Few valuable things in life come quickly. We are used to instant coffee and microwavable dinners, but the process of transforming ourselves in order to support the transformation of others doesn’t happen overnight. Leaders with a microwave mentality don’t have any real influence or power.

Let’s observe how patience is a fundamental element required to achieve an individualized consideration as a transformational leader and how we can improve our ability to practice patience.

Times have changed and nowadays we see kids being overly rewarded for every single little thing they do. I remember not long ago, my sister in law, sent me pictures of my nephew receiving a trophy, a medal, and a diploma in a ceremony that reminded me of my doctoral graduation. All the kids in that elementary school were receiving the awards while wearing gowns, tam, and tassels.

When I asked my sister-in-law what was the great achievement, she told me: Well, it is because they finished the school year! Don’t get me wrong; I know how important it is to recognize efforts at every step of the way, however, for a first-grade kid to have a quasi-doctoral graduation ceremony just because they did their homework and attended school, I find this to be a little out of proportion.

“ There is no transformation without leadership. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

Are we sowing the microwave mentality into the new generations? We put something into the microwave and after a minute or two, it is ready to eat. This is training those with little patience to have even less patience and those that do have the patience to acquire nearly instant gratification.

Many leaders I know are highly competitive and tend to be impatient. They look, think and want to move ahead. That can be good, as being one step ahead is what makes you a leader, but it can also be a challenge; being twenty steps ahead could make you a willing victim ready to lose control.

Leaders need to remember that the point of leading is not to cross the finish line first or alone, but to take with your others and to support their transformation.

If you are running too far ahead of your people, you are losing the most powerful element that a transformational leader can have: influence.

How can we improve the habit to practice patience?

• Review your goals: Work on your short-term goals, but make sure you are reaching the long-term goals. If you are working only on short-term goals and not considering the long-term ones you are losing perspective on your vision and mission.
• Retrain your mentality: having the correct perception of the valuable things in life will help you understand that “Anything worth doing is worth doing right” (Hunter S. Thompson) and this will take time, but the end product is worth the wait.
• Trust the process: embrace faith and patience by trusting yourself and the process. Success won’t be achieved in a day, nor your purpose – which will last your entire life or the transformation needed in order to reach higher levels of achievement. Learn to enjoy every day and make every day a successful one.

Let’s remember that there is no leadership without transformation and there is no transformation without leadership. Practicing patience is a habit, as well as an amazing skill that we can learn and work on every day.

If you need help reviewing your goals, changing your mentality towards your goals, having a clear plan that incorporates short-term and long-term goals that help you trust the process and practice patience. LEADINFORCE can help you! Contact us to discuss how.

The post LET’S PRACTICE PATIENCE FOR TRANSFORMATION appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

Leading teams is not an easy task and can become even more complicated when self-leadership is not present. One of the key elements of transformational leadership is the character. Frequently, leaders in front of adverse situations or circumstances will reveal their character and thus their ability to lead themselves and others.

Let’s examine why the character is a vital component needed to lead and how transformational leaders utilize it to exercise the idealized influence that characterizes them and how we can improve our character.

During the 2019 Congressional Award Gold Medal Ceremony, the Capitol Hill sparked enthusiasm for the next generation of leaders and the future of the USA by presenting this award to 538 youth students. According to the press release, the Gold Medal represents the pinnacle of Congress’ award program for youth.

The honor requires that each recipient embarks on a two-year-goal-setting journey, logging a minimum of 400 hours of Voluntary Public Service, 200 hours of Personal Development and Physical Fitness, respectively, and a 5 day, 4-night Expedition/Exploration period.

“ Influencing others as transformational leaders do, it requires living with intentionality. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

There is no doubt that this group of 538 youth students deals with many circumstances and struggles during that journey, and yet, they were able to transform themselves in the process and become a servant leader; which is the highest level of leadership that we can carry out as leaders.

In front of adverse circumstances, a person can choose between one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time a person chooses the character, he becomes stronger, whether the consequences of their decision are good or bad.

Let’s observe why the character is vital for a transformational leader:

• Trust. Transformational leaders strive to focus on others, and they understand that if they have a flawed character, followers will not trust and respect them.
• Actions. We cannot separate a leader’s character from his actions. Character is more than words and intentions; if words, intentions, and actions don’t work together they will reflect as low integrity in a leader.
• Higher Achievements. It is not possible to overcome the demands of success with a weak character, let alone help others in their transformation process. The leader who achieves some kind of success but lacks enough character to allow for high commitments and stress is destined to disaster.
• Focus. We do not have power or control over many things in life, like our parents, place of birth, talents, and others; yet, when it comes to our character, we have the power to choose. Leaders build their character every time they make a choice.

Self-leadership pushes a leader from good intentions to good actions. It is what separates words and ideas from actual results. It is not only sounding good but doing well.

What can be done to improve character?

• Evaluate yourself: Spend some time reflecting and looking at the major areas of your life. Identify where you might have let people down or compromise your word. When was the last time that you promised something and never followed up or did it?
• Assess your goals: review your results versus what you said that you would like to accomplish. Are you finding excuses for why you are not acting? Or why you are procrastinating or having so many distractions? How is your self- discipline? Are you the kind of person that is always getting ready to get ready?
• Face reality: do you have to start all over again? Do you need to forgive yourself or others? Do you need to apologize to yourself or others? What do you need to let go of? Which habits do you still struggle with? Whatever is holding you back, face it and get over it.
• Increase your intentionality: If you are not finding answers, or you can’t see how you can improve your character, let us know we can help you.

LEADINFORCE can support you in the process of attaining more clarity, identifying areas of interest, creating a plan to prevent you from making the same mistakes on your next steps, and rebuilding your path towards a better future.

Building character is one of the key elements of self-leadership and a basic element of a transformational leader.

As Darshi Shah, from Mineola, New York, Gold Medalist of the 2019 Congressional Award Gold Medal Ceremony said: “This award helped me realize how small acts that contribute to society can have a big impact in someone else’s life.”

The post BUILDING CHARACTER FOR TRANSFORMATION appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

Powerful leaders in history, regardless of who they lead and what they accomplish have admitted that the greatest challenge they have had to face is to lead themselves. It’s not possible to lead and transform our teams and organizations without the ability to lead and transform ourselves as transformational leaders do.

Let’s observe what is preventing you from leading yourself, why self leadership is a basic element for a transformational leader, and how we can improve our self leadership.

Leading yourself well means that you hold yourself to a higher standard of accountability than others do. It means that you are held responsible for your own actions and if you are in a leadership position you are responsible, as well, for those you lead.

Doesn’t matter how high you rise or how powerful you are, you must always seek to do what is right. Thus, it is wise to be honest and admit that the toughest person you have to lead is yourself.

“ Self leadership is one of the basic cultural elements that a transformational leader usually demonstrates. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

Judging ourselves wrongly can become an issue that doesn’t let us move forward in our projects or in life. Some people often become their own worst enemies and disqualify themselves. Most of the time, we don’t need to be concerned about the competition or what others say, as long as we work in ourselves.

People disqualify themselves when:

• They don’t see themselves as they see others. Human nature seems to give us the ability to evaluate everybody else except ourselves. In reality, the first person that we must examine is the one that we see in the mirror every morning. If you are not looking at yourself realistically, you are probably missing out on your own struggles that you need to overcome, making impossible for you to lead yourself effectively.
• They use a totally different set of criteria for judging themselves versus others. Usually they are judging someone else is based on their actions – what they do or don’t do. Yet, when they are judging themselves they do it based on their own intentions. Thus, if they are doing the wrong thing, but they believe that their motives are good, they justify themselves and are willing to do the same thing repeatedly before requiring themselves to change.

Self leadership is one of the basic cultural elements that a transformational leader usually demonstrates. They behave in ways that allow them to be a role model to others. These leaders possess an idealized influence; they are admired, respected, and trusted.

That level of influence beyond space and time include names like Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., George Washington, Bill Gates, and many others that have contributed to the transformation of many.

How can we increase our ability to lead ourselves?

1. Seek to connect to understand others: the ability to lead and support others in their transformational process requires an understanding of the world that others live in. Connecting with others becomes possible when we can relate to them, their feelings, and ideas, in other words, when we have walked in their shoes.

   Leaders that connect with others have better relationships, experience less conflict, influence others positively, and empower and develop outstanding teams that take organizations to higher levels of achievements.

   In LEADINFORCE we can help you to relate and connect with others in a way that increases your influence on them.

2. Learn followership: as a transformational leader and an entrepreneur sooner or later we will be delegating to others, teaching others, or mentoring them to be successful. We will not be able to accomplish it if we don’t know what it means to be under someone else’s authority in order to have a better understanding of how authority should be exercised.

On the other hand, leaders who have never followed well or have not submitted to authority tend to be prideful, unrealistic, rigid, and autocratic. Thus, arrogant leaders are rarely effective in the long run as they alienate colleagues and all the other leaders around them.

Learn to understand others and follow other leaders to be a humble and more effective transformational leader, capable of transforming yourself and others.

The post LEADING YOURSELF FOR TRANSFORMATION appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

We have heard from many successful people in the world what passion is. In essence, whoever finds passion in what they do or rather do what they are passionate about, will inspire and motivate people around them.

Let’s observe how passion is a key component of the culture of transformational leaders. As well, how passion can’t be replaced and how we can start living with passion.

The American business executive, Jack Welch, who was the chairman and CEO of one of the world’s largest corporations: General Electric (GE), believes that the world will belong to passionate, driven leaders, people who not only have enormous amounts of energy but who can energize those whom they lead.

John F. Welch, Jr. is one of the most successful industrial leaders of the modern age, who was able to increase the market value of GE from $12 billion to $410 billion and who was called by Fortune Magazine “Manager of the Century.”

For Welch the formula of successful people is simple: Energy, Energizing Others, Edge, Execution, and Passion: 4Es & P.

That incredible force that keeps us going when others quit; that becomes contagious and influences others to follow us; that it pushes us through the toughest of times and give us the energy we didn’t even know we possessed, is no other than passion.

When people decide to follow their passion, it makes all the difference. Passion fills them with energy and desire giving them the will to win. Passion goes above and beyond:

• Opportunity: great opportunities may open the door, but the journey is often long and full of challenges. Without passion that sustains when times get harsh, people don’t make the most of their opportunities and they end up not reaching their potential.
• Knowledge: being smart doesn’t make someone a leader with influence. As Jack Welch explained people with resumes filled with degrees in different disciplines make them bright and intellectually curious; yet, they often turned out to be unfocused dabblers, unwilling to commit, lacking intensity and passion for any one thing.
• Money: whether you use it or it uses you, this tool could become a goal in itself for many people. Mark Albion the author of “Making a Life, Making a living” explains a study that reveals how the majority of people that become wealthy have done so thanks to being dedicated to an area they enjoy as well as their search for significance. They pursued their true interests first and money would eventually follow.
• Talent: there are many people in the world with great natural talent who never achieve personal or professional success. Talent is overrated; the reality is that it will take more than talent to be successful. Talent can do nothing without perseverance and effort.
• A great team: leaders can’t be successful without a good team. But having a good team does not guarantee success to a weak and passionless leader. Some leaders often feel that they can achieve anything because they have great teams. As John Maxwell in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership affirm, “we attract who we are, not who we want.”

There is a difference between work and play. For most people work is what they have to do to earn a living so that someday they can do what they want to do. If that is the case, don’t do it. Choose to do what you love to do and you never have to work a day in your life.

“ When people decide to follow their passion, it makes all the difference. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

What do you love doing so much that you would do it for free and for many hours? What is your passion? Write down a list of your answers.

Is your job something that you have to do or that you want to do? What percentage of the time would you consider your job to be enjoyable? If the answer is less than 49% you need a job or career change.

How can you follow your passion? Do you need to change your job, maybe a different position? Or you need to change your career?

Are you using your resources such as time, money, and strengths on what you are passionate about? If you need to change your path, write down a plan to make a transition.

Whether you need to find your real passion, need a job or career change, or writing down a plan to make a transition let us know LEADINFORCE can help you.

The post IS PASSION THE FORCE THAT MOVES YOU? appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

One of the pillars of any organization, group, community, or society, in general, is their culture. As entrepreneurs, if we focus on how to create a culture of success with our teams and organizations, we will recognize why culture is one of the most challenging pieces in our business; yet, the most powerful element that impacts everything from marketing to performance and the ability of a company to function effectively.

Let’s look at why creating or changing culture requires a transformational leader and how we can learn the culture of these leaders.

On August 28, 1963, approximately 200,000 people attended a march to focus attention on civil rights. According to the official program, there were eighteen speakers to speak that day; yet, one of the speeches delivered by an American civil rights activist, the sixteenth speaker; was the one that until today, according to experts and historians, is remembered as one of the discourses that have changed the world.

The “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most powerful speeches in history not only for the impact that it had on the civil rights movement in America; but, because the world was in front of one of the most powerful transformational leaders that we have ever known.

Transformational leaders have the ability to inspire and encourage others to achieve extraordinary results and on the journey to develop their own leadership potential.

• We have seen those leaders in different spheres of the world, they are:
• Activists like Mother Theresa,
• Artist like Pablo Picasso,
• A businessman like Bill Gates,
• Writers like Virginia Woolf, or
• Inventors like the Wright Brothers, to name some.

These leaders display abilities and behaviors that are fundamental to creating or changing the culture.

Culture has been defined as a personal and social behavior that creates customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements for a specific nation, a group of people, or social groups. However, we need to add to this definition “at any particular point in time” since behavior can be influenced and changed.

In the case of transformational leaders, it is not only their personal growth and transformation it’s also their desire to motivate and help others to grow. Teams and organizations that have the fortune to have in their team’s transformational leaders will see them:

• Motivating others to do more than they originally intended and even often more than they thought possible.
• Moving leaders to achieve higher performance and commit to the vision and goals of a team or organization.
• Challenging leaders to be innovative problem solvers and support them in order to develop their leadership capacity via coaching, mentoring, and support.

It is worthy for us to observe and learn how a leader like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who is widely recognized as a transformational leader, served and changed the lives of many as well as how he influenced change towards a new culture for the Civil Rights Movement.

“ Transformational leaders inspire others to achieve results and develop their potential. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

If you would like to join us to learn more about how to increase your ability to lead and transform yourself and others, and even more to intentionally create a culture of transformation in your circles, teams, and organizations, join us.

We invite you to follow our weekly blog where we will continue discussing this topic. We will be looking at the elements of the culture of a transformational leader.

You will find coaching questions to help you think about this topic, plus tips to help you take immediate action.

Don’t hesitate to add your questions or comments we will be happy to reply to you. If you are a transformational leader or know someone close to you that is transforming the lives of others, don’t hesitate to share those stories as well.

The post CULTURAL CHANGES REQUIRES A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

This leader is able to adopt new ideas and has the capacity to empower others to innovate and change the way they think and act. He is also the one who facilitates the process of transformation. Are you willing to embrace change?

The ability to embrace change that characterizes a transformational leader is known as “intellectual stimulation” in other words it is the availability to innovate and change. When you are in front of a leader who transforms, you will notice that they are innovative and they will question the way things are being done in order to reform or modernize them.

What is your level of flexibility when it comes to change?

A transformational leader often has fundamental reasons as to why it is important to implement changes.

His availability to innovate and change allows him to create and maintain the necessary changes that will help him accomplish his purpose.

This characteristic is the one that allows this type of leader to go to another level of evolution and achievement. In addition, it has other important advantages:

• It gives way to the transformation process, not only for the leader but for those around them as well
• It helps to maintain a clear vision, in times of change
• It promotes an atmosphere that influences those around them
• It prepares the leader and their team to have an open mind when it comes to evaluating the project
• It provides ideas to make the necessary adjustments to the action plan

“ The availability to innovate and change allows the transformational leader to accomplish his purpose. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ.

The transformational leader values intellect as well as the different points of view and has the great ability to turn a problem into an opportunity and a challenge into a new achievement towards their goal.

Do you need to take your leadership to a new level and create a more appropriate environment for success? We can help you. Contact us at LEADINFORCE.

The post CREATIVITY AND CHANGE ON THE PATH TO SUCCESS appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

The creation of an environment that promotes the participation of each member in an organization has great advantages.

The possibility of contributing new ideas and of being part of the decision-making process within an organization gives a sense of equality and belonging to every team member. These elements are fundamental in order to promote creativity and participation.

What kind of opportunities is your organization providing to encourage participation? And even more importantly, on which members are you focusing your efforts?

Those who are responsible for executing a project know how to handle potential challenging situations that might arise; they are the ones who:

• Know the details of the project and how it will be executed
• Have the answers to difficult situations
• Have experience in making the final product
• Recognize dangerous situations
• Experiment with new alternatives
• Identify loss and waste
• Create new systems

Therefore, those who are directly responsible for executing a project should always be part of any kind of evaluation and strategy implementation.

Are you focusing on the results or on those who make it possible?

“ Without a positive environment talent retention will decline and become the main cause for low productivity. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ.

If someone with a position of authority is deficient in their leadership and if their focus is only on results and not on those who make them possible, most likely the level of creativity, the contribution of new ideas and participation in the decision-making process will certainly decrease in their organization.

Similarly, when managers have an authoritarian style and their performance is based on hierarchies, the motivation and inspiration within the team decreases, creating a low morale environment

Unfortunately, without a positive environment to promote participation, success, and effective leadership, talent retention will decline significantly and become the main cause for low productivity and profits, and for the overall decline of the organization.

Do you need to take your leadership to a new level and create a more appropriate environment for success? We can help you. Contact us at LEADINFORCE.

The post ARE YOU CREATING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR THE SUCCESS OF YOUR ORGANIZATION? appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

Have you ever wondered in what areas you have not achieved what you want because you are in your comfort zone?

The comfort zone cannot be easily identified. This is an unseen danger because today’s success is not necessarily the success of tomorrow and what you know today is not enough for your next achievement.

This comfort zone becomes an obstacle that may be delaying a change or keeping you stuck, or not allowing you and/or your team to reach new levels of achievement.

What is limiting you to achieve or change what you want?

Maybe you are in the comfort zone and you are not aware of this. The comfort zone is that place where:

• You are secure
• You have all the answers
• You don’t make mistakes
• You are not exposing yourself to the opinion of others
• You have control of everything you do and how you do it
• No surprises, no shocks, no emergencies
• Mostly you know your answers and what you are doing
• Your routine is regularly the same every day
• You are still enjoying yesterday’s success
• You do not have an action plan towards other goals

As good as this zone may sound, it is quite dangerous. Even if you are enjoying your achievements, being in this place will not allow you to maintain or improve your results.

What are the consequences of staying in the comfort zone?

Although leaving the comfort zone can intimidate you, make you nervous, or make you feel unstable and face fears in unknown places, leaving this zone is the best.

The comfort zone becomes a prison where every day that passes, the sentence increases and every day it is more difficult to get rid of it and therefore:

1. Your independence, your self-esteem, and your abilities are minimized;
2. You reduce your chances of success and achieve your goals and
3. Furthermore, you decrease your ability to grow and develop your full potential.

“ The comfort zone becomes a prison where every day that passes, you decrease your ability to develop your full potential. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ.

The transformational leader intentionally avoids stopping in this zone, not even for coffee; there is no valid reason that appeals to him/her since transformation requires a continuous change and change involves risk.

Outside of the comfort zone, growth happens and creativity begins to show its best results.

 Do you want better results and higher achievements? Raise your leadership to a transformational leadership. We can help you, contact us at LEADINFORCE.

The post ARE YOU STOCK IN YOUR COMFORT ZONE? appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

The vision of the organization is key to understanding where it’s going. No matter the size of your team or your organization, culture is what makes that vision come true.

The culture in the organization or its teams is built day by day through the relationships between the members of each team, as well as between employees and supervisors or managers.

There are several fundamental pieces in the creation of a proper organizational culture. However, the main element that can’t be missing is TRUST.

Do you know if trust is the indispensable element in the culture of your team or your organization?

Both employees and employers want to work in an environment that makes them all feel an essential part of the success of their organization.

This environment should include:

• Mutual trust,
• Credibility,
• Respect,
• Friendly treatment,
• Development of individual relationships,
• Opportunities for growth and success,
• Support in the progress of capabilities

How can you increase trust in your organization?

“ The main element that can’t be missing in the foundation of an organizational culture is trust. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ.

Trust in an organization is like water for a tree, without it, little by little it will begin to deteriorate, and it will lose its leaves until it reaches the point where it will die. But if, on the contrary, the tree is irrigated frequently, its fruits will soon be ready to harvest.

The transformational leader with the desire to create a correct organizational culture should promote and practice daily the value of trust.

Creating this trust in your team and/or organization requires:

1. Transparency with each member
2. The ethic to keep “the word”: say what you do and do what you say
3. Invest time and resources to connect with others to enhance relationships
4. Establish interactions that allow you to have mutual trust
5. Having the correct perspective towards teamwork
6. Look for growth and success opportunities for the team and/or the organization

In effect, your team or your organization can have a great vision, but without the daily development of an effective organizational culture, this vision can’t be put into practice.

If you want to minimize misunderstandings and maximize productivity, results, and success visit LEADINFORCE, we can help you.

The post ARE YOU BUILDING A PROPER ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE? appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.

There are no exceptions, all of us are leaders. Our leadership is not conditioned to title, position, power or knowledge.

You are a leader because you were born with the power to influence and leadership is an influence.

Regardless of whether you are aware of it or not, or that you intentionally influence in order to achieve a goal, in particular, you are influencing everything and everyone around you. The most notable part is that you are influencing yourself.

The question is not whether you are a leader or not, because you are. The correct question is: What is your development level as a leader?

The confusion lies between being a leader and having developed leadership skills. Furthermore, between having the opportunity to put these skills into practice and being transformed in the process.

Indeed, we can understand what leadership really is and how leadership can transform us when we develop our leadership skills and have the opportunity to lead other leaders.

“ There is no real leadership without transformation and there is no transformation without leadership. —DR. LIANA C. SáENZ

The biggest challenge in this transformational process is to develop our leadership skills. As one of the leadership experts in this century Dr. John C. Maxwell, says:

If you want to increase your leadership capabilities and therefore your influence and transformational potential, you must:

• Become a leadership student and practitioner,

• Practice self-leadership,

• Extend the benefits of leadership to others.

If you need help in any of these areas, LEADINFORCE can help you.

The post THE CHALLENGE IN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMATION appeared first on LEADINFORCE - Blog.