Lead a vivid life that does good

Tag: extraordinary leadership

Leaders must do good.

alan-kurdi“I hope all the leaders of the world can try and do good” Abdullah Kurdi says a year after his two sons and wife drowned trying to flee Syria.

A year ago this image of the limp dead body of his 3 year-old son Alan, shocked our minds and grabbed our hearts as we were exposed to desperate plight of the refugees fleeing war-torn Syria. And while the image has all but drifted from our minds, for Abdullah the heart-break of losing his family seems as real today as it was a year ago.

“I hope all the leaders of the world can try and do good,” he says “that the wars will stop and people can go back to their normal lives.”

And while his cry is to world leaders, there is a sense in which his cry for hope sits with all leaders.

It is the responsibility of all leaders to do good!

If you lead in any way, you can impact the world by doing good. You may not solve the Syrian crisis, but you can bring hope to the people you help.

That’s what intentionally doing good does.

It brings hope.

As a leader of a business whose vision is “People Matter ∴ Do Good”, I’m reminded of the proactive nature of doing good. As I go about my days at work, opportunities to do good rarely present themselves to me, rather I need to seek them out.

Doing good is not something we stumble upon.

We need to go looking for it.

One word that defines extraordinary leaders

One word that defines extraordinary leadersSome people are easy to follow. There is something about them that gives us belief in ourselves and a desire to follow them and make great things happen. Other people are harder to follow. Being around them, following them, can be draining and demoralising.

A few years ago I developed an acronym for what makes a successful and high performing leader. The second word into the acronym is one that sets apart extraordinary leaders from the rest. Its…

LEADERS are Energisers.

Meaning extraordinary leaders impart energy and vitality and spirit to the people they lead.

It’s not that they are the bubbliest person in the room, rather they bring and give energy to others. And being an energetic leaders seems to be powered by a bunch of other E words.

Leaders equip.

Encourage.

Engage.

Empower.

Empathise.

Enthuse.

Sometimes exhort.

And often entertain.

STOP – SLOWLY read the list again.

Does the list describe your leadership?

Whether its large groups or individual meetings. People want to follow a leader who gives them the energy to move forward.

If you’re struggling with the way you lead at the moment, its maybe because your team aren’t energised by you. You aren’t giving them the energy and empowerment and engagement they need to move forward. To succeed.

And the hardest part of being an energiser … is trying to give energy when you don’t have any yourself.

Trust me I know.

I’ve been reminded this week personally of the importance of making sure my energy levels are high, so that I can lead my team well.

LEADERS are energisers.

Go, bring energy!