Transformation4Change

Any change or transformation of significance will create people issues. New leaders will be asked to step up, jobs will be changed, new skills and capabilities must be developed, and people will be uncertain and will have concerns. Dealing with these issues on a reactive rather than on a proactive basis will impact the outcomes and success of the change.

Successful change does not happen by developing flamboyant change plans, engaging change resources, bringing in consultants, using tools and templates, commit financial and human resources to fulfilling the plan, and communicating the change. All these are good but not enough to achieve successful change and transformation. We should remember that people always wish for change because they know that it’s the constant thing in this world, and they will always have this deep, inner desire to improve things for their betterment and progress.

Are we oblivious to the significant waste of human capital and financial resources that come with failure of change and transformation? It’s amazing how disruption, pandemic, chaos, instability, and challenges can cause us to introspect, review, revise, our way of doing things. As soon as we saw that the pandemic was coming to an end, we went back to “Business as Usual” When will we learn and grow? When will we shift our paradigms regarding the human side of change? Every successful change that I have been part of succeeded because we took the human side of change seriously.

The statement “our employees are our most important asset” has become a cliché rather than a true demonstration of what some leaders truly believe. Employees know for certain if they are being regarded as the most important assets. When the time comes for a change to be implemented, employees are sent an email about the change and expected to get on-board and help implement the change. This is not the right way to treat people, especially the people that are your most valuable asset. By proactively engaging and supporting people in times of change, we demonstrate in action that we value them.

Are you restless with your current state? Are you feeling stuck? Are you resting on the achievement of yesterday? Do you feel you have more in you and yet you seem to be stagnant. The key to addressing these questions you have been struggling with is to navigate forward and onward without allowing yourself to make excuses for your current situation or state. Navigating forward with purpose, determination and consistency will get you out of your current situation.

The word to navigate is to steer, traverse, direct, or pilot. In a world filled with challenges and opportunities, the temptation to stay put, rest, or do nothing and wait for things to change when you should be the one to change can be very strong. It takes courage, resiliency, determination, persistence, and perseverance to keep navigating forward in the direction of your leadership journey, taking your company forward, writing that book or whatever project you may be working on.

I was watching television the other day when a comedian made a comment about how they make people laugh and happy and then get back to their hotel feeling lonely and lost after the event. Some have committed suicide not knowing how to continue with life. Navigating forward is even more urgent these days because of all we went through the past few years and what others are going through.

As a leader, you need to learn to navigate forward amidst the challenges, as a business you need to move forward despite the various obstacles, as a family you need to keep moving forward because its only in navigating forward where you will breakthrough and achieve your goals. There are times when knowing the path to follow may not be clear. But you must keep navigating in the hope that you will get to the other side.

In this podcast I share a few nuggets on what to do to effectively navigate forward. The solution you are looking for is right ahead of you. Have a fantastic week and keep navigating forward.

Powerful forces are changing our world. Their impact is touching all countries, sectors, companies, and, increasingly, workers and the environment. They are also mutating in some unexpected ways and combining to create even greater impact than we expected.

The word disruption is a disturbance, commotion, interruption, distraction, interference, or disorder. These words all have a negative connotation; however, disruption can be very good for you and me. It is human nature to want to settle, have stability, control, and go with the flow. However, anytime our lives are disrupted, our businesses are shaken, our thoughts are disrupted with new information and new perspectives, we begin to rise to the challenge and do amazing things with the disruption.

We live in an era of disruption in which powerful global forces are changing how we live and work. Global disruptive trends offer considerable new opportunities to companies, sectors, countries, and individuals that embrace disruption successfully. On the other hand, the number of those who cannot keep up with these changing times or events has grown significantly.

Disruption opens the way for us to think differently. It allows us to use our imagination to redefine the industries we work in and the world we live in. As a result, society benefits from innovations that improve our efficiency and the ease of our daily lives. Disruptions can be a catalyst that can help solve major issues.

In this episode, I unpack the role of disruption and its benefits. When we change our views and perceptions regarding disruption, we begin to take advantage of disruption and use it rather than allowing it to use us. Have a fantastic week and see you at the summit of disruptors.

English philosopher James Allen wrote: “As a man thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.” Stoic and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote: “A man’s life is what his thoughts make of it.” Poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “A man is what he thinks about all day long.” Author Earl Nightingale said: “We become what we think about,” and Mark Twain wrote: “Life consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever flowing through one's head.” We live in a world of thought.

Our thoughts create our experiences, and we experience what we think. It is the quality of our thoughts that create the quality of our life, how we lead, what we do, and the future we will create. We move in the direction of our thoughts. Is your current way of thinking giving you the results you want? Is the way you think about your employees, peers, organization, boss, family, helping you to be more, do more and give more? We have become victims of our own thoughts and can rethink and be victors from our thoughts. Our thoughts trigger emotions, and these emotions feed back into the original thought. As we continue to give mental attention to the initial thought, it strengthens the emotion, which then energizes the thought. We experience a continuous cycle of think, feel, think, feel, think, feel.

When we repeatedly engage in the same thought patterns of think, feel, do, these patterns encode a blueprint in our subconscious mind. Our subconscious mind runs 95% of our life on automation.

Our thinking holds the key to the future we want to create. You can never be any different from the quality of your thinking. Your thinking has brought you this far and your thinking will impact your today and your tomorrow. Have a great week and see you at the summit of great thinkers.

Inspirational leadership refers to your ability to influence those around you positively and motivate others to achieve success. It provides your team members with the opportunity to develop their ambition based on your actions and attitudes.

An inspirational leader will develop talent and provide employees with opportunities to grow. These leaders are willing to take a risk on a person to stretch them so that their very best will burst forth. They have a desire to develop their team members and push them outside their comfort zone — and are prepared with a safety net in case the individual falters or things do not go as planned.

I have worked with some great leaders and not so great leaders. The inspirational leaders provided an enabling environment for me to thrive, inspired me to be more, give more and do more. Their style of leadership caused our team to go beyond the call of duty to resolve complex problems and issues, find creative and innovative ways to do things, and made coming to work an exciting adventure. I believe you recall working for such a leader in your career. Some of you are working for such a leader at this very moment. You agree with me that we all want to work for a leader who inspires us, who brings out the best in us and who is there for us when challenges come.

Inspirational leaders provide opportunities for others to grow personally and professionally and make progress toward their individual aspirations. Inspirational leaders encourage employees to flourish both individually and collectively. According to experts, inspired employees are more productive and committed to their organization.

Inspirational leadership encourages others to remain committed to their individual tasks while also leading their team by setting a good example. Good leaders encourage their direct reports with gratitude, making it more likely for their direct reports to repeat successful behaviors.

Develop your ability, capacity, capability, and personality to be an inspirational leader. Employees, direct reports, supervisors, coordinators, managers, and individuals want to follow a leader who inspires them to be and give their best.

Have a fantastic week and see you at the summit of inspirational leaders.

Being weighed down from all the things and others is stealing your future and growth one disappointment and hurt at a time. I feel your pain because I have had my own share of pain, disappointments, hurt, mistreatment, and others. The question is can you change the discourse. Absolutely yes you can. You have the inner resources and the help of Almighty God to help you sidestep all the issues, drama, challenges and start moving towards what you want.

The Phrase, let it go is not another cliché but a very powerful statement when you take it to heart, and act on exactly what the statement says. There is no hurt too grave, disappointment too big, relationship too deep, that is beyond letting go. Remember that whatever we are willing to let go, creates room for better things to come to us. Let go that business that you are trying to revive when everything says, the time has passed. Let go the boss who wrongly fired you for whatever reason and prepare for the next job, let go of that relationship that you taught you can never do without, there is always someone better waiting for you.

Let go the organization that is choking your growth and identify the one that can stretch and fully tap your potential, Let go of the pain of the accident and see the scars as a reminder that you are still here and therefore you have a great tomorrow. Whatever it is you are holding on to, just let it go and experience the peace, emotional stability, energy, and clarity of mind to start moving in the direction of your dreams and aspirations. Just let it GO!

Have a fantastic week and keep moving forward and leave the baggage behind

James Allen about peace said “Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom”

Peace stealers are busy doing what they do best and that is stealing your peace in your most unguarded moments. Personally, my peace has been stolen repeatedly until I figured out how to detect the signs before it consumes me. I’ve wasted a lot of time being held hostage to some ridiculous stuff. It’s my duty to protect my peace and that is what I suggest you do as well to navigate the gift called life.

The word peace means harmony. To be peaceful is about calmness, stillness, tranquility, serenity, or silence. When you are peaceful, you are creative, have more energy, you can think straight, you can focus and do amazing things with your life. Being peaceful is in great demand these days because of all the happenings around us. Some people are not sleeping well at night because of the weight they are carrying. Some dread going to work because of the work environment. Some proverbially ride on the statement “Thank God its Friday” They can’t wait for Friday to come even when its only Monday morning. For whatever reason, we have peace stealers all around us. When you go to work there is someone who will do something to steal your joy, at home, there may be irritants vying to steal your joy. The news media or social media has things that take away your happiness and peace. To be peaceful will not happen by chance, you must crave and work diligently to be peaceful.

A spiritual leader is credited as saying “Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. Those who envy others do not obtain peace of mind.”

In this episode of transformation4change podcast, I provide some nuggets on how to maintain your peace and do amazing things with your life and leave an amazing trail behind you. Peace is your antidote to the vicissitudes of life. Decide to crave for peace and strive for peace with all your life. Have a fantastic week.

The Late Dr. Robert Schuler said, “The Me I see Is the Me I will become” When you look in the mirror, what do you see? A miracle about to happen, an influencer, a change maker, a thought leader. Do you see yourself as contributing to your world? An author of a best seller? A successful business owner in the making, a song writer, or a successful person in general? What you see is what you become.

Every successful person I know, read about, heard about, was first successful in their mind and then went to work to bring that picture to life. These successful people first painted a picture of the success they want on the canvass of their minds. What picture are you painting? When your vision of yourself is limited, your life will be limited. You become what you see and focus on most of the time. A vision is a destination that you want to arrive at within a period.

A personal vision is a declaration of a purpose.

• A vision creates self discipline.

• A vision brings focus

• A vision is a trigger of effort

• A vision causes you spend your energy on what matters most

• A vision helps to set direction.

• A personal vision fuels your passion

“The first step toward creating the future you want to see is developing your ability to envision it. Your VISION will ignite the fire of passion that fuels your commitment to do WHATEVER IT Will TAKE to achieve excellence. Your VISION will allow you to transform your dreams, aspirations, goals, objectives, into reality through consistent human action. VISION has no boundaries and knows no limits. Your VISION of yourself is what you become in life.”

Have a fantastic week and see you on my next podcast.

Angela Duckworth and her colleagues research revealed the importance of Mental Toughness. They concluded in one of their findings by saying “Our hypothesis that grit is essential to high achievement evolved during interviews with professionals in investment banking, painting, journalism, academia, medicine, and law. Asked what quality distinguishes star performers in their respective fields, these individuals cited grit or a close synonym as often as talent. In fact, many were awed by the achievements of peers who did not at first seem as gifted as others but whose sustained commitment to their ambitions was exceptional. Likewise, many noted with surprise that prodigiously gifted peers did not end up in the upper echelons of their field.”

An elite athlete must be able to handle pressure, have self-belief and avoid lifestyle distractions. They must have that urge to win and know that they have all the capabilities to do anything they desire. This separates good athletes from the elite athletes (Jones et al.,2002). “Mental toughness” also refers to the idea of being able to push past failures by remaining positive and competitive. It also involves training and preparing oneself to be mentally ready for whatever challenge comes our way. "Mental toughness is the ability to resist, manage and overcome doubts, worries, concerns and circumstances that prevent you from succeeding, or excelling at a task or towards an objective or a performance outcome that you set out to achieve."

One of the most important qualities achievers possess is mental toughness: the drive and determination and willpower to keep going when the going gets tough. Determination and willpower are qualities you can develop. You can develop mental toughness. However, developing mental toughness and greater willpower takes time. What is mental toughness? According to Wikipedia, Mental toughness is a measure of individual resilience and confidence that may predict success in sport, education, and the workplace. In recent decades, the term has been commonly used by coaches, sport psychologists, sports commentators, and business leaders. A positive mentality or mental toughness is a benefactor to success.

In this episode, I present the final part of how to develop your mental muscle. Enjoy the nuggets in this episode as you continue your journey of developing your mental muscles. Your mind holds the key to your accomplishments today and tomorrow. Have a fantastic week.

Mental Toughness is "The ability to work hard and respond resiliently to failure and adversity; the inner quality that enables individuals to work hard and stick to their long-term passions and goals." Mentally tough athletes are more consistent than others. They don’t miss workouts. They don’t miss assignments. They always have their teammates back.

Mentally tough leaders are more consistent than their peers. They have a clear goal that they work towards each day. They don’t let short–term profits, negative feedback, or hectic schedules prevent them from continuing the march towards their vision. They make a habit of building up the people around them — not just once, but over and repeatedly.

Mental toughness isn’t about getting an incredible dose of inspiration or courage. It’s about building the daily habits that allow you to stick to a schedule and overcome challenges and distractions over and over and over again. The good news is that grit and perseverance can become your defining traits, regardless of the talent you were born with. You can become more consistent. You can’t become committed or consistent with a weak mind.

Mentally tough people don’t have to be more courageous, more talented, or more intelligent — just more consistent. Mentally tough people develop systems that help them focus on the important stuff regardless of how many obstacles life puts in front of them. It’s their habits that form the foundation of their mental beliefs and ultimately set them apart.

Mentally tough artists, writers, and employees deliver on a more consistent basis than most. They work on a schedule, not just when they feel motivated. They approach their work like a pro, not an amateur. They do the most important thing first and don’t shirk responsibilities.

Allow these nuggets to help you develop mental toughness so that you not only withstand the challenges life throws at you but help you plough through these challenges and chart a great future for yourself, family, community, and future generations. Have a fantastic week.