As a leader, leadership is about you and not about you. It’s about you, in so far as you can inspire and support others.

It’s about you to the degree to which you engender a sense of credibility with others.

It’s about you to the extent to which you have clearly articulated a vision and have communicated it to others.

It’s about you to the extent to which you have a following.

After this, it’s about other people. What do you do that helps others be all they can be? How do you achieve your goals together?

At the end of the day, leadership must be about listening and serving others – otherwise it isn’t leadership but an ego trip. Paradoxically, you must think about yourself in so far as you understand the impact you have on others and then turn the focus back on them. You can only be a leader if someone is following you.

You can only be a truly great, sage leader if you have a following where together, you are accomplishing something of importance to further the collective good.

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC       www.sagelead.com

Happy 2010 and happy new decade! You have probably set your goals and plans for the year. Now is the time to strike the balance between keeping your vision clear and … Read more in our  January Newsletter

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC           www.sagelead.com

A great leader is in command of navigating the nooks and crannies and ups and downs of life.  A friend recently emailed me this “handbook” for life. There are a ton of emails and blogs out there with similar stuff but I liked how this is categorized, practical and simple. It starts with health, which is the foundation for your life. When you master your personality, you can get out of your own way so you can contribute to society. This is how to have a happy life. Enjoy.

HANDBOOK 2010

    Health:
    1. Drink plenty of water.
    2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
    3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
    4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy
    5. Pray.
    6. Play more games.
    7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
    8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
    9. Sleep for 7 hours.
    10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

    Personality:
    11. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
    12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
    13.. Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
    14. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
    15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
    16. Dream more while you are awake
    17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
    18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
    19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
    20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
    21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
    22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
    23. Smile and laugh more.
    24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

    Society:
    25. Call your family often.
    26. Each day give something good to others.
    27. Forgive everyone for everything.
    28. Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
    29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
    30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
    31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

    Life:
    32. Do the right thing!
    33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
    34. GOD heals everything.
    35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
    36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
    37. The best is yet to come.
    38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
    39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

    Last but not the least:
    40. Please Forward this to everyone you care about, I just did.

Author Uknown

It’s not yet a week from New Year’s and you are back at work. The first day back it is fun to catch up with everyone and hear about their holidays. You have a grace period to reorient back to reality.

The second day in, the slipslider invades. This is what I call what happens when you start to come off the high of your new year’s resolution. Day two it’s time to get serious. Whether it is an official resolution or just an intention, I invite you to focus on how you want this year to be different than last year. What do you want to create or get rid of?

If you really want to create a new and different experience this year then you need to velcro the energy and inspiration you had at new year’s to your brain so you don’t allow the potential for negative thoughts to invade and derail you. The sage leader understands that post-holiday and mid-winter blues can easily invade the best laid plans.

I am in Connecticut, USA, and we are under about a foot of snow…so it can be a cozy and hibernating or depressing – sun depletion time, depending upon what you allow in. I find the cold invigorating and the quiet of the snow inspirational. If you are experiencing the post-holiday letdown, make sure to invite in a blanket of comfort and something that will allow you to stick to your vision of the new you in the new year. You want it to be untouchable like teflon amidst changes – in your moods, in your team, in the economy.

Tenacity is the wisdom of success.

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC      www.sagelead.com

Today is a full moon, a blue moon (full moon twice in one month) and a partial eclipse. Contrary to modern popular belief, this is not the time to plant the seeds for the new year. Instead you want to clean house and intention what you want to get rid of. What didn’t work for you in 2009? How about going into the new year lightening your load – whether it is being more stringent in what you take on or getting rid of old stuff. Old stuff can be clothes not worn in a year or outdated belief systems. Clean up and get with the times of what is current and works for you in the present.

2009 kicked my butt in terms of change - and some of it was painful. Often this pain can be due to our own creation – usually resistance. Here’s to transforming with grace and flow. Time to make room for possibilities…

It may be interesting to reflect on the last decade and dream about anticipated changes for the next decade. Many times we unconsciously recreate the same experiences. New things can only happen when you create the space. Time to shed and invite in true change. Why not?

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC     www.sagelead.com

Today is the time to work with nature’s energy of the new moon and plan for what you want more of in the new year. I am not talking about a resolution. Those don’t usually work past January 15th.

Take mental and emotional inventory of what you want more of next year. What served you, worked well. What didn’t you have this year that you want to have in your life? Focus on the possibilities - what you want to grow in your work and life. What you focus on expands and grows, and when you align it to the natural energies at play today, it makes it easier and more expansive.

Today is the day to plant the seeds on fertile ground. Befriend your imagination and plan for what if… What have you got to lose but the safety of what you currently know?

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC     www.sagelead.com

The best gift we can give loved ones over the holidays is to truly be present.

“The holidays are a good time to renew your heart connection with people. Make that your focus and priority. Spend more time enjoying people and their holiday spirit and it can help rekindle your holiday spirit. A great way you can enjoy more of the holiday spirit is by keeping your focus on genuinely appreciating and caring for others. Ask yourself each morning, ‘Who can I show a little more appreciation to, or who can I express more genuine care for today?’ It can be as simple as opening the door for someone or telling people that you appreciate them. Genuine gestures of care and appreciation are often remembered long after the holiday glitter is gone. You’ll find this is a fun gift for others and a big gift to yourself.”

Excerpts from Tips To Prevent Holiday Stress And Avoid Faking The Holiday Spirit article, Huffington Post Dec. 2009 by Doc Childre and Deborah Rozman, Ph.D

Courtesy of the Institute of HeartMath:

“Into your heart, pour generous quantities of love and care. Stir gently and sincerely. If the mixture is lumpy, add compassion and forgiveness and continue stirring ’til the lumps are dissolved. You may find bubbles of hope rising to the surface. Taste-testing at this point is encouraged. Although you will find the mixture already flavorful, you can enhance it by adding appreciation.
Appreciation for the qualities of your heart, for friends and family, or for this special time of year are all excellent flavor choices. Garnish with a sprig of joy and serve in large spoonfuls to everyone you meet this holiday season.”

Yesterday marked the Winster Solstice, the shortest day of the year. In ancient times, people would pray that the sun would come back. They didn’t know for sure if it would as they didn’t have access to as much science and information as we do today. So, in the dark of winter their faith was tested. They didn’t know if they had what it took – food, shelter, or emotional hardiness – to survive the winter.

I don’t know of anyone who isn’t going through major changes in their job, relationship, health or life. Depending upon your perspective, you may see these as opportunities or challenges. Much of the time this comes down to faith – that things will get better, somehow, someway, tomorrow. So much of it is managing yourself and others in the white space – during the transitionary time – which often is about managing your own fears and anxieties about the unknown. Many of us are experiencing growing pains but we can get through this together.

In reflecting on the past year, I saw many people’s faith – either in themselves, their company, world leaders, their neighbor or the world – tested. In college, I had an art professor who said, “Within the darks there are some lights and within the lights there are some darks.” Thank you Sister Dineen!

I invite you to take this time of winter that tests our patience and hope to reflect on what you find in your circumstances that is positive. I didn’t say necessarily what is easy or what feels good. What is for the greater good – for yourself, your family, your company or for the world? Hang your hat on this. Just for today.

Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC        www.sagelead.com

Does this sound contradictory? It is possible to be connected to your constituents but not be tied to your pervasive electronic device of choice - wireless laptop, blackberry, I-phone, cell phone? 

In this age of information, accessibility and turbulent changes, it’s understandable that you want to stay connected - to your customers, to your people, and to your suppliers. But, what does it mean to be connected? Is it to be personally on top of the needs, changes or ensuring this work gets done? How honest are you with yourself in making this distinction?

Without sleep and some sense of downtime you lose your edge – your ability to be on, energized and focused. Even your blackberry needs to be recharged occasionally. As a society we have changed our addictions from health, exercise, relationships, and work to our portable devices. What is driving this? Is it fear of losing the next deal? Fear of not being needed? Fear of not being the top performer? Does this little device really give you more control over these fears?

How do you recharge? Is it possible to schedule in time to unplug or discipline yourself to not respond to every ping or call? What does unplugging give you? I propose more balance and therefore ultimately better performance.

What have you got to lose other than freeing up some space on your hard drive?

What would happen if you had empty space? What would you fill it up with?

Copyright 2009    Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC      www.sagelead.com