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The Trust View You’re Missing

Trust is an indicator of our heart’s condition, reflecting where our loyalty and commitment lies. What do you do when you’re facing or even in the midst of trials and storms? Where do you put your trust – is it in ourselves, the world, where?  You have the power of choice every day to make things work by our own means, the means this world offers or to rely on God. Each choice brings its own unique set of circumstances, outcomes and consequences.

There are four domains that influence our choices and they are also the domains that impact Elegant Leadership to deliver Voltage – they answer the question, ‘why lead elegantly.’ When I faced my own fork in the road last year, I wondered if and how I should ‘take it.’ I also thought of the Alice in Wonderland tale and how the Cheshire cat responded to Alice’s comment to which way she was headed. Coming out of that ‘fork’,  I couldn’t help but think I went through all of it just to learn to trust him to a greater degree.

I’m encouraged to trust what he has called me to do in sharing the Elegant Leader with Voltage message. So, I stay the course and share how Elegant Leadership has influenced thousands of people over the past 15 plus years. And how it’s impacting the lives of countless people today through writing, speaking, training, facilitating and leading. We will digest the four domains shortly. First, I stay true to the Golden Circle™ otherwise, I would be conforming to the world instead of remaining steady to the course He has marked out before me.

What is the Golden Circle™?

The Golden Circle™ of Elegant Leadership is about mastery, autonomy and purpose. Elegant Leaders master the art of lifelong learning. “Stand fast and hold your ground to this Golden Circle™ – blindfolded in a large room, you are unaware of your location and your surroundings. The walls are dark, loud music and strobe lights fill the air, adding to the sense of confusion and disorientation. On the floor, by your feet is scribbled a large golden circle. You have been told you have to stand fast, stand firm and hold this circle, at all costs.

Whatever you may be called upon to do there, whoever you’ll be working with and whatever situations, enterprise or adversity you may face, you know one thing – you will stand your ground and hold firmly to the Golden Circle™.  What will motivate you to focus, execute and serve beyond yourself inside The Golden Circle™?” The underpinning purpose is what I call the 4 Domains of Elegant Leadership that Deliver Voltage. It’s to understand the heart, head, hands and habits of leading elegantly.

Heart. Your leadership influences other people’s thinking and behaviors. It’s up to you to decide whether you will act out of self-interest or on behalf of those you lead. Are you willing to be brutally honest with yourself? Are you willing to have a partner join you for support and accountability on your transformational efforts?

Elegant Leadership with Voltage is an inside job – making a change on the inside possible – where leadership is a heart issue. It’s where your ‘why’ is found – the reason you are leading the way you know you must and home to your intentions.

Follow me here – love is stored in your heart, we forgive from our heart, words are banked in our heart, scripture lives in our heart, we seek and find God in our heart and the heart includes our will, determination and soul.

Leading with your heart is difficult and you may feel compelled to quit. This core value of your life influences everything you say and do as a leader and enables you to stand up when everything else around you falls apart.

Head. The heart guides your motivation and your head determines your beliefs and theories about leading and inspiring people. Your leadership philosophy and your attitudes on influence guide how you emphasize your point of view. Your lead is to serve others.

If you don’t get the heart right, you won’t have the capacity to lead effectively towards the results you must have while maintaining strong healthy relationships. Your good intentions travel to your head when the heart is on target.

There’s a pretty compelling reason why our mission is to inspire people who inspire people who can inspire an organization. Whoever wants to be first must serve others instead of being served. Great leaders inspire greatness in others.

Jesus demonstrated with His very life His willingness to serve. He brought glory on earth by finishing the work he was given to do – teach disciples the message of grace, forgiveness, hope and eternal life until they fully understood; protecting them from harm and internal weaknesses; promoted unity and community, and equipping them to continue the work He began in them.

The test is open book and I help leaders by giving them the exam ahead of time. The importance of clarity of purpose cannot be overemphasized in planning. It eliminates frustration in leader and follower.

“ …when Alice came to a fork in the road, she asked the Cheshire cat which way she should go. When he asked where she was going, Alice replied she didn’t know. The cat responded with ‘then it doesn’t matter which way you go’….”

Hands. You demonstrate what’s in your heart and head by what you do with your hands. Your beliefs and motives have a direct impact on how you act. This process is why it takes three years to influence an organization’s culture – get yourself right and then get the organization’s culture to be fully able to carry out the vision.

The hands of an Elegant Leader with Voltage are comfortable with raw materials – people – assessing both the current state and future potential. Hands invest in people and consider the cost before the work begins. Elegant Leaders are willing to PIFF (pay-in-full-and-forward) before others do the same.

There’s a carefully defined plan on how the hands are to be utilized to transform, inspire, and equip people to go forth. Elegant Leaders are master craftsman because of their expertise with the tools of the trade. Not everyone is like me or you. We’re all at different stages and levels of proficiency. Some need more direction and some less and still others need direction and support. We are lifelong learners and lifelong teachers. We invest time and energy with those who would compromise the next set of leaders to know their strengths and personalities to accentuate them. People aren’t born master carpenters.

Habits. These are the activities you do to stay focused on the promise inside the process. There are habits you ‘are’ and habits you ‘do.’ To have successful rhythm between being and doing takes energy, focus and perspective. The being habits are the application of what you’ve read and thought about – where your discipline lies.

Grace, community and encouragement are doing habits that reinforce good intentions and character of your heart, head and hands. Forgiveness is the cake, and grace the icing covering the past. #DoSimpleBetter

We said before when the environment is safe – trust emerges! Innovation, creativity and work become fun instead of fear, dread and loathing. You can extend forgiveness without excusing an act done against you. Sometimes we say things we shouldn’t in the heat of the moment or mistakes we could have avoided. How else do you develop right habits without getting things nearly not quite right. It’s part of the learning process and you will make mistakes. It’s okay to fail. You’re not a failure!

Trust is an indicator of our heart’s condition, reflecting where our loyalty and commitment lies. Trusting God in the midst of our trials and storms shows Him that we count on Him, not the world. That when offered to choice to make things work by the means this world offers or rely on God, we will choose to rely on God.

Are you facing a battle that calls out your trust? Perhaps someone is coming against you as well? Or there is a situation at work that confronts you to operate out of fear or trust? Whatever it is, choose today to be someone committed to a higher purpose than yourself, a direction for your life that makes a difference in the lives of others. Few will choose this path but to those who do, watch God paint your story with vibrant colors only reserved for those who are faithful, loyal, and fully committed to Him.

There’s a lot here to digest and it may take a read-over. If you’re struggling a bit with how to do it all and much of work and life seem overwhelming, then finding a partner willing to be your stake-in-the-ground may be what’s missing. The Golden Circle asks you to be still in the moment, stand your ground – it’s going to be okay. The 4 domains help you gain clarity, hope and vision with how you lead yourself, another person and then a group of people.

I always offer a phone conversation or if you prefer an email dialog to help you uncover what it means to Become an Elegant Leader with Voltage with no obligation, no strings attached so you can decide if coming alongside in this journey makes sense. For more information, go here and get the 7 Steps absolutely free. #ElegantLeader2020 #ManUp #GoDeeper