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Derek Sivers inspires me with this short video clip suggesting that we get out of our own way if we want to grow and pursue our dreams.

We are often the greatest obstacles of our own success.  Your ideas do not require third party approval or backing. They need only be of value to someone to grow from idea to reality.

Sivers goes on to offer some helpful suggestions to drive your ideas and passions and avoid the traps that ego present.

MOVE!

WHY YOU NEED TO FAIL

Take a moment to watch this innovative, fun, engaging video.

Sivers leaves you with the following insights.

IF YOU'RE NOT FAILING  YOU'RE NOT GROWING
To learn effectively you must make mistakes.  Mistakes make better preparation than practicing doing what you know is fun, but don't improve you.

FAILURE KEEPS YOU IN A GROWTH MINDSET VERSUS A FIXED MINDSET
Fixed mindset implies that talent is innate and that you either have it or you don't.  A growth mindset is that talent is derived from work, thus anyone can master a talent.

FAILURE REMINDS YOU THAT EVERYTHING IS AN EXPERIMENT
Trying things you would never try gives you new perspective.  Everything we do is just an option.  It is an experiment of different ways to do things until we find the way we want to pursue.  There is no such thing as failure when everything is an experiment.

IF YOU'RE NOT FAILING YOU'RE NOT TRYING HARD ENOUGH!

THE 21st CENTURY LEARNER

Effective Servant-Transformational Leadership in the 21st century involves understanding the 21st century student learner.

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S BLUEPRINT?

Six months before he was assassinated, King spoke to a group of students at Barratt Junior High School in Philadelphia on October 26, 1967.

I want to ask you a question, and that is: What is your life's blueprint?

Whenever a building is constructed, you usually have an architect who draws a blueprint, and that blueprint serves as the pattern, as the guide, and a building is not well erected without a good, solid blueprint.

Now each of you is in the process of building the structure of your lives, and the question is whether you have a proper, a solid and a sound blueprint.

I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint. Number one in your life's blueprint, should be a deep belief in your own dignity, your worth and your own somebodiness. Don't allow anybody to make you fell that you're nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Secondly, in your life's blueprint you must have as the basic principle the determination to achieve excellence in your various fields of endeavor. You're going to be deciding as the days, as the years unfold what you will do in life — what your life's work will be. Set out to do it well.

And I say to you, my young friends, doors are opening to you--doors of opportunities that were not open to your mothers and your fathers — and the great challenge facing you is to be ready to face these doors as they open.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great essayist, said in a lecture in 1871, "If a man can write a better book or preach a better sermon or make a better mousetrap than his neighbor, even if he builds his house in the woods, the world will make a beaten path to his door."

This hasn't always been true — but it will become increasingly true, and so I would urge you to study hard, to burn the midnight oil; I would say to you, don't drop out of school. I understand all the sociological reasons, but I urge you that in spite of your economic plight, in spite of the situation that you're forced to live in — stay in school.

And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. If you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a shrub in the valley. Be be the best little shrub on the side of the hill.

Be a bush if you can't be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or fail. Be the best of whatever you are.

— From the estate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

LIVING ETHICALLY

At my sons karate class this morning I was sitting with another parent who is also a neighbour. We were chatting and suddenly my phone vibrates twice to let me know that I have a text message. I'm not going to tell you what I did, but the situation got me thinking of vice or virtue. In today's society is it a vice for me to peek at my phone to check the message? Is it virtue for me to demonstrate respect and consideration for our conversation by ignoring the text and practicing active listening? What role has technology played in ethical complexity?

After karate we went to pick up some groceries. Is it vice for people to leave their shopping carts diagonally in the middle of the aisle where it blocks others from getting by? Is it virtue to park your grocery cart on one side of the aisle to allow your fellow shoppers to pass while you are reading the labels?

The discussion of write and wrong is relevant in so much we do and as I am discovering in any interaction with others whether active or passive. While there are no real rules about my experience in the dojo, I believe the right thing is to ignore my phone until there is a break in the conversation and then excuse myself politely in order to check to see if I have an important message. However, I've seen others sabatoge a conversation because of a meaningless text message or phone call. While there is nothing written on any signs at the grocery store it only seems ethical to keep your cart to one side to consider others who may want to pass and enjoy their shopping experience.

Not sure how much I believe in an absolute right and absolute wrong, but awareness of how our behaviour affects others in critical for leadership and building better relationships. Bass (1999) suggests that ethics plays a huge part authentic transformational leadership.

What's the big deal?  Ethics are part of the invisible network of systems that connect humans to one another.  With Ethics comes an understanding of how ones behaviour impacts others and society.  Bad in, bad out.  Good in, good out.

THE ANSWER IS...IT DEPENDS!

What is the best leadership approach or style? It depends. Yes, that’s really the answer.

Contingency Theories of leadership suggest that the style or leadership approach should be based on the needs of the environment or situation and the needs of the participants or followers. Variables like time, working conditions and work agreements should come into play when considering a transformational or transactional approach. The level of motivation or skill of the participants should influence the leaders choices on a continuum of Highly Directive or Laissez Faire, or High or Low supportive.

With situations and people being so complex there is never one style or approach that is best. When we chose to be monocrematic in our leadership approach we are either not aware of the contingency variables or refusing to consider the complexities that situations and people bring. Transformational leadership cannot occur without considering the needs of the participants or followers.

The llabb is a wherever our conversations with thinkers occur.  I'm borrowing the lexicon from Sefu Bernard.  Conversations in the llabb have raised the premise of the opposable mind of the leader. It is suggested that successful leaders are integrated thinkers who integrate opposing ideas to create the best solutions (Martin, 2007). So instead of one leadership approach or another, successful leaders will take the best of different approaches and integrate them to best serve followers and navigate the situation.

For the past 5 years I have integrated a servant transformational and transactional approach when coaching athletes. During that time I have practiced a low directive, high supportive approach. The rational was that we wanted to develop thinkers on the basketball court. We facilitate emergent leadership, equip our athletes with info and empowering players to make the decision on the court. I always receive rave reviews for this coaching style. Most of our athletes thrive in this environment, but there are some who don't. Contingency theory has helped me to understand that the needs of the situation and participants must be priority one and that successful leaders today will adapt style and approach to meet those needs. How we want to lead is less important than modifying and specializing to suit the uniqueness of each of our athletes.

I’ll let you know later in the season how it goes.

WHAT IS YOUR ELEMENT?

Whether on court or facilitating self-direction in a cognitive sense,  my element is coaching.  Changing lives by helping people to learn new things, understand the depth of their greatness, empowering and enabling leadership are a passion.

Sir Ken Robinson suggests that you're in your element when something you're naturally good at comes together with a passion.  My favourite parts of my element is being in the zone because it is a state of unconsciously practicing presence.  There are other tasks or responsibilities in life where your mind wanders to past and future because you are not enjoying what you are doing.  Being in the moment is an indication that you are engaged and enjoying the present.

So, are you in your element?  If so, great.  If no, why not?

Your element (not to be confused with your comfort zone) is a place for you to realize your limitless greatness.  It is your multiplier and the place for the maximum returns to scale for every unit of your output.

Again I ask, are you in your element?  If so, great.  If no, why not?