Achieved Strategies

The heart of this month-long blog series is a call to action.  All leaders must turn a new page in their leadership and management playbooks to revive and thrive in business in 2011.  Susan Mazza hits the bullseye in her post below.

Susan Mazza has worked with organizations and leaders for over 20 years to substantially improve the performance of their organizations and their people.  With her unique understanding of human systems and an unquenchable thirst to unlock the potential of the human spirit, she has worked successfully with many types and sizes of organizations and with people around the world including: Fortune 500, small and medium sized businesses, non-profits as well as educational institutions.  Follow Susan on Twitter. Susan can be contacted via e-mail at susan@randomactsofleadership.com or by calling 772-539-7003.

Over at the Lead Change Group Meghan Brio illuminated a disturbing trend in the workforce – rampant resignation and apathy.  While we might expect people who have jobs in this difficult economy to be happy to have one and want to do whatever it takes to stand out so they can keep it, the reality is more and more people are choosing to do just enough to get by.

The United States was built by people who would do whatever it takes to succeed.  Most took great risk to even come here.  We were once a culture of innovators leading the world.  Yet we have clearly lost our edge.  It is not clear we will get it back either.  Unless of course we do something radically different from what has become the status quo.

There is a lot of blame being thrown around.  But have we been victimized or are we just being victims? While the answer is likely both, we do have a choice about the latter.

Money is energy.  And right now there are a lot more people draining that energy than fueling it.

What’s the evidence, besides the financial meltdown of course?  Job satisfaction is at an all-time low.  80% of people say they would rather be doing something else.  Think about it:  Is an unsatisfied employee who would rather be doing something else really fueling anything?

So what about you?  Are you adding fuel or are you unwittingly part of the drain?

Here are 5 questions to ask yourself if you want to add fuel:

1.       What is my dream? The dream of a better life, of freedom from oppression and of expression, was the foundation for building an unprecedented level of prosperity.  Without a dream, a future to live into, there is nothing to build, only a status quo to protect.

2.       What are my strengths? Am I using them to make a difference?  How can I leverage them to contribute the best of what I have to offer the world?  What could I and will I learn now to update my skills and knowledge to be a match for what the world needs most now?

3.       What has changed and how do I need to change? Have I really taken the time to think about this or have I just been waiting to see how things are going to turn out?  Am I willing to do what it takes to thrive rather than simply survive?

4.       What can I contribute? Am I looking to take what I can with the least amount of effort until things turn around?  Am I protecting what I have at all costs?  Or am I willing to give the best of myself to whatever I am doing now, even if it’s not yet a match for what I want to be doing?

5.       What am I grateful for? It’s tough out there.  Some have it a lot worse than others, but we have all been shaken in some way.  Gratitude is the surest way to fuel an abundance mentality within us, while the world continues to argue for scarcity.  Mary Jo Asmus shared on Bret Simmons post about gratitude that she has a practice of writing down 5 things she is grateful for every night before she goes to sleep.  It takes 2 minutes and has the power to transform your experience of your life very quickly.

We need you to step up.  We need your dream, your strengths, and your contribution.  We need your absolute best.  We need you to lead the way.  Can we count on you to be the fuel?