It is impossible for anyone to sail through life without facing some form of challenge or hardship at some point. I tend to feel that this is God’s way of training and testing our resolve. Humans cannot become shining diamonds without being polished. And going through challenges is the polishing process.

Whether we face our challenges with bravery or skulk away from them will determine our success or failure.

Many times when we face what seems to be a hopeless situation, our first instinct is to give up. It is in fact precisely at this moment that we need to stay calm and find a solution to salvage the situation.

If we admit defeat then we would have lost for good. If we carry on fighting then we stand a chance.

Do not forget, in every good situation there are dangers lurking. And in every bad situation there are opportunities hidden for you to find. By being complacent you will fall into the danger traps. And by persevering and keeping calm, you will find the opportunities.

As a creative entrepreneur, I have been in a situation where my company was down to just two thousand dollars after a season of bad business and we had to fire all our employees. But within a month, the situation reversed and we became stronger than ever because we persevered and found the hidden opportunities.

In situations like this, you must stay calm and empower yourself with clarity, gratitude and wisdom.

Here are 5 tips to empower you in the worst situations:

1) Practice deep breathing – Try to make it a habit to practice deep breathing throughout the day. It will relax you and give you clarity in your thoughts so that you can make the right judgment even under the most stressful circumstances.

2) Stay happy with your choices – Life is about making choices. You either go left or you go right. You either do it right or you do it wrong. You can learn only through trial and error. Stay happy with your choices, whether they are right or wrong. Don’t blame yourself or others if you make the wrong choice. Be brave and accept the outcome of your decisions. Learn from your mistakes so you will know how to make the right choice the next time. And if you make the right choice, rejoice and share your experience with somebody else so that he can benefit from it.

3) Focus on the positive – Keep thinking positively and look out for the opportunities hidden deep within the shadows of the bad situations. They are difficult to spot but if you look and think hard enough, you will not only be able to find a solution but perhaps even a route to a better situation. If you keep thinking negative thoughts you will only sink lower and lower.

4) Feel grateful – Do you show gratitude for the things you enjoy in your life? Do you feel grateful for having good relationships, good health, good food, fresh air or even just plain old sunshine? During times of distress you need to focus on the good things in your life and feel sincere gratitude to keep a positive state of mind.

5) Develop your mental awareness – Observe your thoughts. Are they positive or negative? It is best if you think positive thoughts because you can act on them with positive results. If you are thinking negative thoughts, keep them in check and don’t indulge in them. If you can do this you can harness your mental awareness, something most people can’t do.

The above tips are meant to empower you with the clarity, gratitude and wisdom you will need to come out of the worst situations a better and wiser person.

When you deal with your own pains and pleasures you become the captain of your own destiny.

Aldric Chang is a successful serial creative entrepreneur and internet marketing expert who shares tips for success and advice on how to make money on the internet on his blog at AldricChang.com. He is also the owner of MediaFreaks – an award winning 3d animation company.

By Ray Miller

This is the fourth article in a six part series which discusses the Qualities of Leadership. It builds on what was covered previously so if you haven’t read the previous articles, be forewarned.

In this article we will discuss in greater detail the next two of the qualities of leadership: Influential and Decisive

A Leader is Influential

Unless a person can influence others to follow their vision, they’re not a leader. Leaders have that something extra that gets others to buy into their ideas and jump aboard.

Most times a leader’s vision for the future means changing the status quo. It means asking others to abandon the comfortableness of their current position and take the leap of faith that the leader’s vision will lead to a better state. The ability to persuade coworkers, management, and customers is absolutely paramount to a leader’s success. How does a leader influence others? First the leader must anticipate resistance to change. That means appreciating the motivations and anxieties of those around him/her. To methodically defuse those anxieties the leader must first understand why someone is resistant or hesitant about an idea.

The leader must provide empirical evidence that his/her recommendation will in fact lead to improvement. Emotional arguments alone will rarely persuade others.

To the leader, the answer could be as obvious as a finger in the eye but that means nothing unless others are convinced. When resistance occurs a leader must listen and respond with empathy to the concerns. The leader must wait patiently as the group he/she is trying to influence arrives mentally at the same conclusion the leader is advocating. The leader’s motivation should be to improve the good of the company or department. If anyone suspects the leader is out to promote his/her own interests then influence is lost.

The leader must be flexible enough in his/her own thinking so as to alter his/her own plan of action so issues of resistance are minimized. While the leader sees change as a means to improvement others may be threatened because change suggests that the way they’ve always done things has been wrong. A leader’s ego allows others to save face (at least publicly). By anticipating resistance, providing empirical justification for the change, listening to concerns and offering supportive alternatives a leader has laid the foundation for influencing others. Critical to a leader’s ability to influence is their honesty and integrity. If they don’t have a track record of honesty and fair play those around them ill lose trust. Without trust influence is lost.

Here are a few examples of Influential Leadership Behaviors.

1. A leader can effectively and convincingly communicate the benefit their idea will have for the company or organization.
2. A leader listens effectively to concerns and issues and ensures they are addressed in order to build a true win-win relationship for all parties.
3. A leader addresses resistance to change and accepts change openly
4. A leader communicates his or her idea in a way that is genuine and credible and does not come across as manipulative or self serving.
5. A leader provides empirical support (data, concrete evidence) for his/her position or idea.
6. A leader successfully builds and maintains relationships with individuals outside his/her sphere of responsibility.

A Leader is Decisive

Employees will gravitate towards those who provide clarity and direction. That requires someone to make a decision. Unless that’s done the group stagnates – and looks for a leader.

Individuals are more apt to follow a leader’s aspirations if the leader appears decisive. “Decisive” doesn’t necessarily mean the leader makes quick decisions. It means the leader can structure dialogue with others so as to logically arrive at a consensus. Other times, when a decision can only be made by the leader, he/she is able to convey a rational basis for it. In other cases a leader may not be able to make a particular decision – i.e, an employee suggests an improvement for his department by changing a work process that affects several other departments. In that case, an “employee leader” would help the manager convince appropriate decision makers and do his/her best to persuade that person that the change is worthwhile. The important point is leaders don’t delay or avoid decisions. When a leader makes a decision it will be consistent and logically supportive of business priorities and core values. For instance, if your company determines customers are dissatisfied with service, management shouldn’t balk at spending more to hire, train and retain good service reps. By communication and focusing on specific business priorities and core values (see below) no decision comes out of left field. Sounds obvious, but how often are lofty strategic objectives lost in the trenches. It’s not uncommon for work to stagnate or grind to a halt because no one is willing to make an important decision.

Other times it will appear the leader has facilitated a decision when in fact all he/she has done is allowed a compromise. For instance, suppose team members are arguing over how the yearly budget should be allotted. One group wants to purchase new software another wants to spend it on training. After listening to the parties argue the leader decides a 50-50 split is the easiest solution. Maybe it was the easiest but was it the best? A leader would take the time to understand the business justification for both options. That way the entire group can come to consensus on the best course of action.

Here are a few examples of Decisive Leadership Behaviors.

1. A leader takes time to fully understand all options before making or promoting a decision.
2. A leader makes decisions in a timely manner.
3. A leader makes decisions that are logically consistent with the business priorities and core values of the company or department.
4. A leader makes difficult decisions when no one will and communicates a rationale for the decision.
5. A leader escalates issues when a particular decision is out of his/her jurisdiction.

If you have the time, why not move on to our next article “Qualities of Leadership: Effective Communicator and Core Values”.

Ray Miller is Managing Partner of The Training Bank,  a Training and Consulting firm specializing in Customer Focus, Service Improvement, Leadership and fully customized training solutions. He is also co-author of Management Training by the Book and That’s Customer Focus.

Annually, companies in the United States spent over 210 billion dollars in training. Of this, nearly a quarter of the training focused on leadership training. Because of this, there are literally hundreds of thousands of leadership training programs available. But which one do you choose for your company? One highly effective form of training is leadership workshops.

The simple fact of the matter is that very few people are actually naturally leaders. Do not mistake this for meaning that they do not have leadership potential. It simply means that they need to be taught leadership skills. On the other hand, employees that are not quite leadership material become proficient at their jobs and the current leadership will recognize that they need to be promoted to a leadership role.

This is where leadership training comes into play. The leadership of the company must then invest in some form of leadership training to prepare that individual for their future responsibilities. There are many types of training available ranging wildly in price. There are self-paced book and online courses, job shadowing, and classroom courses among others. However, one of the finest forms of training comes in the form of leadership workshops.

Leadership workshops basically combine most forms of training into one very effective and efficient package. They often incorporate textbook or online material with lectures and role playing scenarios. This allows the future leader the opportunity to not only learn about good leadership qualities, but also apply them to real world situations in a controlled environment. Most courses will conclude with some form of final evaluation to ensure students fully understand the course material.

Although leadership skills and business strategy consulting do not come naturally to most people, a majority of them are able to learn these critical skills needed for advancement. Some skills that can be taught in leadership workshops include communication skills, problem solving strategies, and disciplinary skills. The focus of any leadership training program should be to ease the transition from being a follower to being a leader.

The workshop should also focus on what type of leader that the company wants the individual to be. The differences between types of leaders can be subtle or fairly extreme. Does the company want a manager to control the situation or a supervisor to ensure that everything is going smoothly? Do they want an instructor that can easily train other employees or a mentor who can provide more personal guidance? There are different forms of leadership and training should reflect upon this.

However, one of the most important skills that any leader should possess is accountability. Any type of leadership training, from basic supervisors to CEO level training should include lectures on accountability. Holding leadership accountable for their actions not only makes sure they have the utmost integrity but also reduces disagreements between leadership and subordinates, therefore increasing production and efficiency.

Most leadership workshops are not cheap. Do not let this dissuade you from choosing them, because the results are phenomenal. Every successful company has competent and respected leaders that have undergone extensive training. Getting the best training will result in good leaders.

Companies around America spend billions of dollars every year on leadership training. There is a reason why they do, and that is because it works. Leadership workshops are one very effective tool that companies can utilize to maximize their leadership training investment.

Business and Management Consulting Austin