5 Things All Great Leaders Have in Common

When it comes to achieving business success, most people think it is mostly because of the strategy that the business comes up with. Strategy is one part of a whole range of reasons but not the only reason for success. There are a lot of things that amount to the success of an organization, and leadership without a doubt is one of the main reasons for this success.

We’ve all had bosses who seem to style themselves on military leaders, however treating the workplace as a battle ground is something which few respond well to. Leaders need to take tough decisions and act quickly, but that shouldn’t instill a culture of fear amongst employees. Mistakes are part of an individual’s growth, as well as a company’s.

One person who has made his fair share of mistakes, while also knowing a thing or two about what it takes to be a real leader is Richard Branson. Walk through any of the Virgin offices around the world and you’ll really struggle to find somebody who has seen the company’s Founder raise his voice when the going gets tough. High pressured situations need to be handled, all whilst keeping your eye on the businesses real goal.

“What leadership boils down to is people. Whatever your style, whatever your method, you need to believe in yourself, your ideas and your staff. Nobody can be successful alone – and you cannot be a great leader without great people to lead. The trick is in striking the right balance between empowering your staff and being an example for them to follow,” Explains Branson

A good dynamic leader is compared to a dynamo generating energy that charges and activates the entire group in such a way that wonders can be achieved with. The success of an organization depends to a great extent upon good leadership. Dynamic leadership can improve the chances of success by stimulating the right behaviors and inspiring innovation in the face of hardship .

I recently had the privilege of Speaking to serial entrepreneur Con Georgiou to get his thoughts on the importance of leadership in business. Over the course of his business career Con has coached, mentored and led thousands of staff and customers from all walks of life and has spent time with some of the world’s best business minds.

Below he shares his thoughts on what he believes to be the top 5 most common traits in all-great leaders

1) Best in class Leaders care for their people, I mean really care. Like caring enough to understand when staff need support if put into difficult situations where their skill may not match the challenge called upon them.

2) Surround themselves with people who have strengths that they lack. Valuing diversity is critical to this leadership trait. This may mean that its not all smooth sailing and consensus may take some effort but it does mean you have some rigor around your decision making and execution capacity.

3) Understand the true power of relationships and empower problem solvers. All effective organizations are built on great relationships that are based on trust, respect and honor to name a few. Without this you are operating on shaky ground and even the best strategies and technologies will not overcome these shortcomings.

4) Have the grit to defend the company’s values under hardship. Making the hard call to say no to bad business is tough but its what separates true leaders from fakers. Standing for your company’s values will win the hearts and minds of your team, which drives deep engagement.

5) Communicate, Communicate, Communicate. As businesses grow strategies may change, ensuring constant and clear communication is critical to maintaining pace and synchronicity. Too many companies are like caterpillars who lose the plot in every which way, this is taxing and demoralizing for all included.

Interested to know, what's one common trait you've seen in great leaders?

14 tidbits to stir in your coffee (or tea).

#1. Spread kindness and love whenever you can. Reach out your fingertips and feel the energy flow. As you start sparking kindness it’ll lift the cloak of darkness. Love really is the answer.

#2. Projections, my dear, are viral. Replaying the past will drown you. Get the bolt cutters and cut the chains of heaviness. Turn the emotional fanfare off and stop twitching at every little leaf that moves. Ground your inner wildebeest. Watch without attachment and let your mind settle into the quietness of an observer. The lake is a mirror and you are the image.

“Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

#3. Always seek real. Speak from you heart and walk around the steaming piles of bubbling bullshit. No one is going to save or rescue you from the demons you fight. Many are fighting their own generous life lessons which include heaven and hell. Be gentle. Be kind. Speak softly. It’s often louder than a roar.

#4. Be your own Sun and Moon. The Sun shines to keep you and every living thing alive. The Moon is the healing afterglow. You have both qualities within you. It’s a powerful alchemy and one you can tap into. You have the capabilities to catapult through space. Believe in the trajectory of your heartfelt intentions.

#5. Life isn’t about cruise control. You are the driver and not the passenger. Get lost. Get found. There will be triggers. Lots of them. Watch. Look. Listen. Learn. But don’t sit there stewing in the brew. Change lanes: Avoidance has a kinship with procrastination. The pile-up effect can be debilitating.

#6. Pull out your inner GPS, it is guided by your intuition. Set your compass to the four corners. Going one-way is incredibly boring.

#7. Declare a rapture of your senses and sip raindrops from your eyelashes. Walk your fingertips along each vertebrae. Watch each hair follicle dance in the quiver of your aliveness.

 She had to breathe in peace, for in peace she found the quiet solitude her heart had been aching for. In the moments between raindrops she let her focus dwell and the sound of silence comforted her more than an avalanche of superficial banter.

#8. Let it out. When you see the monstrous waves of anxiety pouring in, swim out further to sea and settle into the fear. The part where you panic and dread is exactly where you need to tread. It’s the painful parts you try to stuff down an endless rabbit hole. If the road gets blurry, pull over. Take a few exquisite deep breaths. Breathe in freshness and flush the rest into a cosmic portal of silky white feathers.

#9. Unstick yourself and dare to do what scares the hell out of you.

“And one has to understand that braveness is not the absence of fear but rather the strength to keep on going forward despite the fear.”~ Paulo Coelho

#10. Letting go is continuous. It’s not a one-time affair. It is a perpetual process of assimilation. Once one layer is shed, other one comes up. This is good because it means you are alive and well.

#11. Quiet times are essential. It is necessary to step out of the drama of meaningless dribble and part the rain from the drops and melt into the puddles. Solitude is like water. Drink it, create it with no regret.

I dip gratefully into the sunshine and sip dew from the grass. I befriend nature and listen to the messages. I fly to the tops of branches and feel the hum of a hummer fluttering in my heart. In the speed of light, I see the patches of shade and dance lightly. I catch a wisp of a spider’s web and dangle between the echo and the silence. It is here I find a moment to fill my heart with joy.

#12. Create a fire and ignite your inner flame. Laugh and dance to the rhythm of your joy and resonate the heat of your core creativity. Step outside of the normal and find your inner crazy. Reflect with gratitude the shifting kaleidoscope, is a part of YOU.

 “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” ~ Terry Tempest Williams

#13. Life is like a metaphorical handstand. At times, it can feel upside down, inverted and confusing until we kick up into the fear. Challenge yourself to balance the weight evenly by relaxing into the space of the unknown.

And above all….

#14. Choose to live life as a miracle, because it is.

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” ~ Albert Einstein

Sourced from the web.

A day going wonderfully Disarray!

Yesterday - the 1st of April - April Fool's day was a day when out of the blue things went wonderfully haywire highlighting to us some very key lessons in life..though at a very subliminal level...but very profound takeaways!!

First TOASTMASTERS meeting ever..u obviously want to make an impression..firstly by being there on TIME and secondly by appearing FRESH !

Now how both of the above were not to be along with other mishaps is what I am going to narrate!

April Fools Day, 5.40 PM, sitting inside my car, I am thinking to myself about the impending toastmasters meeting, feeling a lil nervous, a lil tensed.. a lil anxious. I must say  "lil" is only a "lil" and not a"lot" owing to the confidence my friend Sameera gave me while introducing me to the concept of toastmasters.

An avid toastmaster herself, she has been with the organisation for more than 3+ years n hence self assurance and self confidence were virtues that  were to come your way when u are with her..

And so the journey begins...Sameera from Ajman and I from Sharjah..begin with the intent of catching up mid way so that we are together and at the venue well ahead of time..but little did we know of  the surprises  wrapped up for us ahead.. :)

While her transmission was to catch up ahead of Mirdiff , to be able to take the business bay exit.... my reception was that she would catch up with me ahead of the business bay exit - so there comes the FIRST LEARNING- THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION! - one has to be crisp and clear in communicating and the one listening has to ensure by reconfirming if his/her understanding is correct!

And so we move on to take the next exit...only to encounter our next block...the TRAFFIC BLOCK and after spending good 15 minutes moving at snails pace, we decide to take a detour, only to realize another 15 minutes later that we are heading towards the same block. Thanks to the amazing piece of guidance provided by an idiotic pick up driver. And there comes the second learning - RESEARCH PROPERLY - do your ground work thoroughly.

What the hell was I doing simply following Sameera and not using my own brains, I too should have checked with fellow drivers, which unfortunately I dint.

And so we were now at 6:45 PM still on the road wondering what to do. And then an IDEA dawns, we decide to do something what we would otherwise never think of doing..and that is CHUCK the car..lets take the METRO..but hold on...if it were to happen as easily as I stated it...then the fun element would not have been there...we parked our cars to realize that both of us were out of 1 DHM coins and we needed all of 8 DHMS to park our CAR...holy crap..what do we do now..and we were at 6.50 PM...

And thus an intense scan of the area begins...our first Savior, a labor insouciently driving away his cycle comes to our rescue and gives us 1 Dhm...haha 1 dhm..nevertheless we thank the kind soul for his generosity..n then we get our next prey, a pedestrian walking towards his car..he too ends up giving us 2 dhms n now the count is 3 .. we still need another 5..and that when I spot a chinese...walking away..lost in his own world..

And the way I run n jump in front of him leaves him bamboozled! A puny chinese and a towering female...haha what combination..The guy would have been intimidated! nevertheless he gave away to my polite request and to our delight he had exaccctly five 1 dhm coins..i was so elated ..i could have practically hugged him..but i let go of that...simply thanked him and blessed him :)

And so we did our parking and started running...wat a LAUGH RIOT that was!

And so comes the THIRD LEARNING - NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE SMALLEST THINGS IN LIFE. There are times when only their value is paramount and nothing else matters!!

Finally, we ran, took the Metro and reached our destination after another good half a kilometer walk precisely at 7. 20 PM..late, sweating ,panting and with rumbling stomachs and the rumbling was so loud that I was almost embarrassed to be sitting in that hall.!

And for the first time in the history of MADAM TOASTMASTER SAMEERA's JOURNEY, she was late - All thanks to ME :)

Nevertheless, not undermining the value of all that happened, it was a journey with all the emotions, elements it encompassed, that was enriching and that  I would remember for a long long time..