Month: October 2015

Core Leadership Skills in the 21st Century

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in higher education, Leadership Development, Personal Development

All great leaders have had one characteristic in common: The willingness to confront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This, and not much else, is the essence of leadership. John Kenneth Galbraith

Much is being taught about the essentials of leadership, including who is capable of becoming a leader, how leadership can and should be developed, and perhaps most importantly, how any individual can create, develop, and improve leadership skills within himself, or within herself. In the 21st century, leadership itself has become not only a skill to be developed, but also an attribute already available within any individual to tap into improving not only personal results, but also to influence people, environments and societies around us with an effort to raise awareness and create constantly improved results, triggered through positive actions and efforts made by, and achieved through, collectively enhanced performance leading to the development of higher consciousness, and enabling higher learning.

On an individual level, the six most important leadership skills in the 21st century are metacognition, media criticism, time management, information management, social skills, debating as well as argumentation and/or reasoning.

1. Metacognition as a core leadership skill

Metacognitive skills are helpful for any individual and/or leader in the adaptation to new environments simultaneously with a digital world and culture demanding efforts in the usage of information and communications techniques in leadership development, higher education, continuous learning and organizational development.

 

2. Media criticism as a core leadership skill

Media criticism, and the capability of being objective in regard with any media, has become more important than ever. Any individual, and leader, must know how to stay objective in terms of media. This is especially true in the 21st century, where media creation and distribution has been made easily accessible to almost everyone with the explosion of various online media tools and platforms. Media criticism requires for a leader not only to be selective about what he/she reads online, but also what he/she personally shares to other people. It is also about understanding how to filter relevant, reliable and valid knowledge shared through various sources of media. It is worthwhile keeping in mind that all media is being created by individuals whose main purpose is to influence other people through their media presentations, regardless of the type of media.

3. Time Management as a core leadership skill

We have all been given the gift of life upon Earth, wherefore personal time management is one of our most important leadership skills. Time management is essentially not only about managing your professional time on a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly basis. Time management, in its real meaning, is about realizing your purpose and meaning for being, and for living, this lifetime. Time management is also about understanding what changes you possibly need to integrate into your life holistically in order to make the most out of your time upon Earth. What is your meaning and purpose for being here? If you are investing your personal life time into meaningless activities, make sure to start planning and managing your time in a truly productive way – in a way that supports your personal leadership development and learning, which therefore will also benefit everyone around you.

4. Information Management as a core leadership skill

Are you actually managing information, or is information managing you? This is certainly something worthwhile reflecting upon, no matter how progressive you may regard yourself to be. With an immense increase of information in this digital era, a definitely much-needed leadership skill is the capability of managing information. Are you merely absorbing information, and if, is it the right kind of information, relevant to your personal and/or professional development? And, if you are a creator of information, how much worth do you put upon actually creating, developing, maintaining and sharing information that is of real benefit and relevance to individuals, leaders, people, organizations, and societies?

5. Social skills in core leadership capability

It is not enough to estimate your social skills on a personal level – developing and improving social skills is a matter of continuous work and efforts, including the capability of socializing with individuals and people around you in a fruitful and mutually beneficial way. Social skills do comprise a number of capabilities and attributes, most important of which is general emotional intelligence and the ability of communicating and interacting with all kinds of people who may cross your personal or professional road. Not all roads do lead to a beautiful destination, and it is about your personal leadership capability and social skills to define which choices, and which paths indeed are worth taking, and stepping into.

6. Debate, argumentation and reasoning as core leadership skills

It is worthwhile noticing that debate, argumentation and reasoning are essential parts of overall negotiation skills, and therefore also an integral part of core leadership for any individual, in any kind of personal or professional setting. Argumentation, debate and reasoning are attributes of leaders with a capability of discussing complex issues in a multifaceted way, sometimes even leading to possible conflict situations that can be mastered through an intellectual capability of dealing with, and handling conflicted situations. Although active listening is a major influential factor in the development of leadership, really progressive leaders do possess the quality of intellectual debate, argumentation and reasoning in achieving their goals.

 

Why 21st Century Leadership is All About Equality

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Equal Leadership, human rights, Leadership Development

It does not matter who you are, where you came from. The ability to triumph begins with you. Always. (Oprah Winfrey)

Admit it. You are fed up with having to listen to, see, taste, feel, and in general, sense black and white perspectives and preconceptions about any external leadership attributes of leadership in the 21st century. Leadership, and the ability to affect, influence, persuade and be convincing is ultimately always about personality, not about any external attribute an individual may or may not possess. On the top of that, truly great leadership signifies having the ability to step above any external stress factors, setting these aside and purely focusing upon having a mission, and a purpose, to strive for in your leadership practices, regardless of your external attributes. Keep in mind, however, that no matter how equal, global, and increasingly much based upon justice our world is, there are still many improvements needed, any many global goals to be pursued in order to create a state of equal leadership in this 21st century.

Leadership success is not about the money you make. It is about the difference you make in people´s lives (Slightly modified quote from Michelle Obama)

 

To be an equal leader, and to enhance equal leadership in your environment, organization, and society, there are some significant steps you need to take, including:

Equal leadership is ultimately always about:

Respecting diversity, taking into consideration general human rights and the right to diversity regardless of any external attributes in an individual. Equality in leadership is always respectful, non-discriminatory, based upon objectivity and acceptance rather than placing value upon any other relevant attributes than the capability of an individual to successfully perform a duty, or a responsibility within a specific context.

Equal Leadership is also about

Taking the responsibility to develop an equal leadership approach and equal leadership practices within yourself, and therefore also in your environment, including in your society. Change is not always easy, as most people are more or less resistant to change. Nevertheless, even small changes in attitudes and behaviors ultimately lead to larger changes and even to giant leaps in development, be it in an individual, in people in general, and therefore also in societies. Understand that we are constantly developing and evolving as human beings, and that our personal choices and actions do have a significant impact upon other people, and societies in general. Therefore, never underestimate your personal capability of leading change in any circumstance. Your voice is important. And you can help people around you – after all, that is what leaders are for. Leaders are here to empower people, and to accelerate positive change not only in themselves, but also in individuals and in society surrounding them.

The highest calling of leadership is to unlock the potential of others. Carly Fiorina

History is history. Equal leaders know how to respect history, but also how to embrace the NOW, and welcome the future.

It is not easy to change culture. Changing culture, and long-established patterns of attitudes, behavior, and life, is among the most difficult attributes and circumstances that can be changed, be it in an organization or in a whole society. Nevertheless, as there is no shortcut to how leadership can be transformed in an organizational setting, or in a society/in societies, we have to take the “hard” way, the practice that requires most of all, patience, and persistence. Respect history, embrace the moment, and the NOW, but remember your dreams, the dreams of people in your organization, in your environment/in your society, and be willing to work towards making those dreams a reality – not only for yourself, but for the sake of individuals and people around you, and of course, for humanity in general. Do not fear realizing your most beautiful dreams, because

The Future Belongs to those who believe in the Beauty of their Dreams (Eleanor Roosevelt)

Equal Leadership is also about:

Assuming less, asking more. Listening more than talking. Observing more than speaking. Being less subjective, and increasingly much objective. Respecting more, valuing more, caring more. Understanding more, and if not understanding, at least about trying to understand. Seeing things from the perspective of others rather than merely seeking to convince other individuals and about having the need to always be right. Equal leadership is also about respecting and valuing all diversity, without having the need to have the last word or ignore other human beings whether you think their opinion is right or wrong. Equal leadership is all about a respect for diversity, the modern approach towards creating a world economy where every single human being is treated equally regardless of their external attributes, socioeconomic background, or believes. A world where every individual has equal rights, and equal opportunities regardless of age, gender, socioeconomic background or any other external attribute.

An example of equal leadership in the 21st Century (although gender is not the only external attribute that should be reformed in regard with equal leadership):

How to avoid gender stereotypes: Eleanor Tabi Haller-Jordan at TEDxZurich

Thank you for reading, commenting, liking, and for sharing. Thank you also for engaging in developing an equal global economy. Looking forward to your comments, and your thoughts about equality.

 

Why Dedication is Key to Successful Leadership

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Dedication, Determination, Leadership Development, Personal Development, take action

 

There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results (Kenneth Blanchard)

Many times we fail to see the actual reasons behind our obstacles in becoming truly masterful and great in what we engage in every day, be it in our personal or professional lives. Either we set our barriers too low, due to the fact that we are afraid of stepping out of mediocre lives holistically, or we simply give up too easily once something becomes too demanding, challenging us to step out of our comfort zones. We may have failed in our previous attempts to create a successful private or professional life, leading to blockages within our nervous systems and in our holistic well-being, seeing ourselves as something close to failures – resulting in most individuals and people settling for much less than they, than you, would actually be capable of achieving, and becoming. There is nothing wrong in a mediocre life, but most definitely if and when you are an individual who seeks to gain more out of your precious life, you ought to start believing in yourself again and face every single challenge and obstacle with assertiveness and a willingness to overcome anything that may have held you back.

 

Tips for determined and diligent leadership that ultimately will make you succeed:

Diligence is only half so challenging when you engage in activities that you truly do love. Diligence always leads to successful leadership. Dare to dream. Big.

We all make mistakes, but stop making the same mistakes over and over again, or at least try to find ways of learning from your past and current mistakes, and figure out what you could make differently in order to create desired results. There is no point in grieving over past mistakes or losses, but do not let them stop you from dreaming. Instead, use them as stepping-stones to create yourself the future you want.

You have got what it takes, but it will take everything you have got. 

Dedicated leadership does sometimes, or often, require for us to leave old habits, people, and things behind.

For most people, it is not easy to change habits, or leave people and things behind. But trust me, sometimes it is the only thing you can, and should do. I am not trying to encourage anyone (you) into irresponsible actions, but if circumstances allow, do reflect upon how you live your life right now, and how you would like to live it. Are you spending time with people whose presence truly makes your world a better place, and vice versa? Are you engaging in professional, and other activities, that do support your growth as an individual/team member? If not, make sure to take necessary steps to change your habits, and leave non-fulfilling relationships behind. Being completely alone is sometimes a better option than spending your time with the wrong people, or investing your energy in activities that do not fulfill your soul purpose, or higher calling in life.

 

Realize that your daily dedications do ultimately lead to all the desired results!

Our human egos often tend to make us impatient, but the higher your goals are, the more dedication you will have to demonstrate in your daily activities. Make sure to find out exactly how big your goals and dreams are, and what kinds of sacrifices these do require in your personal and business life. Or, how you should go on in order to transform your current life (style) in order to create exactly the life you want to create for yourself, and what the goals are that you are striving for.

Leadership excellence is all about being committed to circumstances, people, and things we do believe in. Most of all, leadership excellence comes from being dedicated to yourself first – if you are not dedicated to yourself, how can you expect having the energy to dedicate yourself to other people? Diligence is something we practice in our lives on a continuous basis, some of us with more dedication, others less. Mastering diligence in our lives is also a question of personal limits, and/or about expanding those limits. Diligence can also be about learning how to be gentle with yourself, and with people around you.

Virtual Conference on Moral Leadership: Diligence and Organizational Leadership by Regent University´s School of Business & Leadership:

 

Thank you for reading, commenting, liking, and if you found this post helpful, sharing with your favorite online media/networks.  If you would like to have a personal consultation with me regarding your current situation, please get in touch. I am here to help. 

 

How to Know If YOU Are the Next Game-Changing Leader?

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Change Leadership, Game-changing leadership, great leadership

The role of a great leader is not to give greatness to human beings, but to help them extract the greatness they already have within them (J. Buchan)

Despite of the constant battle between good and evil on planet Earth, our beautiful world is actually home to tens, hundreds, and thousands of game-changing leaders from all possible industries and nations, people who through their mere presence, charisma and continuous efforts in having the courage and capability of empowering others do make our world a much, much better place to be, to exist, to live, and to thrive. Great leaders come in every shape, and despite of their external attributes great leaders have all internalized a number of spiritually important characteristics, allowing for their light to shine bright, acting like lighthouses, and lifting everyone around them up.

All truly great leaders have what it takes to thrive in a constantly developing world. Despite of major obstacles in life, they do thrive – perhaps even more so during extremely challenging times, and through the wisdom they are capable of transforming and implementing in their leadership practices – in fact, in their whole lives which is all about expressing and living their mission, passion, and vision, and sharing their enthusiasm with everyone around them.

Furthermore, great and highly influential leaders throughout history, and contemporary, do share many common characteristics and personal values, marked by at least following traits:

All great leaders have passion, and their passion is contagious! We often think of passion as something that has to do with euphoria, although it is something that is more closely associated with great patience.

Like patience, passion comes from the same Latin root: pati. It does not mean to flow with exuberance. It means to suffer. (Mark Z. Danielewski).

Therefore, all great leadership, having its roots in passion, is in fact suffering, and the ability to transform these feelings into constant, productive actions. All great leaders do this, and instead of complaining about things they cannot change, they do focus upon creating positive results by taking actions that ultimately lead to desired results, despite of barriers, challenges and obstacles.

Passion is Oxygen of the Soul (Bill Butler)

All great leaders know how to empower themselves and how to empower others. Needless to say, all great leaders focus upon their personal strengths, but also on helping others to tap into their personal strengths. A great leader does not have to be perfect, or a perfectionist, but rather to have the ability to see the greatness and potential in other individuals as well. Great leaders are not critics of other people´s lives or work, meaning that they do not waste energy upon demonstrating or digging into the faults of other people. Rather they do create extraordinary results in people around them through their pure example.

Great leaders do not tell you what to do. They show you how it is done.

All great leaders have a mission, enabling them to focus upon the desired outcome with a capability of sharing their vision in a way that invites people around them to a journey rather than using people in order to get to where they want to be. Great leaders are in fact always generous, and have a purpose of serving a higher, common goal rather than envisioning a future that they only personally can gain from. In addition to personal generosity, great leaders also know how to increase generosity within others which ultimately leads to increased generosity and benevolence within all of us. Great leaders know how to share and realize that increased abundance and wealth is something that everyone should have access to. Great leaders most definitely do not like to see people around them suffering.

Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.

All great leaders have integrity. They are accountable, and have mental stability. Throughout history, and even today, we do experience and sense leaders who have not developed these qualities within themselves, needless to mention any names in this context. You may have some ideas of leaders who in fact embody every aspect of what great leadership is NOT about. The greatest leaders of all times, regardless of their official leadership position or status in society, are trustworthy and take responsibility for both their actions and for their words.

There are times when a leader must move out ahead of the flock, go off in a new direction, confident that he/she is leading people the right way (Nelson Mandela)

Many people, especially the most ignorant ones, want to punish you for speaking the truth, for being correct, for being you. Never apologize for being correct, or for being years ahead of your time. If you are right and you know it, speak your mind. Speak your mind even if you are a minority of one. The truth is still the truth. (Mahatma Gandhi).

All great leaders deserve their followers, and the support from people around them, through dedication and hard work. Great leaders do not buy followers, nor do they expect people to do things for them without the capability of giving anything in return. Our world knows many leaders who, unfortunately, want to forward themselves and their careers at the expense of others. This is not a characteristic of a truly great leader. A truly great leader is someone who is willing to put in the effort and the work demanded instead of trying to take advantage of the weaknesses he or she recognizes in other individuals.

Not everyone is a born leader. Many people are followers, and prefer to remain followers. If you are going to be a follower, follow people who are worth it and deserving. Follow people who are kind, happy, loving, successful, respected and grateful. In doing so, you are also leading others through your actions. Carmelia Ray

If you want to be a great leader, make sure to express integrity, authenticity, and accountability in your actions. Lead people through example, passion, dedication, hard work and action. Be prepared to literally get your hands dirty and to sweat, but also be prepared to delegate some of your workload to others because no great leader ever accomplished any great things completely on his or on her own.

To lead people, walk behind them (Lao Tzu)

All great leaders do respect all life. Great leaders never ever make the mistake of manipulating others through unstable behavior rather they do make a difference through their capability of standing behind their words and actions. They do not push people in a manipulative manner, but rather seek to find sustainable solutions serving all parties through subtle and diplomatic negotiation. True, great leadership starts with the individual respecting himself/herself in a way that allows for him/her to respect other people, including their right to humanity and privacy, rather than trying to push people in a narcissistic manner into directions of their ego´s choice.

The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise. Maya Angelou

True, great leadership is based upon inspiration, not domination, on co-operation, not intimidation, or on focusing upon only getting one´s personal wishes fulfilled (modified quote from William Arthur Wood).

The best of leaders lead with sophisticated influence rather than with a self-centered willingness to dominate.

All true great leaders know that life can sometimes be more than harsh, if not for themselves, but for others. And, all great leaders with an open heart (chakra) do feel the pain of others, sometimes making them suffer as much as the people who, in fact, are the ones who are suffering the most. Great leaders do often undergo a great amount of stress and challenges during their lives, but like phoenixes rising from the ashes they do know how to overcome these periods of extreme personal suffering and transforming this  into purposeful actions, leadership practices marked by spirituality ultimately leading to creating unique, life and society transforming results. Nevertheless, any truly great, remarkable leader ought to keep in mind the importance of not carrying all the problems of the world on their personal shoulders, but rather to learn how to observe the world and circumstances with objectivity and professionalism, allowing for them to participate in taking healing actions toward making the world a better, more sane place for all human beings and animals to live, in a healthy environment without excess pollution or other solutions that obviously do harm future generations, flora and fauna.

As already expressed, we all do know tens, hundreds, and thousands of leaders who do act in game-changing ways thanks to the fact that they have both realized the importance of their actions, and cared enough in order to actually take action and make a difference through their life work.

YOU can also be one of those leaders, by implementing the qualities of a great leader in your personal and professional life, and starting to make a difference in your everyday life rather than expecting, and waiting for, others to make those changes on your behalf.

Thank you for reading, for commenting, for reflecting, and most definitely for taking your personal leadership (or follower – you get to choose!) qualities seriously through daily actions and practices in your life, and for inspiring other individuals to equal actions. If you enjoyed this post, and found it helpful, please share it with your networks on social media. 

And, if you still did not get enough, do take the time to watch this video about truly great leadership: 

Andrew Solomon: How the worst moments in our lives make us who we are:

How to Tap into Your Greatest Leadership Potential

by Anne-Maria Yritys, posted in Leadership Development, leadership potential, Personal Development, Spiritual Leadership

Everything that happens to you is a reflection of what you believe about yourself. We cannot outperform our level of self-esteem. We cannot draw to ourselves more than we think we are worth. (Iyanla Vanzant)

If you are an individual seeking to find a meaning and a higher purpose in your life holistically, including how you live, how you eat, how you work, how you sleep, how you spend your time, with whom you spend your time – alone the fact that you consider these as an integral part of your success and well-being in life  rather than rushing through the days trying to fit into an environment and society that is constantly trying to change you, and turn you into something that makes you question whether you are simply fulfilling the requirements set by others, may be a sign of the fact that you in fact are developing authentic and truthful leadership skills in yourself.

To be yourself, and to do what you truly love, in a world that is constantly trying to change you into something else, is the greatest accomplishment, and the greatest gift you can give yourself  & the world around you (Modified quote, originally by Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Tapping into our true leadership potentials and developing into human beings with higher consciousness and spirituality does not always require going through difficulties, although all spiritual leadership and the willingness to seek a higher purpose in life does always come with maturity, regardless of physical age. We all have deep spiritual wisdom within us, ready and available to be unlocked when the time and circumstances are right. I remember a few years back reading “The Art of Choosing”, written by Sheena Iyengar, an excellent read where a blind, highly intellectual woman taps into the world of the art of making choices in life. Both her best-selling book, her story, her determination to succeed despite of her inability to see helped me realize how important it is for us to believe in ourselves despite of the fact that none of us is perfect. If a blind woman can write and publish a best-selling book, it is a miracle and expresses the true potential available within each one of us.

We can all tap into our leadership potentials and becoming the best possible versions of ourselves despite of our deficiencies and weaknesses by taking important and necessary steps in our self-actualization and in developing our consciousness through authentic, game-changing steps.

Tap into your full leadership potential by always valuing your individuality and by respecting yourself.

Authentic, genuine leaders always come with a self-worth, allowing for them to value other individuals as well. Despite of possible external “faults”, differences, or in ways of thinking. Every single individual and human being does have a genius within them, the potential to grow into a leader with humanity and character, when developed and guided in a righteous manner. Only leaders who value and respect themselves are capable of behaving in a similar manner in communication with other people.

Tap into your full leadership potential by becoming not only a role model, but also a light worker in your environment, and in society.

Spiritual leadership, being a role model and a light worker requires for an individual to be capable of expressing Universal love, having faith in eternity, believing in Universal Spiritual Laws, Karma, Spiritual enlightenment, spiritual awakening, being of service to others and to humanity in general, leading through positive example, philanthropy, charity, self-sacrifice, selflessness, having a destiny with a deep soul-purpose and a mission in life, being generous, having a higher perspective upon life and things in general, romance, inner-strength, responsibility in all actions, intuition, strength of character, creativity, sensitivity, loyalty (towards oneself first!), discretion, brilliance, problem-solving, inner-wisdom, freedom, idealism, altruism and benevolence, empathy, compassion, developing artistic skills and becoming an artistic genius, seeing things from a wider perspective, a love for communication and influence,  being capable of forgiving, mysticism, optimism and Divine Wisdom, among a number of other attributes and qualities.

If you do recognize some, or many of these traits and emotions in your personal behavior, feelings, and life, you are most probably on the path of tapping into becoming the leader that you ought to be, and a leader marked by inner wisdom and greatness.

Tap into your full leadership potential by listening to both your intuition, but also your logic, rational mind.

All great leaders know how to lead from within, from their hearts, but also by the capability of staying grounded and learning how to combine their feelings with their rational minds. To tap into your greatest leadership potential and to develop these qualities within yourself, you must let go of the need to control everything, and rather focus upon the fact that true happiness comes from the ability to realize that you do not need to possess much, but rather from being attached to little. Only leaders who know that everything is Universal, yet that nothing belongs to them, are capable of manifesting everything they ever wish for in their lives, creating abundance for themselves but also for people surrounding them.

Sheena Iyengar: Fate, chance, or choice:

Thank you for tapping into your full leadership potential. If you found this post helpful, please comment, like, and share with your networks on social media sites of your choice.