Bill Boyajian - Developing the Mind of a Leader: Your Path to Lead and Inspire People

Developing the

Your Path to Lead and Inspire People

By Bill Boyajian

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2011 Bill Boyajian

As we explore the paths of our youth, eachadventure is its own justification. These early explorations needno destination, nor require any victories - only an open heart anda sense of wonder. But in time, the template of modern life imposesits over-arching structure, and the schools and jobs and decisionsthat lead us to choose a career path also lead us to begin ourlives anew. It is largely the progression of this career path thatdetermines how well or poorly we acquire the traits necessary tosucceed in business - and indeed, in life.

Simply put, the focus of this book is careerand life success through leadership. The sooner we learn toidentify the values that allow us to lead and inspire people, thesooner we discover the riches of our personal growth and potential.As we learn to positively influence those around us, we form thefoundation of a lasting legacy.

For me, the groundwork for finding thesefirst "gems" of leadership began when I was in junior high school.I was voted "most likely to succeed" - whatever that means. I guessfellow students saw something. But my leadership traits reallyblossomed when I was 21. While the early steps were simple andbegan in ordinary ways, their later impact was powerful - evenprofound. I was working two part-time jobs while carrying a fullload in college. One job was for my father, a drilling contractor.The other was in a liquor store in the evenings. It was there, inmy native Fresno, California, that I struck up a conversation witha man who frequented the store and managed a leased jewelrydepartment in a local department store. His work piqued myinterest, and understanding that he occasionally needed help, Igave him my name and phone number, forgetting about it until I gota call from him eight months later.

The man offered me a job, and I accepted. Isoon became a successful jewelry salesperson and, nearinggraduation with a Bachelors Degree in economics, I becameinterested in a possible career in the jewelry industry. Like manyothers I would learn about in the years that would follow, my bossencouraged enrollment at the Gemological Institute of America(GIA). I checked out the school in Los Angeles and met with severaljewelers in my hometown who highly recommended the training. If Iwas to go into the business, I wanted to build a foundation onsolid rock. I was sold, and started my gemological studies threeweeks after graduating from college. My goal was to become aGraduate Gemologist and to get a good job in the jewelry industry.I never imagined this would lead to a career at the very Institutewhere I had studied.

After completing the diploma program, Ilanded a job at GIA, and absorbed the subject of gemology. Ilearned that teaching a subject was the ultimate test of one'smastery of it. At 27, I was promoted into my first role inmanagement, supervising the very programs I had been teaching. Myyears as an instructor taught me a lot about leadership: how tomotivate students to want to learn and achieve; how to makedifficult concepts easier to understand; and how to inspirelife-long learning and a genuine appreciation of one's chosenprofession.

During this period in my career, I studiedhuman behavior, salesmanship, management, and leadership whiledeveloping my skills as an educator, author, speaker, and gemexpert. While others used politics to climb the ladder, I wasadvancing my knowledge and acquiring the experience it would taketo be successful in my career. Though my goal was to become one ofthe top people at the Institute, I never dreamed I could becomepresident (let alone at the age of 34).

What a life lesson! Thathard work, sincere effort, and belief in laying a foundation forsuccess were critical to being a success. Over the years, I amassed considerableexperience leading the Institute. I also began collectinginformation on leadership, reading and writing intently on thesubject, and speaking regularly to audiences both inside andoutside the gem trade. The responses I received were encouraging,and upon retiring in 2006, I began to write the book I alwaysdreamed about - the one you now hold in your hands. It reflects 30years of research, writing, and hands-on experience, and itrepresents my philosophy of leadership.

As we uncover the secrets of leadership inthe pages that follow, you will discover with certainty, as I did,these three things:

Leaders are made, not born.

Leadership is caught, not taught.

Leading is a lifelonglearning experience.

These are recurring themesthat will unfold as you read. As simply as I can put it, Developing the Mind of a Leader is what you must do to realize your fullpotential. You must dig deep within to recognize and utilize thenuggets that lie there. Like a gem miner sifting through ore andtailings, you can find the character and competence withinyou.

This book will teach you how to accomplishmore than is expected, what it takes to ascend to the top of anorganization, what traits are vital to leadership, and how to carrya legacy forward. To some, it will seem unconventional. To others,it will make perfect sense. All I ask is that you have an open mind- that magical sense of curiosity and adventure - so you candevelop a mind that will make you a leader people follow.

Although they wouldprobably agree with most of what is written here, this is not abook for Fortune 500 CEOs. It's a book for the rest of us. It's a book foryou.

Everyone leads. And most lead people. Youmay be an executive clinging to your leadership role, a middlemanager trying to get hold of your department, a single motherstruggling to lead your children, or a devoted but frustratedvolunteer serving a cause you believe in. Whatever your lot in life- and unless you live alone on an island somewhere - you lead inone form or another because leadership is a position ofinfluence.

Unfortunately, leadership - and leadingpeople, in particular - doesn't come with a set of ironclad rules.You start with a few fundamentals and then learn what works bestlargely through trial and error - hopefully more trial than error.The journey never stops. Nor does the learning. What workedyesterday may not work today, and is even less likely to worktomorrow.

In business, and in life, things can unravelfast. I've seen executives derailed from their leadership track,professionals lose their license to practice, husbands lose theirwives, and pastors lose their congregations. I've seen people inall walks of life lose their identity and self-esteem. It's noexaggeration that, had they been able to discover the leaderwithin, their lives would be different.

If you've ever struggled as a leader - atwork, in the home, through community affairs, wherever - this bookwill give you the tools to hone your leadership skills andpositively impact the people around you. We will look at what ittakes to be a leader, how to lead people, and how to maximize yoursuccess in leading. The words in these pages can change how and whyyou lead. They can even change your life.

The real key to leading isto achieve greater good for others. This comes from a fundamentalunderstanding of who you are as a person and what your calling in life is as aleader. Great leadership transcends the bounds of time and culture.More often than we like to admit, we fail at leading. But there isgreat hope for those of us who are committed to learning andgrowing as leaders, where the rewards, quite frankly, far outweighthe demands of time and pressure.