In our August 2009 newsletter (http://www.msbcoach.com/Articles.php) we addressed passion and leadership. I hope you took the time to answer the questions addressed. If you did not, here they are again:

• What am I passionate about?
• Where did I begin to lose my passion?
• Did I compromise and if so where?
• What can I do to get my passion back?
• What is the price and am I willing to pay that price?

Passion is an important part of life and is especially important in the lives of leaders; however if we are not careful our passions can be dangerous. Have you ever heard the statement, “Crimes of Passion?”

When passion is unbridled, it can become an obsession. With passion, we drive ourselves. Passion attracts others to us. An obsession, on the other hand, controls us. Leaders who are obsessed are not passionate; they are controlled and become slaves to their own compulsions thus affecting those around them.

If you lead people out of fear or control, you are working from an obsession. If you think you have passion yet look behind you and see that no one if following, you may be leading out of obsession. Obsession kills you and your team. Passion inspires you and those around you. If you find yourself in the realm of obsession rather than passion, take these steps to restore your balance:

Evaluate your obsession.

What is the root source of the obsession?

Is your obsession for personal gain or control?

List three steps you can take each day to rechannel your obsession into a passion people can follow.

Find a trusted accountability partner to hold you to these three steps.

Passion is magical. You must have it to lead. Chuck Gallozi (http://www.personal-development.com/chuck) in his article titled “Developing Passion” gave 12 steps to deepen and develop you passion. They are as follows:

1. Take responsibility. The only bad hand you have been dealt in life was dealt by you. From today, “Don’t do things half-assed,” says Hugh Young, “If a thing is worth doing at all, it’s worth doing as well as you can possibly do it. Pick out something you think is worthwhile and do it or work at it with passion. Do it with all your might.”

2. You find what you look for. Instead of looking for the bad in your job or situation, look for the good. Look for the opportunities. Search for the solutions. Look for the way.

3. Make a plan. Once you’ve found some opportunities and solutions, make a plan of action. What should you avoid doing and what should you start doing now?

4. Make a decision. Now that you have a plan, decide to act on it. Set deadlines and start following your new road map to success. Enjoy the ride.

5. Stoke the fire of passion. To keep passion’s fire burning brightly, review the day’s events in the evening. Monitor your progress. Relish your achievements and learn from your mistakes.

6. Don’t douse the flames. You want to ignite your life with passion, but be careful of burnout. Work hard, but schedule breaks, leisure, entertainment, and family time. Don’t forget to reward yourself occasionally.

7. Recharge your batteries. Make time for the gym, sports, long walks, or meditation to relieve stress, refresh you spirit, and renew your energy.

8. “Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.” (Henry Miller)

9. Take brief “awareness breaks” throughout the day to remind yourself of the joy of being alive.

10. Avoid negative people and associate with enthusiastic people.

11. Share your zest for life with others. Brighten up their day. Their warm response will reinforce your passion.

12. Take “vitamins for the mind.” That is read or listen to motivational material to keep the flames burning.

© Chuck Gallozzi

At MSBCoach, we are passionate out leadership development, coaching and building high performance teams. If you would like to talk to us about opportunities to partner with MSBCoach please contact us at: info@msbcoach.com, 804-502-4319 or visit our sites:

www.msbcoach.com or www.emergingleader.info.

We hope to hear from you!

In my experience as a coach to emerging leaders from this generation and as a parent of a Millennial, there are challenges and strengths just like any other group.  We see in this generation a creative ability to multi-task and use technology to get things done more efficiently.  They tend to see everyone as being on the same playing field.  Organizations should be flat and everyone has the right to speak and to be taken seriously and judged on their merits, not on status or position.  The challenge is that the greatest strength can become the greatest weakness.  We know that multi-tasking can actually create an inability to focus and more mistakes in the long-run.  We know everything cannot be solved via text or email, that human interaction, soft skills, the ability to read and express proper body language is imperative to business success.  We also know that even in a flat organization a leader will rise even without a title.  So I think as with any generation, this generation brings amazing skills to the table.  They will also have the challenge of the school of hard knocks, which all of us will agree is a powerful teacher.

I will share a story with you.  I have always believed in everyone pulling their weight whether in a business or a family.  When my son was 16, I was having a difficult time getting him to keep the yard up.  I was a full time, single working mom (not to mention he needed to do this anyway to be responsible) and needed his help.  I was so frustrated with “nagging”.  I then began to think a little more, How can I motivate this kid, what inspires him?  Well, he likes to be in control, he wants to make his own decisions, he likes positive feedback and he likes to spend money.  I made him the yard director for the summer, gave him a budget and told him to spend it however he chose but the outcome was to be a great looking yard.  This feed all his needs.  I could not believe the pride he took in our yard.  What this means is that if you are leading a Millennial, you are going to have to think deeper than “just do this because I said so”.  “That dog don’t hunt!”  I don’t know if this is any different than it was with any other generational cohort.  The difference is this cohort is not afraid to ask why.  They want to attach meaning to their work – purpose.  Truth is, there is nothing wrong with that.  Everyone does not get the trophy at work but you can build a relationship (which is very important to Millennials) and mentor them to greatness.  This may be the next great generation.  Our ceiling should be their floor!  I think they can make amazing entrepreneurs.  They have funding money, technology, relationship support but they need to develop their interpersonal, leadership development and long term thinking skills and they can create success.  I believe all funding organizations should require a year of leadership/business coaching to be included in their funding to help ensure their success rather than handing over money from a good business plan to make better widgets.

I have found as a former executive and now executive coach the following steps help to keep executives at the top of their game:

Re-discovering authenticity through the following steps:

• Re-visit why you do what you do
• Are you still passionate – if so, about what, if not, what needs to be done
• What are your intrinsic and extrinsic motivations
• Who really knows you and you have given permission to speak into your life
• Are you taking care of your self holistically, body, soul and spirit – what does this look like for you
• Where to you give back and expect nothing in return
• What are your own personal values – does everything you are currently doing line up with this
• How and why do you invest in others
• What are you doing to develop future leaders
• What is your leadership legacy

I have personally found there are many executives still investing in personal and organizational leadership.  I believe leaders who have a vision for the future see leadership development as a necessity, not an option.  I have even seen many come to the realization, I need to invest in the leaders I have left now more that ever.  There is a lot of reorganization and restructuring going on.  This is a perfect time to invest in yourself and your team of leaders.

We are offering the first annual Authentic Leadership Summit 2010, Oct. 14 – 15.  We have strategically focused on “authenticity” and keeping the price low so executives from many different organizations can benefit.  Check it out at:  www.authenticleadershipsummit.com.  Below are some excellent comments to this question from three of our conference speakers:

“Executives are at their best when they are able to fully claim their role as leaders through leveraging their strengths, identifying self-defeating behaviors, and truly knowing themselves.”

“Learning resilience is the most important skill for executives in this economy.  When leaders are resilient they are able to carry their vision forward even in the hardest of times and inspire others to follow.”

Michelle Prosser, President – Energy Focus

“The educational needs of executives has changed a great deal since the economy imploded. There is a greater need to be with your peers to both network and learn. The extraordinary circumstances we face as executives today carry a heavy leadership burden. We need to be connected with other executives to help us understand that we are not alone in these tough times. The best source of education right now is to hear what my peers are doing to address the common challenges we face.”

David R. Phillips, CAE, RCE  Chief Executive Officer

“Because of the costs associated with travel, room and board, I believe that it makes more imminent the need for “digital” or online learning. I learned recently from a local company of a solution that would readily allow for virtual classrooms. People from all over the country perhaps even the world could share a classroom experience from their home locations.”

Bill Cooper, UVA Director of Diversity

It is amazing how many books have been written on leadership. I bet I own most of them! I love to read about leadership, however, one of the things I have realized is that if I am not careful, I am trying to act out everything I am reading. I am grateful for inspiring books and role models to look up to, but the truth for all of us is that we have to know ourselves and create our own personal leadership style.

I once heard a quote that has stuck with me, “All of us are born originals, but most of us will die carbon copies”. I want to be a leader who is authentic to myself and those I lead. I love this definition of cookie-cutter from wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn, “having the same appearance, as if mass-produced”.

I don’t think any of us want to live up to that definition as a leader. I encourage you to review who you are as a leader. It is important to allow others to shape and influence you, but it is more important that you know how to apply that to who you are and who you are not.

An authentic leader is not a cookie-cutter leader, no matter how good the cook-cutter is. An authentic leader knows their personal values, where those values came from and how they apply them in their leadership. You are the only one who can determine this. No one can decide it for you. You are the only you and you are not a cookie-cutter! Each of us are one of a kind, no one else has your story.

What do you think about cookie-cutter leadership? How do you stay above the line to be authentic?