Spark: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success

by Angie Morgan

SPARK ACTIONS To be a credible Spark, you have to commit yourself to the following four keys to credibility: 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.

looking elsewhere for improvement opportunities is only part of being a Spark. The other part involves self-evaluation.

Demonstrating accountability means relentlessly seeking ownership of mistakes, missteps, problems, and any other less-than-best outcome you are either responsible for or associated with.

I needed to accept responsibility for my own actions and their ramifications. That’s what Sparks do. They serve as role models for others by being accountable for everything they do, good and bad.

others surround them either to vindicate or to validate them. “You’re right—the organization was out to get you! Your company is a terrible place to work.” Or, “I agree—your boss is a jerk! You had every right to tell him off.” The problem is, this is invariably poor advice. We need to accept responsibility when the chips are down and be supported by our environments to help us get the results we seek. But unfortunately, these types of environments seem to be the exception—not the norm.

we often find ourselves making excuses, blaming others, or concocting elaborate scenarios to try to cover up our poor decision-making. When we do this, we create distance between our goals and ourselves.

Our mistakes can cost money and time, inconvenience others, damage relationships, and the list goes on. But Sparks have the courage to face the consequences and handle them responsibly. When we do, we show others who we are and what we’re made of. And we keep our leadership reputation intact.

In addition to being accountable, Sparks often have to create opportunities for accountability to happen.

the best way to go about promoting accountability is by creating operational pauses for conversation—a chance to debrief and to discuss issues. If you’re in the middle of executing an ad campaign, pull your colleagues together to discuss where you are, what’s happening, what’s going well, and what needs to be improved. This type of reflection allows you to calibrate your own actions moving forward as the team addresses any problems preventing it from achieving its goals.

Being a Spark requires that you have the courage to put yourself or your reputation in harm’s way. But once you do it, you will find the courage to do it again. And before you know it, you’re building solid Spark habits and inspiring excellence from your colleagues across your organization.

SPARK ACTIONS 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.

By having a clear vision and making choices consistent with it, Sparks achieve the success they seek. They recognize that seemingly small choices today will have a big impact on the fulfillment they desire for their future.

Sparks differentiate themselves by having the discipline and the fortitude to execute, even when they aren’t sure what to do next.

what stands between us and our ability to be a Spark? Typically, it is any one of the following challenges: Failing to envision what a better life could look like Falling into routines that bog us down (and prevent us from being a Spark) Not making decisions that advance us toward our goals

The bottom line is that you need a vision to stay motivated. It allows you to stay focused and helps you avoid feeling disengaged. Better yet, it also helps you go from just accepting opportunities to actually creating them, and that brings about a whole new level of success.

vision is more of an idea of what you’re striving toward and an opportunity to raise the expectations you have for yourself and for others.

The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, we become anxious when we have too many decisions to make, and this can make us feel unwanted pressure. We fear that, faced with too many choices, we’ll make the wrong one, that we’ll choose a direction that leads us astray. So we end up going with the safe path we’re familiar with, which is like walking into an ice cream parlor that has fifty different flavors and always settling on vanilla because that was your favorite flavor as a child.

Not that these choices are wrong—but chances are they could be better.

the most successful Sparks always seek guidance from other successful individuals. So in developing your vision, it’s also valuable to seek mentors so you can draw inspiration from the people you respect and admire. Your mentors might offer up some great ideas you should be engaging in to help generate a personal vision.

It might just mean you have to establish a new support network to encourage you on your journey.

I had never realized that in order to accelerate your success you first need to slow down deliberately so as to gain clarity around what is truly the best use of your time and talents.

If we pay true attention to how we feel about the way we are working and take the time to determine whether this is the productive approach for us, we end up being better.

Relaxing and stepping back are not weak actions; they are examples of the often counterintuitive strength you need to measure up personally and professionally.

burnout is real. And it’s certain to keep you too from living your vision for yourself.

you need to pay attention to the signs, which usually start with taking on more responsibility without modifying your schedule to accommodate it.

Are all the things I’m doing really necessary? Is everything—my family, my business relationships, my business—okay? Is this the life I envisioned for myself?

All progress begins with a decision, which is followed by action.

“If you’re going to work twenty hours one day, then mean to do it, and if you’re going to take the day off, be off. If you live on purpose, you will be your best and you won’t look back on your life with personal or professional regrets.”

I quickly discovered something very surprising, considering the circumstances: I was relieved. By making a conscious effort to structure my work and life, I suddenly had the ability to focus on all the roles I filled. Whatever maternal guilt I experienced by shuffling my son off to day care was replaced by the satisfaction I felt when I could be present with him whenever we were together. As my harried life became much smoother I found a newfound confidence in all the roles I had juggled before. What’s more, I was experiencing success at a higher level because I wasn’t chasing the multitasking myth—the false notion that I could do several things at once with the same level of excellence as I could bring to any one of those things.

as long as you don’t create roadblocks for yourself, you’ll be well on your way to being one of those Sparks who shape their own future so they can lead their life on their own terms.

SPARK ACTIONS To honor your future self by making decisions that are aligned with your values: Reconcile the disconnect between where you are now and where you want to be. Commit yourself to growth and seek out challenges that help you evolve as a Spark. Create a plan for the changes you seek so you can commit fully to your goals. Recognize that there are limits to your capacity—to prevent burnout you have to say no many times to leave room for a few valuable yeses.

Sparks are always aware of others’ needs and take action to meet them. This outward focus strengthens relationships and creates camaraderie and connection.

So what makes the difference between teams that are easy and those that are difficult? The presence—or more precisely, the absence—of service-based leadership. Sparks lead through service.

our role was to ensure that we were bettering each other and growing together.

When you’re able to demonstrate service to others, you quickly learn that the benefits of the team experience far exceed any of the great results you can achieve on your own. That’s when you’re acting like a Spark.

This pride and commitment aren’t achieved by random chance. They stem from the Corps’ focus on “service before self”—a mindset introduced on day one when you sign up to be a Marine.

Coca-Cola taught me that to be a leader you can be tough, you can be aggressive, you can have demanding standards—but if you can’t be compassionate, empathetic, and caring, you’re never going to build a team of people who feel valued and connected.

true service, is meeting people’s needs so they can be their best.

he may have spent only thirty minutes organizing all of the resources to get me home to be with my family, but think of what that thirty-minute time investment produced: my lifelong loyalty and commitment.

In our training, we gave them an idea of what service in their mentor-mentee relationship would look like: Introducing themselves to their newly assigned mentee and spending time asking open-ended questions so they could better understand their mentee’s background Helping their mentee acquire the safety gear needed to do the job and then following up to make sure the mentee had the gear or helping the mentee deal with any problems in acquiring the gear When possible, working alongside their mentee to observe his or her processes (and coaching when appropriate) Including their mentee in meals and breaks so that their mentee never felt left alone Always inviting their mentee to informal gatherings so the mentee could meet fellow employees Providing positive encouragement and going out of their way to say something to their mentee about a job well done Helping their mentee understand the unwritten rules of the corporate culture Explaining acronyms, expressions, and lingo the mentee might not have heard before

Your service efforts are limited only by your imagination and willingness to take initiative. As you think about how to enact service in your environment, a good place to start is by thinking about the people you’re connected to day in and day out and asking yourself some questions about them. You probably know some of the answers, but maybe not all of them: What is their background? Why did they choose this career or employer? What is their family situation? What are their interests? What makes them happy? What makes them tick? How can I add value to this relationship?

Enabling is either doing the job for someone or lowering the standard so that person can meet it. All of this is detrimental to you and to the other person because an enabled person never becomes fully independent of you.

“toxic environments,” while others call them unhealthy. I’m reminded of my time in the Marines when we’d say, “One sick ship would sink the fleet.” There’s only one remedy for these environments: service-based leadership.

Give yourself permission to create your own leadership laboratory by purposefully serving for at least ten minutes a day for one solid week. Make an appointment in your Outlook calendar or your cell phone to remind you if you have to. And then just do it. You’ll be surprised as you observe your little efforts starting to add up.

But there’s another important point about service: when you’re serving, do so without any expectation of return. Otherwise stated, don’t keep score. Sparks influence and inspire best when the service they offer is for the betterment of others.

To be of true service is to give. That’s it. Let the reward be that you made someone’s life a little easier, a little more enjoyable, and a little more fulfilling.

Sparks understand that providing service to some but not all creates an environment conducive to favoritism. As a leader, always look to create environments where everyone, not just a select few, feels valued, appreciated, and connected.

SPARK ACTIONS To demonstrate service-based leadership: Consistently be focused on understanding the needs of others and working hard to meet them. Service-based leadership isn’t a onetime event. Seek to serve first. Don’t make people have to ask you for support and assistance. Sometimes the simplest actions are all it takes to be of service to others. Don’t just think about serving others—do it. We often have good intentions that fall to the wayside because we can’t find time to serve others. Even five minutes a day is enough to have a positive impact on others.

Your confidence level will determine the level of results you experience. Sparks don’t leave their confidence to chance. They consciously manage their internal thought process to achieve a level of steadiness as their sense of confidence rises.