Do you realize that every single living person on earth has the following in common? We woke up today. I am assuming you are awake, by the way, if you are reading this.

Most of us then got dressed. Most of us cleaned ourselves up. Some of us ate breakfast and some (probably majority) traveled somewhere for work. Billions of people have these things in common. Think about that.

If we all experience coming awake sometime each day then why are some of us not fully alive?

Look around at your office or place of employment. While each person shared the same things, each person is at a different place of life. Some are operating at 60% while others are at 90%+. Why? What is the difference?

I believe you will find it in the shower thoughts or the drive time? You will find it in the issues – the personal and work-related issues.

Personal issues include marriage, family, and children issues. Add in your internal psyche and your emotional health followed by your social issues and perhaps mental dilemmas.

Work-related issues include office relationships, role pressure, culture conflicts and your boss or board or what have you.

It is impossible to separate personal issues from work-related issues. We bring issues to work and bring issues home every night. That is reality and your leadership cannot come alive until you are ready to realize reality. The best way to do that is to…

NAME IT.

List your realities. Don’t over exaggerate them – list them. Here is a list of someone I talked to recently. The pressures of this person were real. She has…

• Migraines
• Poor relationship with a sibling
• Lots of deadlines from her job
• Dislike of her company culture and more specifically her boss.

That is it. She named it. When you name something you can deal with it. One health issue. One relationship issue. Two culture and role issues. Good… now we can go to work.

I asked her if her migraines were related to the others. She thought they were. I gave her perspective on handling conflict with her sister. That gave her hope. She admitted she was not fully engaged in her work, which I believe shaped her view of the culture.

In order for your leadership to come alive you must be ready and willing to face your realities and deal with the issues that are leading to your death. When that happens then you are at a foundational place to look at the future with hope for maybe the first time in a long time.

When you name it you are one step closer to freedom. Real leaders get real with themselves. Real leaders know their issues and deal with them. Do the hard work and lead yourself.

If you have ever studied the history of military expansion you will notice the emphasis by the good military strategist’s on supply lines. Without fuel, food, clothing, and personnel there is no long-term significant traction on the front lines.

The same is true in a product launch for any company. If the supply lines of customer service, technical support or project management is not in place, a product may have a short shelf life.

Is the same true for people? Do we have a supply line? Again, to feed an army you need fuel, food and more. To feed a leader or rather, yourself, you need what?

What feeds your soul?
What feeds your mind?
What supplies do you need for your role?

Ask Napoleon or Alexander the Great how important supply lines were to them. Take a look at what Eisenhower was doing across Europe in supplying the allied advances against the axis powers.

Now, I am asking you. What supplies do you need? Are any of your supply lines broken or cut off?

For me, I realized that I need energy, a positive mental outlook, encouragement from some select friends, a connection to my priorities (God, my wife, and kids). This is my supply line so I need to be cognizant of my daily flow.

For that reason I get up early to start my day right with prayer, reading and perspective. I spend time with my wife and kids as a cohesive unit. If I am honest as of today I could use some more energy so I am refocusing on my exercise plan and being more intentional with a few friends.

Supply lines make or break advancements and new products and leaders. Do not out pace your supply lines. You will not go far beyond your resources.

Join me for the next VOICES of LEADERSHIP call with guest Tim Sanders on Wednesday, February 15 at Noon Eastern Time. The call is LIVE and free of charge. You can register and submit your questions  for Tim and I to answer here.

Learn more about VOICES of LEADERSHIP here.

Listen to archived VOICES of LEADERSHIP calls via the featured guest links below:

Dr. Henry Cloud

Patrick Lencioni

Seth Godin

Do you know those people in your workplace who stay late, do the things no one else wants to do and comes in on weekends if needed without saying much to anyone?

How about the people who are so loyal that they exude obedience to the mission, to the leader and to the team?

Which one of these is more important?

Some of you may say both. Some may think they go hand-in-hand, meaning that those who sacrifice are obeying the leader or those who show obedience are sacrificing their own needs.

My opinion: Obedience is better than sacrifice in the business world.

I have noticed that those who are constantly sacrificing are trying hard to prove that they belong and that they are valuable. In my experience they tend to use their sacrifice as a badge of honor and do not mind sharing how long or late they have worked.

Conversely, I have noticed that those who are obedient to the leader are so loyal that while they sacrifice they tend to exhibit the values of the leader in a consistent way.

A culture needs a team that is obedient to the mission, the team and the leaders more than they need self-sacrifice employees.

What do you say? Which is more important to you?

Good leaders that I know tend to be good interviewers. Through the years these leaders have gained the experience to create a system that works for them when finding good leaders for their companies.

Shouldn’t the same thing apply to the President of the United States?

2012 is nothing more than a job interview to find a leader to lead America well.
Let’s look at how we are currently doing it…

• People apply within their party.
• They begin to put together their platform for promotion of themselves.
• They work for endorsements from key leaders in their party.
• These leaders travel to key states where a primary vote occurs.
• They perform in debates where they must verbally outmaneuver the other candidates.
• Their teams create advertisement to further distance themselves from others.
• Polls are taken to understand how popular certain ideas or platforms are.

Do you see how different this is from our normal process for hiring good people? When do we get to ask the questions? When do we get to participate in the real interview?

The questions I want answered have not been asked.

Here are just a few…

1. How would you describe your style of leadership?
2. What do you do to lead yourself daily?
3. How do you recharge? What do you need to be the be president possible?
4. What is your style for leading your team?
5. Will you take responsibility for poor decisions?

The presidential candidates are interviewing for the most important job in the world. I only wish we placed more emphasis on interviewing and less emphasis on their ability to slander someone else or position themselves as amazing.

Until the people can more effectively interview our leader we will continue to get candidates we are getting.

Everybody Needs Something Everyday!

Do you believe this is true?
Does everyone need something everyday?

At first the statement and the questions may seem a bit odd but follow along with me for a minute.

Ask yourself this question… “Do I need something everyday?”

What do you need today? What did you need yesterday? What will you need tomorrow?

Think about it for a minute. What comes to mind? Encouragement? Coaching? Tools? Help? Confidence? Compassion? Grace? The list can go on and on.

As a leader our job is to remember that this is true for all those we lead as well.

Everybody Needs Something Everyday!

The real question for leaders is… How will you help those you lead with what they need, today?

Tasks are important but relationships are more important. Your influence (and your leadership) will grow when you begin to realize that your job is to help those you lead receive what they need.

As the President gets set to deliver his latest State of the Union address tonight, I am reminded of the pivotal mistakes of our society on politics and elections…. that is perspective. Our population has a tendency to lose perspective on what leaders can do and the state of our union that we make up.

Let’s admit it, we are short-term people. We look for a Moses-type figure to lead us out of this land into a promised land of $1.50 gas, close to no unemployment and a thriving economy. I, too, would love to have these things occur. That is not the real issue, however.

The real issue is that we look for a savior in Washington D.C. and forget that we elect a representative of the people.

Leadership in our republic starts at the local level. We were built on the tenants of a republic with local leaders, state leaders and national leaders who represent the people in a checks and balances system. We do think democratic in that we value opinion and allow each other to disagree. Yet, we must remember the reason it was set like this is so that the people could do right with more than a vote.

We can lead, improve and change.

A great leader in Washington certainly helps the people prosper. However, he or she is only a representative of the people, not a king over the people.

If we don’t like the leaders, let’s take a look at ourselves and what we are doing to be the change.

The politicians will continue to play to our angst and short-term worry with rhetoric and speech that soothes our wounds (with a band aid) but real healing comes in the form of intentional leaders leading the people well at every level… not in just saying what they think we want to hear.

Our future is in our hands.

Back in March of 2011 I posted the article below but I want to share it again because I truly believe that it is one of the most important aspects of leadership (or potential pitfalls) that we face. I’m also including a short video on the subject as well. Once you’re done reading, feel free to leave a comment below and share your thoughts about Self Preservation.

Self-preservation occurs when you obsess on protecting the things you are afraid of losing. Your job, your authority, your salary, your bonus or your insurance are just a few examples.

The problem happens when this obsession to protect and retain begins to block us from what we give and how we lead.

If you are over protecting what you have received or earned to date, you are showing the signs of self-preservation.

If you are defending your title on a regular basis, you are displaying self-preservation at its core.

When you implement self-preservation like a shield around you, here is what it does to you as a leader.

First, self-preservation takes a lot of energy and focus. When you self-protect you spend more hours and energy on you instead on what you are paid to do. That makes self-preserving leaders less effective, which compromises the very things they are trying to protect.

Second, self-preservation makes people more defensive. When the shields go up to preserve so does the non-verbal language and the cynicism based on fear. Defensive strategies to protect what you have is a poor strategy. Defensive leaders become a blight on all good cultures, which ends up painting themselves in a corner.

Third, self-preservation emits a strange odor of self-absorption. When others view a leader as self-absorbed people tend to keep their distance and make the leaders influence less effective. That in turn leads to lower performing teams.

Self-preservation is a self-fulfilling prophecy and it happens every day. When a leader becomes obsessed with protecting the very things that they are afraid of losing they tend to lose them more quickly because of the above issues.

Conversely, when a leader breaks through their walls of self-preservation they find they gain more influence with more people by focusing on what they are giving instead of protecting what they have received.

Self-preservation is everywhere. It is like a cancer to leaders. However, there is a cure, but it only comes when a leader gives themselves away.

If this topic resonates with you then I’d encourage you to checkout Leadership Is Dead: How Influence is Reviving It. I share much more on self-preservation there.

Most of us are starting the week off with intentionality, especially if you are readers of this blog. This week will bring successes and it will bring issues that need to be overcome. Let’s be proactive.

Think about the issues you have in your personal life, your family life and your work life. Scribble them down on a scrap piece of paper. Not every issue, mind you, but the current issues. Some examples might include, “my car needs a new battery; my daughter is sick; I need to have a serious talk with ____.” You get the point.

Once you have done that I want you to do what Dr. Henry Cloud suggested in his best-selling book, Integrity. Picture these issues as an ocean wave heading directly toward you. Wave after wave of these issues. Instead of running away from the wave, I want you to picture yourself leaning in toward them. When you run, you get swept up. When you face them and head into them you will get through them quicker.

Take 3 minutes to prioritize this in your life today. Make a plan to address the issues, put an action step towards them and face them with courage.

Lean in to Win!

Below is a recording replay of the VOICES of LEADERSHIP call with Dr. Henry Cloud. Feel free to share this replay with others.

As I mentioned towards the end of the call, we’re also working up a post to answer some of the additional questions that were submitted. Stay tuned for more on that in the coming days…

Listen via the player below (Click Play):

Download the MP3 Here
PC Users, right click and select “Save Target As” to begin download.

Suggested Resources:

• Necessary Endings & Other Resources by Dr. Henry Cloud
• Leadership is Dead: How Influence is Reviving It by Jeremie Kubicek

Sign up for our next VOICES of LEADERSHIP call! Register Here.