How to Leverage Wisdom and Learning to Grow Your Leadership Style

I was recently asked, “What is wisdom?” That is one of those questions that stops me in my tracks. What a simple, yet complex answer. This video is to help you know how to leverage wisdom and learning to grow you leadership style. Because of my preference to err on the side of simplicity, I thought the answer to the question might certainly reside in simplicity. After all, as my friend Dorothy always says, “Simple is profound.”Before we define wisdom, let’s first look at what wisdom is not. Wisdom is not knowledge. Wisdom is not education. Wisdom is not experience.Wisdom is circular. We receive it, put it out there, live it, and receive it again. Wisdom is not an achievement where we check the box and move on; it is not an arrival. We taste it and we know of it as we travel on the journey. Wisdom is definitely a process, and not one that is ever truly finished. In actuality, the more we learn, the more we learn that which we do not know. Socrates knew this when he said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” Enter—wisdom.The simplicity in understanding wisdom, is that it is a combination of all three activities: knowledge, experience, and learning from those experiences. Wisdom, simply stated, is the combination of knowledge and experience.In this episode, I share with you the two key elements that create wisdom in your leadership style and two great quotes by Albert Einstein and Socrates.I would love to hear from you. Today, reflect on a recent experience in stillness. Begin with the process in your heard and slowly move the thought energy to your heart. Then listen with the profoundness and simplicity of wisdom. Share any insights or Aha moments below and continue our discussion after the episode.With love,Maria

How to Create Successful Organizations and Inspire Others

So much of what we do as leaders is to create vision, motivate, and inspire others to reach that vision. We imagine what our organizations will be like when we are successful at meeting our goals, meeting the mission, and realizing the vision. We may even imagine leadership and life in abundant, peaceful, and joyful ways.I love John Lennon’s song, Imagine. When I look at lyrics from this famous song, I am struck by the simplicity of his statements and the call to action. Living life in peace is possible in our world, our countries, our communities, our organizations, and our families. Peace begins with us, and feeling peaceful within ourselves. Of course, our internal peace is steeped in self-love.Feeling peaceful in our workplaces is sometimes challenging, but not impossible. To shift to peace, requires awareness and a commitment to live life in peace. As Gandhi said, “Be the change you want to see in the world”.In this episode, I share with you thoughts to create the success and change you want to see in your organization and the world.I would love to hear from you. What do you want to see in your organization, community, and world and what are you willing to commit to today to be the change you want to see?With love,Maria

How to Nurture Your Soul and Experience Spiritual Development

Taking a holistic approach to leadership, we want to develop our whole selves. As with our mind and body, it is important to take care of our soul. When you nurture your soul, experiencing spiritual development, you too, experience profound leadership development.When we do not care for our souls, we end up with what Albert Schweitzer referred to as, “A sleeping sickness of the soul. Its symptoms are loss of seriousness, enthusiasm, and zest. When we live superficially, pursue no goals deeper than material success, and never stop to listen to our inner voices, we stunt our spiritual development.”Listening to and honoring your heart’s call honors your soul, your core, and your very essence. When we are aligned with our soul, with our spirit, we are authentic, abundant, and at peace. Meaning is not a destination, but a way of life, like the air we breathe. There is no better way to achieve well being and love for ourselves than aligning with our spirit.In today’s episode, I share with you ideas to nurture you soul and what makes mine leap from my body.I would love to hear from you. What do you do to nurture your soul?With love,Maria

How to Cultivate Gratitude and Increase Abundance

Gratitude is the portal through which abundance flows. So how exactly, do we cultivate gratitude and increase abundance?Writing and speaking about gratitude is one of my favorite topics, as I have written blogs, articles, and chapters about the virtues of thankfulness. Near Thanksgiving, I cannot help but revisit this topic again. It warms my heart to see the 30-day challenge many people have taken this month. I see tweets and posts with gratitude expressed each day for someone or something. Woohoo!I would love to see the challenge extend another month, quarter, or even a year-long commitment to keeping a gratitude journal or gratitude board in our homes or offices. Let’s challenge ourselves to find elements of gratitude in the mundane or laborious tasks we do each and every day.In a previous Dr. Maria TV episode, http://drmariachurch.com/its-all-about-attitude/, I shared three strategies to cultivate a gratitude practice. In this episode, I share with you two additional activities to attract more abundance into your life and I throw down the gauntlet to accept a SUPER challenge!I would love to hear from you. To which gratitude challenge are you willing to commit?With love,Maria

How to Inspire Innovation and Create a Competitive Advantage

Innovation and knowledge creation are extremely important in today’s global marketplace. Many organizations thrive on innovative ideas and others struggle to creative a competitive advantage with new knowledge and innovative goods and services. So, what is the key to knowledge creation?According to two Japanese researchers, Nonaka and Nishiguchi, organizations must have ba present in the organizational space for knowledge creation to occur. Ba, loosely defined, is an energy by which knowledge and innovation are created.In this episode, I share with you four elements that must be present for ba to exist.I would love to hear from you. What can you do today to invite ba in?With love,Maria

How to Turn Power and Empowerment into an Effective Leadership Strategy

Power and empowerment are not just buzzwords of the day, but can be an effective leadership strategy to move your team into action. Power is a word that brings about different mental models for different people. Many times messages of power are wrapped in fear, hope, darkness, and light. Power is both greatly misunderstood and terribly misused.Empowerment, too, is a concept that conjures up different impressions for different people.As a leader, power is one of the aspects we expect in leadership. Unfortunately, for many of us, the image of power is one of aggression, dominance, and fear. This type of power can in fact motivate people, but it is not sustaining. This type of power grows resentment in the eyes and hearts of followers.In this episode, I share with you one of my favorite empowerment quotes by Lao Tzu and five steps to claim your power.I would love to hear from you. What is one immediate step you can take right now to self-empower?With love,Maria

Take off the Leadership Mask or Uniform and Lead with Authenticity

We are much more effective leaders when we remove our leadership mask and lead with authenticity.I flew to Philly to participate in a conference where I met up with my brother-in-law Johnny, a Colonel in the Marine Corp Reserves. We had a great dinner and were greeted warmly by everyone in our path. Johnny was in uniform, having just come from a funeral where he was a pallbearer. Strangers opened the door for him, sent over an appetizer, refused to accept his money for coffee at Starbucks, and thanked him for his service and his many sacrifices.This got me thinking…Johnny wore his uniform outwardly and consciously. How many of us, as leaders, are aware of the uniforms we wear? We are leaders and touch other people’s lives whether we are conscious of it or not. What messages are we giving to others by the uniforms we wear? Are they uniforms of service and value? Uniforms of greed? Uniforms of arrogance? Uniforms of fear? Uniforms of love?In this episode, we explore the masks, uniforms, and armor we sometimes wear as leaders and challenge ourselves to shed the old skin.I would love to hear from you. What is the uniform you are currently wearing and what is the uniform you would like to be wearing?With love,Maria

Leadership from Management Separateness & How to Incorporate Authenticity & Vulnerability

The debate continues – should we separate leadership from management? We explore that question and look through a self-awareness lens at authenticity and vulnerability.In my experience, the words leadership and management are used interchangeably in the workplace. In the management and leadership classes I've taught over the years, we define those terms differently, while recognizing that leadership is a critical part of management. In this episode, we look to Forrest Gump’s mamma for some sage advice about this distinction.I recently facilitated a leadership boot camp where we discussed the importance of leadership authenticity and vulnerability – yes, in a boot camp!  Of course, going to those vulnerable places begins with self-awareness and a ton of bravery.In this episode, I answer the question, “What do Forrest Gump, The Who, and leadership have in common?”I would love to hear from you. What do you suppose keeps us from our vulnerability and authenticity as leaders?With love,Maria

How to practice Love-Based Leadership and Conscious Capitalism

As we come into the realization that we cannot keep doing “business as usual”, we are starting to see discussions about authentic leadership, conscious capitalism, and love-based leadership. In my book, Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance, I present a very simple, yet profound way to lead based on three pillars: Love of Self, Love of Source, and Love of Others.When I speak of love, I am talking about the universal concept of love – honoring and valuing one human being to another. When leading with the Love-Based Leadership (LBL) model, we find meaning, authenticity, value, abundance, and purpose in and through our leadership. Those we lead find motivation, creativity, loyalty, commitment to the task, and value in their jobs through meaning.Many of us share the common desire to find meaning in our daily work. A leadership model based on love recognizes the importance of living holistically by integrating love, health, wellness, work, and spirituality into all aspects of our life.In this episode, I share with you the three pillars of this holistic model and how we can practice love-based leadership in our organizations.I would love to hear from you. Who do you know is a love-based leader?With love,Maria

How to Have Meaningful Work and Enjoy What You Do

Did you know the majority of heart attacks occur around 9:00 AM on Monday mornings? “One study showed that the most common factor in these heart attacks was that the victims were people whose work had become joyless striving. In other words, they could not find meaning in their work, and their lives had become so out of balance that, one Monday morning, their bodies said, You are not going to work today. Zap.”* Researchers found those victims in a state of “joyless striving” – in other words, without meaning. In today’s video, I share with you five steps to get started on the path of self-discovery and meaning and read an excerpt from my book, Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance.I would love to hear from you. What techniques do you do to go inward?With love,Maria *Study cited in Leading with Soul” by Lee Boleman and Terrence Deal.

Lights, Camera, Action!

As a professor and teacher, I understand the importance of theory. Theory gives us the foundation on which to build. As a coach, I understand the importance of action. Just as wisdom is the combination of knowledge and experience, success is the combination of theory and action.I work with many clients on action plans, the roadmaps to our success. We can have all the best intentions and theoretical plans in the world, but without action, we really don’t have anything. My strategic planning workshops are very popular for this very reason. We do not just create gorgeous plans, we actually map out our action steps. Here are the 7 actions steps that will help you turn your plan into action:1. Write down your goals and remember to make them SMART goals. (Specific, Measurable, Aligned with your values, Realistic, Time-bound) It is important that when you are goal setting, you create SMART goals.2. List steps necessary to achieve each of your identified goals. You will need to do this for each goal as these steps are goal-specific.3. Identify past success or strengths you have. This is a good reminder that you can accomplish this goal. The successes do not need to be related to your goal – only a reminder that you can do anything you commit to.4. List the people and resources you have available to support you. These are primarily your professional resources.5. Name any hazards, weaknesses, or blocks that could cause you to stumble. While I don’t like to spend a lot of time in the “what if” zone, it is important that we consider possible hazards before they may actually happen so we are not caught off-guard and throw in the towel.6. Identify the strengths, support, and resources available to you if you were to stumble and identify why you would turn to them. These resources may very well be personal ones that we could have a good cry with.7. Record the reasons and benefits that cause you to want to achieve your goals. This step is extremely important because this is your “why”. This is the step that connects our head with our heart. And we know that combination is unstoppable.Review your goals each day and spend time in the morning and the evening visualizing yourself already achieving that goal. Can see it? How do you feel? What changed for you in your life? When you sit with this image, the realization of your goal becomes stronger and more powerful.I would love to hear from you. What is the goal you are most proud of achieving? I can’t wait to celebrate with you!With love,Dr. Maria

Get Back on Track to Your Vision!

I saw this statement the other day: “I let go of anything and everything that could delay my good in any way.” -Louise Hay Hmmm… Of course, as I so often do, I contemplated how this might apply to leadership.Leadership is the action that motivates people toward a vision. Therefore, if the vision is the “good” in this statement, we need to ask ourselves, “What gets in the way that could cause delay of achieving my vision?” In other words, what no longer serves us? I discuss this topic a lot with my clients. It is a great exercise to stop and check-in with yourself regularly, asking, “what no longer serves me?”Some possible delays to our good or vision may include:• Underlying beliefs that no longer serve us• Ego• Clutter (literal and physical)• The need to be right• Noise (literal and physical)• Fear• Poor health• Lack of sleep• Lack of knowledge• Lack of anything…• Toxic relationshipsOnce you've identified what gets in your way of achieving your good or your vision, it is time to let it or them go. Time to move into action, ridding yourself of anything and everything that gets in your way. Brian Tracy, in his book, “Eat That Frog!” offers some great suggestions for getting out of the procrastination habit. Mark Twain was the inspiration for the book title and overall premise of getting procrastination out of the way.Mark Twain said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you go to through you day with the satisfaction of knowing that is probably the worst thing that would happen to you all day long. So eat your frog and know that it is the time to start exercising your backbone instead of your wishbone.>>>You are the architect of your life, the author of your book. This is not a dress rehearsal.<<<If you don’t like what you see…change it!I would love to hear from you. What are some of the strategies you use to work through delays and detours? How do you eat your frog?Let’s continue our discussion after the episode. With Love,Maria

The Top 10 Lessons to Soothe Your Soul with a Very Bad Boss

While working on a book that I am co-authoring with my friend and colleague, Jone Bosworth, JD, "Very Bad Bosses: Never Get in a Pissing Match with a Skunk (And Other Sage Advice for Surviving Workplace Villians)", we realized that stopping and soothing our souls a bit first, helps when the sting of a very bad boss behavior is about to strike.So, here are our top 10 favorite soothe-your-soul quotes.10. "Never get in a pissing match with a skunk (because you'll both end up stinking)." -Anonymous9. "If you want to forget all your troubles, wear two tight shoes." -The Houghton Line8. "Always write angry letters to your enemies and never send them." -James Fallows7. "If you kick a stone in anger, you'll hurt your own foot." -Korean Proverb6. "The robbed that smiles, steals something from the thief." -William Shakespeare5. "To carry a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee." -William H. Walton4. "Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die" -Malachy McCourt3. "The worst-tempered people I've ever met were people who knew they were wrong." - Wilson Mizner2. "In certain trying circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity furnishes a relief denied even to prayer." -Mark Twain1. "Turn your wounds into wisdom." -Oprah WinfreyFeel a little immediate relief by moving into a philosophical space with these quotes? That's how Jone and I want you to feel as you share and let go of your very bad boss story! We are still collecting stories for our book, and we want to hear from you to include your story in the book! And, you can use a pseudonym too, just in case you are still working for the boss.It is super easy for you to submit your story, just go to www.very-bad-bosses.comIt is that simple, and you can help others who may still be trying to find the laughter in their situation.  Now, I would love to hear from you! What was the greatest lesson you learned from your very bad boss? And, don't forget to share your very bad boss story at www.very-bad-bosses.com 

Have You Left Your Right Brain Behind?

Ask any successful leader or business owner what one of the most critical factors is for success today, and you will hear: creativity. Now, more than ever, innovation and creativity are sought-after skills in organizations for their leaders. Old models steeped in scientific management and mechanistic thinking no longer serves our needs today. As Einstein and Susan Powter so eloquently remind us, we must and look toward new models and creative ways of leading people and doing business.

For decades, our American culture has devoted most curriculum and teaching models to developing the left-hemisphere of the brain. This is the part of the brain for logic, linear and sequential thought processes. This style of learning and development continued into colleges and universities where the mechanistic model of managing business remained a primary focus. Perhaps a nod to the “soft skills” of leadership appeared in the curriculum, but not until quite recently are we actually teaching leadership skills to future leaders.

Many organizations now focus on teaching the soft skills in their leadership development programs because they realized a profound need for their leaders to have these skill sets. The soft skills to which I am referring are connecting with people, motivating teams, inspiring followers, creative thinking, innovation, quick decision-making and big-picture vision. Each one of these skill sets requires right-brain thinking.

The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body, is simultaneous, specializes in context, and synthesizes the big picture. Clearly, the ability to think quickly in today’s fast-paced world requires right hemisphere functions.

I am not advocating tossing aside the value of the left-brain—our entire brain is a gift. I am simply seeking to focus on development of our right-brain functions. At this point, most of us have fairly well developed left hemispheres. After all, we have spent most of our lifetime educated and trained to use our left-brains. What we now need as leaders is to develop and reconnect with the processes of our right brains.

Lateral thinking is perception thinking, looking for creative and innovative ways of viewing the world. This process is not constricted by boundaries and limited beliefs; it challenges us to move into expansiveness, unlimited possibilities, and abundance thinking.

Are you ready for the shift?

I would love to hear from you. What activities do you do that develops your right brain thinking? How do you get your creative on?

With Love,Maria

Creativity and Innovation in the Workplace: How to Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

Workplace creativity and innovation are sought after goals in many organizations. Ever wonder how to get the creative juices flowing? Practicing creativity not only helps leaders make quick, confident decisions, innovate, and problem solve; creativity also helps us interact with others at a higher level.Living in this creative zone is as beneficial for leaders as it is for artists. Observe artists at work, whether it is performing artists, painters, sculptors, writers, or designers. Artists are present in the moment of creating with razor sharp focus as the divine download fills the spaces of their mind, heart, and body.Pablo Picasso reminds us, “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”The best way to start tapping into our creativity is do what we did as children—play. Let’s get the creative juices flowing with the abandonment of child-like play.I would love to hear from you. What do you think? How do you get your creative juices flowing?With love,Maria 

What is the Definition of Leadership & How to be an Effective Leader

So often, I am asked these simple, yet profound questions: What is leadership? How can I be an effective leader?In my experience, the words leadership and management are used interchangeably in the workplace. In the management and leadership classes I’ve taught over the years, we define them differently, however, recognizing that leadership is a critical part of management. I’ve always believed that defining leadership as a component of management was like saying cocoa is a component of chocolate.Many organizations use the term leader when defining certain management positions. However, a title does not make a leader. My Grandpa Jaime used to say, “You can put a suit on a bum, but he is still a bum.” One may put the title of leader on a person, and he or she may or may not be a leader.Most definitions of leadership have one over-arching similarity: vision. Creating vision and motivating followers towards the vision is the fundamental foundation of leadership. If there is no place to lead (vision) and no one to follow, then leadership is absent. I define leadership as the action of inspiring and motivating others toward a vision. I don’t believe it needs to be any more complicated than that.In this episode, I share with you 15 essential factors of being an effective leader.

 I would love to hear from you. What do you think? How do you define leadership? What are the qualities you admire in leaders?With love,Maria

How to Influence Others and Create a Legacy

How can we gain influence with people at work? How can we create legacy?

Very rarely am I involved in a conversation about leadership that does not include the topic of influence. I believe that influence is what most leaders seek; although, many will confuse influence with motivation. Motivation is important in leadership; it gets the job done. However, influence, is lasting. Influence is legacy.In this episode, I share with you several sure-fire ways to increase your influence with others.I would love to hear from you. What do you think? What are some of the ways you’ve found to influence others, and what are the best ways for others to influence you?With love,Maria

Meaning and Significance Instead of Success at Work

What would happen if we shifted our focus to find meaning and significance at work instead of just success?I recently heard Oprah talk about success and significance in the same sentence. This got me thinking…Looking at the word, significance, I wanted to explore the meaning and essence of this luxurious word steeped in depth and richness. I started researching great thinkers on significance and explored their quotes. In this episode, I share with you some of my favorites.What if we shifted our focus from success to significance? How would that look? How would that affect the way we lead?I would love to hear from you. What do you think? How would shifting from success to significance affect the way you lead? What is most significant about what you do?With love,Maria

Influence Your Team and Your Boss

How can I gain influence with my team? How do I influence my boss?I’ve heard repeatedly from my clients, students, and colleagues these questions. While teaching leadership or marketing courses, I’ve often thought…Leading people and marketing are really the same activity. Isn’t the primary objective of both to influence people in the direction of a goal?You may challenge that statement! True, marketing and leadership could sometimes be an activity of manipulation, and not of influence. We have seen and experienced this many times in both marketing and leadership.Both activities of influence and manipulation have power. The key is that only one has sustainability. Manipulation can be an effective influencing tactic, but it is not sustaining; in fact, it is exhausting!Influence, on the other hand, is nurturing, motivating, and full of momentum.  In today’s video are 10 specific strategies to increase your influence.I would love to hear from you. What else would you add to this list to increase your influence? What time did you gain buy-in and what strategy did you use?With love,Maria

Your Perception is Your Reality

Understanding how your perception becomes your reality is a powerful tool.

I love the story of Plato’s cave. The shadows of the people outside the cave and distorted images from the fire flames all created a dark reality in the recesses of the cave. What dark reality exists within the confines of the caves of our mind?

Thoughts are powerful; they are the seeds to ideas, beliefs, creativity, attitudes, knowledge, wisdom, and reality. Thoughts can be our best friends or our worst enemies.

Unconscious thoughts are just as powerful as thoughts steeped in awareness. Negative self-talk are weeds that have grown in our minds. You know these voices, since many of us have cultivated these over years and decades:

  • You can’t do...
  • You should do….
  • You shouldn’t…
  • You are too old… too young… too fat… too thin...
  • Who do you think you are?

Sound familiar? We could probably add to the list with little effort! These voices come from fear, anxiety, doubt, guilt, and shame. Our behaviors are reflections of our beliefs. If we believe the negative self-talk, it manifests in our behavior with ourselves and with others.Do you ever find yourself stuck, unable to accomplish that goal or unable to overcome a fear of something or someone?The negative voices and gremlins in our heads fuel underlying beliefs we have about ourselves, others, and the way we view the world. It is important for us to step into awareness and recognize the beliefs that no longer serve us. For example, not talking to strangers is a common lesson taught to many of us as small children. As we grew into adulthood, we abandoned that belief, albeit unconsciously.Developing our perception-shifting skill serves us well. In this episode are 3 steps to help you develop your perception-shifting muscle.I would love to hear from you. When have you discovered your initial perception to be false? How long did it take you to shift your perception, and what were the results?With love,Maria