Lydia on Leadership

Leadership, Emotion, and Potential Rising

How often have you tolerated something hoping things will get better? How often have you hidden your emotions because you wanted to be seen as professional? How often have you tolerated a situation rather than make a change? Emotion can be extremely constructive and it can help you to point out your next opportunity.

"If you had understood in the moment that this was potential raising its hand, then you could have moved more graciously and powerfully into your next steps with it" (Visionary Leadership)

What if your emotion was simply a marker or indicator of what is next for you? What if your most current problem is really a source of your next biggest potential and greater purpose? Often emotion, even disillusionment is really beyond something personal. If we look at the bigger pictures and ask ourselves what was the reason for the break up? What was the reason for the change that occurred, that may have been devastating at the time? In asking these questions it creates the space for potential to show up. Often in time of change or great emotion we may not know what to do, leadership often shows up in the absence of knowing what to do. For example in my own business I have chosen to say no to certain activities just to have the space and to create the initiative in me to take the next steps towards what my leadership is calling for next. So the next time you experience a change, even an unwanted change, or negative emotion around that, you may simply want to get oriented toward what this emotion or change is telling you wants to happen next in your life.

3 Strategies to convert the energy of your emotions into trans formative movement: 1. Ask yourself from a big picture perspective what is the next big step coming? 2. The next time you are angry ask yourself what makes me care so much? 3. The next time you are frustrated ask yourself what makes me feel boxed in and smaller then I really am?

3 Morals of the story: 1. Emotion is constructive and calls you to your next leadership step. 2. Know that if you are experiencing negative or positive emotion, likely those you are in relationship with are experiencing the same thing. 3. Consider every feeling positive or negative as an indicator or a call to step up to considering new choices so that you can achieve your greatest potential.

Magnificent Leadership

How you see people is how they will behave. When you can hold someone in the most magnificent vision of how they can be they then align themselves toward that, and you behave that way towards them. As a leader you can often see the things that are wrong, not working and in holding that vision, we remarkably get more of the same thing. As a leader, I really search for the magnificence of who my client is and the potential of the organization they work for. Leaders, clients and friends easily move into that level of potential. In holding that energy, and what that means for you, for your business that actually allows the goal to manifest itself and be created very easily in the world. There’s something about the next goal and the next dream being truly in the mind’s eye and connected to your internal energy. So be clear on what you want, know it, feel it, and partner with it for its creation.

 

Three strategies: 1. Connect with potential. Be an open receiver for the energy of potential, vision and genius. 2. Physically breathe in the energy of the potential. 3. Visualize your most magnificent self and swim in the potential of that. Challenge yourself to move to the next level of potential. Physically hold that in front of you and ask what that is.

 

    Morals of the story: 1. We choose our level of leadership and magnificence each day. 2. How we see others can determine the success and failure of those relationships. 3. True vision celebrates potential, possibility and something that can be.

Vibrant Leadership

When you are vibrantly open you are able to connect to your highest heart, your highest self. You’re tuned in to the highest possibility and the highest frequencies as opposed to the frequency of chaos and upset. In that higher state you find it easy to know what you need to know. You have abundant energy, you’re always inspired and able to transform yourself and others to move towards win/win outcomes for everyone involved. Part of accessing this vibrant open self is to say what’s true for you out loud, have someone witness what you have said or tape yourself speaking. You already know the answer you just have to hear yourself say it and trust your inner knowing. Check your knowing with evidence and facts and see the possibilities. Go and do the thing that inspires you, which you have passion for because that is exactly what you will do for others.

 

Three strategies to expand your vibrant leadership: 1. Physically expand and connect to your higher creative self. 2. Partner and align with your vision and integrate that within yourself. 3. Have a partner, colleague, mentor who you can speak to or email that will zing you energetically back to your vision and your goals.

 

Three morals of the story: 1. All power is from within and therefore under your control. 2. Tune into the bigger evolutionary purpose and potential and connect to it. 3. Set your intention to be inspiring.

Leadership Grace

This morning I awoke with the word Grace on my lips literally and on my mind. My home is currently undergoing some minor renovations which creates quite a bit of disorganization. I have a family member who is moving out and getting her own apartment and a dog that still requires significant training and on the best of days is still a challenge. The only word that could give me any sense of relief was the word Grace.

Grace reminded me of a former CEO that I had a long term relationship with. Over the years he showed me what grace looked like. For example when he hired a new leader and district manager he showed grace in how he helped to grow and develop this district manager to be this company's current very successful president. Tangible actions that to me spoke of this CEO's grace was how he offered feedback to support his growth, stood beside him when he made mistakes, trusting him fully, showing in every way that he was confident and had faith that this individual would become the next leader of the organization. It is this trust and faith that allowed this district manager to rise up to be an outstanding president of a very profitable organization. In another situation, when this CEO was confronted with a long time valued senior employee's theft of merchandise from the company he with grace sat down with him to understand the reasons why he would do such a thing after a successful and long term career with the company. He was open to understanding even under such difficult circumstances. It was the grace of acknowledging this employee's humanity and the grace of understanding that we have the capacity of good and less than good actions. The situation was handled with dignity, respect and with grace as he thanked this individual for his years of service before he left the company.

3 ways to hold Grace as part of your leadership: 1. Identify what could be the potential and new possibilities or opportunities rising out of the situation at hand. 2. Challenge yourself to really consider perspectives different than your own and be willing to act on new information. 3. Connect to your calm higher self to find the grace inside of you.

3 morals of the story: 1. Greater understanding of others can be accomplished in the place of grace. 2. Context and a bigger picture perspective of the situation can help the expression of grace in your leadership. 3. Sometimes situations are totally out of your control and grace helps to heal yourself and others.

Lust for Life Can Produce Real Visionary Change

Someone said that "only a crisis -- actual or perceived  -- produces real change." In the name of all you hold holy, I ask you to prove him wrong. Show yourself and everyone who looks to you for inspiration that real change can be motivated by an exuberant lust for life -- by a generous longing to risk adventures that will yield greater rewards. (Brezney)

In my last few blogs I've been talking about how changes has often happened in my life as a result of outside circumstances that I really had no control over. It really is a difficult way to make change and as an ongoing strategy we avoid change because we have no control on how circumstances may evolve. Sometimes change happens in a whole different way. Today I would like to claim change as an affirmation of what you most care about in your life. Like anyone I'm full of ideas of what I would like my life to be and every once in a while my desires, my energy and the universe work beautifully together to move me into what I most want for myself. Today would be an example of that. When intentional change is about to happen in my life I usually follow what I loosely call intuition. Today I ended up taking a road trip as a result of a conversation with a student and current colleague who mentioned that she had done some energetic work with Lynn in Stratford. What appealed to me most was that my colleague who is doing so remarkably well in her business and an overnight success claims this energetic work is what opened her up to what has happened to her. That was enough for me to give Lynn a call to schedule a session without knowing but trusting totally that this was the right thing, and it was.

Morals of the story: 1. Life changes for us when we have a whole new vision for what will give us joy and passion in our life. 2. Keep asking yourself what is it that I really really want. That becomes the basis of transformative change in your life. 3. You are energy with tremendous potential and limitless possibility. know that you are the creator of everything that happens in your life. Why not be inspired by the joys, passions and desires that will grow you and evolve you to the next level of who you are.

Why is Change so Difficult?

Changing behaviour is probably one of the biggest challenges for a business and individuals in the world today. As Alan Deutschman in the article Change or Die says: "It's not strategy, structure, culture or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behaviour of people." So, how do we change behaviour? Crisis and sometimes failure can be a powerful motivator of change. On a personal note, I notice many key changes in my life have emerged from very difficult situations: deaths, illness, and changes in relationships. These difficult times can be a powerful source for positive change. Often in these times change can become instantanesous and sustainable and a source of personal growth. We begin to realize what we most want and care about and what is most important in our lives and work.

What are three key strategies to behaviour change? 1. Radical change: "Research shows that this idea applies to the business realm as well. Bain & Co. the management consultant firm, studied 21 recent corporate transformations and found that most were 'substantially completed' in only two years or less while none took more than three years." (Change or Die, Alan Deutschman) 2. Change happens when we speak to people's feelings. "Find ways to help others see problems and solutions in ways that influence emotions not just thought." (Kotter).  Can you think of a time when you were at your absolute best and you had the world by its tail and nothing could stop you from achieving what you most want. 3. Re-framing a change. Inspire a new vision. For example losing weight is not about eating salads as much as it is about having confidence, attracting new relationships, participating in hobbies and activities that you never though possible.

Three morals of the story (plus one more because change is difficult): 1. Be clear on what you want and why you want it. 2. Trust your own inner guidance to tell you how you best can make the change you want for yourself. 3. Expect obstacles and loss of motivation. 4. Be kind and gentle. You have unseen supporters around you who will help you though to what you most want. Gather your best supporters, models and people that give you strength to hold you through the change process.