A Character-Based Leadership Manifesto

How do you aspire to lead?

Yesterday I felt a strong urge to clearly articulate what Character-Based Leadership means to me.

As I wrote it I thought of:

  • Leaders that create beautiful symphonies by unleashing the differences and strengths of others.
  • Leader that inspire us all to lead at a higher level.
  • Leadership decisions that make my blood boil.
  • People I am currently serving and people I’ve served.
  • Times I’ve led well, and times I’ve failed.
  • All that I am and all that I hope to be…

[Tweet “What’s your leadership manifesto? “]

Having “Skin In The Game” Matters Because…

“Skin in the game” emphasizes that not one of us is as smart as all of us.

“Skin in the game” separates the watchers from the joiners & the whiners from the winners.

“Skin in the game” unleashes: Creativity, Innovation, Joy, Synergy & RESULTS!

[Tweet “When everyone has “skin in the game” – we play better & we win more often.”]

  • Communities don’t need more critics. They need models.
  • Companies don’t need more problems. They need solutions.
  • Our world doesn’t need bench-warmers.   It needs players.

Titled Leaders: Are you hogging the spotlight on the field or giving your employees opportunities to shine?

Employees & Community Members: Are you on the sidelines or on the field?  We need YOU –  IN THE GAME!

 

The Epidemic Risk of INconsistency!

For Families, Communities, Organizations and Even Nations...

When we announced our plans to move to a giant sandbox on the other side of the world. I promised to share both the beauty and the struggle of our experiences.

It’s been easier to capture the beauty and share it.

  • Mostly because it’s energy-filled, it bubbles out and I know that people will be encouraged by it.

Sharing the negative side is tougher.

  • Because it’s hard to write about the things that cause frustration and pain without being judgmental.
  • And it’s even harder to write about them without feeling negative and heavy. (And that is not something I want to pass on to anyone.)

The reality is that our lives here are both beautiful and hard.

Learning to Leverage Your Strengths

...That often show up as a weakness

Have you ever struggled to figure out how to leverage a strength that is coming across as a weakness?

If you’ve ever watched popcorn pop, you’ll understand one of mine.

One little kernel heats up, flies into the air and explodes into light fluffy happiness. POP!

Then a couple more kernels join the fun! POP! POP!

Then a few more! POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!

Soon the party is in full swing, as the noise, chaos, and joy increase rapidly! POP! Pop! POP! Pop! POP! POP!!! POP!!!!

That’s me and…My popcorn brain

 

For many years I sat in meetings:

  • Excited by the challenge of problem solving.
  • Fueled by the opportunity to be creative and to collaborate.

And frustrated because I could not clearly articulate what was happening inside my brain.

The Impact of Vision without Ownership

Two real cities. One has it and one... Not so much!

A little over a week ago my husband and I rode motorcycle to a city that is about an hour away from where we are living.

It’s a city we visited for the first time nearly one year ago.  A city that provided such a powerful visual of how leadership or the lack of it, impacts our world that I wrote about it right after our first visit, and have continued to talk about it throughout the year…

  • A lack of a vision compared to a shared vision.
  • Chaos compared to order.
  • Anxiety compared to peace.
  • Darkness compared to light.
Read More About That Visit Here

This time we were in awe again: