Only a passing glance

What is Faith? Faith is believing in something. Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, concept or idea. It is the mental acceptance of the truth or actuality of something. In its positive aspect, it is a belief in the favorable outcome of anything undertaken.

There are two kinds of faith. The first is a faith that is predicated on truth, and can be proven by experiment. The experiment that proves this truth is one that produces the same result every time. As an example, one might say two plus two makes five, but that does not make it true. In fact, upon hearing this, one might become convinced and even convince others that this is correct, and still this would not make it true.

The only possible way to get the correct answer to a mathematical problem is to conform to the established laws of mathematics, which are based upon truth. Therefore, in applying this law, you get the correct answer: two plus two equals four, at any time, at any place, and under any conditions. Truth.

The second is based upon ignorance, conjecture or supposition. This is a faith that has not been fully determined by tested experiment. No matter the fervor in its tenets, this professed faith is still in a state of doubt and uncertainty until empirical experiment can prove that it is either true, or reveal that it is false.

As an example, for five thousand years people believed implicitly that the world was flat. They had the utmost faith in their belief. Columbus came along, and, by experiment, proved that the world was round. Their earlier faith was based on ignorance, and an experiment proved that it was false. People had an untrue faith, exacerbated by the church, that the sun revolved around the earth, until Copernicus discovered the truth.

Over time, many other beliefs were held to be true as well, until they were proven to be false, and the debunking of conjecture and supposition continues to this day. Flawed and outmoded thought consensus, perpetuated by our fear and indolence, a trait of our human nature, causes us to steadfastly hold on to the security blanket of established orthodoxy. We let go only grudgingly when confronted with irrefutable scientific proof.

Faith may be bolstered by knowledge but that knowledge too may be true or false. After all, knowledge is the state of being aware of something, or the possession of information. It is very easy to be aware of something untrue, or to possess information that may prove to be false. Therefore, the old saying that ‘knowledge is power’ should be revised. Knowledge is power provided that it is based upon a truth, otherwise it may be a tremendous burden, a serious impediment, a decided hindrance, and a very present handicap to mental or spiritual development and progress.

And burdened is where we are today, handicapped by our misguided faith in the efficacy of our respective economies, the lack of credibility in our leaders, and the false idols of progress at whatever cost; and success no matter what it takes. We are entering a period in our collective consciousness where the next great paradigm shift in perceptions will leave most of us still thinking ‘the world is flat’ and that we can just continue to keep on keeping on. Many unwary will be left devastated.

And this is where the laws of the universe come into play. God as all pervasive energy is invisible and all of his laws are invisible. No one can see life, spirit, thought, electricity, atomic energy, or any form of power. All we see is the manifestation of those powers. Mankind, despite his arrogance, does not create power. He merely discovers it and appropriates it to his own use, sometimes wisely, sometimes not. He has harnessed electrical power, mathematical power, chemical power, atomic power, and many other forms of power. But the greatest of all power is treated with only a passing glance, and that is spiritual power.

Many of today’s thinkers, scientists and physicists are beginning to express the view that the greatest discoveries going forward will be along spiritual lines. Here is a force which history now clearly teaches has been the greatest power in the development of mankind. Yet, so far, we have merely been playing with it and have never seriously studied it as we have the physical forces.

Now that we have an understandable conception of truth and its application to other forms of energy, the time has come, in survival and in evolutionary terms, to devote more time to discovering the underlying truth of spiritual power. No doubt someone will try to find a way to pervert it for personal gain or power, but this truth, by its very nature, may not be so amenable to selfish human intervention. Appropriate use of this consciousness raising power would be a great asset for improving and enhancing every aspect of true personal growth as well as sorely needed synergistic social cohesion.

Simple leadership basics

A great cloud of jargon, debate, and junk theory surrounds the idea of leadership, what it is, who does it, and how to do it well. But if you have just been promoted, and you're responsible for a group for the first time, there are only a few things you really need to know about leadership.

When you get promoted and become responsible for the performance of a group you become a leader. But you don't undergo some magical change. In fact, it will probably take you over a year to completely adjust to your new role.

You're a leader because the people in your group treat you like one. The only choice you have is what kind of job you'll do.

When you become a leader your power actually goes down. As an individual contributor, you just have to decide to work harder, longer or smarter to improve performance. When you're responsible for the performance of a group, the group is your destiny. They choose whether to act or not.

When you become a leader, your influence goes up. The people who work for you pay attention to what you say and do. They adjust their behavior accordingly.

The result is that you use your behavior (what you say and do) to influence the behavior of the people who work for you to achieve a defined objective.

Achieving the objective is part of your job as a leader. The other part is caring for your people.

It may be possible to achieve good short term results without caring for your people. But you can't achieve long term success for you or your company without the willing cooperation of the best folks you can find.

At the end of the day, you can measure your leadership based on those two standards. Did we accomplish the mission? Are the members of my group better off today than yesterday?

You can find out more about all of this and learn it almost effortlessly from my book, Performance Talk: The One-on-One Part of Leadership.

Seven personal characteristics of a good leader

How often have you heard the comment, “He or she is a born leader?” There are certain characteristics found in some people that seem to naturally put them in a position where they’re looked up to as a leader.

Whether in fact a person is born a leader or develops skills and abilities to become a leader is open for debate. There are some clear characteristics that are found in good leaders. These qualities can be developed or may be naturally part of their personality. Let us explore them further.

Seven Personal Qualities Found In A Good Leader

1. A good leader has an exemplary character. It is of utmost importance that a leader is trustworthy to lead others. A leader needs to be trusted and be known to live their life with honestly and integrity. A good leader “walks the talk” and in doing so earns the right to have responsibility for others. True authority is born from respect for the good character and trustworthiness of the person who leads.

2. A good leader is enthusiastic about their work or cause and also about their role as leader. People will respond more openly to a person of passion and dedication. Leaders need to be able to be a source of inspiration, and be a motivator towards the required action or cause. Although the responsibilities and roles of a leader may be different, the leader needs to be seen to be part of the team working towards the goal. This kind of leader will not be afraid to roll up their sleeves and get dirty.

3. A good leader is confident. In order to lead and set direction a leader needs to appear confident as a person and in the leadership role. Such a person inspires confidence in others and draws out the trust and best efforts of the team to complete the task well. A leader who conveys confidence towards the proposed objective inspires the best effort from team members.

4. A leader also needs to function in an orderly and purposeful manner in situations of uncertainty. People look to the leader during times of uncertainty and unfamiliarity and find reassurance and security when the leader portrays confidence and a positive demeanor.

5. Good leaders are tolerant of ambiguity and remain calm, composed and steadfast to the main purpose. Storms, emotions, and crises come and go and a good leader takes these as part of the journey and keeps a cool head.

6. A good leader as well as keeping the main goal in focus is able to think analytically. Not only does a good leader view a situation as a whole, but is able to break it down into sub parts for closer inspection. Not only is the goal in view but a good leader can break it down into manageable steps and make progress towards it.

7. A good leader is committed to excellence. Second best does not lead to success. The good leader not only maintains high standards, but also is proactive in raising the bar in order to achieve excellence in all areas.

These seven personal characteristics are foundational to good leadership. Some characteristics may be more naturally present in the personality of a leader. However, each of these characteristics can also be developed and strengthened. A good leader whether they naturally possess these qualities or not, will be diligent to consistently develop and strengthen them in their leadership role.