Leading with Gratitude

Joy is the simplest form of gratitude... Karl BarthOne of the most powerful ways to grow success for you or your business in this new year is to focus on developing and maintaining a mindset of gratitude.

Happy new year.  I hope it’s a big one for you in your business and your life.  

In business, when you finally find success, it feels very, very good. Finally, after all of your hard work and dedication to your goal, you’ve arrived. It can often feel as if this success is owed you.  After all, weren’t you the one who put in all the hours to attain it?

It’s absolutely normal, healthy, and expected to feel a sense of pride when you reach a certain level in your business. You have a lot to be proud of, after all! But problems arise when, instead of feeling grateful for your success, you expect it instead.

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Success and Gratitude

Many business owners find that without gratitude in their lives, their businesses fail to deliver – in many different ways. Don’t be like them. Being self-absorbed to the point of believing success is owed to you is a slow poison to your business mindset, and in turn, your business itself.

Success in business – or in any area of our lives – is something that must be

  • planned,
  • focused on,
  • worked towards,
  • and above all, earned.

And, it must be appreciated, not taken for granted as something that is owed to us.

Appreciation

Your business knowledge, wisdom, experience and advice is worth sharing in order to help others achieve their own goals and dreams in business. In this way, you help “pay it forward”, in essence taking action on your feelings of gratitude and thankfulness for getting where you are today. And that’s why I share these tips with you.

You can express gratitude is by actively reaching out to your own business mentors, and thanking them for sharing their knowledge and experience with you. Your mentors have helped you get to your level of success, and letting them know that they are appreciated goes a long way towards creating that gratitude mindset that you need in business.

Keeping a gratitude journal is another simple way you can focus on your gratitude mindset. All you need to do is to get into the habit of writing out what you are grateful for each day. 

The success of your business may not rise or fall depending on your level of gratitude, but having a mindset that is full of gratitude will definitely help your business, and it will also help your overall life!

Be grateful and you will have more to be grateful for!

Steve Jobs’ Vision

Sad news with the death of visionary leader and creative genius Steve Jobs at just 56.  If you have never watched Steve Jobs inspirational 2005 Stanford Commencement Address on ‘How to Live Before You Die’ it is well worth your time.

Vale Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011

And in his own words:

“Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.”

Steve Jobs

Thank you Steve, for your vision, for following your inner voice and for the extraordinary gifts you have left to the world.

Tributes:

“Steve was among the greatest of American innovators – brave enough to think differently, bold enough to believe he could change the world, and talented enough to do it.”

Barack Obama, US President

“He always seemed to be able to say in very few words what you actually should have been thinking before you thought it.”

Larry Page, CEO Google

“For those of us lucky enough to get to work with Steve, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely.”

Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder and Chairman

“All of us would be touched every day … by products that he was the creative genius behind.”

Julia Gillard, Australian Prime Minister

“He was genuinely someone who changed the world.”

Tony Abbott, Australian Opposition Leader

Leave a comment below to add your tribute.

Mentoring Fact Sheet

A number of people have asked for a Mentoring fact sheet based on our recent article Seven Good Reasons to Set Up a Leadership Mentoring Program so we are happy to oblige.

You can download your mentoring fact sheet here:  Free Fact Sheet – Seven Good Reasons Why Mentoring Works


See below for resources that may help you develop an effective mentoring program:

Mentoring Adds Value

Mentoring valueThere are many ways that a mentoring program can add value to your company, association or organisation. Here are just some of them:

  • Mentoring is a very effective way to welcome new employees and induct them into your organisation’s culture and values or to support recently promoted employees.
  • Mentoring can offer effective support for minority groups or special employees and promote diversity.
  • A faciliated mentoring program can build a collegiate group which is more willing to share their experience and informal knowledge in a productive way.
  • Mentoring can assist in succession planning and the development of new leaders, provide a better basis for promotion and advancement decisions and shift high potential individuals onto the fast career track.

The messages that an invitation to participate in a mentoring program can be transformational.

QUOTE OF NOTE

“A lot of people don’t do great things because great things really aren’t expected of them and because nobody really demands they try.”
Steve Jobs

The power of demonstrating that great things are expected is immeasurable.  Mentoring really does add value.

Is there a risk your key people make you vulnerable?

risk you are vulnerableIn one of the seminars I present we do a quick organisational vulnerability audit or risk assessment. Regularly, participants list key person dependency as one of their organisation’s critical vulnerabilities.

The fact is that people do get hit by buses, laid low by the ‘flu, headhunted by competitors, or worse…

How well are you equipped to handle a risk such as the loss of one of your key team members?

What if it happened in the middle of a crisis? Or is there a risk that such an event would actually precipitate a crisis for you? How much valuable information or experience would you lose if you lost one of your key people? Can you afford the risk?

Easy risk management

One of your easiest protective actions is to ensure that your key individual’s second-in-charge is being mentored, coached and developed as a future leader and is aware of organisational issues beyond their responsibility.

Coaching or mentoring at each level in your organisation is a powerful way to encourage your team leaders and managers to think beyond their day-to-day responsibilities and contribute more to your business.  By recognising their value through a special coaching program you can also show your appreciation and develop their skills and commitment further at the same time as you reduce your own business risk.

Quote of Note

“There is no one who is successful today who has done the whole thing on their own …”

Jackie Stewart

I’ve heard some people say that training and developing people is a waste of resources because they might leave.

Smart leaders know that it is worse not to train and develop people, because there is a real risk they might stay!

See more details here on our Executive Coaching and Business Coaching Services

Investing in the development of your organisation’s current and future leaders is not just good risk negotiation, it’s essential to your long term business success.