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Change the world. I wonder if that is something we all secretly want to do. Not necessarily in a global way, perhaps not even in a local community way, but rather to know that some one, some where gives a damn that you actually existed. To know that your life had some purpose. Isn’t that something we all want, to make a difference? If that is true, how do we go about ensuring we leave a legacy? Perhaps the first step is recognizing that we are mortal, that life is finite. With this recognition comes a responsibility that every day is part of that legacy. It seems such a simple truth that every moment contributes to that overall life and therefore every moment should be spent/invested in that way. The corollary then, is that every moment should be lived as if it were a microcosm of that greater life. Here’s a simple activity for you to think about: imagine it is judgment day (not the day you are going to die but rather the day you will be judged), and some being/god (whatever your belief might be) has descended to decide the quality and virtues of your life and unbeknown to you has been observing you for exactly the last 24 hours. Would that be a good measure of the legacy you’ll be leaving? No? What about if you could pick one day for last week to represent your life. Still not happy with that? What about the last month, year, decade? Think about this. What if the rules were slightly changed and you knew when the deity/being gave you some warning. Now you knew it was to be tomorrow. Would you live your life differently? If so, what is not congruent and what will you change to make sure the moments of your life represent the change you brought to this world?

Working independently can create many challenges. Not least of which is the many thoughts that go through your mind on a daily basis. Unlike an employee, one’s discretionary time is almost infinite and so what to do with all that time and all those thoughts? At last there is an answer. Blog! You see, as a sole author, a co-author and a contributing author its not that I have nothing to say, it’s just that anything said needs to have focus. I guess the challenge is that I have too many things that interest me, fortunately they can all be subsumed under the rubric of ‘leadership’ but none-the-less this is an extremely broad topic. I’ve been working to simplify it. To form a clear, concise and comprehensible model. It is my intention that as this develops I’ll unfold it here. So what is leadership? At first what seems a simple enough question. Rarely, however, does a simple answer come to mind. Sure, we know when we see it, but when we try to describe it, it is as if it slips easily between our intellectual grasp. I’ve given this lots of thought. I think leadership is first foremost indeed in its entirety - influence. What’s more this influence may be segmented into three parts. 1. Influencing self 2. Influencing others and 3. Influencing the environment. Imagine these three circle intersecting in a Venn diagram. If you were to take your mental cursor you could double click into anyone of these areas and go deeper. For instance, in the ‘influence self’ circle you’d find headings for ‘vision’, ‘goals’ ’strengths’ etc, in the ‘influencing others’ circle you’d find things like ‘values’ ‘relationship’ ‘team’ etc and in the ‘influencing environment’ circle you’d find ‘community’ ‘culture’ and ‘connections’.  In turn anyone of these headings could be further explored in a cascading fashion. In future blogs I’ll explore these areas and go deeper, for now, just consider the three main circles of influence; that is, self, others and environment. How much influence do you have in each of these areas?

This morning I took my daughter to her senior campus where she is studying for her TER end of year exams (in Western Australia this is preparation for university entrance). This is such an intensely testing time for youth of her age putting her under enormous pressure. “What if I don’t do well, dad? What if I don’t get the grades I need? Then I wont be able to get a good career and I wont be successful”.

Have you ever been in a similar place? Perhaps not with study but something equally as worrying; a job interview, a presentation to the board or a performance review. Many of us have been there, and don’t we so often ask ourselves similar questions akin to “What if it doesn’t work out?”. “Monique” I said “You are asking yourself the wrong questions. What if you do fabulously, what if your grades are exceptional, what if you can choose any career you like?”

Will this line of questioning make her/you any better prepared? Well somewhat paradoxically, no and yes . No you won’t be any smarter, you wont have any more skills but YES you will be able to access more easily the smarts and skills you already possess. In other words you wont get in the way of your own ability. So next time you are faced with a challenging situation, rather than saying “What if it doesn’t work out?” ask yourself “I wonder how neat this is going to be when I amaze them with my ability?” Chances are, like Monique, that’s closer to the truth anyway.

The beginning of a Brave New World. It is with some reluctance that I begin this blog, not because I’m opposed to blogs. I’m not. Its more that feeling you get when you launch into something of which you are unsure. You know, like buying a diamond ring if you’re not a jeweler or purchasing a new computer if you are still used to keeping your accounts with an old fashioned ledger. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m a Ludite but I’m certainly no technophile either. Fortunately however I do have some very good friends that are willing to give me a hand. My good Friend Ed (see his far more professional blog at www.ozdomains.co.au/blog) has guided me through this process. What do I intend to write about? Well I guess at first this will be an experiment in ’stream of conscious’ later it is my goal to develop clearer thinking ideas around professional development. We’ll see how we go.