01_Leadershift: Ladder Climbing to Ladder Building

Who would have imagined a petite girl from a middle class family in India would be watching those she mentored soaring to newer heights. As Isaac Newton said: If I have seen farther than others, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.

My mom was a visionary and a stay-at home mom. She was very brave and an intelligent woman. She raised me to become a strong woman who started dreaming BIG. She was a petite woman but she stood tall and had this amazing attitude that endeared her to everyone. She was a connector and her faith was unwavering. I am so blessed to have inherited some of these qualities of hers. I stand on the shoulder of my "giant" mom :-)

John C. Maxwell talks about a series of shifts that can happen in our leadership journey, let me share them with you:

1. Ladder Climbing - "How high can you go?"
2. Ladder Holding - "How high will others go with a little help?"
3. Ladder Extending - "Hw high will others go with a lot of help?"
4. Ladder Building - "Can I help them build their own ladder?"

This leadershift is about changing from a personal producer to an equipper of others. It's a shift that takes your leadership math from addition to multiplication.

I started on my own personal growth journey 5 years ago when I came across the teaching from John C. Maxwell. I had to build my credibility as a Speaker and I started working on my own communication skills by joining a Toastmasters Club, giving speeches and making presentations at Rotary Clubs, Project Management Institute (PMI) Chapters for the past 5 years. I had to lead myself before I could lead anyone else. That is self-leadership. I had to show that I am capable of climbing the ladder myself as a Speaker.

Being able to climb the ladder myself was the first step in separating myself from the rest of the crowd. How do you do that? I asked myself these 3 questions:

(1) What Are My Strengths? I realized that I was a good story teller and a great connector. I loved taking pictures and sharing my leadership journey.

(2) What Are My Opportunities? I started making the most of any opportunity that I could get to speak - I participated in the Toastmasters International Speech Contest and the Maxwell StageTime Selection process.

(3) Am I Taking Steps Every Day? I decided to serve on the President's Advisory Council (PAC) of the Maxwell Leadership Team and become a Connector. I called new members to get them onboarded to our community and became their cheerleader. Meanwhile, I started connecting with influencers in the community and climbing the ladder to be amongst the top 10 percent.

These lessons were instrumental in helping me become a ladder builder. I read this in the book "Leadershift" and I would highly recommend that you study these lessons and start applying them in your leadership journey.

Contact me(Anupama) to attend a MasterClass that is coming soon - here is one that is starting next month (see details at bit.ly/LEADERSHIFT101).

The better you are at climbing the ladder yourself, the more you will have to give others when you move on to the next phases. I learnt this first hand from my mentor and a friend Lorna Weston-Smyth who has taught me a lot about how to serve with humility and be a ladder builder.

Next time I will share with you what happens when you make the shift to the next stage of "Ladder Holding". I have benefited from many people who were willing to hold the ladder for me as I climbed, especially as a new entrepreneur. Their initial support was key to my success. They made me better. And their help inspired me to want to help others.

I had the privilege to work alongside Lorna on the rebranding effort for the Maxwell Leadership Team and I could not have done what I did without her believing in me and my skills. She equipped & empowered me and wanted more for me than from me. She made me better and her help has inspired me to help others.        

Who has been helping you in your leadership journey? Do you know what it means to be mentored by someone who has gone ahead of you and can show you the way? So as you work to climb the ladder yourself, one of the things you need to ask yourself is whether you can get to that top 10 percent. If you can, then you will be able to start holding the ladder for others... says John Maxwell.

I know this is true since I have experienced this myself and I am ready to hold the ladder for you.

Join one of my upcoming workshops to find out how I can help you - I offer individual coaching for 3 months to get you started on your personal growth journey, others have benefitted from taking this journey with me and I know I can raise your leadership lid.

The question is "Are You Ready To Be Challenged & Lead On with Anupama?".

Subscribe to this newsletter to get notified when I publish the next edition in 2 weeks and share this with your friends/connections. Let's take steps every day to raise our leadership lid and develop leaders around us!

Block time on my calendar to have a conversation on how you could be part of our community - we have a Referral Contest going on and I would love to refer you. There is no obligation at your end to join us but you can gather all the information you need about our Maxwell Certification Program so you can decide for yourself whether this is the right fit and right timing for you.

I am glad I said YES to myself when I came across John's teaching and fell in love with it :-)

Note that this lesson is an excerpt from the book "Leadershift" which I am licensed to teach from - join my upcoming MasterClass to make the shift.