This week we gather and celebrate Independence Day with parades, cookouts, and fireworks.  As you enjoy this Independence Day, please keep in mind the brave men and women who are serving and those who have served our beautiful country.  We are forever grateful to those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedoms.  They are the real heroes and leaders of our world.

As I look back at the relentless way these men and women served our country, I discovered 10 leadership skills that any leader should possess.  In no way are these in any specific order, but they all are critical to a deeper, more meaningful and significant life.

Attitude and perspective dictates most things in life, especially when it comes to leadership.  This is why I love talking about leadership because everything begins and ends with leadership.  However, our thought process determines how we lead.  We cannot lead anything well if we cannot first lead ourselves.

Here are 3 thought processes that successful leaders have to help them lead effectively.

How important is it to lead with confidence?  Confidence impacts every part of your leadership from your own personal development to the way you influence the people you lead.  But before we talk about what confidence is, let’s talk about what it is not.

 There are so many myths surrounding confidence.  First, let’s start with what confidence is not. 

I’ve been on an incredible journey of learning and developing my leadership skills.  Since I was a child, I have always been curious about human behavior and leadership.  I have watched, listened, interviewed, and studied many diverse leaders.  These leaders have poured into my leadership.  I want to share 5 important leadership lessons I have learned in my journey to be best leader I can be. 

Have you ever questioned your purpose or how meaningful you are as a leader? Has anyone ever made a difference in your life?  If so, what was the difference?  What positive impact did they have on your life?

We all should be seeking to influence and impact others in a positive manner.  This can only happen if you understand what it means to make a difference.  So what does it mean to make a difference?

It’s time for a check-in.  It’s mid-February.  Have you fallen into the “typical” statistics?  Do you know what stats I am talking about?  Check this out.

U.S. News reports that 80% of New Year’s resolutions will fail by the 2nd week of February.  Where are you with your goals for 2019? Have you been keeping up with the Daily Habit Tracker available for FREE as a Subscriber with MTN Universal? 

Don’t fret!  Anytime is a good time to reset, start again, or just pick up where you left off.  Start by re-reviewing how to Resolve to be Better in 2019 and re-evaluating your goals.

Evaluate your intentions.  Evaluate what has occurred in the beginning of 2019 that has hindered your progress and make  or reset your plan to make necessary changes.  It all boils down to your will, determination, and most importantly, CONSISTENCY.  

Recently, I learned about Mr. Pablo Casals; deemed one of the greatest cellists of all time.

There are few things that are as important as leading your life well.  Many people are searching for a well-balanced life.  But what is a well-balanced life?  How do you obtain work life balance?

I get asked this question quite frequently when I speak, perform workshops, or do individual coaching.  No matter the topic, the idea of having balance in one’s life usually always comes up.  You may have the same question while reading this blog.

Life has a way of bringing you the unexpected.  How many times have you had a busy schedule only to find one more thing added to it?  Have you ever made plans for a meeting, dinner, or an event only to find that it was cancelled?

When it comes to influence, we all have it.  Influence is the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.  The question is how much influence do you have?

Selfish leaders don’t think about how influential they are.  They don’t care if others believe they are selfish or not.  Matter of fact, these leaders believe they are doing everyone a favor by making everything all about them.

There is a leader within us all.  A great leader will have many attributes, but there are two marks of a great leader.

Leadership has been around since the beginning of time.  It can be seen in every form of nature.  The question is how important is vision when it comes to your leadership?  When you look at past great leaders and various leadership styles, you will discover that vision is a key component to the success of any leader.

Great leaders are people who develop other great leaders.  In other words, the greatest leaders are able to see greatness in others before they even recognize greatness in themselves.  However, the truth of the matter is you cannot develop or see greatness in someone else if you don’t first develop or see greatness in you.  Here are two ways to sharpen your vision as a leader, and consequently improve your success as a leader.