Lead Your Life

My ongoing hunch re: motivation actually supported by science! http://bit.ly/DV7xg

What Does a Leader Look Like?

Here are just some of the answers I get when I ask, “What does a leader look like?”

•      Sense of humor                             

•      Energetic                                       

•      Decisive                                        

•      Inspirational     

•      Empathetic     

•      Courageous     

•      Innovative     

•      Honest     

•      Has integrity     

•      Role model     

•      Fair    

•      Self-confident

 

Recognize yourself on this list?  Do you have one, two, several of these qualities?

 

Sure, you may see yourself in several places on this list.  So, why don’t you feel like a leader?

 

How do you make that transition from looking like a leader but not really feeling like one?

 

Avoid the Imposter Factor

The Imposter Factor is that nagging fear that others will find out that you’re not really a leader—that you’re the only one who thinks you have some of those qualities on the list above.  Take the bold step of asking others what they think of your leadership abilities.  You’ll be surprised at the positive response!  You use leadership skills every day—managing your work group, getting the kids to school on time, supporting your favorite charity.  Believe that you are a leader—your friends and colleagues already know you are.

 

Start Small

Someone once told me that one of the strongest leaders she knew was working on her local Little League board, trying to make the league run more efficiently and to inject more fun into the games.  Leadership can be as big as moving a government to pass civil rights legislation; it can be as “small” as teaching a group of girls that they can be entrepreneurs if they choose to.  As long as it’s a high ideal for you, you can take a leadership role in making it happen.

 

Practice, Practice, Practice

If your passion is to change a small piece of your own world…go for it!  Exercise your leadership muscle, and soon you’ll have influenced a whole range of small stuff, which will add up to something big!  Soon you’ll be feeling like the leader that you are.

Hired! One job seeker turns to networking, then helps others - Nov. 11, 2009

After getting laid off from a large law firm, Nichols immediately began looking at other paralegal positions and went on several interviews. But he found that most of the jobs would require taking a huge paycut. "They offered 30%-40% less than what I had been paid," he explained.

via money.cnn.com

Great article on my friend, Kevin Nichols. Way to go, Kevin!

A warm goodbye to Dougger...ninja dart champ supreme! He will certainly be missed :-(

More and Better Networking?

Lots of folks are ramping up their networking activities these days. Whether it's to look for a new position, to drum up business, or to get strategic counsel, or simply to commiserate, people are reaching out to each other more than ever.

If we're trying to reach out more, and being reached out to more, how do we keep our network happy while still trying to do everything else we need to get done? Which gets me to thinking...

Is it better to have many one-on-one networking meetings, or pull together 4-5 connections to network with you (and each other) over a specific topic?

Let me know what you think, by leaving a comment below and/or voting in my LinkedIn poll. Results will be shared in a future post.

Hoping all the Maine-iacs do the right thing today. CA *still* has not been able to get its act together.

A wise person told me today, "Just put it out there. All the time. Start when you wake up, before you even rub the sleep out of your eyes."

Just joined Ping...posts to all your networks at the same time. Check it out: http://www.ping.fm.

I'm Officially an Expert!

I was just certified as a Fundraising Expert by AllExperts.com. If you have fundraising questions, head on over and ask them.

Visit my AllExperts profile.

Happy Diwali!

Today marks the beginning of Diwali, an important Hindu holiday that celebrates the victory of good over evil. Find out more...

For the next few days (at least), let's all spend more time focusing on the good.