I’ve heard it said that we’re never as good nor as bad as we think we are. I believe we can at times be our own worst enemy by vacillating between a poor self-image and thinking more of ourselves than we ought. However, a growing self-awareness helps us achieve a self-image that’s closer to reality.
When I was a child just about everyone read “The little engine that could.” For those of you who may not have heard of it, it’s a children’s book that emphasizes the power of a positive attitude and the value of persistence to achieve a goal. The little engine’s “I think I can” mindset is in fact a can-do attitude.
Your Can-Do Attitude Makes You a Change Agent
“You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by trying. Success is achieved and maintained by those who keep trying with a positive mental attitude” – Napoleon Hill
Attitude is the main thing when it comes to leadership and developing a can-do attitude is both inspiring and contagious. Everyone is a leader in some respect and therefore has some degree of influence with others (family, friends, co-workers, etc). Never doubt the power of influence, you have it positive or negative. I believe that with the right attitude people can change and a team who believes it will achieve great things together.
Assemble Your Team and Achieve Great Things Together I try to keep in mind that no single member of any team is smarter than every member collectively. I aim to inspire my team to become better tomorrow than they are today, and together we can do a lot of good for a lot of people.
Using the collective input of a team with a can-do attitude to gain a consensus on any matter is invaluable. The components of landmark decisions and world-changing ideas develop in more than one mind. Understanding and appreciating the uniqueness of each member on your team is a win/win for everyone. The more value you add to your team members the better they make you.
Be Intentional It’s a sad fact that many people aren’t living their lives, they’re accepting what happens to them as their fate. You were born to think and designed to change things through influence. If you had breakfast this morning it wasn’t an accident it was a decision, and to decide is intentional.
What you decide to do today determines your effectiveness tomorrow. Becoming intentionally consistent in all you do with a single purpose in mind leads to achievement, this gives meaning, stability, and value to everything you do. The law of consistency states that “Motivation gets you going, discipline keeps you growing.” Over time your intentionality exerts a positive influence on everyone around you, and that makes you a leader.
Be a Change Agent
“The past may be an indicator of who you were, but change renders it powerless to predict who you will be” -JSP
You can change! The most rewarding aspect of leadership is helping people buy into themselves and that they can change. Change agents facilitate change by transforming other leaders and training them to do the same. Maxwell says; “The true measure of leadershipis not how much you achieve; it is how much you inspire others to achieve.”
Imagine equipping a leadership team to develop and inspire others to achieve in the same way! Always keep in mind that it’s the leaderswho are responsible for change or the lack of it for the simple reason that followers do not have that kind of influence.
“Humility will open more doors than arrogance ever will” – Zig Ziglar
Be Humble The greatest leaders who serve others for the greater good are humble because it takes a team to achieve greatness. Greatness develops gradually one act of service at a time. Don’t focus on your accomplishments, be grateful to everyone who helped get you there, the truth is you all arrived together. Look for opportunities to let others shine. Give those who worked with you the credit for the wins and take responsibility for the failures. People who want to make a difference are attracted to genuine humility.
“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want” – Zig Ziglar
*** This article was authored by John Picarello, Chief Leadership Officer at Lions Pride Leadership Co.***