We start life by winning a major contest, a do or die contest and seeing I am here writing this, I have won that contest and so have you.

But seeing we are now here, surely the game has changed!

After all, the world has 6 billion of us and so at least there are 6 billion that have won this contest and in most cases are happily cohabitating this beautiful planet.

I want to promote the idea that at a subconscious level, most of us have not yet come to terms with the fact that we have won that contest and need win no more.

It seems to me that life is about living, not about winning or being the one with most money. Research after research has shown that we are not happier just because we win more of what modern society has to offer (money or related).

And yet, winning is everything. There are so many anecdotes that prove that this is how most of us live our life. The mother that is happy because her son is happily participating in a soccer team is looked-down upon by the other parent who insists that unless her son is the best in the team (ultimate winner),

then just being happy participating is a true sign of a loser. The mother that is constantly unhappy pushing her daughter to get the best marks in class before she is truly happy with her. The creative child that receives all those messages that their siblings somehow are more appreciated because they are focused on an educational path that takes them to money.

All these and many other behaviors are manifestations of our basic and subconscious NEED to win at all costs and winning by it’s definition is being better than others.

Imagine if this concept of winning was redefined to be about the fun and contribution in participating. Imagine if there was no failure related stigma and people could choose how and where to participate independent of the connotations that their chosen field/role might have.

Imagine if the prostitute was appreciated for providing a service that obviously many frequent. Imagine if a receptionist could be proud of doing that all his life without feeling that somehow that means that he was a failure or that this role would never make them rich?

You might be thinking that I am just another leftist, loser hippie. And maybe I am, or not, but this definition or any other that you quickly bestow on me or the prostitute has origins in your psyche and maybe that is because of your upbringing, shame or fear, or that of your ancestor or theirs. Or that maybe you are still in Sperm mode.

It is about time we stopped living from our past and from the fact that we had to win to be alive and focus on where we are now, in life with another 6 billion beautiful people or more importantly in a beautiful family, relationship, company or movement. And can we possibly be happy to merely be an effective contributor to any of these or other groups? Could this be the answer to the reluctance, many of us have,

to wake-up and go to work, or to positively participate in that meeting, or the burning desire to shaft that other employee just because in a particular moment they had an idea that seemed better articulated than mine.

And as a Leader, what are you doing to build your sustainable organization? Are you ensuring that your team has moved-on from merely being sperms and have evolved to being collaborative teams that,

rather than undermining each other (and by default your organistion), they are instead focused on contributing the best of who they are in a role and environment that brings out the best of who they are.

Yes, it is your responsibility, you are the Leader!

The New Testament speaks about man becoming a new creation and it is Jesus Christ who is involved again. Jesus spoke about this in that profound conversation he held with Nicodemus. It is wise to read and study this.

The more we read the Bible, the more we see and understand that God does nothing except through Jesus Christ. Jesus is unique. There is no leader comes near him in leadership.

Which leader can offer ‘new birth’ and make a man a new creation and forgive sin, and then give direction and guidance for the rest of his life along with equipping and anointing power? In Jesus Christ we have unique leadership with qualities and characteristics that affect and influence every area of life, and these are so necessary.

In Jesus Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, and God is so willing to help us in all our problems and difficulties and the challenges which confront us in life.

In a world where we are witnessing so much greed and corruption at all levels, but particularly in governmental and leadership positions, we need to know that there is a leader who can deliver and release us from all this.

Corrupt leaders motivated by selfishness and driven on by sin will be found and discovered one day. There is nothing surer. God has said in his word, “Behold your sins will find you out”. This is much more than a man’s sins being discovered and uncovered and found out. He is found out! He is discovered and revealed.

Many in the business and economic and financial world have found that to be so very true over these three or four years. Man cannot run away and hide from what God has said. If only those in business and banking leadership had paid closer attention to what God had said it would have saved them and their families from so much heartache.

In Jesus Christ we see service and serving combined with compassion and self-sacrifice and love. This requires strong leadership. Jesus was no wimp. Jesus Christ was the very opposite.

It takes real manliness to follow Jesus Christ because it can involve challenging sin in the lives of those who think they are so clever and so powerful and so influential.

Introducing Almighty God and Jesus Christ into some conversations today can give rise to a wave of embarrassment or even laughter and ridicule.

God is concerned that we be saved and rescued from all these unnecessary problems and painful conflicts.

Can you be a reconciler? Do you have the strong leadership qualities required to reverse what has been going on over these past years, particularly in the banking and financial world, where the love of money has become a powerful evil root?

Just as God loved unfaithful Israel, he loves those who have made such a mess of things and caused others such appalling suffering.

Also known as democratic leadership, participative leadership is the most common form of leadership practiced in the corporate world and political scene. The participative leadership model favours decision making by a group.

In this model, the leader consults his team and seeks their opinion, making the decision subsequently. Compared to the autocratic leadership model, this model allows the views of the team members to be heard and encourages team members to participate,

hence its name. It is worthy to note that in this style of leadership, the decision is still made by the leader, only that it is based on opinions and perspectives from the team as a whole.

Participative leadership is successful as a leadership style that allows an all rounded decision to be made. It allows a team to make a decision on the matter together.

Often, a leader would seek the opinion of the team and possibly encourage discussion and debate to stimulate the thinking process of the team.

This way, the every member of the team would feel that his views are being heard, and even if their views are not accepted, they know that it was for a reason and not merely overlooked or brushed away.

This, according to Patrick Lecioni in his book, Five Dysfunctions of a Team, is critical in achieving buy-in, failure of which would result in a team to be dysfunctional.

The mode of decision making of a participative leader is known as the consult-and-decide method. In his book, The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins explained that the consult-and-decide method essentially has the brainstorming done by the group,

and the decision to be made by the leader. This is as opposed to both the seeking out of ideas and the decision to be done by the leader. The team also has a part in directing the decision by participating in the discussions.

However, participative leadership may fail should the team be relatively inexperienced. For instance, should a team deciding on the appearance of a physical product sold be a company consists mostly of fresh members,

the quality of discussions and debate with relation to the final decision would be superficial and possibly even irrelevant, hence making the decision of how the product should be will not be well thought out. Evidently, a precondition for effective participative leadership is to have a team that is sufficiently experienced and competent at their job.

Participative leadership is particularly popular in the corporate world as the decisions made often has consequences in multiple levels and would require the inputs and expertise of various professionals. In addition,

the pace of events often does not allow a free rein style of leadership where the leader allows the team to reach a consensus with a luxury of time.

Lucas Lin is a renowned expert in the field of leadership and management. Having held leadership positions ranging from management executive to operations manager, Lucas is in the prime position to offer advice on leadership and consulting services to leaders across the hierarchy.

His years of experience in leadership render his advice highly sought after. Having served in leadership positions in various organisations, including a country club, a school and the military among others, Lucas developed an intimate knowledge of value-based leadership, which can be applied to all vocations.

it is still difficult for the leader to pass on the bad news and tell them that they have to move out of their current position. No matter what your leadership approach is, no matter how good you are at job, sacking somebody for consistently failing to perform, is an unpleasant task.

The situation is much clearer if an employee has committed some crime or crossed some ethical boundary. Where it is a performance issue, the situation is not as clearly defined. What level of performance is unacceptable? How long is too long?

Have you provided sufficient resources for the person to be successful? Have you provided effective training, counseling, motivation and most of all, have you provided the level of leadership necessary for success?

Some leaders are so overwhelmed by the complexity of these questions that they avoid the situation. They shuffle the non-performer sideways where they can do less harm or they employ someone extra to compensate for the problem. Regrettably,

this is a damaging approach and inevitably the business will suffer. The best leaders used a totally different way of approaching a problem performer. They have a mindset that reconciles a standard of excellence with a genuine need to care. They know that it is cruel to keep the non-performer in a position where they are failing.

They use excellence as a frame of reference to assess performance and they refuse to compromise on that standard. So they will answer the question, “What is the level of performance that is unacceptable?”

By saying, “Any level of performance that is about average and is showing no sign of improvement.” Likewise, great leaders move quickly as soon as there is evidence of low performance.

They respond to the question, “How long will you tolerate low performance?” By saying, “Not long.” They move quickly as soon as they see that a member of staff is not improving their performance.

Often, a poor performer has been employed in the organization for some time and due to technology or changes or both, that person is no longer able to contribute at their previous high level.

Over a period of time their performance has gradually declined as they have failed to change to meet the new demands of their job. This situation for a leader is extremely difficult because of the relationships that have been built up during the person’s long service.

Great leaders use a mixture of compassion and an uncompromising approach to standards of performance. This creates a group of loyal followers who know exactly what sort of performance is required

Leader, manager, business coach, or consultant; whatever your title, if you are in a position that requires you to motivate and inspire others, there are certain attitudes,

behaviors and personal attributes that you need to make your endeavors successful. Here are 10 questions any good leader must be able to answer in a positive way.

Am I able to recognize differences among my staff or team members in order to work effectively with each one? Being able to see these differences and respond accordingly, allows a leader to motivate on an individual level for better results.

Do I encourage suggestions and input on procedures from everyone? In order for people to feel motivated to make change or improve, they have to have some ownership of the process and believe their contributions are important.

Am I able to allow individuals to solve their own problems? A leader’s job is not to do everything but to impart the necessary knowledge, tools, and skills to others so they can do what needs to be done.

Do I understand the personal goals of each of the people on my team or in my employ? Everyone has their own motivations for doing things. By understanding what makes people work, we are better able to find ways to keep them moving ahead.

Do I provide consistent and appropriate rewards and praise where deserved? Everyone needs to be recognized for their efforts and contributions.

Am I able to identify slackers or non believers and take necessary actions to either bring them on board or find other areas for them? It is almost impossible to reach a goal when some team members just don’t want to participate.

Do I consistently try to find ways for people to grow, learn, and develop on the job? Success breeds success. The more people learn, the more they are inspired to learn, and the more they accomplish, the harder they will work toward future goals.

Do I make being available to individuals, management, and other team members a priority? It’s impossible for a leader to be invisible and make progress.

The more approachable you are, the more comfortable your team and employees will be with asking questions and making suggestions. Good communication is vital to the success of any project.

Can I motivate the team as a whole towards a goal while at the same time recognizing individual efforts and contributions? While each individual’s efforts are invaluable, the team as a whole must learn to work together to make effective change.

Am I successful at promoting communication, understanding, respect, and support among the people I work with? In order to achieve success and accomplish desired goals, both team members and individuals need a leader who can create a working environment that encompasses these skills.

The first element of leadership is the ability to show a desirable future to his or her followers. Sometimes, this is called vision but it has become such an overworked word that it has lost its meaning.

You’ll see company vision statements and mission statements plastered on the walls of various organizations. Regrettably, these do not translate into actions.

As part of showing a desirable future to followers, a leader also shows the direction. The view of the future is basically a positive image of what the organization could become. The direction is the path that will lead to the objective.

The second element of leadership is the use of the leader’s emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills to motivate and inspire his or her followers. The leader presents information in such a way that followers can see how they will benefit from both the journey and the end destination. They are excited and inspired to be successful.

The third element of leadership is the wave of energy and enthusiasm generated by the leader to infect the rest of the people. This infectious energy is directed towards followers but also serves to keep the project on course towards the objective. These three essences of leadership work well for the small organization and small teams as well as the large corporation. True leaders deliver these three parts of leadership consistently and powerfully.

Normally, leaders start with the first element and work from there. Showing a desirable future is not very easy. It has to guide a team or an organization and it must be credible.

The job of the leader is to show a desirable future and desirable future should be designed not just by one person. If it is a collaborative objective, it will be much more effective.

People will buy into a future that they have contributed to. The more they contribute to it, the greater their passion. Without a doubt, the passion of a leader is one of the greater motivators for the followers.

There is little point in trying to develop the other two elements unless the first element, the future, the hope is clearly established and considered worthwhile by all concerned.

Too many people have been promoted to leadership positions and tried to change too many things, too quickly and substantially failed to achieve much.

The leader must take this desirable future and show his or her followers to their contribution to the success of achieving the goal. If the follower can see the link between their daily effort and the ultimate achievement, they will be highly motivated to contribute as much as possible.

A number of programs take the leader away from the daily workings of the company and expose them to an intense feedback-rich experience. There several well-known and respected programs of this nature.

A Leadership Institute is a tightly structured, multi-day program in which participants can examine themselves and their organizations through a variety of hands-on experiences. The programs often focus on several main areas: personal assessment and individual development; experiential leadership exercises; a small-group company simulation; discussion of leadership history, theory,

and principles; and leadership models for the future. Building on this new self-awareness and insight, the attendee then develops, with coaching from a certified professional, very specific personal development plans. Ongoing coaching after the program is often part of the process.

External evaluation and coaching
Finally, the most costly step, but certainly the one that can render the highest impact, is getting a coach. Working with a coach can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience that generates true change and improvement.

Coaches serve as sounding boards and bring focus to areas needing improvement. They do not tell you what you need to do, but they help you develop your own answers and solutions. They don’t give you the fish, they help you learn how to fish.

In this rapidly changing world it is imperative for leaders to be able to respond to change. They must grow to face new challenges.

In failing to proactively craft a personal development plan to foster continued growth, a leader is really saying that the status quo is okay and that there is no need nor time for development.

They are OK with being OK. The leader who reaches a peak that becomes a plateau is really not a leader at all. Are you on the way up or the way down? What have you done for yourself lately?

In Brief: It’s not enough anymore to “just keep up.” Today’s leaders must continually seek new ways to challenge themselves and grow through change. Creating a personal development plan will go a long ways towards ensuring that you don’t become static.

The first step to take to avoid stagnating on that plateau is to allow yourself time to think. It is important to take time to consider how you are doing. Given time, most leaders are able to conduct a decent self-assessment and determine where they are headed.

However, the pace of work today and the demands associated with high-level positions often preclude people taking the time for this reflection. Some of the most effective leaders today schedule “quiet time,” and they swear by it. For example, Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, uses Tuesdays and Thursdays as his proactive days and does not usually schedule anything for those days.

A reading program

Reading is the most cost-effective and time-efficient way to acquire skills to move yourself to the next level. If you are dedicated to your personal development, you will find time to read.

Many people say they don’t like to read. Perhaps. But if this sounds like you, what you might be saying is that the last time you read extensively,

you had to do it when you were in school and the books were boring and the teacher uninspiring. The painful memory of those reading experiences is enough to keep you away from reading. If this applies to you, you are giving up a great deal.

You might have to ease into a reading program. Surely, there is something you are interested in. It may be sports, history, or technical aspects of your job.

Find a good magazine to read on the subject and make a commitment to get through it before the next one comes out. Once you are started on that path, you can go to a bookstore and just browse. You can spend the entire day there, just paging through the books.

You are sure to find one you like. I know several firms where employees leave the annual meeting with several books for professional development.

Other firms that look at personal development favorably have the supervisor purchase a book for an employee during the performance review process. The supervisor and employee then schedule time to discuss the book.

Seminars

There are seminars and training programs for just about everything. They range from generic skill development to industry-specific technical development.

Caution is necessary here — are you looking for training or education? Training is task-specific. You are probably looking for education, and, more importantly, you are looking to change behavior. This does not happen as a result of a seminar although the seminar should create the awareness of some of the things you might do to improve.
Consideration and thought must be given to the program and the specific subject instructional content. There are plenty of $99 seminars that come to your town for a day and lecture on just about any topic. Of course, you get what you pay for. Make sure the content is right for you or for the person you send. The more you know about the program, the more you can help an attendee implement learning once they return. No matter what seminar you choose to attend, you must recognize that a “fade factor” sets in once you return to work. You must schedule time to review material and to purposefully implement new behaviors. Be patient, you are learning new habits, and old ones will hang on as long as they can. Be ruthless in getting rid of habits that no longer serve you as get off the plateau.

An industry-specific peer group

An industry-specific peer group is an assembly of similar firms that meet regularly to discuss business issues. These peer groups can be called leadership networks, business roundtables, leader’s circles, and so on. Many industries — such as car dealers,

retailers, manufacturers, real estate developers, and even government groups — have been meeting successfully for years. Unlike your local trade association meeting, a peer group contains no competitors because each member comes from a different geographical market.
Optimally, the members’ businesses have much in common,

yet enough diversity to provide alternative ideas and solutions. Another important point about these peer groups is that they meet several times a year. This frequency fosters trust and a higher level of exchange than might be seen at a one-off meeting at a trade conference.

You may have reached a plateau in your career and atrophy may be beginning to set in. Atrophy — the state that exists when growth wanes — is a precursor to death. This process can be long and laborious, and the final result may not include a spectacular bankruptcy or firing but may be a gradual, yet continual,

erosion of margin and a lack of creativity and innovation in your department or organization. Your employees will see your failure to raise the bar for yourself and you will lose credibility. Eventually they will mirror your behavior and accept the status quo,

thereby allowing the market to dictate success and failure. And the company becomes even more stagnant.

The above example may not describe you, but it is not uncommon. It is the rare executive who is able to tell me that they have an active personal development plan that is updated annually. It is an equally rare executive who is able to tell me the last time they got good,

objective feedback on how they are doing their job and how they are perceived by the organization. Yet the ability to respond to change and take responsibility for one’s own personal development is one of the key attributes of a successful leader today.

The plateaued leader doesn’t do anything to improve skills. The plateaued leader doesn’t seek feedback. In contrast, the emerging leader of the 21st century clearly recognizes the danger of standing still. Good leaders recognize the need for the company to keep learning; great leaders recognize the need for themselves to keep learning.

What steps you can take to avoid the syndrome, either for yourself or for your employees? There are many, and they range in cost from low to high. But cost is not the issue; the value received and the improvement in performance is the issue. The return on investment from true personal development at this level is incalculable.

How do you expect to deliver better results in the face of a changing environment when you continue to do the same old thing? Just because you are busy doesn’t mean you are making a positive impact.

Today’s leaders are challenged to keep up with, let alone get ahead of, the power curve. In fact, this “just in time” management style has served many leaders well as they have risen through the ranks.

Their ability to control the quality of their work and the output of their group was unequalled. People marveled that they could get it all done and produce a nice profit also. So they were promoted. In their next position,

again, if they ran really fast, they could control and get it all done. However, their ability to lead never really improved, nor did the company take time to invest in their skill development. After all, they were too busy and too important to take off and go to a seminar each year.

Finally, they reach a level of high responsibility and impact — president, CEO, COO, senior vice president, superintendent, etc. They are at or near the peak of their profession and enjoy the recognition and compensation associated with this position.

In their capacity as a senior manager they evaluate and assess others and recommend actions to improve performance. They suggest training, or perhaps coaching, in an effort to fix what is wrong with employees.

However, when subordinates return from training, they do little to encourage use of their skills, nor do they coach them very well to help them maximize the training investment.
Consider the national retailer that developed an outstanding ongoing education program for the up-and-coming generation of regional managers and vice presidents. Educational content for the program was thoughtfully developed.

Instructors were both subject-matter experts and good presenters. Students departed from the program with many great ideas and an eager desire to implement them.

But in too many cases, they returned to their own areas and were snidely told to get back to work now that their “vacation with corporate” was over.

More importantly, the regional presidents who sent them to the program were unable to help them implement and apply some of the concepts they learned when they returned. The plateaued leader they were working for was unable to help them.