Three Observations for 2022

Three Observations for 2022

Entering a new year only means that we have a reference point for change. If you want more of what you had in 2021, keep doing the same things. If you don’t, then change. You can do it at any time. You don’t have to do it in January. I have found that most of the major changes in my life happened between May and November. See? When we decided to do things differently, it doesn’t really matter. Making the change is what matters.

Here are three observations and responses that can help you make 2022 a better year than you have had a decade. Does that sound too optimistic? Then read on because you are trapped in a mindset that is holding you back from leading your organization.

Guiding Principles for Living in Transition

Guiding Principles for Living in Transition

Have you ever prepared to cross a street, and there at the curb is a big, deep puddle? You don’t want to step in it. So, you look for a way around, or you try to decide if you can jump across it. I believe this is where many of us are right now. We are stuck trying to figure out a way around the complexity of a global coronavirus pandemic, the swings of political ideology upon our lives, and what the future holds for you, your family, your business, the organizations you contribute to, and your community as your home.

Four years ago as I was preparing to publish Circle of Impact: Taking Personal Initiative To Ignite Change, I put together a set of five guiding principles that I felt were a simple summary of the book. Over the past several months, I realized that the time for a refresh of the principles was needed. Several new things had begun, and I needed to reflect it a revised Guiding Principles of the Circle of Impact.

CIRCLE OF IMPACT FIVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1.  ALL Leadership Begins with Personal Initiative to Create Impact.
2.  We are ALL in Transition. Every one of us. ALL the time.
3.  Impact is the Change that Makes a Difference that Matters.
4.  Impact Expands through Networks of Relationships.
5.  Start Small. Act Locally. Share Globally. Take the Long View.

1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows

1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows

Two of Ai Wei Wei’s sayings I treasure because they so resonate deeply with my beliefs about leadership.

“Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.”

“I call on people to be ‘obsessed citizens,’ forever questioning and asking for accountability. That’s the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life.”

This is the spirit of personal responsibility that points to my conviction that “all leadership begins with personal initiative to create impact that makes a difference that matters.” This responsibility is not something imposed upon us. It is not an obligation or a requirement. Rather, it is the expression of our individual humanity.

Ai Wei Wei suggests that there is a transition in our understanding of leadership taking place. It is from a person being in authority to an expression of our individual humanity. This is why accountability is so essential to a healthy life for a society.

“I see myself not as a leader but as somebody who initiates things or finds the problem or provokes a discussion. You have to be always ready to engage, willing to participate. When events or history happen, you just have to be aware and respond.”

Leadership Conversations

Leadership Conversations

Let’s Talk

There is a phenomenon that is occurring that is worth noticing. And you can be a part of it. 

People don’t learn well without conversation. When they talk about an idea, it is how they grow in self-awareness for the purpose of gaining greater situational awareness. The integration of knowledge into practice is now a goal. This is how we learn to be better decisions, solve the most difficult programs, and build teams of people who genuinely respect and trust each other. 

We grow as persons and as leaders of impact when we talk with each other. We get better at the practice of living our lives, doing the work that we do, and actually achieving the goals that we set. 

It is for this reason that I believe we need to carve out more time to talk, to converse, to interact, to learn from each other. Every conversation that I have never fails to give me something to think about that I find valuable and practical. This is why leaders need to be talking with each other. A few of us have a plan, and we’d like you to join us.