also little surprise that Bolton’s dressing-room is
home to some of the more thoughtful souls in the game like Davies, Sam
Ricketts, Stuart Holden, Nigel Reo-Coker and Muamba.
They enjoy working with such a shrewd teacher as Coyle.
If Coyle has been seen in the right light over the past few
days, the game he loves and serves so well has been viewed in a different light…….”
Monday, January 16, 2012
Positive Leadership: Celebrating Freedom
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
A Model for Inspirational Leadership
Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?" His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers -- and as a counterpoint Tivo, which (until a recent court victory that tripled its stock price) appeared to be struggling.
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