Energy Leadership Blog - Energy Leadership

Happy New Year!!

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 14:10:23 -0700

Janice Bastani

2010 “None of us is promised tomorrow”

As I write this I am reminded that each of our lives is like vapor, it appears for a little while and then vanishes away. What is motivating you this year?

In December 2009, I was on my MasterMind call and we were all talking about our plans and motivations for 2010. As we talked our fearless leader came up with a list of the items that we had just laid out for the New Year. I began to rewrite my notes in the dark of night and I saw a beautiful way to incorporate some of those ideas here for you. Read them and decide for yourself where you are headed in 2010.

1. Be Grateful
2. Maintain a positive attitude
3. Give
4. Terrific!
5. Sit on a rock
6. The gift that costs nothing
7. Cut the Noise, Drama & Distraction
8. Sit in Silence
9. Listen twice as much as you talk
10. Say Thank-you
11. Find C-A-L-M
12. One Minute times two
13. Small Steps
14. Sleep On It

Are you still with me? I would love to give you a brief insight into each one of these items because I know they will lift you up and will give you pause to rethink what you are currently doing and where you are going with a “full steam ahead” mentality. I would like to challenge that and take down a different track.

Be Grateful Look around where you are currently sitting; name everything within sight that you currently have. I challenge you to each day to just keep a running list of “3” things that you are grateful for.

Maintain a positive attitude What do you get from seeing life from the negative side? Seeing things in the positive looks a whole lot better than always seeing what’s wrong. I challenge you to change your negativity to positivity.

Give Have you ever been in a line and you got a nudge to pay for the person in front of you or behind you? I urge you to just do it and do not stop and think about why, or guilt or anything else, just do it. When others are struggling you can often see it right in front of your eyes, but we tend to see past them. I challenge you to give and give more freely and more abundantly.

Terrific! Many of us come “preprogrammed” to “FIX-IT”. So in order to use this gift and strength more, I would like to challenge you to the following; the next time you are about to get “engaged” in a heated battle of the “problem”, turn it around and yell “TERRIFIC!”. We are here to solve problems, let’s get started!

Sit on a rock Our lives are filled with going, going, going; so go already, but take only your suitcase and a blank pad and pen. Take a ride on a train a couple of hours one way and then come back. Let the sound of the train and the scenery outside the window carry your thoughts and empty your mind and see what you write down on the way home.

The gift that costs nothing Give yourself a gift everyday. Step outside and drink in the sights, the sounds and the weather. The gift of swaying trees in the breeze, the gift of birds singing and flying through the air, children laughing, a beautiful flower, the rain, the glistening snow, the sound of the surf. These are free and all around us, receive them.

Cut the Noise, Drama, & Distraction These three are some of the biggest stressors and energy drainers known to humans. Turn off the news, get a new circle of friends that are positive, you are no better or worse than any of those you know, and stop running to and fro from unpleasantness. Face these head on and plow through.

Sit in Silence I challenge you to go to a chair and sit there in utter silence for 5 minutes. Set a timer, turn off everything, close your eyes and sit there. Do this every day. Then increase your time in the chair. Hey, falling asleep is OK! Your body is telling you something. Put the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth to center yourself and to concentrate.

Listen twice as much as you talk There is an old saying that we have two ears and one mouth for a reason. Why is this an important change in your life this year? Your answers will be twice as wise when you actually hear what is being said and you think before you answer. I challenge you to really listen.

Say Thank-you We sometimes do this without thinking about what we are doing; it’s like the trite sayings of the 70’s “Have a nice day”….. When you are about to say these very precious words – STOP – look the person in the eyes and extend your hand and then say Thank-you. Then look at the reaction of the person. Let go of the person’s hand when they let go. How do you feel now?

Find C-A-L-M This is different than your other two challenges. Have you ever felt out of control inside and maybe even your hand is slightly trembling? That is being out of control and trying to do too many things. Again I challenge you to close your eyes and focus on just doing that one thing and then proceed calmly to the next, focus, complete and then move on.

One Minute times two In 2009 I gave myself a personal challenge to read in several books that are personally important to me each and every day for a certain amount of time. I would give myself an 85% on maintaining that wonderful routine. Here’s a challenge for you; each day read just 1 minute in an inspirational book ( this could be the Holy book of your faith, or a book of inspiration) and then read 1 minute in a text of your chosen field (not on the internet…this leads to surfing and distraction). Disconnect and sit down and read. Before you know it, you may be up to 30+ minutes!

Small Steps Look back over this past year and think of the times when you felt that you were “behind” or “off track”; got it? This is a true sign of biting off too big a piece of the whole. Step back and take a smaller bite. If you are still in the same place….step back again and take a smaller step. Once you get to the point that you are succeeding; you are at the right pace for your time, and talent.

Sleep On It I am a big believer in saying “NO” when I am not equipted to say “YES”. Recently, I was awakened to a new possibility. When you are asked to take on something or to do something, instead of jumping right in with your answer; try this: say: “….Thanks so much for asking. Let me sleep on it and I will get back to you….” So, you get off the hook in the moment. Sleep on it for a day or two or more if it is a big request, but do get back to the person or organization. When you do this even your “NO” will be received in a different manner.

I am grateful to know each and every one of you that reads this peice. My prayer for you in 2010 is that where ever your path leads that you are blessed, that you give thanks for everything that you have and comes your way, that you would lift up and support others who do not have your gifts, time and talent.

Life is good and God has showered blessing down upon me, my husband and our family this past year. We are blessed.

“BE”,

Janice Bastani

Your Energy & Your Decisions

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:08:16 -0700

Janice Bastani

Why do things always seem to take so long, when I am waiting for an answer to my question? What I suspect is happening with you and me and everyone else is that we expend a great deal of our available energy to move ourselves, our relationships and our businesses forward, waiting for something to happen.

What would happen if we took that fretting energy and turn it to fuel a big project or start a new idea, or come to a meeting with renewed vigor? Time would pass and the answer would be there waiting for you when you came back to the fretting again.

When we put our minds to work on something constructive the time passes very fast. It is like the skills one learns in cognitive behavior. When we go to our default mode (fretting/worrying etc) we loose valuable time, and energy. When we fill the waiting space with a purposeful, forward moving activity, then the void is filled and we no longer dwell in the negative.

Make sense?

So why do we fret or become anxious and sometimes down right angry at the prospect of the wait and the outcome?

I have narrowed it down to 5 reasons and they are listed below with an explaination.

1 We are not asking the right question. We often want to get the answer that we want, so we construct the question in order to get the answer that we want. Which winds up being very empty. Because it is not a true answer.

2. We are not in the proper mindset. What this means is that we are in our own head trash, saboteur, negative self tape playing mode.

3. The answer may be "NO" and you have rejected this answer. When we start out with a mindset that we will not accept a NO as an answer, then all that follows is failure. We go round and round. We begin to meddle, manipulate, restate and so on, which eventually causes all sorts of other havoc in other areas of our lives. This impacts our personal lives and our professional lives.

4. The answer may be "WAIT", and you are unwilling to wait. Well now we have become a two year old again in in tantrum mode. WAIT is not a death sentence. It simply means that all the stars are not aligned just yet.

5. You are not ready to handle "YES". Are you kidding me, you may say. Yes, I can handle YES! Well sometimes you are not ready. Here's the reason behiind this answer. You may need to mature in order to have expereinced certain things in order to get to the place of YES. You may be in the wrong environment, it may be the wrong time, the wrong place, other lessons need refining or to be learned first or they may need to be taught.

Just because you want it, doesn't mean it is good for you or right for you. A parent doesn't give the car keys to an angry 10 year old who wants to run away from home. He is not ready to drive, he is angry, he has some maturing to do, and so on. It may seem simplistic, but it is the same analogy.

Think about the possibilities behind the answer you are seeking first, before you have a reaction.

Habit vs Skill

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:31:23 -0700

Janice Bastani

So, do you know the difference between a "habit" and a "skill"? They may sound similar, but indeed they are very different.

"Habit" as defined by Webster's is: a noun which means: "..a settled or regular tendency, a practice that is hard to give up, a mental constitution..."

"Skill" as defined by Webster's is: is a noun which means: "...expertness; practiced ability, facility in action, highly trained or highly experienced..."

How we get to doing each of these automatically is another story. Do you know how a "habit" is formed? Do you know how one developes a "skill"?

My guess is that you have never given either of these two things much thought you just goe through your day doing what you do the way you have always done things. Am I right?

Let's start with a premise that I have recently become aware of in the distinction of these two terms.

We know that somewhere in the past someone decided that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. That's a good habit or a bad habit. We don't seem to be to picky about what we form.

It has been my experience that to learn a "Skill" we take up to 42 days to learn this. And to "Master a Skill" may take years. Look again at the definitions of these two words.

You see we each have both of these items on our resumes if you will, but how effective are we at using them when we really need them?

In our ongoing discussion of how we lead others, we already know that we can lead with a Negative Mindset or a Positive Mindset.

The same can be said of the two items we are discussing today. Our habits can lift others up or drain the very life blood right out of an organization. If we are skilled at leadership we can once again tear down the organization with our constant hovering and micromanagement style or we can release our organization to soar by making them accountable for their decisions.

Who did you lift up today?
Who did you tear down today?
How will you lead tomorrow?

How Are You Doing? Who Are You Asking?

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 01:09:36 -0600

Janice Bastani

In our many discussions of the characteristics of anabolic and catabolic leaders we have focused on how (and if) leaders assess themselves, and whether they examine how their actions and attitudes affect their results, as well as impact the people around them.

Catabolic leaders operate in their own little worlds. They do what they do, and they rarely, if ever, stop to think about the consequences of what they are doing (and how they are doing it). If catabolic leaders do assess, they self-assess - that is, they don't ask for input from people around them, because they fear that in doing so they may appear weak. In addition, catabolic leaders know that they are right, and others are wrong (or incompetent, or lazy) - so why would they ask for others' feedback?

Anabolic leaders on the other hand, are always working "on themselves." Not only are they willing to take hard looks at themselves, but they also solicit, and consider, feedback from others, as they know this information is crucial if they are to continue to grow and develop.

Let's consider Catabolic Curt and Anabolic Amy, two leaders in the same company. Both manage several team members, and both recently had to deal with customer complaints they'd received. Curt was, well, quite curt as he told his team exactly what to do to correct the problem, and later, when his proposed solution didn't work; he blamed his team members for not implementing the plan properly.

Amy, not surprisingly, handled the situation differently. She and her team brainstormed a solution to the customer's complaint, and together decided what course to take. When their chosen plan didn't work out, instead of blaming her team, Amy sat down with them again to devise another solution. One of the questions she asked her team was how she could have handled the situation better, or supported them more. Amy learned some valuable information from their responses, and modified her behavior accordingly. Not only did Amy demonstrate that she was willing to learn and grow, but she also let her team know that it was safe to honestly give her feedback and trust her.

Anabolic leaders, by soliciting feedback and leaving their egos "at the door," grow, and by example, allow their colleagues and companies to grow and prosper as well.

So I will ask again: How Are You Doing? Who Are You Asking?

Executive Leadership at Level 6 & Level 7

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:01:00 -0600

Janice Bastani

We have come a long way in this series of articles from the lowest levels of leadership which are levels 1 & 2 in the Catabolic or negative range of self absorbed negative ego. We have moved through the levels of 3, 4, & 5 of the self mastery Anabolic energy to come to the top two levels of energy leadership.

In his book entitled “Energy Leadership” Dr. Bruce Schneider states, “Level 6 leaders are powerful yet humble….At level 7, the three-dimensional world that you think you know and see becomes obscure and indefinable.” Rarified beings reside at Level 6 & Level 7 in the Energy Leadership dynamic.

Level 6 leaders transcend their own egos and are about pure joy for the sake of joy. Intuition is their true genius. Judgment is suspended at all levels in life and at work. The creativity of the person is at its peak and the development of self and of the business is key. The level 6 leader does not ask anyone to do anything they are not willing to roll up their sleeves and do themselves.

A leader who is this in tune with themselves and their organization does not have to ask what is going on. They know because they are tuned in at every level. The more they know the more they flow.

Level 6’s are visionaries and with them “Everybody Wins!” The advantage of the leader at this level is empathy without judgment. The disadvantage is the sense of the leader being “aloof” and being a high risk taker.

Being a level 7 leader is not sustainable. For this would be pure energy at its highest level. No one can sustain this for any period of time. We have all experienced it for a brief moment in time. Think back to a moment when you felt that you could not get any more positive or excited at the sheer joy of the moment. This is level 7. You felt like there is nothing stopping you.

Have you ever be part of something BIG? In that moment of pure experience you were a participant, you were viewing the moment from somewhere outside yourself and you were fluid within the moment all at the same time….that is a 7. For myself this happens when I hear a great piece of music and all the hairs on my arm stand up. It is like seeing the music and flowing in it all at the same time as hearing and experiencing the musical piece. Hiking up to a prescipice and seeing a sunrise and hearing it or sunset from the same vantage point. If you have not experienced this ever, may I challenge you to experience one of these moments in your own life.

Being able to draw upon these moments in time is what supports us when the level 1 and 2’s come into our lives. Because we have experienced the level 6 & 7’s in our lives we can dwell in the possibility of the higher level of Anabolic life and leadership. We know what is feels like and what is possible.

Level 1 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Disengage = Self Centered Leadership….

The Level 2 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Conflict = Conflict Level Leadership….

The Level 3 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Rethink = Self Mastery Leadership…

The Level 4 Leader is: Think + Rethink + Center = Heart Connection Leadership…

The Level 5 Leader is: Think + Center + Restore Objectivity = Opportunity Leadership…

The Level 6 Leader is: Think + Intuit + Recreate = Wisdom Leadership

The Level 7 Leader is: Think + Create = Self Transcendence Leadership

How will you lead? How will you lead in your own life? In the life of your family? In the life of your organization? In the life of your community?
We would love to hear about your Energy Leadership experiences!

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This article is one of seven articles in a series on the 7 Levels of Energy Leadership, written by Janice Bastani. Janice is a Professional, Credentialed Coach with the International Coach Federation. She holds credentials in Energy Leadership Coaching and in Emotional Intelligence Coaching. Learn more about Janice and the Energy Leadership Program Assessment by visiting www.FocusOnEnergyLeadership.com or emailing her at focuscoaching@gmail.com.

Want to read more articles by Janice? Visit the Energy Leadership Blog.

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If you would like to reprint this article, please keep the article and author byline in tact and send the article link to Janice at focuscoaching@gmail.com.

Level 5 Leadership: Great Leadership

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:00:00 -0600

Janice Bastani

Level 5 leadership is where most CEOs reside. At level 5 “things just are” and there is no “good” or “bad”. The leader at this level is looking from a perspective of reconciliation instead of identifying and focusing on the differences in the personnel and business organization as a whole.

A leader at peace from the inside out has greater acceptance and this acceptance produces the control needed to run the operation. This leader is driven by the opportunities which are evident everywhere at this level and is evident in every aspect of the leader’s personal and public life. Congruence is the key.

There is true synergy within and without at this level. We are now into the third level of Anabolic Energy in our leadership levels. When a person resonates at a level 5 they are indeed happy, secure, while maintaining a strong ego and sense of self. The level 5 is not afraid to be who they really are.

A Level 5 Leader motivates and inspires those around him or her. Opportunities are everywhere and a real sense of possibility surrounds them. Others are attracted to the positive atmosphere which is around them. This leader is in the “WE WIN” every time category. This is what I call the “Opportunity Mindset”. A very powerful place to come from.

If you are the employee of one of these level 5’s you are viewed as endowed with your own set of gifted skills and looked upon as full of potential. Who wouldn’t want to work for a level 5? Because of this viewpoint of the employee, a leader can be very specific about what is expected of the staff and are held accountable for their work and decisions.

Level 1 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Disengage = Self Centered Leadership….

The Level 2 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Conflict = Conflict Level Leadership….

The Level 3 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Rethink = Self Mastery Leadership…

The Level 4 Leader is: Think + Rethink + Center = Heart Connection Leadership…

The Level 5 Leader is: Think + Center + Restore Objectivity = Opportunity Leadership…

If you were a level 5 leader, how would your day, this month, this quarter, your employees and your organization look? Reframe your thoughts and adjust your lenses that you peer through everyday and see what might look and feel different. Try on just one of these perspectives and see what changes. Let us know what you discover.

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This article is one of seven articles in a series on the 7 Levels of Energy Leadership, written by Janice Bastani. Janice is a Professional, Credentialed Coach with the International Coach Federation. She holds credentials in Energy Leadership Coaching and in Emotional Intelligence Coaching. Learn more about Janice and the Energy Leadership Program Assessment by visiting www.FocusOnEnergyLeadership.com or emailing her at focuscoaching@gmail.com.

Want to read more articles by Janice? Visit the Energy Leadership Blog.

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If you would like to reprint this article, please keep the article and author byline in tact and send the article link to Janice at focuscoaching@gmail.com.

Level 4 Leadership: Effective Leadership with Compassion

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:59:00 -0600

Janice Bastani

Level 4 Leadership is all about concern which drives compassion which in turn leads to service. Compassion and concern are not part of the vernacular for the average leadership training. As leaders we all evolve and a leader who has evolved to this level is thinking beyond his/her scope of the business that they lead. This is a genuine desire. The desire to help others comes out of a satisfaction of where a leader is inside and outside of himself or herself and the environment that they work and live in.

In the overall perspective of the Energy Leadership dynamic this is the second level of Anabolic energy. As a person goes deeper into this level of leadership, their perspective changes to those around them, and their need to help others becomes apparent. This person wants to encourage others to take steps to become part of the plan and shares information freely and in return receives feedback and buy-in from those they lead.

This total freedom of choice is freeing in the ability of the Leader to exhibit those qualities which draws others to them. A level 4 is the heart of connection to others and the real desire to help others, perhaps even to “fix” their “brokenness”.

The leader is now interested in how their decisions affect others in the organization. This is true for the employee and the business as a whole. Let’s look at an advantage at this level of leadership. A leader does not take things personally and genuinely cares for those they lead.

The disadvantage at this level is getting caught up in the drama of things. The leader still wants to be liked and this can cause a dip in the overall production. This is particularly true of leaders who are new to a position and is still getting their footing and very much wanting to be liked first in the eyes of his/her new role.

Level 4 leaders see opportunity in those situations that surround them. When presented with a “problem” from a subordinate or peer, they turn it around to see the opportunity in the situation. What went wrong here becomes, what can we do differently next time and what went right in the process. This takes a different mindset which comes from inside of us.

Here we are again to our equation on Leadership:

Level 1 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Disengage = Self Centered Leadership….

The Level 2 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Conflict = Conflict Level Leadership….

The Level 3 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Rethink = Self Mastery Leadership…

The Level 4 Leader is: Think + Rethink + Center = Heart Connection Leadership…

A note of caution here, this level of leadership is about helping the other person, lifting them up. The situation is no longer about you. In the “I” message it is: “You Win”, because I fix you. We create our own reality at home, in relationship and in the workplace. Once again here a level 4 leader is continuing to “reframe” their point of view in each situation.

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This article is one of seven articles in a series on the 7 Levels of Energy Leadership, written by Janice Bastani. Janice is a Professional, Credentialed Coach with the International Coach Federation. She holds credentials in Energy Leadership Coaching and in Emotional Intelligence Coaching. Learn more about Janice and the Energy Leadership Program Assessment by visiting www.FocusOnEnergyLeadership.com or emailing her at focuscoaching@gmail.com.

Want to read more articles by Janice? Visit the Energy Leadership Blog.

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If you would like to reprint this article, please keep the article and author byline in tact and send the article link to Janice at focuscoaching@gmail.com.

Level 3 Leadership: Executive Leadership

nospam@example.com (Janice Bastani) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:58:00 -0600

Janice Bastani

Executive Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes of ego, determination, focus, vision, big picture things right down to how a person feels when then roll out of bed in the morning. You see our ability to lead begins deep inside us with the Anabolic Energy we create at a cellular level. If you doubt this then do some research on the physics of energy and start with Sir Isaac Newton, or Albert Einstein. You will find that they began their scientific study at a cellular level and found out that we are indeed made up of resonating energy. Like energy attracts like.

What are the characteristics of the Level 3 leader? In the realm of Energy Leadership this leader takes responsibility. Cooperation is the key component of behavior. A willingness to work with people you like and tolerate those you do not like. This leader is more positive than negative and really likes to WIN. He/she still harbors a judgment about others; however blame is not assigned here. There is great cooperation in the team mentality and focusing on making a difference in the lives of the group dynamic. A level 3 loves reaching and being shown off for their achievements.

Remember our level 1 and level 2 leader in previous articles? With the Level 3 Leader we now pass into the Anabolic or positive area of the Energy Leadership dynamic. These leaders from 3 up are all about positive focus. Yes, they may have disappointments and even set back and failures, however, they conscientiously chose not to dwell in the Catabolic or negative state of being. Yes being. When we put forth anabolic energy we get anabolic energy.

We are each responsible for the quality of our experience, no matter where we are in life, what our level of responsibility is or what our job is or relationship we are involved in. We are responsible for our reality.

Let’s look at our equation which is evolving at its next phase in the process.
Level 1 Leader is:

Think + Interpret + Disengage = Self Centered Leadership….

The Level 2 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Conflict = Conflict Level Leadership….

The Level 3 Leader is: Think + Interpret + Rethink = Self Mastery Leadership…

Remember that identifying what triggers your inner feelings is about Emotional Intelligence and your Energy Level inside. Your mood, causes you to react, say, decide whatever the next step you take, this all comes from within us not outside of us. Stop, rethink what you are really triggered about and chose not to stay in that negative place, take the anabolic high road.

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This article is one of seven articles in a series on the 7 Levels of Energy Leadership, written by Janice Bastani. Janice is a Professional, Credentialed Coach with the International Coach Federation. She holds credentials in Energy Leadership Coaching and in Emotional Intelligence Coaching. Learn more about Janice and the Energy Leadership Program Assessment by visiting www.FocusOnEnergyLeadership.com or emailing her at focuscoaching@gmail.com.

Want to read more articles by Janice? Visit the Energy Leadership Blog.

_________________________________________________________________

If you would like to reprint this article, please keep the article and author byline in tact and send the article link to Janice at focuscoaching@gmail.com.