COPY

TRAINING46

Kevin Abdulrahman is an International

Author of a series of books that are

being translated into several languages.

He also holds a role as the Training and

Development Director for the Direct

Selling Educational Institute (DSEI) in

Dubai. Kevin’s articles are regularly

published in magazines, reports,

newsletters and newspapers, constantly

being used as resources all over the

world. He helps winning organisations,

universities, sports teams and individuals

create breakthrough results.

I wAS invited to present a keynote speech at the Burj Al Arab in Dubai to a group of leaders from the Pan Arab world. The topic was about leadership and what was required of organisations in order to become and continue to be globally competitive. To be in business in the 21st century, you need to be playing the game as a globally competitive player. whether you have it in your mind to compete only on a local level, your thoughts, strategy and leadership must be reflective of you being competitive on a global scale. No longer is it an option for you to consider, rather it has become a must to operate with this framework in mind if you wish to thrive today when the majority struggle to survive. This framework applies whether you are an employee, a self-employed person, a manager of a department or a CEO of an organisation.

In today’s world of economical pressure, smart consumerism, abundant choices and access to any corner of the world at the touch of a button, you need to be easily identified as the go-to entity. You need to be head and shoulders above your competition in your particular niche for both your customers and distributors looking for an opportunity. Doing so will ensure you enjoy a piece of the financial reward pie. Missing it will mean that you will be amongst all the other entities out there trailing those that command the lead with a smile on their face.

As a leader and a reader of this article, you are representing you, you are representing your organisation, you are representing your network and you are representing your society, with the aim of being globally competitive. And if you already are, then you are striving to ensure you continue to be globally competitive.

For any large structure to be constructed, solid foundations are required to be laid. without sound and solid foundations, all your efforts and resources spent that goes on to your large structure (vision) is potentially going to waste or at risk of becoming obsolete. Many individuals and organisations will spend a fortune on IT infrastructure, marketing strategies, office setups, business models and any partnerships they choose to form. Yet the most important resource is sadly left on the back burner, usually ending up becoming underdeveloped. why is it that many organisations having spent hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars on many frameworks regrettably still fail to thrive in this competitive world? It is because they find it hard to pull their team together, even though they have good people at the top. They have failed to nourish the minds of the people who constitute their organisation, to unlock their full potential and put their best foot forward in line with the organisation’s vision.

I can hear you say, “the answer lies in good leadership.” Indeed, leadership is mandatory.

The importance of leading from within By Kevin Abdulrahman

COPY

47www.kevinspire.com

Any organisation is in the place that it is today because of leadership from the people at the helm. But moving forward, this will need to be built on. More will be needed. Not leadership by way of title. Not leadership by way of telling others what to do. Not leadership by way of text book knowledge. Not leadership in the change we want to see in others, but more so, leadership by leading from within, leadership on an individual basis, across the board and at every level.

Leading from within is something that is rarely seen, especially at a time when people are affected by economical and environmental factors.

The Leaders at the helm will tend to be unaffected, because they have trained themselves to withstand adversities and continue with their vision. How true does that hold of the people working within your organisation? Are your people, those who constitute the actual organisation, as strong as the guys at the top? Have they developed the mind of a champion?

“To play on a local level, you need the mind of a player.

To play on a global level, you need the mind of a champion.”

Kevin Abdulrahman

The focus of leading from within is not just for those at the helm. It’s no longer enough for the people at the helm who already possess a winning mind to lead the way. It will be similar to pushing a car all on your own. You may have the energy and motivation at the start, but after a while, you will burn out and exhaust yourself without making significant progress. Time and time again I see this happen with the greatest of people; they hit a brick wall, having exhausted themselves.

It is important for all the individuals within any organisation to develop a winning mind, the mind of a champion, a leader’s way of thinking and, more importantly, be trained to lead from within. Doing this will equate to your whole team helping you push that car. Just picture how much easier the workload would be if your organisation had many more individuals (both in the corporate department and sales force) holding the same vision and mission in mind?

Just imagine if your people seek in before they seek out. Imagine if your people would actually take the initiative to bring you a set of solutions when facing a problem. Imagine if your people worked on the basis of ownership, accountability and responsibility instead of blame, excuses and denial. Imagine if your people did not need to be constantly motivated to do what they are supposed to do? Imagine if the people in your organisation did not stand there waiting for a command to be given to them; rather they would take the initiative and ownership by making decisions favourable to your growth. This comes by correctly investing, nourishing and empowering the minds of your people to help them become leaders in their day to day activities, to lead from within.

Now more than ever this form of leadership is needed. As a leader and decision maker, you need to not exert all your efforts on only picking leaders, rather working on developing and nourishing the pool of talent that already exists. Training your people to lead from within is a must, and it will take you and your organisation to the next level.