Must Reads

Each year, LeaderShape hosts a retreat and training event that brings together the Co-Lead Facilitators for The LeaderShape Institute. It's a time to reconnect with each other and with LeaderShape, to engage in meaningful dialogue, and to continue to grow as facilitators, teachers, and learners.

The Co-Lead community is a great resource. And this year we asked them to share with each other, and with us, what it is they are reading and paying attention to. We'd like to share that list with you, too! And we are curious...what would you add?

Blogs and On-line Articles

Kid President
Brene Brown
Idea Architects (Jeffrey Cufaude)
The Color Lines
99U
Upworthy
Racialicious
Dan Pallota

Videos

TED
Dan Pallotta: The way we think about charity is dead wrong
Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story
Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability and Listening to shame

Books

Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandburg
Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons from the Toys You Loved as a Child by Ron Hunter, Jr. and Michael E. Waddell
You Don't Have to Have a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere, Can Make a Positive Difference by Mark Sanborn
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
The Way of Transition: Embracing Life's Most Difficult Moments by William Bridges
My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
Leadership and Self Deception: Getting Out of the Box  from the Arbinger Institute
This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage by Alfred Lansing

One Thousand

On May 14, 2013 the 1,000^th session of The LeaderShape Institute will begin at North Carolina State University.

The 1,000^th session!!

What a remarkable milestone demonstrating progress towards the LeaderShape vision of a just, caring, and thriving world where all lead with integrity and a healthy disregard for the impossible.

As we all continue working on #Day7, we hope you are reaching milestones in your own work and life. And when you do hit a milestone, take some time to celebrate! It’s important to recognize and validate all of the thinking, writing, talking, meeting, and time that you have put into the process. 

Included in this celebration are the people who mentored, supported, cheered, and helped you towards your milestone. They deserve appreciation and to rejoice along with you.

This community and celebratory spirit can also help you to keep the momentum going. The last thing we would want for you (and for us) as we each reach a milestone is to allow it to justify an extended break from making progress on our big, audacious (and maybe even scary) goals. Take the excitement and satisfaction from your achievement and channel it into energy to keep moving forward.

Day #7: Celebrate, appreciate, and keep the momentum going!

#Day7 at The Lead Retreat

The LeaderShape Staff just spent #Day7 with 130 people who are dedicated to LeaderShape, to leading with integrity, and to a healthy disregard for the impossible; we were with our Lead Facilitators wrapping up our annual retreat.

The Lead Facilitators are a community of people who travel to sessions of The LeaderShape Institute on behalf of our organization and in service to the Cluster Facilitators, On Site Coordinators, and Participants who come together for six days of discovery. They give of their time and of themselves to help us work towards the LeaderShape vision and mission.

What does this have to do with #Day7?

We wanted you to know that if you ever question whether or not anyone even cares about you and the work you are doing to make the world, your community, and your campus stronger through your own #Day7 work, that there are people who care. Our Lead Facilitators care. They care a lot.

Lead Retreat 2013

Lead Retreat 2013

Elements of Leadership

Action

Community

Integrity

Positive Change

Possibility

Relationships

Vision

These are the 7 elements of leadership that are part of the LeaderShape definition of leadership. They are introduced on Day 1, are the inspiration for the Family Cluster skits on Day 5, and tie to lessons of the curriculum throughout the week.

But what are they to you after the Institute?

As you live out Day 7, perhaps these elements can inspire you to stay true to the lessons that resonated with you from the week. If you feel disconnected from these or from The LeaderShape Institute, take some time to focus each element.  Maybe you'll want to think about one of them each month, diving deep into how each one can inform your daily work and life. You can spend an afternoon evaluating them all at once. Or you can have a talk over coffee with a family cluster member or mentor.

One thing we hope is that no matter how or how often you reflect back on the elements of leadership from the Institute that you remember what you left those six days wanting to do. And do it.

Keep Going

We learned about Kid President when he shared his #AwesomeYear challenge. We liked Kid President's attitude and campaign so much, we had to share it. You may have seen it on our Facebook page, Twitter feed, or Live It! email. 

Recently Kid President shared another video: A Pep Talk from Kid President to You. Maybe you need a Day 7 pep talk. Maybe you know someone else who could use a little inspiration or motivation. Perhaps this can help:

Day 7.

Keep Going.

2012 Favorites

We've had some wonderful contributors to the LeaderShape blog this year. We hope that you enjoy revisiting a few of our favorites:

A Cluster Facilitator Thank You

Litsa Orbin reflects on her experience as a Cluster Facilitator.

Headbands of Hope

Jessica Ekstrom, LeaderShape graduate from North Carolina State University, started Headbands of Hope to benefit young girls with cancer. 

One Word 2012

LeaderShape facilitator Julie Larson shares the word she focused on in 2012.

Free Hugs

Central Michigan University's Vincent Thurman gives out Free Hugs to share encouragement and kindness.

TEDx

Some of our LeaderShape graduates have participated in the planning of TEDx events around the country. Here are some entries on those experiences:

TEDxYouthDay in Qatar

TEDxOhioStateUniversity

TEDxUTK

Goals Separate Leaders from Dreamers

By Rob Sheehan. For more detailed ideas on Goals that are included in this blog, please check out my new, free e-book entitled The Power of Goals.

Dreams are very important!  Any time we set out to make a difference we need to begin with looking deep inside ourselves and asking what we care about, what are our aspirations, what are our visions for the future?

But in order to bring our dreams and our visions into reality, we need to set goals.  Without goals, you run the risk of dreaming the day away and never really making a difference.

There has been a ton of research done on goals (for example, “A Theory of Goal Setting & Task Performance,” by Edwin Locke and Gary Latham).  Here are some of the most important guidelines for setting goals:

• Set goals as outcomes – on what you really want, not the activities that may lead toward them.

• Make sure that all your goals are SMRT:  Specific, Measurable, Relevant, Time-Bound

• Use the right “A” in your SMART goal formula.  All goals need to be SMRT.  But to be SMART you need to pick the “A” that is right for your situation. Here are your options:
• Attainable Goals, which you have an 80+% chance of accomplishing, are good if failing will have many negative consequences.  Attainable goals are good to build some momentum with easy wins, or to learn more about new environments, or if you are concerned about getting discouraged.
• Aggressive Goals, which you have a 35% chance of accomplishing, will improve your performance.  Research shows that the more difficult the goal, the higher the level of performance.*  If you feel like you have a good system and you want to maximize performance of it, then this method will help you do it.
• Almost Impossible Stretch Goals, which you have a 1% chance of accomplishing, will require you to design innovative ways of going about accomplishing your goal.  “Working harder” on the same process won’t do it.  You have an opportunity for breakthrough performance with Almost Impossible Stretch Goals.

• Celebrate Noble Failure.  If you are inspired to pursue a goal and you go for it, but you don’t make it all the way, then appreciate the progress you have made and appreciate that you worked hard at something you really cared about.  This mind-set will bring you more long-term success than letting the fear of failure keep you from doing what truly inspires you.

Again, you can see more detail on all of this in The Power of Goals e-book.  If you use these principles and apply them to your personal and work life then I promise you much higher levels of performance, fulfillment, and satisfaction.   Good luck with all of your dreams and your goals!

Robert  M. Sheehan, Jr., Ph.D., is the academic director of the executive MBA program at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. He provides consulting services in strategic planning, board development, and leadership and teamwork development for nonprofits. He has more than 30 years of executive management experience, including 18 years as the CEO of two different national nonprofits – including LeaderShape, Inc. from 1992 – 2001.  He currently serves as Past Chair of The Board of Trustees of LeaderShape.