Tag Archive for: perspective

13th Annual World Religions Conference

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I had the good fortune of moderating the panel at the 13th Annual World Religions Conference in Cochrane this week, where we discussed Truth and Faith: How do we Know What to Believe?

The evening was intended to “embrace the mosaic of world religions and philosophies… where faiths converge & understanding prevails…”

We indeed witnessed the vibrant fusion of knowledge, beliefs, and traditions, and celebrated the harmony and unity that binds us together.

Thank to you to Rev. John Snow Jr. who offered an Aboriginal perspective, Michael Sabet, who gave a Baha’i viewpoint, Dr. Scott MacDonald, a Christian perspective, Dr. Daniel Haas, a humanist view, and Imam Zahir Ahmed, an Islamic perspective.

 

From a TO-DO List to a TO-BE List

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Successful people have some kind of a to-do list – stuff that needs doing this year, this week, this day.
Living authentically means having a to-be list: How will you show up in your life? What kind of person will you be when you come to work? What kind of a leader will you be?

Here’s an example of what I would consider a great to-be list:

  • Be committed. Commitment is essential for success. Commitment to a cause beyond your self-interests. Commitment takes you past a goal or wish. Being committed means a firm resolve that inspires action.
  • Be encouraging. Encouragement means a belief in people, making everyone around you smarter and better. Rather than draining energy and intelligence and capacity by pretending to be the smartest person the room, use your wisdom to amplify the intelligence and capabilities of others.
  • Be grateful. Gratitude is the antidote to entitlement. Being grateful means inspiring others by finding the best in every person and every situation. My mother grew up in poverty and would say, “Always find a way to make your gratitude bigger than your circumstances.”
  • Be humble. Humility is a true evaluation of conditions as they are. It’s having the willingness and courage to face the facts of your life. Everyone has something to teach us and has somehow been a part of our success. Humility is about giving credit where credit is due.

hashtag#leadership hashtag#authenticity hashtag#authenticleaderhip hashtag#gratitude hashtag#humility

Don’t promote insecure people.

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Insecurity and positional power don’t mix well. But I see it all the time. Someone is placed in a position of authority and they use that authority to get work done. “I’m the boss so do as I say.” While you might get short-term results, if you aren’t secure enough to listen and value the opinions and approaches of others, you’ll get resistance, disengagement, or resignation.

One CEO told me she never promotes anyone until they’ve spent time leading people in a volunteer organization. “If you can’t influence people where you are without a title, then you haven’t yet earned the privilege of having a title.”
The late former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher said, “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.”

Being a leader means:

  1. Being secure enough with yourself that you can admit you aren’t the smartest person in the room, you have something to learn from everyone, you can ask for help, and you sincerely open to learn and try other suggested methods.
  2. Listen and value opinions and approaches of others before sharing your experience and perspective.
  3. Make a decision and take a stand when you need to. Know when you’ve collaborated enough and that your decision isn’t necessarily going to make everyone happy.

Why A Values-Based Approach To Leadership Is Critical for Engagement

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When you hold a kite’s string, you are the anchor that allows it to soar high in the sky. Letting go of that string does not make the kite soar to greater heights. In fact, releasing your grip causes the kite to crash to the ground.

Similarly, sustained principles act as an anchor for your leadership. Individuals who hold on to their principles reach their highest potential.

Many organizations have fancy value statements, but if you don’t have a clear path to get the values into the lives of every person in the organization, then these statements are empty resolutions.

There is a huge difference between values statements and real values.

Join David this Friday (February 23) as he shares his experience, research, and perspective on what it truly means to be value-based in your life and leadership – and the power that will come from it.

  1. Learn how being people-centered breeds entitlement.
  2. Discover how values-based leadership starts with value-based living.
  3. Leave with practical insights for engaging your teams by being values-based.

To register go to: https://lnkd.in/d37Prt4a

#leadership #values #authenticity #engagement #workculture #accountability #perspective #freewebinar

How much is enough?

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Not long ago I gave a presentation to a group of entrepreneurs where the membership requirement was to be earning more than a million dollars a year.

I started with a simple question: “How much is enough?”

No one could answer the question. The best I got was, “More than we have now.”

So many have so much that they have forgotten what enough actually feels like.

We live in a culture that defines our worth by more: more money, more stuff, more followers, more likes, more titles, more fame, more visibility, more recognition, more status. The list goes on and on.

What we end up with is more exhaustion, more mental health challenges, more suicides, more overdoses, and a planet of dwindling resources.

Our model of more is simply not sustainable. We need a new approach to navigate this world with a reliable inner compass.

Lily Tomlin had it right when she said, “The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat… I will not join the rat race because I’m not a rat… The only race I’ll take part in is for humans being humane.”

If you feel compelled to step back and get a new perspective, to live and lead from an authentic, centered place with a community that will support you to be who you are, I hope you will join me in my upcoming Authentic Leadership Academy. https://lnkd.in/gMi2euzp

To get a preview of what you can expect from the Academy, sign up for my complimentary Authentic Leadership Mini-Series that starts in early March. https://lnkd.in/g4M9qpWh

Life will always include difficult people that pose challenges in our relationships.

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Life will always include difficult people that pose challenges in our relationships. The question is: how can we deal with our relationships the authentic way?

Join David as he shares his experience and perspective on dealing with difficult people in our lives – with courage, clarity, and compassion.

  • Discover how problems in relationships are designed, not to be solved, but to be instructive.
  • Learn practical ways to deal with the difficult people in your life in an authentic way.
  • Learn strategies to keep your mental health strong – the best way to respond to people in your life who irritate and frustrate you.

Sign up here for our complimentary webinar: https://lnkd.in/d37Prt4a