Wednesday 30 December 2020

What's one word that guides your choices and actions?

For four years I followed the 3 word ritual I learned from Chris Brogan who said:

I practice a ritual called “My 3 Words.” The idea is that you think up three words that will help guide your choices and actions over the coming year. This has become quite an event, with thousands and thousands of people working their way through the ritual and planning their year based on their own three words.

For 2020 I chose just one word - magnificence. I learned the one word concept from Dr Jason Fox. See his short video here. 

For 2021 I've chosen one word again after undertaking Jason's online course. 

My word for 2021 is energised.

I highly recommend Jason's online course.

Become the wise leader you want to be.

Ian

Monday 28 December 2020

Getting past 'The Deficit Myth' is a key to a better future


I've long believed that mostly in the Western world we have elected the wrong people to lead us particularly this century. Trump capped it all off. And here in Australia Morrison beggars belief. Having said this Biden and Albanese are not the answers either. These four I feel are representatives of the past. All are leading us down the wrong paths.

Part of the reason we have duped ourselves is because the mainstream believes in the BS the politicians spew out about money, finance and the economy.

The reality is we have a failed financial system that means the rich get richer and the inequality gap widens.

This book may change all this. 

I hope the ideas in this book become mainstream and that 'Modern Monetary Theory' is embraced.

I want to say goodbye to neoliberalism (the resurgence of 19th-century ideas associated with economic liberalism and free-market capitalism), party politics and the division caused by them, as well as the belief that social democracy is a bad thing.

It's time for politicians to actually represent citizens rather than corporations, lobby groups, religion and others with vested interests.

Get this book for yourself here.

Become the wise leader you want to be.

Ian


Wednesday 23 December 2020

The joy of delivering the finished product

The video below is the 45 seconds after the first box of my Heart-Leadership book were delivered to my home.

The box contained the first 44 of the 100 I will sign. To get one of the remaining 46 signed and numbered books please register for one of the conversations below:

February 24th 2021 10 AM - 11.30 AM AEDT

February 24th 2021 3.30 PM - 5 PM AEDT

February 24th 2021 6.30 PM - 8 PM AEDT

If these dates don't work for you then please contact me on +61 418 807 898. I'm very happy to take phone orders while the 46 remain and have a conversation with you in due course.

Become the wise leader you want to be.

Ian

Monday 21 December 2020

Is harmony your key to thriving in 2021?

I've written and spoken a lot about harmony.

Here's some of my musings:

Harmony Matters

Everything of meaning and value begins with harmony

Life/work balance is nonsense - life/work harmony is possible

I often just contemplate the yin and yang symbol as I appreciate what is and imagine what can be in my life and work.

In a conversation with a colleague last week we touched on Carl Jung's insight of Anima and Animus

The quote below is from this Wikipedia link:

Anima

Anima originated from Latin, and was originally used to describe ideas such as breath, soul, spirit or vital force. Jung began using the term in the early 1920s to describe the inner feminine side of men.

Animus

Animus originated from Latin, where it was used to describe ideas such as the rational soul, life, mind, mental powers, courage or desire. In the early nineteenth century, animus was used to mean "temper" and was typically used in a hostile sense. In 1923, it began being used as a term in Jungian psychology to describe the masculine side of women.

For me 2020 has seen the worst in male leaders and the best in female leaders. In 2021 I'm expecting more men embracing their Anima and therefore better male leaders. I'm expecting a continuation of the growth in female leaders both in quality and quantity.

Anima and Animus are another way to look at harmony. How do they speak to you?

Who will you become? What will you do next?

Become the wise leader you want to be.

Ian

Friday 18 December 2020

What did you learn, unlearn and relearn in 2020?

Listen to the podcast version of this post

Wise people are playing an infinite game. A key to continuing is deciding on what you will take into the future and what will you leave behind?

A line from Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book Future Shock has well and truly survived the 50 years since he said it:

By instructing students how to learn, unlearn and relearn, a powerful new dimension can be added to education…Tomorrow's illiterate will not be the man who can't read; he will be the man who has not learned how to learn.

Today this is often quoted as ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.’

2020 has been a great you for learning, unlearning and relearning has it not?

I learned

We can be engaging and make deep connections with other humans online.

We do not have to work long hours to produce great work or to achieve what we is important to us and those we serve.

Sticking to our practice, that is our way of being and doing, means we can thrive regardless of what may be happening in the world.

I unlearned

Selling is a numbers game.

Writing is always hard work.

Trying to appeal to people who aren’t the right fit for me.

I relearned

Listening to understand before seeking to be understood.

Hearing my heart before asking my head.

The power of now and choosing now over normal.

What do you learn, unlearn and relearn in 2020?

What you will take into the future and what will you leave behind?

Do Your Work.

Become the wise leader you want to be.

Ian

PS There's videos, podcasts, courses and resources here to help you

Wednesday 16 December 2020

What would happen if you were kinder to yourself, other people, and our planet?

This weeks video is the last in the continuous set of eight about the heart qualities I explore in my Heart-Leadership book. It is also one of 26 videos you will find here about Heart-Leadership.

There’s a one minute and forty-seven seconds video at this blog post that for me perfectly demonstrates kindness.

What would happen if you were kinder to yourself, other people, and our planet?

Kindness in part comes from a flow of the other heart qualities which in turn flow to head catalysts and hand actions.


Each of these heart qualities, head catalysts and hand actions are choice that wise leaders make.

Become the wise leader you want to be.
Ian

Monday 14 December 2020

Heart-Leadership - Become the wise leader you want to be is now published

 


My book is now published.

You can purchase it from here.

At the link there's 24 videos (all under 5 minutes) and 24 podcasts (all under 10 minutes). They are companion resources for the book and designed for you as a 48 week self-directed online course.

Just watch or listen to one video or one podcast a week for 48 weeks and then take action in your own best way.

Just watch one video or listen to one podcast and you will know if this book is for you.

It's written for Heart-Leadership Enthusiasts.

Your heart knows. Learning to trust this innermost knowing means no longer second guessing yourself or doubting your value.

Heart-Leadership enables clarity in any given moment of your why and how, what’s next and with and for whom. 

Heart-Leadership enables you to sense any disruption to your flow in advance, and to overcome any challenge and solve any problem peacefully. 

Heart-Leadership is grounded in the eight heart qualities of love, gratitude, appreciation, care, happiness, compassion, harmony and kindness.

Heart-Leaders enhance, hold and when needed shift human energy for the better. 

Do you want to lead from your heart in your home, workplace, town, city, country, sporting club, community group, wherever you belong? This book is for you. 

Become the wise leader you want to be.

Ian

Friday 11 December 2020

Create your own future

Listen to the podcast version of this post

I’ve been contemplating my future this week. I do so regularly. At this time of year I focus on my future for a few days because I always reinvent myself in some way as I move into a new year. 

Happenstance meant that during my considerations this week a notice of a new video about the future came into my inbox. It’s 42 minutes.


On the video Anton Musgrave says “stop thinking about the future from the lens of today.” 

Liselotte Lygnso says “Things are not good or bad they just are."

These two pieces of wisdom helped my contemplations.

Then the old chestnut came up too “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” This is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln. A fact check reveals this not to be the case and doesn’t really offer who may have said it or not. The closest is Peter Drucker being quoted as saying “You cannot predict the future, but you can create it.”

I believe everyone one of us can and must create our own future. There are many actions you can take and a great deal that you can influence.


Also this week I’ve been reading a great new book by Derek Sivers.

This book is about being a successful musician yet it is also using musician as a metaphor for being successful at anything we choose. 

I love this book.

Derek recommends having two plans that you work simultaneously. 

One plan depends on you and nobody else. The second plan uses other people to help. 

I think this is genius and so I now have two plans for 2021.


How are you creating your future?

Do Your Work.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.

Ian

Wednesday 9 December 2020

Harmony Matters

Being in harmony with yourself, other people and our planet is the starting place for being the best version of you. Harmony is perhaps my all time favourite word. The Yin and Yang symbol captures it very well. Harmony is one of eight heart qualities that I explore in my Heart-Leadership book.

Being in harmony enables us to hear our hearts, ask our heads and engage our hands. This is the supreme order of things and leads to happenstance (synchronicity/serendipity). 

Listen to the short podcast about harmony.

Find life/work harmony for yourself.

Find and sustain a shared-view (harmony) in seven areas of significance.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.

Ian

Monday 7 December 2020

How are you dealing with fake news, endless disinformation and propaganda?

Image via medium.com

I've been at sixers and sevens about social media and the media in general for several months. The old media of the likes of Murdoch owned outlets I mostly ignore.

In my Heart-Leadership book I say the following about social media:

A blessing and a curse is how I describe social media. On the one hand much of it is anti-social, self-centred, self-righteous crap. It is very difficult to spot fake news and the endless disinformation and propaganda is quite simply a pain in the arse.

On the other hand there’s value and insight to be given and received and the platforms can assist us in building and sustaining relationships. DC (during coronavirus) social media I’m sure has been helpful too many to stay in touch with family and friends.

I personally limit myself to LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. The latter two are always precarious. I’m on WhatsApp yet I don’t see the value in always being available and so notifications for all social media are mostly switched off.

My main ritual with social media and technology platforms in general is to limit my time and energy engaging with them.

I admit to being warn out by fake news, endless disinformation and propaganda, not just on social media, in much of the old media as well.

How are you dealing with fake news, endless disinformation and propaganda?


I genuinely want to know your feelings and thoughts. Please email me ian@ianberry.biz or comment below or on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook where this will be posted.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian

Friday 4 December 2020

The key to environments of trust is being trustworthy

Listen to the podcast version of this post

I have zero trust in federal politicians to do the right thing by us. A certain American President and those that enable him personifies for me everything that isn’t trustworthy.

I remain positive though. In my world trust matters. In my world I live and work with people who are trustworthy. The key to environments of trust is being trustworthy

In my world people can be relied on to speak the truth as they see it.

In my world being compassionate and kind matters.

In my world actions and behaviours mirror the words.

In her great book 'Dare To Lead' Brene Brown speaks of her seven elements of trust. One of them is Integrity. Brene says and I quote:  “You choose courage over comfort. You choose what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy. And you choose to practice your values rather than simply professing them.” 

Living our values rather than simply professing them is a key to being trustworthy.

Your values are not words. They are behaviours. In a team, organisation, your family or your sporting team/community they are 3 - 5 behaviours that you have agreed on.

There's a complimentary self-directed online course here on sustaining shared-view in the seven areas of significance. Do the course with any group of people and I guarantee increased trustworthiness.

More on values being behaviours here.

Do Your Work.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.

Ian

Wednesday 2 December 2020

Compassion is a behaviour

The following is from my Heart-Leadership book.

There's a lot of truth for me in the following attributed to Fred Kofman, a leader in the conscious business movement:

"Wisdom without compassion is ruthlessness,

and compassion without wisdom is folly."

One of the Apostles of the Christian Church is reported to have said, “Faith without works is dead.”

A lot of faiths are dead, dying, or in trouble today because the actions of a few of the faithful betray their stated beliefs. 

I meet a lot of people more interested in being right than being compassionate for example. Compassion for me is at the truthful heart of all the world’s religions. Compassion is not a belief, it's a behaviour.

If we are not living and breathing a compassionate life we render whatever we believe as null and void, regardless of what we say.

A new world is being born.  Compassion is a key component. There is a place for faith in this new world. For me belief is personal and therefore deserving of respect. 

What really matters in this new world though is behaviour.

Some people have asked me what has compassion got to do with the future success of my business? My answer is - Everything! particularly in a world where being purpose driven and people focused, and seeing technology as an enabler and enhancer of the human experience, is the leading edge.

Being compassionate is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

There's more videos, podcasts and self-directed online courses here to help you to be a Heart-Leader in your own best way.

Hear your heart first, then ask you head, then engage your hands.

Ian

Monday 30 November 2020

The Beauty of BHAG's

Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal or BHAG — is a phrase from Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 book 'Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies'. A BHAG is a long-term goal i.e. 10 - 25 years. 

I read the 2000 edition of the book as I was writing my first book 'Increasing Profits Without Hurting People. My book is now out of print with key concepts now in the books I have published since.

My BHAG then was helping my clients to achieve five-fold bottom lines. It's still a key part of my quest.

Today I articulate my BHAG as follows:

Replacing the dogma and doctrines of corporations, lobby groups, political parties, religions, and self-interest groups with human rights and actions that invoke egalitarianism.

All in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and a five-fold bottom-line.


What's your BHAG?
Why does it matter?

Keep on being the difference you want to see in the world.

Ian

Friday 27 November 2020

Become the wise leader you want to be

Listen to the podcast version of this post

The sub title for my Heart-Leadership book is 'Become the wise leader you want to be'. The book is an assertion, a guide, and a  toolkit to help you in your own best way.

What does being wise mean to you?

Many years ago I read a wonderful little book by Robert Fulghum called All I  Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten. In the book he shares his credo I quote:

ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup—they all die. So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned—the biggest word of all—LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living.

Take any one of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if we all—the whole world—had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had as a basic policy to always put things back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are—when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

End of quote.

What does being wise mean to you?

For me it’s about being the best version of me. Just like you I’m a one-of-a-kind human being. I believe that each of us has an obligation to be the best one-of-a-kind human being that we can be.

For me being wise is about taking responsibility for my intentions, feelings, thoughts, behaviours and actions. Being wise is appreciating you and supporting you in being accountable for intentions, feelings, thoughts, behaviours and actions.

Over 500 years ago William Shakespeare got it right I believe when he wrote “This above all - to thine own self be true” Polonius in Hamlet,1. iii 

What does being wise mean to you? 

Do Your Work.

More podcasts, videos, self-directed online courses to help you here.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.

Ian

"The feeling of progress is one of the best feelings of all. This is true even when progress is small.”
James Clear

Wednesday 25 November 2020

Happiness is a choice

There are a myriad of resources available to find happiness. Most of it is nonsense. Happiness is a choice. Happiness is a Heart-Leadership quality that flows on from the other qualities of love, gratitude, appreciation and care.

There's much to help you choose Happiness in my Heart-Leadership book. Learn more.

In the book I quote the Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel who in an excellent book ‘The Real Enjoyment of Living’ said:

“Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.”

I contemplate this often, and then act accordingly.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian

Monday 23 November 2020

Workhuman® Charter of Workplace Rights

 I love the Workhuman® Charter of Workplace Rights as follows. Read more about them here.

The right to do meaningful work.

The right to be appreciated.

The right to work-life harmony.

The right to belong.

The right to grow.

The right to be paid fairly.

The right to privacy.

The right to feel safe and respected.

The right to work in a place that strives to protect the environment.

(BTW first time I've seen the expression work-life harmony except in my own writings. To be precise I say life-work harmony).

Who will you become?
What will you do next?

Be remarkable.

Ian

PS I discovered a few days after posting this that there is an Australian Charter of Employment Rights. Please download it here. If you know of others please email ian@ianberry.biz

Friday 20 November 2020

Everything is what it is

Listen to the podcast version of this post

It’s easy to get into a rage about many things in our world.

How can it be that 71 million people voted for a guy who lies for a living?

Why are so many corporate leaders greedy and focused on power and control?

How come so many politicians are corrupt?

We can easily get sucked into things of this nature right? I’m guilty.

And yet all that I’m responsible for is my own intentions, feelings, thoughts, actions and behaviours. I’m not responsible for your intentions, feelings, thoughts, actions and behaviours.

I find these truths both liberating and challenging.

As I was researching and beginning to write my Heart-Leadership book that is now in the publishing process, I released that there is a natural flow from harmony, heart, head, hands and happenstance. These became a mnemonic.

When I focus on what’s bad or negative in the world I’m out of harmony with myself and therefore cannot hear my heart clearly.  This means I ask my head the wrong questions and I end up doing what isn’t right for me.

What does harmony with yourself, other people, and our planet mean for you?

Here you'll find videos, podcasts and self-directed online course to help you answer and act on this question.

Should you beam when you read, watch and/or listen maybe The Heart-Leadership Experience is for you. It's on next week (24th and 25th) and the 8th and 9th of December. Learn more and register below my profile here. 

Everything is what it is. When we accept this and focus on being in harmony with ourselves, other people and our planet we can hear our hearts, get crystal clear in our heads and then take the most appropriate actions for us with our hands.

Do Your Work.

Be remarkable.

Ian

Wednesday 18 November 2020

Caring For Yourself and Other People


The following is an extract from my Heart-Leadership book.

“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” said Theodore Roosevelt, the youngest person to ever be President of the United States and generally regarded in the top five Presidents, not least for his work in ensuring fairness for all people.

Care begins with self-care. As a boy my father taught me that the keys to living a good life were to be spiritually alive, mentally alert and physically active. Over time I added emotionally healthy and universally aware. I called these the five faces of a human being fully alive. Heart-Leaders are fully alive.

You can learn more about the five faces here.

Caring for others is to support them in being fully alive human beings. In many of the best workplaces today and also some countries well-being is measured and seen as more valuable than the traditional economic measures of success.

What do you measure in your workplace? 

Be remarkable.

Ian

Monday 16 November 2020

The life-enhancing energy of enthusiasts

HT to my colleague in The Right Company Jeremy Deedes.

I have begun referencing my clients as enthusiasts because I feel it better honours them.

The term came from a conversation within The Right Company about solving customer problems which progressed to being more about helping people to achieve what is important to them within specific niches.

My enthusiasts:

  • Bring their fully alive human being selves to the Heart-Leadership conversation arena.
  • Find joy in knowing and being there for other one-of-a-kinds gathered.
  • Share hard earned wisdom as well as epiphany's when they arrive.
  • Receive and give mentoring with open hearts and clear heads.
  • Delight in the success of performance possibility peers and partners.
  • Share stories other people feel themselves in.
  • Live the qualities, catalysts and actions of Heart-Leadership.
  • Ask really great questions.
  • Are implementers who also place a lot of emphasis on after-action-reviews and then integrating new learnings and perceptions with what is already working well.

As a consequence of Heart-Leadership people feel valued, live values and deliver and exchange value and innumerable pathways to possibility are opened. 

Who are your enthusiasts? What do they bring to your world?

Image courtesy of Getty Images

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 13 November 2020

Heart-Leadership Practice

Today’s podcast content is drawn from the epilogue of my Heart-Leadership book. The subject is Heart-Leadership practice.

Listen to the podcast version of this post

To sustain being in harmony with yourself, other people, and our planet, and then to consistently hear your heart first, ask your head second, engage your hands third, takes a lot of deliberate practice before it becomes habitual.

We must stay the course no matter what.

“The only thing that keeps us down and keeps us stuck is our thoughts.” said the Canadian writer John Kehoe.

Reading John’s insight in 1990 was a game changer for me.

My heart was telling me then that I should leave the corporate world and begin self-employment. 

I felt my heart calling me to be more than I was and to do work that I felt could better serve people. 

My head was filled with doubts and worry and thoughts that I was putting my family at risk should it not work.

The expressions ‘doing my head in’ and ‘weighing heavily on my mind’ had a lot of traction.

I followed my heart yet I was full of fear.

Fast-forward 30 years and I am still following my heart. There’s been highs and lows and lots in between.

There have been times when I allowed my head to overrule my heart. The consequences were never good.

There have been times when I followed my heart, only to allow myself to be overcome with doubt and worry and quit too soon. Equally allowing my head to rule has also meant hanging onto things for way too long.

Always my life has been better when I have followed my heart, kept a cool head, and move forward with my hands one small yet significant step (quantum leap) at a time.

I encourage you to take up Heart-Leadership and stick with it.

Here’s what a member of my Heart-Leadership Online Village Laura Potter says:

I’ve often been confused between what my heart or head are telling me. I find that if I think too long, beyond my initial feelings, the process can get muddled.

I’ve recently moved into a senior leadership role and I do think being in tune with your heart and head is critical.

As a leader there are daily decisions to make, and you are more closely judged by what you do or do not do, and how you do it, so it becomes crucial to act with integrity, so you can back yourself.

I recently learned about head, heart, hand from Ian. It resonated with me, I pondered it for days, and I noticed that as I approached difficult decisions, some which would have significant impact on others like recruitment choices, team direction, giving honest feedback, I started putting my hand over my heart. What was it telling me, truly? What was my instinct telling me, 

I often feel that we hear that little voice, telling us something isn’t right, or to not walk down a particular road, or to re check a locked door, but we often ignore it, and I would bet most of you have experienced moments where you wish you could rewind and listen to that voice and acted on it.

Which is why I find myself starting with my heart. I’m becoming better at listening to it, feeling it, stopping for a moment and tuning in.

I’m enjoying the process of taking in heart-felt insight, applying some practical thinking to it (the head), and backing myself in moving forward (the hand). I may not always get it right, but I do feel more confident in myself and my decisions. 

Do Your Work.

You can access videos, more podcasts and three self-directed online courses here to help you.

The registration desks are open for the 6 options for The Heart-Leadership Experience which is my special way of launching the Heart-Leadership book. You receive two online sessions and a signed copy of the book. Learn more.


Be remarkable.

Ian

Wednesday 11 November 2020

Feeling appreciated is our deepest craving


I have been researching what employees really want from employers and fellow employees for more than two decades. Appreciation tops the list. 

The eminent psychologist William James observed: “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.” 

Feeling appreciated and being willing and able to show appreciation to others are foundation stones of Heart-Leadership.

I'm a fan of former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. In his book 'Adults in the Room' Yanis says:

"We can not subcontract the discussions about what is proper, what is just, what is fair, what is right, to some algorithm, to any algorithm - even to the most fascinatingly brilliant algorithm. These are always going to be the result of debate, of dialogue, of ‘agora’ in the ancient Greek tradition. Of sitting around and discussing until the cows come home - there is no escape from that.” 

The rage is everything digital. I believe it's overrated. Yes digital has an important place in the future yet only in my view if it enhances the human experience and solves human problems.

Most of the talk and the reality is about making more stuff. Most of us don't need anymore stuff!

The future I want to co-create is about being better humans. The future is all about being decisively human in a decidedly digital world.

All human beings have aspirations. New world of work leaders know intimately the aspirations of their colleagues and therefore can have both appreciation and accountability conversations. These are foundational to healthy debate and dialogue.


Knowing your own and other people’s aspirations is the edge of two sides of the coin of appreciation and accountability. One without the other doesn’t lead to performance improvement. Appreciation conversations in harmony with accountability conversations leads to performance improvement.

Here’s my simple yet profound communication technique that I teach my clients. I call it The Double A Technique:

Ask: “How are things going?”

When you get a positive response:
 
Ask: “How does that make you feel?”
(be quiet and pay attention)

Then say, Great, Brilliant or whatever is appropriate.

Then ask: “Any other areas I can help you with?”
(be quiet and pay attention)

When you get a negative response

Ask: “What happened?” (be quiet and pay attention)

Then Ask: “What do you need to do to get back on track?”
(be quiet and pay attention)

 Then Ask: “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
(be quiet and pay attention)

Finally, Ask: “Anything else?”
(be quiet and pay attention)

How could you do better in having appreciation and accountability conversations with your workmates?


In the video below I demonstrate this technique.

I can promise you this: become an expert at having appreciation and accountability conversations each day and optimum performance will follow.


Today more than ever technological change is replacing jobs. Half of the jobs available today will be gone in a decade or less.

This is because machines will soon do most of the algorithmic work, the simple, routine, and repetitive. I think this is a good thing for it means there's great opportunity for us humans.

Conversations like the above help people to be remarkable and do work that is meaningful for them and highly valuable for others. This is the future of human work.


In a wonderful book Technology vs Humanity (see my review of this book here) Gerd Leonhard refers to andorithms "those qualities that makes us human" have more meaning than algorithms.

Embracing this in your own best way is a key to every human's happiest future.

Who will you become? What will you do next?


Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 9 November 2020

'Another Now' is always possible


I very much enjoyed this book.

Below is my Amazon review.

The book is timely given the failures of democracy and capitalism that are obvious for those willing to see.

What I loved most about this book is that the alternatives offered are imminently possible.


In your own life right now what are the alternative realities you could immediately create for yourself should you decide to make different choices and decisions?


The following insights came to mind while I was reflecting on the USA election:

“We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are.” Anaïs Nin

“Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.” Mark Twain

“Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities, Can Make You Commit Atrocities.” Voltaire

All applicable to Trump. 

The bottom line for me about Trump is three-fold:

1) He creates a narrative that leads his supporters to believe something is not true. His narrative is mostly baseless. Of course he is not the first person to claim authority based on make believe. This is modis operandi and the dogma and doctrines of religion.

2) He has consistently denied, denounced and degraded democracy.

3) He continually incites violence.

Just on the three factors above, based on his own words and action in the public arena, Trump is indefensible and should have been removed from office long before this election.

Some have said that Trump is a wild card and that the world needed a non politician to expose the corruption and pointlessness of politics. There is some validity in this.

Personally I'm over party politics and the polarisation that they thrive on.

I came across this video by Russell Brand. I'm with him let's find an alternative.


Another now is always possible.


What are the lessons for you and your organisation in all of this?

What are the alternative realities you could immediately create should you decide to make different choices and decisions?

And how will you help your world to be better, wiser and more valuable?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 6 November 2020

The Power of Performance Possibility Peers


Today’s podcast content is drawn from my Heart-Leadership book.

Listen to the podcast version of this post

Heart-Leadership is an alternative to people, change and performance management.

Today we’re exploring The Power of Performance Possibility Peers.

Performance Possibility Peers are colleagues in the same organisation as we are or are people who are on a similar path in other organisations.

In either case we form master-mind groups or peer groups (I call mine Heart-Leadership Peer Groups) as a way to share stories and make decisions about how we will change, modify or nuance our performance.

During the writing of this book I formed my latest Heart-Leadership Peer Group called The Heart-Leadership Online Village. 

In the Village we are performance possibility partners and peers for people wanting to be the best Heart-Leaders we can be at home, and in the workplace, town, city, country, sporting club, community group, wherever we belong.

Here is the short version back story:

I’ve been engaged in master-mind groups for over 30 years. The first was a bunch of blokes who met weekly to explore what it really meant to be great husbands and fathers as well as true friends. We called ourselves ‘The JourneyMen' and were referenced by Steve Biddulph in one of his early books on Manhood. There was nothing much happening for men in those days and domestic violence and other matters were just starting to be discussed more openly.

I’m in no doubt that for the small group of us we all became better people because of our regular candid conversations (often around the pot belly stove) in Philip’s shed.

Since then I’ve been a member of many groups, led quite a few, and presented to over 100 around the world in the leadership peer-group space. 

The original idea put forward by Napoleon Hill in his famous book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ still holds true: “The co-ordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definitive purpose, in the spirit of harmony.

No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind {the master mind].”

What’s emerged in more recent times is that people want to gather to not just engage with our minds, we want to engage in our hearts too. 

We want to do this work with people we trust, who believe in us and appreciate us, yet also challenge us. 

We want to belong to places where we can be candid. 

We want to share our dreams. Sure we want considered responses to our requests, mostly we want to share what is in our hearts.

Where do you belong?

The most remarkable leaders I know are in the habit of regularly stepping off the field of play to work on yourself and on your organisation.

Because of the wonders of technology the majesty of Heart-Leadership groups can now happen online where we can tap into the wisdom of peers operating in non-competitive businesses and from different countries and cultures.

I regard having a mentor/s and belonging to a peer group/s as the top two essentials for personal and professional growth.

One of the reasons that I host online conversations every month is because for the regulars they are a form of master-mind group.

Of course the concept of a peer groups shifts to a whole new level when we consider them in the light of heart, head and hands and in that order.

There is nothing quite like belonging to groups of peers where the focus is on hearing our hearts first, then asking heads, and then being with one another/working with one another as we engage our hands.

Performance Possibility Peers as with Performance Possibility Partners are special kinds of friends.

Many are called, only a few take the next step into the unknown. We act alone yet need others to walk alongside us while answering their call at the same time.

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”

Anon

Do Your Work.

Be remarkable.

Ian

Wednesday 4 November 2020

An attitude of gratitude


 Carol and I walk with our dog Molly every day, rain, hail or shine.

A ritual we have adopted is to express out loud what we're grateful for. It really sets up the remainder of the day for us.

We're well practiced in gratitude. We know that being truly grateful for what we have leads to more of what we need.

Being grateful is something I have practiced daily now for 44 years. At age 23 I faced a life-threatening operation with a 1 in 5 survival rate. I became the 1 largely because my surgeon taught me gratitude. In preparing for the operation that saved my life I followed his instructions to stand in front of the mirror and say out loud "I have an attitude of gratitude." I have been carrying out this ritual every day since!

In the best and worst of times I have learned that being grateful and having "an attitude of gratitude" is the key to living a happy and contented life.

As I explore in my Heart-Leadership book gratitude flows from love. It's one of eight heart qualities that I explore in the book.

Three actions you can take right now to adopt an ‘attitude of gratitude’ in your own best way

1) Describe what you are grateful for out loud while on your daily walk.

2) Start each day, before you turn your computer on, or do anything else, making a list of what you’re grateful for right now. Start with yourself personally, other people, and then things in general.

Take the intentions, feelings, and thoughts that arise into every action and transaction.

Make this ritual part of your everyday life. And if you need any simple, practical help with this, do give me a shout.

3) Regularly answer these two questions:

What's worth celebrating?

What can be better?

Here's 12 more ways to maintain an "attitude of gratitude".

Be remarkable.

Ian

Monday 2 November 2020

What are these values we keep taking about?

 This video by Jan Fran is hilarious.


On a serious note it highlights the fact that we talk a lot about values and yet rarely do we have a shared-view about what they mean behaviourally.

Here's two videos from me about how values must be agreed behaviours otherwise they are just meaningless words.


Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.

Friday 30 October 2020

Invoking key actions of our hands

This post follows on from this post about the catalysts of the head and this post about the qualities of the heart. All are part of my Heart-Leadership work.

Listen to the podcast version of this post

Invoking key actions of your hands

The following actions are crucial to engaging your hands and those of other people.

Expressive

When I made the decision to ensure that every action I take is an expression of my DNA and leaves a unique mark like my fingerprint or signature, I became much more considered about my actions.

Such expressiveness is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Patience

Being patient is not natural for me. Applying the science of quantum leaps i.e. small yet significant shifts, has helped me to enhance the skill over time. 

In addition as I pay greater attention to my natural heart rhythm which I have referenced is slow, I get better still. These nuances have helped me to better my sense-making in my head and be patient for the results to come naturally after I take action.

Such patience is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Quality

Taking less actions, indeed doing less work, means quality has come to the fore. It’s an old adage yet I find it to be true that focusing on taking quality actions is better than quantity. 

Such quality is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Reliability

A focus on quality of course helps us in being reliable. I’m finding more and more that reliability within itself is a key to exchanging and delivering value. Of course our reliability is a key component of being trustworthy. In a decidedly digital world trust is what makes us decisively human.

Such reliability is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Flow

Being in the zone is the place all athletes and professional practitioners desire. For us Heart-Leaders flow is a consequence of hearing our hearts first, then thinking things through via the head catalysts, which act as a springboard for hand actions.

Such flow is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Flexibility 

For many years now flexibility has been in the top echelon of what employees want from employers. Being flexible I believe is one way to stay in harmony with ourselves and other people as we do work we love in the service of people who love what we do.

Such flexibility is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Value delivery

The key measure of any output is determining whether or not the result was valuable as we promised or agreed it would be. Value is in the eyes of the beholder.

Such value delivery is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Innovation

To have successful shifted away from the status quo when sameness was no longer serving is innovation. As we have explored every day innovation is desirable and imminently possible.

Such innovation is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

The following is the flow of each of these eight hand actions from the eight heart qualities and the head catalysts.

Do Your Work.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 28 October 2020

Ensuring Love Is More Visible


The opposite of fear is love.

The song says "what the world needs now is love sweet love, because that's the only thing that there's just too little of."

Could it be that there is enough love and that our quest is to ensure it's more visible?

The following extract from my Heart-Leadership book where I write about eight heart qualities beginning with love will help you to ensure that love is more visible in your life and work.

At the link above you will see that there are more videos, podcasts and online courses available to help you to bring your best and that of other people to the world.

Love

The Ancient Greeks had four words for love. Two are well known - eros (romantic love) and agape (love in a spiritual sense). 

The other two are not generally as well known. There's storge, meaning natural affection like parents feel for their children.

And then there's philia. This is the one I find the most insightful for Heart-Leaders. Philia is often translated as affectionate regard or friendship. We need more philia in our organisations. It will lead to more philia in the world. And we need it right?

I find it simple (not always easy) to have affectionate regard for people because I know everyone of us is a one-of-a-kind human being. Only the hardest of hearts cannot love a one-off.

Philia love is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Be remarkable.

Ian

Monday 26 October 2020

Jacinda Ardern is a prime example of a Heart-Leader

There's a lot of reflections around at the moment about New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. And rightly so in my view. She exemplifies for me what a Heart-Leader sounds like.

Next month my book on Heart-Leadership will be published. It's been a labour of love that began in 2017. I've been researching, writing and workshopping content in earnest for the past six months. Along the way I've been on the look out for role models amongst well known people as well as my clients.

I've observed Australian cricket coach Justin Langer as a Heart-Leader. Human rights activist, Television presenter and former Socceroos captain Craig Foster is one too. Richmond Football Club (not mine yet is my brothers club) President Peggy O'Neal is definitely a Heart-Leader.

Jacinda Ardern is a prime example of a Heart-Leader

Here's Ally Head's 14 reasons why Jacinda Ardern is such a successful leader, according to the experts.

I particularly like numbers 3, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11.

I love this piece about Jacinda on getting your message across by my friend and colleague Michael Dodd.

This podcast by Eleanor Ainge Roy perhaps gets to the heart of the matter that a key to Jacinda's success is kindness, one of the eight heart qualities I explore in Heart-Leadership.

Who will you become?
What will you do next?

Be remarkable.

Ian 




Friday 23 October 2020

Invoking key behaviours of the head

 Content for this post and podcast is drawn from my Heart-Leadership book.

Listen to the podcast version of this post

Heart-Leadership is an alternative to people, change and performance management.

In a section of the book about exchanging and delivering value I explore eight qualities of head behaviour that flow on from the eight heart qualities that I have previously mentioned here. Learn more via the video and resources here.

The eight head qualities Openness, Sense-making, Decision-making, Problem-solving, Imagination, Human-centred design, Systems-thinking, Curiosity. 

Let’s explore each one:

Openness

From a thinking perspective openness means avoiding bias and suspending ideologies and beliefs and being completely open to the unlimited possibilities every moment offers.

Such openness is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Sense-making

Sensemaking or sense-making is the process by which people give meaning to their collective experiences. It has been defined as "the ongoing retrospective development of plausible images that rationalize what people are doing”

The key for me is giving meaning. A wonderful habit to nurture is exploring with folk what they mean and what has meaning for them.

Such sense-making is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Decision-making

We will address this formally in the section on transparency coming up next. For now see it as a process that helps others to see how you thought through something or arrived at the decision you did. This is a great giving meaning to something action within itself.

Such decision-making is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Problem-solving

Asking people you meet what problems do you solve? Or my preference what challenges do you help other people to overcome? are much more intriguing question that so what do you do?

Like decision-making problem solving that is transparent and meaning helps us all to think clearly and to fully utilise our minds amazing capacity to provide us with how to’s.

Such problem-solving is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Imagination

The following is from Albert Einstein’s 1931 published book “Cosmic Religion and Other Opinions and Aphorisms’

“At times I feel certain I am right while not knowing the reason. When the eclipse of 1919 confirmed my intuition, I was not in the least surprised. In fact, I would have been astonished had it turned out otherwise. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution. It is, strictly speaking, a real factor in scientific research.”

I love “For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.”

John Lennon of course was onto this insight in his wonderful anthem ‘Imagine’.

“Imagine there's no countries

It isn't hard to do

Nothing to kill or die for

And no religion, too

Imagine all the people

Living life in peace

You, you may say I'm a dreamer

But I'm not the only one

I hope someday you will join us

And the world will be as one …”

Such imagination is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Human-centred design

I’m a fan of the people at IDEO. In their Field Guide to Human Centered Design, they say, “When you understand the people you’re trying to reach—and then design from their perspective—not only will you arrive at unexpected answers, but you’ll come up with ideas that they’ll embrace.”

I only do bespoke work with my clients for this reason. I’m meticulous in my research with the goal of understanding the people I’m working with and then the work is all about you applying proven principles in your own best way.

Such human-centred design is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Systems-thinking

I’m always interested in how humans interact and transact with other humans as well as with technology. Any technology that doesn’t enhance the human experience is of no interest to me.

Heart-Leaders are asking how does this feel or how could this feel? before engaging the head to work out system changes.

Such systems-thinking is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

Curiosity

Curiosity is also one of the 24 Sparkenation Conversation Essentials. From a thinking perspective being curious is paying attention to the human experience and thinking about how things can be different, better or more valuable from a human perspective.

Such curiosity is a foundation stone of Heart-Leadership.

The following is the flow of each of these head qualities from the eight heart qualities to the corresponding hand actions that we will explore in next Friday's post and podcast.

Do Your Work.

Be remarkable.

Ian

Wednesday 21 October 2020

Values must be behaviours

In the very best teams and organisations values are not just words they are agreed behaviours.

I learned this the hard way a long time ago as I share in the 2009 video below.


Values must be agreed behaviours otherwise they are just meaningless words.

Over the course of a three year project with one client, I helped them through collaboration with one another, to turn values (single words) into virtues ("behaviours showing high moral standards").


In the case of this client 18 behaviours were the result of significant work. We subsequently learned that 18 is too many and that three to five is good practice.

As behaviours became the focus, or as one of the leaders involved described it "As soon as living our values became our intention, and the key focus of our attention, performance dramatically improved."

I was astounded by the performance improvement and observed two other deep factors at play. 

1) The more values were lived, the more people felt valued, and the greater value they exchanged and delivered to other people. 

2) I also learned that sustaining a high level of feeling valued, living values, and exchanging and delivering value, depended greatly on leadership, management, and culture.

I have since evolved my work to the current Heart-Leadership. Learn more here.


A 14th May 2010 New York Times article by one of my favourite authors and writers, Thomas L. Friedman, deeply influenced my thinking.

"So more and more of us are behaving by, what Seidman calls, “situational values”: I do whatever the situation allows. Think Goldman Sachs or BP. The opposite of situational values, argues Seidman, are “sustainable values”: values that inspire in us behaviors that literally sustain our relationships with one another, with our communities, with our institutions, and with our forests, oceans and climate. Of course, to counter this epidemic of situational thinking, we need more and better regulations, but we also need more people behaving better. Regulations only tell you what you can or can’t do in certain situations. Sustainable values inspire you to do what you should do in every situation."

The Seidman Thomas Friedman refers to is Dov Seidman, the C.E.O. of LRN who help companies build ethical cultures. More about Dov here. Please read the full Friedman article here.

Sustainable values are for me virtues ("behaviours showing high moral standards"). And sustainable values are a key to your sustainability as an organisation in a world viewed by a few as "post-truth", "fake news".

Who will you become?
What will you do next?

Monday 19 October 2020

We Are Not Divided

 I've been inspired by the Reasons to be Cheerful project 'We Are Not Divided'. Learn more about it here.

The primary reason I dislike politics is because divide and conquer seems to be the main modis operandi. Trump is a major example.

Of course people like Jacinda Ardern are the opposite. She proved in the New Zealand election two days ago that decency can trump division.

In my home state of Victoria, Australia, the right of politics have politicised Covid-19 and are trying everything they can to divide us and turn us against Premier Dan Andrews who it seems to me is doing a great job to ensure that we don't have to experience further lockdowns like many other states and countries. 

The right are not succeeding. All they are doing in my view is making a bad situation worse and shining a light on their own incompetence and failure to properly care for citizens in a myriad of areas, notably aged cared.

I get that many are suffering because of the lockdowns. In my view the approach of Andrews is about short term pain for long term gain. Whether he is right or wrong in his approach I don't know. What I admire about him is never once has he engaged in the dirty and divisive tactics of those trying to undermine him.

We're better than Trump or anyone else who says "my way is the only way". 


We're proving all over the world, as the Reasons to be cheerful project is highlighting, that we are not divided, in fact we are more united than ever to see the back of people who seek to divide us.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 16 October 2020

The very best leaders lead with 
and from their hearts

Today’s content is drawn from my Heart-Leadership book.

Heart-Leadership is an alternative to people, change and performance management.

Listen to the podcast version of this post

I sense a movement gathering momentum fast. Not a movement that is focused on single issues like climate change, police brutality or political corruption, rather one movement that focuses on being better humans and that encompasses all the issues where we are failing one another and the environments in which we live. 

I sense an international movement for our challenges are global. For sure there are local and national solutions. It’s just that we are one human race, each of us different for certain, yet not divided as many in power would have us believe.

There are several World Leaders and Business Leaders who appear to have lost their minds. A new kind of leadership is needed. This kind of leadership is noticeable and inspiring through its coherence.

Heads of State like New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern are showing the way. She is leading with and from her heart. She is demonstrating in a powerful and non-violent way that we can be human and be a politician!

2020 marked 30 years of deep engagement for me in leadership development through being a mentor for leaders as well as giving presentations, conducting workshops and master-classes, and engaging in numerous conversations.

I’ve been honoured to work with more than 1000 leaders, women and men, in over 40 countries.

In the past eight years I’ve focused on my own style of presentation/conversations with primarily small groups of people both in person and online. 

I’ve been able to observe and interact with leaders up close and personal and from a myriad of industries. 

I’ve been involved in organisations of all shapes and sizes, small, medium and large, family and privately owned, purpose-driven corporations, professional service firms and professional service providers.

I’ve also been privileged to work with many leaders over several years.

One thing stands out in all of my work, the very best leaders lead with and from their hearts.

More podcasts, videos and resources via this link.

Do Your Work.

Be remarkable.

Ian

Wednesday 14 October 2020

Heart first, head second


For just over 3 years I have been consciously leading with and responding to what happens with my heart first and then my head. I was in the habit of leading and responding habitually with my head.

Since I've made this shift my energy has increased. I'm clearer, calmer and more considered. As a consequence I'm more valuable, and my impact and contribution are greater.

My discoveries include the following:

Your heart always knows.

Feelings are different to thoughts.

Feelings come from your heart.

We are feeling creatures who think (HT to Dr Jill Bolte Taylor).

“Most of us think of ourselves as thinking creatures that feel, but we are actually feeling creatures that think.” Dr Jill Bolte Taylor

Feelings are an inner knowing.

Feelings have a different energy, a different frequency or vibration to thoughts.

Thoughts are from our past. Feelings are from our present and future.

The heart knows why and what, the head how, and the hands take care of who, what, where and when.

I have come to understand that this is the natural order of things. I learned and practiced for much of my life that the head ruled and that the brain was in control.

In my Heart-Leadership book I use Harmony, Heart, Head, Hands, Happenstance as a mnemonic and for the flow of book.

Harmony within ourselves is a precondition to hear our hearts, ask our heads and then engage our hands. Happenstance (coincidence, serendipity, synchronicity) follows.

The great challenge for me has been learning to hear my heart first and getting my head to wait until asked.

In your life and work are you leading and responding with your heart or your head?

Be remarkable.

Ian

Monday 12 October 2020

Changing What's Normal


On the 20th or 21st of October, depending on your preference, I'm hosting a one-off complimentary Sparkenation Conversation based on my Changing What's Normal book that I have recently relaunched the paperback version of and for the first time the electronic version. 

You can register for the 10 AM AEDT 20th October conversation here.

You can register for the 3.30 PM AEDT 21st October conversation here.

The central theme of the book that all change is personal first, relationship change second and organisational change a distant third, is highly relevant for thriving in this DC (during corona) and AC (after corona) world.


You can purchase Changing What's Normal here.

Be remarkable.

Ian

Friday 9 October 2020

Heart-Leadership Peer Groups

This post and podcast follows on from last Wednesday's 'Our four greatest teachers' post and video.

Today’s content is drawn from my Heart-Leadership book.

Heart-Leadership is an alternative to people, change and performance management. Today my focus is on peer groups.

Listen to the podcast version of this post

Are you a member of a peer group, a group of colleagues within your organisation, outside your organisation, or maybe a combination of the these? 

If you answered yes then it's likely that you are a wise person who is making the best contribution you can make to all the places that you belong to.

I’ve been engaged in master-mind groups for over 30 years. The first was a bunch of blokes who met weekly to explore what it really meant to be great husband’s and father’s as well as true friends. We’re called ourselves ‘The JourneyMen' and were referenced by Steve Biddulph in one of his early books on Manhood. There was nothing much happening for men in those days and domestic violence and other matters were just starting to be discussed more openly.

I’m in no doubt that for the small group of us we all became better people because of our regular candid conversations (often around the pot belly stove) in Philip’s shed.

Since then I’ve been a member of many groups, led quite a few, and presented to over 100 around the world in the leadership peer-group space. 

The original idea put forward by Napoleon Hill in his famous book ‘Think and Grow Rich’ still holds true: “The co-ordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definitive purpose, in the spirit of harmony.

No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind {the master mind].”

What’s emerged in more recent times is that people want to gather to not just engage with our minds, we want to engage in our hearts too. 

We want to do this work with people we trust, who believe in us and appreciate us, yet also challenge us. 

We want to belong to places where we can be candid.

We want to share our dreams. Sure we want considered responses to our requests, mostly we want to share what is in our hearts.

Where do you belong?

The most remarkable leaders I know are in the habit of regularly stepping off the field of play to work on yourself and on your business.

Because of the wonders of technology the majesty of Heart-Leadership groups can now happen online where we can tap into the wisdom of peers operating in non-competitive businesses and from different countries and cultures.

I regard having a mentor/s and belonging to a master-mind group/s as the top two essentials for personal and professional growth.

One of the reasons that I host online conversations every month is because for the regulars they are a form of Heart-Leadership group.

Of course the concept of a peer groups shifts to a whole new level when we consider them in the light of heart, head and hands and in that order.

There is nothing quite like belonging to groups of peers where the focus is on hearing our hearts first, then asking heads, and then being with one another/working with one another as we engage our hands.

Performance Possibility Peers as with Performance Possibility Partners are special kinds of friends.

“A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.”
Anon

Who will you become?
What will you do next?

Do Your Work.

Be remarkable.

Ian