Focusing on the Positive View to Success

Two people can view the same situation entirely different. One may see the glass half empty; another sees the glass half full.

Both observations are correct, but the subtle difference in thought process and phrasing is important. The former is bemoaning what isn’t and the latter is appreciating what is. The way you view and describe a situation greatly influences how you feel about it and how you respond to it. You have the power to choose how you see life. You always have the option of viewing situations in either a positive or negative manner.

When someone asks you how you genuinely feel about yourself, what thoughts first come to your mind? Do you instinctively think about your shortcomings and failures, or do you think about your worth and potential? Your view of yourself affects your development. When you focus on your potential, you foster vision and motivation for growth. When you expect positive outcomes, you will be more inclined to work for and get them. If you motivate employees and create an environment where they want to succeed, they will be more likely to do so. If you have positive expectations, they will strive to live up to them.

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and help them become what they are capable of being.” ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

When you see life positively, you will be in a stronger position to ward off the negative influences that constantly bombard you. You will be able to set your goals and sustain your efforts to achieve them. Take an inventory of your internal attitudes. Listen closely to your dialogue with yourself. You will become increasingly aware of the many negative thoughts that you may entertain on a daily basis.

Be conscious of your thoughts and make a commitment to change those negative thoughts into positive commitments. Just as you exercise your body to make it healthy, exercise your mind with positive thoughts that begin with “I can” and “I will.” You have no doubt encountered people who move forward through life with vigor and enthusiasm. They seem to possess an indefinable quality that propels them over and around obstacles. They don’t get discouraged, and they don’t indulge in self-doubt or self-pity. That quality is a positive view of life. You can almost hear them saying aloud to themselves, “I can” and “I will,” and as a result they do!

Finding Opportunity

Is talk of the "crazy economy" getting you down? Are you ready to move on? Any time adversity opportunity rears its ugly head, it's human nature to "duck and cover" and wait out the storm. It’s been 5 years since the economy so drastically changed. Haven’t we all done enough waiting? It’s time to take charge and take action.

There are some bright spots on the horizon of the business world: The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in 2011, the number of new business establishments increased by 29,316. They also report many areas of positive growth are expected in the next 7 years. In 2020, The BLS anticipates the following industries will experience at least a 2.9% annual job growth: community and vocational services; professional, scientific, and technical services; commercial and industrial machinery and equipment rental; and construction. And we will only go up from there! Various arms of the healthcare industry are expected to grow by 3.2% most likely driven by the longevity of our aging population. Home health care alone is projected to jump 6.1% annually. Technology and computer design and wood manufacturing both weigh in at 3.9% growth. And here’s the best news of all: management, scientific, and technical consulting are expected to grow at an annual rate of 4.7%. Everyone loves a consultant these days! The increasingly complex global economy has created the demand; exceptionally qualified and skilled professionals provide the supply.

This is direct proof that there is opportunity inside diversity. It’s up to skilled professionals to ask the right questions to uncover those hidden opportunities. Help yourself and those around you look for opportunity within adversity with these 4 powerful questions:

      1. Have new needs presented themselves to you in these adverse times? Are there underlying customer needs to be aware of since things have changed?

      2. What resources are being displaced because of the changes? These could be people, materials, products or services, intellectual property, or technology.

      3. Can you see a way to use resources from your answers to question 2 to fulfill a need you identified in question 1?

      4. Can you apply your success with questions 1, 2, and 3 in additional markets such as new customers or new products?    

Evaluating your answers to these 4 questions can help you and your community climb above the storm and see opportunity instead of only adversity.

How Do You Develop Peak Performers?

A financial analyst once asked Herb Kelleher, Co Founder of Southwest Airlines “... if he was afraid of losing control of his organization." Herb told him that he never had control, and he never wanted it. In his words, "If you create an environment where the people truly participate, you don’t need control. They know what needs to be done and they do it.”

High performance people see things not only as they are, but also as they could be. This is the first step in creating an environment and structure where people truly participate and genuinely believe they are integral to the organization’s success. When people expand their focus on the possible, they begin to seek new and better ways of doing things. They realize they have the capacity to shape their lives rather than accept things as they are. Leadership is the norm, not the exception. Everyone is encouraged to examine situations and lead in response to them. Previous habits of “doing it this way because we have always done it this way” give way to new attitudes, innovative thinking, and process improvements. The philosophy “if it isn’t broke don’t fix it,” gives way to “regardless of how good it is, we can make it better.”

Mentoring people to higher levels of performance requires that you establish the conditions within which performance serves both the organization’s as well as the individual’s best interests. The structure and culture of the organization must support the efforts of the individuals. Everyone needs to realize that his or her best interests and personal successes are served by the success of the entire organization. If the environment is not conducive to supporting and guiding people to new levels of achievement, new skills and behaviors will not thrive. You cannot lead people to higher levels of achievement if the structures do not support the behavior.

The way people think leads to what they do. What people do leads to results. If you want to improve results, it makes sense to improve the way people think. Significant achievement is not likely without change, and change in behavior starts with a change in thinking.

You have no doubt heard the expression, “We are creatures of habit.” There is considerable truth to that statement, for almost all that we do and most of what we think is the result of habits that have been formed during the course of a lifetime. Much of what we do in a 24-hour period demands little conscious thought because we have developed habits that help us accomplish a number of things – on auto-pilot. Just as much of our behavior is habit, so are most of our attitudes. Attitudes are habits of thought. We have thought the same way about something for so long that it is now a habit. While some habits are useful in preventing us from having to consciously figure out the mechanics each time we confront a familiar situation, many habits keep people from stretching their capabilities and trying new, inventive, and possibly better ideas or techniques. Behavior and performance are likened to attitudes. If you want to improve performance, you have to improve the habits of thought that improve performance.

How are the “we have always done it this way” attitudes and habits holding your organization back from the success you need to achieve?

How Leaders Create Trust

People choose to buy from you, offer help, and grant rewards based on trust. Here are ways to increase your success by creating trust. While we already do most of these things, missing even one of them can ruin it all.

 Be Dependable

·         Deliver what you promise, and promise only what you can deliver. Report delays immediately.

·         Be on time. Leave early for appointments. Set realistic deadlines allowing for the unexpected.

·         Show courtesy by returning phone calls.

·         Be predictable. Use self-control; anger repels and scares others.

Listen

·         Show interest and respect by paying attention to what the other person is saying.

·         Ask questions. Then make it easy to answer them.

·         Accept the other person's ideas as valid, even if you disagree. Avoid listening through filters of what you want to hear.

·         Be open to new ideas. Realize that you could always know more.

Be Honest

·         Tell the truth. Lies demean the teller more than they fool the listener.

·         Act with integrity. Make decisions as if you had to deal with all of the consequences.

·         Treat others with respect and choose actions that add value for everyone.

Provide Data

·         Tell stories that show past achievements. Quote compliments.

·         Collect data. Keep a victory file of successes, testimonial letters, and other good news. If necessary, ask for testimonials, references, and compliments.

·         Create data. Plan good deeds that lead to complimentary stories.

Take the High Road

·         Help others perform at their best. Give without expecting a return favor.

·         Do good things because that makes the world a better place.

·         Show courage during uncertainty.

·         Seek the good in others.

·         Trust others because this shows that you expect to be trusted.

Are Your Choices Helping in Your Journey to Success?

Often when succumbing to frustration, businesses and individuals find success to be a fleeting proposition. There is no question that success is a journey, but it can become a very manageable and measurable journey focused on desired outcomes and results. There is a significant difference between wishing for success and accomplishing success. And, that difference makes all the difference in the world!

The Value of Differences

Successful businesses and successful people have a long list of attributes that contribute to and foster their accomplishments. However, the objective of this article is to focus on five foundational attributes that apply to both personal as well as business success. Understanding and committing to these five core attributes will definitely propel you to a higher level of success.

Perspective: For the last three summers the Food Network has run the show “Who The Next Food Network Star.” Within the first several weeks of the season the judges inquire as to each contestant’s culinary point of view. What is his/her unique perspective on food, cooking, and the potential audience he/she may be in front of with this individual’s own show? Why would the audience at home want to watch their show and learn these recipes and techniques? Differentiation is critical as with your business and you. What is your business’s unique point of view? How does your business’ perspective differ from the competition? What are your unique set of beliefs to business and your life, and how can YOU capitalize on those?

Conviction: Having a strong belief in yourself and your business goes hand in hand with your unique perspective. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest) rate your belief in yourself and your belief in your business. Are your ratings where you want them to be? If not, why not? What you accomplished yesterday is a great measurement of the success of past decisions. However, your conviction or belief in yourself and in your business is a huge predictor of your future success.

Vision: Where do you want to go? What do you want to become? Why? Just like an organization’s vision your personal vision should be a short, succinct, and an inspiring statement of what you intend to become and achieve at some point in the future. Vision refers intentions that are broad, all-inclusive and forward thinking. It is the image that a business must have of its goals before it sets out to reach them. It describes aspirations for the future, without specifying the means that will be used to achieve those desired ends.

“To choose a direction, an individual (an organization) must have developed a mental image of the possible and desirable future state.” ~ Warren Bennis

Experience: Every individual and every business represents a unique set of skills and knowledge. How can you leverage those talents?

Attitude: 

Attitude is more important than many things. The remarkable thing about attitude is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, and we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is control our attitude and stay focused. Your attitude is your greatest tool!

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.” ~ Charles Swindoll

Your challenge is to review these five attributes and conduct an honest assessment of where you stand as it relates to your perspective, conviction, vision, experience, and attitude.

Are these five attributes propelling you to success?

Are they hindering your desired outcome?

Based on your answer to the last question what additional steps do you need to take or what do you need do differently?

Your outcomes are directly connected to your choices—so choose wisely.

Mastering Excellence

Achieving success in life, business, sports, etc. is about mastering excellence. Success is about commitment, persistence, skill, confidence, and execution. Vince Lombardi was quoted as saying, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field or endeavor.” So the question becomes no matter what your chosen field or endeavor, how do you master excellence?

In my experience there are three key ingredients that, when embraced, create the foundation for mastering excellence.

1. Having the right Attitude.

Having the right attitude is a decision you need to make every day. Your attitude not only affects you, but it affects the people around you. There are two ways you can look at virtually everything in your life. A pessimist looks for the difficulty in the opportunity, and the optimist looks for opportunity in difficulty.

Your attitude affects your body language and your behavior. Folks with the right attitude often appear strong, confident and happy. Folks with a more pessimistic view often appear haggard, unhappy, and stressed. Having the right attitude gives you energy and that energy is very contagious… being optimistic fuels better health. Even when the world around you seems to be challenging or crumbling, having the right attitude will reaffirm that you have what is necessary to face any challenge and create the right outcome for you. Your attitude has a direct correlation to your ability to master excellence in whatever you choose to pursue. There really is only one right option-embrace the right attitude!

2. Being Goal oriented.

Know what you want, why you want it, and define how to achieve it. Defining personal and professional goals will create a road map for your success. It is not enough to have a dream. In order to have a dream become a reality, there needs to be a goal with defined action steps. Action is what makes things happen and being goal oriented is an empowering process. As you achieve things from your list, you start to feel an energy building that will very quickly snowball. The more you start to achieve by being goal oriented the more you want to achieve and the more you know you can achieve.

3. The Devil is the Details.

Attention to detail is critical to mastering excellence and it will make you stand out in comparison to others. Attention to detail means nothing goes unnoticed. It is paying attention to how you dress, how you behave, how you communicate, how you carry yourself, how you take care of your surroundings, how quickly and efficiently you follow up, and how you treat others. Make every detail meaningful and reap the rewards of success.

You have the ability to be excellent at whatever you pursue or endeavor, and being excellent is a choice that is 100% within your control. Decide today to raise your level of success by having the right attitude, by being goal oriented, and by paying attention to every detail. Excellence and success go hand in hand!

Do You Need My Approval?

Need for Approval Kills Freedom.

"Criticism is something you can easily avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing” ~Aristotle

Let go of the need for approval to start thriving.

Trust me, I know, because I spent most of my life seeking approval until I realized it was a waste of time and didn’t work anyway. The desire to get people to like me motivated the majority of my choices and actions in early life.

I mastered the art of telling people what they wanted to hear and being someone they would find impressive—all the while worrying incessantly about what others thought of me, fearing criticism, and holding myself back as a result.

When I first started building my coaching business, this craving for acceptance caused me to hide from opportunities where the potential for reward was high, but the possibility for criticism was equally large.

As an example, one of my first client referrals was to coach the owner of a major manufacturing business. It’s painful to admit that I told my client I wasn’t the right person for the job and referred the person to someone else.

My need for approval created immense anxiety about the value I provided for my clients and caused me to spend far too much time on tasks in order to perfect them. It got to the point where I was wasting so much time and losing so many opportunities that I had to make a big decision: either let the business go or learn how to get over myself!

Fortunately I chose the latter option. I created a plan to learn to let go of needing others’ approval (well, at least letting go enough that it would no longer sabotage my success). Here I am, several years later, running the same business with much greater ease as a result.

Can you relate to these issues?

Do you constantly make choices to avoid disapproval or criticism, rather than what is most valuable, effective or important to you? Do you hold yourself back from speaking your opinions or hide your true self?

This is something you can, and dare I say, must change if you want to be happy in your life and successful in your business or chosen work. It is possible to change. I have done so myself, and since then have helped many other people through my business to do the same.

How is the need for approval holding you back? Can you recognize any of these scenarios?

Quadrant "A" — Need for Approval / Low Performance

The need for approval is negatively impacting your performance—you procrastinate, avoid doing important things, feel anxiety and fear, and get stuck in worry and rumination.

Wanting people to like you, results in declining new opportunities, being too nervous to perform effectively, and you begin to practice avoidance – like apathy, withdrawal, analysis paralysis, and giving up.

If you find yourself in this Quadrant, focus upon how the need for approval is holding you back from doing the important things. Once you move past this, you will be free to achieve and create what you want in life with much less stress and effort, because you are currently exhausting yourself through avoidance.

Quadrant "B" — Need for Approval / High Performance

Although you are a high achiever and get great results in your life, it is often at the expense of everything else.

The need for approval in this case results in doing too much, feeling anxiety, worrying, being unable to stop ruminating about challenges, trying to please everyone, not making time for yourself, working too hard, and being unable to say no.

If you recognize that this is you, focus upon how the need for approval is causing you to do too much instead of only what is important, and to do things for others at the expense of yourself.

Quadrant "C" — Self-Acceptance / Low Performance

In this instance, what others think of you has little impact on your decision-making about how to spend your time. However, your performance is low due to other motivational factors, such as being unaware of what is important to you, what drives you, and what makes you happy.

Hence, you may be stuck doing work you don’t really enjoy and have habits that hinder your performance, or alternatively may not have the skills to work effectively at what you are doing.

If you are stuck in this Quadrant, focus your energy upon getting in touch with what really matters to you. Start to listen to what you really want in your life and act upon this to make it happen. Life becomes much more effortless when you are living in alignment with what is important to you.

Quadrant "D" — Self-Acceptance / High Performance

This is the goal I am always working toward with my coaching clients. It’s a place where you make decisions based on what is right for you. You make effective choices with your time. You are OK with saying no when it is required. And, you are committed to only doing that which is important and valuable for what you want to achieve or create in your life.

In this space, you spend much less time in your head worrying about people and situations and more time just getting things done. You don’t need to be busy in order to appear successful. Instead, you choose to see success as measured by doing what matters to you and to your results. This is a collaborative space where you lead and connect effectively with others, without being at their beck and call.

Once you have identified where you are, it’s time to do something about it! Here are a handful of strategies to help you get to quadrant “D”—the place where you no longer need others’ approval, as you have a sound sense of self-acceptance and you make choices from this place.

How to Let Go of the Need for Approval

1. Build a sound sense of Self-Acceptance.

The first step is to strengthen your core foundation so that you feel strong enough to go with what feels right for you. This way, you will no longer feel the need to look to others to feel good enough about your choices and decisions.

Keep a self-appreciation journal, where you start acknowledging daily or a few times a week the things you are most proud of about yourself: choices you have made, insights you have learned, things you like about yourself, times you have stayed true to yourself, or whatever feels right for you.

2. Let Go of seeking Validation from others.

Secondly, you need to practice letting go of seeking validation for your choices and most importantly, for whom you choose to be.

This means noticing your language, self-talk, and behavior, and identifying when it is coming from wanting someone else to say you are ok, that you made the right choice, or that you did the right thing.

Instead, when you do make a decision, check in with yourself that it feels right, remind yourself that it is your choice, and give yourself validation for just being you.

3. Evaluate tasks based on Approval-seeking Efforts.

Lastly, start being honest with yourself when you take on a new task or commitment, whether you are doing it because it is “right” for you or because you want to get approval and avoid disapproval.

Sit down and evaluate your weekly tasks and ask yourself what is really necessary and important, and what is driven by people pleasing. Then slowly work through the “people pleasing” list and eliminate them.

How has the need for approval impacted your life?

Succeeding Thru Inner Peace

For many years, like many people I lived my life failing to understand that inner peace is a choice. I am not sure what I was thinking those days. Perhaps I didn’t believe anyone could feel a lasting peace inside. I did know that my own feelings of peace were always transitory.

There were many ups and downs in my life, too many claims on my time and too many difficult situations to be dealt with. I think I actually believed inner peace could only be achieved by monks and saints, or anyone living a reclusive life who didn’t have to deal with everyday struggles.

I was stuck in a world of confusion, wondering how peace could be mine when there was always something, some drama going on in my own life or the lives of those I loved.

In fact, it seemed to me that the whole world was filled with stuff, negative stuff mostly, which I read about in the newspaper, saw on the television, or heard from someone I knew.

It was the kind of stuff that pulls at your emotions—the breaking news story of a missing woman being found murdered, the tragedy of a child being killed by a hit and run driver, the numbers of homeless people tripling, and a devastating Tsunami killing thousands and paralyzing an entire country, etc.

Then there were the stories closer to home— my father suffering from stroke and eventually passing away soon after my son was born, my sister struggling with cancer and ultimately succumbing, and my mother too was diagnosed with cancer and dying less than three months later,—all tearing at my heart and leaving me hurt and grieving.

In my own personal life too, my emotions dipped and peaked along with how much control I felt I had over my own happiness. I literally felt like a puppet on a string, and asked myself over and over again, “How can I feel a constant inner peace in my heart and life, when my emotions see-saw up and down according to what is happening in and around me?”

Looking back I know I believed that my emotions were important. After all, wasn’t being emotional an essential part of being alive? Emotions made me feel real and allowed me to extend empathy to everyone else.

But in the deepest part of myself, I did not feel good most of the time. I wished not to be so emotional. I wanted to be released from all the conflict in my life—to not react to other people’s words and anger—to feel serenity in my heart. It was an almost desperate need to alter or to stop the negative cycle of events which seemed to dominate my relationships and my life.

I believe it was that intention which kept on surfacing in my mind and in my heart that fueled my spiritual search and led me to discover a more peaceful way to live, despite the conflict in my life.

I know that as the months and years went on I became more determined to change the way I was living.

It was a few months ago—I cannot pinpoint exactly when it happened—when I finally felt a peace inside that did not come and go along with my emotions or the drama in my life. I know it was the culmination of making a lot of changes, including:

Believing I am loved

Understanding that negative childhood imprinting leads to feeling unloved and having low self-esteem, I looked for and found the truth about myself. It was not what I had been led to believe was true!

Believing we are loved comes with knowing who we are, not judging ourselves or others for mistakes we make, and from daily meditation in which we feel the unconditional love of something greater than ourselves.

Monitoring and changing my thoughts

I once believed I had no control over what I was thinking, because I never considered the idea that thoughts can be changed! Then I started focusing on my thoughts and realized much of what I was thinking did not reflect the way I truly felt.

Just paying by attention to them, we see that many thoughts are primarily fear-based and judgmental.

And, because they come and go unchallenged, most of us struggle through life unconsciously accepting that we are our thoughts. We simply do not look at or challenge them as they appear and disappear. By accepting them we give them permission to shape our beliefs about ourselves and our lives.

Once you start recognizing them, you can go about changing your thoughts. Through observing how your thoughts differ from the way you really feel, you can choose to place a different thought in your mind, which more accurately reflects the way you feel.

Coming from loving kindness and living from my higher self

By noticing and appreciating other people’s kindness, we become aware how much it really matters in daily living. In dealing with difficult telephone calls, perhaps an angry person on the other end of the line, we can choose to be kind.

When a friend asks us to help with something, we can decide on the kindest thing to say or do.

If someone asks for a donation for the umpteenth time, we can deal with the request kindly. Obviously, there are times we cannot give whatever is being asked of us; when we do not have the means or desire to agree to a certain request. In these circumstances, saying no with kindness is the best choice.

Sometimes kindly refusing to provide assistance is important in helping promote personal growth in others and allows them to learn some important life lessons.

If someone is gossiping about someone we know, we can be silently kind, refusing to be drawn into the conversation. By choosing kindness, we allow positive energy to flow from us to others and prevent negative energy from reaching us or infusing situations. In this way we create and maintain a connection to our higher selves. And, realize just how good it feels to be kind.

Bringing the practice of acceptance into my daily life

Perhaps the key to feeling real peace is being able to accept what is. Acceptance simply means recognizing your ego’s voice and rejecting it. Knowing that the only person we can change is ourselves enables us to do this.

As soon as we start to think there is something not right, not the way it should be, or we become judgmental about a situation or a person—their words or behavior—we know we have moved away from accepting what is, by wanting to control what is outside of us.

There is a lot of negative energy and craziness in this world, but we can all learn to live with inner peace.

If your intention is strong and comes from the deepest part of you, it will happen. Outwardly nothing changes; peace comes from making changes inside you.

It begins and continues through becoming more aware of who you really are, knowing you are loved, making changes in the way you think, practicing loving kindness, and accepting what is.

As serenity and unconditional love fill your heart, you will accept that you cannot go back, and will not relinquish what you have now found—that peace that you seem to have been searching for your whole life.

Finally, you will come to this—deep inner peace inside you that endures, regardless of what challenges life brings.

I just have to share a bit of what is taking place in my life… I am sharing a video that I did last week for a couple of reasons… based on what I wrote above… so you can understand the energy… and so you can see the incredible Light Orb that decided to rest on my throat… How cool is that! Angels are all around us!!! 

Succeeding Thru Inner Peace

What's So Hard About Real Conversations?

In continuation to my Quantum Physics of Beliefs Round Table discussion on Miscommunications last week (in case you missed it, please click here on this link), today I will be writing about this struggle that most Leaders go thru regularly in their communications with their followers.

What does it mean to “come out from behind ourselves to have real conversations”?

What’s so hard about that?

If you are a Leader, your job is to accomplish the goals of the organization. You do that in large part by making every conversation you have as real as possible.  A Leader’s job is essentially to engineer the types of conversations that produce clarity, cooperation, creativity, drive, and a connection to values beyond the company.

Your conversations may have to come up with a big new idea, or transform your company into a better place to work, or maybe figure out how to improve customer-renewal rates. You may use conversations to enhance collaboration, or provide leadership development, or deliver performance review feedback.

Success as a Leader depends on the success of your conversations, and occurs one conversation at a time. Here are four components of successful conversations:

In order to execute initiative and deliver goals, Leaders must have conversations that:

1.    Interrogate reality

2.    Provoke learning

3.    Tackle tough challenges

4.    Enrich relationships

Each of these four components is tough assignments for any one conversation to achieve.  To help put this into perspective, the next time you have a conversation, ask yourself which, if any, of these goals you think was approached, even minimally.

·         Did I ask about the other person’s perspective?

·         Did I try to understand the person, situation, or issue better?

·         Did I try to get to the real issue, and the nuances behind the challenges?

·         Did I enhance our relationship, deepen our connection?

Quantum Physics of Belief - Awareness

For the past few months, I was writing about our beliefs thru the science of consciousness and extending those patterns to the business world, to suggest innovative ways of using this wisdom to lead and succeed in a business environment that is constantly evolving at a rapid pace. Once we reach a greater understanding of how our thoughts and beliefs, in addition to actions, are actualizing the world, our organizations will run differently. This realization sheds light on how the role of leadership is changing and which types of leaders will become the most sought after in the 21^st century.

As per quantum physics, the thoughts and beliefs of people in an organization have an impact on the events that occur. In particular, when groups of people intend that a particular outcome is achieved, the intentions themselves have an impact on events, so that the outcome is more likely to occur in the direction of the intentions. An intention is a conscious desire for a particular outcome and a belief that the outcome can be influenced.

To have the highest intentions for the success of an organization, be it a business or a nation, people need to feel responsible for it. Taking responsibility for something means you understand you have a role in creating it and therefore can help create something different. Even if we haven’t taken action to contribute to a particular organizational outcome, our thoughts and beliefs are influencing the outcome of any organization of which we are part of. When we accept this responsibility, we stop blaming others for the outcomes, and naturally develop intentions for the success of the organization. These intentions then help promote success.

Our businesses and societies will therefore, be better off when people accept their responsibilities for having created the current conditions and then lend their intentions, if not also their actions, to improving conditions. Ultimately, each individual will have to decide whether they accept this responsibility and where they will place the focus of their intentions. Inevitably, leaders play a pivotal role by either helping or hindering a strong sense of responsibility in their organizations. So the question is ‘how good are our current leadership practices at getting people to feel responsible for the outcomes?’

The answer to this is complex and multi-faceted, but for now let’s focus on the degree of egocentricity that leaders possess. The reality is that most business leaders got to a position of leadership by showing that they were better than others, so it’s natural for them to continue to proliferate that feeling. Furthermore, business structures are hierarchical in nature, and top executives really are held more accountable than those at lower levels. These factors are a natural hindrance to getting all employees of a company to feel responsible for the company’s outcomes.

I must point out that I am not talking about just holding people accountable for the results of their job. There is a huge difference between a person feeling motivated to achieve specific job results vs. feeling responsible for the outcomes of the business.

Getting all employees to feel responsible for business outcomes requires that we adopt a different belief about what type of leader is most effective and then begin to choose different types of leaders. We need leaders who are humble, to the point of being understated and even self-effacing. This doesn’t mean they are not strong enough to make tough decisions, because they need to be, but they need to be able to stand in the presence of their followers without usurping their power. Business research actually shows this type of leader is more effective.

As a leader, the way you perceive the world around you has a huge impact on your decisions. The way you perceive is determined by all the life you have been living (or NOT living) until now!

There are many levels of decision making and the way you perceive your surroundings determine if you are a great decision maker or just an average Joe trying to make it through the day.

There is a new paradigm emerging. Until now mankind has allowed itself to blame anything and anybody for almost everything and thus leave huge opportunities to take responsibility behind. Huge opportunities to become better at being human beings and greater Leaders in our families, our lives, our communities and even in our countries have been left behind.

This psychological malfunction has brought humanity to where we are today and the leaders of today – whether we are leading multinational companies or we are leading our selves through life, are going to be extinct very soon if this continues. Evolution is determined by survival of the fittest and until now this blaming strategy has somehow worked – at least to some degree. The strategy is: I am right therefore you are wrong! Or I am innocent and you are guilty. Polarization. Segregation.

We must realize that this strategy will destroy us if we continue. Or at least it will destroy the archetype of blaming which is needed, and make a perfect transition into a new era. The old strategy was dividing everything – in me and you, good or bad etc. The new strategy which we will need to make a decent world is: Wholeness!

We have to learn to think in 'us' instead of 'you or me'. Every decision a leader makes that is based solely on his or her own perception of life is doomed to fail. (S)He does not realize that even the smallest decision is a thread in a web that includes all living creatures, and anything from 'outside' can make their decision fail. You can't make a decision without being aware of everything else that can influence your decision and you can't be aware if you don't train your awareness!! Just like you can't play piano like Mozart without practicing!

This awareness has multiple levels. The first level is to be aware of yourself! You have to be aware of your emotions, your thoughts, your (determined) actions, and your behavior. You MUST know why you have the feelings you experience. You have to know why you think the thoughts you are thinking. You have to know why you are acting the way you are acting. You have to be able to watch your self from outside your self!

The next level is the same but your awareness now includes other people’s thoughts, feelings and behavior. The ability to be aware of other peoples’ lives is much easier if you know and understand what is going on inside your self. First it is our family and close colleagues. Next it is those that I don't know personally but they come and go in my life. It is people from other departments in my company; it's the people on the street and in the shops. Those I see but not necessarily talk to.

The third level is to apply the same awareness to the whole world. Be aware of everything; All the time. And make decisions accordingly…

We are going to change evolution. This is not an easy task. But on top of the biological evolution we now have to focus on the evolution of consciousness; We even have to add the evolution of consciousness.

We all have a responsibility for this planet. It is not just those we pay to run our country that has this responsibility. We ALL have! And the only way we can do it right is by training our personal awareness skills.

One of the absolute key traits of The New Leader is Self Awareness. Know thy self. This kind of personal mastery demands having a heightened understanding of one's own behavior, limitations and motivations, skills and a mindset of Global awareness.

The patriarchal leader is on his way to extinction. He did not make it through evolution of awareness and now The New Leader evolves and takes over the world stage. The old leader was disciplined and there were no room for emotions as they could negatively influence decisions – well some people really believed this stuff! On our way to Leadership at the World Stage, Awareness and Leadership becomes wholeness. The outcome is Impact, Power, Insight, Integrity, Ethics beyond measure and Social and Emotional Intelligence. Creative Intelligence followed by Spiritual Intelligence will also be active ingredients in Leader Skills in the future.

The lessons we learn from scientific and business research can give us great insight into how to improve the leadership of nations. Here is a radical statement but one that is supported by research: stop making governments responsible for the economy. The science and business research show us that we are collectively creating the conditions of our economy and, furthermore, that getting everyone to take responsibility for it will improve the conditions. Yet we are continually expecting our leaders to fix it and then blaming them when they can’t.

I have no desire to get into a discussion of which political ideals are more correct. However, I do think John F. Kennedy was on the right track when he said “ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”.  These words reflect an understanding of the importance of each person taking responsibility for the world we are creating.