Resource Library

“Leaders honor their core values, but they are flexible in how they execute them.” -Colin Powell

Change is inevitable. How we proactively plan for and react to change determines in large part our ceiling for success. If history is any indication, most organizations and individuals have difficulty remaining successful. That is, unless they possess the humility to seek constant progression and the confidence to act differently.

“Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience.” -Stephen R. Covey

Trust is the foundation of healthy relationships, which applies to teams and entire organizations. If we want to achieve long lasting, worthy goals, beginning and continuing the hard work of developing meaningful relationships of mutual confidence is not only beneficial but necessary.

“The two words ‘information’ and ‘communication’ are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.”
-Sydney J. Harris

Communication is what binds together a body of people, an organization, much like an organism. For a team to succeed, care needs to be taken to strengthen the connection points between individuals. Trust and impact are maximized through extreme clarity and effective communication.

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” -Peter Drucker

If we spend as much time on deliberately building a healthy environment, rewarding behavior we want replicated, and helping everyone feel safe to say what they mean and do their best work, we exponentially increase the ability for our organizations to execute on sound strategy towards the accomplishing of meaningful goals.

“The growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership.” -Harvey S. Firestone

Helping another person become a better version of themselves is probably among the most noble and fulfilling things you can do, no matter who you are or what role you play in another’s life. Helping someone achieve their potential exponentially increases their capacity to do good for the rest of their lives. Don’t shirk this responsibility as a leader or this opportunity as a human being.

“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.” -Steven Spielberg

Effective coaching is an important aspect of helping others become the best of themselves. It’s coming from a position of leadership and usually more experience, and then being wise enough to trade most of your authority and experience for curiosity and trust to help those you coach discover who they are and ought to be for themselves.

“Learning to receive feedback from each other is what leadership is all about.” -Sheila Heen

Getting and acting on good feedback is critical to sustained individual and collective growth. How beneficial feedback is depends on how practiced the giver and receiver are in genuinely speaking and listening with positive intent, and sincere regard for each other’s well-being and opinion. Strong feedback cultures create an environment where it can go both ways.

“Treat employees like they make a difference and they will.” -Jim Goodnight

Often individuals and organizations fall short of their potential not because they are not able, but because they don’t know or believe that they can. Surrounding ourselves with people who believe in us and challenge us with high expectations is one of the most surefire ways to accelerate our growth and success.

“If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverb

When considering the differences between high performing teams and poor performing teams, consider the culture and environment in which those teams operate and what the relationships within those organizations look like. While some aspects of effective interpersonal relationships can be debated, generally trust and genuine care are critical for highly functional teams.

“To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” -Socrates

Introspection is often considered the first step to self-improvement. To achieve one’s potential requires honesty and vulnerability with oneself and others. Along with self-awareness, it also requires a certain level of confidence and humility to fully embrace one’s strengths and shortcomings.

“You can make excuses or you can make things happen. You can’t do both.” -Jocko Willink

To simplify, the ownership we speak of is where each individual feels responsible to the team and its outcomes. Once the leader sets a clear vision and empowers others to do their best work, the individuals, including the leader, must exercise consistent self-discipline, regardless of the presence of motivation, successes, or failures.

“So often people are working hard at the wrong thing. Working on the right thing is probably more important than working hard.” -Caterina Fake

There are countless worthwhile things we could do with our time. Recognizing our constraints, particularly that of time, our ability to contribute at our highest point of contribution is dependent on our ability to say no to what is good so we can say yes to what is best.

“Don’t confuse activity with productivity. Many people are simply busy being busy.” -Robin Sharma

To better accomplish the many goals that are meaningful to us, it is valuable for us to continually learn how to better leverage our limited resources to their fullest potential and how we can avoid habits and mindsets that hold us and those around us back.

“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.” -Nelson Mandela

Resilience comes in many shapes and forms, and it is difficult to compare the resilience of two people. Within an individual’s narrative, resilience is demonstrated each time they overcome meaningful opposition in any of its many forms through choosing to persevere when it’s easier to quit, whether that’s refusing to back down, committing to finish, or getting back up when life deals a solid blow.

“What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths and can call on the right strength at the right time.” -Tom Rath

We only have so much time in life to develop ourselves and others. Every minute spent building upon existing strengths and passions allows us to maximize our impact. By focusing on building upon our strengths and passions and those of our teams, we can achieve exponentially higher results in less time with less effort.

“An organization’s ability to learn and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage.” -Jack Welch

The word mindset on its own is valuable in that it describes a lens through which you view and interact with the world. Transformational mindset is meant to describe the curiosity of great innovators who helped the world progress through their seeking not just what could be, but what should be, for the benefit of all.

“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” -Helen Keller

Vision is what allows a single person to see beyond what is, and with clarity, practicality, and inspiration, a vision can enable a group to be united in accomplishing incredible things.

“Self-care is not selfish. You cannot serve from an empty vessel.” -Eleanor Brown

Our ability to contribute to the world and the people in it is limited by the different elements of health and the choices that either contribute to it or detract from it. If it matters to us that we make long-lasting impact in the world or in the lives of a few, we cannot shirk the responsibility to take care of the incredible bodies we live in.