Spark: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success

by Angie Morgan

The concept of leadership is not a difficult one to understand. It’s simply about taking care of others and treating them fairly, communicating in a way that lets others know what they must do to be successful, and passing along praise for a job well done.

A Spark is also a moment when you realize that you have the ability to be a part of the solution you seek.

Becoming a Spark is a choice, and one that begins with rethinking how you respond to the most pressing challenges you’re facing.

we define a leader as someone who influences outcomes and inspires others.

The bottom line is twofold: Leadership is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in our society. And to many people, leadership is only about bosses or supervisors—about people in power.

It’s all about the active change you can take to be a leader, no matter what your title or position.

a developing sense of confidence in my ability to create opportunities.

Spark qualities include being credible to others so that they trust you, holding yourself accountable to your challenges, making good decisions when you’re feeling pressure to act, expressing your confidence in clutch moments, and bringing a group of individuals together to form a full and cohesive team.

When we avoid conflict, overreact to bad news, or procrastinate on decisions, we’re acting on our instincts and not influencing our environment. We’re simply reacting, which puts us at a disadvantage.

Cognitive flexibility is commonly described as the ability to switch your thinking in order to solve problems, which we all do really well with the non-people-related challenges we experience.

Without access to your blind spots, it’s difficult for you to improve upon them—and it may be precisely these blind spots that are holding you back from becoming an influential and inspirational leader to others.

when challenged. Doing the right thing is the foundation on which trust is built.

the place where we have access to the flow experience, that positive energy we feel when we’re deeply engrossed in our passions and able to channel our efforts into something meaningful and results-oriented.

No one wants to look back and regret what they didn’t do in critical moments. Living your values is the best way to prevent this from ever happening.

Acknowledging the internal disconnect between values and actions is where true growth takes place.

People who live their values exude a quiet confidence—they worry less about what others think and instead focus on being true to themselves.

Understanding and meeting the standards of others Having a very narrow “say-do gap” Communicating your intent and expectations to others Holding others accountable when they fail to meet standards

To be an accountable Spark: Lead with accountability so that you’re modeling the behavior you expect from others. Seek to recognize and embrace problems. Don’t deny them, ignore them, or wait for them to come to you. The sooner you address problems, the sooner you achieve the results you’re looking for. Work to ensure that the teams you work on allow for mistakes. The best teams discuss problems openly and apply their learnings going forward.

Confidence is about seeing yourself clearly, appreciating your abilities, and having a solid foundation on which to build when presented with challenges.

three conscious and deliberate actions you can take to help build your confidence: experiencing your success, developing positive self-appraisals, and surrounding yourself with positive role models.

Sparks do what they say they’re going to do when they say they’ll do it.

The only way to learn and grow as a Spark is to develop a sense of accountability for your actions.

By having less to do, Sparks discover that they can give more to the priorities they’ve already selected for themselves—at work, at home, and everywhere in between. They also find the time to rejuvenate themselves, which is a necessary aspect of high performance. Life’s aha! moments don’t happen as you hurriedly shift from task to task. They occur when you’re relaxed and have the space to think broadly and clearly.