Empowering the Human Potential

Here are 4 reasons why human potential should infect your organization and how to make it happen.

Human beings ALWAYS have purpose – It is in our nature to want to make a positive contribution to something bigger than ourselves. We want what we do to matter in some way that is meaningful to us. We MUST have purpose, or we begin looking for it somewhere else. Instead of trying to train the humanity out of those in your organization, let their humanity infect your organization. Imagine that - Human beings interacting with other human beings to meet the needs of a lot of human beings. The atmosphere of your organization doesn’t need to be much more complicated than that.

• Human potential doesn’t recognize limits – When human beings get to operate in their “zone”, they are completely unstoppable. Everything becomes a possibility. No one can demand that kind of dedication and focus, no matter how well written the job description is. Ask those human beings you are leading what would excite them about doing their job. Then… shut up and just listen. Seriously consider whatever they say. You may be surprised by the creativity you discover.

• The pursuit of human potential is contagious – You don’t have to get everyone on board to make this work! Find some influential human beings in your organization and let them loose. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There have to be some form of boundaries, but don’t get so hung up on them. Let them be guard rails so they can take a curve a bit faster than normal without the fear of going over the edge. Once others see the freedom and gratification that comes with it, as well as the support from leadership, they’ll come around soon enough.

• Human potential frees up leadership – So often leaders read about how they should be interacting with others. YOU are a human being too. How would you like to have the freedom to explore and hunt down your potential? Not to tame or subdue it, but interact with it and learn to run wild with it. The best part about being a leader is you get to lead by example. Be an example of human potential gone wild. Infect your organization with your human potential.

• Every human being on this planet has something amazing to bring to the world. We also have some very ugly things to bring to the world as well. Great leadership recognizes that amazing bit of human potential and helps clear a space for it to thrive and choke out the ugly bits. That’s your responsibility to the human beings in your organization. I don’t think I need to point out the profit that can come from this… you already get that.

Celebrate and empower human potential. Run wild. Be profitable.

I would love to hear your comments on this… human to human.

Leaders Who Inspire Start with “Why”

How does a leader become truly inspirational?

If the leader cannot clearly articulate WHY they exist in terms beyond its products or services, then how does (s)he expect the team members to know WHY to come to work?

Certainly we are all motivated to come to work to get paid and other incentives. But pay doesn’t motivate us to give our all, to become better than we were last month, to commit to goals or to engage our hearts and minds to our full potential.

Pay doesn’t buy enthusiasm. And that’s what is needed if you want people to act for the good of the business, for the good of all who work there, for the benefit to customers.

Leaders who clearly communicate a higher purpose inspire others work with engagement and commitment. It unleashes people’s potential for doing good work.

The trouble is many leaders do not communicating clearly about why they come to work every day. I am talking about a higher “why” than the obvious ones. I am talking about expressing your true purpose, your passion, your real reasons for getting out of bed in the morning.

Often it’s a cause or purpose greater than oneself. What is that for you? What is that for your company? Not only are some leaders not clear about what that why is, they often put it into the background, where it gets fuzzy and loses energy.

Maybe it’s because values and purpose get expressed as nouns… as in:

·                     Integrity

·                     Innovative

·                     Creative

·                     Thought leadership

But nouns don’t inspire action. You are not communicating clearly when you ask your people to be more innovative or to be creative, or to have integrity. These words may have lost their meaning and become fuzzy from overuse.

However, when a leader asks people to always do the right thing, or to look at problems from other angles, or to question their assumptions… now leadership communications become actionable. It takes transforming nouns into verbs, and connecting with why your work is important.

Some of the work I do with my clients involves clarifying the why of their careers and their organizations. The second part of that is in finding a way executives can express their why in a way that makes sense to others. Those who improve their communications by starting with why find greater results in terms of influencing others.

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

What do you think about this? Are you communicating to your people, using actionable verbs, what you truly believe in, why your company exists? What is your higher purpose for your business? Leave me a comment, I am curious.

Values Build Successful Business

Following up on the Round-Table discussion that we had last week on the VoARadio Network, I am going to elaborate a little bit more on how values help leaders bring consistency and meaning to their purpose.

“The very essence of leadership is that you have a vision. It’s got to be a vision you articulate clearly and forcefully on every occasion. You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.” – Father Theodore Hesburgh (former President of the University of Notre Dame).

A powerful vision provides inspiration, challenge, and purpose. It gives meaning to your work and purpose to your life. Your career gives you a place where you can satisfy your need to achieve. Everyone’s life needs a purpose, something important to strive for. One way to add both meaning and context to your vision is to establish values. Clearly defined values simplify decision making. They also help ensure consistency as well as ethical and behavioral standards/congruency.

Value is a word that describes what each of us searches for in many different places. We look for value in what we purchase. We look for value in what we do, and aspire for value in our relationships. Most of us would like to believe that there would have been some value to our life and to our accomplishments. In today’s global and ever-changing economic environment, values should play an important role in structuring, planning, and operating your business. Direction is provided in part by vision, which creates excitement, commitment, and purpose. Achievement and excitement must be tempered, however, by values lest people pursue goals without consideration for the ethics of other people. Values represent the core priorities in the organization’s culture including what drives individuals and how they truly act in an organization. Therefore, another key element of a successful planning process is the organization’s value statement. Throughout the life of the business, decisions must be made. Core values of the organization will lay the foundation and provide the framework for all decisions.

An organization’s values create a foundation for integrity and they define the important truths that guide your actions. They will serve as a guidepost for all those in the organization who through their individual efforts will collectively achieve the organizational goals. Values are principles or standards by which we do business and are to be non-negotiable. As you think about crystallizing your values, consider what you know to be right as well as how you want to be known by others.

If the primary function of your business is to attract and maintain customers in order to generate long-term profits or financial viability, then issues such as meeting client / customer expectations, delivering quality service, etc., must be included in the values statement. Your values should take into consideration the importance you place upon each stakeholder in your business. By definition, a stakeholder is anyone who has the power to exert influence on your organization. It may be an individual, a group, or another organization. For example, your stakeholders could include your customers, your employees and their families, your stockholders, the community, licensing and regulatory agencies, or suppliers.

Some examples of value statements are:

§ Improving the quality of life through technology and innovation.

§ The company exists to alleviate pain and disease.

§ To be regarded by our customers as easy to deal with and as a provider of high-quality, reliable products and services.

§ Our first concern is for our customer, our second concern is for our employees, our third concern is for our management, our fourth concern is for our community, and our fifth concern is for our stockholders.

There are many companies in the media over the last several years that clearly operated and made decisions with no values and we are all aware of how it impacted people’s lives. However, there are a lot of companies who have well defined values and make decisions with those values ever present.

Here are a couple of examples of such businesses: Learn why Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday and why they believe it is part of their recipe for success.

Also, learn why McNeil Consumer Healthcare initiated a voluntary recall of all their children and infant liquid products in 2010.

What value statement(s) are you living by?

Quantum Physics of Beliefs - Energy Management

Most professional athletes have days off between matches or tournaments. Some sports have off seasons. But in your career, except for vacation weeks, you are expected to be in tournament-form every day, eight to 12 hours a day. It’s no wonder so many leaders are tired and stressed out. It’s a big leadership challenge. If only there was a pause or reset button.

Even soldiers get R&R (Rest and Rehabilitation) days. But very few of the senior leaders I know and coach take enough time off to refresh and renew themselves. There’s just too much at stake, they tell me. “I’ll take a few days off after this project settles down,” and the excuses seem to be really valid. Or, are they?

Many of us work nonstop, day after day, without a break. It might feel like we are making progress, but it’s draining. When we do get ahead, what do we do? Tackle a new project. And on and on it goes. We don’t stop to ask the questions:

Am I doing the right things in the right way for the right reasons?

Am I still on a track that will get me to where I want to be next year?

Am I doing what I truly love and value?

So, think about what could help sustain energy: create a way to pause during the day, even several times. Maybe 3-5 minutes; more if possible. Even a minute of quiet time where you can breathe, clear your mind, and remind yourself of what truly matters, what your values are, will refresh you.

If you are an over-committed leader, please note that it’s not a matter of time management, but of energy management. You need regular breaks every 90 minutes; and if you can afford it, it is recommended to take a break once an hour.

Even if you only do this once or twice a day, it will help you to find energy. Take a moment to take stock, realign yourself with your goals and values, and refocus on your purpose. (Watch this why PURPOSE is so important.) Regular rest stops are useful. They refuel your body and mind. They actually give me renewed energy and drive, and make it easier to create the time and space for what truly matters.

Quantum Physics of Beliefs - Purpose

Continuing the topic from the last week's article ("When Helping Others is Your Life Purpose") let me discuss a little bit more deeply on what exactly is the 'Life Purpose'. I was actually driven to continue to write more about it while thinking about a question that I received on one of the Facebook groups in response to a VoARadio talk that I broadcast couple of weeks ago on the Quantum Physics of Beliefs - Power of Intentions Part1 and Part2. The question was "How do you know if it is your intention or someone else's?" In my response, I suggested to look at the classical meaning of the word intention - 'to have in mind a purpose or plan, to direct the mind, to aim' - and examine if it is indeed your plan/purpose to do something or someone else's? But, then I realized that there is more to 'purpose' than just a plan. So, let's delve into it...

LIVING YOUR PURPOSE

The original Latin meaning of the word purpose is derived from the word intention; (there you have it - intention and purpose go hand in hand) meaning that your purpose is there by (your) design and is something that you intend either consciously or unconsciously. When you intend for something to happen you are the one that makes it happen; it is not something or someone outside of yourself.

It's been said that great minds have purpose while others just have wishes. At some point in your life you have probably asked yourself the question "why am I here?" Or "what's the purpose that I am living in this world?" I think that most people with a healthy mind often ask this question and mostly at points in their lives when they are forced to take a time out. Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living and it is from examining our lives that we can look at it afresh and get a new perspective on why we are really here.

I believe that we all have a purpose for being here. There is a reason why you are here in this universe and that there is a specific role for you to fulfill. Even though this is a belief, I do think that anyone who is in touch with their spirit (or soul or inner self or whatever name you want to give it) will know that there is a part of you that long for more than just the day to day physical needs of life. We all dream for more and this desire, in a sense is fulfilled by your purpose. Your purpose in life is not a pre-assigned role, but rather a decision that you make as a result of introspection. There is no black board in the sky on which your purpose is written. There is however feelings and experiences that you long to experience while you are here and your purpose is what will cause you to experience, feel and be that which you long for on the deepest level of being a human "being."

Most people spend all their lives waiting for "a sign" as to what their purpose is. They spend all their lives trying to find their purpose instead of just deciding and using the power of intent to make things happen. Mahatma Gandhi as a young man saw things he did not like in South Africa and he decided that his purpose in life will be to get equal rights for all. Later on, when he returned to India, his purpose transformed to liberating his mother India from Colonial rule and establish democracy and self rule for the people. These became the very reason for him living and even though his purpose lead him on a very rocky road, his purpose did not change. All this was born in a truly committed decision. His committed decision lead to a definiteness of purpose; something that did not change, despite all the odds being against him. He found a purpose that was much bigger than himself that gave him leverage to achieve the impossible.

With a strong sense of purpose you can achieve virtually anything. Purpose is what gives you the reasons for doing something. In life there is a big difference between what you can do and what you actually do and the results usually come down to your motivation. Motivation is nothing but having a strong sense of purpose; a sense of knowing why you do what you do. When people don't know why they are doing something they will rarely do it and they will rarely stick with it long term. Purpose is the engine of human motivation. Purpose gives you the reasons why and with strong enough reasons "why to" you will find the "how to" - reasons come first and the answers come second as a result of the why.

Purpose therefore gives you power. It gives you the power to persist and take action until you succeed.

When you say that someone did something "on purpose" you are actually saying that he was responsible for doing it and that it is because of him that it happened. When you use your mind, your body and your emotions you have the ability to bring into being virtually anything on purpose. By intending for it to happen you can make it real. With a strong purpose you are able to tap into the unlimited resources that are within you; resources that become available because you feel compelled to make it happen. When it is a must you will find within yourself the resources to make it happen. When what you want is merely a wish, it is only a "should" that might only come together when it is convenient. Musts happen regardless of your circumstances or situation for it is your very purpose. It is your reason for being. Gandhi was able to change the way a whole nation thought and acted upon. With a strong enough purpose nothing can hold you back.

Discovering and living your purpose is all there really is for you to do in this life. It is like the axis of the wheel of your life and it holds everything in your life together. Your purpose gives meaning to everything you do and provides you with an inexhaustible well of resources to truly achieve whatever you set out to achieve or accomplish. The ironic thing however is that when you are on purpose all the "things and stuff' do not matter as the feeding of your purpose is what you truly long for and it needs no external satisfaction other than the experience.

Great minds have a purpose and it is usually a purpose that goes beyond themselves; beyond what they will "get". With their purpose they serve humanity. You can only find that much drive to serve and uplift yourself, but when you turn your attention to a cause much bigger than yourself you can find a purpose that has immense power to propel you to do virtually anything; even that which most people think of as impossible. The human spirit is truly one of love as we will do more for others than we will ever do for ourselves. When you find something that you can serve that goes beyond your personal gains you will discover that life's greatest joys is in giving; in giving the gift that you are.

When helping others is your life purpose

I hope you and yours have been well. It's been nearly 4 months since I took a leave of absence from writing here on my weekly eMBC Blog due to some very personal reasons including an unexpected death in the family. I realize that we are in an increased time of change... You too may be feeling a lot of movement or experiencing a lot of movement in your relationships, careers and life. As is the nature of change, it brings in exactly the energies necessary for us to move toward the Golden Age of empowerment, but it will require you to LET GO of all things not serving you... your misaligned patterns, behaviors, beliefs, relationships and habits. Don't fight it... instead, surrender so you may move with the waters of change. I promise they will take you exactly where you need to go.

While I was away, I did a lot of introspection on my purpose of doing this, writing blog articles, talking on the internet radio shows; hoping that this will somehow make a difference in the lives of other people either reading or listening in or am I crazy?

When helping others is your life purpose

I BELIEVE THAT EACH PERSON has a personal mission in life—something that you agreed to learn during this lifetime. It could be patience, forgiveness, compassion, balance, self-care, integrity, and so forth. Everyone is working on a soul-growth lesson.

In addition to their personal missions, some individuals agreed to take on “global missions,” which involve helping people, animals, the environment, or a cause other than themselves. Not everyone has a global mission. Some people on Earth are only living for their own personal growth.

Those who have global missions are known as lightworkers. This is a name I am using that encompasses similar terms such as Indigo, Crystal, and Earth Angel. You know you are a lightworker if you feel compelled to help others, and deeply care about the world. You attract people who need help, and you are sensitive to the needs of those around you. In fact, you sometimes feel that you are a bit too sensitive, as you absorb energies from others’ moods.

As a lightworker, you have always felt a sense of purpose, as if there is something important that you are destined to do in this lifetime. You may not know what this destiny entails, but you can feel it. All lightworkers do.

There is even a sense of time urgency associated with this, like an alarm clock ringing in the pit of your gut, urging you to go, go, go and make a positive difference in the world. These feelings are universal among lightworkers.

The great news is that, as a lightworker, you have been making a positive difference your entire life. You radiate healing energy that soothes others and brings peace wherever you go. That’s because your main global purpose is to love, which is something you do naturally. You care about people; and you wish that everyone could be happy, healthy, and well provided for. You are a giver.

So, the form that your mission takes is secondary as long as you extend Divine love. In other words, when you think about a career as a spiritual healer or teacher, the type of work you do isn’t important. Whether you teach or practice Reiki, Angel Therapy, medium-ship, or some other modality... if it’s done from a place of loving service, everything else is details.

With that in mind, there is a practical consideration when deciding on or forming a long-term relationship with your chosen field. Please make sure it is an area that truly excites and interests you. It is not smart to select one just because you have seen another person gain material success by that avenue.

Whatever type field you choose, please be certain that you love it. I have watched people create career goals with their heads, using business plans and projections, only to meet with one obstacle after another because their hearts weren’t in the work. And while planning and projecting can be helpful and prudent starting points for new business ventures, make sure that you are leading with your heart.

In spiritually based careers, your feelings and intuition are your road map. Your head is second in charge, as the employee of your heart.

So what topic—even if it seems illogical—really excites you? Let’s ask your higher self:

Take a moment to relax in a quiet place, either lying down or sitting. Close your eyes if possible, and give yourself full permission to dream about your ideal career. Then notice what images, thoughts, and feelings come to you:

§     Are you working alone, with a co-worker, or with several co-workers?

§     Do you operate from home, out of a healing center, or where?

§     What type of clients or students are you involved with?

§     How do you feel about this work?

As you allow yourself to imagine your ideal career, notice how warm and fulfilled you feel. These feelings are the ultimate paycheck, the greatest reward. And as you feel satisfied, your material benefits are drawn to you by the universal Divine Energy.

Your dream of having a full-time career as a ______ (fill in the blank) is much more than a dream. It’s a sign. If you continually imagine yourself having a meaningful career that supports you and your family financially, emotionally, and spiritually, then this is a sign that your life purpose involves this type of work.

Lightworkers are, by definition, sensitive. They are receptive to the energies in any room they walk into. They are attuned to other people’s moods and feelings and to environmental factors such as chemicals, pollution, or noise. They are conscious of the presence of angels.

And they are also sensitive to other people’s opinions. This sensitivity is both a gift and a lifesaving instinct. You see, your overall personality remains fairly constant throughout lifetimes. Once a lightworker, always a lightworker. Remember: Doesn't matter what field you have chosen... You already are a spiritual teacher and healer. You were born one, and you have been practicing your art for lifetimes.