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Intentional Leadership — Month 12 — Belief

Well faithful readers, we are on the home stretch, as they say. Tomorrow we will begin the 12th, and final, month of our Intentional Leadership* journey. Over the next four weeks, we will focus on, think about, and take action in the area of Belief! It’s a fitting time of year for that — with the holidays coming up — don’t you think?

I believe each and every one of us is born with tremendous potential, and all the resources we need to reach it.

I believe each and every one of us can do all that we dream of and more.

I believe each and every one of us needs the support, insight, encouragement, and objectivity that is available to us only through a close friend or confidante…they see us as we cannot, and can provide us with new perspectives around how we interact in the world.

I also believe that too many of us fall short of our potential because our belief in ourself is not strong enough, and, as a result, we languish in our comfort zone, shackled with fear and doubt, and when we fail to live into our potential, we diminish others because we fail to share what we were meant to share with the world.

As Henry Ford said,

Whether you think (believe) you can or can’t, you are right.

Think of belief this way: It is the ignition switch that will launch you off the pad, if only you will hit the button!

Before we jump into the next four weeks, spend some time with your journal today and answer these questions:

What do I believe to be true about myself?

What do I believe is my potential as a leader?

What do I believe I am here to accomplish on earth?

What beliefs about myself do I need to accomplish my vision?

How have my beliefs about myself limited my ability to achieve what I have set out to do in the past?

What results can I attribute to my current self-beliefs?

*From the Intentional Leadership booklet by Giant Impact.

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Intentional Leadership — D4, W4, M11 — Initiative

As we come near the end of our month of focus on “initiative,” how could your life and the lives of others be different if you master the art of taking initiative?

What might that do for your career?

What might that do for your personal life?

I challenge you, today, to make taking initiative a core facet of your leadership journey.

If you don’t, what affect will it have on yourself, others, your organization?

In other words…what do you have to lose? What do you have to gain?

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Intentional Leadership — D3, W3, M11 — Initiative

We often can learn from the experiences of others, and we should take advantage of those opportunities (do not, however, misinterpret this to mean that you should always wait for someone else to try something new first!). Spend some time reflecting on a time when you observed someone close to you taking initiative in spite of fear.

What was the situation?

How did they handle it?

What was the result?

What did you learn from watching them go through this experience?

Now, think of a situation you are currently faced with in which you need to take initiative and have some fear about moving forward. Get in touch with the person from today’s exercise and tell them the situation you are in. As them for guidance on how they would handle it. Then, spend some time in reflection about what they’ve shared with you. In your journal, note some of the recommendations you think are worth following through on. Consider the risks, implications, consequences, and benefits associated with any of the actions you might take. Then, make a decision about moving forward.

What value did you receive through someone else’s experience? And what value do you place on having them as a trusted confidant?

It’s good to know we have support when faced with significant decisions and challenges, and can deal with them before they grow into something more unmanageable!

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