Personal Leadership Planning and Beyond

I am a procrastinator by nature, yet I am also a planner.  I like thinking about what is going to come next...sometime more than what I am in at the moment.  I have found that when I write down my big, hairy, audacious goals, that I am able to focus much more on the present.  In comes the Personal Leadership Plan (PLP).  I first complete a PLP when I was a Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program.  My task then was to chart out the next 5 year of my life, whoa!!  It sounds like a big task, but having a framework can be helpful.  Having just reviewed my first PLP, I can tell you how fascinating it is to look back at the things that were important to me 5 years ago.  Even better that I was able to accomplish many of the things on the list.  I am getting ready to sit down to write my new and improved PLP. Do you want to join me?

Section I.        Personal statement

Summarize your personal and professional vision for the next five years (or beyond).

Section II.        Personal and professional five-year goals

What specific goals would you like to accomplish during the next five years, based on your personal statement, and the opportunities presented in life.

Section III.        Resources/Strengths

What personal skills, attributes and other resources do you have to draw upon in working toward your goals? 

Section IV.       Constituency and Diversity

What are the primary constituencies, networks or communities with which you work?  What opportunities and challenges do you face in diversifying these constituencies and communities? 

Section V.        Challenges/Needs

What challenges do you face and how will you address them?  What areas do you need to work on?  What resources do you anticipate needing to reach your goals and milestones?

Section VI.       Milestones

What tangible milestones, and time frames for them, can you identify that will help you assess whether you are addressing your challenges and achieving your personal and professional goals?

Personal Branding

Credit: www.hustlersnotebook.com

If you have been reading this blog for a bit and have done some of the exercises you may have learned a few new things about yourself. Maybe you are finding some clarity around the direction you want to go, based on your strengths and the things that makes you happy?  

One step in pursuing a new direction or career is updating your resume to reflect where you want to go, rather than a chronological list of where you have been. My colleague MaryAnn McNulty suggests that you might just forget the resume entirely.  Interesting concept, right? Check out her blog, forgettheresume.blogspot.com to learn more about the creative ways you can present yourself to the world.

If marketing yourself sounds like a scary/fake/horrible thing, you might want to take a moment to think more about a personal brand, and what it could do for you.

"Personal branding describes the process by which individuals and entrepreneurs differentiate themselves and stand out from a crowd by identifying and articulating their unique value proposition, whether professional or personal, and then leveraging it across platforms with a consistent message and image to achieve a specific goal. In this way, individuals can enhance their recognition as experts in their field, establish reputation and credibility, advance their careers, and build self-confidence." Read more here.

To further define your personal brand start by asking yourself a few questions:

What makes you different?

What makes you unique?

What are your hidden talents?

What are 10 words that you would use to describe yourself?

What are 10 words that others would use to describe you? (Feel free to get input from others)

Credit: www.blackenterprise.com

The Tree of Life

Tree of Life 

Its core remains, yet each season a new ring appears with the turning of the universe. Old bark is shed, new emerges; leaves are shed and re-grow, blossoms and fruit ripen and are cast off nourishing life and falling into the earth as fertilizer for new trees, new blossoms and fruits. From this one Tree of Life an entire forest grows, many forests full with the cornucopia and omni-dimensionality of incessantly renewing life. (Tikkun Magazine)
 

I find trees to be very inspiring.  Yes, I admit it, you could call me a treehugger.  But in all seriousness, a tree's growth is an amazing metaphor when it comes to leadership development.  I first learned about the Tree of Life exercise as part of my Social Media for Social Change class taught by Christopher Allen, at the Bainbridge Graduate Institute.  

 

The concept was so inspirational, that I decided to introduce it to two groups that I am working with this month.  And the best part about it, is that you can do it too in the comfort of your own home.  This is a creative, non-traditional way to explore you assets, interests, and vision as a leader.  So find some pens and paper, and let's get started.

Credit: Christopher Allen

Happiness Hunting

hap·pi·ness[hap-ee-nis] noun

1. the quality or state of being happy.

2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

Yes, we all want to be happy.  But do people realize that they can be happy while doing their jobs?  The short answer is yes.  At Bainbridge Graduate Institute, we call this type of happiness, Right Livelihood, ie. the journey of aligning your life work to meaning, purpose, and the deeper yearning that is percolating within.

Ok, I understand that that might sound like a big task.  But we can start with something much smaller, by asking the question, what are the moments in your life when you are most happy? Now let's do a small exercise...

• Capture 5 images of happy moments that could relate to work (your current work life or intended livelihood)

• Tag each image with a description of up to six words

• Give your image a rating between 1 and 10 (1 is neutral; 10 is maximum joy)

Here are a few examples:

Life is a Highway. Ride It. (9)

 

 Dog is My Copilot (10)

 

Hard Shell. Soft Interior. (8)

Ok, now what stands out for you?  What is it that makes you most happy?

Exploring the Enneagram

Ennea-what?

Yes, the Enneagram.  It is a personality test!  And guess what... There is lots of information about the enneagrams online. Check out the links below.**

To get you started though, I will provide a quick overview the Enneagram.  Sure, it sounds too simple.  Only 9 types of people in the world?  But stay with me for a little bit. This stuff is totally interesting.

Where did the Enneagram come from?  Is it scientific?  Some scholars have traced it back as far as 10,000 years. This oral tradition has been thought to be intricately woven into the Kabbalah, and most recently believed used by Sufi mystics. This sacred information was given to the West only recently and refined by psychologists (1960's and 70's), who synthesized it into its present form. Although many books have been written about the Enneagram, most teachers believe it can still only be learned through the oral tradition. However, books can give helpful background information to augment oral teachings. In the last few decades, the system has undergone further change, incorporating modern psychological ideas in the writings of Naranjo, Helen Palmer, Kathy Hurley/Theodorre Donsson, and Don Riso/Russ Hudson.

What is the Enneagram useful for?  The Enneagram is mainly a diagnostic tool of one's emotional outlook on life.  It will not cure one's problems, but may help point out their underlying fixations.  It is also useful as a guide to how other people see the world differently.  The Enneagram has become particularly popular within the self-help and personal growth movements, but other professions use it as well, including therapists, teachers, psychologists, managers, and businesspeople.

How do I find my Enneagram type?  There are a number of tests.  The most accurate (and cheapest) may be the Essential Enneagram Test, by David Daniels.  But ultimately the best way to determine your location on the Enneagram spectrum is to understand the system, and understand yourself.  The tests will take you only a small part of the way toward that goal.

Which Enneagram Point or type is the best to be?

No point is better or worse than any other. Like us, they are just different. And as you continue to explore, you find that there are many flavors of each point, and subtypes, and on and on.

Doesn't the Enneagram just put people into boxes?   Actually it's the other way around, as Riso points out: the Enneagram shows you what boxes to get out of.  Most people are not aware of their own fixations, or how powerfully they affect our consciousness.

 

Is your Enneagram type your whole personality? No, even though well-meaning, enthusiastic Enneagrammers may give that impression.  Tom Condon has remarked that one's Enneagram type is analogous to one's national origin - i.e. it is part of one's identity, while still leaving considerable room for individual variation. The Enneagram system types people into one of these nine types:

 Type 1. The Perfectionist / Reformer

Type 2. The Giver / Helper

Type 3. The Performer / Achiever / Motivator / Status Seeker

Type 4. Tragic-Romantic / Individualist / Artist

Type 5. The Observer / Investigator / Thinker

Type 6. The Devil's Advocate / Loyalist / Loyal Skeptic

Type 7. The Epicure / Enthusiast / Generalist

Type 8. The Boss / Challenger / Leader 

Type 9. The Mediator / Peacemaker

**Want to learn more about Enneagrams?

Check out the following websites:

Enneagram Worldwide

Eclectic Energies 

Enneagram Central

9 Types

Strengths-Based Leadership

Leadership.  It is such a huge topic.  Where do you even begin?  Is the self-help section at the local bookstore totally overwhelming to you?

Luckily, Gallup scientists have researched the topic of leadership for decades, asking people "why they followed the most important leader in their life."  Using Gallup’s discoveries, authors Tom Rath and Barry Conchie identify the following three keys to being an effective leader in Strengths-Based Leadership.

 - The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths.
 - The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then
   maximize their team.
- The most effective leaders understand their followers’ needs.

To help people uncover their talents, Gallup first introduced its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation. Strengthsfinder, explores 34 strengths that can be placed in four domains of leadership - executing, influencing, relationship building, strategic thinking.

Interesting right?! With the assessment, you will receive a personalized strengths-based leadership guide. Just do it!