Amazing Leaders All Lead With Intention

For many, intention is defined as a motivation, a drive, or an ambition to succeed. It can be a demonstration of force, determination, or your immutable will to attain or accomplish something indicates that you have a firm intention.These are examples of our Western mental models of intention. A deeper understanding of the power of intention, described by Carlos Castaneda, suggests, “In the universe there is an immeasurable, indescribable force which shamans call intent, and absolutely everything that exists in the entire cosmos is attached to intent by a connecting link”.Similar in description to how Wallace Wattles describes this intention in his book, “The Science of Getting Rich”. Wattles wrote: “There is a thinking stuff which all things are made, and which in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe. A thought in this substance, produces the thing that is imaged by the thought. Man can form things in his thought, and by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.”This is not a model of perseverance or a mindset where only the fit (determined) survive, but a realization, again, of the connection to each other and Spirit. What this model of intention describes for us, as leaders, is that we are not alone in this organization, community, country, or even universe: but we are together, linked to the energetic force of intention.Why is intention crucial to our leadership? It is the purpose, the why we are here, our belief in something greater than we are. Intention is how we derive meaning. In order to create a vision for our companies, or even our lives, we must first ask, “why?” Tapping into the power of intention requires clearing space in our minds and allowing and trusting our intuitive insights to flow.Here are some strategies we can use to ensure that we are leading with intention:

1. Knowing our values helps bring clarity to what is meaningful to us. Identify ten important values. Narrow the list down to your top five and write a sentence or two explaining what the values mean to you and why they are important.
2. Look at your calendar and review how you spend your time. Do the activities on your calendar align with your values? If not, why not?
3. Create a mind map on a clean sheet of paper, and in the center of the paper write, “My purpose for living this life is…” and circle it. Now draw lines out from this circle with as many ideas that flow into your head and heart and draw circles around each one of those words or statements, always connecting the circles with lines to the center circle of your purpose.
4. Using the above information you have developed, write a purpose statement, including the activities involved in achieving that purpose, people necessary to support you, and the value you provide to others.

Enjoy the process and see what you discover!I would love to hear from you. What is your purpose statement? Let’s share those and celebrate our clear intentions together.With love,Maria

The Most Critical Factor For Success In Business

Ask any successful leader or business owner what one of the most critical factors is for success today, and you will hear…creativity. Now, more than ever, innovation and creativity are sought-after skills in organizations for their leaders. Old models steeped in scientific management and mechanistic thinking no longer serves our needs today. As Einstein and Susan Powter so eloquently remind us, we must and look toward new models and creative ways of leading people and doing business.For decades, our American culture has devoted most curriculum and teaching models to developing the left-hemisphere of the brain. This is the part of the brain for logic, linear and sequential thought processes. This style of learning and development continued into colleges and universities where the mechanistic model of managing business remained a primary focus. Perhaps a nod to the “soft skills” of leadership appeared in the curriculum, but not until quite recently are we actually teaching leadership skills to future leaders.Many organizations now focus on teaching the soft skills in their leadership development programs because they realized a profound need for their leaders to have these skill sets. The soft skills to which I am referring are connecting with people, motivating teams, inspiring followers, creative thinking, innovation, quick decision-making and big-picture vision. Each one of these skill sets requires right-brain thinking.The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, is simultaneous, specializes in context, and synthesizes the big picture. Clearly, the ability to think quickly in today’s fast-paced world requires right hemisphere functions.I am not advocating tossing aside the value of the left-brain—our entire brain is a gift. I am simply seeking to focus on development of our right-brain functions. At this point, most of us have fairly well developed left hemispheres. After all, we have spent most of our lifetime educated and trained to use our left-brains. What we now need as leaders is to develop and reconnect with the processes of our right brains.Lateral thinking is perception thinking, looking for creative and innovative ways of viewing the world. This process is not constricted by boundaries and limited beliefs; it challenges us to move into expansiveness, unlimited possibilities, and abundance thinking.Are you ready for the shift?I would love to hear from you. What activities do you do that develops your right brain thinking? How do you get your creative on?With love,Maria

Leaders Define Significance Instead Of Success

I recently heard Oprah talk about success and significance in the same sentence. This got me thinking…“Value” and “adding value” has become a buzzword in many organizations. I remember working for a homebuilder years ago, and adding value, along with value engineering were hot, sexy terms.Like most buzzwords, their original contextual meaning got lost in translation.Looking at the word, significance, I wanted to explore the meaning and essence of this luxurious word steeped in depth and richness. So… I started researching great thinkers on significance and explored quotes. I’ll share some of my favorites with you:

• “The aim of art is not to represent the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” – Aristotle
• “Time has no meaning in itself unless we choose to give it significance.” – Leo F. Buscaglia
• “The significance of a man is not in what he attains, but rather what he longs to attain.” – Kahlil Gibran
• “The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others.” – Grayson Kirk
• “Enthusiasm releases the drive to carry you over obstacles and adds significance to all you do.” – Norman Vincent Peale
• “A note of music gains significance from the silence on either side.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Next, I turned to Bing dictionary, and this is what I found:

sig•nif•i•cance [ sig níffikənss ] NOUN1. importance: the quality of having importance or being regarded as having great meaning2. meaning: implied or intended meaning

Cool, this is a big deal, I thought! Of course, I immediately turned my attention to leadership and started thinking…what if we shifted our focus from success to significance? How would that look?I would love to hear your thoughts, how would applying this concept affect the way you lead?All my best,Maria

10 Routines Leaders Need For Thick Skin

Someone asked me, “How can you develop a thick-skin at work?” My initial response, “Develop a strong heart.”Growing up, I was often teased because of my over-bite. Called many names at school, I came home frequently collapsing into a pile of tears. My mother would tell me to ignore the bully’s hurtful comments and eventually they would stop. I did experience some truth in this, but what was even more impactful, were her words, “Maria, you are beautiful, they just don’t see it.” Of course, she was referring to my inner beauty. I knew my outer beauty would catch up once I got braces!Why is it that as adults we still feel the need to toughen up and not let other people’s words hurt us? Could it be that we forgot our inner beauty?If so, don’t worry. Reclaiming our inner beauty and strengthening our hearts is easy to do. Developing a strong heart begins with self-love.Practice these ten steps and in no time, you will not need a thick skin because you’ll have a strong heart:

1. List your strengths. Next to each one, identify how you may leverage your strong points.
2. Create an action plan for personal and professional growth.
3. Reconnect with your intuition.
4. Do something creative every day.
5. Spend time in stillness each day.
6. Get enough sleep. Six to eight hours are recommended for optimum health.
7. Move your body every day. Some days it may only be walking to the mailbox.
8. Eat foods that nourish your body in healthy ways.
9. List at least five things each day for which you are grateful.
10. Find ways to help others see their greatness.

I would love to hear from you. How do you strengthen your heart?With love,Maria

7 Steps To Showing Up As A Leader

Recently working with a client, we were discussing how we “show up”. We have learned and studied so much about good communication skills and body language that many of us have mastered the art of “listening” with our bodies. Bodies leaning in, head nodding, eyes fixed on the other person, yet all the while our minds are anywhere but that conversation. Or our thoughts are fixed on what we are going to say next, not listening to the words coming out of the other person’s mouth.Our bodies are there – we showed up, physically. But have we really showed up? Are our mind, heart, and spirit present? Really present?So often, we are replaying in our head the argument we may have had with a spouse, the traffic on the way to work, or the memo we just read. How different would it be if we really showed up – mind, body, and spirit? How would our showing up affect our communication…our connection and relationships with others…our leadership?How can make sure we really show up? Here are a seven of my favorite steps:

• Always start with awareness. Be aware that you are entering a conversation and want to move it to true connection.
• Be present in the moment. Turn off the distractions (literal and figurative).
• Be honest. If now is not the right time to focus on the conversation, reschedule it for a better time.
• If you find yourself wandering, fess up, and start again (the other person will appreciate your honesty).
• Suspend judgment. Do not anticipate what you think you may hear.
• Paraphrase what you heard. This will be a good check-and-balance to ensure you are on the right track.
• Be available and approachable.

I would love to hear your thoughts, how do you show up?All my best,Maria

6 Requirements For A Mentorship Mindset

I was just in a discussion today about mentoring. What exactly does this mean and why is it important for leaders to have a mentorship mindset?Mentorship is about sharing wisdom, and wisdom is gained from knowledge and experience. One of my favorite books about mentorship is, “Mentoring: The TAO of Giving and Receiving Wisdom” by Chungliang Al Huang and Jerry Lynch. Any good teacher will tell you that we learn so much from our students. The same is true with mentoring, it is an exchange, a dance of sharing wisdom, knowledge, and experiences with the intention of growth – for both parties.Of course, like most concepts we discuss, mentoring begins with self-reflection, self-awareness, and self-love. I love this quote from the book, “It may seem clever to know and accept others; yet accepting oneself is the way to Wisdom. It may feel powerful to overcome others; yet disciplining oneself is true strength. It may be noble to honor others; yet respecting oneself is deep self-esteem.”To practice mentoring, just remember the MENTOR acronym:

Motivation – discover the motivation in yourself and your mentee.Exploration – encourage exploration of different perspectives, options, and opportunities.Notice – pay attention to the feelings in both parties and explore their presence.Talk – advise less and listen more. Practice active listening and learn how to dance in the conversation.Open – be open to learn from your mentee and the experience.Respect – always opt for respect without judgment.

Recognizing the important distinction of when to lead, when to walk side-by-side, and when to follow…and knowing the difference …is wisdom.What are the elements of mentorship that resonate with you?I would love to hear from you. Who was your most significant mentor and why?With love,Maria

Marrying Leadership & Marketing In 10 Simple Steps

While teaching leadership or marketing courses, I often have the thought…Leading people and marketing are really the same activity. Isn’t the primary objective of both to influence people in the direction of a goal?Now some of you may challenge that statement! True, marketing and leadership could sometimes be an activity of manipulation, and not of influence. We have seen and experienced this many times in both marketing and leadership.Both activities, influence and manipulation, have power. The key is that only one has sustainability.  Manipulation can be an effective influencing tactic, but it is not sustaining; in fact, it is exhausting!Influence, on the other hand, is nurturing, motivating, and full of momentum. Great, so how do we do it? How do we really influence others?Reflecting on the power of influence, I’ve come up with some key ways we can gain influence with those we lead:

• Authenticity – live in integrity, honesty, and truth
• Respect – we have to give it to receive it.
• Power – referent power is sustaining.
• Communication – most especially, active engagement through power listening.
• Presence – not presents! Actually, the gift of being fully present to someone is the best present you could give.
• Honor and value – again, we must give it to receive it.
• Strong sense of self – with a strong internal compass and vision.
• Confidence – sometimes comes from experience, not to be confused with arrogance.
• Wisdom – insight gained through self-reflection, not to be confused with education.
• Love – feeling it, living it, and demonstrating it.

I would love to hear from you. What else would you add to the list?With love,Maria

5 Ways To Improve Your Message Of Power

Power, now that is a word that will bring about different mental models for different people!Many times messages of power are wrapped in fear, hope, darkness, and light. Power is both greatly misunderstood and misused.  Empowerment, too, is a concept that conjures up different impressions for different people. And there is an explosion when there is no empowerment!Power can be silent and strong, wrapped in love of self, source, and others. Power can be grace-filled and strong; and power can be assertive and strong. Power comes in many disguises, including giving away power—also known as empowerment.Empowerment has almost become a generic term or a cliché buzzword. However, empowerment is one of the most effective tools of power any leader can use.At a recent seminar where I presented the three pillars of Love-Based Leadership, I discussed empowerment and the varied perceptions of power. As a leader, power is one of the aspects we expect in leadership. Unfortunately, for many of us, the image of power is one of aggression, dominance, and fear. This type of power can in fact motivate people, but it is not sustaining. This type of power grows resentment in the eyes and hearts of followers.One of my favorite quotes from Lao Tzu describes the practice of empowerment:As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear, and the next, the people hate. When the best leader's work is done, the people say, “We did it ourselves!"Empowerment for us simply means to stand in power—including our own power, our own empowerment.I expand more on the “how to” steps here:In summary, stepping into your power requires the following:

1. Awareness
2. Identify any barriers that may hold you back, especially any negative self-talk or negative voices.
3. Find your voice.
4. Give yourself permission.
5. Find a coach or accountability partner to work with.

I would love to hear from you.What is one immediate step you can take right now to self-empower?With love,Maria

7 Strategies For Building EQ Through Laughter

Do you ever find yourself stuck, unable to accomplish that goal, or unable to overcome a fear of something or someone? Early on in my corporate career, colleagues advised me to learn golf, which they claimed as a great way to network, bond with clients, and create deals. I learned the sport, but I didn’t enjoy the game as much as other people did. At one of our corporate retreats, my boss and colleagues couldn’t wait to get out on the course with some of the top executive staff. I was a bit confused by this because I knew my boss didn’t really like or get along with this group of people. I asked him about it and he said that on the golf course, unless you are a pro, there is no pretense; all are on equal footing and all are hitting poorly. The golf experience allowed them to bring down their guards and share the misery of their poor shots. Like golf, laughter allows us to connect with one another, letting our guards down…without the misery of poor golf shots.Laughter enhances communication by letting our shields down and showing that we’re human. The model of professionalism for too long has instructed us to be super-human. We learned how to work beyond what is humanly possible, denying our natural rhythm for balance. We also learned to check our emotions at the door. While I ascribe to the concepts of emotional intelligence (EI), we are still human; we still have emotions. To deny that fact is insanity. This is certainly a healthy approach to emotions, which is very different from the professional corporate model we learned.Once more, there are seven strategies for infusing laughter and lightness in your leadership and life:I love adding value, which is why I want to encourage you if you know your emotional intelligence needs some coaching (or if you are not sure what your EQ levels are) to check out executive coaching at http://corporateleadershipsolutions.com/solutions/executive-leadership-coaching/In the meantime, I would love to hear from you. What do you do to infuse laughter into your life?With love,Maria

Why Grace Matters To Your Organization

Many leadership books talk about policies, procedures, and processes. The extreme challenge in today’s organizations is that we value policies and procedures more than we value and honor people. As the Rev. Dr. King, Jr. said, “all we need a heart full of grace.” Grace is found in love and personifies elegance, politeness, and generosity of spirit. An organization steeped in love is an organization steeped in grace.Why would grace be a lesson on leadership? How can it not? Grace is the state many wise leaders seek: grace under fire. The state of grace, however, is not just essential under fire; grace serves leaders all of the time. During times of stress, confusion, joy, and peace, grace is always at its best.Grace is a word and concept ripe with different mental models for people. Most definitions and constructs have common elements such as beauty, elegance, dignified manner, generosity of spirit, and a gift from God.The ability to see beauty in anything is a gift of grace. Mother Teresa saw beauty in the poorest of the poor, when she said, “Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.” Grace is seeing with the heart and eyes of God. Dr. Victor Frankl described the worst of horrors in his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning.” He told a story of sitting on the floor in the concentration camp eating soup, exhausted after laboring all day for the Nazis, when a fellow prisoner rushed in to ask them to join him outside to marvel at the wonderful sunset. Even in the midst of the horrific concentration camps, those prisoners understood the beauty of grace.Elegance is refined confidence in self. It is a calm, quiet knowledge of self-efficacy that you can handle anything that comes your way with dignity. Grace through elegance is a powerful leadership example.Karl Barth once said, “Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace”. With our divine quiet grace, it shines like an outward beacon.The 3 Cs as outward manifestations of inward grace: care, compassion, and confidence.Confidence is one of the elements that draw followers to great leaders. Warning – confidence is not arrogance.Care and compassion are grace manifested in outward behaviors toward others, demonstrated through acts of sincere kindness to each other.How is grace manifested in your leadership and life?I would love to hear from you, what are some of the ways you demonstrate grace in your leadership and in your life?With love,Maria

3 Simple Steps To Abundance

The challenge with abundance thinking is in the scarcity cycle many of us have found ourselves to be. Let’s face it, we have been taught scarcity since childhood. Scarcity thinking is focusing on lacking such things as finances, health, relationships, opportunities, and so on.Sometimes scarcity thinking shows up in the form of accumulation and greed. I have to get, get, get, and keep, keep, keep. People who hoard, are deeply immersed in this mental model. Fear of letting go and fear of surrender, block love, abundance, and joy from flowing. If we hold on to something, anything, too tightly, our hands cannot be open to what may be coming.The downside of this scarcity mental model is by withholding the flow of gratitude, appreciation, and love, that is exactly what he person will receive more of – a withholding of gratitude, appreciation, and love. See how this works?We usually remember to give thanks when we feel great. However, living in a state of gratitude is much like living in a state of awareness, it is a way of being. Gratitude may be an activity, but you will live a much fuller life and lead others more effectively, if it becomes your natural state and not just an occasional activity.I love the phrase, An Attitude of Gratitude. What exactly is an attitude of gratitude? In basic terms, gratitude is thankfulness.I’m not just talking kittens, puppies, and rainbows. It is smart for you to practice gratitude; think of it as a best practice. Several studies conducted by Dr. Robert Emmons and Dr. Michael McCollough extol the benefits of a grateful mind and heart. One of the studies concluded that regular daily practice of gratitude increased happiness by 25%.Emmons also found in a separate study that patients with debilitating health conditions slept better and were optimistic about their life when they focused on gratitude. These studies reflect the fact that grateful people report higher levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, energy, health, wellness, and love.In addition to the health benefits of gratitude, it is also an abundance magnet. The power of attraction applies; abundance creates more abundance. The very important fact of this matter is remembering that on whatever we focus our thoughts and attention, it becomes our intention, and the universe conspires to manifest that energy into reality; you become what you think about. It doesn’t matter if you are thinking scarcity or abundance; it will become your reality.Here are three activities to cultivate gratitude in our lives:#1.  Keep a gratitude journal. This idea intrigued me several years ago and I decided to commit to keeping a gratitude journal for a full year. Each day I listed at least five things for which I was grateful, big, or small. Some days the list was a dozen, other days I struggled to come up with five! Then something happened…I soon realized that I was receiving more of whatever it was that I was grateful! Abundance did indeed flow. Blessings surrounded me in my life; work, health, play, and love became much more rewarding than ever before. To this day, I still reflect on gratitude in my journal and continue to be blessed beyond belief.#2. Decide to live in a state of gratitude. A state of gratitude is an attitude manifested in our behavior and thoughts. Be conscious of your thoughts, always shifting from fear to love, scarcity to abundance. Soon enough, gratitude will become your SOP or standard operating procedure!#3. Move your thoughts into action. Tell those employees, family members, and friends that you are grateful for their presence in your life.And make sure to tell them why you are grateful.As always, I would love to hear from you. What are some of the ways you cultivate gratitude in your life? How do you demonstrate gratitude?With love,Maria

3 Steps To Differentiate Your Leadership With Passion

Passion fueled the migration of Europeans to the new world, independence from oppression, voting rights for women, the civil rights movement, and environmental safety.Passion has taken organizations to unimaginable success like Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, and Apple. We see passion demonstrated in great art. Passion is a differentiator. Passion is not complacency or conformity; it is a call to action.When we think about passion from an individual level, we know we cannot NOT do whatever it is we are passionate about. Our minds, hearts, and bodies must fulfill our passion. To our passion, we are driven to say, “YES!” We may be able to put it off for a while, but it burns like a continuous flame inside of us until we extinguish it. The only way to extinguish our passion is to fulfill the destiny inside of us or die of complacency.Passion must be lived if we are to realize our authentic self. Passion drives and motivates us to come into fullness of presence and defies time and space through the lasting effects of legacy.We cannot talk about passion without including heart in the discussion. When we are passionate about something, we often proclaim, “I put my heart into it.” When we want to place emphasis on something, we touch our heart saying we speak from the heart. This implies a deep core connection, a heart connection. The heart center, the core of our being is where passion resides. When we tap into our passion and lead from that space, passion ultimately oozes out of every pore in our body. People know it when they see it.Passion is an attraction magnet, it’s irresistible. We are drawn to people who enthuse passionate energy. Because passion is so appealing, it is a great energizing force for leaders. Leveraging passion motivates teams, as has passion motivated the masses throughout history.How do you discover, nurture, and live in your passion? It’s not as hard as you may think!Remember, it is only three steps to discover and re-connect with your passion and your purpose.

1. First, list your top five values. Your values will give you big clues about your passion.
2. Identify your strengths and those qualities about yourself that you recognize come easy to you. Be open and aware of any emotional or physiological signs from your body. What excites you, gives you butterflies, or tingling in your spine? Oftentimes our passion is trying desperately to come into consciousness and body signals are a great way to move into awareness.
3. Recognize what attracts your attention. Are there certain hobbies or pastime experiences you enjoy and look forward to? When do you feel most content or happy? What is the first section you go to in the book store?

Like the well-known Nike advertisements, just do it! Don’t pass from this life with your purpose still in you. Our purpose always involves sharing our divinely given will with others, always!I would love to hear from you, what passion is inside of you eager to come out?With love,Maria

Finding Focus As A Leader

While earning my undergraduate degree, I took an art appreciation course. During our study of abstract art, the professor had us describe how we felt while looking at each art piece. During the exercise, if any of us would say, “That looks like a ship,” she would mark points off our grade. This was an extremely valuable lesson to learn; she challenged us to use our other senses beyond our eyes, and stay in the creative side of our brain.Our logical side wanted to analyze the picture instead of conceptualizing the possibilities. I now do this practice anytime I experience art. I stay present and open to the beauty of an opera sung in another language through many senses beyond auditory. The creative energy moves from the actors to me, with complete understanding and clarity when I remember the lesson learned in that art appreciation course.Living in this creative zone is as beneficial for leaders as it is for artists. Observe artists at work, whether it is performing artists, painters, sculptors, writers, or designers. Artists are present in the moment of creating with razor sharp focus as the divine download fills the spaces of their mind, heart, and body.Pablo Picasso reminds us, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”Practicing creativity not only helps leaders make quick, confident decisions, innovate, and problem solve; creativity also helps us interact with others at a higher level. Because creativity is a gift in all of us…you are creative!When we experience someone else’s creativity such as music, film, books, or art, we feel something deep down inside. That feeling is our energy of oneness, of our connection.The best way to start tapping into our creativity is do what we did as children—play. I had so much fun picking out crayons and a coloring book as an adult, although I purchased under the pretense of buying it for my niece!Let’s get the creative juices flowing with the abandonment of child-like play. Your play may include painting, drawing, Play Doh, dancing, dress-up, or whatever makes you smile.As always, I would love to hear from you. How do you get your creative juices flowing?With love,Maria

15 Essential Factors When Growing An Effective Leader

Many organizations use the term leader when defining certain management positions. However, a title does not make a leader. My Grandpa Jaime used to say, “You can put a suit on a bum, but he is still a bum.” One may put the title of leader on a person, and he or she may or may not be a leader.Leadership. What is it? How is it defined? Two great questions. Two reasonable questions. Two thousand responses.In my experience, the words leadership and management are used interchangeably in the workplace. In the management and leadership classes I’ve taught over the years, we define them differently, however, recognizing that leadership is a critical part of management. I’ve always believed that defining leadership as a component of management was like saying cocoa is a component of chocolate.Here are 15 essential factors of being an effective leader:This is certainly not an exhaustive list…What would you add?Most definitions of leadership have one over-arching similarity: vision. Creating vision and motivating followers towards the vision is the fundamental foundation of leadership. If there is no place to lead (vision) and no one to follow, then leadership is absent. I define leadership as the action of inspiring and motivating others toward a vision. I don’t believe it needs to be any more complicated than that.I would love to hear from you. What are your thoughts?How do you define leadership?What are the qualities you admire in leaders?With love,Maria

8 Simple Steps To Improve Influence

Very rarely am I involved in a conversation about leadership that does not include the topic of influence. I believe that influence is what most leaders seek; although, many will confuse influence with motivation. Motivation is important in leadership; it gets the job done. However, influence, is lasting. Influence is legacy. Today I want to share with you eight simple steps to improve your legacy by growing your capacity for influence.I recently read this awesome quote by Roy Croft, “I love you not because of who you are, but because of who I am when I am with you.”Wow – wouldn’t it be cool to have your team say that about you?What are some steps we can take to grow our influence with others? Here are eight sure-fire ways:Think about those people who influenced your life – in both positive and negative ways. We rarely forget the impact they had in shaping our behavior, thoughts, beliefs, and feelings.I know we eventually forgive those that had a negative influence on us. But…how often do we acknowledge and thank those who’ve had a positive influence on us?I recently had the great honor to thank two very influential people in my life. It felt wonderful to thank them, and even better to see the looks on their faces and feel the love in their hearts.One of my favorite quotes by Lao Tzu demonstrates influence at its best:As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear, and the next the people hate. When the best leader's work is done, the people say, “We did it ourselves!"As always, I would love to hear from you.What are some of the ways you’ve found to influence others, and what are the best ways for others to influence you?With love,Maria

One Quick Way To Identify When Leadership Is Needed

As a leadership coach, I’m always excited when a powerful question or statement crosses my path or better yet, slams me in the face! The other day, I had such an encounter. Seth Godin got my attention when he wrote, “If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader”.He was talking about the discomfort we sometimes feel as a leader and furthermore, when we identify the discomfort, we’ve found a place where leadership is needed.I DO love those moments that move me out of my comfort zone and into what I call a “seat squirming” state. I know when I start squirming, I am onto to something, and that something is usually growth!I want to share with you both what Seth Godin’s list looked like, what my list looks like, and what yours could include:My list not only feels good when I put it on, but it moves me beyond comfort to electric energy.As always, I would love to hear from you. What are your thoughts?What is outside of your comfort zone that’s holding you back?When was a time you moved outside your comfort zone and how did you do it? How did it feel on the other side?With love,Maria

Success And Significance

I recently heard Oprah talk about success and significance in the same sentence. This got me thinking…“Value” and “adding value” has become a buzzword in many organizations. I remember working for a homebuilder years ago, and adding value, along with value engineering were hot, sexy terms.Like most buzzwords, their original contextual meaning got lost in translation.Looking at the word, significance, I wanted to explore the meaning and essence of this luxurious word steeped in depth and richness. So… I started researching great thinkers on significance and explored quotes.I’ll share some of my favorites with you:Of course, I immediately turned my attention to leadership and started thinking…what if we shifted our focus from success to significance? How would that look? How would that affect the way we lead?As always, I love to hear from you. What do you think? How would shifting from success to significance affect the way you lead? What is most significant about what you do?With love,Maria

Power & Influence In Leadership

While teaching leadership or marketing courses, I’ve often thought…Leading people and marketing are really the same activity. Isn’t the primary objective of both to influence people in the direction of a goal?Now some of you may challenge that statement. True, marketing and leadership could sometimes be an activity of manipulation, and not of influence. We have seen and experienced this many times in both marketing and leadership.Both activities, influence and manipulation, have power.The key is that only one has sustainability. Manipulation can be an effective influencing tactic, but it is not sustaining; in fact, it is exhausting.Influence, on the other hand, is nurturing, motivating, and full of momentum!Great, so how do we do it? How do we really influence others? Reflecting on the power of influence, I’ve come up with 10 specific ways we can gain influence with those we lead:As always, I would love to hear from you. What else would you add to this list to increase your influence? What time did you gain buy-in and what strategy did you use?With love,Maria

3 Practices For Shifting Leadership Perceptions

Do you ever find yourself stuck, unable to accomplish that goal, or unable to overcome a fear of something or someone? As we discuss leadership, one common cause of stagnancy is the perceptions we hold within our minds. If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, explore these three practices for shifting those perceptions and facilitating a stronger leadership strategy.Beliefs and perceptions are like an iceberg; some perceptions are at the surface and easily identifiable. However, many of our beliefs and assumptions are so deeply ingrained and below the surface that we rarely bring those beliefs to our consciousness.Because they’re not in the forefront of our mind does not mean they don’t exist. Just like when a child sits in front of you, covers her eyes, and blissfully exclaims, “You can’t see me,”—it doesn’t mean we can’t see her.The negative voices and gremlins in our heads fuel underlying beliefs we have about ourselves, others, and the way we view the world. It’s important for us to step into awareness and recognize the beliefs that no longer serve us. For example, not talking to strangers is a common lesson taught to many of us as small children. As we grew into adulthood, we abandoned that belief, albeit unconsciously.Unconscious thoughts are just as powerful as thoughts steeped in awareness. Earl Nightingale, in The Strangest Secret, likened the mind to a fertile field with two planted seeds—one with corn and one with poisonous nightshade. Both seeds, watered and nurtured, grew—because to the field, the type of seeds planted doesn’t matter.Our minds are the same way, growing whatever our attention plants and nurtures. I saw a sign the other day that read, “Worrying is like praying for something you don’t want.”With the continued nurturing and care (attention) given to the seeds of worry, the source of worry will grow and become reality. That is how our minds work; we create our realities.Negative self-talk are weeds that have grown in our minds. We just need to develop our perception-shifting skill to remove those unwanted nightshades.Here are 3 steps to you develop your perception-shifting muscle:I want to finish today with the story of Plato’s cave. The shadows of the people outside the cave and distorted images from the fire flames all created a dark reality in the recesses of the cave. What dark reality exists within the confines of the caves of our mind?Thoughts are powerful; they are the seeds to ideas, beliefs, creativity, attitudes, knowledge, wisdom, and reality. Thoughts can be our best friends or our worst enemies. Not by happenstance do thoughts come to us, these powerful seeds come to us through choice. Choice and thoughts are action movements directed by us, whether we are conscious of these activities or not. The key lies in awareness of these two incredible gifts.As always, I love to hear from you. When have you discovered your initial perception to be false? How long did it take for you to shift your perception, and what were the results?With love,Maria

Increasing Intuition Improves Big Business Success

Intuition is a power tool that all successful leaders use, like an internal GPS. I found through working with my clients that many of these leaders have to re-learn how to use intuition because in many of our corporate and work experiences, we learn how to not listen to it. It’s true, increasing intuition improves big business success, today we review an acronym that will help dynamic leaders apply this concept daily.Western culture loves proof, anything empirical that has evidential credibility attached to it. I’ll never forget an experience I had early in my corporate career. One of the first meetings I had in my new position leading the marketing division was a meeting with the company president. I was excited and nervous. Having done my homework in the area of our planned discussion, I was ready. The meeting began smoothly and I felt confident in my knowledge and insight. Then, my moment came. The president asked me about my thoughts. I promptly answered, “I feel …” and immediately was interrupted by him with words that cut to my core, “Maria, I don’t care about your feelings, tell me what you know”.Funny thing about the corporate environment; if you can prove something on a spreadsheet, you have instantaneous credibility. Therefore, I quickly mastered the art of gathering empirical evidence to prove what my intuitive mind already knew.That experience was the first of many that unfortunately taught me how to not listen to my intuition. Luckily, I only followed this mode of operation for a few years, before I realized that my previous way of decision-making served me much more efficiently and effectively, which was of course using my intuition.Remember to develop intuition in a big business, just use the acronym, I N T U I T I O N.I want to clarify, I am not advocating throwing logic out the window. I am recommending that we use all of the tools in our possession to make the best possible decisions. We move into a danger zone if we hinder our decision-making process by not using both intuition and logic.As always, I would love to hear from you. How have you used intuition in your job, career, or personal life?With love,Maria