Of all of the definitions of Leadership the best one that I have ever heard is the first line in the book “Level Three Leadership” by James Clawson. Here is his definition;

“Leadership is about managing Energy, first in yourself and then in those around you.”

What a great definition.   Have you ever thought about leadership in this way?  How do you manage energy within yourself? How do you keep yourself motivated? One way to think about this is to ask yourself what is it that takes away your energy. In my coach training at Coach U we referred to these types of energy drainers as tolerations. A toleration was anything that you put up with. Tolerations took away energy from you and prevented you from achieving everything you wanted. Here are a few examples of things that we tolerate

A messy desk
too many emails
Not having enough clients
Too many unfinished projects
Unresolved conflicts

I remember when I went through the tolerations class we were asked to come up with 100 things we were tolerating. Sounds like a lot but once I got on a roll I got pretty close to 100. What I noticed from my list was that I had a lot more control over the things I was putting up with than I thought. As I began eliminating some of the tolerations I felt more energized.

Try this exercise. Make a list of 20 things you are currently putting up with. It could be at work or home. Eliminate 2-3 within the next week and see what happens.