How do you encourage others to achieve their potential?

Don't believe the hype! I can't be anything I want to be; I will not be winning any Olympic gold medals in gymnastics. However, with the help of Coach Sommers at Gymnastic Bodies @gymnasticbodies or the team at Sports Fitness Advisor, I have a chance at making some seemingly incredible gymnastic moves given the time and effort. A coach goes a long way to bring specific encouragement, but what does it look like for those that we live with, work with, or bump into each day in the line for coffee?

This goes deeper than encouraging your buddy to down the entire Solo cup in one gulp. Encouragement is in short supply, and it is needed now more than ever. The FaceBook craze of tagging a friend to do 22 days of pushups to bring awareness to the loss of 22 veterans a day due to suicide is a recent indicator of the epidemic. 

Do you count yourself among those strong silent types that are not much for words? Expecting your kids to be at your bedside to hear your last words and the first time they hear "I love you, and I'm proud of you," may be a losing bet. You are going to get a bigger bang for the buck telling them now and being conscious of hearing their "thank-you."

Effective encouragement is specific. Telling a co-worker the pitch went "great" leaves plenty of encouragement left on the table. Telling her, "the preparation paid off, the customer fully understood all the elements of the pitch and as a result of her effort, they filed a purchase order," is far more memorable and meaningful than just hearing "great." 

Warning, grasping this concept is like learning that Santa Claus is not real. When you receive a weak encouragement, it doesn't resonate, but when a specific encouragement is delivered, and it received as intended, it will provide courage for the future and help those encouraged to soar. What happened this week, where you can provide specific encouragement?

Going Further: Who gives specific encouragement to you? How have you experienced the difference between general and specific encouragement? What kind of encouragement do you provide? What can you change to start providing specific encouragement? What observations do you have about encouragement?

When have you led well?

I am Frodo; I approach this inquiry as a fellow traveler, seeking to grow in my abilities. I have been in the trenches as a worker-bee and middle manager, having experienced leadership on each end of the good/bad spectrum. I have in-turn provided a spectrum to the teams I have led. Having completed some self-awareness work along my journey, I am far more aware of shortcomings than successes. This can be par for the course for a recovering perfectionist. To read how to do it all perfectly, the Amazon business section is chock-a-block of the latest leadership insights.

Take the opportunity to pause and reflect on those times when you led like you intended. You know, living the life your dog believes you live; a hero to the world. We will often skip the celebration, thinking that is for those other people and miss the chance to catalog our strengths. These pauses allow for insight into our talents and leadership styles.

Journalist, Sebastion Junger discusses how the American Indian tribes would choose their leaders based on the environment. They understood that the same leaders are not perfect for all circumstances. A reigning peace-time chief would step aside if the tribe went to war and when the fighting was complete, the war-time chief would relinquish power to a peace-time chief.

This insight may provide great encouragement as you determine where your leadership strengths exist and how they can be employed within an organization. I always wanted to believe that I was the special snowflake that was a great leader in all circumstances. This is not the case.

Insulting a contemporary, Winston Churchill stated, he is "a humble man, who has much to be modest about". This quote helps to keep me grounded and recognize that each of us has a set of strengths that need to be used just like any other specific tool in the tool belt. This realization was liberating as I was viewing leadership as an all or nothing situation. I was wrong. 

What are your leadership strengths? What was a leadership win? What historical leaders are you most alike? What successes surprised you? How do you invest in developing your leadership skills?

How do you inspire others?

Humans are social creatures and we have an opportunity every day to build others up or tear them down. I struggle with sadness due to all of the killing that has been happening and my heart breaks for the friends and families directly affected. The acidic political fighting that fills the airwaves does not reflect a country of hope, but one of fear and further division. The Cold War and AIDS were the specters looming over my shoulder growing up. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were the shadow for my kids and it looks like terror attacks will be what unsettles the next generation. Is this really the best we can do in the new millennium? 

The Summer Olympics in Rio will no doubt bring great athletic feats for us to marvel. Grace and power revealing what talent, hard work and perseverance can deliver. This will be exciting to see, but it is still presented through a glowing screen. You, you have an opportunity to engage the world around you and deliver some inspiration. Sing, write, give hugs, buy someone a cup of coffee, visit the prison, wash the widows car, paint, sincerely ask "how are you" and wait for the answer, take the kid on the corner out for some ice cream, make yet another cat video for YouTube, teach a class, start a prayer group, learn a new language to speak to the immigrant neighbor, visit a mosque, dance!

It doesn't require a trip around the world to find someone in need; I am confident, that within 200 yards of you, there is someone that could benefit from interacting with you, today, even right now. Give the gift of attention, it is a precious commodity, and rarity in our current day. It will take courage and vulnerability, and you have that deep inside, give it a chance to erupt through kindness. The world is looking for a glimmer of goodness and a reason to smile; you can be just the person to deliver.

Going Further: Who inspires you? Who can you inspire?