95% of Workers Fail Because of This...But They Can Fix It

Did you know that your career success is based on your mastery of one important skill?

Failure to apply your leadership power usually prevents you from realizing success in the workplace.

The organizational chart may not show you as a leader but you can act like a leader if you choose to do so.

Leadership power is the primary cause of successful outcomes, great achievements and evolutionary progress.

Most people think only executives, presidents and generals possess any leadership power but the facts reveal another truth - power is held by those who know where to obtain it and how to share it with others.

The problem with many of us is this - we need to learn how to empower our skills, enhance our competence and energize our leadership power.

Power Principle 1 - Invest in your Infrastructure!

Your infrastructure contains the elements that will make leadership power available to you. You must invest the time and effort needed to build a strong, capable infrastructure.

=> Element-1 - MODEL SUCCESS - study the leadership methods of great leaders

=> Element-2 - BE EAGER TO LEARN NEW THINGS - purchase leadership skills training courses, materials or books

=> Element-3 - APPRECIATE YOURSELF - start recording your thoughts, feelings, desires and experiences in a journal or diary

=> Element-4 - HARMONIZE YOUR MIND - meet with like-minded people who want to improve their leadership skills, talents and behaviors

=> Element-5 - BE WILLING TO SERVE - begin to act like a leader by serving the needs of others through community service, teaching or by taking responsibility for removing someone else's burdens

Power Principle-2 - See Hope in Visionary Ways!

You can inspire people to act out of their fears or hopes. It is your choice - you can use worry or faith to make people respond to your leadership.

However, I put it to you, which path do you think is more effective, more likely to lead to good things? History has shown us that the best course of action is always based on hope, faith or love.

Leaders must craft a vision of what hope will look like when it becomes a tangible reality. Your statement of hope should include something tangible, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, hopeful, enthusiastic and empowering.

There are many examples of visionary leadership at its most inspiring best. Your vision should strive to be positive and vivid to others and worthy of pursuit by them, otherwise they might not be moved to follow your lead.

Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., positively expressed his hope as being the time when,

"...we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

Power Principle-3 - Strategies are for Drivers!

Strategy is for those leaders who yearn to get there! Your vision may sound pretty and look nice but without a vehicle you won't be able to take your vision on that special date.

Your leadership power gets most of its energy from a strategy that just begs to be driven. Your strategy can help you sustain the momentum and force of your vision.

In my time, I've seen plenty of ugly cars, trucks and trains but they all had one thing in common - they would take you wherever you wanted to go and could make the journey of getting there just as exciting, memorable and comfortable as any roadway beauty.

You will need to drive your strategy

=> by steering towards your stretch goals,

=> by filling-up with the right resources,

=> by using a roadmap to navigate through the thorny areas

=> by measuring the effectiveness of its progress and execution.

Power Principle-4 - Do You Speak The Language?

Are your words doing the job they need to do? Are your thoughts reaching out to connect with their hearts and minds? Do you appreciate their uniqueness, commitment and contributions?

There is a certain magic which happens when our words accomplish their purpose. To create the Universe, God said, "Let there be light", and there was light!

Our words have the power to create or destroy - we must understand that the words we speak have the ability to bring life or death to the situation.

Ideas, procedures, opinions, facts and dreams are reflections of our thoughts. We think therefore we are who we are. Leaders use the language of meanings, beliefs and feelings to connect with and compliment the hearts and minds of people.

Studies on motivation reveal humans are hungry for recognition and acceptance. The easiest way to motivate a person is based on your continual, sincere and realistic show of appreciation for their talents, achievements, good-faith efforts and positive attitude.

Power Principle-5 - Be Congruent, Consistent, Cooperative!

There is something off-beat, brittle and frail about a building that is missing key parts of its structure - a broken roof, steel bars sticking out of the walls, crumbling foundation can make you wonder how or why the building is still standing.

Congruency is the state effective leaders try to maintain in their actions -

=> they line-up their actions with their words,

=> they link their values to their behaviors,

=> their attitudes are in-sync with their conversations

Consistency is judged by your performance over time -

=> Do you always apply the same standards to everyone?

=> Do you usually make your decisions based on all the available facts?

=> Do you appear to act and behave in the same ways you do when facing similar kinds of situations?

Cooperative people know that using honey captures more flies! To win over people to your point of view, your history of respecting, valuing and working with their desires, differences and decisions goes a long way in gaining their cooperation with your plans.

Great leaders have always cooperated with people by

=> Asking for their opinions, thoughts and experiences

=> Listening to them, showing understanding by summarizing their statements

=> Incorporating their ideas, beliefs and meanings into the leader's statements [using the more powerful pronoun, "we" to express those ideas and decisions]

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Do you agree that these 5 principles can energize your leadership power? Regardless of your job title or formal authority, using all five will increase your power and effectiveness in your workplace, home and community.

In my life, I have found that these principles do add considerable influence to my ideas and dreams. People tell others that

=> I can be trusted to do the right thing,

=> I always gather the right people together to get the job done in an harmonious manner and

=> My ideas and feelings are exact reflections of their own beliefs and meanings

You can put these principles to work because each one uses your own unique talents, efforts and resources.

Take advantage of Internet research and educational materials, visit other offices, volunteer your time to a worthy cause, take an online training course or two, practice the art of leadership on your friends, family and colleagues at work.

You can become a more powerful leader starting right where you are - you can start today.

"I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a "transformer" in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader."
Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" and other titles.

Can you see yourself acting as a powerful, transforming and enriching leader? Can you use the Principles of Power to increase your influence and effectiveness? Can you be all that you can be and share that power with the world?

You can learn more about this subject by reading our 'blog': Leadership skills training & development for creating energy!
Leadership skills training & development for creating energy!

I know you can do it all and do it well and do it with your own personal style - please let me know when you begin the journey and I'll send you a letter of congratulations.

Copyright ? 2004, Mustard Seed Investments Inc.,
All rights reserved.

Bill Thomas publishes "The Leadership-Toolkit Collection!" - Affordable, Performance Improvement Programs for Employees, Executives & Entrepreneurs: featuring web-based Training, Books & Manuals, coaching & mentoring, & follow-up support GUARANTEED to energize, empower, enhance your leadership results.
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