This is a follow up to Part I of “A Call to Leadership” Video Series.  During the first segment I spent part of the time discussing the pathway that both leaders and organizations must take to develop extraordinary leadership.  Yet, there are a few questions I left out that are at the tips of the tongues of many who I speak to on the topic of leadership development.

What is “Development” About Anyway?

I do not like the word development because it implies there is something missing in us.  Which is not the case really.  This term comes from an old outdated therapy model that examines our failings rather than our greatness.   “Empowerment”  is really what leadership development is all about because true leaders understand who they are and why they are leading.  To engage in a “development” or empowerment path you must answer the following questions:

• What do I most desire to create in terms of my results, success, impact, achievement, etc.?
• What are my greatest strengths and how do I build upon these to accomplish this?
• What habits do I have that do not support my vision?
• What kind of person must I  become to achieve my vision, priorities, etc.?
• What, if I learned it, would help me quickly close the gap between my current reality and the vision?

The answers to these questions set the stage for your development or rather empowerment.

Why Should I Empower Myself Anyway?

The short answer is because it will lead to a far better experience in your life and your work.  You will feel more alive and you will be more successful.  Again, you may already be successful financially yet are you successful in every area at the level YOU DESIRE?  The follow up reason is that you have not even come close to tapping into your capacity – human beings are the most creative force on this planet yet we tend to underestimate our power and greatness.  The “evening news” tends to highlight our bad side yet if you look at those out there making a difference in others lives – it is incredible what we are capable of when we embrace our humanity and stretch to be all we can be.

What Keeps Us From Enthusiastically Embracing The Empowerment Pathway?

If most people are failing to leverage their full power – why is this?  The question is why do they leave all of that power on the table?  There are a few major answers to this.  First, many people do not know what they do not know.  In other words, they do not realize what is possible for them so they do not understand the value of engaging in the empowerment pathway.  Second, most people do not answer the fundamental questions noted above.  The third reason is – COMFORT.  Comfort has always been the enemy of greater success and fulfillment.  Yet today we live in a society where we don’t even have to walk out our door to experience most things.  We can call in food, we can be entertained, we can work remotely, we can even express our sexuality.   When ever you feel comfortable for too long you stop taking action towards your desires.  How do you get out of this cycle?

What Can I Do to Overcome My Addiction to Comfort?

Be bold enough, dig deep and ask yourself – what do you really care about in your life, your work, for your organization?  Once you answer this question – ask yourself if you could have impact in this – what would you like to shift, change, improve?  Next turn this into a clear purpose and do what you must to turn this purpose into a burning desire.  Once that transformation occurs you will naturally rise above your own discomfort to realize that desire.  This one step is critical to anyone’s or any organization’s long term success.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 19th, 2010 at 3:51 pm and is filed under Executive Engagement, Leadership Development, Personal Engagement. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.