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by Reginald B. McBride

Building leadership skills for professional success is important not only to move a company but also to push society to a better future! The fruits of leadership come in all sizes.

The people we look up to to lead us hold immense power in shaping the direction of our lives. They make decisions that impact everything from economic prosperity and social justice to environmental sustainability and global security. But what exactly are the fruits of leadership? The answer, unfortunately, is not a simple one.

But, at their best, leaders act as architects of the progress of societies and of themselves. Effective leaders prioritize policies that stimulate economic growth, create jobs, foster innovation, and raise living standards. They champion infrastructure development, free trade agreements, or investment in key sectors like technology or renewable energy.

The Able Leader

Leaders are also committed to social justice work so a more equitable society can be made. This involves enacting policies that promote equal opportunities in education, healthcare, and employment.

Good leaders prioritize environmental sustainability and recognize that there is a pressing need to reimagine a more sustainable world. They implement policies that promote renewable energy sources, conserve natural resources, and enforce pollution regulations.

In an increasingly interconnected world, truly effective leaders understand the importance of global cooperation. They work to build international partnerships that address global challenges like pandemics, nuclear proliferation, or cyber threats.

The Fruits of Leadership

Despite the perils, leadership also holds immense potential for positive change. Leaders empower. While reaching your full potential can be done by you and you alone, leaders can create a ripple effect of positive change. This involves fostering civic engagement, supporting entrepreneurship, or investing in education and skills training.

Leaders innovate. Leaders who champion thinking outside the box can better imagine solutions to our most pressing challenges. They are more likely to invest in research and development, promote collaboration between science and industry, and dedicate themselves to fostering creativity and risk-taking.

Leaders are resilient. Leaders guide communities through crises like natural disasters, economic downturns, or social unrest and, through these, build resilience. This involves fostering a sense of shared responsibility, promoting adaptation, and investing in emergency preparedness.

Lastly, leaders inspire. Leaders who embody hope and optimism motivate individuals and communities to strive for a better future. They can articulate a shared vision, promote unity amidst diversity, and celebrate successes along the way.

But remember, leadership is not a singular force. It’s a dynamic interplay between leaders and followers. As subordinates, we have a crucial role to play in critically evaluating the leadership we are offered. This involves analyzing policies, holding leaders accountable, and demanding transparency.

The Perils of Leadership

Leadership, however, is not without its perils. The fruits of leadership can sometimes spoil.

Leaders who consolidate power and disregard democratic principles can lead to authoritarian regimes. These regimes often stifle dissent, suppress civil liberties, and prioritize self-preservation over the needs of the people.

When leaders are driven mostly by personal gain, they engage in corruption, enriching themselves at the expense of the public good. This can create a climate of distrust, impede economic development, and undermine basic services. Leaders who focus solely on short-term gains can neglect long-term challenges like climate change or infrastructure decay. This can lead to a future burdened by unintended consequences.

Be careful also of leaders who exploit popular fears and anxieties to gain power, as it can be detrimental. They may scapegoat minorities, demonize opponents, and implement policies that exacerbate social divisions.

Achieving Success and Beyond!

The story of leadership is an ongoing and unfinished symphony. It’s a story filled with triumphs and tragedies, moments of progress, and periods of regression. Whether leaders take us toward a brighter future or a darker one depends on a complex interplay between the actions of those in power, the choices of the people, and the unpredictable forces of history.

As citizens, we have a responsibility to engage with the story of leadership, to understand the challenges it presents, and to work towards the possibilities it holds. By doing so, we can help ensure that the symphony of leadership continues to play a positive and powerful role in shaping our collective destiny.

Learn more about building leadership for professional success from Jill Fandrich’s slate of books! Her catalog is all available on her blog site, A Book in Time.

www.ABookinTime.net

The Three-Step Process for Personal and Professional Growth

—Jill Fandrich, PharmD, CRPh

Effective leadership is shaped by starting with a “beginner’s mind.” A beginner’s mind is the perfect place to build essential leadership and critical thinking skills to foster innovative thinking and problem-solving skills found in leaders. The first step is to declutter the mind and discover where all of the current thought processes are coming from. Our minds are mainly programmed by someone else. Consider that from the day you were born, someone else guided and instructed you, and you took information from all types of sources. This continues today from the media sources you watch and listen to, books you read, things you hear from other people, etc. Bring yourself to an awareness of your current programming and observe your current reactions, responses, and results. Are you where you want to be?

STEP 1: Elevate your Mind to Success

Discover how to hold captive every negative thought and reframe it into a positive and uplifting one. Transform your thinking patterns and ultimately lead yourself to achieving your goals. Adopting certain principles and practices that can redefine your thought process and ultimately lead you to achieve your goals is essential to Elevate Your Mind to Success. Success is a journey, not a destination. Stay committed, persevere through setbacks, and consistently apply these strategies to Elevate Your Mind to Success. You can achieve great things and unlock your full potential with determination and the right mindset. Read Elevate Your Mind to Success to discover more about holding every thought captive and decluttering your mind of negative thoughts.

Here are a few strategies to help you on this journey:

1. Develop a Growth Mindset - Embrace the belief that your abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and effort. View challenges as opportunities for growth rather than obstacles that define your limitations.
2. Set Clear Goals - Define your objectives clearly and precisely. Break them down into smaller, manageable tasks, and create a roadmap to guide your actions. This clarity will help you stay focused and motivated.
3. Cultivate Positivity - Foster a positive and optimistic outlook. Surround yourself with positive influences, and practice gratitude and affirmations. Positive thinking not only enhances your mood but also opens your mind to possibilities and creative solutions.
4. Constant Learning - Commit to lifelong learning. Take up new hobbies, read books, attend workshops or seminars, and seek knowledge from diverse sources. Expanding your knowledge and skills will enable you to make more informed decisions and seize opportunities.
5. Embrace Failure as Feedback - Instead of fearing failure, view it as a valuable learning experience. Analyze your failures, identify the lessons they hold, and use them to refine your approach. Remember, every failure brings you closer to success if you learn from it and persist.
6. Practice Mindfulness and Self-Reflection - Allocate regular time for prayer, self-reflection, and introspection. Engage in mindfulness exercises like meditation or journaling to develop a deeper understanding of yourself, your desires, and your values. This prayer and self-awareness will guide your actions and help you make choices aligned with your aspirations.
7. Build a Supportive Network - Surround yourself with individuals who inspire, motivate, and challenge you to grow. Seek mentors and join mastermind groups or professional networks to gain insights and support from like-minded individuals who share your aspirations.
8. Take “MASSIVE” Action - Success requires taking consistent action toward your goals. Break through the barrier of inertia, move out of your comfort zone, and embrace the challenges that come your way. Hesitation and procrastination hinder progress, so develop a bias toward action and embrace calculated risks.

Remember, success is a journey, not a destination. Stay committed, persevere through setbacks, and consistently apply these strategies to Elevate Your Mind to Success. You can achieve great things and unlock your full potential with determination and the right mindset.

Discover how to hold captive every negative thought and reframe it into a positive and uplifting one. Transform your thinking patterns and ultimately lead yourself to achieving your goals.

STEP 2: Success Is Ele-MENTAL:

Once your mind is reprogrammed for successful thinking, fill it with leadership character qualities. Character qualities and leadership skills play a crucial role in determining an individual's success. While numerous attributes contribute to success, certain qualities are essential in driving effective leadership and achieving personal and professional goals. Here are some of the more than fifty character qualities and leadership skills you will find in Success Is Ele-MENTALthat are instrumental in paving the path to success:

1. Integrity - Possessing unwavering honesty, ethics, and moral principles is vital. Leaders who demonstrate integrity are trusted, inspire trust in others, and are respected for their consistency.
2. Resilience - Bouncing back from setbacks and adapting to challenging situations is crucial for success. Resilient leaders remain determined, persevere through difficult times, and find creative solutions to problems.
3. Self-Discipline - This quality encompasses self-control, focus, and the ability to prioritize tasks effectively. Leaders who exhibit self-discipline are proactive, organized, and consistently work toward their goals.
4. Self-Awareness - Understanding one's strengths, weaknesses, emotions, and impact on others is essential for effective leadership. Being self-aware allows leaders to make informed decisions, leverage their strengths, and seek growth opportunities in areas that require improvement.
5. Empathy - Successful leaders empathize with and understand others, fostering positive relationships and building a supportive work environment. Showing empathy improves collaboration, helps resolve conflicts, and encourages team cohesion.
6. Visionary Thinking - A successful leader possesses the ability to envision the future, set clear goals, and communicate their vision effectively. Visionary leaders inspire and motivate others, guiding them toward a shared purpose and driving innovation and progress.
7. Communication Skills - Strong verbal and non-verbal communication skills are crucial for leaders to clearly convey their ideas, expectations, and feedback. Effective communication fosters understanding, builds trust, and minimizes misunderstandings within teams or organizations.
8. Decision-Making - Leaders must make informed and timely decisions based on available information. Successful leaders evaluate options, consider risks and benefits, and implement their decisions confidently.
9. Adaptability - Adaptability is crucial for success in a rapidly changing world. This quality enables leaders to embrace change, open themselves to new ideas, and adjust their strategies according to the evolving needs of their teams or organizations.
10. Accountability - Taking responsibility and accountability for their actions and the outcomes of their decisions is a key quality of successful leaders. Accountability fosters trust, encourages ownership, and creates a culture of high performance.

Success Is Ele-MENTAL includes fifty character qualities and numerous leadership skills to read and internalize. Integrity, resilience, self-discipline, self-awareness, empathy, visionary thinking, effective communication, decision-making abilities, adaptability, and accountability are some of the vital attributes that contribute to successful leadership and ultimately lead to achieving personal and professional goals.

Learn more about these and other vital qualities and skills as you read Success Is Ele-MENTAL.

STEP 3: Who Connects Your Dots?:

To take all of this one step further, develop critical thinking skills into your mind’s programming, as found in Who Connects Your Dots? Critical thinking is a wonderful process of gaining additional knowledge and getting involved properly in decision-making, which will foster innovative thinking and problem-solving skills. It can be applied to nearly every topic and also is a method of discovering truth.

Now more than ever, it is imperative to think critically about nearly every decision we make. It is a relevant process to apply critical thinking to matters of health, business, finances, and more and gain a greater understanding of complex topics. Critical thinking is gathering as much information as possible about a topic from opposing perspectives in a nonjudgmental manner, thoughtfully and objectively evaluating the information and reaching your own conclusion. This is how to preserve your individuality and resist conformity. It is also a manner in which to gain as many facts as possible, being open to the opposite perspective as well. It may be difficult to perform this process at first, as society in general becomes emotional if people do not think like them. It becomes easier with practice.

Critical thinking skills allow us to gain more knowledge regarding a topic in an unbiased manner. With an open and unprejudiced mind, even complex topics are able to be processed more thoroughly and objectively. Critical thinking skills are vital to seeing a broader view, yet without the influence of intimidation, persuasion, or any other influential factors. These skills can be learned and even improved upon with continued practice, as shown in Who Connects Your Dots?

Do not allow others to pressure you in important matters. Critical thinking begins by asking questions. Ask as many questions as you can think of, making sure you are using credible sources. Gather as much information as you can find from opposing perspectives. Analyze and evaluate this information without prejudice. Have an open mind as you collect all the data and review it. When all the information is collected, do your best to infer what you believe the information is telling you and draw your own conclusion objectively, without emotion or bias.

Critical thinking will become a habit with continued practice. Ask questions and be open to the answers you discover. Analyze and evaluate all of your information before drawing a conclusion while not allowing others to influence your decision. Be sure to leave your opinion aside as you progress through this process. That can be a very difficult thing to do.

This is a lot to digest, but it is a logical progression to become aware of your thoughts and program them to be open and deliberate about what you want them to be. Then, fill the mind with character qualities that apply to personal growth as well as leadership abilities. Finally, adopt and program your mind to think critically to gain inclusive knowledge and logical reasoning.

Learn more about these and other vital qualities and skills as you read The Three-Step Process for Personal and Professional Growth. 

Or go directly to the Trilogy or Jillogy to order.

#JillFandrich

Success is not about taking one big leap, but rather about making small, consistent steps toward your goal. A three-step program can help you break down your journey into manageable tasks and keep you focused on your progress.

—Dr. Jill

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