No one becomes a leader or accepts a leadership position to simply become an ordinary leader or achieve the status quo.  However, becoming an exemplary or even a great leader and achieving the extraordinary and the magnificent can seem elusive.  Leading with authentic meaning and purpose is a fundamental strategy and competency that puts you on a solid path towards exemplary or great leadership.

Solid, consistent, and extensive evidence continues to demonstrate the power of purpose.  Employees want it.  Leaders acknowledge its strategic, financial, and operational benefits.  But, leaders and organizations are simply not delivering it or not delivering it well.

It may take a shift to deliver meaning & purpose well.
In a 2016 Korn Ferry Global Survey, Kevin Cashman, Senior Partner at Korn Ferry, challenges us to shift how we think about our purpose as leaders and as organizations (emphasis added), “It’s critical for leaders to challenge the notion that performance is our purpose and move to the more transformative principle that purpose can elevate performance to new heights.”

The vast majority of executive respondents indicated that a focus on both personal and organizational purpose is key to productivity and financial success.

A leadership prerequisite
Dimitriadis and Alexandros tell us in the quote above that purpose is a prerequisite to leadership.  You must have it to lead well.  When we believe in and act on something that gives us greater meaning and purpose in our lives, we simply try harder, work longer, and produce better results, products, and outcomes. 

It also serves to bind people together in a higher, common cause and boosts engagement, connection, and team cohesion.  It brings a sense of greater contribution and fulfillment.  However, many leaders and organizations struggle with how to activate purpose to drive performance. 

Are you ready?
If you're ready to learn more about how to activate meaning and purpose through your leadership, reach out to me.  I've helped hundreds of leaders do just that.  It’s difficult, if not impossible, to model and lead others to connect to meaning and purpose if you haven’t gone through that work and put that into practice for yourself first.  So, reach out today.

Impactful change starts with a conversation!  Schedule your FREE, 1-hour discovery session now.  Just click here:  Discovery Conversation Calendar

Coming in early 2023!
Another way to learn more about how to activate meaning and purpose with your leadership is through the first course to be released in the Integrated Leadership Development Program, Leading With Meaning & Purpose.  It will be released in early 2023.  Watch this space for more information.

ROBERT HOLDEN
Success Intelligence

Happiness drives success.
Dr. Holden very nicely sums up one of the most powerful findings from the research on happiness, subjective well-being (SWB), and human flourishing.

Existing evidence indicates that across the board, people high in SWB function more effectively than people lower in SWB.  They are more likely to have more successful relationships, to be more productive at work, to have higher incomes, and to have better physical and mental health.  In every major life domain, happy people are on average more successful. 

One of the indispensable qualities of great leaders is that they are inwardly and authentically happy and nurture that happiness for themselves and others.

So, what drives happiness?
Gratitude is the bridge to happiness.  In multiple studies, a daily focus on gratitude has been demonstrated to, among many other benefits, increase happiness and positive affect.  So, gratitude leads to happiness and happiness leads to success.  That's why I call gratitude the bridge to happiness and success. 

Of course there are there other paths.  But in a landmark collection on the practical applications of positive psychology (1), gratitude and happiness researchers concluded that “gratitude is a key element for sparking positive changes in individuals, families, and organizations”—and it's free and so easy to practice!

Amplifying Gratitude
Another interesting finding from the research is that you can amplify the power of any gift or act which you are hoping will generate gratitude. 

More gratitude is created when the act or gift meets three criteria:

1. It is perceived as being given intentionally
2. There is effort involved or there is some cost to the benefactor, and
3. The act or gift is valuable to the recipient/beneficiary

So, the research also shows that unexpected benefits or gifts appear to generate the most gratitude.  Some of the best benefits and gifts we receive on our life journey are the ones that come as a surprise and are least expected.

This week of Thanksgiving and this month being National Gratitude Month are a great time and opportunity to adopt or enhance a practice of gratitude.

Give Thanks!
Every night, I rock my twin seven-year old boys for just a few minutes as part of our nightly routine.  We each share something we are grateful for from the day and then watch a personalized video I created during the pandemic with the music to Elijah and the Band of Light's song, Give Thanks!, playing in the background.

Below is the version we watched up until I created our own version.  We still watch this one from time to time, too.  I hope you enjoy it!

 I want to wish you and yours a blessed and joy-filled Thanksgiving!

Alan Mikolaj is a professional, experienced, positive,  and passionate speaker, leadership and organizational development consultant, change agent, author, and coach.

Impactful change starts with a conversation!  Schedule your FREE, 1-hour discovery session now.  Just click here:  Discovery Conversation Calendar

Have an amazing journey, today!

Alan maintains the ethics and standards of behavior established by the International Coaching Federation (ICF), including the standards regarding confidentiality.  You can learn more about them on the ICF website.

(1) Bono, G., Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2004). Gratitude in Practice and the Practice of Gratitude. In P. A. Linley, & S. Joseph (Eds.), Positive Psychology in Practice (pp. 464-481). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.

Sunday, November 13, 2022 is World Kindness Day
I thought it marked the beginning of World Kindness Week but found out late last week it actually marks the end of World Kindness Week.  So, I started late and as a result, I'm celebrating it this week and inviting you do join me if you missed it, too. 

Like we should need a reason, day, or week to be kind, right?  But having these types of celebrations are great reminders for the basic things that make life good.

World Kindness Day and Week started in 1997 when group of organizations from countries like Japan, Thailand, England, Australia, and America came together because of their combined dedication to promoting kindness in society.  They launched the World Kindness Movement from that conference along with World Kindness Day and Week and eventually registered as an NGO in 2019.  Their website lists member organizations in 35 different countries.

National Today shares that, "The week is celebrated by donating books, food, or clothes to local communities and pledging to empathize with other people."

I also like the list of suggestions on how to celebrate on the Inspire Kindness webpage.

My Most Favorite Ways to Show Kindness
But there are a three really powerful ways to show kindness that I really, really like and appreciate immensely when given to me: 

• Attention
  
• Asking inquisitive questions
  
• Listening
  

I was reminded of those gifts of kindness last week by my banker/business account manager.  This young man has a real knack for really paying attention to me (and I'm sure others), asking really good questions, and then really listening and responding in a way that shows how much he was really listening.  And he does this every time I see him.  Thank you, Kevin! 

He reminded me of a quote I use in my empathic and compassionate communications workshops that comes from Dr. M. Scott Peck's bestseller, The Road Less Traveled:

I would only add to that,  inquisitive questioning.  Because receiving those gifts can be so rare, when we do receive them, it can be profound. 

Coaching is a safe and confidential way for you to receive those gifts!

Impactful change starts with a conversation!  Schedule your FREE, 1-hour discovery session now.  Just click here:  Discovery Conversation Calendar

How will you celebrate World Kindness Day?

Have an amazing journey today!

Have an amazing journey today!