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Latest "Emotional Mastery" Posts

Re-Igniting Your Leadership Fire

The Secret Groundwork to an Extraordinary 2016

 

A new year is just around the corner.  Another year is about to end.

Be honest with yourself …

·      Are you feeling tired, stressed or depressed?

·      Are you feeling disconnected from what really matters to you?

·      Are you feeling like you have lost your way, not even realizing it?

In my experience, when December hits, many leaders are burned out and depleted.  They are running on empty.

leadership fireAnd understandably so.  The demands on a leader’s energy and attention throughout the year are endless.   I’ve been there myself.  I know.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on December 9, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Real Leaders Become Awakeners

Are You Ready To Make the Leap?

 

Your company is growing and has gained recognition and success.  Your culture and employees are thriving and you are so proud of everyone’s accomplishments.

Yet …

you feel something is missing.  You can’t put your finger on what.  After all, it’s been a challenging journey.  In many ways, you and your organization have arrived at its desired destination.

How could something be missing?

Guess what?

leadership consciousnessYou are not alone.

That gnawing feeling of something missing is a positive thing.  It’s a sign your soul is stirring …

To something greater than your role and your company. 

Posted by Denise Corcoran on October 20, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Are You Awake?

Guest article by Marcella Bremer

How are you?

Busy? Relaxed? Energized? Tired?

I notice a pattern in modern life. I’m going too fast and packing too much in my days. I’m hunting for cover_issue_15_192x256stimuli – or at least I’m distracted by them. I notice restlessness when I’m already tired. I see most people around me living by schedules that don’t leave space to slow down and to be mindfully aware of what really happens. How do you wake up to the present?

I’m lucky, though. Since I am self-employed, I can schedule time for contemplation. I know that I need some time for silence – to be my best self again when I work with clients.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on September 29, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

7 Unconscious Leadership Fears That Keep You Small

Which keep you small?

fears keeping you small

Fears keeping you small

 

All leaders have fears.  However, not all your fears are created equal.

Some may manifest as low level anxieties.  Some are life paralyzing phobias.  Some may be triggered only by certain events – like fear of public speaking.  Others may be life-long fears.

Then there are the “big guns.”  These are the core unconscious leadership  fears from which all other fears come.  They override every aspect of your being.

In this article you will learn 7 unconscious leadership fears that keep you small.  First, it’s important to understand the nature of fear.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on June 17, 2015 in Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Top Leaders Communicate Authority Through Body Language.

Do You?

 

obama

 

Can your body language …

  • Make a difference in commanding leadership authority?
  • Create trust or mistrust within an organization?
  • Change your emotions after a stressful day?

Absolutely!!

Leadership authority is a by-product of 2 related aspects of yourself your physiology and your emotional state. Call them the yin and yang of leadership authority.

The purpose of this article is NOT to give you a list of gestures, postures or leadership do’s and don’ts to communicate authority. Your emotions and your body language are both driven by your mind. And your mind is too complex for such generalizations.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on May 20, 2015 in Alignment, Emotional Mastery, Employee Engagement, Influence, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset.

Unleashing Your Leadership Presence …

Even Before You Speak

 

In 1987, I flew to LA to a women’s leadership conference for one reason only.  To meet Anita Roddick, founder and “then” CEO of multi-billion dollar franchise,

winning strategies

Photo by David Niblack

The Body Shop, and asked her to write the forward of my book (to which she did say yes).

When I met her, I was stunned how amazingly small she was (even smaller than myself J).  Yet her commanding presence was so powerful, 30 years later, that memory is still vivid in my mind.

Leadership presence includes character, charisma and self-confidence YET is much more.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on April 14, 2015 in Emotional Mastery, Employee Engagement, Influence, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation.

Real Truths That Fuel Real Leaders

From early childhood, we were all taught never to lie. That was drilled into our psyche with such stories as Pinocchio and George Washington and the Cherry Tree

leadership truthsI learned growing up, however, that not lying is NOT the same thing as admitting and telling the truth.  The former prevents us from making false statements; the latter has the generative power to change individuals and organizations.

In my decades of working with business leaders, I have found that there is one trait — above all others – that transforms mediocre leaders to extraordinary ones.   That one trait is …

Rigorous truth-telling

Real leaders have backbone. 

Posted by Denise Corcoran on November 11, 2014 in Accountability, Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Organizational Performance.

Are You Addicted to Codependent Leadership?

7 Clues You Are.

 
Note:  This post was originally published on August 25, 2014 on SmartBlogs.com.
 

codependencyIf you are a sucker for great leadership movies like I am — Invictus, Coach Carter and Moneyball just to name a few, it’s easy to assume that all leaders embody the same qualities as those in the movies.

Afterall, who hasn’t idealized business leaders to be strong, confident, make tough decisions and stand their ground no matter what?

While those leaders do exist, they are a minority.  In working with leaders for 30 years, I have found that the reality is shockingly different.

Most leaders take on their roles with the greatest of positive intentions. 

Posted by Denise Corcoran on October 17, 2014 in Accountability, Beliefs, Company Culture, Emotional Mastery, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset, Motivation, Teams.

How Leaders Break Through Sabotaging Beliefs … Rapidly

Imagine … you are walking through a nearby park with the intent of getting to the other side.  Along the way, you run into a large brick wall that stops you dead in your tracks and prevents you from reaching your ultimate destination.

leadership beliefsThat’s what your limiting beliefs are like … large brick walls that prevent you from reaching your destination.  These mental brick walls paralyze you.  They block you.  And above all else, they seem impossible to move.

In the companion article to this one – The Secret to Rapid Leadership Breakthroughs, I addressed …

 

  • Necessary conditions of any inner leadership change
  • How changing leadership beliefs changes company results
  • 3 core types of limiting leadership beliefs
  • Client example of how a leader’s sabotaging belief was impeding his growth to become President of the company.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on June 6, 2014 in Beliefs, Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset.

The Secret to Rapid Leadership Breakthroughs

 

Wayne Dyer beliefs

Does any of these sound familiar?

  • You aspire to achieve great things, yet stay “small” for fear of failing.
  • What about the thousands of dollars you’ve invested in leadership books and training, yet still find yourself stuck in the same rut and don’t know how to get out?
  • Are you continuously swamped by the endless hours that your role demands, yet get diminishing returns from all your efforts?

You are not alone.   Most leaders harbor fears, negative thoughts and emotions that seriously undermine their achievements.  Here is one such story.

How One High Performing Leader Was Sabotaging His Own Potential 

About 10 years ago, I worked with a leader being groomed to become President of a fast growing company.

Posted by Denise Corcoran on June 4, 2014 in Beliefs, Change Management, Emotional Mastery, Goal Achievement, Leadership Development, Leadership Performance, Mindset.