Leaders Challenge Assumptions
1. Enthusiasm: Enthusiasm is so often associated with a positive state of mind, yet we can use enthusiasm so negatively - and not realising we are doing so. How often do you hear people saying, "Well that is the way it is and I can do nothing about it". Wrong, we can always do something about anything. We may not say such statements with pride or enthusiasm but we certainly say it with conviction and belief. These strong feelings often come from disappointment in ourselves, our companies, our product, our management or top level decisions. When our team feel that they are being coerced by a system every time they want to contribute to feel part of the system, or what they believe is right, fighting for this right and getting nowhere just leaves them disillusioned. This attitude and feeling forces us to become part of the negative, pessimistic and rigid culture in the workplace. And enthusiasm dies. And along with it, the drive to succeed. 2. Challenge the Status quo: The systems we create are so often based on our thinking, desires, insecurities that are transformed into company structures and policies, procedures, rules, software programs and systems, which then become forced agreements about how things should be done. The next step is to ensure that everyone abides by them and so we create managers with limited powers to police the workforce. So where a manager has no choice (in his/her mind) to accept the status quo, a leader (in his/her mind) will challenge it. The more leaders we create in the workforce the stronger and more progressive the business. 3. Challenging our Assumptions: To archive this is no easy task. The easy path is to accept what is thrown at us and go with the flow. A leader will see no other way but to challenge authority about the system that was created or decisions made. This is why leaders are able to learn and develop the skills of diplomacy, daring and determination. Managers revert to arrogance in order to hide their apprehensiveness. We are the ones who can make the difference to those around us. A leader will never dive in feet first; rather gather facts and information beforehand to give us the power of strength. 4. Follow your Instincts: We all strive to feel motivated by freedom and a good leader will challenge how far he/she can trust others and themselves. If you continually seek challenges you will find the best in yourself. One such challenge would be what we identify as an unwanted status quo in our company, ourselves, systems etc. Some values that can be challenged are:
Being organized has never been a negative for anyone, in fact being
organized will lead you to success. Let's apply this to our life. How about organizing your life like you would organize everything else. Today, we'll make a life To Do list. Here is a list for you to get you started. Make time for yourself: Yes, you had struggles to get through, troubles to overcome, loved ones to deal with, and goals to achieve. A break from it all... is more than necessary. It's perfectly healthy to stop and let the world spin on without you for a while. It's good for you to spend time alone. A simple break will give you an opportunity to discover who you really are and to take time out to find who you really want to be. Credit your effort despite the result: Failure keeps you grounded, success keeps you alert, but only faith and determination will keep you going. Stay focused and celebrate your efforts, not your outcomes. Challenges are what make life interesting, overcoming them is what will give your life meaning. Remember that the opposite of failing is not succeeding; the opposite of failing is trying. React right: If you can change your thinking, you can change your life. You have a thought process which you ride on when you are alone and quietly thinking. The worth of your life to yourself and others, as well as the happiness it brings, depends upon the way your process works, the baggage it carries, and the emotional space through which it travels. Between life's stimulus and your reaction is where this space exists; within it is your power to choose how you react, and in your reaction lies your growth, freedom, and happiness. Listen to your inner voice: Some people will kill you over time if you let them; and how they'll kill you is with tiny, harmless phrases like, "be realistic." When this happens, close your ears and listen to your inner voice instead. Remember that real success in life isn't what others see, but how you feel. Live God's plan for your life and do those things that make you feel alive. Help you grow. Most important, the things that help your faith grow. Exercise Positivity: You deserve a day when worries don't get in the way of your happiness. A day where, even if some people are insensitive or unkind, you're not going to care because you realize that the blessings you received are far more precious than the burdens you once experienced. You can create a day like this for yourself. Put some gratitude in your attitude. There is much inner power in being and having positive attitude. Focus on the next logical step forward: There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them. So keep your hope alive. Don't dwell on what went wrong. Instead, focus on what to do next. Spend your energy moving forward toward a solution. If you take full responsibility for yourself and your current situation, you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams, and you will discover a way to get there. Be kind: The best choice you can make is to be genuinely respectful and authentically kind. Though your kindness will not always be returned, it will certainly be noticed. And even when it's not fully appreciated by others, your kindness will always inject more positive value into your own life. What you give comes back to you in ways that are impossible to predict. So give your kindness as often as you can, and enjoy the more positive world you are helping to create. Appreciate people, those that have earned it: You develop three kinds of friendships in life: friends for a reason, friends for a season, and friends for a lifetime. Take note of who these `lifetime friends' are and never overlook their worth. Just because they are reliable and there when you need them, doesn't mean you should fail to give thanks and appreciation on a regular basis. To value someone too lightly is to risk missing their goodness before they're gone. Be grateful for blessings: We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. What if you gave someone a gift and they neglected to thank you for it? Would you be likely to give them another one? The daily events in your life respond the same way. In order to find more of the blessings that a God has to offer, you must first be grateful for the blessings you already have in your life. Enjoy yourself: In between all your goals, priorities, obligations, and everything else that might appear on one of your upcoming to-do lists, there are moments called `life' that still have to be lived and enjoyed. The trick is to make the best of each moment, and value it for what it's worth. In other words, don't wish all your time away by waiting for better times ahead. Smile, right now, because you can. Life is not the amount of breaths you take... but, it's the moments that take your breath away. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2014
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