Here is a simple question, “What’s the point of leadership?”
I ask this question in my leadership workshops all the time and, without fail, I get a few eye-rolls, smirks, and responses suggesting that I am wasting the participants’ time. Answers to my question typically include, “Getting people to do something” and “Motivating people to take action.” Those are fair responses, and not necessarily wrong, but they’re not completely correct either. You see, there would be no reason for learning leadership skills if we all possessed the ability to do everything we needed or wanted to do ourselves. We all know the answer—at least all of us who are not narcissist megalomaniacs—we need each other’s knowledge, skills, and abilities to get things done.
Transformational Missions Need an Unstoppable Team
When I speak of getting things done, I’m not talking about rudimentary tasks that an individual can do themselves. I am referring to those transformational missions where you need a team—or better still, teams of teams—to accomplish the goal. You know, goals like putting people on the moon, or launching that moon-shot product that took years to conceive and build. I am talking about goals that make a difference, not just for you, but for lots of people—perhaps even mankind—and God knows we need lots of teams to solve mankind’s current ills! The goals I am referring to are the goals that you alone cannot achieve—goals that you need others to help you achieve.
That’s where transformational leadership comes into play. At its essence, leadership is about galvanizing a group of individuals, bringing forth their best talents, and applying their efforts day-after-day toward accomplishing a goal. This is no small task—staying focused on an objective; remaining motivated week-after-week while wondering if the goal is even attainable; and dealing with multiple egos, habits, behaviors, and attitudes—to name just a few leadership challenges. Yes, leading is hard, and it’s even harder if you don’t know where you’re going and why.
Unstoppable Teams Need Purpose and Progress Toward Goals
The reason I developed the Unstoppable Goals course and system was to help me lead and coach better. One of the key elements of leading (after building trust) is setting direction—goals give teams direction. The better you set a goal and understand the reason behind it, the easier it will be for your team to track its progress. Purpose and progress are two areas where huge mistakes are often made when building a team. If you haven’t answered the “why” behind the reasoning of “Why should I use my time, talent and energy on this team,” then you haven’t properly defined the goal. Secondly, if the goal’s progress cannot be tracked, then the goal has not been well-enough defined to be accomplished. Understanding the why behind the goal and how to track progress toward it are critical components to leading and coaching people. Much of my leadership today is done through coaching coaches (C-level executives and HR teams), and one of the ways I determine how I might best serve them is through understanding their goals. Then, I harness the power of the Unstoppable Goals system to clarify their goals and turn on their dream factories.
Transformational Leadership Builds Dream Factories
Wait, “Dream factories?”
Look, life is so chaotic and so full of requests for our attention that, in very short order, we forget about “creating” and instead shift our focus to “completing”—in reactive mode. The best leaders and coaches know about this shift, and they seek time and space for themselves and their clients to refocus their attention, dream about those “what if” possibilities, and visualize an outcome where we marshal the best from those we serve. There’s a time and place for managing to completion, but first we need to lead by creating a vision of what is the goal, understanding the why behind the goal, and planning how to track and achieve the goal. The Unstoppable Goals system is the starting point for transformational leadership and coaching. The course is free—all you have to do is supply your dreams and then muster the courage to go after them. We can help on the courage part too, but those dreams are up to you!
Remember, We Are All Born to Be Unstoppable
It is our Choice to Be Unstoppable. Check out our Resources and Courses to develop the mindset and actions required to thrive and accomplish more than you originally thought possible.
