The l3 Leadership State of Being

 The foundational elements of our L3 Leadership model includes, authenticity, integrity and balance.This post explores dimension of authentic leadership.

This list of qualities is adapted from Michael Hyatt’s work.

Authentic leaders have insight. Sometimes we refer to this as vision, but that usually has exclusive reference to the future. While leaders must have vision, they need more. They need wisdom and discernment. They need to be able to look at complex situations, gain clarity, and determine a course of action.

 Authentic leaders demonstrate initiative. They go first. They don’t sit on the sidelines. They don’t ask others to do what they are unwilling to do themselves.

Authentic leaders exert influence. It’s no coincidence that influence and influenza (the flu) come from the same root word. Real leaders are contagious. People “catch” what they have. People are drawn to their vision and their values. They are able to gather a following and move people to act. To change metaphors, they are like human wave pools, creating a ripple effect wherever they go.

Authentic leaders have impact. At the end of the day, leaders make a difference. The world is changed because of their leadership. They are able to create real and lasting change. Unless something has shifted, they aren’t leaders. They are only entertainers. There is a big difference. The measure of leadership cannot be found in the leader; it is found in the impact the leader has on his or her followers.

Authentic leaders exercise integrity. Not every leader is benevolent. Adolf Hitler was a leader, as was Josef Stalin. They had insight, initiative, influence, and impact. Yet their lives were not integrated with the highest values. Integrity—or the lack thereof—ultimately determines the quality of a person’s impact. In a sense, this is the foundation of authentic leadership.

No leader achieves anything of true, lasting value alone.

Whatever great things you aim to accomplish, whatever changes you’re determined to drive, you need others to help you make it happen: others who can serve on your Personal Board of Advisors. Therefore, building great team of personal advisors ought to be a high priority when it comes to Total Life Leadership. Let’s look at the make up of this team of advisors.  Your team should include advisors in eight key areas of work and life. These include Physical Health, Emotional Intelligence, Spiritual/Values, Family, Life Long Learning, Social Networks, Career Development, and Financial Health.

Continuing our theme of “Leading Self”, we all know a successful business needs a plan in order to succeed. Similarly, in order to manage the

Multiple demands in our personal and professional lives, we as individuals need a “business plan”— a Personal Life Plan.

This Personal Life Plan, or Total Life Leadership Plan as we commonly refer to it, addresses every aspect of your life and, when properly implemented and monitored can bring great success and joy to your life.

Another way of interpreting the various elements of our work and life can best be described in the wheel of life. The wheel is made up of the basic elements of the average person’s life. Each of these elements demands your attention, time, and energy. In order to feel you are living a fulfilling life, you need to be satisfied with how things are going in the areas that are most important to you. We show the Wheel as being made up of an inner “hub” and an outer “ring.” In the hub are your natural resources. 

Mind

Body

Spirit/Values

Or in other words, our Body, Mind and Spirit. How well you maintain these vital resources largely determines what you achieve in your life.

In the outer ring are our choices and challenges.  Again, what decisions are you making to “manage” these vital areas of life?

Money

Family

Learning

Social

Career

 What can be done to ensure our “natural resources” are well maintained and our choices and challenges reflect our values and our natural talents?

In our L3 leadership model, the three levels rest on the core values of Integrity, Authenticity and Balance.

The first level (L1) is total life leadership, creating personal mastery or YOU, INC.  In other words, Leading Self.

Leadership begins with an internal sense of self-confidence, emotional intelligence and balance that brings forth an authentic leadership presence. This “quiet confidence” effortlessly engages followers who will support the leader by offering trust, passion, calculated risk, emotional intelligence, and a host of other supportive attributes that provide high performance and productivity.

This is the basis of L3 at the “Leading Self” level. This notion can perhaps best be understood through a familiar business image—an organizational chart.

Remember Who You Really Report To!!

Successfully leading organizations today requires leaders to transform themselves personally.

What are you seeing in your organizations that is transformational in its nature?  How are others accepting the changes and what is the “background noise” accompanying the changes?

If you agree that Leadership is really a “State of Being” much more than it is a position in an organization then it is important to examine the foundation upon which this rests.  Our belief and practice supports this assumption.

This state of being reflects your foundation values. It encompasses your vision of the future and your presence in the moment. It is the sum

total of your attitudes and beliefs, actions and values.

More specifically, The L3 model rests on 3 core values that determine how you lead and who will follow.

The foundational elements of the L3 Leadership Model are:

Integrity: The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.

Authenticity: The quality or condition of being authentic, trustworthy, or genuine.

Balance: A harmonious or satisfying arrangement or proportion of parts or elements of your total life.

Continuing our dialog about creating the Best Place To Work, looking at Leadership may be a good place to begin.

Do you ever “Wonder” what it would be like to work in an organization that felt like and indeed was a great place to work?   What would it be like to work with a highly engaged and productive workforce?

What if your leaders at all levels were aligned with the organization’s vision, mission and values?

What if leaders, managers, employees, partners and customers were consciously building collaborative advantage?

What if all employees were engaged and motivated to reach their highest potential?

Do you ever “Wonder” about a place where people lead themselves well, build high performance teams 
and create the very best place to work?

At Glowan, we are dedicated to facilitating new leadership thinking for individuals, teams and the organization!

Let’s “wonder” together and discover what people are thinking and doing to build a great place to work.

Some of the most important work we do with our leader coaching clients is in “finding space for strategic personal thinking”. By this we mean creating the space for them to slow down for a moment, be present and get clear on what’s important to them.

To actually get clear on what the impact is that they want to create with their leadership. Doing this requires making time to help and support themselves to be as “clear, and present”, focused and conscious as possible. One of the most important exercises here taking charge of their total life as a leader

We very often notice a common theme in executive coaching. It’s the issue and value of creating the space and the permission for one to engage in total life leadership. People tend to pass it off as “Not now, later. There are more important things to do.” Or, they will say, “My Life can wait, this can’t.” Or, they will even more simply feel, “There is no time.”

There is always a reason for not engaging in total life leadership, sometimes even a really good one. Often executive coaching clients are not aware that total life leadership or L1 is an opportunity to create more energy, integration of life and work, leading to stronger overall leadership. The fact of the matter is, Total Life Leadership or L1 an opportunity.

Unfortunately, it is often not until an effective leader experiences a problem or a life-threatening issue, or witnesses a problem in someone else, that he or she will pay more attention to her health and personal self-care. Often, it is not until the pain of not doing it gets stronger than the pain of actually engaging it, that her or she starts to take action.

One of the stakes we hold for business coaching clients, whether they are working with leadership or personal issues, is that this piece must be attended to. Whether it concerns health issues, energy issues, holding boundaries, work/life integration or eliminating tolerations that are sucking their energy, Total Life Leadership fills the energy bucket and is essential for sustaining focus and presence today.

It doesn’t matter what your agenda, taking the time to honor yourself and give yourself The gift of self leadership, L1 will help clear the decks for more powerful and effective leadership. Envision the possibilities.

For the most part today, without Total Life Leadership we walk around on “borrowed energy” in a depleted state, less clear and less focused.

* How can you make your most powerful choices and decisions from a place of exhaustion and depletion?
* How can you show up authentically and powerfully from a place of surviving vs. thriving?

Envision!

Envision your organization as the best place to work, with a highly engaged and productive workforce.

Envision your leaders at all levels aligning to the organization’s vision, mission and values.

Envision leaders, managers, employees, partners and customers building collaborative advantage.

Envision all employees engaged and motivated to reach their highest potential.

Envision… A place where people lead themselves well, build high performance teams,
and create the very best place to work.

At Glowan, we are dedicated to facilitating new leadership thinking for individuals, teams and the organization!