by Izabela Lundberg, Featured Contributor
MANY OF YOU wanted to know where to start as a leader and better yet how. Also, some of you asked me how I started my path as a leader, especially with focus on high impact and legacy leadership.
I am sure you heard this before – you start with end in mind! You start wherever you are right now and go from there!
What end? How long or far is that? Can you even see that far? And how high can you go?
Leadership 1:1
The path to leadership is life long journey. I believe that it is the personal and professional daily core practice that defines who you are today and who you want to be tomorrow. It is an intimate dancing partner on this life long journey.
This dance is a personal transformation that creates an inspiring vision of the future regardless of where you are today. And by sharing that vision with those around you – motivating, inspiring, engaging – you by nature and design become a Transformational Leader.
So in many ways, it’s really not about you or me. It’s about the positive impact we have on other people both in our personal lives and our business careers. But it is a choice. As many of you know, my choice is to be that leader…and I would like some company!
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When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness”
~ Joseph Campbell[/message]
My guess is that many of you have already started the journey without recognizing this on a conscious level. Maybe during times of trouble you still found the time (and energy) to volunteer your time, support a charity, mentor a young person or go above and beyond at work to help a fellow employee. Whatever it is or was, you made a difference.
For others, the question may be when do I start? Well, how about now? The reality is that there are no limitations based on your age, gender, education, career or the ridiculous construct of “social status”. Because you have the power to become the great and inspiration leader you want to be.
It can be confusing, especially if you are trying to measure your progress. How do you know truly that you are making a difference? A bigger paycheck? Maybe. But I believe it’s much more than that. It’s about the your first thought as you wake up each morning. Is it excitement about what the day will bring? The difference you intend to make? The appreciation and love of the dance?
Your decision to take the first step will by itself push you to think beyond your current situation – which will by it’s very nature propel you forward. That is progress! That is the journey that I am talking about. It doesn’t have anything to do where are you right now vs. where you want to be. It has to do with the process, your actions and your intent.
High Impact Leadership
As you are progressing and fine-tuning your transformational skills, you are positioning yourself for high impact performance. It is your choice to decide whether or not to exercise your new muscles. Change, even good and joyous change, can be a bit scary. But if you love what you do. I mean really, really love what you do, the dance becomes more natural, graceful and less fearful every day.
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Don’t walk through life just playing football. Don’t walk through life just being an athlete. Athletics will fade. Character and integrity and really making an impact on someone’s life, that’s the ultimate vision, that’s the ultimate goal – bottom line.”
~ Ray Lewis[/message]
You may have read that many neurological specialists believe that we only use about 10% of their mental true potential. Maybe that’s true. Maybe it’s 5%. Or maybe it’s 90%. Whatever it is, I suspect we would all agree that it’s probably not 100%. So wouldn’t it be amazing to tap into 100% not only for not only our own good but for your family, co-workers, employees and company?
WOW! That would unleash so much potential beyond anything that we had seen thus far.
In my upcoming book, The Global Messenger, I will share in great detail the formula of how to measure progress and unleash your true potential.
In the interim, here are a few high impact performance elements that I uncovered during numerous interviews with professional athletes and coaches, including Olympians across a wide range of sport platforms:
- Mindset – Winning and Succeeding Mindset! Just because you don’t yet have tangible evidence that you can reach your goal, it doesn’t mean that you can’t. But you have to believe that you can find the way to accomplish the specific task or step.
Great athletes find ways to ignore doubt, which propels them to a completely different level of performance. It’s also essential to surround yourself with positive and supportive people along the way. Even athletes that are not part of a team, like figure skaters, understand the importance of this.
It is time to see end goal! It is the stage time!!!
- Mistake – Willingness to Make Mistakes! The willingness and mindset to allow yourself to make a mistakes. As children, we are told don’t do this, don’t do that, stay on the sidewalk, don’t touch that. While many times that danger can be real, that programming can make us risk averse…setting us up to never try new things and always play it safe. As result, we do not allow ourselves to try, let alone fail without ever truly testing our own limits and true potential.
It is a time for a game change. It is the time for Game on!!!
- Motivation – Motivation to Fall in Love! This is beyond performance of any kind; it is deeper commitment within yourself beyond your BIG WHY! It is about you and something remarkable, precious and profound within you – your heart. Noting gets accomplished without strong emotions, especially positive ones such as love and passion. Taping into that passion, that endless inner drive and energy, allows you to keep going even when things get challenging. The key is to know what are you so passionate about, what you truly love and what you deep down want to accomplish.
The high performing impact starts unfolding. Now you are ready for the marathon and not a sprint!
