Einstein said, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.”

As a Leader a key piece of your job is to clearly articulate your vision and get others excited about it and acting on it. If you don’t have followers, you aren’t a leader.

This task requires you to leverage imagination and empathy. First, you imagine a world that is different than what you currently see and experience. Second, you empathize with your constituents. Empathy requires that, if you don’t have their experience, as JK Rowling says, you use your imagination to empathize with them. This means you “feel with” them and/or create an idea of what you think their experience is. In doing so, you are best able to translate your vision and articulate why it should matter to them.

Rowling says Empathy is the rare gift we humans have that separates us from many other creatures of the world. We can “learn and understand without experience.”

And we are all gifted in one way or another with our ability to refuse to know. When we don’t exercise our empathy muscle, “we become masters at colluding in apathy.”

When you don’t have empathy for your constituents, they feel it and you are disconnected. They are not onboard – don’t get it or don’t care. It is your ability to enter your constituents’ world that will truly allow you to understand what is required of you – and them – to achieve a different world together.

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

Whether you are a student of life or leadership, be honest, life and leadership are hard work. Don’t you occasionally want the cliff notes or to test out of the exam?

Don’t you want to cut through the heavy lifting, the pain and muck to get to the glory?

True leadership means embracing your failure, strengthening your courage and cultivating your imagination to try yet again to create a better world – whether it is in your organization or at home.

What good is failure? How does it serve us? As JK Rowling says it helps us strip away the essentials that matter. For it is only when you face your greatest fear and survive that you are truly liberated. As Rowling says in her wonderful commencement speech at Harvard, hitting rock bottom is the most solid foundation one can build upon because there’s no place to go but up!

Our outer reality is only a reflection of what we have mastered within our selves.

Said another way by Greek author Plutarch, “What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.”

So you can start outside and make changes – and this will inevitably change something about your internal workings. Or you can begin inside working on your perspective with a dream or vision and the outside world will give you feedback molding and shaping you. Either way the two are inextricably bound. So, your starting point is irrelevant as you will land in the same place. Anything worthwhile has some stones in it’s path. These are gifts to strengthen your resolve to keep going.

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

Fall down 7 times, get up 8. This is an ancient Japanese proverb. I’ve been told the literal translation is: “Always rising after a repeated fall.” Sticking with it after not getting the results you want, time and again. That is dedication.

Commitment requires you to be resolved no matter what challenges life throws at you.

Meditation requires you go back to your breath or focal point, no matter how distracted you get. Just keep bringing your awareness back. I had many stops and starts for years before I was able to develop a consistent, daily meditation practice. And I was only able to do this with an energy lift from my class while going through an intensive teacher training on the subject. Yep. It took that much effort to get me to stick with it most of the time. Am I perfect at it? No.

Because I am human and I allow life to get in the way, I occasionally miss a practice. The point is to keep trying with the knowing that I can get back to it and it produces results.

Am I perfect at all my commitments? No.

My belief is that if I keep trying, I will achieve my dream or goal.

Ultimately it comes down to expectations and reality checks. Do you expect yourself to get it, whatever “it” is on the first, second or third try? Do you give up? Or do you learn from failing and trying again? Why does our culture not value failure as being the ultimate teacher – if one chooses to get up again? When was the last time you practiced compassion and forgiveness toward yourself?

Commitment, Meditation: off-focus 7 times, on-focus 8. In these times of ADHD, we could all use a little discipline and re-orientation now and again. Perfection not required. Only those with an open heart and willingness need apply.

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

Many of you are two weeks into your New Year’s resolution – addressing something you want to change about yourself or your life. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, defines “commitment” as: “The act of answering: solving … a formal expression of opinion, will or intent.”

What problem are you trying to solve – being too heavy, too loud, out of shape, bored? What do you believe about this problem or opportunity? What do you REALLY have the will to address? As Merriam says, are you emotionally “impelled” to do it?

Impelled implies a force that you need to exert. This is key – and why many resolutions are dead by February 1st.

If you really want to stop or start something – you need a lift off to get you going. Shake up the status quo.

Step 1. Enlisting others for a push, pull or support is critical: your boss, peers, spouse, kids, your best friend or a formal support group.

Step 2. Try.

Step 3. Try again.

Step 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as often as necessary.

Real commitment to a change implies you are convinced about your decision, belief, direction. Your belief must be unshakeable, despite setbacks or falling off focus. Expect these. They will happen.

As Mary Robinson, the first President of Ireland said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”

This is commitment – sticking with it – and trying again, and again and again. If it were easy, it wouldn’t require a Commitment. Really. So, yesterday was a miss. What is your “again” today?

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

Seth Godin has a way of cutting to the core on an issue in a really impactful way.

Sometimes it’s the simplest idea, just executed – or executed well – that only matters.

Want to lose 10 pounds? Eat less. Exercise more.

Simple formula.

WE are the ones who complicate matters – our physiology, our will, our fears. There is no shortage of reasons WHY we CAN’T do something.

If you are trying to achieve something that you’ve been working on a for a while, I have two simple questions for you to reflect on:

Do you REALLY want it?

WHY?

If you REALLY want it and it’s for an energizing, positive reason, the rest is easy. The commitment and motivation are 80% of the ingredients. If it’s compelling enough, you can find a way to get the support, tools or resources you need. The hardest part is figuring out what you want and why.

…or being honest with yourself if you are really COMMITTED to it.

If you are not committed, drop it. Save yourself, your spouse, your boss, your parents a lot of heartache, time and money.

Sometimes, the hardest word is no.

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

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

Ben and Jerry’s gave out ice cream to the protesters on Wall Street this week.

This action generated a lot of questions for me: is it possible to be a corporate entity and support those protesting “corporate greed” and asking banks and their leaders to be accountable for money they received via the government bailout?

Is it possible to be a person or corporation that benefits from the current business models but to also see that there may be other possibilities?

Is it possible to fight for social causes and be concerned with making money/delivering value to your clients and shareholders?

At what point does too much money become too much?

What can social advocates and business leaders learn from each other?

Can we be “one of them” and also “one of us?” How do we dance the the dance of duality and remain in dialogue to foster creative solutions?

We only need to look as far as our political leaders to see that once we get positional and dig our heels in, solutions are stymied. Staying connected and dialoguing is the goal. When that stops, game over.

One thing I do know – despite our many flaws, we live in a great country and we need each other now more than ever to get out of this mess alive. Can we dance in the gray areas? Can it be yes, and?

Yes, we can’t be naive to agendas. Yes, a little ice cream can go a long way to smoothing edges and satiating hungry bellies.

What’s your take on it?

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

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “My Life Is My Message.” We all know what kind of message his life sent… facilitating non-violent peace by his actions and serving as a spiritual leader to a nation. He undertook what no one believed possible – to get British rule out of India AND to do it in a non-violent way.

We all have thoughts and plans – but what do your actions say about you and your life? What kind of leadership do you demonstrate by your actions? Is it in alignment with what or who you think you are – or want to be?

How you lead your life is constantly sending a message to those around you. We are all the artists, architects and musicians of our lives. Are you throwing paint on a canvas and seeing what sticks? Are you deliberately drawing straight, controlled lines? If you’ve lost your imagination – then it’s time to find more material – grist for the mill –  to better align yourself to the message of your life. It is your response to the life that finds you that truly articulates your message.

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

You may be wearing a mask this weekend for Halloween. It’s the one time of year where we are out there and honest with the mask we are wearing.

Yet we all wear a mask everyday. We wear a mask every time we don’t speak our truth. We are hiding behind some other person or way of being because….

we want to be loved

we want to be accepted

we want to please

we want to be successful

we want…

you name it. The list goes on.

Whenever we are not true to ourselves – stepped into the full integrity of our own shoes – we are out of alignment. Walking around wearing a mask expends so much more of our energy than we need to. Think how freeing it would be if we could let down our mask and could be more of ourselves. What’s behind the mask? Fear.

We hold ourselves back because we are afraid:

Of someone else’s reaction

Of not being loved

Of failing

Of….

It’s as hard and simple as loving and accepting yourself without restraint. Try this on for size: “What you think about me is none of my business.” If you truly loved yourself would you care what I or anyone else thinks about what you do or say?

Therein lies the challenge: To embrace who you fully are without restraint.

So, Happy Halloween. Wear your mask and practice allowing your true self to shine through. It can give you the courage to take down the other mask more often after Halloween.

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

“If experience was so important, we’d never have anyone walk on the moon.” (By Doug Rader)

Sometimes you just have to trust your intuition. We are living in times where old structures, identities – what we have known to be true - are falling away or dying – because they don’t work. You can’t lie to yourself anymore about who you are or what your purpose is. Companies can’t cut corners on integrity anymore.

The times are calling for new vision, courage and the bold audacity to reinvent yourself or your business.

It’s time to clean out and reboot.

…And lean into the wind of possibility.

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