Mindfulness for the leader in you

For the next two weeks, each of the iB-LIEVE blogs will be sharing the importance of mindfulness. My task is to share how this essential skill can be developed in order to enhance our leadership capabilities. Below is an example and practice suggestion from my own life experience.

Four years ago I volunteered at an education center, Alianza Americana ,in Leon, Nicaragua. It was a tremendous experience for a plethora of reasons. One of the major reasons was because I allowed myself time and space to simply be with me. I didn’t know it then, but I was building my capacity to be more mindful. I understand mindfulness as being present with who you are, where you are, and what you are doing.

In addition to teaching English and coordinating /facilitating leadership development programs, I spent countless hours reading, quietly walking through the streets, and sitting – just being still. With a pad of paper I reflected on my daily experience, the new knowledge I had acquired, and how I wanted to serve the global community. In short, I was purposefully pausing.

I believe that we develop mindfulness when we create space to understand, ask, reflect upon, and respond to questions such as “Who am I called to be? Where am I called to serve? and What am I called to do?” However, mindfulness is also practiced when we are present to all of our actions – even the mundane tasks. We will discuss this aspect of mindfulness more next week.

Let me leave you with an exemplary quote from Parker Palmer that shares ways in which to grow our capacity for mindfulness. He describes it as listening to the voice within, “How does one attend to the voice within? I have no particular methods to suggest, other than the familiar ones: solitude and silence, meditative reading and walking in the woods, keeping a journal…I simply propose that we need to learn as many ways as we can of ‘talking to ourselves.’” I look forward to talking with you, and I hope you find the time to talk more to yourselves.

Jonathan Kroll

t: @jonathan_kroll

e: jkroll@goibelieve.com

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Mindfulness for the professional in you

MINDFULNESS MEANS SIMPLICITY
Warren Buffett once said, “the business schools reward difficult complex behavior more than simple behavior, but simple behavior is more effective.” The key to capitalizing on that simple behavior is being mindful in decision making. Mindfulness enables us to become fully present, cultivates clarity, and increases self awareness in both life and work. Being aware of what's driving us and how we are feeling in the context of the present moment fosters insight and balanced thinking.

PRESENCE IN YOUR PROFESSION

Buffett also proclaimed, "It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and 5 minutes to lose it. If you think about that, you will do things differently." Whether we are talking about Wall Street or Main street, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to be present. Mindfulness has enabled me to take a journey of self discovery up and down the ladder of success in life, and more specifically, in the professional world. I didn't find success in my career until I became more mindful of where I was and what I was doing to get to where I wanted to go. I know that sounds like mumbo jumbo, but think about it like this: just like investing in stocks, with calculated risk comes reward. The best way to make the right risky decision is to be mindful of what's driving that decision: greed or green?

GREEN OVER GREED

Warren Buffett is a prime example of how mindfulness in big business leads to green over greed. He not only masters business investing in conservative style, but he also leads a simple life. His leadership exemplifies this: Among the many companies he owns, he communicates with his CEO's once a year to lay down two rules: 1) Don't lose any of your shareholder's money and 2) Don't forget rule #1. In every business decision Buffett makes, he holds his shareholders in mind before anybody else. I believe that this is the main reason for his success. He doesn't take huge risks on behalf of his stockholders, "I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over." Recently, a reporter asked him why he doesn't invest in high flying tech companies. He responded that no matter how profitable a company is, if he doesn't understand that specific business, he won't invest in it because that would be a disservice to his shareholders and himself. Buffett mirrors this mindful mentality in his personal life. He lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha that he bought after he got married 50 years ago.

ADVICE FOR THE PROFESSIONAL IN YOU
Buffett's sound behavior, adept decision making, and calm demeanor exemplifies the benefits of mindfulness in the workplace. I believe these skills will help any profession breed success. Below, I've highlighted some key points that I've learned through practicing mindfulness in my professional life. These techniques enable me to gain the clarity I need to make more informed business decisions.

• Understand your co-workers, management, employees, etc. When we connect with the people we work with more efficiently, we become more in tune with ourselves and thus more productive in the workplace.
• Listen/respond effectively to complex situations. Try not to let your emotions react first to conflict. It is important to be patient and listen first, then pause to gather your thoughts in order to make a more informed decision rather then be blind and impulsive.
• Don't let public opinion guide you. We are conditioned in the business world to follow the trend and satisfy the demands of the corporate world by making sure everybody is happy. That doesn't necessarily work when it comes to finding success. Be creative and don't ever be afraid to buck the trend. Human potential is limited when we don't think outside the box.
• Balance your personal life with your professional life. It is important to try and separate work from play. Its never a good thing to bring home the stress of work into the home. We must strive to alleviate stress from the work place by keeping focus on the things that make us happy in our personal lives.
• Keep it simple, stupid. Thinking big doesn't necessarily require intricate thought processes to build the foundation of an idea or solution. Always take things one step at a time- it helps produce pure thoughts and insights and helps to avoid complexity altogether. Keeping it simple more often then enables us to be happier at work and thus make more efficient, informed decisions.

One last thing: Do things when opportunities come into the present moment, for you may not have the luxury of capitalizing on the insight down the road. Its fine to go through dry spells in the business world, but when you become aware of an idea that yields genuine opportunity, seize the moment because its yours.

Helpful references:
The Tao of Warren Buffett by Mary Buffett and David Clark

by Raju Kansagra

e: rkansagra@goibelieve.com

Mindfulness for the athlete in you

MY ATHLETIC JOURNEY

Those who know me can attest to the extreme time and energy I spent training as an athlete. My athletic journey consisted of endless hours of physical training, many relationships built and then lost, and it took me from a small town in Ocean, New Jersey to Sacred Heart University, and then on to Vienna, Austria all in the spirit of chasing my dream to play football for a living. After this journey came to a close, I ended up as a Coach in West Point, NY but more importantly I have ended up right HERE, right NOW. Ironically, it is the same place that I was in Ocean Township and the same place that I was at Sacred Heart and the same place that I was in Vienna. The only difference between those places and where I am currently is that I feel more present and self-aware today. That is, I have gained an understanding of who I am, what I am doing, and why I am doing it. Answers to these questions, although hard to come by, will prepare you for the ups and downs of sport and the trials and tribulations of life.

A SHIFT IN AWARENESS

I noticed the first shift in my self-awareness after a year on injury leave from football. I had a hairline fracture in one of my vertebrae, which kept me partially bed ridden and out of the game for a year. After returning to the field, I can remember the instant that my awareness shifted. It was the first play of the second half of my first game back. To other players and the fans, it may have looked like a routine play, but from my perspective I felt an absolute SHIFT in the way I saw myself as a person and an athlete. I began to notice my breathing, my heart beating, and my elation to be back on the field. I was inspired and felt overwhelmed with luck, remembering the all to common saying, you don’t know what you have until you’ve lost it. I realized that I had lost it, but now I had gained it back.

BEING PRESENT

Every game and practice from that play on was an opportunity to express my enjoyment for all that I found great about the sport of football: the challenge, the team, the escape from stressors of everyday life. Self-awareness for me was living as present as possible, striving not to worry about the past or the future and enjoying everything I did for the inherent characteristics of the activity itself. It was focusing on the now and not just on searching for an identity or accomplishing my future goals. After my shift, I continued training and playing for many years. I had great games and poor games, great coaches and poor coaches, but I realize that I played best and found the most joy in competing when I slowed my life and training down to recognize who I was and why I did what I did. To stay present, I asked myself, “What motivates me? What are my strengths/weaknesses? What are my likes and dislikes? How can my thoughts and emotions be more productive?” I reminded myself constantly that the reasons for my hard work were not only to become a better athlete but to also learn about aspects of my SELF that I could use beyond the playing field.

PROGRESS IS A PROCESS

Gaining a deeper understanding of myself and searching for the answers to these fundamental questions is an ongoing process and certainly did not stop when I hung up my cleats. Because of this, I am thankful that my football career has given me an appreciation for the significance of such an undervalued concept as self-awareness. This is the perspective I try to embody even now, even after my days of playing football are over.

ADVICE FOR THE ATHLETE IN YOU

The concept of self-awareness is easily lost in the fast-paced world of competitive athletics. We forget to consider the important questions and find ourselves inquiring about superficial things: What if coach thinks I am not good enough? How much money can I make? What if I play bad? These are distracting questions that I believe will have much less relevance if/when you concern yourself only with what you are doing right HERE and NOW and even more importantly of who you ARE at this moment. Who you are at this moment is born out of an awareness of your everyday thoughts, actions, and emotions and can be most easily understood from tuning into the present moment. So before you step onto the field, ask yourself these fundamental questions:

• Why do I like playing (name your sport)?
• Who would I be if I wasn’t playing (sport)?
• What has my sport taught me that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise?

To learn more about self-awareness in athletics, I have found the writings of Dan Millman, Bruce Lee, and Jerry Lynch to be particularly helpful.

Stay BELIEVING, Make the SHIFT,

Pete Athans #27

e: pathans@goibelieve.com

fb: Peter Athans

Leadership for the change maker in you

The idea of being a role model has changed. Many people seen as “cool” don’t always set the best example, yet we’ve looked up to them. In a time when it is important to nurture young leaders, we must provide positive examples that showcase the outcomes of hard work, creativity, and success. By redefining “cool” as one who creates the change he or she believes in, young dreamers will have a new breed of role models to look up to. In a society bereft with less-than-stellar examples in the popular media, where does one look for inspiration?

In Maury Klein’s book, The Change Makers, he examines the lives and accomplishments of 26 entrepreneurs whose imagination impacted the economic landscape. Klein describes the accomplishments of these individuals in brief profiles and summarizes their visions and their strengths. By breaking down the 26 entrepreneurs into five categories; producers, organizers, technologists, merchandisers, and investors, Klein categorizes the skills these change makers used to help develop partnerships and reach success.

Klein’s book is an important reminder that we all have the capacity to be change makers, leaders, and even role models. But let us not forget that our actions are always observed and that our failures are sometimes more important than our successes. Let’s continue to use those change makers that have come before us as guides so that we understand their failures, embrace their hard work, and become inspired by their creativity. Let’s also be the change makers that we can be in our own lives and communities.

By Eddie McCaffrey

e: emccaffrey@goibelieve.com

t: @GOiBELIEVE

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Leadership for the professional in you

Since graduating from college in 2004, I’ve worked within 2 organizations and reported to more than 8 bosses. Needless to say, in just 6 years, I’ve seen a lot of leadership. Whether good or bad, each boss taught me valuable lessons in leadership. I’ve blended them together to form 6 guiding principles, which make up my management style today. Below, I briefly describe these principles, which will help you learn what to do and what not to do as a leader in business.

Boss #1: Attitude

My first boss taught me how to maintain composure and handle adversity through keeping a positive and realistic attitude. He taught me that no matter what the circumstance we have the ability to control our reactions. He embodied this principle and it has stuck with me ever since. At that time, the company was in the middle of a major acquisition and my boss’s future at the company was uncertain at best. However, he never let his circumstance affect his ability to lead his team effectively. His positive attitude and composure has made him a very memorable leader in my life and will continue to do so throughout my career.

Boss#2: Communication

My second boss was a little different. At the time, I absolutely loved working for him. He was “the worker’s boss” that everyone could relate to. I was surprised when he didn’t last even a year in the position. Looking back on it, I learned that while he communicated well with his employees on a personal level, he never strived to communicate with us on a professional level. He did not clearly communicate his expectations and as a result, our team lacked organization and never performed at capacity. At his expense, my second boss taught me how and why communicating strategy and clear expectations are valuable to a team’s success.

Boss#3: Discipline

My third boss purely lead by example. He was the “soldier” among all my other bosses, and he was the guy who carried each member on his shoulders. Although he embodied an extreme case of this principle, he taught me how important it is not to only talk the talk but walk the walk as well. Although his micro-management style made the work experience very stressful, he pushed me to deliver bigger results than I had ever expected from myself. He showed me first-hand what it was like to step up and be accountable, something I pride myself on today.

Boss#4: Grace

My fourth boss was a legend within our industry (logistics). Among all of the qualities he possessed, he was undoubtedly the most graceful leader I had the pleasure of working for. Leadership came naturally to him. He always had a quick and insightful comment to offer and his high energy would motivate any meeting he would be involved in. He taught me that leading is also an action and how you perform that action can be done with grace.

Boss#5: Building Relationships

Of all my experiences with different bosses, my fifth boss taught me the most valuable lessons on how not to lead. Although he was a nice person, he was a very poor leader. Among all the negative qualities he possessed, one stood out the most. It was his lack of relationship skills that prevented him from being an effective leader. He did not take an interest in anyone’s personal life nor the struggles they were facing professionally. Instead, he dictated orders to us that were directly passed down from his superiors. There was no passion behind his work and as a result, he led one of the worst performing divisions of the organization. Above all, my fifth boss taught me that to manage employees’ professional lives is not enough. Good managers get to know their employees’ personal interests to better understand and appreciate them.

Boss#6: Fun

My sixth boss was the exact opposite of boss number five. He was all about building personal relationships with his team so that he could inspire them to strive for bigger and better results. His way of establishing strong relationships was with the use of his unique and very witty personality. He showed me that having a good sense of humor is a vital part of being a successful leader and that having fun with coworkers will not only make for a much more enjoyable work experience but will increase productivity. This is something I implement daily to enable a fun and outgoing office environment.

THERE'S NO "I" IN LEADER

Although all of my previous bosses have taught me valuable lessons, there are some other qualities that have become more important to me over the years. Out of all the great leaders I’ve worked with, I’ve noticed two overarching themes. These are what I believe to be the hidden secrets of successful leadership. First, great leaders believe in the work they do as well as the work of their staff. Great leaders always support and encourage their staff’s efforts and projects. Second, they lead with open minds and open ears. They listen to their employees and welcome suggestions and criticisms. At the end of the day, they realize more than anyone that not only is there no “I” in TEAM, but there also happens to be no “I” in LEADER.

By Joe Lamendola

e: jlamendola@goibelieve.com

t: @joelamendola

fb: Joe Lamendola

Leadership for the leader in you

With all of the March madness from the NCAA basketball tournaments, it was only appropriate to title this blog, The BIG Dance. However, this blog shares two metaphors, dance metaphors (literally) that highlight four key takeaways important for successful leadership.

A LEADERSHIP EXERCISE

This past December I traveled to Nicaragua to facilitate a 3-day leadership conference for about twenty young change-makers. The conference coordinators, Oscar and Eira, showed me a teambuilding / leadership development activity I had never seen before. This is how it worked. They asked all the participants to begin dancing. The goal was to dance in a way that motivated others to follow and copy your rhythm and moves. After about fifteen minutes of dancing, there were two large groups displaying two different moves. This exercise was fantastic for a number of reasons. On one hand it was fun and got us energized. But at a deeper level, two important messages for leaders were in play. The two participants who were the initiators of the dance move, either consciously or subconsciously modeled dance moves that others could participate in. The two dance leaders were clearly skilled and possibly trained in dancing. But for the purposes of this activity, they selected dances that encouraged the least-skilled (possibly myself) to participate. The other key takeaway is that these dance leaders enabled the supporters to share their own flavor to shine forth. Instead of demanding the supporters to follow the dance move exactly, they allowed for the supporters to add their own touch.

FROM BALCONY TO DANCE FLOOR

The other dance metaphor is not so much about moves, but about the dance space. Back in the day, high school and some college dances would take place in a gymnasium where the students would tear up the dance floor (i.e., the basketball court) or devour the refreshments from the balcony. As leaders, it is important to spend time on the dance floor and on the balcony. This metaphor very much relates to the message from my blog last week. Being on the balcony is the reflection piece. This is the time when we gain perspective by seeing the big picture. We can look onto the dance floor and see who is dancing with you, who is sitting against the wall, etc. However, if we stay on the balcony, we won’t be getting our dance on. As leaders, it is also very important for us to make a move to floor. This is where the action happens. This is where we get our groove on. This is where the work happens.

ADVICE FOR THE LEADER IN YOU

So, as you shake your booty onto the rest of the way, remember these four key points to successful leadership.

• Model leadership in a way that others can relate to and understand. If our actions are too difficult to follow or our demands are too lofty, our supports will lose interest and begin supporting others.
• Allow for the flavors of others to shine forth. By supporting others in making the dance move their own, we encourage them to get involved at a deeper level.
• Great leaders get to the balcony. Leadership happens best when we can take a moment to purposefully pause and create space to see the big picture.
• Great leaders dance! Our dreams become reality when we get to the dance floor and make things happen.

In peace,

Jonathan Kroll

t: @jonathan_kroll

e: jkroll@goibelieve.com

fb: Jon Kroll