5 words you’ll never hear on the campaign trail:

“Here’s How I Screwed Up.”

I get it; I understand their motives.  They want to get nominated, elected, or re-elected, and they don’t want to give any more grist to their competitors’ meat-grinding mill than absolutely necessary. They want to look perfect.  They want to look invulnerable.  They want us to love them. Or, at least, tolerate them just enough.

I understand that leadership in the political arena is, in many ways, different from the day-to-day, up-close-and-personal leadership you and I practice in our places of work.  But, still, I think our politicos are missing the main point:

There’s no such thing as a perfect human being, and the minute one tries to appear to be perfect, he or she is automatically suspect.

So, how about we all stop trying so hard to market ourselves as flawless?

In fact, how’s about we boldly talk about our mistakes and share what we learned from the experience of falling and failing and flailing?

Again, many people—most, in fact—in positional authority are afraid that if they publicly cop to their mistakes (and fears, too), others will see them as incompetent.  (Competence is an important part of the game, certainly. Let’s agree right now that if you’re incompetent you should just get out of the way).  But there is a difference between mistakes of incompetence and mistakes associated with boldness, innovation or experimentation.

Here’s the question: How bold and public are you willing to be with your own valuable screw-ups?  In other words, how willing are you to let us learn from your mistakes? Whether you’re running for office or not.

How have you screwed up?

Care to go first?

If you’re passionate about education (and in San Diego on Thursday), it’s not too late to register to join us for this phenomenal evening. Over 700 people are on the boat (literally as well as figuratively) so far.

Please share this video and spread the word:

Please read his words and comment away!

Passion doesn’t fuel work ethic; work ethic fuels passion.

Most people want to go about it backwards. They want to let their passions propel their efforts. They want an emotion-driven life, but our emotions don’t always lead us where we need to go or keep us where we need to be.

You won’t produce heat in your fireplace by saying, “Once there’s a fire, I’ll put in some logs.”  You put the logs in and build a fire, and then you’ll see some heat. Likewise, the passion you have for a job is directly related to the initiative you put into it. Many highly successful people in all walks of life have discovered that because they put a great amount of effort into their job, their job eventually becomes their passion. They didn’t set out to be the world’s greatest carpet installer, data entry clerk, or fry cook; they just set out to be the best they could be while in their jobs, and the next thing they knew they were awesome at it!

If a young worker says, “I don’t have a passion for selling shoes,” the first thing he or she needs to do is show some initiative by making selling shoes a short-term passion. If he throws himself into it, does all he can to learn the business and make himself the best, and he still doesn’t develop a passion for the job, that’s fine. He has still improved his reputation for adding value to a job, made himself more hirable, and developed his work ethic in the process. And then he can do his boss and himself a favor and quit. She’ll likely give him a good reference or help him find another position within the organization.

Following up on that line of reasoning (which makes A LOT of sense to me), Eric offers you this advice if you’re feeling disengaged or disenfranchised at work:

1. Do whatever is within your control to eliminate the things that demotivate you. For example, when you’re choosing who to go to lunch with or hang out after work with, surround yourself with coworkers who enjoy their job as opposed to those “Debbie Downers” who are always complaining about the boss, the company, etc.  If the break room makes you feel like you are in a jail cell, volunteer to come in on your day off and repaint it or bring in some table games, or posters, or music, etc. In other words, take steps to create a more positive space for you to operate.

2. Get out of the mindset that ‘work sucks’ or that ‘you’re stuck’.  This is a free country and no one is making you work where you do. No matter who you are, what skills you currently have, or what you do to earn your daily bread, you have options. You can work harder and perform better in an attempt to get a promotion. You can use your off work time to take classes or improve your skills to move up in your present company or to become more hirable to another. You are in control of your career, so don’t allow yourself to develop a defeatist attitude or you will end up stuck, or worse, fired.

3.  Work like you’re showing off. Approach your next shift as if your every move is being video recorded for a worldwide audience and that your parents, kids, friends, and future employers are all tuned-in. If you perform your normal job as you would under these conditions for an entire day, it would be impossible to feel down and disengaged.  In fact, it will be impossible for your employers not to notice you. Very soon, you will be the very best at your job, and once you are, you will be promoted, you will see a dramatic increase in your pay, and you will be sought out by other employers.  When you are the best at your job, your future is unstoppable.

Eric Chester is on a mission to revive America’s work ethic.

Shouldn’t we all be?

Over the last couple of years, we’ve developed, piloted and field-tested The Extreme Leadership Workshop, and now, for the first time, we’re offering it in a public forum.

You now have a chance to participate in the workshop and become certified and licensed to facilitate it for others—your team, your company, or your clients.

In this powerful and transformational experience, you’ll explore the key tenets of the Extreme Leadership Framework—Cultivating Love, Generating Energy, Inspiring Audacity, and Providing Proof—and learn how to apply them to your personal and professional leadership challenges.

I know it sounds like an old marketing cliché, but in this case it’s true:

Space is limited!

This inaugural program from The Extreme Leadership Institute will be held in San Diego from March 22 – 24. It’ll be a great combination of work and fun (Like a visit to Mission Beach and a BBQ at my place).

If you’d like to learn more, my colleague, Steve Dealph, is standing by to give you all the pertinent info.

By design, we’re making this an intimate gathering, and an announcement email that went out last week may have filled us up already.  So if you’re interested, please contact Steve Dealph right away at Dealph@ExtremeLeadership.com

Hope to see you here in sunny San Diego!

Now about that BBQ…

How do you like your steak? Or would you prefer a veggie burger?

It is, of course, closely related to the broader Declaration of Extreme Leadership that I posted a while back, but focused on the specific mission of lifting up our kids to magnificent heights.

Please sound off in the comment section below and pass this declaration along to every educator in your life.

The cynics will disregard it out of hand (and, frankly, I’m cool with that),  but wait till you see what the rest will do by taking this to heart:

Declaration of Extreme Leadership in Education

I, one of the undersigned educators of today’s youth, recognize that my students are greater than the test scores they achieve, greater than their ability to master the required curriculum, and greater than their grade point averages.

And I also understand and accept that I am more than an administrator, staff member, teacher or professor—I am responsible for helping my students grow to become our world’s future leaders.

And to that end, I believe that the principles of Love, Energy, Audacity and Proof, when applied to the way I lead and teach in my school, university, college or community, will help all of us not only improve the world of education (which is a noble mission), but transform it into something magnificent.

I agree that big, broad, systemic changes need to happen in our field: policies need to shift, pedagogies need to evolve, and priorities need to change—and I’ll do whatever I can to contribute to those transformations over time.

In the meantime,

Regardless of what is or is not happening “out there”, and regardless of what other people are or are not doing to change my students’ education for the better,

I commit to making a difference in the way I lead TODAY in my district, school, university, college or classroom; I am an Extreme Leader, committed to taking a Radical LEAP,

Right now,

For our students, our youth, and, therefore,

For all of us

The following email invitation from Superintendents Randy Ward, William Kowba, and John Collins and Mission Federal CEO, Debra Schwartz, recently went out to all San Diego county educational leaders.  Consider it your invitation, too:

We are excited to share information about the powerful upcoming event, “Transforming Education – Education Re-Energized!” aboard the USS Midway.

It’s scheduled for the evening of February 2, (registration starting at 5:45pm) and promises to be an outstanding opportunity to not only “re-energize” school, business and community leaders, but also a chance for participants to make important new connections.

“Transforming Education – Education Re-Energized” will feature best-selling author and leadership consultant Steve Farber sharing the perspectives of his book, The Radical Leap Re-Energized, and leading a discussion of educators who’ve implemented his “Leap” tenets:  Love, Energy, Audacity and Proof.

Representatives from many of the region’s most generous and compelling corporate and community-sponsored education initiatives will share their stories, and all in attendance will have the unique opportunity to tap the best thinking of a rare and committed gathering.

It promises to be an unforgettable evening, in an historic setting. For registration and other information, go to www.Re-EnergizeEducation.org

 

It’s going to be a phenomenal event–and the start of an on-going effort to transform education in a major way.  And if you can’t join us here in San Diego…

…how’s about we do something similar in your town, too?

This powerful little book isn’t just a guide, it’s a very personal methodology and practice to help you stoke your success, amp your life, and change the world–all at the same time.

And it’s free.

Use it every day to make 2012 a true LEAP year for you and yours in your work AND personal life. (I’ve had many people tell me that they’ve used The Daily Handbook with their teams and families, too).

Did I mention that it’s free? (All you have to do is come over to Facebook and “Like” our page–if you’ve already done so, just go on over and click the “Free Download” tab)

May your 2012 be filled with love and prosperity on every level, and…

Let’s do something cool this year.

Why is that so important? Because it’s impossible (at least in any significant and long-lasting way) to engage, motivate, compel, energize anyone else unless you feel it yourself, first. And love is the way to generate all of the above.

Here’s a process you can use to spark the match in your own heart.  Try this, and see if it gives you the juice you need to lead in a way that inspires others to accomplish extraordinary things:

1.    Remember Why You Took this Job: Think back over the course of your career so far and recount the events, jobs, projects etc. that led up to your beginning your current work.  Then write your answer to these questions: Why did I take this job/start this company/enlist in this program? Are the ideals that I started with still in place today? If not, how can I re-enliven them?

2.    List Every Aspect of Your Current Work/Job/Career: Make a quick inventory of all the various aspects of your work: tasks, projects, roles, responsibilities, colleagues, higher-ups, employees, customers, clients, underlying values, etc.  Write it however works best for you. Categorize if you’d like; or don’t. However you do it, you should be able to look at the finished product and see all the aspects of your work life at the present time.

3.    Highlight What and Whom You’re Grateful For: Use a highlighter to emphasize the items on your list that really resonate with you—those things you love doing, the people you truly care about, the values that you strive to live by—and make coming to work worthwhile.  As for the items that don’t get highlighted, well, that’s life.  We all have to do things that we don’t love doing in order to do the overall work that we love. (I, for example, don’t love waiting in airports, making sales calls, and tracking expenses). We have a technical term for doing those things anyway. It’s called, “being an adult.”

4.    Review Your Highlights Everyday: Once a day—ideally in the morning before things get rolling—review your list and focus on the highlights. Allow yourself to feel genuine gratitude for the things, activities, and people that populate your working experience. That one simple, reflective practice should help to stoke or re-kindle the love in your heart for the work you do.

And if it doesn’t?

It could be that you’re in the wrong place and/or doing the wrong work.  But don’t jump to that conclusion rashly; use this opportunity to reflect and consider this work in the greater context of your life and goals.

And remember, you’re starting this process with yourself because that’s how you’ll genuinely and effectively be contagious to those around you. That’s how you’ll inspire others to step up and do the same.

Then I invite you to watch this video and–if it strikes a chord in you–share it with as many people as you can:

What do you think? Are you in? Are you an educator, or do you know educators who’d benefit from receiving this book?

There are a lot of Extreme Leader Educators out there. If you know one, please tell us by sharing their story.

He tells me that he’s very thankful, because, he says, “I have truly been able to do what I love in the service of people who have loved what I’ve done.”

I’m thankful for Paul’s generosity of heart, and for his willingness to share the Professional Love Note he recently wrote (and delivered) to Hannah Lohman, a carrier on his team. (You’ll see how beautifully he makes use of the guidelines outlined in my previous post).

Imagine you’re Hannah, and you just received a card from your boss with these words:

Dear Hannah,

Currently, if I were to pull a seniority list of the Zionsville Post Office, we would find Hannah Lohman’s name at or near the very bottom of the list. We are an experienced group and we don’t have a lot of turnover…you are just the newest of the bunch.

However, if I were to adjust that list a little bit, and create a ranked list of people who totally get it, with the “it” being the lofty workplace ideals that I toss out so freely each week from my speaker’s lectern, I’d simply have to place you at or near the top of the list. And I wanted to just THANK YOU and let you know how pleased Amy and I are (along with so many others in the group) that you are a part of our group here in Zionsville.

On Thursday, a couple of perfect examples of “it” came up. In the morning, Sara had forgotten a tray of FSS mail at the office. “No sweat”, Hannah says…“I’m heading out that way anyway…I’ll just take it to her.” Unfortunately, not every member of our group would have so readily volunteered to do something like that for another person.

You NEVER hesitate for a moment; it’s who you are and it’s what you do.

Later in the afternoon, I find out that Dana is toast on Rural 8. The beast had her in its grasp, and we were facing non-deliveries or a very late night from her if she didn’t have help. One quick phone call to Hannah, and it is “not a problem – I’m on it” from the other end of the phone.

You jump into action, take a bunch of mail from her, bail us all out, and you both get back by 6PM. In your mind, it’s probably “no big deal”…in my mind, it is a H-U-G-E deal, because it is an action and an attitude that nearly EXACTLY replicates in real life what we talk about as our workplace ideals…and that’s where the “leadership” tie in comes in.

You’ve chosen to have a love of the business. That LOVE of the business creates an ENERGY in you that drives you to do great things in the workplace. You use that energy in AUDACIOUS and creative ways…and you PROVE your dedication every day through your extreme efforts – not just in your own work, but in “being there” for others when they need a boost as well. That’s it…the LEAP…Love, Energy, Audacity, and Proof. You’ve probably never read the book…but you live the story. Thanks so much for all you do, Hannah…