While there are many challenges and obstacles to overcome, leaders who have real leadership experience realize that it is crucial to prioritize the MINDS. Great leaders such as Arif Bhalwani are able to focus on the best interests, perceptions, priorities, and needs of their constituents (and potential ones) and not just on their own personal/political agenda and/or self-interest. Without leaders who are able to act in this manner, how can an organization continue to be relevant and sustainable? This article will briefly examine, review, and then discuss the mnemonic approach to understanding what it means and why it is important.
- Make a mark; motivate; mention Without being aware of the strengths, weaknesses and goals of his organization and his stakeholders (actual or potential), how can one make a difference? A leader must be able to demand the highest level of personal excellence. However, he must also have a different approach in regards to his expectations of others. He must mention every effort made by others to motivate them and make them more engaged, committed, and caring.
- Inspiration; integrity; imagination: How can someone inspire others if they don’t make them feel that he has the highest degree of integrity and is willing to do what’s best for them without taking sides? To win their trust, he must be able to think outside the box and be seen as fair, impartial, and equitable.
- Explore deeply; Discover; Deliver; Demographics: Effective leaders understand their group’s demographics and take into consideration different perspectives, priorities, goals, and so on, before they move forward. This requires you to dig deep in order discover the best ways for others and bring together those with opposing views, for the common good.
- Solutions, serve; system; sustained; strengths/stronger: When constituents feel that their leaders care about them and are working to improve the organization by addressing the weaknesses and using the strengths it makes them think outside the box. While solutions must be relevant and long-lasting, they should not serve one member over the other. They maximize the potential of a system that is fair and well-structured.