But how do you build authentic leadership and make a permanent mark?

1. Find your strengths

The first element of authentic leadership involves asking the hard question: In what area(s) do I have the greatest potential? This is a different from asking what do I like? What will make me money? What makes me happy in the short-term? There are many pursuits that you could give your life to, and likely make a decent living in the process. There are very few things that you have the chance to make a permanent mark with.

A few weeks ago, Ken Coleman spent some time at the Growing Leaders office and shared the idea of pursuing the sweet spot. He defined it as the intersection of passion and talent. There are many things that you may be passionate about but your talent doesn’t match; No matter how hard you try, you’ll never make a permanent mark. There are other things you may be talented in but have no passion for; this is also a recipe for disaster! Finding your sweet spot involves identifying the exact area where talent and passion come together. This will be a process but you should be refining your answer to this question at each stage of your journey.

2. Build your strategy

Once you identify your strengths, what will you do about it? What’s your plan for getting better & growing? How will you measure progress? A few years ago when I was asking these questions, I came across “Creating Your Personal Life Plan” at MichaelHyatt.com. This has proved to be a great tool for clearly identifying where I’m heading and setting a schedule to regularly evaluate. This may seem too “type A” or structured for some people but for me, this tool has really unlocked a way to identify priorities and craft a plan to move forward.

3. Do the work

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just identify your sweet spot, take action, and experience success? On rare occasions this happens. Much more often though, making a permanent mark requires good, old-fashioned hard work. Usually for a long time before there are really noticeable results. In today’s society, it’s easier than ever to expect that success will find you by 25. The reality is that most people will not experience their greatest work until their 40′s or later. Making a permanent mark is hard work and it’s a commitment to stick with something for the long haul. Many people miss out on this as they jump from opportunity to opportunity instead of pursuing a specific path.

4. Deliver the goods

Hard work produces results. But there is a hesitancy to try to have things perfect before they are released to the public. In the words of Seth Godin, you must ship it. You must deliver a product to the real world. Gather feedback. Adjust. Work some more. Ship again.

This process repeats over and over as you grow and develop in your area. Each step along the way you learn lessons that could only be learned by work, failure, adjusment and success.

5. Exert influence

The final stage of authentic leadership involves influence. This is the natural overflow of the first four steps. We often think of it as coming at the end of the process. It’s powerful to realize that influence actually takes place at every step of the journey. Your influence may seem small right now but there are several people in your life that you influence more than you know. As you continue to grow in authentic leadership, the number of people you influence will increase. How you use this influence is crucial.

Steve Jobs famously desired to “make a dent in the universe”. The world is certainly different as a result of his influence. How will you use your influence to make a permanent mark?

Are you pursuing authentic leadership? How do you define it? How are you getting there?

The post Authentic Leadership: 5 Steps to Make a Permanent Mark appeared first on Jake Sumner.

Michael Hyatt – platform-builder

I first found out about Michael a few years ago when I was looking for lifeplan resources and I’ve followed his blog ever since. He recently released Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. This book is a playbook for all things related to platform-building. In fact, I’m in the beginning of a personal 60-day platform challenge which is my attempt to put his concepts into action.

Seth Godin – digital media pioneer

My introduction to Seth Godin came through his book Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us. It’s a quick read but it is jam-packed with challenging words about what the internet makes possible. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend picking up a copy soon! Seth Godin’s Domino Project is an inspiration! Their site explains it this way: “The Domino Project is a new way to think about publishing. Founded by Seth Godin and powered by Amazon, we’re trying to change the way books are built, sold and spread.” Seth continues to shape my thoughts about leading and publishing in this digital, hyper-connected age.

Derek Sivers – founder of CD Baby, entrepreneur

In 2004, my wife and I self-released a CD and searched for a way to get into iTunes as an independent artist. That’s when we found out about CD Baby. It seemed too good to be true – for a flat fee, they would get your music on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody and many others. Better yet, they handled all the details and just sent us a check every month. I was introduced to Derek by the quirky emails he would send out announcing new features. Fast forward a few years later and I came across his blog. I’ve been following ever since. If you haven’t seen his brief TED talk, take 3 minutes right now and watch:

In 2011, he released Anything You Want as part of the Domino Project. It is a brilliant story that not only shares his personal journey but challenges the reader to follow dreams and expect the unexpected.

Louie Giglio – founder of the Passion movement

I was in college the first time I ever heard of the Passion movement. There was conference in Texas that was calling college students together for prayer, fasting, worship and…that’s it! I had a hard time imagining college students giving up spring break to go to an event like that. Then I heard the CD released from that event, “Passion 98: Live Worship from the 268 Generation.” I was blown away! I’d grown up singing either boring hymns ( that I later learned to appreciate ) or cheesy youth group songs – complete with hand motions.

I dug a little deeper and found a collection of CD’s called “The Heart of Passion” that included talks by Louie Giglio, John Piper and others. Again, my worldview expanded as I listened to these leaders talk about Jesus, the Church and living life in terms I’d never encountered before. I must have listened to those CD’s hundreds of times, trying to pull every little bit of wisdom from them. My faith has never been the same.

Years later, my wife and I moved to Atlanta and attended 7:22, a weekly gathering of young adults led by Louie. We really enjoyed our time there but in 2005, Louie decided to step away from 7:22 to focus exclusively on leading the Passion movement. Just a few short years later, we heard that Louie was planning to start a church. We joined in during the first few months and have enjoyed being part of Passion City Church ever since. Louie and the Passion team continue to challenge me to live for a higher purpose and pursue a vision that is much larger than myself.

Tim Elmore – next generation leadership expert

Tim Elmore has been working with students for over 30 years. I first encountered Tim in 2009 at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta. He gave away 13,000 copies of his book Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future. For anyone who works with students, this book identifies the unique obstacles this generation faces and challenges us to lead them better. I highly recommend it for any parent, teacher, coach, youth worker or employer that wants to lead this next generation well.

In March of 2011, I began working with Tim at Growing Leaders as Digital Engagement Coordinator. This experience continues to stretch and shape me in so many ways. I count it a privilege to call Tim a mentor. I’m even more thankful to call him a friend. His series Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits and Attitudes is the best leadership teaching I have ever encountered. His latest book, Artificial Maturity: Helping Kids Meet the Challenge of Becoming Authentic Adults just released in June and is full of practical ideas for next generation leadership.

So, who influences you?

I hope you ask this question often. Intentionally choosing the people you allow to influence you shapes your life in ways you can’t even imagine. I have many voices that I listen to but only a few that really carry weight. Leave a comment below to share who influences you.

The post Who Influences You? appeared first on Jake Sumner.

I am passionate about leadership development. As a youth mentor, entrepreneur, social media strategist, and blogger, I’m facinated by the possiblities that technology offers to connect and lead the next generation. I have worked with students for over 15 years and am dedicated to equipping next generation leaders.

I currently serve as Digital Engagement Coordinator of Growing Leaders, an Atlanta-based non profit that exists to turn ordinary students into growing leaders. In addition to managing social media, I participate in a variety of writing projects and speaking engagements. I have the incredible opportunity to work with an amazing team including best-selling author and leadership expert Tim Elmore.

On a personal note, I have been married to my wife, Hannah for 11 years. We have two daughters and another little girl on the way in November! We make our home just outside of Atlanta, GA.

but enough about me...

Here’s the deal:

You have enormous potential. Useful technology and social media make it easier than ever to realize your unique purpose and bring your dreams to reality. Unfortunately, digital life creates an endless variety of distractions

Do you ever feel stuck? Stuck between who you are and who you could be?

Leadership unlocks your potential. Self-leadership. Thinking like a leader as you connect with others. Taking action to influence those around you and lead your own tribe.

When you think and act like a leader, you make a permanent mark.

I’d like to offer some helpful suggestions to help you develop your own mark. I write 1-3 posts per week. My goal is to provide qualtiy content on next generation leadership, social media and personal productivity.

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