Welcome Home

The thing about playing small is that when you do it long enough you begin to lose sight of the big dreams you once had. Smallness begets smallness – - the choices you make and the people you bring into your life reflect that sense of lack. We’re masters at rationalization, so you won’t notice how much you’ve compromised.

When you begin to Play BIG and make grand choices for your life at first it may not seem to improve things. In fact, it may hurt a lot. Often small players don’t appreciate people who want to do it bigger. You remind them that they, too have let go of their biggest dreams.

If you continue to Play BIG, sooner or later something colossal will present itself in your life. Make no mistake, it will scare the hell out of you. You’ll get the goose bumps and all those dormant dreams will rush into your spirit like a tidal wave. And when you realize those dreams can be a reality you’ll say to your Self, “Welcome home.”

Open Space for Leadership

I’m excited to finally share with you the details of an event iPlayBIG will be hosting for The Lead Change Group on February 19th and 20^th in Fort Lauderdale, Florida called LeaderPalooza. This isn’t going to be a typical leadership conference. In fact, the tagline for the event is “Not Your Mama’s Leadership Conference” (complete with a #nymlc hashtag on Twitter.) It’s an honor for me to convene an event that combines two things I’m really passionate about: leadership and Open Space Technology.

In an earlier post I laid out my vision of what will be required of leaders in the future and it’s not for the faint of heart. This new style of leadership requires us to be vulnerable, transparent and to check our egos at the door. Far from weak, today’s evolved leaders have the courage and inner strength needed to suspend their own beliefs long enough to really listen to others.  In fact, they make the practice of compassionate listening a priority. Make no mistake, a true leader’s values run deep and are never compromised, but they also realize that we live in an ever-changing world and what was “right” yesterday may have shifted. The leaders of the future are open to the possibility of being wrong and they know that the new right can come from the most unexpected people, places and experiences.

We welcome this new type of leader at LeaderPalooza. In fact, the conference is designed to make this model sustainable. You are the integral piece. Your strengths, experiences and perspectives will add value to this conference. Your needs will drive the content, inspiration and ingenuity. LeaderPalooza will be devoid of posturing, egos, top-down regurgitation of old information and boring 101-level talk.

Using the self-organizing spirit of Open Space Technology and the delicate power of holding space, we’ll tap into the wisdom of the successful leaders in the room (including YOU) to craft visions and plans for the future. Kick off 2010 with others who can support you in leading yourself and your sphere of influence.  Here’s where to register. I’d love to spend some time in the sun with you – - see you there!

Oh Canada

Oh Canada, how you inspire me. There you go again.