WHO ARE YOU AND WHO CARES?

Who we are as leaders is as important as what we do. And all those we lead or work with care. That may seem like a tall order but anyone can be taught to act in a particular way, but the leaders we most want to follow are not acting, they are being.  They may have learned some skills along the way but we follow them because of who and how they are – their vision, their commitment, their integrity, their confidence, their sense of responsibility and the respect they show for others.

Last month we brought together 50 women leaders for the Don’t Await It, Create It® WOMEN 2015 conference.  Over three days we helped these women develop a strategic plan for the year and shared a practical overview of 4 sets of leadership skills – basic coaching, neuropsychology of success, resiliency and leading change. The structure was built around the Don’t Await It, Create It ® planning process with leadership segments each day.

But the real work of the weekend was the transparency, vulnerability, and willingness of the leaders to take risks as they explored their personal and professional desires and challenges in crafting their personal strategic plans. That openness not only creates space for learning new skills, it creates the space for transformation. Michaelangelo said that every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. As leaders, part of our job is sculpt away that which is not us, to become our best selves.  As John Maxwell says, “If you can become the leader you ought to be on the inside, you will be able to become the person you want on the outside. People will want to follow you. And when that happens, you’ll be able to tackle anything in this world.

Here are some examples of what happens when you move from acting as if you were a leader to stepping into your authentic leadership.

Cameron Russell: Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model.

Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel prize speech

WHAT’S JULIE UP TO?

Get unSTUCK

I am so excited to join my friend Linda Vettrus-Nichols for her STUCK tele summit.  Linda Vettrus-Nichols is an entrepreneur, mother, and wife who knows what it’s like to get STUCK. After leaving a “starter marriage” of 33 years and finding Terry Earthwind Nichols, the love of her life, Linda realized that the true love of my life was herself. She is now a woman filled with LaDestina, a sense of her own destiny. She has pulled together 14 women across 50 decades in age to share their secrets to creating massive change. She’s interviewed each of us and you can hear all of our interviews. Click here to learn more

ABOUT JULIE