Questions That Sustain Your Leadership

"Judge a person by their questions, rather than their answers."~ Voltaire
The willingness to ask questions coupled with the discipline to seek out answers separates leaders from followers. Influencers question assumptions, inquire about the environment around them, and probe into the future. They have an insatiable appetite to learn, and they convert their knowledge to action at light speed.
The Value of Questions
While leaders constantly investigate their surroundings, the most important questions they ask are the ones they pose to themselves. By routinely questioning their goals, motives, and purpose leaders renew their self-identity along with their sense of perspective. Consider the following benefits of examining yourself as a leader.
1) Quality Questions Create a Quality Life
You only get answers to the questions you ask. If you won't dare to wrestle with the tough dilemmas in life, then you'll live small.
2) Focused Questions Stimulates Creative Thinking
A well-considered question penetrates to the heart of the matter and triggers new ideas and insights.
3) Honest Questions Lead to Solid Convictions.
Inquisitiveness clarifies morals and beliefs. Values are shaped when you force yourself to be truthful in answering tough questions about where you stand on key issues.
4) Correct Questions Help Us Find Ourselves and Our Mission.
Tackling life's biggest questions brings direction and meaning to life's journey. Bob Buford captures this thought in his book, The Second Half.
What is your passion? What have you achieved? What have you done uncommonly well? How are you wired? Where do you belong? What are the ‘shoulds' that have trailed you during the first half? These and other questions like them will direct you toward the self your heart longs for; they will help you discover the task for which you were especially made. Throughout your years in leadership, if you know the right questions then you will ultimately gain the right answers.
Questions I Ask Myself as a Leader
1) Am I Investing in Myself?
This question probes your commitment to personal growth. An empty glass won't refresh anyone. Before you can influence others, you need to contain something worth offering to others.
Don't be content to stockpile knowledge. Once you've ascertained a new insight or developed a skill, pass on what you've discovered. A learner builds reservoir of learning, whereas a leader becomes a river of learning for others.
2) Am I Genuinely Interested In Others?
This question delves into motives. As J.P. Morgan cynically observed, "A man always has two reasons for doing anything - a good reason and the real reason." Since leaders are inclined to figure out situations before anyone else, they have capacity to take advantage of others. For this reason, it's essential to regularly question your motives. There's a fine line between manipulation and motivation. The former moves people for personal benefit, while the latter moves people for mutual gain.
3) Am I Doing What I Love and Loving What I Do?
This question determines passion. You will never find your passion doing work you despise. If you go to work only to fulfill processes and functions then you're in jeopardy of losing your humanity and turning into a machine. "Find your passion and follow it," is all the career advice you'll ever need. Passion gives you the edge by endowing you with more energy than others have.
4) Am I Taking Others to a Higher Level?
This question has to do with mission. Regardless of your industry, as a leader, you're in the people development business. Fulfilling your mission depends upon lifting the performance of those you lead. As Zig Ziglar says, "You can get everything in life that you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want." By adding value to those you lead, you're investing in men and women with the potential to multiply your influence exponentially.
5) Am I Taking Care of Today?
How you treat today speaks volumes about your likelihood of success. In fact, if I spent one day observing your priorities, behaviors, and interactions with people, then, with about 90% accuracy, I could let you know your leadership potential. Why would I be so certain in my judgment? Because I've learned that the secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda.
Conclusion
The great artist, Pablo Picasso, once remarked, "Computers are useless. They can only give you answers." I tend to agree, and I think Picasso's observation carries truth for leaders as well. Regardless of your technical skill or relational charm, you'll be inhibited as a leader until you learn the art of asking questions. Knowing how has merit, but influencers will always be the men and women who understand why.

posted by akindipe oluwaleke
5 Reasons Why Dreams Don't Take Flight

1.We Have Been Discouraged from Dreaming by Others
We have to pilot our own dreams; we cannot entrust them to anyone else. People who aren't following their own dreams resent us pursuing ours. Such people feel inadequate when we succeed, so they try to drag us down.
If we listen to external voices, then we allow our dreams to be hijacked. At some point, other people will place limitations on us by doubting our abilities. When surrounded by the turbulence of criticism, we have to grasp the controls tightly to keep from being knocked off course.
#2 We Are Hindered by Past Disappointments and Hurts
In the movie Top Gun, Tom Cruise plays Maverick, a young, talented, and cocky aviator who dreams of being the premier pilot in the U.S. navy. In the film's opening scenes, Maverick showcases his flying ability but also displays a knack for pushing the envelope with regards to safety. Midway through the movie, Maverick's characteristic aggression spells disaster. His plane crashes, killing his best friend and co-pilot.
Although cleared of wrongdoing, the painful memory of the accident haunts Maverick. He quits taking risks and loses his edge. Struggling to regain his poise, he considers giving up on his dream. Although the incident nearly wrecks Maverick's career, he eventually reaches within to find the strength to return to the sky.
Like Maverick, many of us live with the memory of failure embedded in our psyche. Perhaps a business we started went broke, or we were fired from a position of leadership. Disappointment is the gap that exists between expectation and reality, and all of us have encountered that gap. Failure is a necessary and natural part of life, but if we're going to attain our dreams, then, like Maverick, we have to summon the courage deal with past hurts.
#3 We Fall into the Habit of Settling for Average
Average is the norm for a reason. Being exceptional demands extra effort, sustained inspiration, and uncommon discipline. When we attempt to give flight to our dreams, we have to overcome the weight of opposition. Like gravity, life's circumstances constantly pull on our dreams, tugging us down to mediocrity.
Most of us don't pay the price to overcome the opposition to our dreams. We may start out inspired, but through time we fatigue. Although never intending to abandon our dreams, we begin to make concessions here and there. Through time, our lives become mundane, and our dreams slip away.
#4 We Lack the Confidence Needed to Pursue Our Dreams
Dreams are fragile. They will be buffeted by assaults from all sides. As such, they must be supplied with the extra strength of self-confidence.
In Amelia Earhart's day, women were not supposed fly airplanes. If she had lacked self-assurance, she never would have even attempted to be a pilot. Instead, Earhart confidently chased after her dream, and she was rewarded with both fulfillment and fame.
#5 We Lack the Imagination to Dream
For thousands of years, mankind traveled along the ground: by foot, by horse-and-buggy, by locomotive, and eventually by automobile. Thanks to the dreams of Orville and Wilbur Wright, we now hop across oceans in a matter of hours. The imaginative brothers overcame ridicule and doubt to pioneer human flight, and the world has never been the same.
Many of us play small because we do not allow ourselves to dream. We trap ourselves in reality and never dare to go beyond what we can see with our eyes. Imagination lifts us beyond average by giving us a vision of life that surpasses what we are experiencing currently. Dreams infuse our spirit with energy and spur us on to greatness.

5 Attributes of an Inspirational Leader
ATTITUDE OF SERVICE
To be an inspirational leader, you must adopt an attitude of service toward those you lead. This requires laying aside selfish interests to add value to another person. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." When you serve, you awaken something magnetic inside of you. People are drawn to follow you because they know you'll find ways to make them better.
AFFIRMATION
To inspire means to have a positive view of others. If we're not careful, we become fault-finders, magnifying the flaws in everyone around us. Instead, leaders should emulate gold prospectors - always on the lookout for potential gold mines. When they find traces of ore, prospectors assume there's a rich vein to unearth, and they start digging. In the same fashion, leaders ought to search for the best traits within a person and commit to uncovering them.
One of the best applications of this idea is expressed in what I call the 101 percent principle: Find the one thing that you believe is a person's greatest asset, and then give 100 percent encouragement in that area. Focusing on a person's strengths inspires them by promoting confidence, growth, and success.
ATTENTIVENESS
Great inspirers know the desires of those they lead. As much as people respect the knowledge and ability of their leaders, these are secondary concerns for them. They don't care how much their leaders know until they know how much their leaders care. When leaders attend to the deeply felt needs of their team, the determination and commitment of each team member skyrockets.
AVAILABILITY
Leaders inspire by intentionally investing time in the people they lead. They make themselves available. People cannot be nurtured from a distance or by infrequent spurts of attention. They need a leader to spend time with them - planned time, not just a conversation in passing.
In our fast-paced and demanding world, time is a leader's most precious commodity. While it feels costly to give up, nothing communicates that you value a person more than the gift of your time. In addition, investing time to develop others has a way of reaping dividends. As Ralph Waldo Emerson remarked, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
AUTHENTICITY
To inspire, leaders have to be genuine. More than anything else, followers want to believe in and trust their leaders. However, when leaders break promises or fail to honor commitments, they reveal themselves as being inauthentic, and they lose credibility. Trust rests upon a foundation of authenticity. To gain trust, a leader must consistently align words and deeds, while showing a degree of transparency.
Summary
Inspirational leadership can be confused with momentary charisma. I prefer to think about inspiring as more of a process than an event. More than a brilliant speech, it's cultivating habits of brilliance that manifest themselves daily. By modeling the five attributes of an inspiring leader, I trust that you'll win the respect of those you lead and earn the right to influence them.

LEADERS PERSPECTIVE ABOUT CONTINIOUS PROBLEM

Two Pointers to Keep Perspective When Problems Persist
1) Gratitude
Leaders enter dangerous territory when they neglect to be grateful for what they have, and instead begin to fear losing what they’ve accumulated. The blessings of life surround everyone, but the person is rare who allows its simple benefits of life to fill his or her soul. Yet, the choice presents itself to anyone: accentuate the positives or dwell on the negatives.
Choosing to be grateful earns the greatest return in times of trouble. It’s virtually impossible to be overtaken by worry when a person has a heart of gratitude. For this reason, it pays to log a gratitude journal - each day, list three things in life for which you’re thankful. Don’t just jot them down; roll them over in your mind. Let them sink into your spirit. Chances are, the exercise will dramatically improve your perspective.
2) Selective Hearing
For leaders, denial isn’t an option. Bad news is preferable to no news in that information conveys important knowledge about the current reality. The wise stay apprised of the economic outlook and make decisions based upon incoming data. At times those decisions can be painful such as instituting a spending freeze or terminating the employment of a devoted worker. Nonetheless, leaders shoulder the load and do what must be done to move forward.
While leaders refuse to put their heads in the sand, they do have the wherewithal to unplug from negativity. At a certain point, a glut of the same dreary news damages the psyche. Leaders confront reality, but they stop short of wallowing in worry and despondence. They avoid doomsdayers and naysayers, preferring to fill their minds with hope and opportunity.
The Final Words: Press On
Hiking up a mountain summit for sunrise can seem unreasonably hard in the beginning. The steep trail causes your legs to quiver, the altitude shortens your breath, and rocks and snares threaten to trip your step. For a time, you may be tempted to quit. However, if you persevere to the top, you’re greeted with the grandeur of the golden sky, and rewarded with a breathtaking perspective on the beauty of nature.
Like a mountaineer, you may be enduring a rocky, uphill stretch. If so, keep fighting to gain perspective. Hard work and persistence seldom go unrewarded, and they often carry you to a glorious destination.

FIVE TRUTHS LEADERS UNDERSTAND ABOUT PROBLEMS

The Five Truths Leaders Understand about Problems
1. They're unavoidable.
For the aspiring leader, problems may be the most faithful companions of all. The road to success is seldom paved smoothly, and is oftentimes under construction. Potholes and barricades abound. At every bend in the journey, a leader's vision must peer around obstacles and through formidable walls to foresee a positive future. Leaders who sidestep problems stunt their growth - they end up shallow and debilitated. The successful leader stares down problems and resourcefully addresses them.
2. Perspective on the problem, rather than the problem itself, determines success or failure.
We see problems, not as they are, but as we are. That's why attitude plays such a crucial role in separating those who lead from those who follow. Alfred Armand Montapert said, "The majority see the obstacles; the few see the objectives; history records the successes of the latter, while oblivion is the reward of the former." Leaders look at problems from a healthy, self-confident vantage point.
A Wrong Perspective
Problems are unsolvableProblems are permanentProblems are not normalProblems make us bitterProblems control usProblems stop us
A Right Perspective
Problems are solvableProblems will passProblems are naturalProblems make us betterProblems challenge usProblems stretch us
3. There's a big difference between problem spotting and problem solving.
Anyone, even the fairly imperceptive, can identify problems, but few people have the initiative to tackle them. As novelist John Galsworthy observed, "Idealism increases in direct proportion to one's distance from the problem." As rule, don't voice complaint about a problem until you're 1) able to put forth a recommendation for solving it, and 2) willing to take an action to solve it.
4. The size of the person is more important than the size of the problem.
You can tell the caliber of a person by the amount of opposition it takes to discourage him or her. Joke writer Robert Orben says that he once saw an ad from an entertainer that read, "Lion tamer - wants tamer lion." Clearly, this performer wasn't looking for greatness but merely for something manageable. To lead at the highest level requires wrestling with problems seemingly beyond our ability to apprehend.
5. Problems, responded to correctly, can propel us forward.
Leaders are not discovered in the limelight; rather they are forged in the darkness under heat and pressure. Leaders gain respect on difficult terrain, after taking a few blows and being shaped by the problems they encounter. As a matter of fact, courage and valor go undetected until seen through the lens of adversity.

young leaders program

Imagine what they can do!
This world-class leadership program, developed by Melbourne-based educator and identity Michael Grose is now in over 1,000 Australian schools as well as schools in the USA, UK and Singapore.
The Young Leaders Program is a school-based program that teaches the skills and attitudes needed for effective student and youth leadership. It is a program that teachers can easily conduct with their students. You don’t have to hire expensive consultants in or send your students away on excursions for them to learn the skills of leadership. The Young Leaders program lets you immerse them in a rich leadership program right in your own school.
Watch school tone liftWorld-wide trends show the positive impact that student leadership training can have on a school. Student behaviour improves, staff morale lifts and parent satisfaction ratings soar when schools conduct effective student programs.
The Young Leaders Program focuses on students in the vital years from 10-14 years of age.The program consists of class lessons, activities and units of work that teachers can conduct with their student leadership teams or on a whole class basis. The program is based around the five featured building blocks of:
Responsibility
Public speaking
Confidence
Organisation
Teamwork Building on the work of educators and researchers The Young Leaders Program shows teachers how to establish important leadership mindsets in children and students.

The program teaches the key mindsets or attitudes of:
stepping up
speaking up,
have a go,
think team
show the way
Here is what some of those teachers say:
“I use the Young Leaders Program because I can implement it straight away but more importantly, because it is really popular with the kids.” Yvonne Claypole, Year 6, Flinders
“Great resource for new leaders…..of any age. Easily laid out to use or to adapt.” Ken Stallard, Principal River Gum PS
“Michael Grose’s Young Leaders Program fills a gap in the educational scene. If your school is training student leaders then this is an essential resource.” John Cheetham, Director Student Achievement Centre

Program creator Michael Grose
“ I am proud that in the space of only five years the Young Leaders Program has become such an integral part of the educational landscape in this country. It is fantastic to see kids making such lasting contributions to their schools and their broader communities.”
Michael Grose

WORKING WITH YOUTH

Working With Youth
As a good youth program leader, you already know the basics of working effectively with youth. Like all young people, African-American and Latino/Latina youth and lesbian, gay and bisexual youth of all races and ethnicities respond well to leaders who:
spend time getting to know and interacting with them;
actively include them in program planning;
create program environments that allow for a great deal of exchange among participants and leaders;
foster mutual respect;
genuinely enjoy adolescents and like working with them; and
know how to establish and encourage positive and appropriate relationships with youth.
In General
Understand the developmental issues all youth face: their abilities to understand and apply information are changing as they mature. Each teen moves through the process at a different pace and in a group of teens of the same age, there will be great variation among their abilities.
Be aware that youth go through stages in identifying with their racial and ethnic cultures. Some young people will proudly claim their racial or ethnic identity, while others will be uncomfortable with it. Young people of mixed racial background face particular challenges in this regard.
Be sensitive to the fact that if you are dealing with sexuality issues, the young people in your program might feel some conflict between what they are taught at home and what you are discussing. Be aware of your own values and do not seek to impose them upon program participants unless they are in agreement with the values of the program.
Pay attention to gender. If you run a co-ed group, know that studies show that girls tend to talk less if boys are present and that even well-intentioned teachers pay more attention to boys and give them more praise than girls.
Know the rates of teenage sexuality and parenting behaviors in the community and choose prevention strategies at the appropriate level. Deal realistically with the young people's needs.
Keep in mind the importance of youth culture in general. For almost all teens, the customs, music, slang, clothing and even ideas popular among their peers are very important. Fitting in with the peer group is often more important than pleasing parents, teachers or other adults.
Working with Young Latinos and Latinas
Be aware that in most Latino/Latina families, discussions of sex are taboo. Latino/Latina teens may never have had the opportunity to talk about sexuality-related matters in public before. Give them time to open up.
Be aware that a participatory learning format may be new to Latino/Latina teens and that they may be uncomfortable in the beginning with a format in which the leader is not assuming a position of authority.
If possible, use leaders who can speak "Spanglish," that is, who can switch back and forth between English and Spanish, even within the same sentence. Not all Latino/Latina teens speak Spanish fluently, nor do they all speak English fluently; many benefit from having a mix of the languages used.
Use program materials, including videos, that feature Latinos and Latinas.
Understand the difficulties faced by young Latinos and Latinas who are gay, lesbian or bisexual and offer support.
Working With Young African-Americans
Sadly, several studies have demonstrated that teachers tend to demand less from African-American youth, praise them less frequently, give them less time to answer, call on them less frequently and seat them farther away from the front of the room.33 You should make every effort to check yourself for such behaviors.
Broaden the repertoire of program activities to include storytelling, music, role-playing, African-American literature, debate, group learning and games that build on cooperation.34 Use program materials, including videos, that feature African-Americans.
Working With Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Youth
Recognize and accept that gay, lesbian and bisexual youth are part of all youth populations, very likely including your group, whether or not they are open about their identity to themselves, to you or to others.
Each gay, lesbian or bisexual person goes through a process of understanding and accepting their sexual orientation. There is no one path to this understanding, and having complete self-acceptance can take years.
There will likely be young people in the group who have gay or lesbian family members or friends. Leaders should strive to make the group environment as safe as possible for both groups of young people by following the guidelines below. All young people in the group will benefit from the leader's example of acceptance. The guidelines are:
Use correct terminology when referring to a person attracted to the same gender—"lesbian or gay woman" for a female attracted to females and "gay" for a male attracted to males. "Homosexual" is an adjective referring to sexual behavior and should not be used as a noun to describe gay or lesbian people. This term limits the understanding of persons attracted to the same gender to their sexual behavior and has a clinical sound offensive to gay and lesbian people.
Challenge abusive or derogatory terms such as "faggot" or "lezzie" by not tolerating such language. Establish a standard of conduct related to sexual orientation in the same way that racist or sexist terms are not acceptable in the group. Gay and lesbian teenagers report that one of the hardest things to experience is groups leaders or teachers not confronting slurs against gay and lesbian people.
Use inclusive language like "partner" instead of "boyfriend" or "girlfriend." Do not make assumptions about the sexual orientation of anyone in the group. By using inclusive language you are signalling to gay, lesbian and bisexual teens that you might be a safe person to talk to.
Provide accurate information about homosexuality: correct myths as they arise in group discussions; know community resources and have copies of pamphlets or other information which list them.35