the art of leading

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Successful investor. Best-selling author. Oscar-award winner. Movie producer. Multimillionaire. Savvy businessman. Ten years ago nobody would have fathomed that those terms would someday describe Al Gore. Yet they do. In the past decade he has founded Generation Investment Management and Current TV, produced An Inconvenient Truth, and wrote best-selling books such as his last one, The Assault on Reason. Granted, you don’t have to agree with his politics or views. But nobody can deny that he has transformed himself from a mocked and non-charismatic politician into a thriving businessman and leader in environmental issues.The former Vice-President has somehow found the way to revamp his image and increase his level of influence.

In my humble opinion, the key has been increased self-confidence (see Self-Confidence to be a Leader for a better explanation). He just seems happy with his work, and that is projected into the increased assertiveness of his public speaking and other dealings. This ‘reinvention’ or ‘transformation’ has catapulted him into a new, higher level of influence. This new ‘leadership’ is demonstrated by the fact that many people would like for him to run for President in 2008. Now, people actually listen to what he has to say. People watch his Oscar-winning movie, read his best-selling books, and invest in his companies. Today another of his initiatives, Live Earth, takes place. It’s the latest example of his newfound scope of influence.

I repeat: you don’t have to be a tree-hugger to appreciate the importance and potential of reinvention. Sometimes leaders reinvent themselves slowly. Other times they make a total overnight transformation. Sometimes these reinventions are for the worst. Many times they revitalize leaders and increase their level of influence on others. Try it. Get out of the rut and do things differently than before. Find new ways to live and set new goals. Your reinvention might be just what is needed to become a better leader.

Categories : Confidence, General Leadership, Personal Development //