The Eve of the Dawn: Evolutionary Leadership: Ubuntu!

Happy New Year and Happy New Decade!

I had no idea when I wrote the last post all that would transpire to affirm that we are truly on the "eve of the dawn" in terms of leadership, but something happened that is hard to ignore.  As background, many of you know that I have written about ubuntu (the concept that states essentially that "I am because of who we are").  The concept was introduced globally during the Truth and Reconcillation sessions in South Africa calling upon the need for forgiveness.  I myself, have been talking about it since 2002 and have owned several ubuntu leadership dot com names while I waited for the right time to work with it.

Well,

on New Year's Day,...

in a bowling ally,....

in Cincinnati OH;....

I saw a man wearing a baseball hat and on the back it said "I am who I am because of who we all are".  I immediately identified the saying as ubuntu but couldn't believe it!  So, I tried to get in front of him (no small feat because I am only 5' tall and he was actually bowling so in order to get a view I would need to stand actually in a lane).  Eventually I just asked him and then said - do you mean the operating system?  And he said "no, my wife and I lived in South Africa in 2001-2002" and love the concept of ubuntu.  I am sure I was speechless as I too had been in South Africa during that time period.  Nonetheless, I took it as a sign..  a major sign!  As I indicated earlier in blog posts, I try and reassess direction at the beginning of each year and I was struggling a bit with all the subtypes of leadership that I am working on (culturally adaptive leadership...) but then I realized that the time is NOW.  The world needs to learn about ubuntu as a concept and as it applies to leadership!  So, this is a call to action!  I see it as my umbrella concept for my work - my stake in the ground so to speak and yet I also see the need to be more directive about delivering ubuntu leadership.

Please let me know if you are interested in learning more about ubuntu and also about ubuntu in terms of leadership.  I cannot wait to see what bubbles up for all of us!  Clearly this was a sign meant not only for 2010 but for the entire decade.  "The eve of the dawn" .....  Yes we are!!!  Let's step up together for all of humanity!

With much love and light,

Ubuntu,

Ann

Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.

The Eve of the Dawn: Personal Leadership

As we sit on the eve of the dawn of what I hope is a year of enlightenment, I do what I always do:  reassess.  I am not big on resolutions only because we tend to make lofty ones that lack a specific plan with an accountability process and are thus doomed to less than resounding success.  So, as I reassess my year, I am grateful for all of my abundance and the diverse areas that it shows up!  I am grateful for new beginnings and the resources that I have access to so that I can truly make changes should I so desire!  I am grateful for all of the challenges that have given me pause and helped me gain even more clarity with the discernment process!  I am thrilled with all of the light-filled people who have entered and remained in my life in 2009 and will be side by side in 2010!  Of course, this small list is only the tip of the iceberg. 

My purpose in writing this blog was to challenge you to create a reassessment process for yourself.  What is working and what is not.  Drill down to the nuances!  For example, I was feeling frustrated that I had not achieved one of my financial goals only to discover that I had greatly over-achieved regarding another financial goal and I was really ok with that!  So, I encourage you to look at the big picture, and feel free to look at page one of this website for the personal and professional wheels if you want to get an idea of some categories of life that you can use to assess yourself and your progress.  Once you are clear about who you are and how you want to show up in 2010, please allow me to encourage you to devise a step by step plan with an accountability component (not just "due dates" but some mechanism to make sure you take the steps you say you will).  And may I also encourage you to be gentle enough with yourself to revise, revise, revise!!!!  That is exactly what happened with my financial goals and I couldn't be happier!

And, please feel free to post any ideas that you have here that may help others to become their biggest, best possible selves and to LEAD, not just live their lives this coming year!  It doesn't just take a village any longer, it takes the world to step up and lead ourselves!!!!

Happy New Year

Ubuntu!

Ann

Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.

www.TheDeeperlLeadershipInstitute

ann@TheDeeperLeadershipInstitute.com

Personal Capacity Building

Our topic today is personal capacity building.   It seems to me that personal leadership is the umbrella for our personal capacity building.  Specifically, under the rubric of one's own leadership of self, one can examine whether muscles need to be strengthened in the areas of:

personal finance

relationship dynamics

life work balance

career issues

health/wellness

parenting

cultural adaptability

Many programs and organizations encourage folks to just jump into one of these areas and strengthen the chosen one.  At the Personal Leadership Institute, we advocate a holistic approach whereby we deconstruct who you are and what your life is like and then build it to your specifications with your existing strengths and passions.  Usually what emerges from this process are areas where individuals want to build more capacity and thus from that organic process we are able to do very targeted, SUSTAINABLE work!  I put the word sustainable in caps because we feel this is the missing element to personal growth work and leadership development work.  How often have you attended a great training, workshop or even more extensive learning situation and yet within days, months or years, you have not retained what seemed so important at the time.  We find that happens all too often.  Yet, if you build your personal capacity and you have a plan that is tailored to your guiding values and passions, then it is ingrained in you.  And, in fact, we advocate that you have a plan for constantly revising and revisiting your personal leadership plan. 

It's your life.  Are you going to just live it, or LEAD it?!!

Thoughts?

Ann

Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.

The Deeper Leadership Institute

How is Personal Leadership understood?

I am really curious about this topic and not to try to come up with a definition, but rather to see what is bubbling up for folks when "personal leadership" is mentioned.

I have heard that this term now has a negative meaning such that it is equated with personal responsibility.  Furthermore, I understand that some organizations are using the term personal responsibility like it is a large, heavy bat and they are metaphorically hitting their employees over the head with it.

What's out there that you know about either in terms of your personal experience, or what you have heard about with regard to using personal leadership in a negative way?

Thank you!

Ann

Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.

The Deeper Leadership Institute

Gratitude

This morning is Thanksgiving in the US and I am aware that there will be many posts regarding gratitude.  This feels so trite that I am almost didn't post today at all.  But I took this as a call to action.  In my life I try and do an attitude of gratitude journal entry on a daily basis.  However, not only has that not been part of my blog posts but I am aware that over the past few weeks, I have hardly engaged this process.  So, as an important part of the personal leadership process, I am publicly committing to getting back on track with my attitude of gratitude journal entries and am challenging all of your to do the same.  In fact, if any of you would like to share you entries here, I would love to see them!

Ubuntu!

Ann

Ann Dinan, Ph.D., M.S.S.A., C.P.C.C.

The Deeper Leadership Institute