"Forward, as occasion offers. Never look round to see whether any shall note it... Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle." - Marcus Aurelius

The slightest leadership activity creates occasions for growth, progress and well-being - that's why effective leaders set ambitious agendas, follow solid strategy and act through honest behaviors.

Three ways your leadership activities shape the paths to your success are through powerful leadership agendas driven by disciplined strategy and acted out in consistent behaviors.

Leading With A Robust Agenda

Your primary leadership activity involves setting a worthwhile agenda. Your agenda should identify the key priorities required to transform your vision into a successful, prosperous and viable reality.

Your leadership agenda focuses the team's attention on growth and shared beliefs - it enlarges your ability to:

1) Manage visions,

2) Order strategy,

3) Direct work patterns,

4) Select your styles and

5) Perform various roles.

When your agenda acts like the central nervous system of your leadership, it will keep you informed on the health, stability and wellness of your organized activities.

I recommend you use your leadership agenda to oversee, optimize and organize your enterprise. Your agenda should strive to address seven broad, yet crucial areas: Security, [Universe-oriented] Frontiering, Power, Guidance, Wisdom, Syntropy and Conceptualizing.

Leadership Strategy Gives You Discipline and Will-Power

Well constructed strategy defines your approach, direction and intent for every situation you encounter. Your leadership strategies must fulfill all three of those definitions to ensure the success of your vision.

Transform your strategy into your guideposts, navigational charts and maps for your journey towards a tangible realization of your plans.

While your strategy is not the actual terrain, a competent strategy does provide disciplined support for executing on your important objectives.

Strategic intents serve as an inspiration to others and can encourage them to become leaders for your cause.

Generally, the leadership activity of strategic planning must help you:

- Engender trust and positive self-regard

- Define responsibility

- Exercise control

- Judge performance and progress

- Guide the process of change

Adapt Your Leadership Behaviors To Serve The Vision

Leaders serve the needs of multiple constituents. Your leadership services demand that you work with different environments, people, resources, plans and dynamic situations.

Your duties force you to be consistent, fair and honest in all that you do as the leader. However, there are essential attitudes, behaviors and focus you must incorporate into your activities.

There are occasions when you must act based on different motives.

For instance, you may need to build something new - yet at other times, you may provide charity to others or yield to the pressure of a merciless timeline.

Regardless of your leadership activity - your motives will be fully tested during your lifetime.

You should sincerely question the state of your mental attitude - is your outlook positive or do you have a negative, defeated mind set?

Are you being flexible or dynamic enough in your nature and intensity, are you open to various viewpoints?

The more positive your attitude the greater your capacity for seeing and believing in someone's potential or for accepting change and being open to new ideas.

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The future potentials of your leadership activity are easily gauged through Sir Winston Churchill's wise observation: "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

Mustard Seed Investments Inc. Copyright 2005, All rights reserved.