By inspiring your people to embrace the desire of wanting to make a difference, you begin the development of a leader. There is a moving quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupery that reads: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the sea.”
When we inspire people to make a difference, and they discover the value they bring, we are planting the seeds that – when nurtured over time – will grow their confidence, passion, and visionary potential; key components of leadership.
When we are inspired, the dopamine in our brains is released stimulating a sense of motivation and energy. This energy is the rush we think of when positive thoughts enter our brains leading us to think in different ways that ultimately lead to the types of actions we take. One of the ways I develop leaders is to provide them with examples and put them in situations where they can draw on all their senses to physically experience, see, hear, smell, taste, and think about how they respond to positive vs negative language use. We address the concept of indoctrination that happens to all human beings within a society where norms are established.
We then perform a variety of activities that allow them to get in touch with how their senses take in the world around them and synthesize the individual components to produce different experiences in the mind, body, and spirit. Experimenting with these different experiences allows leaders the opportunity to gain insight into where their intentions may or may not align with their impact.
By transferring these experiences to their teams and employees, the leader begins to help those around them to rewire neurologically the synapsis that leads to new pattern development in their behavior. When we experience the influence that the new behavior has on our outcomes positively, we are more likely to repeat and embrace the different state of mind that aligns with the new future state that emerges upon completing a change initiative within an organization.
These are guiding principles to support your team through a change. They are also crucial considerations to take into account when doing your inner work of Life Planning.
Life Planning is the human side of financial planning which seeks to discover the most profound goals of a leader through a process of listening and inquiry. Life Planning connects the dots between a leader’s financial realities with aspirations and the life they want to create for themselves. Through this process, the client harnesses behavior and relational aspects of financial planning that lead to the inspiration to mindfully pursue their aspirations.
Life Planning in contrast to Life Coaching – which can be a byproduct of Life Planning – results in developing another useful tool that serves you well as a whole person of whom, one of many roles is a leader. Once your Life Plan is in place, Triple Axel can work with you in manifesting that plan through coaching and program offerings designed to transition your life accordingly.
Examples
- Life planning can provide you with a roadmap for the future
- Starting a nonprofit organization
- Retirement planning
- Move to Volunteerism
- Pursuing a promotion
- Changing Fields/Industries
- Starting a business
- Living the life you want rather than someone else’s life because you did not plan your own
- Ground you in the work you’ve currently chosen
- Supporting your personal brand
- Clarifying your why and uncovering your motivations
- Building compassion for your team and colleagues
- Deepening your leadership effectiveness
- Advise and coach your team with care
- Sharing personal stories that inspire
- See and experience others more mindfully and from a deeper knowing
- Providing thoughtfully for your family
- Building empathy for others
- Sharing personal stories that inspire
- Become a more effective listener
- Deepen your inner peace
- Reduce the anxiety and stress often coupled with climbing the corporate ladder
- Develop focus and concentration
- Manage anxiety and stress with deep breathing practice
- Take more risks in low-stakes situations to build confidence
- Increase self-reflection time and opportunities
- Help you build a stronger and more sustaining relationship with yourself and your community
- Capitalize on Strengths and Overcome Challenges
- Enhance comfort with vulnerabilities
- Strengthen your confidence
- Let Go more effectively
Time to think about Where Do You See Yourself?