On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright were credited with the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight.  A century later, we all know now that planes fly due to lift. Increased air speed over top of the curved wing lowers the pressure and the plane rises.  Defying logic, at takeoff a 747-400 can carry 450 tons of weight effortlessly into the thin air.
 
Great leaders provide lift to their teams in much the same way.  They increase the airspeed (clarity, vision, coordination, confidence) over a curved wing (the team's apparent and latent capabilities) to lift the team to unexpected, and perhaps unforseen heights.  
 
In the weeks ahead we'll explore lift in a deeper way.   Lift isn't about new skills or quick tips.  It isn't about haranging or charisma.  It is about how you show up as a leader.  

Years ago a small group of designers and engineers thought everyone should have their own loom to make their own fabric.

Most of their colleagues insisted that even if they could make it, nobody would want one.  Looms are machines for big business, not individuals.  Nevertheless, this small affiliation of creators kept making prototypes until people started actually buying them.  Eventually most of America had one.

Of course, all this is true except for the loom part. Instead of the loom the personal computer is the real invention.  But, the struggle was the same, and the critics weren't wrong.  There was no market for a home-based computer.

Gates, Jobs, and others who created the personal computer market had what we call a Receptive Worldview.  Where most saw no market they saw opportunity; where most saw walls they saw break through.

Having a Receptive Worldview means releasing your judgments and limits on situations and people.  It feels risky, but without it we may never really break though.

Q: What breakthrough can you imagine and engineer for your life?

Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s  contributions to a free America -- a country that he guided in a new direction, with a new set of possibilities.  It was Dr. King who imagined America as a place where a person is judged by their character's content.
 
The power of Dr. King's personality is undeniable.  Even when people had trouble believing in the dream, they believed in Dr. King.  People certainly knew where he wanted to go, a new America with a new level of freedom for everyone.  And, the possibility would have seemed unattainable had he not consistently believed in it himself.
 
Dr. King imagined and engineered a breakthrough.

Theologian and philosopher C.S. Lewis once said that our greatest fear and our greatest desire is to be known.  To really be known we must break down the walls separating our "outside" selves and our "inside" selves.  So, what would that look like?
 
Well, it might look something like Roberto Benigni on Oscar night in 1998.  Benigni won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for Life Is Beautiful.  When his name was called, Roberto's walls fell away: he jumped on seats, shook strangers' hands, hopped up the stairs like a little boy and, in heavily accented English, spoke profusely about joy and gratitude.  Everyone watching him immediately knew Roberto Benigni inside and out.
 
Letting our walls fall away to be truly known can be scary.  But, the less we hold our true selves back the better others can know us and the better we can know ourselves.  And, we get even closer to real breakthough leading.
 
(Want to see falling walls for yourself?  Watch here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cTR6fk8frs)

Q: What do your authentic actions reveal about you to your team?

What comes to mind when you think of Clint Eastwood?  Tough, steely eyed guy you don't want to mess with, right?  Well, screenwriter William Goldman tells a different story in his book, Adventures in the Screen Trade.
 
Goldman was on the movie set for a film Eastwood was directing.  During the lunch break most folks get in line for the craft services, while big stars, directors and producers often have lunch catered in for them.  However, the man famous for being Dirty Harry grabs a tray and gets in line with the rest. Surprised, the crewmembers in front try to usher him forward.  But, he'll have none of it.  It's lunch, and he's just one of guys.  
 
One simple, sincere action revealed Mr. Eastwood's Brand to be quite different from his public image. The way we act with those around us, with our team, has a great impact on our Personal Brand.  Knowing that brand and seeking to positively and authentically influence it is a major part of breakthrough leading.

To choose is to put your worldview in action. Consider that the act of expressing your choice as less an obligation and more a powerful act of living in a democracy.

Choose powerfully to express your highest aspirations and deepest values.