Written by: Nick Palladino-King, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Ready, Aim, Fire. The wisdom of this simple formula has been lost by so many leaders in today’s world. Many individuals and companies just fire away in any direction at any time, which diminishes their success and destabilizes their communities. We do this because we have not primed ourselves for the day. We have not established the intention, goal and confidence that will empower us to fulfill our missions.
With the rise of the home office during the pandemic, we have stopped getting ready for work. We wake up, check our phones, and get triggered by texts and emails before even getting out of bed. We start our days in fight, flight, freeze or appease mode, letting our external reality catapult us in any direction it desires.
When we live from this reactive space, life happens to us. We behave like victims, not leaders. Instead of acting creatively and dynamically, we act frenetically. This replaces the trust of our teams, clients and families with doubt. They then start to act frenetically too.
We can lead from alignment instead of chaos with a conscious application of that classic formula:
1. READY: SET YOUR INTENTION
Good leaders know who they are. Excellent leaders know why they are.
The first step to showing up as an aligned leader is to set an intention each morning that will advance your overall mission. If your mission is your life “Why,” then your intention is your daily “why.”
This daily intention implores your every thought, word, action and day to further your mission. This is how you can start to make life happen through you and for you rather than to you.
Your intention also will keep you on track when you face fears, doubts or obstacles. When life throws you off center, your intention will offer you an anchor to return to.
When we lead from our intentions, we show up more consistently because we always act in alignment with our missions. This builds trust in us as leaders among our teams, clients and families.
We even can be more intentional with our intentions. Most leaders set their intentions from their minds. Aligned leaders set their intentions from their spirits.
Your spirit can communicate an intention to you when you are present in your body and mind. A morning practice that honors all three layers of your being can generate this state of presence.
Complete your a.m. ritual before checking your text messages, social media feeds or emails so that you align the day with your intention instead of others’.
Below is a sample morning routine that will set your whole system up to lead intentionally:
1. Shower
Take a shower to start the day fresh. Culminate your cleanse with 30-60 seconds of cold water. The lower temperature will wake you up, increase your physical and mental resilience so that your external world does not sway or bother you as much, and train you to stay present in uncomfortable situations so that you can act from your intention instead of your resistance.
2. Meditate
Sit in meditation for a few minutes to focus your energy on yourself. Start by turning inward and focusing on your breath. Once you have settled in, ask yourself: “How do I want to show up in the world today?” or, “How do I want to be, think, feel and act today?” From this deep space of presence, watch as your spirit reveals your daily intention. Breathe into it. Then, set your intention in your heart so that it can serve as your center throughout the day.
3. Nourish
Feed yourself foods that satiate, energize and lighten you. My go-to breakfast is a morning smoothie that features protein, greens and superfoods. Try this for one week and notice whether you feel less hungry, brighter and slimmer. This elevated state will optimize your body and mind to fulfill your spirit’s intention.
2. AIM: DEFINE YOUR PRIORITY AND PLAN
After setting your intention, the next step is to identify your top priority for the day and to design a plan to achieve it.
Your intention is the quality that you want to embody. Your priority is the goal that will create this quality.
When you are intentional, your daily priority can be anything: making a call that you have been avoiding, closing a big deal, or even taking the day off from work. As a leader, you get to decide.
Many leaders I witness are obsessed with speed and quantity. They are consumed by being busy rather than productive because a packed schedule makes them feel important. They are addicted to the thrill of execution but lack an intimate relationship with the joy of fulfillment.
They fail to realize that being busy does not mean that they are accomplishing their goals, intentions and missions. On the contrary, they act out of alignment with their purposes, tire themselves out, and lose the confidence of their teams, clients and families.
Many leaders even hurt their communities with their actions because they refuse to consult or to listen to others. They love to hear their own voices. They also are unwilling to be questioned on their quests for their daily fix of stress-filled performance.
I used to operate this way too. My college basketball coach frequently yelled at me: “Nick, just because you are moving doesn’t mean you are achieving anything.” I still can see his face, red with anger and disapproval. I still can see my face, blank with confusion and arrogance.
But he was right. I was moving around without an intention, goal or plan. I was shooting from anywhere and everywhere without thinking. And I was not listening. As a result, I never lived up to my basketball potential and eventually quit because of my refusal to play in line with my coach’s vision.
It has taken me 15 years to hear his teaching fully. This has cost me as a leader. In my 20s, I was a frenetic, arrogant and aggressive manager. In my early 30s, I did not factor others’ thoughts and feelings into company decisions.
You can accelerate your timeline to become an aligned leader by learning how to aim before you shoot:
1. Identify
To identify your top priority, ask yourself: What is the one goal you want to accomplish today that would fulfill your intention? This goal should be so big that, if you did nothing else, your day still would be a win. “Win the day” is a powerful mantra. If you win the day every day, then you will amass 365 wins by the end of the year. That’s a lot.
Reflection Questions:
What’s the one goal that would win my day?
Would this priority strengthen or weaken my team’s confidence in me as a leader?
2. Envision
Next, envision how you will secure your win. Visualize and feel yourself taking steps toward and, by the end of the day, attaining your goal. Breathe into this picture. The clearer you can get on how you will actualize your priority, the more efficiently and effectively that you will do so.
Reflection Questions:
What are the three actions that I would need to take today to achieve my goal?
Am I willing to do things differently in order to accomplish my goal?
3. Research
From here, gather all the information that you need to implement your vision. Craft a complete picture of your goal so that you can make a 360-degree plan before you act. Be specific in your thoughts, words and notes so that you can take aim with more precision. This can be challenging, especially at first, so take your time.
As you research, ask yourself and your team open-ended questions. Talk less and listen more. I then suggest slowing down further. Take another breath and listen more actively and deeply to everyone’s insights. This will empower your team to contribute their expertise and you to make better decisions.
Reflection Questions:
Who are the key players required to help me carry out my goal?
Do I have a clear plan for myself, my team and my company? And do I have a plan to communicate this plan?
3. FIRE: ACT WITH CONFIDENCE
Defining your daily intention and priority gifts you the clarity to complete the final step: Act with confidence.
When you act with confidence, you will manifest your vision more quickly and powerfully. The more masterfully that we manifest our visions, the more trust that we gain from those around us.
When we fire without confidence, we react instead of respond. Usually, our reaction arises from fear. For example, we search for validation every time an email arrives or a customer complains.
When we move from fear, we can become dangerous. Fear blurs our focus and causes turmoil, leaving a wave of collateral damage in our wake.
This can leave us wondering why we are not getting the results we want. Even worse, it can leave our teams, clients and families feeling hurt and afraid. This weakens their ability to co-create with us.
Employ the following strategies to fire with confidence:
1. Transmit
We transmit our beliefs, habits and emotions to our teams. This does not just affect their performances at work. It also affects their personal health and their families’ health.
Whatever we experience as leaders also rolls downhill. This means that our transmission picks up intensity the farther down the chain it travels.
We can stoke more success by disseminating calmness and confidence rather than stress and fear. When we are calm and confident, we act in a way that assures others that we have a plan, which deepens their trust in us.
From this space, our energy talks for us, and others can relax around us. As we relax, so too will our team. As our team relaxes, they also can operate from confidence. This will boost our company’s success.
To upgrade your transmission as a leader, repeat this mantra daily: “I am calm and confident.”
2. Measure
As your confidence accelerates, so will your productivity. Measure this surge to cultivate faith in your new approach to leadership.
As a result of slowing down, you actually now may be able to speed up. With more intentionality, planning and confidence, you will enhance your effectiveness and efficiency, which will make you more productive.
You will expend less energy yet generate higher quality. In business terms, you will decrease your input and increase your output. This will save you and your staff from burnout, which is caused by the opposite combination of variables: less output from more input.
The first time I teach this concept to students, they tend to look at me side-eyed. I always smile back at them because I know that this teaching is true and cannot be understood without direct experience. It must be tested individually.
Use the formula below to measure and to amplify your productivity. Insert the number of hours that you worked as your Input. Insert the aspect of your business that you want to measure, such as total sales, as your Output.
Productivity Formula:
Total Output/Total Input x 100 = Productivity
Example:
60/75 x 100 = 80%
3. Practice
You now possess the tools to think, plan and act in alignment with your mission. The final step is to practice.
The external hurdles that we experience only grow as we take on more responsibility. So, it is essential to learn to lead from alignment now – before the stakes get higher.
As you try this framework, remember: You can’t mess it up. Everything is learning. So, relax, be present, and enjoy your journey to living and leading from alignment.
Ultimately, serving as an aligned leader will breed more success for yourself, your team and your clients. It also will breed more success for your family, your community and the world.
As a result, you can make your world and our world better – one aligned action and day at a time. This affords you the opportunity daily to lift or to lower the consciousness of the planet. Which option do you want to choose?
Much Love,
Nick
Want to learn how to live and to lead in alignment with your purpose? If so, then let’s talk about how we can make that happen for you. If you’re ready, then contact me HERE.
Nick Palladino-King, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Nick Palladino-King (IG: @nickpalladinoking) is the Co-founder and CEO of Tribe, a San Francisco based wellness company founded on the holistic health philosophy he calls “Complete Health and Wellness.” Tribe is a leading wellness company in the Bay Area focused on inspiring leadership and health in individuals and companies.
Nick is a conscious coach and mentor, with deep knowledge and understanding of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being. His breath of knowledge in these fields comes from over 15 years of studying and training with master teachers in movement, mindfulness, meditation and yogic philosophy and practices.
Nick is known as a “coaches’ coach” and sought after for his honesty, ability to hold nonjudgmental space, and transformational and healing presence. He coaches world-class athletes, CEOs, wellness entrepreneurs and consciousness leaders worldwide.
