The Voice of Influence – Be A Trim-Tab

A trim-tab is the small rudder that turns the big rudder that turns the entire boat.

If a leader will focus on little things – especially putting people in places where they can express their voice – then quite often you can turn a big ship around.

A leader have the mind-set and the skill set to constantly look for the potential in people. This kind of leadership communicates to people their own worth so clearly that they come to see it in themselves. The ultimate result is confident members who are open to contribute resulting to teamwork and collaboration. It is leveraging on each other's strength.

What’s the best way of doing this?

Be a role model to your circle of influence.

Remember my story about Phoenix - all levels participated and did their share. That's being a trim-tab. With every team members knowing their worth WE as a team was able to turn the ship around. Not just once, but several times - consistently leveraging our individual strength to our team success. You can read our story again and find several opportunities that demonstrated the voice of influence. 

The most important message is...accomplish things and let those accomplishments do the talking. The more you accomplish, the greater your influence and thus the greater your voice.

How can you become a person who is strong at spreading influence?

We would like to hear your story that allowed you to exercise your voice of influence. You can give us a brief account by sharing it in the comment section.

Inspiring Others To Find Their Voice

The Leadership Challenge

Leadership, in a nutshell, is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves.

Within the context of an organization, Covey also supplies readers with a second easily referenced definition: “an organization is made up of individuals who have a relationship and a shared purpose.”

The key function of leadership is dealing with change and identifying, then mitigating, both “acute” and “chronic” problems. Four distinct roles of leadership entail: “modeling” (setting a good example guided by conscience); “pathfinding” (determining the organization’s course with the creative input of colleagues by applying vision); “aligning” (establishing and maintaining systems to remain on course using discipline); and “empowering” (with passion as a guiding force, “focus talent on results, not methods, then get out of people’s way and give help as requested”).

As a leader, you have the power to help someone find their voice - point out, as clearly as possible, when you observe talents or passions or know of a need they can specifically fulfill. Point out to them exactly what the talent or passion is. Tap them if you have a need that’s right for them, explain exactly why they’re perfect for the role. Any time you can put someone in a position where any of the four parts of expressing one’s voice come into play (passion, talent, need, and conscience) – or even better, multiple ones – put them in place and tell them why you’re doing it. If you do this consistently to each member of your team, you will be amazed with the powerful team you have and what enormous achievement you can all do together.

I was able to apply what I learned as I joined my team Phoenix. Read our story from my blog in 2011 where I shared how they helped me achieved my dream team. It was all because of the relationship we have and the shared purpose.

Are you ready for the challenge? 

Express Your Voice

Previous blog:  Discover Your Voice

As we develop the four intelligences — physical, mental, emotional and spiritual
— in their highest manifestations, we find our voice.

“The highest manifestations of the four intelligences are: for the mental, vision; for the physical, discipline; for the emotional, passion; for the spiritual, conscience. These manifestations also represent our highest means of expressing our voice.” 

VISION is applied imagination. Visualization is first a mental creation, that eventually translates to physical reality.  You have the power to declare something as done. 

I have a vision board, each item come true naturally.  People close to me can attest to this in my life. 
Do you have your vision board?

Vision also means affirming others, believing in them and helping them realize their potential.

I am blessed to be given this as one of my special gift.  I have created my dream team leveraging my top 5 strengths - Learner, Achiever, Developer, Empathy and Individualization.  

Do you believe in others potential? 

DISCIPLINE is utilizing your physical energy to something worthwhile. You don’t deny reality. And accept the sacrifice it entail in doing whatever it takes to realize your vision. You become truly free in the process.

Manny Pacquiao training before any bout is an example of discipline.  Putting the right amount of sacrifice to gain a certain skill and competency is key to someone to be successful. Photography is the new discipline I am pursuing.  Do you have a particular discipline today?

PASSION is how you develop your emotional energy - desire, conviction and drive.  It is that internal fire burning within that radiates excitement, optimism, determination and emotional connection that is deeply rooted in the power of choice.

Passion happens when you do something that you personally find deeply fulfilling and throw yourself into – what are you passionate about?

CONSCIENCE - the small voice within.  It is power to develop ones spiritual energy.  It is the inward moral sense to do what is right and avoid to do wrong.  It is the source of ones peace and quiet.  It is the opportunity to demonstrate self control.  It empowers and affirms ones power and freedom to choose. It values feedback and sees the truth.  It is living a life with integrity. 

Vision, discipline, and passion are the time-immemorial mark of a leader who has had great effect on current as well as future generations of followers. When conscience (or “moral authority”) enters the equation as a guiding force for the other intelligences, then changing the world in a positive way ensues.

When all four intelligences meet, it is when you can truly express your voice, or, as Covey calls it, your unique personal significance.

Discover Your Own Voice

To find your voice means to engage in work that genuinely taps your talents and fuels your passion. It means to do something significant with your career – to sense an unmet need and then to fully harness all your talents and passion to meet that need. To find your voice means to take the path to greatness rather than settling for mediocrity.

One of the underlying reason of frustration for the majority of people is the fact they rarely have the opportunity to realise a life of greatness and contribution. I personally witness how parents in our generation will dictate almost anything in ones life.  From choices of food to eat, clothes to wear, and worst - college course to take.  Most will be justified as based on practicality in life.  But they actually make choices for you. And unless they know you well and based their recommendation to your chararcter and personality -  you will spend the majority of your life and career operating at a much lower level. Most of you are aware of the tremendous challenges and problems which exist, but you may have not developed the internal power nor the moral authority to become a force in solving those problems.  In time, there is  a feeling of loss or emptiness within.

To address this challenge, you need to find your own voice. When this happens, a fire will light inside you which will fuel tremendous drive and commitment. To be able to actually find your voice, however, you first need to understand a simple way of thinking about life.

A whole person has four basic components:

1.  A physical body.

2.  A mind capable of independent thought and analysis.

3.  A heart which can feel emotion.

4. A spirit – your soul or philosophical center.

Each of these components has a corresponding basic need or motivation:

1.  Physical body – “To live”.

2. Mind – “To learn”.

3.  Heart – “To love”.

4.  Spirit – “To leave a legacy”.

The highest manifestations of these capacities are:

1.  Physical body – Discipline

2.  Mind – Vision

3.  Heart – Passion

4.  Spirit – Conscience

As you begin to understand, respect and ultimately balance these highest manifestations for yourself, synergy is created. You become energised as you begin to understand what you’re actually capable of achieving. When you engage in work that taps your talents and fuels your passions, and which fills the need your conscience has drawn you towards, you find your voice. This is often described as “finding your true calling in life” . 

Have you discovered your own voice?  Have you found your true calling? 

I will share more about each manifestation in my succeeding blog. 

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This blog is meant to help you in this journey of discovering your own voice.

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The Freedom to Choose

When I read the 8th Habit in 2007, one of the life changing lessons I learned that was very simple to apply is "The Freedom to Choose" ... It taught me how to respond to every situation every moment of my life since.

Between stimulus and response is a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to 
choose our response. In those choices lie our growth and our happiness. No matter 
what has happened, there is a space between those events and our responses to them. 
If there is even a fraction of a second between stimulus and response, that space 
represents our power to choose our response to any situation. The key is to enlarge our 
“freedom to choose” space.*

It is with conscious effort to be aware of that space you have to choose how to respond.  I recommend a breathing space where I may need to count 1 to 10 that will allow me to expand the space and allow me to think before choosing my response.  It takes time for every action to become a habit. Consciously strive to be aware of  your situation and remind yourself that a few seconds will make a big difference in how things will turn out. You are in control of your life. You make things happen.

I used to be a nagging Mom. One day my daughter called me "Ms. G". I thought she was referring to G-Ganda which means beautiful.  But she said, "No Mom, it means "G-Galit" which means anger. It was a wake up call for me to be more conscious of how I react or respond  to situations especially in the presence of my children.

In my journey, I was able to get to know myself better. I realized that there are certain situations or circumstances that triggers my tendency to go back to that "old Ms. G".  As I explain it to my kids, I referred them as my "triggers".  That invisible button that when pressed, it is like a gun shot. "It's my trigger". My kids will usually say, "don't trigger, Mom". It meant an opportunity to miss my "space" during these instances. 

Having learned "The Freedom to Choose", I have finally convinced them to refer me as "Ms.G-Ganda" in time. It was very rewarding to know that my kids can appreciate the change in me. My kids were my partners who made me successful in my transformation.  And now as I look back, it actually even made us much closer. 

Indeed, the journey to my growth and happiness. A bonding that strengthen our family ties. Priceless.

What is the size of your reaction space?

Tip: Count 1-10 as you recognize that space.





*From CHAPTER 4—Discover Your Voice: Unopened Birth-Gifts