Power-Principled Leadership

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.”  ~ Mark Twain

The language of leadership

I have often heard language creates culture. Do you believe this is true? If so, look around in your areas of leadership. Is the culture a reflection that you like seeing?

In the greatest book ever authored on leadership it says, “As a face is reflected in the water, so the heart reflects the real person.” Culture is the heart of our leadership. Culture reflects the heart and language of the leader. It goes on to say in this same chapter; “know the state of your flocks and put your heart into caring for your herds.”

The Calling

Leadership is a noble calling. I believe as leaders we have the lives of others, or at least their livelihoods in the palms of our hands. This is not something to be taken lightly. However, I must first admit, I have had to learn this because it was not modeled for me at many places along my journey of leadership.

I’m a Gen X'r, born in 1970. I was raised to compete and get the most out of every situation I could, every time! Now, I wasn’t raised to mistreat people. I was taught to respect others, however if it was me or you. I was taught to take care of myself first. I understand if I am flying, I need to put my own oxygen mask on first but hang with me for a moment.

I truly believe you cannot give what you do not have in life and leadership. You must take care of yourself first…but only in the sense of feeding yourself good philosophy of leadership. Learning and growing in your ability to lead others better and help them be successful.

I left a corporate job to start my own business because my boss at the time was so worried about his numbers with his boss that he was willing to risk my job by asking me and my team to do things that were not only wrong-but illegal. He lacked a strong compass.

Your role as leader is to serve others and make their life easier. Help them succeed and you will succeed.

The principles of leadership

Who you are matters as a leader? Your values matter as a leader. What you say, how you say it and how you respond to others matter. The principles you have in your own life create the language and then the culture of your team and organization.

What I know for sure-You cannot have one set of principles at home and one for work.

Do you have a set of core values or principles that drive you and your language of leadership? The greatest maneuver I have ever made is in creating a list of values that are important to me and then leading from those values.

My top principles for my life are: Growth, Faith, Family, Integrity and Commitment.

These are in order of importance. When I lead from these values I will lead well. When I get out of alignment, my leadership will be rocky. If I’m not growing as a leader and in my faith, it will affect the leadership of my family and others that I lead. My team is my family, not just those in my home, but the ones who work with me to help me be successful.

You and I must have a set of core principles to guide our language. If you are seeking to create a high-performing team and culture, look first at your principles.

Principles give you “power” to lead!

    “People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed, and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”  ~ Tony Robbins

What prophecy are you creating for your leadership?