The Art of Ingenuity and Effective Communication are the keys to Successful Leadership.

Leadership encompasses a wide range of skills to be mastered and used effectively in the right situations and at the right time.

Your thoughts and actions must be purposeful, seeking to serve, mentor, coach, promote and empower others to achieve even greater success. Your motives must be pure and authentic, holding yourself to the highest standards and working with the utmost integrity. Great leaders empower their teams to make decisions, ask the team for input, and participate in strategy and problem solving in order to get buy-in from all participants which thereby, creates a greater chance of success. Leaders must let their teams feel valued and appreciated, the team should know the vision and mission of the organization, so they can all be part of making an IMPACT.

IMPACT – What a great word – to me it means:

I – Imagination & Ingenuity
M – Mindset, Movement & Magic
P – Positivity, Power & Perseverance
A – Authenticity, Action & Acceptance
C – Creativity & Cleverness
T – Tenacity & Tolerance

Imagination & Ingenuity
Remember when you were a child and you let yourself dream and make big plans, the options were limitless to what you could do or be. What happens as we grow older is we let our past failures hold us back from moving forward instead of letting them be lessons from which to learn. We start believing what other people tell us we can’t be or do. In 2019, I challenge you to change your mindset. Take out a piece of paper and fill it completely with all of your skills, talents, abilities and good qualities. If you also ask your friends and family what they believe your good qualities are, it just may surprise you. Take some time for reflection and ask yourself what you are most passionate about doing and determine if you can make money doing it. What can you do for hours and lose track of time, what would you do if you won the lottery? What is holding you back from living a life you love… a life by design instead of default? Henry Ford once said, “If you think you can or you can’t, you are right.”

Mindset, Mind Shift, Movement & Magic
We all have magic within us. You were born with everything you need to be, every talent, every skill, every idea is already within you. You need only Ignite the flame. There is another book I love by Terry Cole Whittaker “What You Think of Me is None of My Business”. Why are we so preoccupied with what others think of us? If you feel the need to impress someone, or if they criticize or belittle you, make a vow to get them out of your life. Delete them from your phone, email and any interaction… and that includes family. People who are negative are really projecting their feelings about themselves onto you. Only take advice from people more successful than you. You are the sum total of the five people with whom you spend the most time. Who will you choose to spend your time with. I suggest finding coaches, mentors, and others with a can-do attitude to help you on your journey. You truly can reinvent yourself at any age or any stage. You can turn your cant’s into can’s and your dreams into plans.

The only thing constant in life is change. I recommend reading a book called “Who Moved My Cheese” by Spencer Johnson. It’s about adapting to and keeping up with change, if you don’t adapt you will become obsolete. Eleanor Roosevelt said No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” What you believe to be true is true for you.

Positivity, Power, Perseverance
Think positive thoughts and you will realize positive outcomes. Percolate your positive energy on a daily basis with a positive thought, adopting an attitude of gratitude and making positive choices like eating healthy, exercising, getting enough rest and learning to say no. You don’t have to be Wonder Woman or Super Man. I give you permission to say no. Adopt this phrase “After me… you come first” this gives you permission to be selfish and take time to fill your bucket. If someone asks you to do something, you don’t have to say yes. Simply respond with “Thanks for thinking of me, please allow me some time to check my schedule and other obligations and I will get back with you in a few days.” This allows you to decide if it is something you want to do or can really fit into your already tight schedule. Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself. Some people wish it would happen, others want it to happen, successful people make it happen. What you believe to be true is true for you. Don’t give up on your dreams, persevere and celebrate every success no matter how small.

Authenticity, Action & Acceptance
Great leaders are authentic. They exude positive energy and charisma, which is why you want to be around them. They make you believe anything is possible because it is. Living true to yourself, living your authentic life will free you from whatever is holding you back from achieving success. You are uniquely you, that is your gift … uniqueness, share that quality with others and enjoy their uniqueness. We learn from others through the acceptance of our differences. Next, we must act, we can’t sit by and wait for change to occur, we must go out and make it happen. Call upon the powers in the universe to help you. Put your message, goals, dreams and desires out there and then be ready to listen to your intuition which will deliver your message and help you put your plan into action.

Creativity & Cleverness
Great leaders solve problems. They aren’t the problem, they are the solution. There is no obstacle you can’t overcome. Remember – this too shall pass, and you will be stronger for it. When we are in a state of mindfulness and meditation, we allow ourselves to be in tune with the energy that surrounds us and when we are in that state, our creativity flows, and we can see solutions much clearer. I suggest you make a 5-10 minutes mindful meditation a part of your daily routine. Write a list of all that you are grateful for in your life and read it each night before you go to sleep. Cleverness is the art of problem-solving. Where there is a will, there is a way. There is always a solution. Dolly Parton said “If you don’t like the path you’re on, start paving a new one”

Tenacity & Tolerance
Tenacity is the ability to forge ahead, persevere, endure, and have patient resolve. Many of us don’t reach our goals because we give up too soon. We set unrealistic goals and don’t celebrate the small milestones. I challenge you in 2019 to set realistic, attainable goals and celebrate the small successes along the way. When I was in college getting my various degrees, which took 8 years, I kept telling myself over and over, a year will come and go, and you can be that much further ahead towards reaching your goal, or you can give up, fall behind and never reach your goals. Celebrate each success. Example, me achieving a “B” grade in Statistics which I hated and never excelled at math. Just one success on the road to graduation.

Dr. Seuss said, “Why fit in, when you were born to stand out.” Tolerance is truly a gift. Tolerance of race, religion, personal preference, ideologies, is imperative for good leadership. Just look at all the wars and violence that are a result of intolerance of others, beliefs, lifestyles, origins. There is only ONE Language and that is the language of people which is why I have a special gift for you today. The gift of speaking the only language that matters, the language of people.

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This article originally appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of CHOICES Magazine