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"A leader serves by inspiring those she serves with a vision of the future which is compelling, achievable and provides a context for understanding their ongoing experiences. Such a vision connects the employees and customers.
In addition to a vision - which may be enterprise-wide - there is clarity of mission. Mission is the down-to-earth linchpin fusing individuals' daily work into enterprise accomplishment.
If vision is the sine qua non of a leader, mission is the fundamental focus of the manager.
The most effective leaders are also effective managers. The most effective managers are also effective leaders.
The mission to implement the vision can itself be inspiring. These would include the 'big hairy audacious goals' identified by Jim Collins in organizations going 'from good to great." Audacity itself can unleash formidable force. Collins says, "A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as a unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal' (p. 161-162)."
From: Gordon, J. (2017). The power of positive leadership: how and why positive leaders transform teams and organizations and change the world. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.
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"A big part of positive leadership and grit is knowing that you will fail along the way but you won't allow failure to define you or stop you. Failure is a big part of your path to success. It's not your enemy. It is your partner in growth. It doesn't define you; it refines you. If you didn't fail, you wouldn't build the character you need to succeed. When you have grit, you fail and you move forward. You see it as an event, not a definition. You leave the past and let it go. The path to greatness is never behind you. Just keep moving forward. Failure and challenges are just part of the journey. There's no accomplishment without struggle. No triumph without tests and failures along the way. There would be no stories of positive leaders changing the world if they didn't have to overcome adversity and failure in order to do so (p. 224-225)."
From: Gordon, J. (2017). The power of positive leadership: how and why positive leaders transform teams and organizations and change the world. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.
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From: Studer,Q. (2020). The busy leader's handbook: how to lead people and places that thrive. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.
- "Great mentors have done it and/or are doing it.
- Great mentors are willing to share their knowledge, expertise, and skills.
- They just don't give answers. Instead, they help the mentee arrive at the answers.
- They focus on character at least as much as skill.
- Great mentors aren't afraid to get personal. They know there is no sharp divide between work life and personal life.
- Great mentors walk the walk.
- They are honest about their shortcomings.
- Great mentors know they are not finished products.
- Great mentors care.
- They are positive by nature.
- They help the mentee hold up the mirror.
- Great mentors teach from experience.
- They demand accountability.
- They also help the mentee find other mentors.
- Great mentors tell the hard truths (but they do it with caring) (p.269-272)."
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From: Gordon, J. (2017). The power of positive leadership: how and why positive leaders transform teams and organizations and change the world. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons.
"I'm sure you have heard of Murphy's Law, right? Whatever can go wrong will go wrong- and usually at the worst possible time. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law seems to play out all too often and, when a series of bad things happens, it can lead you to expect more bad things to happen. Instead of hoping for the best, you start to expect the worst and act accordingly. Football coach Gus Bradley, one of the most positive leaders I've ever met, told me about a great way he helps his team deal with negative events and avoid the victim mindset that can accompany them. Gus tells his team about this fictional guy named Murphy, who the law is named after. Murphy is a big jerk who wants to ruin their practice, games, and season. He says that Murphy often shows up at the worst possible time. But instead of being scared of Murphy when he shows up they are going to tackle him. They expect to see Murphy, and when they do they have an even greater expectation that they will defeat him. Life is filled with challenging circumstances, but you can rise above them. Life is hard, but you are strong. The struggle is real, but so is your ability to overcome it (p. 91-92)."
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"Your purpose provides you with the overarching guide for every choice you make. Aligning with your purpose is key to maximizing fulfillment in your life. It's what brings meaning to you.
Think about it this way. Just as every business has a mission statement designed to guide the company's focus, your purpose acts to give you focus for your life.
Purpose is always tied to your passions, what Inspires you in your life. That is why you're here! When you connect to your passion, you can build it into your life plan so that you are intentionally embracing the best you can be in the world (p. 452)."
From: Kaplan, B. & Manchester, J. (2018). The power of vulnerability: how to create a team of leaders by shifting inward. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Press.
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In the interest of the safety of our customers and community, we will be transitioning all of our workshops, individual coaching, and group sessions online, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will continue to provide high-quality leadership centered education and research through a digital format.
During this uncertain time, we hope to create connection and networking opportunities to strengthen our relationships and personally develop. Together, we will come out stronger.
We would like to take this time to encourage you to join our mailing list, Leadership Moments. This is a weekly email that offers tips, tricks, and resources to be an efficient and effective leader. You are able to sign up by visiting our website.
Please continue to check in online and through our social media for the latest updates on upcoming events. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us. Beth Flynn, leadership consultant and trainer, is able to assist; Flynn.61@osu.edu.
Wash your hands and grow your leadership,
OSU Leadership Center Team
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From: Kaplan, B. & Manchester, J. (2018). The power of vulnerability: how to create a team of leaders by shifting inward. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Press.
"Remaining courageous, humble, and fascinated makes us more open to seeing where we have opportunities to grow and learn. And there are other mind-sets we can adopt to keep on the learning path. One I especially like is looking at ourselves and others with what we can call 'The Eyes of Love.' It's about choosing to be gentle with ourselves, especially when life gets tough, rather than giving in to our crocodilian reflex of self-judgment.
We grow so much just by being gentle with ourselves. Think about how quickly children grow when they are in an atmosphere of love rather than judgment. Unfortunately, as adults, most of us have PhDs in judgment. Our inner critic is super strong. We judge and criticize ourselves for not knowing better and for not growing faster, or tell ourselves that growing is too hard, that we aren't worth it, and that we don't have time for it.
Looking at ourselves through judgmental eyes slows down our growth. We end up in a downward spiral. Let's examine how this self-limiting pattern works.
Afraid of judgment if we try and fail, we look the other way from our growth opportunities. As a result, we slowly become unable to see those opportunities - we become deaf to the whispers in our lives, since these ask us to make changes and take risks that our inner critic fears. This means we end up making the same, self-limiting choices over and over again. Then, because we can't easily overlook the consequences of our self-limiting choices, such as dysfunctional relationships, lack of fulfillment, and lack of effectiveness, we start judging ourselves for those self-created misfortunes, feeling even worse about ourselves. As we stay in our unconscious, self-punishing, downward spiral, the layers of self-judgment become so thick that they paralyze us over time. We feel bad about ourselves and bad about feeling bad, becoming ever more resistant to letting go of old limiting ways. With every setback, we judge ourselves more feeling worse and getting more entangled in this downward spiral, which then discourages us even further.
Reflecting on some of the following questions with kindness can help us snap out of a negative judgement spiral:
- What can this station in life teach me?
- What old ways of thinking are limiting me?
- How have these ways of thinking helped me? How are they common and understandable strategies of the mind to help me live?
- What do I not want to see? What if I allowed myself to see these limiting thoughts?
- Who would I be without these ways of thinking? What new ways of thinking can I adopt that fuel fulfillment, connection, and effectiveness?
- How can I respond differently to my current situation?
- What am I grateful for? How can I bring more of the things that make me grateful into my life?
Or, in one question: 'How am I growing?'
Sometimes, we may find the answer is 'not at all' or 'not in the ways I would like'; that's when we know we need to find the courage and humility to keep pursuing our own expansion, without self-judgment (p. 64-67)."
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"Everyone has the capacity to be a leader; and the authority for this power is inside everyone.
Once you buy into the premise that each of us can be a leader, the next step is to give yourself permission to tap into that power. Not so easy. First, you need to overcome the self-limiting belief that you do not have the authority to access it. Put another way, you do not have to wait for the boss to give you direction or grant you permission. Instead, believe you are the boss of you, and only you can control when you access your power to lead.
A leader inspires others by serving as a role model, sometimes going first and other times listening from behind. A leader innovates either through fresh ideas or by courageously starting the process of opening up by showing vulnerability. The fountainhead of leadership is internal and its impact is external. A leader does not have to manage a team, or run a company, or be the boss. A leader emerges from the group because of their influence on others in the way they shape the team by expressing the power of their truth and insight.
Anyone con be the first one to offer an raise a counter or contrary view. Anyone can question the boss. Anyone can be the person who reads the energy in the room and then brings clarity to the team that it is going down the wrong track. Anyone can volunteer to show how she can be comfortable being uncomfortable and act as a role model for others. So, if anyone can do it - even at the same time.
Once you start to imagine yourself as a leader - despite the position you play in the formal structure - you create limitless opportunity to bring your power to the life of the team you serve (p. 109-111)."
From: Kaplan, B. & Manchester, J. (2018). The power of vulnerability: how to create a team of leaders by shifting inward. Austin, TX: Greenleaf Press.
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COLUMBUS — The Ohio State Leadership Center is offering a social media giveaway on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter for a select three-hour or online leadership workshop.
Located in the Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership Department, the Ohio State Leadership Center works to provide leadership training to individuals, companies, and organizations that can be used to further grow the organization. The majority of workshops are held in the Nationwide & Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center.
These sessions are led by a group of professionals who have years of experience in the field. The Ohio State Leadership Center is also easily accessible and an affordable option for people looking for leadership training.
“Our workshops are highly interactive and include large and small group discussions, assessments, and hands on activities,” Beth Flynn, leadership consultant and trainer, said. “We offer quality information at a price that is reasonable.”
The Ohio State Leadership Center has received exceptional feedback from participants. Beth Flynn said the organization has had a number of individuals sign-up for additional workshops after they have attended their first.
“We are a friendly group. One of the greatest compliments we can receive is that people register for additional workshops after attending one of ours, send others or invite us to work with their team,” said Flynn.
To win a free workshop, simply follow the Leadership Center on social media and share their post regarding the giveaway. Their handle is @osuleadership center on all platforms.
CEOs who Engage for Impact:
- “They lead with intent. These CEOs translate their vision, goals, and acute awareness of context into commercial intent for the business overall and for every interaction they engage in.
- They understand the players. They tune in to understand the unique needs - emotional, financial, physical, or otherwise - of the full multitude of players who impact realization of intent.
- They build routines to enlist these players to support the intent (p.90).”
What are some additional things that CEOs do to Engage for Impact?
From: Botelho, E. L; & Powell, K.R. (2018). The ceo next door: the four behaviors that transform ordinary people into world-class leaders. New York: Currency.