Awaken the Leader Within/TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgcolor="black"> <table border="7" bordercolor="123466" style="background-color:CED2D5" width="800" align="center" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="3"> <tr> <td> <Awaken the Leader Within> <p align="center"><b><font size="7" color="123466">Awaken the Leader Within</b></p></font>   <h3><p align="center"><font color="123466"><em>Authenticity appears to be, more than anything, an alignment, a congruence of the inner and outer person.</em></h3></font></p> <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,0,0" width="400" height="15" > <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain"/> <param name="movie" value="xspf_player_slim.swf"/> <param name="quality" value="high"/> <param name="bgcolor" value="#E6E6E6"/> <embed src="xspf_player_slim.swf?playlist_url=playlist.xspf&autoload=true&autoplay=true" quality="high" bgcolor="#E6E6E6" name="xspf_player_slim" allowscriptaccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" align="center" height="15" width="400" > </embed> </object> <div id="athrGraphic" class="athrGraphic"><br><img src="kevin_cashman.gif" alt="" width="58" height="72" hspace="5" border="1" align="left" /></div> <eeBiography><div id="eeBio" name="eeBio" class="bio"><font class="eeBio"><br><strong>Kevin Cashman</strong> is CEO of LeaderSource. This article is adapted from his new book, <span class="bioitalics">Awakening the Leader Within</span> (Wiley). www.LeaderSource.com, 612-375-9277.<br /> </font></div></eeBiography> <div id="eeBody"> <p class="p1">Over the past decade, I have closely examined how the principles of authenticity and purpose are manifest in personal growth and leadership development.</p> <p class="p">I view leadership as a sacred calling to make a life-enriching difference. In my new book, <span class="italic">Awakening the Leader</span>, I tell the story of a CEO named Bensen Quinn (a character based on hundreds of real-life CEOs), who faces a deluge of personal, professional, and ethical crises. As Quinn confronts these defining moments, we learn lessons about authentic and purposeful leadership.</p> <p class="p">Like many people today, Quinn is shocked to find that he can't answer some of life's biggest questions: Does my life have meaning? Am I making a difference? Is this the life I want to live? Growing as a person, he grows as a leader, becoming more authentic, more purposeful, more determined to add value to his company and community and to create a meaningful legacy.</p> <p class="p">His story illustrates the great potential that “ordinary” men and women have, to go beyond what is, beyond “this is how we always do things,” to create entirely new possibilities.</p> <h4>Six Seeds for Growth</h4> <p class="p">I engage in an interactive coaching process that centers on six generative principles—six seeds to grow and lead as a whole person:</p> <div id="bodyGraphic" name="bodyGraphic" class="bodyGraphic"> <table class="quote" align="right"><tr><td><img src="070903.jpg" alt="" width="181" height="199" border="1" align="right" /></td></tr></table></div> <p class="p"><span class="sh">Seed 1: Authenticity.</span> From the coaching I have done, authenticity appears to be, more than anything, an alignment, a congruence of the inner and outer person. More often than not, the authentic person's beliefs, values, principles and behavior tend to line up. Commonly referred to as “walking your talk,” it is also “being your talk” at a very deep level. I invite you to embrace the life-long process of unfolding your strengths and acknowledging your vulnerabilities as a leader.</p> <p class="p"><span class="sh">Seed 2: Purpose.</span> Purpose is the voice of authentic leadership. When a leader's voice lacks its intended power and impact, it's often a symptom of disconnection from personal purpose. When a leader's voice is strong, it often represents a personal connection to the leader's unique life experience and can be tangibly felt by all. For our voice to be strong, the melody of the music in our heart must be clearly heard. To know what you stand for as a leader, remind yourself of what is important to you, based on the lessons your life experiences have taught you.</p> <p class="p"><span class="sh">Seed 3: Essence.</span> Essence is the soul of leadership; it is spirit expressing itself through the leader. Essence is the transformative force in our lives, whereas ego is the coping force. Because essence is within us, we can attune our lives to its silent power and gain its support for all that we do. Ego, on the other hand, is the sense of limited individuality. It is the coping mechanism that seeks security and tries to grab what it can of life's fleeting pleasures and treasures.</p> <p class="p">While all of us operate from both ego and essence, often we are overdeveloped in our identification with ego and underdeveloped in our identification with essence—our connection to the whole of life. Learn to recognize which mode you are in at any point in time, and to shift to essence more. Notice when ego and the qualities of essence are being manifest in your life and leadership.</p> <p class="p"><span class="sh">Seed 4: Relationship.</span> Connection is the glue of leadership, bonding parts and revealing wholeness. Too often, when we think of the word <span class="italic">connection</span>, we think of being connected with something—outside of ourselves. But outer connection rests on inner connection. The seed of relationship begins with self and extends outward to others and the context in which we are operating. It rests upon the inner self-relationship work of the seeds of essence, purpose, and authenticity. All leadership is in relationship; leverage the power of connection to enhance your value creation.</p> <p class="p"><span class="sh">Seed 5: Value Creation.</span> This seed is germinated through enlightened, sustainable leadership. Value creation goes beyond getting financial results. From the vantage point of value creation, getting financial results is not enough; this is not what the magic of leadership is all about. Financial results are the fuel of organizations. But to be sustainable, financial results must serve not only the shareholders, but also the employees, customers, and environmental needs.</p> <p class="p">New leaders need to create more balanced measures to achieve financial results while serving the needs of self, others, and the whole. Finding the creative, life-enriching ways to serve these constituencies is the challenge for authentic leaders today. Good leaders get results; great leaders get sustainable results by serving the interests of multiple constituencies.</p> <p class="p"><span class="sh">Seed 6: Coaching.</span> Helping to foster the growth of those around us gives sustainability to our leadership and perpetuates optimal, ongoing value creation. Coaching is the art of drawing forth potential onto the canvas of high performance. It's the gentle yet firm hand of leadership guiding the way like a caring friend, helping the person set a more positive course.</p> <p class="p">The coach's task is not to pontificate, not to take a stand, not even to teach. The real task of the coach is to help people open up to their own gifts, and their own inner guidance, so they can determine for themselves their best possible direction, bring forth their greatest abilities, and make their best contribution.<span class="le"> LE</span></p></div> <div align="center" id="endartNav" name="endartNav" class="top"> <eedate><eemonth>September</eemonth> <eeyear> 2003</eeyear></eeDate></div><br /> <div align="center"><br>(c)2008 Executive Excellence Publishing. All rights Reserved</br><br><font size="2" color="123466"><b><st>powered by Proton Communications</font></br></b></div></br> </td> </tr> </table> </BODY> </HTML>