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How Do We Cultivate the Necessary Knowledge to Inspire Change?

Feb 25, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Happiness, Leadership, Leadership Development, Productivity, Success

“Knowledge is power” is a phrase credited to Francis Bacon in his Meditationes Sacrae, published in 1597.

Since then, it has been quoted by many, including Thomas Hobbes and Thomas Jefferson, and debated by others who argue that knowledge is not enough to drive action or create change. I would have to say that I agree with both sides.

Lifelong learning is one of the core values of my company, Achievement Unlimited, Inc., and also one of my own personal values. So, yes, I believe that knowledge is power because it is the primary catalyst for action and change. The question we must ask, though, is how do we cultivate the necessary knowledge to inspire change, and once attained, how do we turn that knowledge into action?

I have coached many business owners, C-level executives, and organizational leaders, departments, and teams in goal-setting and strategic planning. Goals and plans are crucial to establish direction and define achievement and success. My experience and most research on the topic show, however, that most of even the best plans fail to be executed.

Why?

Depending on who you ask, there may be different reasons why business leaders, teams, and individuals fail to meet their goals, but I have come to believe it boils down to one reason – thinking. People struggle to meet their goals because they are repeating patterns of thought that stop them from achieving, succeeding, or even just being happy.

The workshop I facilitated last week with my mentor, Peter Demarest of Axiogenics, LLC, created awareness for its participants of how their own personal and individual ways of thinking are stopping them from achieving what really matters most to them in life and in business. We learned that human beings function at their “best” only 5-15 percent of the time. This is because people are stuck in ways of thinking that are counterproductive to achieving what they truly want.

Peter wrote posts for “Tuesdays with Michael” over the past three weeks that highlighted some of the core concepts we discussed in the workshop, including The Central Question, Valuegenic Self-Leadership, and Neuro-axiology, and he dove into greater detail during the workshop about what these mean and how they apply to each individual member of the group.

Each participant took the VQ Profile assessment before coming to the workshop and received their First Steps VQ Assessment Report, which provided them with an explanation of their greatest cognitive asset and two of their most dominant cognitive biases that have limited them in their journeys in business and in life.

Eyes lit up at the revelations made, and the participants discussed how accurate the reports were. A few members shared that they read their reports to their significant others, who responded in agreement to the report. Knowledge of this information is critical in defining the actions needed to break through our limiting beliefs, and we are often very unaware of why we do the things we do that bring us great distress and stop us from realizing our full potential.

This goes back to my beginning point that “knowledge is power” but it cannot stop there. Awareness is the first step, and then the real work begins. Peter gave each participant questions they can ask themselves to help them utilize their cognitive asset to overcome their cognitive biases and create a breakthrough. One participant wrote that the workshop provided “fantastic insight and valuable steps to become a better leader.”

Are you a business owner or C-Level executive who is tired of hitting a wall while striving to achieve your business and personal goals? Are you ready to make the changes necessary to finally achieve what you want with less stress and greater personal fulfillment? The next Self-Leadership Breakthrough is scheduled for Wednesday, March 18 and begins at 8:30 AM. Click here to register.

 

Are You Working on It or Doing the Work? Part 3

Feb 18, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Happiness, Leadership, Leadership Development, Success

By Peter Demarest

In Part 1, we differentiated the concepts of “working on it” versus “doing the work.” In Part 2, we introduced the meaning of “breakthrough,” along with Valuegenic Self-Leadership and The Central Question as a power tool for creating breakthrough shifts in thinking that lead to unprecedented results.

Hopefully, you have been asking yourself this question: “What choice can I make and action can I take, in this moment, to create the greatest net value?”

Now, let’s empower you with some additional insight that can help you better answer The Central Question, so you can do GOOD Work.

GOOD Work

A core tenet of the science of axiology (value science) is a definition of “good” that is simple, universally true, and profoundly important to understand and apply: Something is GOOD to the degree that it has all the attributes required to fulfill its purpose.

If something does not have all the attributes required to fulfill its purpose, it can’t completely fulfill its purpose. A car without brakes is not a good car because it can’t fulfill the purpose of a car. Having a goal or purpose is important, but to fulfill that purpose you must have, acquire, or develop all the attributes needed to achieve that purpose or goal.

One of the most significant barriers to greater success that people, teams, collaborators, and organizations have is a lack of explicit clarity or agreement regarding purpose – the purpose of whatever they are trying to decide, do, achieve, or solve – and the value that the pursuit and achievement of that purpose can create. Yet, most conflicts center on disagreements and differing opinions about attributes while assuming everyone is on the same page regarding purpose.

Inherent in any goal or aspiration is also a value proposition. People will only pursue or do those things that they perceive have enough positive value. Of course, they are also motivated by a perceived threat or loss of value – a negative value proposition. While clarity of purpose provides direction, the value proposition provides the motivation to do the work.

To solve these problems, make it a practice to have explicit conversations with yourself and any collaborators to identify, clarify, and articulate the purpose of any endeavor.

  • What is something that you want to achieve, change, or make better in your life or work that is measurable or observable and would be unprecedented for you? This would be a meaningful goal or aspiration, big or small, short or long-term. This is a purpose.
  • What is the value of succeeding in this endeavor to both organization/team and each individual? Connect the dots. Again, if the value proposition is too low, people won’t engage in consistently doing the work.
  • What are ALL THE ATTRIBUTES required to succeed in this endeavor, and are there existing attributes that are barriers to success?
  • Where do we need to focus our time and energy?

Only after these questions are answered is it time to do the “The GOOD Work.”

“The GOOD Work” is focused on developing the attributes required to fulfill the purpose.

Doing GOOD Work is NOT about focusing on the goal/purpose/results; it’s about focusing on the development of ALL the attributes required to fulfill the purpose or achieve the desire outcome. If you develop ALL the attributes required you automatically succeed in the outcome. Goal-setting, strategizing, and making a list of actions is not enough.

One of the attributes required is the ability – the mental ability – to make good decisions and take effective actions. The No. 1 difference between people who succeed in achieving their goals and those who don’t is the ability to lead themselves in the development of the attributes required to succeed.

This brings us full circle to the difference between “working on it” and “doing the work.”

We all have some good ways of thinking and some not-so-good ways of thinking. We call them cognitive assets (good) and cognitive biases or liabilities (not so good). Research shows that 85-95 percent of our emotions, decisions, and behaviors are controlled by or highly influenced by our subconscious cognitive liabilities. It’s these not-so-good-ways of thinking that undermine our ability to stretch our comfort zone, to engage in deliberate practices, to make changes, and to develop the attributes required to achieve new things. It’s our cognitive liabilities that will prevent us from Doing GOOD Work while claiming to be “working on it.”

Breakthrough Requires Self-Leadership

A breakthrough is “a significant shift in thinking that removes barriers, reveals possibilities, and leads to unprecedented results.”

In the practice of SELF-Leadership, a significant shift in thinking means to be able to deliberately and purposefully shift your thinking to engage your best ways of thinking – your cognitive assets – rather than allowing your old habits – your cognitive liabilities – to dominate your thinking and actions (or inactions).

Asking yourself The Central Question – What choice can I make and action can I take, in this moment, to create the greatest net value? – is a powerful tool for self-leadership and at the root Doing GOOD Work. It will help your shift your thinking and support you taking actions that lead toward unprecedented results.

Moving Forward Toward Greater Success

In summary …

  • Be honest with yourself: are you “Doing GOOD Work” or just “working on it”?
  • Get clear on your purpose and its value proposition.
  • Determine what attributes you need to develop in order to succeed.
  • Focus on developing those attributes.
  • Use the Central Question to help you make better choices, take better actions, and Do Good Work.

 

Are You Working on It or Doing the Work? Part 2

Feb 11, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development, Success

By Peter Demarest

Last week, we looked at some of the reasons why making changes in how we think, which we must do if we want to achieve new things, can be so hard.

I then introduced the rise of a new kind of “soft skill” called Valuegenic Self-Leadership that is foundational to virtually all other skills and is proving to be a game-changer in people’s lives and work.

Now let’s dive deeper into the principles and practices of Valuegenic Self-Leadership and the science behind it.

What’s a Breakthrough?

Most people relate the concept of “breakthrough” with results, but given that, new results require new thinking, consider this definition:

  • “A significant shift in THINKING that removes barriers, reveals possibilities, and LEADS TO unprecedented results.”

“A significant shift in THINKING … ”

A shift in thinking is not necessarily a change in what you think, but a change in how you think – the perspective from which you consider an issue. For example, you can look at something from the perspective of short-term costs or gains and also from the perspective of long-term costs and benefits.

“ … that removes barriers, reveals possibilities … “

A “significant shift” is also one that allows you to “see” beyond assumptions, past views, limiting beliefs, or preconceptions to see possibilities that you had not previously seen or considered. In short: a significant shift in thinking that takes you “outside of the box.”

“ … and LEADS TO unprecedented results.”

What ultimately defines a breakthrough is that a significant shift in THINKING and the possibilities revealed as a result galvanize you to take actions that produce unprecedented results.

Every invention, innovation, and every significant performance improvement or unprecedented achievement is preceded by a significant shift in THINKING that removes barriers and reveals possibilities.

What might be a motivator for making such shifts in thinking? The pursuit of value! Value (goodness – improved quality of life) is the driving force of the human mind and spirt. Every decision you have ever made and every deliberate action you have ever taken was based on what you thought, believed, or justified as being “right” or “best” – at least for you. Furthermore, every mistake you have ever made was, essentially, caused by a misjudgment of that value proposition.

At the heart of human endeavor is a question we have come to call The Central Question of Life, Love, and Leadership:

  • “What choice can I make and what action can I take, in this moment, to create the greatest net value?”

The essence of this question is so deeply embedded in the psyche of the human mind that we are mostly unaware of how much it influences our decisions and actions.

Unfortunately, the human mind has a strong tendency to add the words “for me” at the end of such questions. The moment you do that, you inadvertently engage specific ways of thinking that have a high potential to undermine the quality of your decisions and actions and the value you can create.

Real success in life is not about the value you get, but rather, the value you CREATE.

If you want to maximize the quality of your life, your relationships, your performance, or your leadership, start by asking yourself The Central Question as a way to adopt a valuegenic mindset and to focus your efforts on creating value, not just getting it.

Asking yourself The Central Question (with no “for me” at the end) is the first step in creating a “significant shift in thinking.” It is also the first and most fundamental practice of Valuegenic Self-Leadership. By giving serious consideration to the question, you will naturally be more conscientious in your decision-making.

The next step is learning to how to use the wisdom you already have to accurately answer The Central Question. This is the key to consistently achieving “unprecedented results.”

Next week, I’ll give you some additional insights and tools to help you further enhance your ability to answer The Central Question.

Meanwhile, write down The Central Question on a piece of paper. Post it everywhere. Carry it with you. Start asking yourself the question whenever you are faced with a decision, find yourself procrastinating or feeling overwhelmed, or if you are in or perhaps going into a stressful situation.

It is the fastest and surest way to give yourself a breakthrough.

If you want to dramatically accelerate your ability to produce a breakthrough in your life or work, consider signing up for The Self-Leadership Breakthrough Workshop on Feb. 19 that Michael Gidlewski and I will be co-facilitating. Because great leadership starts with great SELF-Leadership, attending this workshop may well be THE best answer to The Central Question. Click here for more information and registration.

Are You Working on It or Doing the Work?

Feb 4, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development, Success

In recent weeks, we’ve explored the topics of leadership, habits, self-management, and thinking. In February, Peter Demarest, one of my mentors, and I are co-leading a groundbreaking event called The Self-Leadership Breakthrough Workshop. Peter is a world-class pioneer in the field of neuro-axiology (brain science + value science), and I’ve asked him to write a series of articles that look at the challenges of achievement through the lens of the science.

Michael Gidlewski

By Peter Demarest

Coach: “How’s that new project plan coming along?”

Client: “I’m working on it, but it was a busy week.”

Coach: “Great! What did you get done?”

Client: “Well, um, I thought about it a lot.”

Coach: “OK. How about your efforts to be a more empowering and less controlling leader?”

Client: “Yeah I’m working on that too, but … ”

Sound familiar? The above dialogue is typical of many conversations I’ve had with clients in the early phases of a coaching or consulting engagement.

There is a big difference between “working on it” and “doing the work.” In the phrase “working on it,” the word “it” refers to the end result, the goal. “Doing the work” means taking the steps necessary to achieve the goal.

“I’m working on it” is often used as a get-out-of-jail-free card when it comes to accountability – even with ourselves. While it sounds good, let’s be honest: If you’re not actually doing the work, you’re not actually “working on it” either.

Ultimately, the difference between “working on it” and “doing the work” boils down to making choices. Achieving anything you’ve not achieved in the past (i.e., a goal or aspiration) requires making different choices than you have in the past, and that leads to different actions and behaviors than in the past.

Different choices require different thinking. The problem is, our subconscious habits, preconceptions, biases, fears, and limiting beliefs dominate or influence about 95 percent of our choices, actions, and reactions. According to the National Science Foundation, of the 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day, 95 percent are the same repetitive (habitual) thoughts as the day before, and about 80 percent are of those are negative or self-limiting.

To think differently, we must be able to break through the cognitive barriers of our subconscious habits, preconceptions, biases, fears, and limiting beliefs and reduce the negative influence they may have on our conscious decisions, choices, and actions. That requires high levels of intentionality, presence, and conscientious effort in the face of the constant demands and pressures of everyday life and work.

Moreover, many of the techniques promoted by so called “success gurus” have been shown to be rather ineffective at producing significant and lasting changes in thinking. For example, though using positive affirmations to combat negative self-talk can have very short-term benefits, in the long run, they are generally ineffective at creating real and lasting positive changes and can even be quite detrimental. Fake-it-til-you-make-it approaches can also have some short-term benefits, but for several reasons, rarely produce authentic and lasting changes.

In other words, positive affirmations rarely fix our self-negations and “faking it” doesn’t usually lead to “making it.”

Thankfully, the same sciences that are teaching us what doesn’t work and why are also revealing what does work and how.

The science of neuro-axiology (brain science + value science) is just such a science. It is producing powerful new insights, tools, and practices for personal and professional development that are proving to be significantly more effective at helping people create real and measurable breakthroughs in their thinking and, as a result, their life and work.

The science has even given rise to a new kind of life skill called Valuegenic Self-Leadership that is foundational to and a catalyst for virtually all other “soft skills” that are vital for personal and professional success. In the leadership, talent, and organizational development world, the science and what it makes possible is becoming viewed as a true game-changer.

Next week, I’ll dive into some of the principles and practices of Valuegenic Self-Leadership that you can use to intentionally shift your thinking, so will you be more self-empowered to do the work needed to achieve your goal, rather than merely “working on it.”

Join me and Michael on Feb. 19 for The Self-Leadership Breakthrough Workshop. We will be teaching participants the life-changing principles and practices of Valuegenic Self-Leadership. Click here to learn more and register.

The Greatest Challenge is Going from Doer to Leader

Feb 2, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development

By Michael Gidlewski

The greatest challenge is going from doer to leader.

The greatest challenge I see every day in the marketplace is individuals being promoted to a management or leadership position because of their great ability to get the job done. They are the best doer (i.e., technician, salesperson, or worker bee).

They are great at execution, and we promote them to management. If they are lucky, they get the half-day workshop on everything you need to know about managing, motivating, and helping your people unlock their potential for greatness. However, most of these folks come to the table with MBAs – Management by Accident.

They have very little knowledge or training of the traits to become successful in the job. Most of the training is on-the-job training with little feedback. Thus, they are doomed to eventually fail or burn out.

Excellent managers and leaders are made, not born. We need to develop our people to maximize their talents and leverage their strengths. By focusing on your strengths, you can apply your time, effort, and energy to the areas that are most productive in your leadership role. The greatest power on Earth is the ability to discover an idea or concept that inspires people to reach their greatest potential.

Let’s look at results for a moment.

Why do you get the RESULTS that you’re getting today? Isn’t it because of your behavior or the way you ACT? Don’t good ACTIONS produce good RESULTS, while bad ACTIONS yield bad RESULTS?

Another word for action is habits. If you keep on doing what you’ve always done, you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always gotten, right?

Wrong. The world we live in is moving at warp speed. Everything is changing fast, so if you don’t change and adjust, you’ll be left behind.

If you want to improve the RESULTS you are receiving from life, then you must look carefully at your ACTIONS. The most powerful way to shape your life is to take action.

What then determines your ACTIONS? Why do managers and leaders act as they do? We take action based on the way we think, right? How a person acts is the outcome of what that individual thinks and feels.

Psychologists tell us that THOUGHT, either conscious or subconscious, always precedes ACTIONS. If your actions are wrong, it can be traced back to how you are thinking. Most mistakes based in ACTION begin first as mistakes based in THINKING. How you think is how you do. Your thoughts will shape the events in your lives for years to come.

On Feb. 19, Peter Demarest and I are teaming up to deliver the Self-Leadership Breakthrough Workshop for business owners and executives who want to make 2020 a breakthrough year. The workshop will help you unlock the greatness that is inside of you, waiting to be set free. It’s your thinking that stands between you and the leader you were meant to be. Using the science of Axiology and the VQ Assessment, we will help you become the best leader possible to move from the doer to the leader.

Click here to register.

Effective Leaders Manage Themselves Before Managing Others

Jan 22, 2020 | Business Owners, CEOs, Ethical Leadership, Leadership, Leadership Development

Effective leaders manage themselves before managing others.

Research indicates that the No. 1 reason people leave organizations is because their direct boss is incompetent. In many cases, managers in their organization have promoted people to management levels with MBA (Management by Accident).

You are the leader of your own life. Every day, you are choosing to lead or choosing to follow. Personal leadership and personal mastery are a continuous journey toward personal excellence whereby you deliberately embark to become the best version of yourself possible. To live the life of your dreams, you need to be intentional and deliberate about your own journey. Your ability to grow as a leader is based on your ability to grow as a person. Your development program should be based on sustaining daily habits that move you in the direction of your goals.

Personal leadership is the ability to lead yourself. Far too many people just let life happen to them and then suffer the consequences. They move through life on auto pilot and blame personal and business failures on circumstances. Personal leaders decide what life they want, and then make it happen through planning and a basis for action. Personal leadership mastery means continuous growth and development in all six areas of the wheel of life. It means you are living with purpose and you are goal-oriented. It is very difficult to influence others if you have difficulty leading your own self. If you want to make things happen in your company, you need to master personal leadership.

In The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner wrote: “Leadership is an art – a performing art – and the instrument is the self. The mastery of the art of leadership comes with the mastery of the self. Ultimately, leadership development is a process of self-development. The quest for leadership is first an inner quest to discover who you are. Through self-development comes the confidence needed to lead. Self-confidence is really awareness of and faith in your own powers. These powers become clear and strong only as you work to identify and develop them.”

All significant change begins with telling yourself the truth about you!

The bottom line is this: If you want to lead a successful business that achieves its goals, you must first be able to achieve your own personal goals. You set the example for your people. If you want your employees to grow and aim for continuous improvement, then you must do it first. Remember: Leadership is a modeled behavior. You must walk the walk, starting with yourself. If you want your business to grow, if you want to increase revenues and bring in new clients, then you must grow with these changes. It is not always easy to reflect on where we are compared to where we want to be.

Growth can often be painful. As leaders, it can also be easy to make excuses why we do not have the time for personal growth and development but staying stagnant will destroy you and your business. If you take the time to look at yourself regularly and apply effort to personal development, perhaps through a formal program or one-on-one with a coach like me, I promise you will see tremendous results in your personal life and in your business.

On Feb. 19, Peter Demarest and I are teaming up to deliver the Self-Leadership Breakthrough Workshop for business owners and executives who want to make 2020 a breakthrough year. Click here to register.