Link: http://gaian.com/view_newsletter.php?id=21

We are continuing with our series that highlights the Law of Attraction in use through Five Transformational Competencies for Leadership. Again, this is discussing how the things a leader thinks about and talks about creates, or manifests, the physical reality around them and how to use that force to fabricate an amazing future. We use this framework to provide some order to the process of leadership, allowing the leader to focus on the things that make the most difference with their time and efforts. These competencies, by themselves, can make a really big difference in the success of a leader. To get a huge difference, we also work at a deeper level of how we create our environment, our present, and our future. It is not only what we do every day, but how we think about it, plan it, and talk about. It is how we actually feel about the things that are going on in our life that determines what comes to us or does not.

The basis of this conversation is the Law of Attraction. Simply put, this law states that what we think about becomes our reality. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it is simple. All we have to do is become conscious of the reality we create through our thoughts and words. This is the deepest and most spiritually connected piece of work for the leader. Now, it is not enough to just know what it is that you are thinking about. A true leader, in first leading their own path, will take the brave step of taking absolute responsibility for their own thoughts and consequently their own circumstances. From there, that leader will begin to create a new future.
Commit to the Future

As well as knowing your thoughts as a leader, you must also know your feelings. In the largest sense we are really only concerned with two sets emotions here: love and trust, or fear and doubt. Understanding how you can create a different path depending on the emotional state you are in supercharges your ability to lead.

Today’s article talks about the second competency, Commitment to the Future. While we call this the action part of transformation, it literally refers to the conscious act of starting to live out your vision of the future. I once saw one of my teachers at an event celebrating the end of a long development process. He was in his late 70’s at the time, jitterbugging away at 2 am. I was inspired and thought to myself, I want to be dancing like that when I am that age. It later occurred to me, when would I start? If I’m not dancing now, what are the odds that I will be in 30 years? Commitment means starting to dance now, today, rather than later, someday.

So, take a few minutes, take some notes, and change your life – right now.
Cheers,
Jeff

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Link: http://gaian.com/view_newsletter.php?id=20

Envision a Compelling Future

Our last few newsletters have focused on transformational competencies for leaders. Today we begin a five part series that deepens this discussion to an element that is vitally important to all of us who follow a creative path in this world. More specifically, we will talk about how the things a leader thinks about and talks about creates, or manifests, the physical reality around them and how to use that force to fabricate an amazing future.

Earlier articles have talked about the larger systems that leaders engage. This is crucial content, as all leaders are actively engaged with social systems. Maps like we presented provide a means to navigate through uncertain times. We also talked about competencies that leaders can cultivate to make them more skillful in working with the people who make up organizations, teams, and community groups. Now, let’s talk about the internal compass that a leader carries. The quality of this compass dictates the future a leader creates.

The basis of this conversation is the Law of Attraction. Simply put, this law states that what we think about becomes our reality. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it is simple. All we have to do is become conscious of the reality we create through our thoughts and words. Although this is splendidly simple, it requires us to exercise our consciousness and practice daily. This is the deepest and most spiritually connected piece of work for a leader. Now, it is not enough to just know what it is that you are thinking about. A true leader, in first leading their own path, will take the brave step of taking absolute responsibility for their own thoughts and consequently, their own circumstances. From there, that leader will begin to create a new future.

As well as knowing your thoughts as a leader, you must also know your feelings. In the largest sense we are really only concerned with two sets emotions here: love and trust, or fear and doubt. Understanding how we can create a different path depending on the emotional state you are in supercharges your ability to lead.

The next five articles will break down the five transformational competencies and talk about how the Law of Attraction works in each.

Envision a Compelling Future (Vision)
Commit to the Future (Action)
Set High Performance Goals (Aspiration)
Enable Inspired Action through Teams (Collaboration)
Exude Energy & Inspiration (Presence)
Take a few minutes, take some notes, and change your life.

Cheers,
Jeff

Link: http://gaian.com/view_newsletter.php?id=19

Continuing on the subject of transformational leadership, this time I am giving you 5 competencies that transformational leaders exhibit. In past articles, we have been focused more on the systems thinking aspects through which leaders can engage groups of people - either small or large groups. The principles we put forth work for any size group or community of people.

Now we are shifting focus to the relationship side of leadership. When it comes down to it, people are leaders because they cultivate the required relationships with people, who then choose to put their energy in a common direction. This is the part of leadership that is the most directly related to humanity.

As I said, this article talks about 5 competencies of transformational leaders. These are derived from a series of research studies on leadership that focus on what leaders do. There are, obviously, many research studies and models of leadership that you can find in the literature. At the Gaian Group, my interest is in refining how we can focus on the boundary point of the knowledge. We are working to integrate our systems thinking with research on emotional intelligence and emerging trends in conscious leadership, to create a wave of leadership for today's world.

Our main objective in the world of leadership is to help create Inspirational Presence. This is the quality of a leader that you experience when they walk into the room and you feel when they describe their vision of the future. It is not the only thing required of a leader, but it is one of the most important areas for sustainability and for engaging the hearts of people as well as their minds.

Feel free to forward this to whomever might be interested in expanding their leadership ability, or just drop me a line with what you thought about it.

Cheers,

Jeff Evans, Ph.D.

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licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Link: http://gaian.com/view_newsletter.php?id=33

This issue takes another spin on the Organization Wheel, this time at how you work to integrate people across parts of a system. One thing leaders have to remember is that they are always dealing with multiple levels of systems and often with fractionalized pieces of that system.

When people work within organizations, they rarely have a consciousness about the "whole system", and usually have a limited sense of how they fit into the whole. A leader's role is one of illuminating the system and integrating peoples thoughts and actions within it. This newsletter discusses how that focus can support either change (transformational) or stability (transactional) in the organization.

Just knowing about systems integration is one level of awareness for a leader. Having that knowledge guide your actions is a conscious learning act that we use to build a leadership practice. Remember, leadership is literally what you do every day. Each aspect of your life directly relates to how well you ultimately lead. So, examining your conceptual models and working out ways to use them is critical to effective leadership.

So, take a few moments and do a bit of self- discovery. After all, life is about learning.

Cheers,

Jeff Evans, Ph.D.

Link: http://gaian.com/view_newsletter.php?id=18

With this, the series on Understanding Organization through the Wheel will be compete. This has been a very brief overview of how you can use this powerful tool. At the Gaian Group, we have used this, in far more depth, in many organization assessments and planning sessions for organization change.

The most important lesson to take from this is to always remember that you are always working with a whole system. Even when you are only working with one person, you are still engaged in a much larger system, interconnected through relationships, and providing unseen guidance to the individual.

While there is no magic to this tool, the results of taking a systems view can indeed seem magical. When we begin to understand the power of these unseen connections and understand how to help them come into alignment, we can see individuals and organizations transform.

There is nothing more exhausting than trying to work against a large system. Learn to work with the system, and it will change on its own. This last article focuses on the leader's role in learning. It is perhaps the most important role one can take.
Cheers,
Jeff Evans, Ph.D.

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licensed under a Creative Commons License.