“Righteous action without the right attitude is mere ritual. Easily faked.” – Dr. Ivan Park
I heard the above quote by Dr. Ivan Parke during a sermon at our church. After I wrote the quote down, I started thinking about all the stuff I do, why I do it, and what is my attitude with it all.
I know what you must be thinking about after reading the previous sentence. “I do not want to go there with my thinking…” The funny thing is, neither do I. It is never fun to have to self-examine ourselves. BUT… for us to be better leaders, we must continue to challenge ourselves in leadership. We have to examine ourselves daily, for this I believe is true… someone else is examining us.
So… what about your actions with your attitude? Are they nothing more than a ritual? Is your enthusiasm for your actions faked? Are you doing something just to be doing it? When it comes to your leading, is there a difference the direction your attitude takes depending on what you are doing? I’m pretty sure we can answer and it will be different then what those who know us best would say. The main question that must be asked is, “Do we go through our days faking our attitude?
A lot of times, just the amount of energy we show up with determines our attitude toward our actions. We all know the stuff we put more effort into. Also, our attitude could empower others, or not. No one wants to follow a fake, and at the end of it all, our true selves will be seen. We could even say that our attitudes are contagious. Going back to the energy sentence… Is your leadership energy negative or positive? Just like a fake, no one wants to be around negative people. Positive vibes are where it is, while at the same time being realistic.
What attitude will you take and when will you start? Questions that must be answered as a leader.
A great quote regarding all of this is: “Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions” by Harold S. Geneen.
Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP
©2017 J Clay Norton
The Book Chamber 