Six Efforts to Improve Your 'How' to Boost Leadership

Rudyard Kipling wrote, "I keep six honest serving men, they taught me all I know. Their names are 'what' and 'why' and 'when' and 'how' and 'where' and 'who.

They gave him the theory on everything!

But the one that gives most people the hardest time, is 'HOW'.

In today's world, it's no longer important what you do, but 'how' you do it. It's the 'how that separates you from the pack.

What you do is a commodity. No matter what you do someone else is already doing it. And they may be doing it better than you, so your 'how' becomes the differentiator.

Success is dictated by your commitment to behaviors that lead to success. To do this, you must be engaged continually in an improvement plan.

Someone once said, "how you do one thing is how you do everything," and I believe this to be true. That means you must constantly be in self-improvement in order to be better than your competition. You must strive to develop habits and behaviors that drive your results to be better than all the rest who do what you do if you want to distinguish yourself in your field.

With over ten years of martial arts experience culminating in a black belt in karate and a red belt in Tae Kwon Do, I discovered certain elements that apply to everything you do in life, and in particular to create the success you dream about.

These are: being more committed, more focused, more disciplined, more consistent and more resilient if you are to fulfill the goals you set for yourself, and succeed.

To do this, you must fundamentally think about how you are doing business, and how you conduct yourself individually, as well as with your teams and your organization.

Competitive advantage is found not in 'what we do' but in 'how we do it'.

The following six things will ensure a bright future.

You must connect and collaborate

Shift power from one to the many to foster good decision making and innovation

Hire for character, not just skills.

To bring out the best make every day meaningful for those you work with.

Learn how to listen at the deepest level. Ask powerful questions

Be a better teacher, coach or leader. Ask how you can be an inspiration to those you serve and be a better parent, spouse, sibling, boss.

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In your efforts to improve your 'how' remember: Everything counts!

Who you are is determined by 'how' you behave toward others, and in the world in general.

Improving your 'how' fulfills the three innate needs of every human being. Membership, Empowerment and Meaning. By doing so, you hold yourself to a superior level of thought and behavior.

In my world of leadership development, my simple philosophy is clear. "I help people be better people, so we can create a better world."

In order to do that, I must walk the talk, and be the best person I can be, deeply flawed and hopelessly optimistic about the possibility that people can and do make a difference.