Leadership Hand

Welcome to Leadership Hand™, a monthly e-newsletter
to increase your leadership effectiveness more quickly and
enjoyably with bottom-line results.

To ensure receipt, please add our e-mail address "Info@" plus our domain name to your e-mail address book.

We were walking a pea-graveled path between immaculate, green lawns--an unusual site in the dry dust of Delhi, India. The Lotus Temple, with its beautiful dome of large, lotus-like petals, the whole temple a lotus flower surrounded by shallow pools of water, was behind us. We turned down the narrow street lined with vendors' stalls selling food, replicas of Indian deities, and brilliantly colored powders like the red and gold that women use to mark their faces. There was an unusual movement on the ground. A dark skinned Indian woman in a vibrantly green silk sari with gold border was on her side inching her way forward. A thin arm reached out to grasp a stone. She tossed it a few feet ahead, repeated the inching motion, grasped the stone and tossed again. People near her made way. Others passed by giving her just a glance. Some stopped to look. Among the dirt and the cow dung, she continued toward the temple under the arid heat of an Indian sun--her commitment total.

While we aren't necessarily on a religious pilgrimage we are most certainly on a leadership pilgrimage--leading our business and leading our life. To what are you choosing to commit? To what are you choosing to commit that is both about you and serving others--your organization, the communities your company or business impacts, the world? What is so compelling that if you didn't work toward it, you would lose your orientation in the world? If you don't know, take the time to find out. If you do know--periodically reassess every 2 or 3 years as you mature.

People don't mess around with those who are so committed. These people emanate an undaunted power and strength that is both theirs and not theirs, having tapped into something much greater. When commitment is to something larger than ourselves in the service of others and done with integrity, the key attributes of leadership arise--the ability to inspire, to draw people to you, and to influence.

One way to engage your own compelling commitment is with a personal vision statement. (In my corporate coaching and consulting, I make the distinction that mission is about what the company is doing now, and vision is what the company strives to be.) Yes, there are those businesses without them and others where the vision permeates and energizes the entire culture. Follow the latter example for You, Inc. by investing the time to develop one. Will life be a dream with one? No, competing commitments will still arise as will uncertainty and setbacks. But you will reveal an essence that allows your life to unfold (and dare I say it?) almost magically when you keep that vision before you.

There are several ways to go about this--some of which could involve working with a coach using his or her process, or using resources found in books and on the web. One process I use is from the Success Unlimited Network for discovering (uncovering, really) your life purpose. I also use and recommend other resources such as those found in:

If you don't ascribe to some of the philosophies or principles of the authors, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is value in each of their processes. No matter what you use--a great recommendation that applies to any vision statement is that it should be simple enough to be understood by a 12 year old. (Given the sophistication and intelligence of our 12 year olds maybe we ought to lower that age!)

I'd love to hear yours and the impact that having a personal vision statement has on you. Please send it to "info@" plus our domain name with the word "vision" in the subject line.

© Copyright 2007, Beth Hand. Beth Hand, MBA helps leaders increase their effectiveness and satisfaction, now and for the future. She can be reached at (+1) 703.820.8074 or via her website www.leadershiphand.com.

My apologies that some of you did not receive the February issue! There was a software hiccup and then an operator error (mine) for not realizing it. You can read it by clicking here or find a link to it on the Resources page of the web site.

In the February issue of Leadership Hand™ I wrote about growing your roots deep so you can weather personal or professional storms, and about the strength in vulnerability. In response, one reader sent me pictures of gorgeous, snow-laden evergreens, the view from her new home in Maine on the lake--a dream she and her partner have turned into reality. Another reader wrote that she usually considered herself a magnolia but was now like a sapling in her grief over the death of a young family member. Thank you for sharing these gifts--I treasure them. Each reveals the extraordinariness of being human leading our businesses and leading our lives.

5. Resource: Drake Beam Morin, ExecuNet and Hand Associates Team To Offer Executive Networking Meetings

Drake Beam Morin, a global provider of strategic HR solutions, ExecuNet, an industry leader in executive job search, networking and career development, and Hand Associates have come together to offer monthly executive networking events. These are for executives in career transition, considering transition and those who know that career management is an on-going process. Come meet executives in other industries, share tips and build business relationships! If you are living in or traveling to Richmond, Virginia, check our web site for details www.leadershiphand.com/resources.

This is a copyrighted publication. You are welcome to reprint an issue on a non-exclusive basis provided you:

Click here to subscribe. To unsubscribe click on the link below. We value your privacy. We never redistribute, rent or sell your information to anyone or any entity.