Check out Mike Myatt’s 5 Leadership Tips for 2012.

He makes some wonderful points – and I agree with his areas. Yet I suggest collapsing the areas and have a concerted focus on one area that will impact the other four areas.

Many of my executive coaching clients focus on changing 3-5 areas over the course of a year. This dissipates effort and can marginalize results. I have found that consistent and concerted effort in one leverage area can give you greater results in a deep, sustained way which can be a better return on your investment of time and energy.

In my post yesterday, I made this radical suggestion – to just focus on one thing. When one more effectively manages the white space it can support being more present. Living in the now and making minute-by-minute choices within a long-term perspective will transfer to the kind of choices Myatt suggests.

If one is truly living in the present then they: don’t miss opportunities, postpone decisions or numb themselves to feeling okay about not spending time with family, they listen more, are more curious to learn beyond knowledge, are more engaged, and are aware if they do want to pick up that book.

Living in the whitespace to support mindful leadership could be a cornerstone for Myatt’s tips. What do you think?

By the way, Mike I am so impressed with the volume of reading you do – and I am an avid reader myself. I’m wondering if you read 10 less books and focused more on being versus doing, how your leadership experience might be different? Just a thought that came to me while I sat idle for a moment before finishing writing this post.

© Copyright 2012 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.         www.sagelead.com

…Or in some cases let there be white space.

Whether you are leading your business, life or family, I suggest exercising more of just one behavior that can make all the difference: manage the white space. This means:

• Giving yourself more breathing room
• Exercising the option to say no more
• Not jam-packing your day by scheduling every minute

If you’re like me – a recovering perfectionist – I sometimes schedule down time – I block an hour or two, a day or a week.

Allow downtime where you do things to foster:

• Insight
• Integration
• Reflection
• Creativity
• Renewal and Energy

If you can’t manage yourself and your own energy, then you can’t manage or lead your constituents: whether they are your board, employees, customers, spouse or children.

Since all relationships ultimately are connected to the relationship you have with yourself, and you are all you can control – it starts and ends with you.

The white space is the seed that ultimately leads to being more present. The ability to be more present will give you all the rest: answers and support you need to manage whatever comes up this year.

If 2011 was a year of challenge and transformation, 2012 promises to be a year of possibility – integrating and solving the seemingly impossible…magic!

© Copyright 2012 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.         www.sagelead.com

Deep insight, intensive workshops, breakthrough coaching sessions, a cataclysmic life event… these all are catalysts for change. These are the events that many wanting change seek.

We can come off these events with a high, with a great uplift in our motivation or a low searching for meaning, answers.
THEN, reality sets in and the heavy lifting of integrating these events – emotional and mental shifts and behavior change – into our daily living sets in.

This is where I see the need for an uncommon practice to take root: realistic optimism. How do you stay optimistic and steady with your practice of behavior change despite what you know, despite how hard it may be, despite the lack of support you may face in your environment? How do you keep the faith and believe you can do it? How do you acknowledge the incremental, daily changes you do make?
Regardless of what others say, savor what you know to be true. Savor your improvements. These are the roots that grow great fruit.

© Copyright 2011 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved. www.sagelead.com

“To attain knowledge, add things everyday. To attain wisdom, remove things everyday” (By Lao Tzu).

Are you making a new year’s resolution or do you really want to set a different intention about how you live your life? The statistics with resolutions are not good. It’s over by January 15th typicallly. But a deeply-held personal intention with focus and action behind it, can be different.

We live in a culture that always wants more – more of ourselves, more from others, move “stuff.” The reality is, we are stuffed. I propose the focus be on what are you going to stop doing? What will you release, remove, let go of in your life – at home, at work, in your relationships?

For those local, come join me for an abundance meditation tomorrow, new year’s day at noon – and every month thereafter – the first Saturday of the month. The way to having an abundant life or business is to stop doing the things that no longer serve you and allowing, creating space for new things to emerge. Live in the white space.

2011 promises to be a year of transformation – let’s go with grace versus kicking and screaming. This is how to live a strategic life – one that harnesses your passion and integrates your experience to select – and deselect – the wise choices. Happy Different Year!

For more details, check here.

Today, France celebrates it’s independence with fireworks, as we in the U.S. did, just 10 days ago.

The storming of the Bastille is the symbol of the victory of the French people against the Monarchy. What started as a revolt became a Revolution that changed the face of France’s policy forever.

France put in place a Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen, defining a set of individual and collective rights for all the people, regardless of their estate. This is very similar to what happened in the United States, however the U.S. was being ruled at a distance by the King of England. Interesting that our declarations occured just 13 years apart from each other in the 18th century.

Both stories are inspirational in that they show, it is possible, even when your head thinks you are “out numbered,” to fight for what you believe in – and win, against all odds. And the energy and committment of small numbers of people can be more powerful than weapons and large numbers.

We need to remember this as we continue to hold the flame for enforcing basic human rights around the world. Many other countries are not as fortunate as France and the U.S. And, we all still need to stay vigilant with how our elected officials govern, particularly in these turbulent times.

Anything is possible.

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

It’s easy to lead in good times. Sometimes all it takes to be perceived as a strong leader is to just be in the right place at the right time and take advantage of the opportunity at your feet.

But true leadership is demonstrated when someone makes tough choices, tradeoffs, or takes a courageous stand when times are tough and uncertain.

We are seeing a number of our clients doing this now. They may not have regained their complete stride back but have felt enough of an uptick in their businesses that the time is right to bolster investment in their talent – especially after the previous 18 months were many leaders were asked to cut back and do much more with significantly fewer resources.

We have had a number of our clients make significant investments in development opportunities for their senior leaders this quarter, which is giving them a renewed perspective and energy jolt. Many are revamping or creating for the first time, development programs aimed at fostering strategic thinking and navigating the whitewater environment of today.

We partner with our clients to create or facilitate these kind of high impact experiences that are embedded in the context of solving significant business challenges. We continue to “receive rave reviews” with sustainable results.

Please don’t hesitate to call for a consultation today. 203-730-2103.

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

The article in The Huffington Post today by Robert Lanza is interesting, not just because of his provocative message – scientist are now starting to work on experiments that explore the thought that perhaps we are more than purely physical – maybe even spiritual. (We know we have consciousness in a way that no other creature on earth does) – but also because of the  heartwarming story he tells about the day he just hopped the trolley and went to Harvard because he wanted to meet a Harvard doctor who could help him with his experiment. It sounds like a scene from a movie.

Dr. Lanza implies that this encounter was a seed for reinforcement of his lifelong quest to understand more about life through scientific inquiry.

When Stephen Kuffler, the “world-famous” neurobiologist engages Robert, the boy, he doesn’t “shush” him away but instead he listens to him and invites him inside the building where he does indeed introduce him to one of his colleagues. It’s a very human moment that we come to understand had a profound impact on Dr. Lanza. One wonders if this scene happened today, would the individual be too busy answering emails or trying to secure grants to give an aspiring next generation scientist’s brave inquiry and venture any attention – let alone invite a stranger into the building?

What can you do today to listen to, or inspire a tween or teen to pursue their questions or dreams? Just think, if Bill Gates or Steve Jobs didn’t pursue their curiosity and drive while coming of age, what would we all be typing on?

Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC   All rights reserved.   www.sagelead.com

“You do what you have to do…” I heard it again this morning.

Says who? Who says you HAVE to do something? What DO you Have to do? Who decides?

I find that this is a pervasive paradigm that I hear multiple times a day from:

• An executive who is working globally taking calls at 5 am, 10 am, 1 pm, 6 pm and 11 pm AND managing meetings and emails inbetween.
• A working Mom who says she doesn’t have more quality time with her kids.
• A mid-career professional who “can’t get a job” in their field and takes something way below skill level to “get by.”

The language is limiting, not-strategic, and defeatist and energy-draining. It negates the notion of choice and control. I haven’t been living in a cave the last couple of years – I am aware of the economic downturn, the global political climate, the environmental crisis – should I go on?

The key question that a sage leader asks is – what do I REALLY NEED to do to achieve my goals? Where do I have choices? What are the choices? What kind of focus and discipline do I need to stick to my choices?

The sage leader stays in the space of proactivity versus reactitivity – especially in times of uncertainty and crisis. Often a shift really comes down to going back to basics: delegate, being willing to let go and not trying to do everything – and all at once. What is the one thing that will reset your view – What DO you WANT to do?

Why? What will it get you?

© Copyright 2010 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC  All rights reserved.  www.sagelead.com

I don’t think we can give enough weight to how our beliefs shape what we manifest in our day-day lives. The Sage Leader is one who understands the power of his or her mind and the power of the words he or she uses.

We become what we think about and what we talk about. The problem is, we are not always aware of what our mind is thinking below the surface. “The devil is in the details!” Below the surface is what we have absorbed or what has been conditioned into us. It is amazing how, a phrase or look someone gave us 10, 20, or 30 years ago can have such a profound effect on how we perceive ourselves and how we navigate through our lives and our work.

Maybe someone said you were brillliant – and you believed it – rightly or wrongly – in “absolute” terms. Maybe someone said you were not too bright – and you believed them.

The Sage Leader is one who excavates and mines her mind - she explores and looks at her underlying beliefs. Which beliefs serve you to be as great as you can be? Which ones serve you to help others be their best selves? Which ones don’t serve you?

How committed are you REALLY to maximizing your life and your contribution as a leader? How CONVICTED are you? Catch yourself – just for today – doing or saying something that is empowering and expansive.

Let the rest fall away.

© Copyright Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC    All Rights Reserved.

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