revolyoution 30 day leadership challenge
Week One - Purpose
The Cheshire Cat said it best, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” True leaders have a well-defined sense of purpose, both in terms of where they are going and in that they find their work personally meaningful. Week One is all about defining where you want to go and why doing so will matter to you deeply.!
Fact: In his study of exceptional people in “Outliers”, Malcolm
Gladwell found that high-achievers consistently considered their work personally meaningful. In fact, this sense of purpose was what allowed them to spend the long hours necessary to be the best at their craft.!
Quote: “People who find their lives meaningful usually
have a goal that is challenging enough to take up all of their energies, a goal that can give significance to their lives.”
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Day One - My To-Do List
Make a list of all of your long-term goals; everything on your big picture To Do List. Since this is a leadership challenge, be sure only to include goals that will require the support, participation or buy-in of others.
Day Two - My Mission
Create a personal mission statement by answering the question, “Why Do I Exist?� Once you have answered that question, create a mission statement of less than eight words and commit it to memory. In addition, keep a written version of the statement in a place where you will see it frequently.
Day Three - My Vision
Create a personal vision statement of less than ten words by filling in the sentence, “Before I die I will...” or “I hope someday to be thought of as...” Consider who you want to be and what you want to accomplish, either personally or professionally, and commit this to memory. Additionally, put your vision statement in writing and display it in a place of prominence.
Day Four - My Values
Make a list of your personal values; the things that you hold so true that you would never violate them for personal gain or expediency. Once you have created the list, choose the 3 to 6 values you find most enduring. Write them down alongside your personal mission and vision statements and commit them to memory.
Day Five - My Goals
Review your list of goals from Day One alongside your personal statements of Mission, Vision, and Values. Choose the goal that you feel best embodies your personal statements, but don’t worry about the ones you did not choose. There will be ample time to reach all of your goals if you focus and stay true to the RevolYOUtion methodology. Once you have chosen your goal, make sure that it is S.M.A.R.T. – specific, measurable, aligned, realistic, and timely. You will learn more about S.M.A.R.T. goals during tomorrow’s challenge.
Day Six - Is My Goal S.M.A.R.T.?
Specific A vague goal would be: “I will be a good leader.” A specific goal might be: “I will improve my leadership skills by developing my emotional intelligence.” Measurable Are there specific metrics in place to let you know that you’ve crossed the finish line? Aligned Is the goal you have chosen personally meaningful to you? Realistic Are you capable of succeeding at your chosen goal? Timely The goal should exist within a time frame – 30 days in this case.
Week Two - People
Leadership is most succinctly defined as “the ability to influencea group of people to work toward a common goal.” Leadership is fundamentally relational, and while someone with poor people skills may be exceptional, they cannot accurately be called a leader. In Week One, you determined where you are going. Week Two will focus on strengthening your ability to develop the relationships that will get you there.
Fact: Emotional intelligence, or the ability to identify and
control emotions in yourself and others, was found to be twice as predictive of exceptional performance as technical expertise in a Harvard Study.
Quote: “If your actions inspire others to dream more,
learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
Day Seven - Self-Awareness
Make a list of five adjectives that describe your greatest strengths and five for your most significant developmental opportunities. Now, ask your friends to complete the same exercise on your behalf. Adjectives that your friends selected that you did not may be personal “blind spots� that can inhibit your ability to lead. Now that you are aware of these blind spots, what can you do to ensure they do not diminish your potential?
Day Eight - Active Listening
Practice your active listening skills today by freeing yourself of distractions and focusing deeply on what is being said. Ensure that your phone and computer monitor are off and that you are free of whatever technology might distract you from full engagement. As you listen, focus deeply on what is being said, and resist the urge to formulate a counter-argument or response as the person communicating is still speaking. As the day progresses, notice the depth of engagement today as you actively listen versus times when you are distracted by technology or the noise in your own head.
Day Nine - Reading Others
Take at least 30 minutes today to “people watch� in a park, mall, or airport. Notice the people around you; their mannerisms, their dress, their body language, and their tone. Now make hypotheses based on what you have observed. What motivates them? How might you effectively communicate with them? What are their fearsand dreams? As you learn to thoughtfully observe others and tailor your interpersonal approach to meet their unique needs, you will find yourself with increased influence as a leader.
Day Ten - Empathy
Think of someone with whom you share an opposing viewpoint. Approach that person and express an interest in deepening your understanding of where they are coming from. Ask them to express their reasons for espousing this viewpoint and use follow up questions to deepen your understanding. At no point should you share your own views or seek to convince them to your way of thinking. Do all that is in your power to understand without needing to be understood. The challenge is complete when you have experienced empathy for their viewpoint and can understand how they have arrived at their worldview (without necessarily needing to agree).
Day Eleven - Make it Personal
Take the ten people with whom you work most closely and write each of their names on the top of an index card. Beneath their name, write the name of their spouse or partner, the names of any children, as well as a list of any personal hobbies or interests of theirs. Review these cards regularly, and make a point to inquire about personal interests and loved ones from time to time. Taking a personal interest in those with whom you work will boost morale and increase team cohesion.
Day Twelve - Thank You
True leaders understand that, whatever their talents may be, they cannot do it alone. Take time today to thank those who have helped you along the way. Make a list of the ten people that have been most central to your success thus far and write each of them a hand-written (no emails!) thank you letter. Don’t forget to be specific and cite actual instances in which they have been a support.
Week Three - Proficiency
You have now charted your course and begun to rally the troops in support of your mission. Week Three will focus on developing proficiency or skill in your area of focus. Communication can be powerful, but exceptional people “walk the talk” and let their expertise inspire others to follow their lead. Take this week to hone your craft, understanding that nothing is as influential as the example of a skilled craftsperson.
Fact: 42% of college graduates never read
another book post-graduation.
Quote: “Force has no place where there is
need of skill.” - Herodotus
Day Thirteen - Be Curious
Skilled leaders are intellectually curious and always alert to opportunities. Reflect back on your chosen goal from Week One and seek out a variety of sources to deepen your knowledge in this content area. Find one blog post, one academic journal article, one audio lecture, as well as a video presentation that will enhance your understanding. Now, choose your favorite of the four and share it with others with similar interests. Congratulations! You have just taken the first step toward thought leadership!
Day Fourteen - Choose a Mentor
The word mentor literally means “wise advisor” and is taken from Homer’s Odyssey where the character Mentor served as a trusted friend to the story’s protagonist. By the end of the day, select a mentor who is wise in your chosen area of focus. When approaching your mentor, please list specific reasons why you chose them and why you feel as though you could benefit from their experience and wisdom. Schedule mentorship meetings at least once a quarter – you’ll be amazed at how much you will grow!
Day Fifteen - Reward Yourself
People who excel at self-development and skill acquisition are able to do so because they make the process enjoyable. At the halfway point of the leadership challenge, cultivate this enjoyment of the process by rewarding yourself today. The only rule is that this reward must be something out of the ordinary and qualify as a special treat.
Day Sixteen - Prioritize
Make your to-do list for the day (as I hope you’re doing every day). Now break your daily tasks out into three categories – Essential, Important, and Non-Essential – as they pertain to the goal you chose in Week One. Practice doing essential things first, rather than prioritizing in terms of ease or immediacy. Getting in the habit of aligning work with larger goals will keep you from always “putting out fires.”
Day Seventeen - Practice
Malcolm Gladwell’s examination of outliers taught us that roughly 10,000 hours of practice are needed to achieve virtuoso status at a given skill. Take ninety minutes today to practice and develop the skills necessary to reach the goal you chose in Week One. Given that you’re likely a very busy person, this may require you to wake up a little earlier or stay up a little later. No guts no glory!
Day Eighteen - Teach Others
Once you have mastered a skill it only makes sense that you would share that knowledge with others. To do so, contact a local school, library, civic or professional organization and offer to share your expertise in a formal setting, free of charge. Teaching always unearths gaps in your own understanding and allows you to see the problem in a new light through the eyes of your pupils.
Week Four - Persuasion
Whether they are getting buy-in around an idea, selling a product or service, or trying to move the organization in the direction of a new goal, leaders are frequently called on to be persuasive. Luckily, there is a great deal of research on what people find influential, with much of the best science coming from the lab of Dr. Robert Cialdini. Week four will revolve around Cialidini’s “Six Weapons of Influence”, the six factors consistently found to undergird successful persuasive efforts.
Fact: We are more likely to be persuaded by people
who admit to having made mistakes. It seems as though we have an intuitive sense that no one is perfect and that we trust others who cop to having made mistakes in the past. People tend to operate under the assumption that, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Quote: “Leadership: The art of getting someone else to do
something you want done because he wants to do it.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Day Nineteen - Reciprocation
It is a simple truth that kindness begets kindness. The road to influence is lined with acts of selfless service and while service should not be done for this reason, it is a truth about humans that we tend to want to repay favors. Take a moment today to perform a charitable act, be it buying lunch, paying a compliment, or simply sharing an article that reminds you of that person.
Day Twenty - Commitment
When someone makes even a small commitment, they are prone to continue to act in ways that are consistent with that commitment. Take the large goal you chose in Week One, and divide it into a series of small goals that are steps along the way. Now, commit at least one of your co-workers to assist you in achieving one of these small goals and thank them for their commitment to helping you achieve this larger goal. While people may be loathe to bite off the whole vision, committing them to smaller goals can help motivate them through small wins and a desire to finish what they have started.
Day Twenty One - Social Proof
Let’s face it, humans are herd animals and are influenced by what others are doing. Determine a person whose behavior you would like to influence en route to meeting your goal. Now create a narrative where a person similar to the person you are trying to influence engaged in a behavior like the one you are trying to influence, with positive results. Share this story as a means to motivate them and help them understand how taking the same steps might result in similar rewards.
Day Twenty Two - Liking
Choose three people that, if you could positively influence them, would greatly impact your efficacy as a leader. Write down each of their names and underneath write a list of at least five things you share in common with that individual. You might share values, a political worldview, a commitment to volunteerism, or even an affinity for the same sports team. Once you have populated this list, be sure to weave these shared interests into future conversations. A large body of research shows that we do business with people that we like, and that we like people who are a lot like us!
Day Twenty Three - Authority
9 out of 10 doctors agree that people are influenced by appeals to authority. Rather than tout your own expertise, which can be off-putting, take today to build up someone with whom you work. One way to do this would be to introduce them to someone in your own network that they might benefit from meeting. When making the introduction, take a moment to brag on some of their accomplishments and areas of deep expertise. Remember, what goes around comes around and you’re likely to receive similar treatment at some point down the road.
Day Twenty Four - Scarcity
Why are diamonds so valuable? The confluence of events that must occur to produce a diamond make it exceedingly rare, which drives up the price. Consider whatever it is that you are hoping to influence. What makes what you are trying to do special? Why is it unique? What does your approach offer that no one else can lay claim to? If you can convince others that they are face-to-face with a scarce opportunity, you will be well on your way to persuading them to act in the desired manner.
Week Five - Perserverance
All too often, talented people fail to meet their goals because they have not yet learned to endure to the end. Real leaders persevere against all odds and develop the stamina necessary to see their projects through to completion. Indeed, a leader’s ability to persevere sets the ceiling on his or her own development. As you approach the final six days of the Revolyoution challenge, take care to internalize the lessons of perseverance and finish strong!
Fact: Surveys suggest that a scant 8% of Americans
achieve their New Years Resolutions.
Quote: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence,
therefore, is not an act, but a habit.� - Aristotle
Day Twenty Five - Delegating
People who make it to the top do so with a great deal of help from those around them. What is one thing that you are hanging on to at work that would be more appropriately delegated to someone else? Find that one task and make the handoff, remembering to delegate in terms of aligning work tasks with personal strengths rather than getting rid of less preferred responsibilities. Real delegation is about giving people tasks at which they will excel, not the old “poop rolls downhill mentality.�
Day Twenty Six - Enjoy the Journey
Most things worth doing take both time and effort. Given that this is the case, learning to enjoy the journey is an excellent way to ensure focused effort over time. Take one minute out of every waking hour today to be mindful of how good life is. During this one-minute time out, take a deep breath and reflect on something positive in your life.
Day Twenty Seven - Practice Patience
All too often, we switch gears or lose focus in our business or personal lives, just as we are about to achieve breakthrough success. Review your to-do list for the day and identify the potential triggers that might cause you to lose patience in the next 24 hours. Having recognized these sticking points up front, make patience your goal during each of these encounters. At the close of the day, rate your level of patience from 1 to 10 for each of the identified triggers. You might just be surprised how patience can be improved simply by anticipating the lack thereof.
Day Twenty Eight - Simplify
Gifted leaders cultivate laser focus by continually reexamining and decluttering their lives. Consider your own life – what is one thing you are hanging on to that is weighing you down? Is it a past, toxic relationship? Is it a faulty, negative belief about yourself? Is it credit card debt? Whatever is holding you back, take action today to unencumber yourself on the way to reaching your true potential.
Day Twenty Nine - Visualize Success
Everyone knows that star athletes visualize success, but this skill is just as applicable to those of us working to improve our leadership performance. Close your eyes and imagine that you have now reached the goal you determined to work on in Week One. How do you feel? In what ways has your life improved? How are you better positioned to respond to future challenges? As you begin to imagine success, you will become re-energized and find the strength you need to continually move in the direction of your dreams.
Day Thirty - Celebrate!
Celebrating success is a vastly underutilized and poorly understood leadership principle. It is a simple truth that people persist in doing things that they find pleasurable and personally rewarding. Leaders who push for results without pausing to celebrate success will find themselves fatigued and incapable of sustaining their performance over the long haul. You have worked hard for one month to improve your life and the lives of those you lead, so celebrate! Take time to recognize how far you’ve come and how much you’ve learned, and celebrate accordingly. Doing so will increase your desire, and that of your team, to tackle whatever challenges will come next.