Recently I had an opportunity to discuss the current political situation in Czech Republic with two young Czech executives. They both characterized the current leadership vacuum here is an absence of sustainable leadership. One of them suggested that countries such as Czech Republic are full of people who have reasonable material comforts, and yet lead lives of quiet, and at times noisy desperation. Like in neighboring Germany, they increasingly are becoming "nichtwahlers" or non-voters. In terms of how happy they feel to live in their own country, according to a world wide poll, Czechs now rank on 39th place, Poles on 51st place and Hungarians on 110th place.

So I asked them what do they think may be wrong with their country in terms of the leadership situation. First they hesitated for a while. Then one of them suggested that old, worn out totalitarian thinkers are no longer able to inspire the new generation of young, educated voters. They only appeal to those still thinking in totalitarian terms, and prefer to think only about themselves, not about the needs of the rest of citizens living in the country.

So I told them about the International Leadership Institute's programs we have been organizing for years (ever since the collapse of totalitarian communism in East and Central Europe) for leaders from post-communist countries, and about what we learned from those leaders over the years. Together with participants in the ILI programs we came up with a profile of a successful 21st century leader.

St Vaclav, Duke of Bohemia in the 10th century

Here are some typical observations:
We agreed that successful 21st century leaders typically encourage and lift others from where they are to where I
t is their potential to be. They do not aim for mediocrity but for excellence. They serve in their leadership roles with energy, intelligence, imagination, diligence, wisdom and good will toward others. Such leaders do no evil and do not condemn their neighbors but keep their oath even when it hurts.

They protect the weak and the needy from those who malign them . They are able to correctly discern their priorities and focus diligently on key tasks for the good of their country.

Then one of the two future leaders asked me, how can the country find such leaders.  I suggested that a healthy country, with a healthy society should be able to produce them.

Fortunate are people whose top leader's lifestyle is a demonstration of can-do attitude combined with good will toward people, understanding, compassion, diligence, high energy level and a heart for social justice.

Such a leader can and will attain a deep inner state of quietness in order not to become prey to tension, worry, fear and ill health. Such a servant leader is also wise in that which is good and simple concerning evil, and will seek counsel regarding every circumstance that confronts him or her.

Such a leader does not accept conditions of any kind that would mar the well being of the people he or she leads, and does not accept the rejection, the bruising or the piercing of negative words and actions by the leader's enemies or opponents.

Redirect is now open for new participants!

You have just one life, so it's in your best interest to make the most of it. No one can do this for you! Take charge of your life, one decision at a time.

After our successful organizational meeting at Bio Zahrada on Tuesday, we are excited to be offering the late summer 2013 Redirect seminar to our new participants! We have also decided to open the seminar to other people living in Prague who are interested in making a change in their lives.

What you have done in the past can be reshaped and refashioned into something new, better and different. We especially want to recommend this seminar (delivered in 4-2 hour sessions) to people who find themselves complaining about their job, feeling that they are not challenged and are not using all their potential.

Seminar Details:

Redirect Seminar, Session One of four.

Tuesday, August 20 at 18:15

at Monolok Cafe on Moravska 18 in Vinohrady (Please ask for Tusek table)

http://www.monolok.cz/

Cost for seminar: 1800 kc for four 2-hour sessions (8 hours total of meeting time).  

Our book, 21st Century Jobs, is needed for the seminar; cost for the book is 200 kc.

If you think this may be helpful to you, please join us. We will have extra books and other materials for any new people who come to this first session.

New "Redirect" seminar for August!

We have recently met several people who live in Prague and are considering major changes in their lives. Some of them need a new job; one is graduating from high school and getting ready for university studies; one is discouraged and needs to believe that she can get "the job she can like and do best."

So we are inviting these people to a small meeting at Bio Zahrada at Belgicka 25/33 in Vinohrady, on nam Miru, at 5: 30 on Tuesday, August 13.

http://www.bio-zahrada.cz/en

We would welcome you, too, if you are ready to get some help with deciding what to do in your career! Czech and English-speakers are all welcome.

Why work?

There are so many different reasons that people give for why they work, it is worth  taking time to ponder why you work. The obvious answer is "to make some money" and the obvious next statement is, "I wish I was so rich that I didn't have to work."

Could it be that there are other reasons to work besides pure necessity?

I am going to suggest the making money is not the only reason, or even the most important reason to work. Here are the three top three reasons why people work:

1. to interact with and influence their surroundings
2. to make friends and develop new interests
3. to organize your life and bring meaning into each day

To interact with and influence their surroundings
The concept of "the idle rich"may seem attractive, especially when you watch rich people play and live on TV or in movies. Lounging around all day, being waited on hand and foot, never worrying about paying bills--all this seems wonderful.

But look at the downside--if all you do is lounge around, how can you connect with your surroundings other than passively? If you never work, never do anything that brings you into a creative or productive relationship with people beyond the few who serve you or live with you, doesn't that leave a gap in your life? You may be happy enough with idleness, for a while, but if you don't work--take on some responsibility for some aspect of the culture around you--I think you are missing a key pathway for making a mark on that culture.

Being an observer, not an initiator, is a boring and unfulfilling life. Your life may be comfortable (if you can be sure your money will last as long as you live!), but you are simply living on the surface if you don't work. Even rich people usually have to work, anyway, to manage their wealth and make sure no one is embezzling all their funds while they sit on a tropical island drinking pink beverages with tiny umbrellas. So if you have to work, why not work at something you care about, where you can have an impact for the good?

Photo shoot in the Old town, Prague

To make new friends and develop interests
It's fairly easy to make friends when you're young, in high school or college, where you spend a great deal of time in common activities such as attending classes and doing schoolwork. If you never leave the place where you made these friends, and they never leave, either, you will most likely stay friends.

But if you move, you need some way to make new friends right away. Working is the ideal way to make friends, as you are teamed for projects, seek new clients, develop and implement plans, and so on. The time spent working with colleagues usually is enough to build friendships, many of which may last a lifetime. The emotional and mental energy spent in work often spills over into work-based relationships: you work many hours together, find solutions for tough problems, and celebrate accomplishments.

You can also easily find new hobbies and outlets for your creativity with your colleagues who become friends. They invite you to their meetings, outings, and so on; some of these new interests may be a great fit for you, giving you a more diversified life.

Cleaners take a break

To organize your life and bring meaning into each day
Most people who work love to moan and groan about the absurd amount of time works eats up, what with commuting, work itself, after-hours work events, preparation for the next day's work, etc. Yet having a working schedule brings benefits as well. Unemployed people, or people who are "stuck at home" all day, often dream of working so that their days don't seem do random or purposeless. Work gives you an anchor around which to organize your life; without work, your empty calendar may, after a while, look pretty pathetic.

And each day brings its end. What did you do today? "Not much" is a poor result if you are a reasonably energetic, talented human being. On holiday, doing "not much" seems like an amazing luxury, but as a steady diet, "not much" is starvation rations.

Sleeping on the tram...not too exciting

I believe that human beings are social creatures (some more so than others, but everyone needs company sometimes!) In isolation, humans get strange. They develop obsessions and weird theories; they neglect their health and get sick; they lose their connection to other people and suffer intolerable loneliness, which can get warped into all kinds of sociopathic and actual criminal behavior. We need other people to shake us up when we get strange. There's no better way to be shaken up than by work, which forces you to confront reality, in one way or another.

I also believe that people need to know their lives have meaning. There must be more to life than the brief span of time on earth--your life needs to mean something to someone, or why live? The most consistent meaning in life that I can think of is to influence and be influenced by other people.Work does just that.

Back in Prague!

We spent the past winter in Florida, catching up with friends and taking care of some business. That time was a holiday for us, in terms of delivering our career development programs, though we continued to think about (and offer free advice to our friends and family regarding) the relationship between your career and your purpose in life.

Since returning to Prague in the spring of 2013, we have spent considerable time in redefining our own purposes, as our lives have changed and developed. 2012 and early 2013 have been busy and eventful times for us in our professional and personal lives, calling for a review of our previous goals and a thoughtful analysis of potential new goals, as we refine our purpose. We've started a new blog on the topic of purpose (determineyourpurpose.blogspot.com).

Just this past Saturday, we held a reunion for our 2012 Redirect participants. This meeting was a time to reflect on the changes and accomplishments of the past year, and to begin to set new goals. We talked about the importance of knowing your purpose in life, and that fact that purpose often evolves over time into something new, as we achieve our goals and set new ones.

From the Redirect reunion came one key insight into the concept of defining and fulfilling your purpose:

Having a clear purpose does not put you into a straight jacket, unable to respond to new opportunities!

In fact, having a clear purpose will help you recognize and sort out what opportunities come your way. Each day brings its share of ideas and chance encounters that may be developed into something exciting and rewarding. It's simply not possible to respond with equal enthusiasm and energy to every attractive or important chance that you may spot. Having a purpose gives you a framework and point of reference form which to evaluate opportunities, so that you are not overwhelmed and indecisive about ideas that are clearly not for you, at the moment.

Our participants gave us positive feedback on their Redirect experiences and urged us to keep offering the program. They found it interesting and useful to take time for analysis of their past accomplishments, skills and values, and to set one major goal for the coming year.

Our Redirect participants gave us some career and personal updates:

• One Redirect participant left a business job that was unsatisfying and made a career change to university teaching. She is pursuing a PhD to help her advance in this new career and is steadily making her move into entrepreneurship, balancing this with personal and family decisions.

• Another Redirect participant is directing an exciting new project in her career field, while still completing her education and continuing with her previous job. Some changes in her personal life gave her the time and energy to pour into building her career, and to carefully consider some options for a semester or year of study in another country, to enlarge her vision.

• Another Redirect participant is moving from volunteer work to a business career, using her past experience and skills in another country to set up a new business venture here in Prague. She is also refreshing her abilities in her third language, in anticipation of future business endeavors.

With all this in mind, we will be offering the Redirect program very soon. Please check back here to find out the dates, or email us at purpose@ili.cc for more information.