Last May, I attended the Chick-fil-A Leadercast. It was a powerful event and food for my growth plan. I learned a number of lessons that day, and have been mindful to apply them over this past 8 months, and have shared a number of them with others. I purchased a number of books through the Leadercast and received a couple of additional benefits. One of them, a booklet called Intentional Leader, created by Giant Impact (the organization that runs the Leadercast every year). I rediscovered it last week while organizing my home office. It offers twelve months of lessons, broken out for a 5-day week (with prep work for weekends), with each month focused on a different topic. At the end of each day’s lesson is one or more questions, intended to help the reader dig deeper into their thought processes and beliefs.
I’m a couple of weeks past the start of the year, but there’s no time like the present to learn and grow. So, I’m starting today. Won’t you join me?
Month 1 is Vision; week one is Personal Vision; day one is…
Leading others well begins with leading yourself well. And without a strong personal vision driving your own leadership, even this task can prove difficult.
In the beginning, the first, most critical step towards becoming an effective leader is self-awareness. You must know your strengths and weaknesses. You must understand what it is you seek to achieve. Once you understand your vision, you must be able to articulate it. Then, you must reinforce your words with your actions. Hold strong against the people and forces you will inevitably encounter that will attempt to deter you from your path.
Envision yourself succeeding, and refuse to let failure deter your vision.
My personal vision is to continue to grow and to reach out to as many people as I can to share the gifts I’ve been given, adding value to whomever crosses my path along my journey. To that end, I’ve invested in myself in many ways throughout my life — classes, workshops, seminars, reading, gleaning wisdom from a variety of mentors, and surrounding myself with others who share my passion and are also on a growth journey. I’ve become a John Maxwell certified Coach, Trainer, and Speaker, and am building a business focused on helping others discover their passion, overcome self-limiting beliefs, develop and implement plans to reach their goals, and to realize their full potential.
I’ve got the beginning steps in place and I can see the next few I need to take, but I’m a long way from fully realizing my dream and my potential. But that’s ok, because I know it’s a journey and it will take me some time. This is the kind of work — for me at least — that comes so naturally and is so fulfilling, the idea of “retiring” doesn’t seem very appealing!
Question: What may be preventing you from confidently believing in your personal vision?
Leading with intention seems to still be a misunderstood idea. Are there small, concrete steps we can take to illustrate its effectiveness?
Amy: Great question! Wouldn’t it be nice if it were that easy — to have a pre-defined set of steps one must take to be an intentional leader? The great news is, the answer is simple. The bad news is, it requires time, energy, attention, thought, and focus. The idea is to think before you speak or act. Consider the impact what you are about to do or say might have on others. Be mindful that what you intend to happen may not be the outcome, as people attach different meanings to things than we do, often times. Think about the potential risks, benefits, consequences, and implications before you act or speak. The truth is, even being this thoughtful about what you do will not guarantee success every time, but it may help you avoid some painful experiences — for yourself and others.
When I teach effective communication, I share this: Effective leader-communicators understand that good communication doesn’t just happen. With respect to communicating, they spend 80% of their time and energy planning for the communication and only 20% actually delivering it.
Let me know if this is helpful. Laura