Spark: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success

by Angie Morgan

A Spark is also a moment when you realize that you have the ability to be a part of the solution you seek. You don’t have to wait around for someone to create opportunities for you. You can create them yourself.

I had a choice: I could take the feedback I’d just heard and learn from it, or I could ignore it.

Excellence and high performance happen only when everyone on the team—not just a select few—chooses to lead.

You’re not chosen to be a leader. You choose to lead.

Understand the expectations others have for you—other people often have unspoken standards they’re measuring your performance against. Mind your say-do gap—often we undermine our influence by not following through on the commitments we make. Let others know what’s expected of them—by giving others a clear picture of what success looks like, you’re helping them contribute to the credibility of their team. Have the courage to deliver performance-related feedback to others—when delivered effectively, feedback can be the most valuable thing you do for your colleagues.

Sparks who demonstrate accountability resist the powerful human instinct to place blame elsewhere. They seek to identify how their own actions—or inactions—have contributed to the situations in which they find themselves.

Sparks are the thinkers and the doers who envision what a better future looks like and take actions that lead themselves—and others—toward it.