Category Archives: Integrity

It’s Dark In Here… Can Someone Turn On The Leadership Light?

25 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Choice, Clarity, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Observation, Understanding

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In the Greek… phos. That is what light is. It is the action of making visible things that are not seen. That is what light does, and it carries a leadership theme.

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How? Let’s contrast the two and see.

I like the thought of a sunbeam shining through a window in your house early in the morning. While dark, we do not know what all is there or around us. Even if we turn the light on, we still cannot see everything. But when that sunbeam shines through a window, we see every bit of “stuff” in its path, the dust, the muck, the filth. Dark leadership hides things. Leadership light brings everything in the open.

Do you remember the GE light bulb commercial slogan? “We bring good things to life.” Well, that is what leadership light does. It shows what type of leader you are exactly. When the leadership light is turned on, it brings to life (or out in the open) what a person’s dark leadership is, dead leadership.

Those are the things that dark leadership tries to hide and for the most part that is why those things are done in secret and behind people’s back. There is scheming, conniving, and anything/everything else that is done under handed, all done in dark leadership.

Dark leadership, dead leadership is repressing the core of what leadership should be today. Too many leaders are using it to advance themselves instead of helping others advance, which in turn, would help all advance. When we all are better, we are all better. That is what leadership light is about, helping others shine.

Remeber this… mold, stench, and slime grows in the dark. Don’t let your leadership be like this. Be the leader that shows and carries a leadership light. Turn it on. Let your leadership light diminish the darkness of dead leadership.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

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There Is A “Whole” In My Leadership

04 Friday May 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Choice, Clarity, Essence, Ideals, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Servant, Useful, Whole

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What does it mean to be whole? A quick definition search will yield meanings such as; “a thing that is complete in itself,” or “all of something.”

So, the question today and every day for that matter, “Does your leadership have wholeness?”

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How does leadership fit wholeness? A few ideas come to mind. The “fit” has to be complete and carried out to the finish; making it whole. It does not take people long to see if your leadership is whole or has a “hole” in it.

Leadership wholeness is about…

THE ESSENCE
It is what it is… We must devote ourselves to finding and knowing what whole leadership is. It must be an ideal we long for. Leadership is a part of life, and we all long for it in one sense or another. Not everyone is a leader, and that is ok. However, there is that innate feeling inside each of us that wants to lead.

OTHER PEOPLE
True leadership gets in your business. This is where other people come in. We have to have people in our lives that complete us (Jerry Maguire quote here…). Having like-minded, kindred-spirited people in our lives is what makes our leadership whole. It is nothing more than accountability. The problem is we all want accountability for others, not so much for ourselves.

PROTECTION
Leadership permeates our lives and where it is lacking, we become vulnerable. When our leadership is whole, we deflect outside forces that can cause our leadership to weaken (think of a force field). Someone is going to try to find a “hole” in your leadership. Whole leadership fills all the holes per se. As a leader, you know what should and should not be in your heart, your mind, and your soul. Do not allow yourself to be affected by “all the stuff out there.”

There are also a few tangible benefits to having leadership wholeness. I believe leaders who are whole have joy about them and are thankful. There is a personal commitment to both. They are the results of the above thoughts.

We all know those leaders who are joyful and thankful.  We also know those who are not.   For those who are not, odds are they have a “hole” in their leadership. The funny thing is, they try to fill that “hole” mostly with their ego and the “hole” gets bigger and bigger.

Striving to have leadership wholeness should be one of the most exciting concepts we chase. We need to be careful though; you never know what you might catch.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Unmistakable… Authentic Leadership

27 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Actions, Attitude, Authentic, Choice, Deciding, Expectations, Ideals, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Servant

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I heard someone the other day say the word “unmistakable,” and thought to myself, “I had not heard that word in a while.”  Then I thought if “something” was unmistakable, then it is without denying its realness, in essence; authentic. Put the two words together with their meanings, and you have…

Unmistakable… Very distinctive
Authentic… Genuine

Now, let’s put leadership with them. You now have awakened something powerful; Unmistakable Authentic Leadership. It even sounds powerful. When you find that leader who has all three, you will not have to worry about their words. Thier actions will radiate the meaning of each.

So, who is a person with Unmistakable Authentic Leadership? I am glad you wanted to know.

I believe leaders who have unmistakable authentic leadership lead with values that are…

Optimistic
This attribute is not rooted in the fact that one is never unrealistic. It is not as if you are “putting on a grin and bear it” mentality. Sometimes, bad things happen. There is hurt, pain, loss, etc., but an optimistic person does not drown and wallow in the pleasure of self-pity.

Impactful
As a leader, what and who do you effect? I would say most everything and everyone around you. Let’s vision your leadership barometer here. When people are around you, do they leave as a better person? Or better yet, do they want to be around you? Wow… What a question that we can see immediately. If you ever wonder why people avoid you, you do not have to ask; you already know the answer.

Integrity
One of the best words of leadership. I have mentioned before in other blogs the best line I have ever heard about integrity is, “If I have to define integrity for you, then you do not have it.” Now, that does not mean that many leaders do not have a misconception about integrity, they do. Those who do are the leaders who usually tailor their needs and wants to and for themselves and not for the benefit of the grander scheme or others.

Realistic
There is no phoniness or putting up a good front for realistic leaders. Most of all, they are not living a “fake it til you make it” mentality. Most people can be categorized as either positive or negative, but how many leaders do you know who are purely realistic? My grandfather once said, “Make the most of whatever comes, and the least of whatever goes.” In my mind, this sums up a realistic leader.

Collectively, these four components can leave a lasting effect on others. We need leaders who are unmistakable and authentic. The world creates a blinding facade that is masked over with gloss, counterfeiting true servant-based leadership. It is not being or called an unmistakable authentic leader that produces each of the above ideas, but living out the ideals of each.

Start today… Strive for Unmistakable Authentic Leadership. You and everyone around you will be better for it.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page

Is Your Leadership Useful?

20 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Attitude, Choice, Communication, Decisions, Expectations, Humility, Inspiration, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Observation, Opportunity, Purpose, Servant, Useful

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Walking through a store the other day, I saw something and thought, “I need that.” Then I thought, “Need that for what?, Would I use it?” And then, the inner struggle started and wore me out mentally. I was trying to justify something that I thought I needed, and it would be useful, but how often would I use it. It made me start thinking about “stuff” that I have, and the notion of its usefulness. Then I thought, “There has to be a hidden meaning behind this and probably a good leadership blog to go along.” And… Here we are…

If you are in a leadership role, you lead; sounds about right. But, do you lead in a useful manner? Are you making the most of every opportunity available to you and for others? The better question might be, “Do others see your leadership as being useful?”

The very first item we must talk about is “What does it mean for something to be useful?” A few thoughts come to mind; something with a purpose, something that can be used over and over for good. It should be something that you are not ashamed of using.

Now the opposite question is also true, “What does it mean for something to be useless?” Take the opposite of every statement above, and you have your answer.

Be-useful

Photo Credit: sportstvratings.com

What does it mean for your leadership to be useful?

  • It means that you set your leadership apart from the world’s definition of leadership.
  • It means that you are intentional about your leadership being for good purposes.
  • It means that your leadership is prepared to lead for the right reasons.

With leadership today, there are many “hypes” being promoted. What we must do is have a discerning mind to help us weed out the bad leadership that comes in many different forms and fashions; more exact, the useless leadership.

We must have a useful leadership mentality. The usefulness that goes against the norm and allows others to have a stake in the leadership game while finding usefulness in the leadership that we provide.

Be useful in your leadership.  Everyone around you will be better for it.

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

©2018 J Clay Norton

Follow me on Twitter at TheBookChamber

Subscribe via email to my blog at the top of the page