A Leader Must Give…Action

Actions speak louder than words. Anyone can talk the talk, but leaders walk the talk. Leaders are action oriented. They do not want to sit around and deliberate all day, they want to produce. A leader’s heart is one of movement and advancement. They do not like to sit in one place for too long, they are about moving forward.

As a result of being action oriented, leaders have an innate ability to stir a team on in their progress. This action oriented ability combined with purpose is a powerful force. There is nothing more demotivating than to not know why you are doing what you are doing. I had a friend years ago that was contracted out to make top secret parts for the military. In fact they were so secret that he didn’t even know what he was making. The military just sent him the specs and he designed the parts without truly knowing what exactly he was making. I remember him telling me that it was difficult to figure out the best fit as he did not know what the end result would be. He mentioned that if he just knew what the final product was he would probably be able to do better and add more to final product.

Purpose gives meaning and significance to action. When a team does not know the purpose to why they are acting it keep them in the dark not fully activating their full potential. Acting without purpose seems as if you are simply spinning your wheels without getting anywhere. I have heard it said that action without a clear direction is like an Octopus on roller skates, there is a lot of movement but no advancement. A leader gives action with a purpose attached to it. Leaders understand that when goals have a compelling purpose there is a powerful response. Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi, a professor at the University of Chicago studied a state he called “flow” for over two decades. In his book, Finding Flow: The Psychology of Engagement, he explains flow experiences as the times when we feel pure enjoyment and effortlessness in what we do. In his finding, he reported that…

[typography font=”Cantarell” size=”24″ size_format=”px” color=”#f78800″]“In order to flow, it helps to have clear goals-not because it is achieving the goals that is necessarily important, but because without a goal it is difficult to concentrate and avoid distractions. Thus a mountain climber sets as her goal to reach the summit not because she has some deep desire to achieve it, but because the goal makes the experience of climbing possible. If it were not for the summit, the climb would become pointless ambling that leaves one restless and apathetic.”[/typography]

 Leaders stir others to action because they set goals with clear purpose in front of the team. It is about taking the eyes off of the past and and the current issues as they point others to the future. Leaders are visionaries that paint a picture of what could be. When others see what could be they begin to be filled with the fuel to move forward. Vision is like a high power octane that runs the heart of a person. I have had the honor of being mentored by Dr. John C. Maxwell and one of the greatest things he taught me is that the greatest mistake we make is living in constant fear that we will make one.

[typography font=”Arimo” size=”24″ size_format=”px”]”Be a person of action and be a leader that moves others to action.”[/typography]