Four Ways to Create Unflinching Boldness
Timid people achieve less than bold.
Boldness builds the future. Fear stalls progress and congeals the past. Fear is survival mode. Boldness is opportunity mode.
4 Ways to Build Boldness:
- Prepare people for future challenges with training.
- Provide mentors.
- Celebrate mistakes caused by boldness.
- Most importantly fill people with hope.
Don’t press timid people to be bold – Give them hope and they will be bold.
Boldness follows hope. Hope is facing the future believing you’ll win. Napoleon Bonaparte said, “A leader is a dealer in hope.” Timid people don’t believe they can win.
People who believe they can win keep working to win.
10 Ways to Build Hope:
- Believe in them more than they believe in themselves.
- Do things that matter. Never complete bland tasks; always achieve meaningful vision.
- Remember past successes. “Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have is not permanent,” Mignon McLaughlin.
- Smile.
- Pat people on the back.
- Celebrate small wins, every day. Small wins create big wins.
- Celebrate effort; it keeps people moving forward.
- Praise frequently; correct occasionally.
- Focus on strengths more than weaknesses.
- Help people rest and renew.
Leaders who give others hope have bold teams.
How do you instill hope in the hearts of others?
Dan, you remind me that in most things, the process of becoming, and the goal of being, is actually more important than the individual taks we’re working on. This is true as individuals, as teams, as organizations, and as a society.
I want to chime in on your first way to build boldness: Preparation. We fear situations because we don’t feel ready for them. Peyton Manning claimed he seldom felt nervous before a big game because he knew he was prepared. And I believe that what we call luck is simply what happens when someone is prepared to take advantage of a fleeting window of opportunity. What great advice for your team: Look down the road, anticipate what you might need to do, and get ready in advance.
I like this… especially the part about how “boldness follows hope.” So good. Thanks for sharing!
Well Dan, you knew I was going to comment on #3-6/7 Celebrate mistakes caused by boldness. Certainly could expand it past boldness if even a timid effort is based in vision aligned.
From experience, one of the more positive changes in leadership has been the shift from micromanaging, blame, & finger pointing to respecting who knows the service delivery best and recognition of any/every aligned effort, failed or succeeded. Coupled immediately to that is, the leadership role of identifying lessons learned, sharing those lessons across the culture, and tying in the next waypoint of the vision.
BTW-Failure/success is in the mind of the perceiver. Time may more accurately determine whether an experiment is a success or failure.
Dan, your graphic today is so evocative, I don’t know how you find them!
Nice one. Thanks.
Dear Dan,
Leaders create hopes and dreams. They create opportunity that others cannot see. Leaders can instil hope in the hearts of others by winning hearts. Trust is the core element in winning others. Leaders need to create trust by their actions, efforts and authenticity. Trust creation is not one day process. Leaders should focus on others than self. Leaders should create a fearless environment where people should feel the presence of leaders even they are not present. I also feel that hope is not enough; you need to instil effort to achieve those goals. I think, the most important part is the means. Leaders should always use the means that is ethical, fair and acceptable. Any success based on unethical means is not success. The hope based on unethical practices is not hoped but hopeless.
Great post for weekend reflection Dan and I love all of your points. The best way for me to instill hope in the hearts of others is taking every opportunity to encourage. Every moment to thank them. Every instance to engage them and teach them. Every opportunity to hear, listen, and connect. In essence to make them feel important, needed, coveted, and loved by the organization and how their unique contribution makes us strong and how we value their input right or wrong because we know their intent is always focused on doing what’s right for the organization. It has been said that hope is not a strategy but it certainly is a bridge to keep momentum inching forward as we develop our strategy. Honest Abe said, “I walk slowly but never backward.” Our team members need to believe that we as leaders will carry them when needed so they can learn to carry others when their turn comes. Focused, guided and channeled hope provides credence to stay the course in search of the blueprint for our V/M/V. you all have a great weekend.
As I think I mentioned, I had a heart attack, and I’m staying in a rehab/nursing home. The people here are not my staff, and this isn’t a bad place by any means. I have met more here that have become timid. So many of them are never listened to, and they internalize. By speaking with patience, and using music and singing sometimes to get through, people become alive again. This isn’t Cookoo’s Nest, and there are no Nurse’s Ratchets, but it’s a crime to use fear and meaningless “medispeak” to shut people down. I’ve organized a trip to the movies, and I’m shocked they approved it. We’re going to see ‘Moneyball’ which I think will make at least a temporary difference to people who are ill, frightened, and fragile. Let’s see if it happens. I’m with Doc on the photo: That is a hoot! It would make a great logo for someone’s stationary, or blog. Hmmm. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if you took the photo yourself. If I use it, do I owe you anything? Have a great weekend everyone. Sweet tides, Linda
Linda,
Best wishes on your health!
Too funny on the pic. It’s definitely not mine… 🙂
Cheers,
Dan