Ever notice that the leadership sets the tone for the organization? A bitter leader has bitter management and bitter employees. A satisfied leader deposits the same to his management and it trickles down like oil. Aubrey Malphurs, founder of The Malphurs Group, has a philosophy “as the leadership goes, so goes the organization.” At its core the definition of leadership is influence; good leadership influences people. And bad leadership does the same. Civil service bureaucracies are notorious for the ‘bad leadership influencing bad behavior in their people' theory.

Joanne Ciulla, PhD is the founding faculty member of the Jepson School of Leadership and she surmises that good leadership rests on a set of moral assumptions regarding the leader/follower relationship. These are transforming leaders with uncompromising strong values. A transformational leader raises their followers into leaders and the leader becomes the moral agent. Donna Ladkin, an author and professor in Leadership and Ethics, theorizes that “dwelling as active engagement” meaning that a leader must actively dwell in a situation and the people it touches rather than thinking about it from a distant viewpoint. Without this emergence approach with followers the process of engagement cannot begin. A leader who strives to find his/her ethical compass within the organization will actively dwell with followers and will learn far more than the nuances and the texture of the territory through engaging in it. Leaders need be encouraged to immerse themselves into understanding their employees ‘pain’ and address it accordingly. Change comes from a transformational leadership mindset.

Malphurs’ theory is that personal values are a vital part of the organizational culture. Overlooking the importance of core beliefs does so to the detriment of the organization. He continues to delineate ten essential reasons why core values are critical.

Values:

• Determine organizational distinctive

• Dictate personal involvement

• Communicate positive change

• Influence overall behavior

• Inspire people to action

• Enhance credible leadership

• Shapes organizational character

• Contributes to organizational success

• Affects strategic planning

John Maxwell founder of EQIP and The Maxwell Company proposes that all leaders go through two phases: the call and the preparation. During the preparation stage there is an expectation to respond to a higher level of values than others. He coined this theory “The Call” the seed of leadership and the “Preparation” the fulfillment of leadership. It is in the preparation stage that the core values are examined and adopted. It is at this ‘testing’ stage that the leader determines what their core values are; these values set the framework for how this ministry or organization will take shape.

The values for leadership were clearly defined at the Sermon on the Mount as Jesus reiterates the code of conduct that he instilled in man from Genesis. Bruce Winston PhD purports the Beatitudes as a wholeness concept the Greek word “makarios” which defines the incorporation of wholeness, joy, wellbeing, holistic peace and inner-satisfaction; on healthy Godly values. Leadership is a huge responsibility and a leader who is self-aware and exerts self improvement will develop a prolific environment that fosters gratified productive employees. 

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It All Begins With a Thought

It all begins with a thought. Are you aware that your thoughts command the attention of your body? If you have happy thoughts, your body reacts. Your facial expression, your eyes, your walk even your internal body reacts to your good or happy thoughts. This is why often a person who is in love “glows.” In contrast, when a person has angry, bitter, toxic thoughts, their body may react in quite the opposite manner. Research supports the assertion that illnesses such as depression, mental illness, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, etc., can originate from stress originating in one’s thoughts.

The bitterness of the old man and the anger of the woman next door may have all began with bitter thoughts. Bitter thoughts most often begin in unforgiveness. Yes, unforgiveness. Someone crosses you or hurts you and you hold that thought; you continue to remember it and then you guard yourself from letting it ever happen again. You continually think about it because you want to ensure that you protect yourself against it happening again. What you may be doing is holding on to something that will affect you emotionally and physically. Inevitable hurts and disappointments will continue to happen to us yet, we can decide to maintain a positive attitude and remain free from toxic thoughts. Unfortunately, over time, negative thoughts can build up and illnesses may manifest in our bodies.

The Impact of Negative Thoughts

Research proves that negative thoughts turn into fear, fear into stress and it is stress that causes physical illness. People who go through a trauma in their lives such as a death, divorce, family illness, may suddenly find that they develop an illness. The series of stressors develop into illness and stress can only be managed and maintained at bay by the power of our thought life. Things that cause us these stressors are:

Regret – Many of us live with regret about things we cannot change. We need to begin by forgiving ourselves and working at changing today for the better.

Negative thoughts – thoughts such as “I can’t, I won’t, that’s too hard, I’m shy” are all negative thoughts.

Disorganization and disorder – living a life that wreaks havoc in your personal life and your environment commands stress.

Speaking Negatively – “I will get diabetes’s because it runs in my family,” “things always go wrong for me,” “I’m not lucky in love,” “I was born to fail,” or “it’s because of my ethnicity” all negative words.

Conclusion

Despite your circumstances, you have the power to determine your attitude. With a positive attitude, you will decide your outcome and it will come to pass because your attitude will keep you focused on the goal. With such determination, it is impossible to fail at anything! There is power in thoughts. Your thoughts birth words. Your words birth habits. Your habits birth your environment. Your environment is a result of your thoughts. It is a viscous cycle that begins and ends with your thoughts. Detoxify your thoughts maintain good, clean, positive, goal oriented thoughts. Believe the best is yet to come despite the circumstances. Dispose of the debris of toxic thoughts and find the best in the midst of your circumstances.

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Nilda Perez LCSW-R,CCLC                                  

Nilda Perez is the Founder and CEO of Aspire 4 Life Inc. a Counseling, Coaching and Consulting services agency. This agency was established October 2004. She is a native New Yorker, born and raised in the Bronx and a resident of New York’s Hudson Valley area since 1999. Nilda holds a Bachelor of Science in Social Science from Adelphi University and a Masters in Clinical Social Work from Fordham University. She is presently a doctoral candidate of Strategic Leadership with her emphasis in Global Leadership and Entrepreneurship from in Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va.

Nilda has had over sixteen years experience in social work, managerial and business positions where she has trained and coached. She has also maintained a practice as Licensed Clinical Social Worker; she is an accomplished therapist and Certified Life Coach. She has a wealth of experience in management, business and consulting.

Her experience in coaching has evolved from personal development to business and leadership coaching. She now consults businesses, non-profit organizations, churches and groups on how to expand and grow their organization. Nilda has assisted many individuals in developing their leadership skills, starting their own business and has consulted with small businesses in getting the most productivity from their employees with ease. She expanded her practice to a corporation in order to share her expertise with more people and companies.

She is a published author, noted speaker and widely read blogger. She is currently co-authoring with Caterina Rando her book will be out spring 2012. Her coaching niches include: Career, Business & Leadership, and Personal & Spiritual Development coaching.