It’s a fundamental question to answer every day: Am I going to be bigger than the circumstances in my life? Or will I succumb to my environment, the attitudes of those around me, the marginal results of yesterday, the actions of leaders I’ve never had lunch with, (or the poor weather)?
Who will determine your actions and experience today? Responsibility begins with acting on the logic in your answer.
The brilliant people who inspire us are those who know that the quality of our days begins with a choice. What’s more, these people understand that living a life of personal accountability is a skill. It’s a capability that can be strengthened in every interaction of every day. Effective leaders prize this skill development in their team as much as any other capability.
“There’s a lot of friction here,” a manager told me. “There are a lot of unknowns. It’s not a lot of fun to be here right now. But I decided to be different. I decided to use that friction to make me – and us – better.”
There’s a difference between people who require others (i.e. their environment) to motivate them to action – and those who have the technique to accelerate their own greatness, whenever and wherever they choose. The difference is as clear as knowing who won’t experience excellence – and who will.
Help your team act on this logic and wisdom today by asking:
1) What paradigm can we change…so the toughest situations become the seeds of our excellence?
2) What focus will we hold so momentum is generated?
3) What questions can we ask that will activate our greater potential?
How will you play big today?
Want to focus your team to be even more capable, agile, and perform better than they’ve ever done?
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“Degrees of Strength tackles the very real issues & concerns that real people encounter when they choose to transform themselves, their lives, and specifically their leadership. This book is like mirror and a window with the capability to see yourself and your organization reflected, yet the window is clearly open to continued (accelerated) growth. Most of all, Degrees of Strength, is a key enabler to growing one’s emotional intelligence. Thanks Craig & Steve, for continuing to provide relevant tools which help me grow!!!!!!” – Paper Girl (via Amazon.com)
“…I was again delighted by not only the insights and practical tools for empowering our lives for the better but also the easy, relevant and personable delivery. Our lives are stories, stories that we write and direct. This story fits for leaders and managers and anyone else who wants to be happier and a force for inspiring ‘greatness’ in the world.” – Bill Milnor (via Amazon.com)
Thanks for this very important message, it certainly reminds us and makes us appreciate our leadership training. The two tools that come to mind immediately after reading this post, are Energy Map and the High Road/Low Road. But my favorite is the Big 6 of Degrees of Strength (until I read the “degress of STRENGTH” book:
6. Passion to server
5. Quiet Mind
4. Dance like nobody’s watching
3. Autonomy/Non-defensiveness
2. Responsibility
1. Acceptance
Ahmad – thanks for your feedback, and the link to some of the powerful Verus Global tools. (Don’t tell anyone, but the Big 6 has always been one of my favorites.) And, if you liked this post, you’re going to love the DEGREES OF STRENGTH book – the three steps outlined in the post are an outline of the TECHNIQUE discussed and modeled in the book. Can’t wait to hear what you think – and how you apply the insights. Thanks again for living and leading like you do – Craig
My “Play Big” Moment today…was choosing to introduce and advance the Degrees of Strength concept in my workplace by shining the light back on a co-worker as I thanked her (one of our call center employees) for sending an email to me about how our website caught the attention of a new patient who decided on Vision Care Specialists based on what she saw on our website! She said:
“I wanted to let you know that I scheduled a patient in for a new patient exam yesterday. She had used a general internet search to look for an eye doctor in the area and decided to visit our website. She said that ours was by far the best website she had looked at, that is was very user friendly and that is why she chose us as her new eye doctor. She said she figured if our website was great, we would be too… Just wanted to let you know…”
I wanted to immediately empower and encourage her to realize it was not just me as a marketing department of one working on creating a great website; that is really just window dressing. What really happened was in her one on one interaction on the phone, that first HUMAN contact between this new patient and our practice is where the relationship began. Then when the patient comes in for that eye appointment, everyone from the front desk, to the techs, then the doctors and opticians, ALL of us help to make this a true success story! I used the truths straight from my Degrees of Strength book open before me as I replied to her kudos to me…
“What we do TOGETHER makes this possible.”
“What we have accomplished, what we are collectively doing is working and the efforts from you and all of the care group, along with my marketing efforts on the website created the fertile ground!”
“As we look at what’s working, solutions from your perspective are much appreciated, so let me know from your experience, strengths and wisdom, what other ides we can use to better leverage this avenue of reaching our patients!”
“We are successful together!”
I can’t thank Craig and Steve enough, for sharing their knowledge and the truths contained in Degrees of Strength and for giving me the tools to help others see themselves as they truly are. I can’t wait to share it with everyone else in the practice so they too will recognize the invaluable strengths that each one of them already have and help them to develop those strengths to higher degrees every day. The work we are each doing on the inside may seem insignificant by itself, but a sky full of diamonds shining outward and each reflecting the light of another fills the void until you can’t tell one from the other. WE WILL SHINE AS ONE AND SUCCEED TOGETHER!
Patricia – you inspire like no other, my new friend! You provide beautiful evidence of the Degrees of Strength Technique – and an important reminder: Accelerating great performance and outcomes is not simply a matter of attitude…it’s a skill. It’s a skill we can all develop greater capability in. Thank you for modeling this! – Craig P.S. And by the way, your office “walks the talk.” I enjoy my visits and have tremendous confidence in the quality of service!
I love your article. This fits so well with our focus on Accountability. I plan on using this to help me and others at my organization! Thanks.
I am inspired by this post! This is such a CRITICAL point … excuses are everywhere, and they are valid. But they don’t get us where we want to go and they don’t get us the fulfillment we all desire. It takes shining the light on those things we’ve allowed ourselves to become victims to and decided to choose something new and to stand in our true power! It takes courage and strength, but it’s worth it!
Today, I reached out to several co-workers to connect and offer support. It was fabulous and they really appreciated it. Our team is stronger now because of it. A small thing … but so important!
Laura – your notes always bring enthusiasm. And your words – “excuses…are valid” is important. So many want to criticize those who are offering the excuses. Successful leaders understand that rather than waste time trying to change someone by making them wrong…it’s much more effective to invite them to experience a different paradigm. Once they do, they change and move forward themselves. Thank you! – Craig
A terrific and important thought, Mark. As discussed in our DEGREES OF STRENGTH book, accountability is a choice. Leaders who attempt the old “hold people accountable” approach set themselves up for long hours. There’s a better way. I look forward to hearing your success stories! Thanks. – Craig