95% of Workers Fail Because of This...But They Can Fix It

Did you know that your career success is based on your\rmastery of one important skill?

Failure to apply your leadership power usually prevents you\rfrom realizing success in the workplace.

The organizational chart may not show you as a leader but\ryou can act like a leader if you choose to do so.

Leadership power is the primary cause of successful\routcomes, great achievements and evolutionary progress.

Most people think only executives, presidents and generals\rpossess any leadership power but the facts reveal another\rtruth - power is held by those who know where to obtain it\rand how to share it with others.

The problem with many of us is this - we need to learn how\rto empower our skills, enhance our competence and energize\rour leadership power.

Power Principle 1 - Invest in your Infrastructure!

Your infrastructure contains the elements that will make\rleadership power available to you. You must invest the time\rand effort needed to build a strong, capable infrastructure.

=> Element-1 - MODEL SUCCESS - study the leadership methods\rof great leaders

=> Element-2 - BE EAGER TO LEARN NEW THINGS - purchase\rleadership skills training courses, materials or books

=> Element-3 - APPRECIATE YOURSELF - start recording your\rthoughts, feelings, desires and experiences in a journal or\rdiary

=> Element-4 - HARMONIZE YOUR MIND - meet with like-minded\rpeople who want to improve their leadership skills, talents\rand behaviors

=> Element-5 - BE WILLING TO SERVE - begin to act like a\rleader by serving the needs of others through community\rservice, teaching or by taking responsibility for removing\rsomeone else's burdens

Power Principle-2 - See Hope in Visionary Ways!

You can inspire people to act out of their fears or hopes.\rIt is your choice - you can use worry or faith to make\rpeople respond to your leadership.

However, I put it to you, which path do you think is more\reffective, more likely to lead to good things? History has\rshown us that the best course of action is always based on\rhope, faith or love.

Leaders must craft a vision of what hope will look like when\rit becomes a tangible reality. Your statement of hope should\rinclude something tangible, specific, measurable,\rattainable, realistic, hopeful, enthusiastic and empowering.

There are many examples of visionary leadership at its most\rinspiring best. Your vision should strive to be positive and\rvivid to others and worthy of pursuit by them, otherwise\rthey might not be moved to follow your lead.

Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., \rpositively expressed his hope as being the time when,

"...we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's \rchildren, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, \rProtestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and \rsing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, \rfree at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."

Power Principle-3 - Strategies are for Drivers!

Strategy is for those leaders who yearn to get there! Your\rvision may sound pretty and look nice but without a vehicle\ryou won't be able to take your vision on that special date.

Your leadership power gets most of its energy from a\rstrategy that just begs to be driven. Your strategy can help\ryou sustain the momentum and force of your vision.

In my time, I've seen plenty of ugly cars, trucks and trains\rbut they all had one thing in common - they would take you\rwherever you wanted to go and could make the journey of\rgetting there just as exciting, memorable and comfortable as\rany roadway beauty.

You will need to drive your strategy

=> by steering towards your stretch goals,

=> by filling-up with the right resources,

=> by using a roadmap to navigate through the thorny areas

=> by measuring the effectiveness of its progress and\rexecution.

Power Principle-4 - Do You Speak The Language?

Are your words doing the job they need to do? Are your\rthoughts reaching out to connect with their hearts and\rminds? Do you appreciate their uniqueness, commitment and\rcontributions?

There is a certain magic which happens when our words\raccomplish their purpose. To create the Universe, God said,\r"Let there be light", and there was light!

Our words have the power to create or destroy - we must\runderstand that the words we speak have the ability to bring\rlife or death to the situation.

Ideas, procedures, opinions, facts and dreams are\rreflections of our thoughts. We think therefore we are who\rwe are. Leaders use the language of meanings, beliefs and\rfeelings to connect with and compliment the hearts and minds\rof people.

Studies on motivation reveal humans are hungry for\rrecognition and acceptance. The easiest way to motivate a\rperson is based on your continual, sincere and realistic\rshow of appreciation for their talents, achievements,\rgood-faith efforts and positive attitude.

Power Principle-5 - Be Congruent, Consistent, Cooperative!

There is something off-beat, brittle and frail about a\rbuilding that is missing key parts of its structure - a\rbroken roof, steel bars sticking out of the walls, crumbling\rfoundation can make you wonder how or why the building is\rstill standing.

Congruency is the state effective leaders try to maintain in\rtheir actions -

=> they line-up their actions with their words,

=> they link their values to their behaviors,

=> their attitudes are in-sync with their conversations

Consistency is judged by your performance over time -

=> Do you always apply the same standards to everyone?

=> Do you usually make your decisions based on all the\ravailable facts?

=> Do you appear to act and behave in the same ways you do\rwhen facing similar kinds of situations?

Cooperative people know that using honey captures more\rflies! To win over people to your point of view, your\rhistory of respecting, valuing and working with their\rdesires, differences and decisions goes a long way in\rgaining their cooperation with your plans.

Great leaders have always cooperated with people by

=> Asking for their opinions, thoughts and experiences

=> Listening to them, showing understanding by summarizing\rtheir statements

=> Incorporating their ideas, beliefs and meanings into the\rleader's statements [using the more powerful pronoun, "we"\rto express those ideas and decisions]

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Do you agree that these 5 principles can energize your\rleadership power? Regardless of your job title or formal\rauthority, using all five will increase your power and\reffectiveness in your workplace, home and community.

In my life, I have found that these principles do add\rconsiderable influence to my ideas and dreams. People tell\rothers that

=> I can be trusted to do the right thing,

=> I always gather the right people together to get the job\rdone in an harmonious manner and

=> My ideas and feelings are exact reflections of their own\rbeliefs and meanings

You can put these principles to work because each one uses\ryour own unique talents, efforts and resources.

Take advantage of Internet research and educational\rmaterials, visit other offices, volunteer your time to a\rworthy cause, take an online training course or two,\rpractice the art of leadership on your friends, family and\rcolleagues at work.

You can become a more powerful leader starting right where\ryou are - you can start today.

"I am personally convinced that one person can be a change\rcatalyst, a "transformer" in any situation, any\rorganization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an\rentire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience,\rrespect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a\rtransforming leader."\rDr. Stephen R. Covey, author of, "The Seven Habits of Highly\rEffective People" and other titles.

Can you see yourself acting as a powerful, transforming and\renriching leader? Can you use the Principles of Power to\rincrease your influence and effectiveness? Can you be all\rthat you can be and share that power with the world?

You can learn more about this subject by reading our 'blog': Leadership skills training & development for creating energy!\rLeadership skills training & development for creating energy!

I know you can do it all and do it well and do it with your\rown personal style - please let me know when you begin the\rjourney and I'll send you a letter of congratulations.

Copyright ? 2004, Mustard Seed Investments Inc.,\rAll rights reserved.

Bill Thomas publishes "The Leadership-Toolkit Collection!" - Affordable, Performance Improvement Programs for Employees, Executives & Entrepreneurs: featuring web-based Training, Books & Manuals, coaching & mentoring, & follow-up support GUARANTEED to energize, empower, enhance your leadership results.\rAll-the-Tools-You-Need-to-Lead-&-Succeed!\rGet More Info\r****************************************\rJOIN OUR AFFILIATES PROGRAM: Earn generous 2-Tier commissions on Sales AND Leads when you become an affiliate of Mustard Seed Investments, Inc. Simply join our affiliate program at - Join Now! Get ZERO-cost marketing books, papers, articles and tools! Plus you earn 30% commissions on sales of our products, 10% commissions on 2nd level sales and $0.10 per qualified lead every month!