8 Great Words to Lead Elegantly

We do more on a daily basis to avoid pain than we do to face our fears, challenge conventional wisdom and look for opportunities to grow beyond our comfortable routines. What most people do is begin with good intentions, make an attempt to improve this or develop that and stop. You just need a base hit; just one. If you don’t do anything, what do you think will happen? Don’t let this happen to you – fear, uncertainty, and doubt. If the only thing you get from this article is the understanding you can start over anytime with a fresh perspective, then the next five minutes is worth it.

A rubber band was made to stretch, and so were you.

Change

We’re influenced by rapid change. You can’t expect to get by with what has worked in the past – you must be willing to do things differently. To take just one more step forward; to stretch. Abandon routine; adopt an open mind about the world around you. Change doesn’t stem from passion and motivation that’s temporary. With the world changing at a furious pace, take a look, internally and externally at how you do everything. Decide what things you would do differently, why it matters and develop a method of how to do it differently. #DoSimpleBetter

Do

How many of your people have lost their ability to flex, to overcome, to adapt to changing circumstances because they’ve lost their confidence? Something somewhere in their past keeps rearing its ugly head that prevents them from moving forward. Developing new skills and career capabilities is critical, given the rapid change occurring around us. Yet too many people have managed to convince themselves that they can’t adapt; they can’t change. Don’t let that happen – it’s one of the worst attitudes for going forward into the future. Help them break through fear, procrastination, perfection, and stagnation – the 4 Traps of Indecision.

Question

Moving forward is understanding a different viewpoint,  it’s challenging assumptions and eliminating habit. If your approach to the future is based on your past success, ask yourself whether that will really guarantee you similar results in the future. If you do certain things because “you’ve always done it that way,” then know now is an excellent time to start doing them differently. There’s no guarantee that your old template will work again. It may be a starting point for your new framework; just don’t take it to the bank until it’s proven in today’s situation and climate under stress. Elegant Leaders are inquisitive. They ask great questions to uncover new opportunities to difficult situations.

Observe

Take time on a regular basis to look for the key trends that will impact you, the industry you work in or the career you have established. Take the time to learn about the many automated knowledge discovery tools that exist on the Internet; develop a culture that taps into global collaborative knowledge. Far too many organizations sit back after a dramatic change and asked: “what happened?” Make sure that your organization is one that asks, “what’s about to happen…what should we do about it” then go make it happen!

“In order to win, we should operate at a faster tempo or rhythm than our adversaries” . . . John Boyd, USAF Retired

Colonel Boyd developed a methodology for Korean-era fighter pilots as a way to understand conflict and provide military leaders with a model for making decisions and assessing their impact.  The execution of the decision-making process was viewed as involving the cycling through four distinctive but interdependent stages: observe, orient, decide, act. For more info on OODA Loop, read more…

Think

Analyze your observations: spend more time learning from what you see happening around you. If you are like most organizations, you are responding to trends on a short-term, piecemeal basis: you are reactive, rather than proactive.  You need to be anticipating, and that’s beyond preventive and adopts a more predictive analysis. Step back, take a deep breath, and analyze what the trends are telling you. From that, do what really needs to be done. Take time every day to simply think – you’re subconscious is at work for you.

Empower

In a world of rapid change, you can’t expect that rigidly defined rules will be the appropriate response to changing circumstances. A ticked off customer needs a solution right now from a front-line customer service rep who can make decisions at the lowest practical level and not have to “report-up” for permission. Certainly, not some type of follow-up from head office weeks later. A middle manager in a remote location needs the ability to make a decision and must commit to it today. They can’t afford to wait for your bureaucratic wheels to churn. Destroy the hierarchy, and encourage a culture in which
people are given the mandate and the power to do what’s right, at the right time, for the right reason.

Equip and empower your people to make decisions now and Lead Elegantly!

Grow

Stop focusing strictly on cutting costs! Focus on service opportunity and fulfillment delivery instead. Instead of stand in fear of what you don’t know – teach yourself something new. Stop the pain of questioning your ability to accomplish something great. Suck it up buttercup! Grab the bull by the horns and see what you can do! The point is, in a world of rapid change, you must continually enhance your capabilities and opportunities through innovative thinking. Change your attitude now, and the rest will come easily.

Enjoy

Through the years, I’ve come to learn groups that pursue innovation are those organizations and individuals who approach the future with a lot of passion. These are the folks who tend to wake up every day and think, “wow, I can’t wait to get to work!”  They are inspired by people who inspire others to inspire their organizations. These are the people who have succeeded with being innovative, in mind, spirit, and actions.

Elegant Leaders distill imperfect information to make the greatest impact – SIMPLICITY

Elegant Leaders create a better, stronger future – POWERFUL

Elegant Leaders move things forward by taking action on what will work – PRACTICAL

Elegant Leaders are refined and resilient working towards goals while strengthening relationships – GRACEFUL

This is why you need to Lead Elegantly and avoid paying a higher price with your people and your results. Stop struggling and learn the secrets to greater communication and engagement with your people and teams. Email me or call me 205-482-2177 for a qualified FREE session, no obligation and no strings attached, to explore what that looks like and how I can help you.