You’re talking a lot about leadership lately, based on your book “The Soul of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential for Greatness.” How can employees unlock their leadership potential?
I use the acronym LEADERS: L stands for look, listen, envision. E stands for emotional intelligence, emotional freedom, emotional bonding. A stands for awareness — what am I observing, what am I feeling, what do I need; what do you need and how can I help you? D stands for doing; for having goals and time limits for your goals. E stands for empowerment, which has to do with going beyond the usual fear of criticism. R stands for responsibility, taking risks and responding to feedback. Then S stands for synchronicities and coincidences.
In practical terms, how can employees unblock their potential?
If you want to be happy, the best way is to make somebody else happy. You can do that by paying attention to other people, by being a good listener, by showing that you care and showing them some affection.
You say employees can become more productive by actually doing less. How?
Take about 15 minutes during the day to be quiet and practice some breath awareness or meditation. Just doing a few little things like that — utilizing your strengths, being more playful, taking time for silence and working with people that you enjoy — will help everyone, including the industry and the economy.
— Vicki Salemi