Is this looks like another musician/singer is on the making? God willing. Our little star...Reanne
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
5 Attributes of Inspirational Leaders
The Sahara plays tricks on the eyes of its travelers. As the desert sun beats down on the sand, heat waves rise from the ground. Light bends as it passes through the superheated air, painting illusory pictures on the horizon. To thirsty travelers moving through the Sahara, it often appears as if an oasis looms in the distance. However, as the voyagers journey on, the oasis proves to be nothing more than a mirage.
Unfortunately, the ranks of leadership are inhabited by a host of mirages: people who look impressive from a distance, but end up being disappointments. After being fooled by a few mirages, followers become jaded about leadership. That seems as true now as it ever has been. Our trust in leaders has been shaken as politicians have reneged on promises, CEOs have squandered money entrusted to their firms, and managers have advanced self-interests above all else.
To restore society's confidence with those in power, leaders have to be able to inspire. I'm not talking about inspiring someone to buy into the corporate vision statement, to meet quarterly sales goals, or to work more efficiently. These aren't bad things, but right now, people are looking for a leader attuned to their personal needs. They want leaders who will encourage them, believe in their potential, and help them grow.
5 Attributes of an Inspirational Leader
ATTITUDE OF SERVICE
To be an inspirational leader, you must adopt an attitude of service toward those you lead. This requires laying aside selfish interests to add value to another person. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." When you serve, you awaken something magnetic inside of you. People are drawn to follow you because they know you'll find ways to make them better.
AFFIRMATION
To inspire means to have a positive view of others. If we're not careful, we become fault-finders, magnifying the flaws in everyone around us. Instead, leaders should emulate gold prospectors - always on the lookout for potential gold mines. When they find traces of ore, prospectors assume there's a rich vein to unearth, and they start digging. In the same fashion, leaders ought to search for the best traits within a person and commit to uncovering them.
One of the best applications of this idea is expressed in what I call the 101 percent principle: Find the one thing that you believe is a person's greatest asset, and then give 100 percent encouragement in that area. Focusing on a person's strengths inspires them by promoting confidence, growth, and success.
ATTENTIVENESS
Great inspirers know the desires of those they lead. As much as people respect the knowledge and ability of their leaders, these are secondary concerns for them. They don't care how much their leaders know until they know how much their leaders care. When leaders attend to the deeply felt needs of their team, the determination and commitment of each team member skyrockets.
AVAILABILITY
Leaders inspire by intentionally investing time in the people they lead. They make themselves available. People cannot be nurtured from a distance or by infrequent spurts of attention. They need a leader to spend time with them - planned time, not just a conversation in passing.
In our fast-paced and demanding world, time is a leader's most precious commodity. While it feels costly to give up, nothing communicates that you value a person more than the gift of your time. In addition, investing time to develop others has a way of reaping dividends. As Ralph Waldo Emerson remarked, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
AUTHENTICITY
To inspire, leaders have to be genuine. More than anything else, followers want to believe in and trust their leaders. However, when leaders break promises or fail to honor commitments, they reveal themselves as being inauthentic, and they lose credibility. Trust rests upon a foundation of authenticity. To gain trust, a leader must consistently align words and deeds, while showing a degree of transparency.
Summary
Inspirational leadership can be confused with momentary charisma. I prefer to think about inspiring as more of a process than an event. More than a brilliant speech, it's cultivating habits of brilliance that manifest themselves daily. By modeling the five attributes of an inspiring leader, I trust that you'll win the respect of those you lead and earn the right to influence them.
Unfortunately, the ranks of leadership are inhabited by a host of mirages: people who look impressive from a distance, but end up being disappointments. After being fooled by a few mirages, followers become jaded about leadership. That seems as true now as it ever has been. Our trust in leaders has been shaken as politicians have reneged on promises, CEOs have squandered money entrusted to their firms, and managers have advanced self-interests above all else.
To restore society's confidence with those in power, leaders have to be able to inspire. I'm not talking about inspiring someone to buy into the corporate vision statement, to meet quarterly sales goals, or to work more efficiently. These aren't bad things, but right now, people are looking for a leader attuned to their personal needs. They want leaders who will encourage them, believe in their potential, and help them grow.
5 Attributes of an Inspirational Leader
ATTITUDE OF SERVICE
To be an inspirational leader, you must adopt an attitude of service toward those you lead. This requires laying aside selfish interests to add value to another person. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., "An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity." When you serve, you awaken something magnetic inside of you. People are drawn to follow you because they know you'll find ways to make them better.
AFFIRMATION
To inspire means to have a positive view of others. If we're not careful, we become fault-finders, magnifying the flaws in everyone around us. Instead, leaders should emulate gold prospectors - always on the lookout for potential gold mines. When they find traces of ore, prospectors assume there's a rich vein to unearth, and they start digging. In the same fashion, leaders ought to search for the best traits within a person and commit to uncovering them.
One of the best applications of this idea is expressed in what I call the 101 percent principle: Find the one thing that you believe is a person's greatest asset, and then give 100 percent encouragement in that area. Focusing on a person's strengths inspires them by promoting confidence, growth, and success.
ATTENTIVENESS
Great inspirers know the desires of those they lead. As much as people respect the knowledge and ability of their leaders, these are secondary concerns for them. They don't care how much their leaders know until they know how much their leaders care. When leaders attend to the deeply felt needs of their team, the determination and commitment of each team member skyrockets.
AVAILABILITY
Leaders inspire by intentionally investing time in the people they lead. They make themselves available. People cannot be nurtured from a distance or by infrequent spurts of attention. They need a leader to spend time with them - planned time, not just a conversation in passing.
In our fast-paced and demanding world, time is a leader's most precious commodity. While it feels costly to give up, nothing communicates that you value a person more than the gift of your time. In addition, investing time to develop others has a way of reaping dividends. As Ralph Waldo Emerson remarked, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."
AUTHENTICITY
To inspire, leaders have to be genuine. More than anything else, followers want to believe in and trust their leaders. However, when leaders break promises or fail to honor commitments, they reveal themselves as being inauthentic, and they lose credibility. Trust rests upon a foundation of authenticity. To gain trust, a leader must consistently align words and deeds, while showing a degree of transparency.
Summary
Inspirational leadership can be confused with momentary charisma. I prefer to think about inspiring as more of a process than an event. More than a brilliant speech, it's cultivating habits of brilliance that manifest themselves daily. By modeling the five attributes of an inspiring leader, I trust that you'll win the respect of those you lead and earn the right to influence them.
Night Glow at Putrajaya - video
Part of the Night Glow event captured live for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Night Glow at Putrajaya
After gotto to know about the first ever hot air balloon fiesta at Putrajaya, we made an afford to go to experience it......especially for kids. Pei and I had neither have a close encounter with it yet. The event starts at 7.o0am but the main event is at 8.00 am when the participating balloons take off and fly. Unfortunately we arrived late on 8.45am and missed the excitements. We only saw one showcase balloon which for visitors to have a fun ride on it.......at a cost. Anyway tickets are all sold out. Nevertheless, we hang around for about one and half hours photo taking and visiting the exhibitor booths.
Feeling not satisfied, we decided to come back in the evening to watch the night flow show which will be on 8.30pm. This time around, we try to be early if not on time.
By the evening, my family and Silas' family reach about 8.30pm at the same location. Thank God, we wasn't late. The show was delay slightly. About 9pm the nigh glow slowly warms up with balloons mushrooming one by one from the ground and starts to light up. Not really a 'wow' thing but still was quite an experience. We located a spot and sat on the ground to watch the event. About one hour (or maybe less) the event ended. Not bad for a 1st time experience but could have been better. Maybe next round then.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Tesco cuts prices
Tesco Stores (M) Sdn Bhd is permanently cutting prices on 200 essential grocery and fresh market products, the hypermarket’s chief executive officer Chris Bush said.“This is not a promotion that will end in a week or a month, but a long-term price cut where 200 essential items will see an average discount of about 8%, which is a lot for fresh goods and groceries,” he told a media conference at Tesco’s head office in Mutiara Damansara yesterday.
Tesco hopes to achieve this by helping customers spend less at this time of economic recession.
Marketing director Paul Morris said that to ensure that the most important and relevant products were made cheaper, purchasing trends were tracked using the store’s loyalty cards.
“The chosen items are things that always appear on customers’ lists, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry, spices, sauces and baking goods,” he added.
Fuel rebate ends on April 14
As reported in The StarOnline, car owners will be able to continue collecting their fuel cash rebates from post offices until April 14. Pos Malaysia Bhd said the claim period was to have ended on March 31 but the Government had agreed to extend it for another two weeks.
So last call everyone!
So last call everyone!
Hot Air Ballon at Putrajaya
From 19 - 22 March 2009, Putrajaya will be the venue for the Hot Air Ballon Fiesta 2009 which is the very first.Venue: Putrajaya Precinct 2, adjacent to the ‘Monumen Alaf Baru’
Number of Hot Air Balloons: 25 (20 standard shaped hot air balloons and 5 special shaped hot air balloons)Participating countries includes Australia, Belgium, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Oman, Philippines, Switzerland, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom and United States of America.
For further details, click here.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Down with wheezing again
Unaware, today Ivan has developed wheezing again. We don't understand how or what trigger the wheezing. Last two days there were a slight coughing that's all. We should have been more sensitive on the turn about of his health.
By the time I came home in the evening, Ivan is already wheezing quite badly. We brought him to the nearby clinic to quickly reduce the wheezing effects. If not he will have a very rough time to sleep in the entire night.
I wasn't very happy to see him suffer like that. I wish he don't have to go through it at all. What on earth might have trigger his wheezing? He was doing fine after the last episode of attack back in Nov 2008. In fact his weight has reached to 16kg already! I am very perplexed by it.
Hope he quickly recover from it tomorrow.
By the time I came home in the evening, Ivan is already wheezing quite badly. We brought him to the nearby clinic to quickly reduce the wheezing effects. If not he will have a very rough time to sleep in the entire night.
I wasn't very happy to see him suffer like that. I wish he don't have to go through it at all. What on earth might have trigger his wheezing? He was doing fine after the last episode of attack back in Nov 2008. In fact his weight has reached to 16kg already! I am very perplexed by it.
Hope he quickly recover from it tomorrow.
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