Leadership lessons from Carly Fiorina

Dear friend,

I had the chance to participate last week in Orlando to the 17th International Maxwell Certification event of The John Maxwell Team. The day before, as part of John's inner circle, we had the pleasure to have on stage Carly Fiorina. She poured into us for 45 min, then went into 45 minutes of intensive Q&A with the John Maxwell Team Executive Directors and Mentorship members in the room.

Here you have the top learning points from her successful career:

1. "Who you might become, is ever before you, what you might accomplish keeps whispering your name". This was the top quote John highlighted from Carly's book. He swears his iPad is full of quotes from the book, which he had the privilege to critique before it was launched and to praise in the back cover.

2. "The highest calling in a leader is to unlock potential in others". Everyone can be a leader, but not everyone CHOOSES to lead, not everyone chooses the values that make them a leader. Being a leader is what you choose. What do leaders do and how they do it? Keep reading...

3. "Leadership is a catalytic energy. The purpose of the leader is to solve problems and to change things for the better". Managers produce results within existing constraints and conditions. Within the way things are. They operate within the status quo. To operate change, the first thing needs to happen is for a leader to challenge the status quo. Leaders don;t focus on position. They focus on changing the order of things by solving problems right in front of them.

4. "People closest to the problem are the ones that best know the situation, but often never get asked". Instead they are asked to follow the line, rather than provide input and help the leader solve the problem.

5. "The reason why the STATUS QUO has so much power is because someone invested on it." When you challenge the status quo, you will find resistance. The leader needs courage to go through this process. Thee groups of people appear on any change situation:

• CHANGE WARRIORS. Those are the leaders, who try to solve the problem. They are 20% of the population.

• ACTIVE RESISTORS. Who invested in the status quo. Who have the power and the position. Sometimes difficult to spot, because they can talk a lot about change as well, but won't move. Also 20% of the population.

• SKEPTICS. Watch from the side, and swing from one side to the other, depending on what they perceive. 60% of the population.

The ones to tackle first ARE NOT the ACTIVE RESISTORS (this is what happens in politics) but rather the SKEPTICS. The leader is successful when he manages to get the skeptics to move.

Join us in our next post for the other lessons from Carly, including the top 2 qualities a leader needs to make change happen and the 2 systems to solve problems she developed over the years in her Corporate career.

As you reflect on the paragraphs above, ask yourself:

1. Do I choose to be the leader I can be? Am I tackling the problems I face on my day-to-day (change warrior)? Or am I in fact waiting for someone else to take action (Skeptic)? Or maybe I do have areas where I don;t really want change to happen (Active resistor)?

2. Is the current status quo in my situation serving me? Can I imagine a better situation? Write down what it looks like (hint: it will serve you for our next post)

3. When trying to solve a problem, do I count on the input and feedback from the ones closer to the problem or do I shortcut them?

4. What else could I accomplish that is whispering in my ear?

You may want to have a candid conversation with some of your team members to help you answer the questions, because their perception is their reality. If you feel your team disengaged despite your efforts, it may be well that you need to implement some change, despite of who created the system in place.

So, let me know how it goes. I congratulate you for your action and your commitment to become a better leader and for investing on you to secure better results for yourself and your organisation.

Please, share this post with anyone around you who may need it. They are very much welcome in our community! Create an awesome week for you and those around you!

To your success,

Ezequiel