Are YOU a High-Impact Leader?

Everyone leads. Our voices and actions impact other people's lives. John Maxwell tells us that "leadership is nothing more than influence." Sometimes we influence others in healthy ways and at other times, not so much... but we all lead.

However, all leaders are not the same. The wise are those who understand the importance of developing their leadership acumen so they will be more effective in leading others towards a common goal. 

Here are the 4 steps of High-Impact Leaders:

1. KNOW

    Leaders know themselves and the areas where their leadership is lacking. Whether in vision casting, self-discipline, motivation, conflict resolution, team building, finance, systems and procedures... they have the self-awareness to recognize their own leadership deficit(s) and the courage to admit it.

▶ Key Leadership Trait: Self-Awareness     

What is one area where your leadership capacity is lacking?

"Without self-awareness, even a move backwards will feel like progress."

2. GO

    Leaders take action! Once they have identified an area where their capacity is weak, rare leaders are willing to leave the comfort of familiarity for a greater future. Leaders understand that movement is required. Talk is cheap. Excuses are fatal. Delay is an enemy. Nothing changes until you move. Your desired future is one step ahead of where you're standing right now. GO!

▶ Key Leadership Trait: Pursuit 

On a scale of 1-10, how committed are you to taking action? 

"We have no right to anything we are unwilling to pursue."

3. GROW

    Growth is essential! Everything healthy grows. However, new growth also requires us to outgrow our former state. If children don't outgrow their clothes or if plants don't outgrow their pots, something is fundamentally wrong. In like manner, healthy leaders must outgrow old, familiar and comfortable mindsets. This is why growing leaders must possess both a robust humility (ability to ask questions and learn from others) and a rock-solid endurance (ability to withstand the pain of change). Growth is painful... but great leaders choose the struggle for advance over the comfort of stagnation.

▶ Key Leadership Traits: Humility & Endurance     

Are you teachable? Can you handle the pressure of pursuit?

What course or coach are you using to increase your capacity?

"The level of success one achieves is directly related

to the level of pain they were willing to endure."

4. SHOW

    Nothing rewards a leader's heart more than showing others how to know, go and grow. Nothing. Just as others have so generously contributed to their own successes, great leaders now take joy in generously sharing their decades of learned insights, personal struggles, practical wisdom and seasoned encouragement with others. These sages have discovered that by teaching and developing the next generation, their lives will excel beyond public success and into the pinnacle of personal fulfillment. It is in those selfless moments of empowering others when a leader's life becomes a legacy.

▶ Key Leadership Trait: Generosity   

Who are you investing in? Whose success matters to you?

"Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein

4 QUICK STRESS BUSTERS

How do you react when your plans fall through? Do you roll with the punches? Or does anxiety keep you from enjoying life? Stress and pressure are inevitable issues that we must learn to handle. 

Here are 4 things to help keep your stress under control:

 

1. Get Some Sleep

It’s very common in our society to exist on less than 6 hours of sleep a night. But experts recommend 6-8 hours of sleep per night. Not just to rest our bodies, but to rejuvenate our minds. Sleeping is the time for our bodies to not just rest, but heal. Elevate your health by prioritizing your restful sleep. Don’t just set an alarm to wake-up on time… set an alarm to go to bed on time.

 

2. Turn It Off

The convenience that cell phones have added to our lives has proven to be a double-edged sword. We depend on them so much it seems we can’t live without them. Our minds are constantly flooded with news, social media, emails, etc. that it is nearly impossible for us to mentally settle. It’s too much! Silence your phone and put it down. Establish a set time to check and return emails and voice mails (example: 2pm--3pm). Place your phone out-of-reach when eating meals. Put your phone down at least 30 minutes before bed. Your brain will thank you! 

 
3. Attack It
We stress hard over the things we least want to do. As a result, that stress drains our energy and distracts focus from the other tasks that need our attention throughout the day. The solution? Attack it first thing in the morning! Make that nerve-racking issue the very first thing you knock-out in the beginning of your day. Get it off your list early to stop stress from robbing your day.
 
4. Vacay Time
It doesn’t take a week at an expensive resort to refresh your heart and head. Just one day at the beach or an afternoon in the park will work wonders. Go somewhere outside of your routine so that your bills, work, and responsibilities won’t be your focus for the day. Recreation literally means to re-create. Take time to re-create your mind and emotions. You don’t just deserve it… you need it!