achieve your goals – Page 2

May 17, 2010March 29, 2017

Inertia – the biggest threat to progress

Years ago when I was studying for my HSC, my parents imposed a curfew. I was not able to go out unless I did 15 hours study a week.

Fortunately for me they did not specify where I had to spend my time, so I focused a minimum of 10 hours a week where my passion lay – painting and art – and the rest to what I considered at the time as the boring subjects. The 15 hour study curfew became easy to meet and the targets I had for my social life were able to be easily fulfilled.

It was a great lesson around naturally pursuing the areas you feel passionate about. This time and effort I naturally skewed towards was also rewarded in me later winning a number of art awards. I easily connected that if you work and operate from a position of passion, it delivers you significant power to excel.

When you love something and love what you are doing, you naturally progress. You find things easy to do and easy to commit to. This principle serves you just as well in your working career as it will in your personal life.

I am sure you can validate this principle with your own examples.

Recall a time where you pursued something you felt really passionate about and it propelled you to success. Now reflect on how you felt.

You felt buzzed right? When you did what you love and you achieved the goal you were hoping for, you felt highly energized, invincible and ready for more.

This isn’t rocket science, so why do we sit for far too long in jobs or in situations pursuing something where we don’t feel that passion?

A number of people I know have communicated their unhappiness in their current situation.

They try to justify not doing anything by rationalizing away the risks of changing with the comfort levels of today. They know and can be strong at articulating what they would prefer to be doing, even going so far to identify the steps they need to take to get there, but still don’t go and pursue it. The longer they look for reasons to not move, the more the barriers to change seem larger.

When focusing on the fear of change and potential downsides, there is a great danger that the sense of “too hard” will set in. Or worse, you quickly move into a mode of accepting what you are not happy with, with a feeling of “this is good as it gets”. So you stay in something you are not happy with.

Yet we can all recall examples and look to people where a decision to change was made and it was pursued. Or perhaps you know someone or were forced to make changes through circumstances not of your own doing.

These changes and shifts in life often become the catalyst to move onto much greater things, greater than what may have first been considered. It is a powerful feeling when you have new opportunities, new ways of thinking, new ways of working, new ways of juggling life to pursue.

We look back and see that change as the greatest thing that happened to us. Change brings opportunity. Change brings great personal growth which helps us professionally.

More importantly change gives us an opportunity to tap into our passions. To find the things that once again excite us, energize us, propel us forward.

So don’t allow inertia to kill your progress.

Make the changes today to align what you do with your passions. At a minimum, the bigger the wave of change and the bigger the ride, the less likely you will have time to look back and you will enjoy the process of moving forward.

Take a step forward today and see how quickly your passion will carry you towards success.

April 7, 2010March 29, 2017

Speaker & Leadership Development Facilitator for NSW Red Cross

Emma will be keynote speaker and facilitator of an interactive leadership development session for NSW Red Cross Youth Advisory Committee.

Emma will be addressing “How to lead a project team to success” and will be looking at communication, negotiation and management strategies, skills and styles and how they can be applied to ensure solid engagement within project teams and the wider community, and how by applying focus you can achieve your desired outcomes.

The team will benefit from an interactive learning session which will be conducted Saturday 10th April 2010.

For further information on Emma’s keynote speaking and leadership development modules and how they can enhance and progress your people and organization’s development and growth, contact Emma at emma@emmalorusso.com

March 31, 2010March 29, 2017

Preparing your 10 second sound bite

Are you like me? Do you love words? Love a clever turn of phrase?

Do you have a favourite quote? A favourite song lyric? A favourite movie line?

What about a favourite brand tagline? Like Nike’s ‘Just do it’? Or Apple’s ‘Think Different’?

There is some paradox for the lover of words. Because the volume of words is not nearly as valued as the meaning of those words.

The real art and appreciation is in delivering the maximum meaning in the fewest words possible or as better described by Mark Twain as “a minimum of sound to a maximum of sense”.

Keeping your points succinct makes it easy for others to hear, to hold, to consider, to repeat, to remember, to action. The longer it takes to communicate the point, the more likely your words will be lost – competing with other noise, activities, word associations and meanings that can be personally attributed.

Increasingly our communications are being compressed into bite sized chunks. Whether it is TV, radio, video, voicemail, a quotation attributed, a headline or article referenced, a 140 character post on Twitter or 421 characters on Facebook , we are being asked to scale our communication into succinct points. How do you turn those restrictions into opportunities?

It takes active discipline and focus to communicate something a in few words so that it is meaningful and powerful. If you can also make those words memorable and repeatable, you have just unlocked one of the keys to success.

With every opportunity to communicate, we need to take time and plan in advance how to better utilize the small chunks of space that we have. Hence before you are under pressure, take the opportunity now to stop and think about your 10 second sound bite.

How can you pack the most punch into a few words?

How would you answer the question of “What do you do?” or “What do you want to do?” in 10 seconds? As a leader and manager you must also be able to clearly answer the question of “Why are we here?”, “What is my role?” and “How can I help?” in the same bite sized chunks.

Consider today what other questions or opportunities you have to communicate something where the impact of those words matters to you or your business.

In business and most of our personal interactions, every question requiring a response should be considered as having been asked the question “Why should I care?”. Treat the next 10 seconds as the most important in ensuring that they will.

By communicating what you want someone to understand and action in a 10 second sound bite, you may surprise yourself at just how effective you can be.

Pythagoras, the Greek Philosopher and Mathematician said “Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few “. Just like maths required back in highschool, you need to practice Pythagoras theory – just this time as he applied it to words. It is an essential skill if you are in leadership, marketing, sales or any role that requires communicating with others.

So perhaps I should finish this article with the message I have tried to convey using my own 10 second sound bite:

”When it comes to effective communication – keep your words simple, succinct and clear. Chunk them into 10 second sound bites. Only then can they be used and re-used to powerful effect”

March 18, 2010March 29, 2017

Networking: a ticket to fast growth

We are taught from a very young age to embrace our differences. That we are unique and there is no-one else like us.

Each of us offers our own set of experiences. Although we can share certain experiences with others, it is the collective group of experiences that makes us unique – from the order and era we are born in, to our own journey of work, education, friendships, gains, losses and experiences.

Although we may be intelligent, resourceful and successful on our own, it does not necessarily mean we have all the answers or that the conclusions we make are the only conclusions possible to make.

As a consequence of the uniqueness of us as individuals, lays an opportunity to continue to exponentially add to our experiences and knowledge by engaging with others.

By engaging with other individuals we can tap into a wealth of many other unique set of experiences – challenging who we are, what we think and what are additional opportunities for learning and growth.

Make networking a priority – whether it is through friendships, associations, professional groups, or informal or formalized networking events. It can open you up to an extensive and infinite amount of new experiences, ideas, knowledge, skills and wisdom. And because each engagement with each person you meet is the sum of two unique individuals with two unique set of experiences, then the outcome and value it returns will be different and new with each single connection.

In the spirit of sharing my experiences, here are my top 10 tips for turning networking into growth:

See each potential meeting with someone as an opportunity to learn something new
Gain more from networking and all people engagements, by approaching with a learning objective – be clear about what you want to learn and consciously stay positive and open to new ideas, concepts, partnerships and approaches
Put yourself out there – networking is about you sharing something about you and asking someone else something of value or interest about them. The best outcomes are when there is value being exchanged on both sides
Have a quick pitch ready that explains who you are and how you help others, this can also open up new opportunities for you
Find or create networks of people who interest you or are people you admire and feel there is something you can learn from – time is limited so maximize your use of every single event you have to be at, and prioritize others that you feel there would be value in
Set a goal of meeting and learning one new thing from someone new each and every day. And continue to regularly meet with those where there is mutual gains in sharing ongoing experiences, successes and challenges
Choose carefully what you will commit to in terms of follow up. Never commit yourself to someone or something if you have no intention of delivering or know it will be difficult to do
Don’t wait to network. it is important to build a continuous and frequent networking engagement model. People often wait or see networking as a chore or difficult to do. However you never know when you need to call on a relationship or need to leverage new ideas, so keep these continuously warm and fresh.
Seek not just opportunities and learnings about what to do, but also key learnings about what to avoid. As US Admiral Hyman G Rickover said “It is necessary for us to learn from others’ mistakes. You will not live long enough to make them all yourself.
Be genuine and never pretend. This helps you find likeminded people and they you.

See Networking as a ticket to fast growth.

The more new people you can meet, the more opportunities for growth you are creating. It also makes for an exciting and easy way to stay energized so you can achieve all the things you want to do in your life.

March 7, 2010March 29, 2017

Igniting motivation to drive your success

I used to think there was no great secret to being self-motivated.

All you needed was to really want something big enough to oversee and breakthrough any obstacle that you may consider too big or too hard that would stop you from getting there.

Pain? No problem.

Sleep Deprivation? No problem.

Tightly balance friendships, relationships, work commitments? No problem.

As it turns out we often want much more than what we have today. And to get what we want, we need to meet the many challenges we seek or that life throws at us.

Often the challenges are plentiful and come with competing priorities and timeframes.

Recently and due to many things on my “really want” list with many things on my “challenges and competing priorities and timeframes” list, I needed to revisit what really ignited my own motivation.

In talking to some clients about what keeps them motivated, and through observing others who excel in cycles of continous progress and achievement, I spent some time considering how best to ignite motivation and keep it fuelled. Here is a list of things I concluded:

Visualization of success – Articulate and visualize what success means to you. The more real it feels, the closer you will find yourself to realizing it.
Clarity of goals to achieve your definition of success – if you don’t know what you want, you won’t get to where you would like to be. If it is not clear to you, it won’t be clear to others preventing others (and yourself) from helping you get there. Spend time determining what it is that defines your success and bring clarity to the goals that fit your vision of success.
Define your plan and prioritize your steps to get there – once you know your goals, spend time developing your plan and identifying the best strategy to get there, break it into bite size steps that progress and propel you towards your goals.
Regularly revisit and plan your time – break your goals down into chunks, then into monthly, weekly, daily tasks. What needs to be done? How much time do you need? Set deadlines that correspond with the work required to get there.
Enjoy everything you do, make what you do fun and make it stimulating – If you recognize you are not effective late or night or at the 3.00pm afternoon point – add something that reenergizes you to break up your day eg choose meditation, a walk, listening to music, going to the gym, or talk to someone that interests you and indulge in what makes you passionate
Be inspired by others – learn, read, hear what drives them and helps them be successful & emulate success
Use visual references to help keep you focused – this may be pictures, graphs, quotations, a ‘to-do’ list with lots of ‘done’ ticks. Feel empowered by visually seeing the progress you have made
Celebrate milestones – determine what milestones should receive a reward. Make sure that reward is pleasurable to you. Celebrate and enjoy progress and achievement along the way.

Taking time out to review what is required to achieve your goals is critical and probably the best investment in setting the environment and foundation to leverage your self-motivation from.

Most importantly when you are in the thick of doing the everyday, ensure you keep your head up long enough and your eyes on the bigger goal to avoid being bogged down in the detail of today.

As Henry Ford once said “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal”.

Author’s Note: I wrote this article as a way to reenergize and keep myself focused and motivated on my own goals. I did this by revisiting what was important to me and what works for me. What works for you may be entirely different. Would love to hear your strategies for igniting your personal passion and drive.

February 5, 2010March 29, 2017

Preventing the corrective mindset

We are all under enormous time pressures. We juggle our competing interests, responsibilities and deadlines. We rely on others to help us get to the finish line. We want their input to equal a standard that allows us to juggle uninterrupted, taking pleasure from keeping everything successfully in the air. There is no room for errors. Just juggle, juggle, juggle.

Ooops! A ball is dropped and something is broken.

Invariably with all the things we need to focus upon, it is not unusual to find something will drop or break. As we juggle the remaining elements, we know we can only afford to make a quick stop to correct the fallen or broken element. And get back to juggling.

Following this path is only going to lead to more balls being dropped and more items to be juggled. Sometimes we drop things for the same reason. Deep down it doesn’t feel good knowing we or others are making the same mistake, but to stop and do anything differently, puts pressure on all the balls and the decision to stop and rethink the situation can feel bigger than it needs to.

To break this pattern we need to think about the corrective mindset vs. the preventive mindset. This is a well known concept in manufacturing and Quality Management Systems where the focus may be on continuous improvement and customer satisfaction. However the concepts can equally apply to our own professional and personal lives.

When operating in a corrective mindset, you will focus on fixing the immediate problem, and maybe even be able to stop the next occurrence. But it may not solve the bigger issue of being more effective, getting the best out of your time, based on focusing on the right priorities and the best strategies for achieving the outcomes you are looking for.

Another way to look at this is Past vs. Future. One is looking backwards to the past and trying to fix what didn’t work. But this often means we assume the way things are being done today is the right way, so we only fix what we have in place.

The other way is to look to the future to try to work out what is likely to happen and what are the likely influences and inputs that you will or can be working with. Time can be spent then determining what you are really looking to achieve, what is required to get there, the best way of getting there and what may be required to prevent any likely roadblocks or the undesirable from happening.

We know we can’t accurately predict the future so we need to build a flexible approach to deal with all the possibilities. Flexibility is far more important to develop as a mindset rather than as a well constructed disaster recovery plan covering every conceivable problem.

By taking time out to reflect and reconsider the corrective measure of past and the preventive measures you may choose to take in the future, you may find a much more powerful approach to the things you wish to achieve. Edward de Bono once said “It is well known that “problem avoidance” is an important part of problem solving. Instead of solving the problem you go upstream and alter the system so that the problem does not occur in the first place”.

By looking to the future you can ensure you are investing your time on what is most important to you and what is likely to bring the best and most preferred outcomes in the bigger scheme of life.

Whether as a boss or a parent, the best outcome may no longer involve you. A far more powerful approach may require you to stop and develop people (your team or children) or to devise a better system, one that no longer involves you or the thing you think you need to do because you have always done it that way.

One of the things that always stopped me in my tracks opening my mind to future possibilities was the challenge to ask myself “does this need to be done at all” and “what are the real consequence if this was no longer being done”.

By taking time out, deliberately stopping the juggling process and allowing time to move out of the corrective mindset, you now have the chance to strategize around your priorities and plan for the future resulting in greater creativity, enjoyment, satisfaction and rewards.

December 29, 2009March 29, 2017

The 2010 rule

There are many reasons not to do something. Particularly something that may challenge ourselves or may challenge others.

With every opportunity and path to success comes some associated risk. And often the bigger the opportunity, the bigger the risk.

Even if you have a high appetite for risk, you can be sure the naysayers, doom and gloomers, or just the “safety committee” of those around you, will find the dangers lurking in you taking that next big step.

Although it is important to be aware of all possible dangers – either to prevent, circumnavigate, address or incorporate – it is far more important to keep your eye on the ultimate objective. That way you will balance any risk against the greater reward and avoid being paralyzed in a safe, no-change/no-gain territory.

As we head into the next decade and set goals for the New Year, it might be good to add a simple tool to your think-box.

I call it the 2010 rule.

For every reason you are given not to do something, find two for doing it.

If you find 10 cons against embarking on something new, set the task to find 20 reasons why you should pursue it.

By doubling the positives you will find the confidence to embark on your chosen path. By not ignoring the possible cons you can plan to overcome them.

Applying the 2010 rule requires a commitment to your new path or objective. It provides a process to move forward with your eyes wide open yet be powered by the motivation of keeping the much greater positive up-sides and potential rewards top-of-mind to keep you on track. It allows you to focus on achieving your goals and be driven by a greater objective.

As Henry Ford once said “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal”.

May 2010 see you overcome any fears, set off on your chosen path and achieve all that you desire.

October 23, 2009March 29, 2017

Visible Vision

After just returning from a great adventure holiday throughout North and Western Australia which included 31 locations (and lots of driving in between), it struck me just how visible a vision could be.

From the first instance of driving into a town you could see whether the town shared a great vision – from the way it branded and projected itself, to deeper issues of what was keeping the town viable and commercial. You could palpably see and feel the vision in distinct features like the architecture, engineering, environmental planning and the overall coherency of an area.

It could also be tangibly felt through a town’s people who would proudly communicate what their town was about – its history, its future and what made it in their eyes “world’s best”.

One of the best examples of this was Kununurra, a town near the border of Western Australia and Northern Territory. Its leaders oversaw the engineering of one of Australia’s largest man-made lakes to take advantage of the huge rainfalls of the wet season. They created Lake Argyle by tapping the Ord River, resulting in the deliberate flooding out of some of the homesteads and properties of the area, and is now so huge that it’s classified as an inland sea.

Lake Argyle normally has a surface area of about 1,000 square kilometres and its capacity exceeds 18 times the volume of water of Sydney Harbour (a vision in itself), feeding some 150 square kilometres of farmland which provides the majority of fruit and vegetables to West Australia, supports cattle farming and a number of timber forests which provide good export earnings. The local economy is also helped by customs ordering you to dump all fruit, vegetables and honey at the border requiring you to re-stock with local produce as soon as you arrive in town.

For those who have been out in this country you will understand the great vastness and harshness of the area and why I marvel at the vision of the local people, including those farmers, who gave up their land to ensure long term economic viability of the town for its inhabitants and future generations.

On the flipside there were plenty of towns we visited that were devoid of vision. The lack of vision ultimately tied to the lack of commercial viability of the town and an empty and unproductive feeling and sense of hopelessness one took away of its people.

Seeing these differences along the way certainly reinforced the importance of having a strong vision. This is as important to the long-term economic viability of a business as it is to the long-term economic viability of a town.

Having a strong vision that everyone is working towards, planning to ensure long term viability and relevance, ensuring today’s activities are in harmony with the long-term view, engaging people to own the vision with everyone creatively fulfilling it in their daily business and decisions, can only propel an organization forward.

There is some danger in today’s environment that by operating or continuously sending signals you are in a survival mode, that the future of your business can be put at risk. Particularly in cases where your employees may have lost sight of the vision and can not articulate or see where the business is heading beyond a “make the buck today” mindset which can lead to lots of compromise.

It may well be timely to step back and really check what your business is projecting externally.

From the first instance someone is in contact with your business, do they receive a strong sense of your vision – from the way you are branded to the way your business projects itself in all touch points, communications and interactions?

Do people understand what is keeping your business viable and commercial and what it is that you offer them?

Do your people communicate what you stand for, what they are representing, and how they can help the customer, the business and themselves be successful?

By ensuring your business vision is tangible and visible, it can turn it from being something you desire to something that you realize.

August 12, 2009March 29, 2017

Sharpen your focus

Life is busy. We run from meeting to meeting adding additional items of things to do on our ever increasing list of items to be done. In between meetings we check our email, facebook, twitter or LinkedIn accounts. On the phone we multi-task by responding to the many instant “urgent” messages that are flashing via MSN or Skype. We race home to begin the juggle with family – cooking dinner, supervising homework, meanwhile responding to emails, phone texts, writing reports and making new notes of the additional things we need to do the next day.

We chase the sweet feeling of satisfaction as we tick each item off our list as “done” or as we extend our network, proving tangibly to ourselves that we are making progress.

Yet at the end of the week we find the business development proposal, recommended organization structural change, the new marketing plan or policy [you can insert any key project you should be completing], has not really progressed in the way we wanted or in the way our business really needs.

Our sense of satisfaction wanes as we see many items achieved but not together representing a milestone measure of true value, progress and success. We know we need to do better…if only we had the time to plan? Or more people to help?

Does this sound like you? Or at least like you some of the time? I know I have fallen into the trap of “busyness” before, spreading myself too thin, and have needed to consciously take steps to pull myself out, take ownership of my time again and reset my focus.

It certainly is a common problem and one that many of us face or fall into the trap of doing from time to time. This type of high pressured chaos may be felt like an unreasonable workload thrown upon us, but more than likely this will be a problem of focus, a problem of prioritization and a problem of learning to say “no” without feeling guilty.

The person who owns and is responsible for managing your time and achieving the best outcomes with your time and your team is you. And only you can change the way you approach your day and week to sharpen your focus and thus maximize your effectiveness.

Here are some simple steps to sharpen your focus and start making greater progress:

Revisit your business vision, strategy and goals. The more concise your business proposition is and who it is likely to help, the more likely your actions and those of others will help it stay on course. Once this proposition and your business goals are clear and easy to articulate, it becomes easier to sharpen your focus on the most important elements and targets to ensure you get there. If it is not clear to you or those who are leading, then it certainly will not be clear to those that are following.
What do you need to do to ensure your business achieves what it is looking to do? Be clear about your key responsibilities and the key things you should be doing to ensure you and your business achieve this. At any one time you should be focusing on no more than three major projects. Build in time to reflect on your progress and that of your team’s against your business goals and revisit anything you know is not really working.
What is the overall plan project outline and what needs to be done by when? Make a conscious list of priorities and develop a weekly plan to give you the right amount of time to spend on each item. The more tangible your goals and timeframes are, the easier it is to know how to approach your priorities, resources, workload and keep everything on track.
Identify how much can be delegated. What can be handed over and to whom? Plan how many items can be handed over. Spend the time with your team to help them also prioritize and see where they can make a major impact on the business. The more focus they have, the greater the results you will see being delivered. You also are creating an achievement culture where success motivates everyone and you will find even more can be achieved.
Weigh up those list items you can say no to. If you see too many competing priorities within projects, pick the top three things you should be focusing and begin the process of weighing up each item further down the list with the question “what would happen if I did not do this?”. If the answer is not fatal, then find the discipline to say “No” and make sure you reset expectations in your organization. Saying yes to everything on your list is an easy thing to do but much harder to deliver. Practicing the art of saying no, remembering to help your manager and team identify what they too can say no to helps sharpen focus within your organization. Focusing on the key things you should be doing will have a major impact on your business and will give everyone a chance to do those things well.
Plan each day and approach it with discipline. Set aside specific times to review and plan your day (first thing in the morning before heading to the office is a good time). Set aside specific times to review and respond to emails, phone calls and messages as well as time to write your plan or proposal – making sure you are writing any plans or proposals at the freshest point in the day. Identify who you need to speak to and allocate an appropriate time. Don’t overschedule your diary. It is easy to book every 15 minutes and there may be many times you need to, however it takes enormous discipline to keep to schedule.

Sharpening your focus brings you much closer to achieving your business targets.

As your targets change over time, you may need to also revisit the resources that are available to you. As a manager, you need to ensure you are equipped to do your job and that of your team’s well. To do this you will also need to set aside time to work on recruitment and your people development. Remember that your people are your greatest asset. By helping coach them to sharpen their focus, it will bring an enormous return on the power of what you as a team can achieve.

August 3, 2009March 29, 2017

The King and I…(and a story of learning courage)

This is not the start of some fictional story or make believe anecdote. Nor is it about my special memories of my mother, sisters and I all singing along to the Friday night movie special of The King and I, imagining what those days were like of impossible dresses and outrageous social expectations of women. This story is about courage and how The King and I played a role in teaching me about courage.

There were many messages of courage throughout the movie – the courage to follow your dreams, the courage to stand up to a bully or to fight for better outcomes despite the conventions of the day.

However my biggest lesson from The King and I came from having the courage to overcome your fears. Although this may sound corny, it is a real story and I will tell you how I learned to develop courage.

About 3 years into the workforce, I put my hand up to take on a big project. It involved doing some strategy work for a bunch of super smart, confident, talented, experienced – and as it turned out – extremely demanding people.

The brief turned out to be much more difficult and challenging than I had first expected. Certainly it was beyond my experience and knowledge of that time. I felt out of my depth and felt all the physical signs that come with fearing the enormous task and expectations in front of me – heart racing, legs shaking, stomach knotting and mind racing. At that moment of fear and crisis, in amongst thinking of all the reasons to not be able to say yes or to limit somehow what was possible to something more reasonable, somewhere out of the depths of memory, a song started playing in the back of my mind.

It went like this…

Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head erect
And whistle a happy tune, So no one will suspect
I’m afraid.

While shivering in my shoes, I strike a careless pose
And whistle a happy tune, And no one ever knows
I’m afraid.

The result of this deception, Is very strange to tell
For when I fool the people I fear,
I fool myself as well!

And sure enough by immediately changing my focus from fear to “I will find a way”, and when I showed confidence that what was being demanded was possible, I actually began to believe those project goals could be reached that it was just a matter of finding the way. It allowed an immediate settling in my mind and an unwinding of my stomach so I could be free to focus on finding the solution and the “how”. In the example I mentioned, I confidently stated what they briefed could be achieved and shared a rough outline of the strategy and a plan of action. I included what the dependencies would be and set a new time to meet to present the more detailed strategy which bought me more time to work through the details.

The result was extremely positive. The goals were reached and a great sense of satisfaction and respect was gained.

But the biggest positive for me was the lesson of courage that it taught me. I was able to put the art of make believing I was brave, and focusing on the positives in every situation, and finding that I was actually brave and positive enough to face anything. By finding a strategy to overcome my fears, it allowed me to find the courage to overcome barriers, find solutions and be confident to continuously look for and do new things.

I have adopted this approach many, many times – whether it be walking into a new networking situation, addressing a large group of people, taking on what may seem to be the impossible brief or role. Each time you find you can do something, it builds your confidence to explore and overcome any future challenging situation. This strategy can be adopted as much in our personal lives as it can in our professional lives.

We can all achieve so much more if we allow ourselves to go as close to the edge of impossible as we can before we allow ourselves to feel limitations or constraints. If we limit our scope to something that feels safer, more comfortable, more easy – we lose the possibility of breaking new ground and achieving something truly new, remarkable and special.

The more we believe we can do something, the more others will believe you can and that they can do it too. As a leader, you will find that if you demonstrate believe, then you will have your people help you do whatever it is you need to do.

And so as the song continues…

Make believe you’re brave,

And the trick will take you far.

You may be as brave
As you make believe you are.

(Lyrics by Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1951. The Movie “The King and I” starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr by 20^th Century Fox, 1956.)