10 Wise Insights to Revive & Thrive in 2011

10 Wise Insights to Revive & Thrive in 2011

Posted on 10. Jan, 2011 by in 1 Leadership, People & Change, Strategy & Change

Did you catch our month long blog series last month on leadership acts that can Revive and Thrive you or your business in 2011?  Because the content from the 17 guest bloggers was so rich, discussed, and shared,  I thought it would be useful  to highlight 10 insights that any leader must consider “trying on” to succeed this year.

Calvin Coolidge said, “Press on. Nothing can take the place of persistence. Talent will not. Nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.” Let’s not have common success this year. Let’s make 2011 the year of the turn around: increased employee morale, increased employee engagement, increased profits, increased success…you name it. Here are 10 doozies to help you make this year stellar.  Thank you to all the guest blogger who shared their heart and minds.  I am grateful for each of you.


1. 21st-Century Fact: Your People Are Your Business. People want meaning. People want autonomy. People want camaraderie.  Don’t be penny wise, pound foolish with your people. Money starts the conversation. Pay is a sign of an employer’s respect for her people. Skimp here, the game is over before it starts.  Read more of this popular, amazing post from Ted Coine.

2. How to let go as the leader when your gut or lack of results continually says it’s time. There are three steps: (1) Give yourself permission for the radical change of letting go.  (2) Do nothing for a few days. Let the decision percolate. (3) Execute your let go plan. Read more of this personal post from Cecilia Lynch’s journey of letting go.

3. Business is always built on relationships. Relationships are built on two things: time and trust. This formula applies in both our personal lives and business lives. Each action that we perform in a relationship will either build it up or break it down. We need to be mindful of everything we do. The more we show that we’re willing to invest in a relationship, the more meaningful it will become.  Read the other three highlights to making 2011 stellar from Geoff Snyder.

 6. This is a call to action for all leaders to buck the short-term thinking related to solving organizational problems. Here’s but one piece from Lead Change Group founder Mike Henry Sr’s bold blog post.  Until we serve a community greater than just ourselves, we will perpetuate the roller-coaster economy.  We will continue to see huge market swings.  We will continue to experience abundance and scarcity.  We will remain fearful, watching the stock market or avoiding it. We will agonize over price increases and temperature increases.  We will grow more and more fearful and continue to act more and more for selfish reasons.

7. What are you focusing on in your business? As a leader?  There is a universal truth: You get more of whatever you focus on (whether positive OR negative). To turn our natural negative-thinking around it takes purposeful thoughts and actions pointed intentionally toward personal and professional wants. It takes time – often years – but it IS possible to reach critical mass in which the majority of employees adopt a positive-outcomes mindset which leads to breakthrough thinking and organizational success.  Get more on this important topic of what you focus on is what you manifest from author and storyteller Laura Goodrich.
4. Embracing ambiguity is a daunting reality for leaders who need to make quick decisions in today’s hurry-up-and-get-it-done world. It’s the inspirational and transformational leader who embraces the ambiguities of a both/and world and who infuses in those around them the never-ending belief in the importance of managing those interdependent opposites. Get more insights reading author Jane Perdue’s post. 8. What if we hired people for their strengths, their creativity and their passion…and what if we just unleashed it on the company?  What if we encouraged them not only to bring their very best, but to lead with it?  What if we cared more about how we can innovate, rather than how we can maintain? What might happen? Erin Schreyer gets us thinking about the power of focusing on employees’ strengths with great conviction. Read more here.

5. Most great leaders begin as either a brilliant or a transformative leader (neither being a bad place to start), then learn to also be the other. There is a cost to this. It means first admitting that what we have been gifted with is not, in itself enough. It then means long months and years learning to be something we’re not, but which is important for us to become. It means leaving the considerable mountain-top of brilliance or transformation: becoming once more less than complete, less than knowing, less than primary. It means going back down the mountain (tough enough, in its own right) then (harder, even) scaling another, higher peak.  This post was powerful for me. Read more from author Les McKeown’s post.
9. The leader that’s stuck behind her desk somewhere and who is not engaging with followers will soon find them falling away. The leader who can’t excite his team about a project or cause hasn’t properly educated them through engagement. It’s about the leader’s project or cause, not the team’s project or cause. And with that attitude towards the task at hand, the leader will need to continually drive people on to success, instead of the team being able to lead themselves to victory because they are evangelists themselves. This is a must read from Tara Alemany.

10. How do leaders make meaning for employees? This insightful and helpful post from my fave dynamic duo, Louise and George Altman, explore a critical message for leaders of the 21st century. The potential power of leaders as meaning makers is enormous.  Because meaning satisfies values, leaders can address the needs workers have for recognition, relationship and a security that often transcends monetary compensation.

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3 Responses to “10 Wise Insights to Revive & Thrive in 2011”

  1. Tweets that mention 10 Wise Insights to Revive & Thrive in 2011 -- Topsy.com

    10. Jan, 2011

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Mike Henry Sr.. Mike Henry Sr. said: RT @shawmu 10 Wise Insights to Revive & Thrive in 2011 http://bit.ly/gPradP #LeadChange [...]

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  2. Connie McKnight

    19. Jan, 2011

    Thank you so much for sharing these insightful posts by your guest bloggers. Now that I’ve found your blog, I’ll make a point of reading what the others had to say in your month long series.

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    • Shawn Murphy

      20. Jan, 2011

      Hi Connie,
      The series was quite successful. Many readers took to the message of reviving and thriving. And I see that you and Geoff had a nice exchange of thoughts.
      Thank you for stopping in and reading. All the best to you this new year.

      Shawn

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