The entrepreneurial spirit

Great leaders don't hesitate to commit and rarely back out or change their minds unless it is necessary.

Boldness is something you can develop. 

Although some people are naturally more fearless than others, practicing how to be fearless--or at least project fearlessness--is a completely doable task.

Great leaders have a clear, exciting idea of where they are going. They are excellent at strategic planning.

While a manager gets the job done, great leaders tap into the emotions of their employees.

“Courage is rightly considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.”  

We never arrive. We work hard to succeed, and then we have to work twice as hard to maintain that success.

It’s a slow grind. And it starts with our mindset.

We all have some type of talent, something that sets us apart from the rest of the world. This can also be a potential trap.

Never just rely on your gift or talent alone. Work on your craft. Investigate your weaknesses and make an effort to minimize them.

We all need to grow, learn, and take risks. Having a mentor or coach makes this massively easier.

Additionally, a good mentor helps you avoid making the same mistakes they have

Sleep is not just about rest. It’s the period where the mind is shut off and reset. 

When we sacrifice sleep, we also sacrifice creativity, self-control, and attention span. When sleep is lacking, so is self-control.

Some people ask more questions, have more doubts, and are willing to act on them. They are harder to manage since they naturally challenge authority, but if you want assumptions challenged that includes the assumption of hierarchy. 

If healthy debate is encouraged the results will be the best synthesis of different assumptions.

If you as the manager continually demonstrate that you are comfortable being challenged, or yielding your idea to a superior one suggested by a colleague or subordinate, everyone who works for you will emulate that behavior. 

If you dismiss challenges or yell at people who challenge you, the culture of fear your behavior creates will dominate no matter who you hire or how great you proclaim it is to challenge assumptions.

1. Get Passionate. This is the key to career success and fulfillment in any field.
2. Be Bothered by Inefficiency. Consider whether there are places you could implement solutions (or at least recommend improvements).
3. Take on More Risk. “More risk, more reward.” At work, start small by pitching new ideas or volunteering to take on a challenge or two that’s outside of your comfort zone.
4. Brainstorm More. Constant innovation is crucial to a business’ long-term success. Schedule some time each week to really brainstorm about something that’s been on your mind. See what you come up with.
5. Don’t Limit Your Dreams. Many people are conditioned to be realistic and practical. Rather dream big for your career.

Set aside time to tackle a problem and then use the entire time. Don't head for the door after the first good idea, as there may be bigger and better ideas to come.

Bring facilitation techniques to encourage participation.

By giving team members time and resources to grow, learn, and explore you get a better quality and wider brainstorming. 

A leadership signature: Who you are as a leader and how you view and approach the job. 

• Discover your leadership signature by asking how you lead day by day. Are you task or people focussed? 
• Ask people who work with you how they would describe your leadership.
• Consider the impact you have. Are you changing the culture? Driving results?

Sensemaking refers to the process of creating meaning out of the chaotic world around us.

We need to make sense when something in our environment seems to have changed. We collect data, learn from others, look for patterns to create a new map of the landscape. Then we experiment with new solutions to see how it will respond to this new environment.