In 2 decades of my corporate career I have essentially seen the following category of Successful Leaders:

1. There are leaders who think they have done it all and have reached an apex in their job/career. Such leaders may not want any more improvement or feedback for improvement, as they are the ones who now guide others..
2. Then there are those who think they have reached a limit in their career beyond which there is no scope of growth. These are the ones who think they have consumed their full potential/scope. 
3. Then there are Successful leaders who frequently assess themselves, relish feedback, challenge their limits and make a sustained effort to change, continuously. Such leaders, even at the pinnacle of their careers, become more and more effective and successful.

So which category do you fall in? Do you fall in the category of successful leaders who would like to consistently change and grow? or are you the one who do not see any further growth for yourself?

If you fall in the category of leaders who think there is 'no limit' to Leadership Effectiveness, then sky is the limit...for not just your effectiveness as a leader but also as an individual.

A sure shot way to greater success, for yourself, your team and your organisation, is to encourage 'frequent feedback and feedforward' from the people you work with and who impact your performance on a daily basis i.e. your peers, direct reports and your manager or the board members. These are truly your stakeholders! 

Your attitude and behavior impacts your stakeholders' & your organisation's success and their resultant response impacts your effectiveness as a leader!

To be able to take the next steps towards leadership effectiveness in your organisation, it is crucial to not only initiate a practice of feedback but most importantly, to also make a systematic, transparent and a structured action plan, to initiate change.

In Marshall Goldsmith's words: "The major challenge faced by executives today is NOT understanding the practice of leadership, BUT - practicing their understanding of leadership".

So how effective are you in 'practicing your understanding' of success and effectiveness? Click on this link for a quick self-assessment.

To initiate and make change possible, following is not only a requirement but a necessity:

1. Your intentions and efforts to change must be known to your stakeholders. Unless the intent is collectively understood, unless your colleagues are involved and aligned to your plan, it can be a long and not-so-productive exercise. 

2. Secondly, when you are already successful and want to push the boundaries further, you need constant 1on1 support. An experienced and trained person who can coach you, guide you, support you and keep you accountable, through a well structured, proven and guaranteed process. 

3. And last but not the least, how would you know that you are progressing? How would you know that the efforts you are making to improve are really helping you grow and are also recognised by others? Obviously, the process must be measurable.

So how to address this?

Well, there is a proven, world renowned method, that encompasses all the points mentioned above - the Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Centered Coaching approach (MGSCC). I can say this with conviction, primarily because I have personally seen its sure-shot results and its strong impact on leaders. 

The Coaching process helps change people's attitudes and behaviors by bridging the gap between KNOWING and DOING. It creates accountability in the person being coached to take concrete action towards a sustained and positive change, which not only impacts the leader but also the entire organisation's growth

Sometimes, top executives may think that they have reached the pinnacle of their career and there is no scope of further improvement, but here's what Alan Mulally - Ex CEO Ford Motor Company,  said about Stakeholder Centered Coaching - "We were a very successful team who took our performance to the next level. With Marshall's help we identified our two areas and went to work. We used everyone's help and support, exceeded our improvement expectations and had fun! A team's dedication to continuous improvement combined with Marshall's proven process ROCKS!"

So not just the top CEO's, the Stakeholder Centered approach works for leaders at all levels, in a big multinational organisation or a small family run business, alike.

Results from 11,000 business leaders in 8 multinational companies on 4 continents clearly demonstrates that 95% of executives who consistently involve stakeholders considerable improved their effectiveness! - Source: 'Leadership is a contact sports' (Strategy & Business)

The Stakeholder Centered Coaching has a strong emphasis on implementation and follow through. As Marshall puts it: "Coaching is simple but not easy!"

One of the many reasons for its simplicity is that Stakeholder Centered Coaching does not require any 'extra valuable time' from busy business executives as the coaching and leadership change-process is integrated in his/her leadership role on the job.

To know more about the efficacy and a detailed description of the process, please do see more details on  www.ABrighterLife.in or www.SCCoaching.com or contact me directly @ +91 9910817507

Each one of us, including the world’s most famous personalities, has experienced setbacks in his or her life. We have heard of many stories of successful leaders like Steve Jobs and Mahatma Gandhi who were undaunted by failure and went on to rewrite world history. But unlike Jobs or Gandhi, there are also many people who are not able to emerge out of failure as successfully and wonderfully. What's the difference? Though enough material is already available on success and failure, many people still get muddled and cannot transform failure effectively into success. Also one gets so ‘used to’ the ongoing reality of failure that one is not able to conjure up the 'will power' and 'necessary ideas' to take the leap.

Therefore these 12 mantras are simple. Simple to follow ideas are required today because there is so much material being posted all across the net on failure and success, that a person who is going through tough times, and has no other help but the internet to refer to, may just get overwhelmed further, with the choice. These 12 mantras will definitely bring in some method and a reference point for upcoming leaders, entrepreneurs and today’s youth.

Anyway, before we move on to the mantras for success, here’s a disclaimer. If we are not doing what ‘we love,' success is going to be a difficult journey from the word go. Today everybody is in so much of a hurry to succeed that this prerequisite is ignored. So before you start on the same path again, re-assess and assure yourself that you are on the right path. A path which fills you up with passion. ‘If we don't love it, we cannot put in our 100% and cannot persist to succeed!’

Assuming we have chosen the work we love to do, let’s now explore how to launch ourselves out of failure, into success.

Here are the 12 mantras to effectively convert ‘failure’ into a ‘success-launcher’!


1. Move onDo a thorough job of taking feedback and listing out, once and for all, the mistakes you think jeopardized your success. Decide, which mistakes you would never repeat again and then, consciously choose to ‘empty your mind off the ‘experiences’ that come with the list’. Forgive yourself and others for the ‘so called’ mistakes. Do not revisit them again and again to fill up your mind. Remember, Garbage In, Garbage Out, i.e. whatever the quality of input, so will be the quality of the output.

“Failure is a gap between two Successes. Don’t make the gap longer. Be courageous. Move on. Take the Leap!”

2. Focus on your strengths
To believe in ourselves, to be passionate about our tasks, it is important to first know what our strengths are. A sure shot key to success is to focus on what ‘energises’ you and what you are good at. Use failure as a warning bell to assess and realign your efforts to your strengths. Eg: If you are energised with creative work then find creative ways to find new ideas and solutions. Alternatively, if you enjoy relationship building then see if you can reach out to people and seek support. Similarly, realign your team as well. Evaluate their strengths and assign them tasks according to their strengths. You will see that working with strengths will fill-up the entire team with confidence and will make you ‘progressively passionate and confident,' no matter what the results.

“Focus on your strengths and your weaknesses will become irrelevant!”

3. Make a thorough plan
Every new effort after failure must be backed with increased intensity of planning and attention to detail. Success is first created in the mind and then on the playing field. Visualise each and every step on the ladder to success, in as much detail as possible. This will give you clarity on how to get there.

“Good luck is the result of a Good plan!”

4. Never give up
Think thoughts of success but never expect success in the first attempt. Be ready and equipped to fight back, secure in the knowledge that success comes with repeated attempts. Also, once you have made the right choice, pursuant to the strengths, you will never feel overwhelmed by any challenge that comes your way. Not giving up is the only sure shot way of finally achieving your goal.

“Failure is not an option, because doing everything all over again is a cumbersome process!”

5. Keep your passion alive
Assuming you have set your eyes on something you love to do, it is now important to keep your passion burning. For this you need to focus on developing continued interest and patience, which in turn will help you to sustain your efforts over a long period of time. For continued interest you need to keep learning and innovating. Explore positive accomplishments around the world, in your field. You also need to keep reminding yourself of the joy you will get or the final benefits you will derive at the successful completion of the project, which will keep you energised.

"Ever new energy and passion are crucial for a successful outcome!"

6. Strengthen your Will Power
Success comes from great conviction that you can do it. To develop your will, do things that challenge you i.e. things, which pull you out from your comfort zone. E.g. If you have a tendency to be a couch potato, getting yourself to rigorously and regularly exercise your body, definitely will strengthen your overall will. It is also important to do every little task that you undertake with 100% will and conviction to make it succeed. So what’s your comfort zone? There are many other ways of developing will power, such as meditation, being with inspiring people and reading inspiring stuff, eating low glycemic diet, practicing mindfulness, focusing on one thing at a time etc.

A ‘wish’ is a desire that you think cannot be fulfilled. Yogananda says that Will Power = desire + ever new energy to fulfill that desire! So making efforts to strengthen your will power is the only way.

“Will power is like a muscle, the more you use it the stronger it gets!”

7. Breathe-think-talk Success
Develop the thought of ‘success’ everyday! Be alert and conscious of your thoughts. Do not, even for a moment, allow your mind to slip into a negative or doubtful thought. Its simple logic “the seeds you water are the seeds that sprout and grow”! Easier said than done, I know...so next time you catch yourself thinking negative, pause, breathe and switch gears. Think, speak, and dream your goal. Make a dream board. Use affirmations. Use visualisation. Feel good about it. Know you can do it!

“Failure to prosper and succeed is definitely due to weak mental habits!” of prosperity and success!”

8. Strive for Excellence
When you work to excel, with 100% focus and attention, with appropriate behavior and attitude, the result obviously has a superior quality and value to it. And great results lead to a surge in energy, conviction and passion to keep going! Therefore the chances of converting failure to success considerably increase when you strive for excellence. Make excellence a habit. Work on your behaviors and attitudes. Be disciplined. Ensure that it takes deep roots in you. Excellence is achieved when you strive for highest quality and value in ‘every little task’ you undertake.

“Great excellence comes from great discipline. We are what we repeatedly do. So make excellence a habit!"

9. Keep calm
Being calm and relaxed is critical to simple things like making right decisions, communicating effectively, handling challenging situations etc. A peaceful mind also helps you concentrate well and stay focused on your goal. If you lose your cool often, and find that your old habits prevent you from being calm, go ahead and make new habits. Adopt mindful techniques to relax your mind...could be going for a walk or the simple practice of sitting in silence, focusing on your breath, using meditation techniques, saying positive affirmations or even being in the company of a successful and positive person may help.

"Whichever discipline you choose, continued practice will surely help you. Soon you will see the difference in your ability to respond calmly rather than react, panic and digress from your goal!"

10. Focus on the purpose
For a business/project to switch gears from failure to success, it is essential to ensure that you are always focused on the purpose i.e. the goal. Nurturing an egocentric, personality driven culture, never helps, neither does a timid and submissive one. What works is the one that keeps a razor-sharp focus on the main purpose or goal!

"It is not about you, it is not about your team either...it is always about the purpose!"

11. Seek success for one and all
More often than not, we get stuck because our approach is not inclusive. Whether it is a new venture or an ongoing one, it is important that your goals consider benefit of all, that it ensures success and prosperity for all — vis stakeholders, employees, customers, society, country etc. To keep everyone in the team motivated, you must create an open work environment around you where everybody can share new ideas freely; where everybody is encouraged to receive and give feedback regularly; where true achievers are recognised frequently. You must also nurture honesty and integrity in your team and create a transparent and caring work environment. Even if we perfect other things but falter on this one, in our hasty need to succeed, roadblocks and failures are assured down the road.

“Unhappy people around you, bring miserable results for you!”

12. Be Grateful
Last but not the least, to effectively make use of failure to succeed, one needs to be thankful towards all connected with the goal, directly and indirectly. Start by being grateful towards everyone and every decision that contributed to your failure because that serves as a crucial input to success. Also be grateful towards all stakeholders, including yourself, your clients, customers and vendors, your team, your colleagues, your mentor/coach/guru, even the office-assistants! Understand that without each one’s contribution, feedback and energy, you can never make it. Also do make sure to find ways, to effectively ‘express’ your gratitude. Gratefulness helps you to stay grounded, which in turn helps you handle your success well. ‘If you cannot handle your success well, when it finally arrives, it may not last long’.

“It is not successful people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are Successful!”