Political Leadership: Politician or Statesman?

The document that was signed at risk of death

As we discuss the various aspects of leadership, the political arena is an area that must enter the discussion. I recently watched the HBO DVD series on John Adams which is a well crafted portrayal of early United States history as well as a vivid depiction of the issues that the founding fathers wrestled with in forging a new nation from the fires of pioneer struggle, imperial dominance and ultimately the revolutionary war.

Reflecting back on the early years of our nation one ponders the ideals that drove Franklin, Adams, Jefferson, Washington and the rest of the representatives of the colonies during these tumultuous times. What principles shaped their policies? What values were of utmost importance to these men (and women) both on a personal and professional level?

As we prepare for our upcoming election we must weigh many issues in the balance as we choose who will represent us on a local, state and national level. The task can be overwhelming for folks involved in managing their own day to day lives. This post is an effort to simplify the process and underscore the core of what constitutes an exceptional political leader.

Webster’s Dictionary defines a Statesman as:
1: one versed in the principles or art of government; especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government or in shaping its policies
2: one who exercises political leadership wisely and without narrow partisanship

Politician is defined as:
1: a person experienced in the art or science of government; especially : one actively engaged in conducting the business of a government
2 a: a person engaged in party politics as a profession b: a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons

Let’s focus for a moment on the second definition of both words:

Statesman: one who exercises political leadership wisely and without narrow
partisanship

Politician: a person primarily interested in political office for selfish or other narrow usually short-sighted reasons

Survival in the Mountains: Touching the Void

Siula Grande is Northeast of Lima

Occasionally I will toss some adventure/sports/survival stories into the mix to provide fuel for inspiration.  To start off I thought I would provide a snapshot of the book Touching the Void, which is a quick read at only 227 pages.  It is the true story of two mountaineers (Joe Simpson and Simon Yates) harrowing ordeal climbing and then descending Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes.  The peak is 6334 meters (20,913 feet) and is located in the heart of Peru.   

This video recounts Joe Simpson’s experience waking up in a crevasse after his partner cut the climbing rope to avoid falling off of a cliff.

Here’s a direct link to Joe Simpson’s website

In addition here’s a great site of climber Guillaume Dargaud recounting his climbing adventures in Peru

He has also added some incredible mountain climbing screensaver/wallpapers

In the Zone: The Psychology of Winning

Competitors, musicians, athletes, and every day people like you and me seek the mysterious and elusive state of supreme focus and elevated confidence commonly referred to as the “zone”. In my recent post on professional surfer’s winning mindset Andy Irons spoke of being in the zone (you can read his description here). Occasionally we see people enter this place (and if we’re lucky experience it first hand) where time seems to stand still, motions become fluid and natural, and tasks transcend the clumsy and mundane, reaching a level that reveal glimpses into a world of perfection that typically lie beyond our every day experience.

I received an e-mail this week from Dr. Patrick Cohn of www.peaksports.com. Dr. Cohn is a sports psychologist who has developed a program which enables athletes to overcome mental barriers, increase focus, and achieve higher levels of success in their area of expertise. Here is an excerpt from his e-mail on the zone:

“What really is the zone? The zone is simply a mental state of total
involvement in the present moment. I like the word *immersed* as it
indicates you lose yourself – or your sense of self – when you
perform, which is how some athletes describe the zone…

Being in the zone is a state of total involvement in a task without
the mental burden or worry, doubt, or fear about results.

Many of the top athletes do–Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Maria
Sharapova, for example. But some athletes are blocked from entering
the zone because they are overtaken by massive distractions such as
fear of failure and worry.

The top athletes know how to harness the power of the zone by using
thoughts and images to trigger a mindset to enter the zone.

************************************************
‘I felt as though I was driving in a tunnel. I had
reached such a high level of concentration that it
was as if the car and I had become one.’
~Arton Senna, F1 Race Car Driver
*************************************************

Arton Senna’s quote is a common description of how athletes depict
or explain their experience in the zone: the driver merges with the
car; the tennis player joins her mind with the ball and court; the
golfer becomes one with the club and the ball; and so on.

Entering the zone may sound zen-like and magical, but actually
achieving this level of immersion is very simple…

When your mind fully connects with achieving a goal, such as serving
an ace, attention is absorbed into the present – the here and now
only. Your mind is riveted to the thoughts and images that help you
execute with precision.

With pinpoint focus, fear of failure, worry, doubt, indecision, and
other mental traps are forbidden from entering your conscious mind.
In this state of concentration, mental distractions struggle to
compete for your attention, but lose the battle…”

Have you ever experienced the zone? What were the characteristics of that experience that stick out in your mind? Analyzing the experience and practicing steps that lead to the experience may hold the key to unlocking future “zone” experiences. Check out my recent post on engrams to discover 10 steps in developing positive mental maps.

For further information on the zone including a psychological study posted on WebMD check out this link

Peak Performance and the Olympic Athlete’s Mindset

In my continued efforts to understand the factors that set high performance athletes apart from the rest of the field I came across a triathletes’s website (www.cruciblefitness.com) that contains some valuable information regarding pushing through pain, keeping focused on the goal, and reaching for the prize. Rich Strauss is an Ironman competitor who shares his perspective on the realities of remaining focused when our bodies are screaming at us to quit, he states:

“I went through Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in January through March, 1996. It was the coldest winter in 100 years. For one exercise we had to negotiate a very long obstacle course, which included the Quigley, a small creek, covered in ice. The instructors had us break the ice with the butts of our M-16’s just so we could get in the water. For the exercise, I was the leader of a four man fire team. The other three guys were very thin runner types and they were absolutely suffering in the cold water. The instructor yelled at them and said “I didn’t put you in that water, you did. You asked for this. You have asked for the privilege of leading me and my Marines. You earn it in that water. Suck it up, Buttercup.”

The body will do amazing things, when driven by the single-minded focus created through clarity of purpose. In short, identify why you want to do this to yourself and then commit your head to driving your body to the edge of your physical envelope. In the words of Jack Palance in City Slickers, it’s the One Thing.

…The One Thing is whatever has motivated you to do this to yourself in the first place. Before the race you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and identify what your One Thing is. And this is no time for bullshit. Be completely honest because your body will play your bluff when the chips are down. You can’t lie to yourself out there…

Identify why you want to do the race before signing up. Are you doing it for you or to prove something to someone else? Be completely honest with yourself. “I’m doing this Ironman so I can earn a unique title that is mine forever.” One Thing = title of Ironman.

Take that One Thing and mate it with your race goals and expectations: “The title is important to me, not the time. I want to finish with a smile on my face.”

Remind yourself, daily, of your One Thing and the race goals and expectations you have built around it. Through this process your One Thing will provide clarity of purpose to your training. When the Phunometer is pegged during a 6 hour long ride, you’ll know why you are still out there.

In your mental rehearsals before the race, visualize the conversation between Mind and Body when the Body begins to question the Mind’s commitment to the One Thing. Prepare your rebuttal beforehand.

On race day, continually remind yourself of the One Thing. Focus completely on its accomplishment. Remember, you can never disappoint your friends or family. They will be proud of you regardless. However, you can let yourself down. In the end, the best we can do is follow our commitment to our One Thing.”

While this mindset may seem to be reserved for elite athletes it is a technique that holds value whatever the discipline. Each of us has a “race” to run, an obstacle to overcome or a task to accomplish.

Rich shares more in depth advice on running an Ironman at his website. My question for you is…what is your One Thing? Have you come to terms with being fully committed? Have you prepared a “rebuttal” for the argument your mind will give you when the heat gets turned up? In the upcoming weeks I will be discussing the issues of motivation and choice as it relates to initiating life change. For more information on mental focus check out this post and check back for updates!

8 Pro Surfers Share Tips on the Psychology of Winning

Continuing the theme of discovering and maintaining a winning mindset (see my recent post titled Staring Fear in the Face: Olympic Athletes and Engrams) I came across an article in the August 2008 issue of Surfing Magazine that highlights the things top surfers focus on as they prepare for competition. As I read the article I tried to focus on one thing that is important to each athlete concerning preparing for a high pressure competitive situation. Here is a sampling of quotes:

Kolohe Andino: “I have a set routine for any heat-hard or easy. I don’t like to eat before I compete, maybe just some water…really watch the waves closely…listen to the Red Hot Chili Peppers…when the heat’s about to start I like to be the last one to the water’s edge. Just slip by everyone, paddle out and get down to business”

Kelly Slater: “It is hard to be really competitive with a good friend, whether its a wave or a contest of a girl. No matter what, its going to feel bad at some point.”

Tom Curren: “Singlemindedness”

Andy Irons: “There is a zone. I never really noticed it, because when you’re living it, you don’t realize it…you’re just at ease with where you’re at. I knew in my head if I stuck to my plan I’d win…Heat by heat, nothing to prove. Having fun with it. When you’re having fun with it, that’s when you’re scary.”

Jordy Smith: “when you’re devastated from a loss you gotta hold it together in public…I also learned I should be more prepared for a heat. It doesn’t matter how much confidence you have; you can’t just run down and go for a surf and expect to win.”

Taj Burrow: (on competition) “I was…so excited about it…I enjoyed the attention of all the eyes on me. I loved a bunch of people watching me and me showing off, going, ‘I can do this and this and this’…its always been a priority for me to put on a good show”

Dane Reynolds: “Everybody thinks its a part of my heat strategy-to claim that I don’t care about winning. But I don’t think I was lying…you surf like you would any other day…there’s no pressure when you want to lose. You surf with more freedom.”

Mick Fanning: “Everyone who competes or races or is a top athlete has this desire to keep bettering themselves…I want to come in the winner. I want first place…I don’t want to lose. It’s sort of like an addiction.”

As I read through the article I realized that each surfer has a different approach that ties in with their own uniqueness and personality. What is your approach to competing? Are you intense or laid back? Focused or relaxed? Do you need competitive pressure to rise to the occasion or do you prefer to over prepare so that the actual competitive moment is easier than your training?

WSJ’s Top 21 Most Influential Business Thinkers/Gurus

In keeping with the dual themes of leadership and mental focus I decided to include a list of the top 20 business thinkers (why 21 in my article?…because the Journal miscounted and had two listed as number 11) according to a Wall Street Journal Article published May 5, 2008.  In the upcoming weeks and months I will be highlighting each of these leaders and providing a snapshot of their driving philosophy.  While each of us may not have the time to read 20 books on leadership some great insights can be gleaned through studying a short synopsis of their styles.  Keep checking back for updates!  Now onto the list…

Name                                             Area of Expertise                          Recent Book

1.  Gary Hamel                        Strategy Guru                    The Future of management

2.  Thomas L. Friedman NY Times Columnist        Hot, Flat and Crowded

3.  Bill Gates                    Microsoft Chairman         Business at the Speed of Thought    

4.  Malcolm Gladwell       Author, Public Speaker           Blink, The Tipping Point

5.  Howard Gardner               Harvard Professor                Responsibility at Work

6.  Phillip Kotler                   Northwestern Professor            According to Kotler           

7.  Robert B.  Reich                       Ex-labor secretary             Supercapitalism

8.  Daniel Goleman                       Psychologist                      Social Intelligence

9.  Henry Mintzberg                    McGill Professor                 Strategy Safari

10.  Stephen R. Covey               Author, Speaker                7 Habits, 8th Habit

11.  Jeffrey Pfeffer               Stanford Professor            The Knowing Doing Gap 

12.  Peter Senge                        Author, Speaker                  The 5th Discipline

13.  Richard Branson          Entrepreneur, Virgin Founder         Big Shots

14.  Michael E. Porter              Harvard Professor         Redefining Healthcare            

15.  Michael S.  Dell                    Dell Founder                    Direct from Dell

16.  Geert Hofstede                       Author                   Culture’s Consequences

17.  Clayton M. Christensen        Harvard Professor         Seeing What’s Next             

18.  Jack Welch                        Former CEO General Electric       Winning               

19.  Tom Peters                            Author                       In Search of Excellence

20.  Myron S. Scholes                 Nobel Laureate          Taxes and Business Strategy

21.  Ikujiro Nonaka                Hitotsubashi professor    Knowledge Management

Top 10 Amazing Michael Jordan Shots

Referring to the last post on handling competitive pressure I thought I would post a video of the man that personifies “veins of ice”

more about “Top 10 Amazing Michael Jordan Shots“, posted with vodpod

 

 

Staring Fear in the Face: Olympic Athletes and Engrams

With the entire world focused on Beijing, the Chinese have gone to great lengths to host these Olympic games.  News agencies and blogs around the globe have commented on the Chinese Athlete Machine, with a Yahoo sports blog commenting on Yao Ming and his need to step out of the state sponsored basketball program.  Much has been made of the weight of expectation the Chinese athletes carry as they seek to represent their home country in these games.  Which leads to the subject of this post…dealing with competitive pressure in a positive way. 

Have you ever asked yourself why you lose focus when the heat gets turned up?  Why do I hook my golf shot when people are watching?  How could I blank on that speech to the board of directors when I spent days pouring over the material?  Why do some athletes sink the winning basket (think Michael Jordan) when others choke?  In the Olympics the athletes train for years to overcome these mental barriers, and they have specific techniques to aid with this phenomenon, one such concept is that of the engram. 

According to Dale Goddard and Udo Neumann in their book Performance Rock Climbing, engrams are “memories ingrained in your brain that are the basis for all movement”.  In other words the way we train and the experiences we have are imprinted in our minds, when we encounter new experiences our mind refers back to previous experiences to process the new information.  According to Goddard and Neumann under extreme situations of stress the athlete only uses his or her most practised and instinctive engrams. 

This begs the question, how do I train my mind for high pressure situations?

Here are ten steps to engram development:

1.  Execute under ideal conditions (practice proper technique in a comfortable environment)

2.  Concentrate on good technique

3.  Avoid practicing when afraid (the brain records the fear associated with the event)

4.  Repeat, Repeat, Repeat (This cements the proper routine in the mind)

5.  Once technique is solidified introduce competitive pressure (even through mock competitions or challenges such as doing a routine perfect the first time)

6.  Gradually increase pressure as comfort level increases

7.  Rather than practice until muscular failure, practice until close to failure but with emphasis on good technique (better to end with the mind focusing on good technique)

8.  Cross-train

9.  Include down time for the brain to assimilate new, improved techniques

I would add one final tip which I have been reminded of through musical training…start slow, focus on technique and increase speed once the technique has been perfected.  Despite the fact that these techniques are targeted towards athletes, I believe that the same principles could be adapted for other disciplines…whether it be the office, a hobby, or a specific task.  Mastering the art of florishing under pressure is a skill that, once developed, is as good as gold.

Four Key Aspects to Sir Winston Churchill’s Character

 

By Steven F. Hayward

Published by Random House Inc, 1998

ISBN 0761514406, 9780761514404

Author Steven F. Hayward’s motivation for writing a book dedicated to Winston Churchill stemmed from his interactions with business executives and entrepreneurs in southern California.  As he shared stories of Churchill’s executive leadership with various business colleagues Dr. Hayward realized a heightened interest in the former Prime Minister’s leadership style.  A tremendous amount of wisdom could be gleaned from Churchill’s philosophy of leadership as it relates to modern day business practices.  This volume analyzes the various aspects of Churchill’s leadership style as it relates to: executive decision making, management of personnel, administration, communication, innovation and invention, crisis management, moral purpose, as well as Churchill’s personal traits.

In chapter 1 Dr. Hayward identifies 4 key aspects of Churchill’s character that set him apart from the average politician, “The four aspects were…

1.  Candor and plain speaking
2.  Decisiveness
3.  The ability to balance attention to details with a view of the wider scene
4.  A historical imagination that informed his judgment 

   For such a brief volume the author quoted from a number of reliable sources and the book reflects this in-depth research.  The bookends of the introductory executive synopsis (in chapter 1) and the biographical sketch (in the appendix) are helpful in putting the rest of the chapters in context.  

It is quite obvious from the reading that Churchill was a directed man, even from a young age, who had a mind for organization.  He was able to take a bird’s eye view and see the big picture, and employed various means to keep his “ear to the ground”.  I am impressed with Churchill’s drive, thirst for knowledge (and creative and effective use of information) and courage. 

While it would be easy to dismiss Churchill as a genius and assume that his effective leadership was a result of naturally inborn traits, this book highlights the fact that Winston Churchill’s disciplines gave him the ability to “stand in the tower” and have the broad overview as well as the specific details to accomplish the ultimate goal, which was winning the war.  A careful study and proper implementation of these principles could possibly enable today’s modern business leader to achieve an organization’s “ultimate” goal. 

Chris Bonington, Famous Mountaineer Speaks of K2 Tragedy

In the upcoming months I will be mixing stories of adventure, survival and sports in with thoughts on leadership and overcoming mental obstacles…to start off I thought this story was relevant. Background on this video is that on Friday August 8th an ice fall swept a number of climbers down the mountain. According to Munir Ahmed, Associated Press Writer, the party initially consisted of 30 Mountaineers. News on the tragedy is still surfacing around the web.

more about “Chris Bonnington, Famous Mountaineer …“, posted with vodpod