Bringing Life to Leadership

By Michele Jones

Bringing Life to Leadership is a book written for anyone serious about leading themselves and others in order to make extraordinary things happen.

It highlights the 5 fundamental heartbeats of great leadership by taking the reader on a journey and exploring this topic in a way that gets right down to the heart of the matter of what everyone needs to know in order to make a difference and ultimately discover the foundations needed to influence and inspire action; and outcomes not only within themselves, but also within others.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michele Jones
• Release date: Sep 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311872395

Book preview

First published in 2014 by

For You Corporation Pty Ltd.

PO Box 31

Toronto, NSW, Australia 2283

Australia * New Zealand * Indonesia * Malaysia * Singapore *

Philippines * United Kingdom * USA

© For You Corporation Pty Ltd.

Smashwords Edition

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data:

Author: Jones, Michele

Title: Bringing Life to Leadership - The 5 Proven Heartbeats of Great Leadership / Michele Jones

ISBN: 9781311872395

Subjects: Leadership

Business

Personal Development

Business Development

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All enquiries should be made to the publisher at the above address.

Editor: Maria Martello

DISCLAIMER:

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decisions. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

***

Dedication

To Shane Ward

This book is dedicated to Shane Ward on his 25th year in business.

My boss, my friend, my mentor, the person I have chosen to journey with through life the longest.

"A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done, and then once done, he inspires the energy and innovation to repeat this process over and over again"

- Michele Jones

It is at times hard to believe that it is almost 25 years since I walked through the front door of your office, answering an ad in the paper that you had placed seeking an Administrator. In fact if my memory serves me correctly, the ad stated that you were looking for a young enthusiastic individual ready to take over the world with you. Well, that was how I interpreted it anyhow, and I guess everything in life comes down to what we make it mean and what we choose to believe.

I will always remember that first day of meeting you, and the excitement and anticipation that filled me as I dressed for my first ‘real’ job interview, wearing clothes borrowed from friends so that I could be dressed to impress, I mean, I really didn’t think wearing my nurses uniform was going to cut it for a career in sales and marketing. As I arrived outside your building that day, thinking to myself that it probably wasn't what I had in mind for an elite sales and marketing company, I walked through the entrance and took what seemed like a long, dark and dingy hallway, a lot darker than I had imagined it would be; I even caught myself thinking, ‘gee they probably need an Administrator to help them pay their bills!’ For a brief moment, I even wondered if I was actually in the right place, and walked back outside the building to double check that I had the street number right. And as I walked back inside it occurred to me that there was only one way from here, and that was up. The light at the top of the stairs told me so and as I took each step towards the light, I was filled with anticipation and new hopes that I would land this job with you. Something inside me told me to stand tall and be proud of who I was, all I had achieved up until now and to also be proud of what I had to offer even as a 19 year old.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, one by one I climbed higher until the stairs led me through a doorway which opened into a quaint yet lively office, music was pumping and the smell of fresh paint caught my attention as I made my way inside. I was met by your then Administrator, Nikki, who I later learnt was your girlfriend, there to assist you to hire your new Administrator. She offered me a form, and as I sat there eagerly filling it out, I attempted to prepare for the unknown.

I could not help but wonder if I was doing the right thing. I mean after all, I had gone to Uni to study nursing for a career in nursing right? So how did I even end up here? All sorts of thoughts were running through my mind…If this is a good job, then why am I the only person sat here in the waiting room? Why were they not flooding in through the door? What if you didn’t like me? What if I didn’t like you? What if I didn’t have the necessary skills to do what you needed? What would happen if I was to leave my two nursing jobs to do something so completely different? I was a 19 year old with a mortgage to pay, was this going to be the springboard in my life that I knew I deserved and one that would lead me to the life I had always imagined? My Dad had always been in direct sales and marketing and made a great career for himself within it, so maybe this was a sign that I was headed on the right path?

So, as I sat there waiting to be called in to meet you, my life started flashing before me in fast motion, with thoughts drifting towards a better future. Could this little and somewhat dodgy looking office really be the place for this to occur? Suddenly I was transported back into the room, back into now with the acute awareness of my sweaty arm pits and clammy palms, and as I thanked my nerves for showing up and for the purpose that they brought for me to make my mark, I quietly