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It is always an honor to be in the presence of great minds who are also great leaders. I have been in conferences with such individuals for the last several days. The conversations and examples of these people made me pause to think about what makes a leader and how to train others to become great leaders.
Thirty years of psychological research shows that talent is not natural, it is trained. Several books published in the last year delve deeply into this topic. These books point to those who excel in a particular aspect of their life and posit that it requires about 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become an expert in a particular area. In other words, master leaders are not born, they are practiced. This odd construct of the sentence may throw you off, but in truth, these people have spent their lives deliberately practicing the skills of leadership.
I believe a leader is a visionary who is profoundly aware of self and others. A leader is willing to sacrifice that of a lower order for that of a higher order while sharing his vision with a conviction that arises from the passion in his spirit and the purpose in his heart. To become a leader, one must instill the vision with such clarity and focus in the minds and hearts of potential followers so that they willingly choose to be inspired to sacrifice their existing beliefs and paradigms. Followers must adopt new paradigms that are in line with those which are required to embrace and create the shared vision.
To be a successful leader you must learn to tap into your passion in life. Most leaders appear to focus the majority of their energy on things they are passionate about. This makes sense if you consider that it requires thousands of hours of deliberate practice to become an expert. The long hours of practice require that one has the burning passion to stick with the purpose of realizing that passion through the clearly constructed vision.
Raising a child to be a leader may seem a lofty goal. That is only the case if your vision of them is not in alignment with the child’s passion. I would recommend that you study your child and experiment to find those activities or conversations that enliven your child. My daughters have a “glow” about them when they are engaging their passion.
It is easy for a child to focus on that which they are passionate about, especially if you support them through frequent coaching and positive affirmations. It is critical, however, that your child learns to become self-aware and learns to derive her highest satisfaction from within.
I have seen people addicted to extrinsic rewards. When they do not see those rewards in abundance, they begin to withdraw and shrink because they have not learned to be satisfied with who they are becoming. These people cannot lead. They have not developed the strength of character to carry through with their vision when it requires that they sacrifice the lower order for the higher order while standing alone or with few supporters.
As a Father of the Board, you have practiced these skills and you can work with your child to make a leader of the next generation today.
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About Tony Bodoh
Tony Bodoh is the President of Tony Bodoh International. His firm coaches executives to create organizational alignment. With a focus on aligning the thinking, relationships, and processes of an organization, Bodoh has a track record of creating extreme value for customers. Visit www.profitornado.com to learn more about ProfiTornado, a revolutionary web-based organizational alignment coaching program that will turn your top line revenue into your bottom line profit in any economy.
Bodoh also uses his expertise to help professionals build successful and significant relationships with their families. As President of Daddy Daughter DaysTM, Bodoh produces live or recorded teleseminars and workshops.
You can contact Tony Bodoh at tony.bodoh at gmail.com or 877-826-2521.
If you are interested in improving your family’s relationships, please visit http://www.podclass.com/tonybodoh to learn more about Bodoh’s workshops.
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