I met a friend recently at the Facilitator's Network and we were engaged in good thoughtful exchanges. Cresswell shared the following with me and I like to share with you. I hope it encourages you. Cress angled his 7 Cs from an organisational point of view. Here, I pened (typed) my thoughts on the wisdom from a more personal perspective. ANyway, my inspiration for my songs has always been drawn from looking out to the sea. Yes, I really love the analogy of C to sea.... all aboard!
The 7 "C" Success Factors behind Extra-ordinary business:
1. COURSE: Ship-wide alignment to a common course
- Before you embark on your noble journey, helps with clarifying your personal vision. "Course" alignment is essential especially in personal leadership.
- Greatness of a leader may then be measured then subsequently by your vision and values.
- Exploration of your inner territory
- Finding the strength through your style. For example, if people know that your ability to charm others through your personality, and your credible charisma simply makes things happen, synergise that to become your charming charisma to stir new directions in your life.
- "I am driven by concerns for the legacy I am leaving for my children." Gail Mayville
2. CHOICE: Everyone acts as a 'captain' of their own ship
- Outstanding individuals all share a common trait: they live and die by their initiative and creative capacity that flow from th proactive engagement of everyone.
- Choice shifts an individual from reactive to proactive stance, from passive to response-able voice, from delegation to others to trusting others and trusting self.
3. COURAGE: Go to sea, despite your fear, risk and do right things, right
- Courage carries the day in crisis, floods work with passion and purpose
- Amidst heightened uncertainty, take the right risks
- Do the right things!
4. CAPACITY: Keep ship-shape and build sea-worthiness in all 4 compass quandrants
- Maintainance of equilibrium- health (body), learning (mind), culture (emotion) and higher purpose (spirit)
- Growth requires reaching beyond current limits, expending energy, then resting and building
5. COMPANION: Get the right crew onboard, in the right relationships
- Success of your leadership is highly dependent on the sum of the people you build and the relationship between those people.
- Get them into the position that employs their gifts and the creating and sustaining empowering, co-creative relationships.
- People first! Its worth making the first connection... then soon, compassion and collaboration.
6. CURIOSITY: Cast off, explore new territory, learn and renew continuously
- Continous learning and renewal keeps you afloat in the sea of change.
- It is the key to inner transformation i order to adapt and expand your capacity to produce results
7. COMPASSION: Sail for the king and country
- How do you build a heart that will woo your people to buy-in and give their best and stay by your side.
- the unspoken code that drives good to extraordinary.
I like to add to Cress list 2 more Cs:
Contemplation?
- Need for reflection, journey out to the sea as a way to express separation from the environment;
- A renewal process that will require opening the doors you shut previously, or walking in dark spaces that are frightening, or touching the flames that will burn. BUT the end is, truth.
- from looking within then to looking out before moving on.- A practice is finding greater resonance within self and the activities you set forth (for e.g. Peter Senges book - [The Fifth Discipline]:The Art and Practice of the Learning Organisation)
Creativity?
- Ability to modify your self imposed constraints and to make connections where none existed before.
- Enjoy the imagination that drives that need to change and seek that desire to experience self fulfilling success!
- Creative people would enjoy a sense of ownership, empowerment and spirit
