Attitude is a choice
The New Oxford American Dictionary defines attitude as “a settled way of thinking or feeling about something.” This is pretty much how I define attitude. It is a conscious choice. Based on our attitude, we decide how to approach people and situations. We choose our attitude based on our knowledge, calculations, wisdom, situations, actions, reactions, and our experiences.
Attitude is simply how we look at life and the world around us. Do you see life as something meaningful, full of joy, excitement, and challenges? Or do you see life as something pointless without a happy ending? I have always said your life is how you approach it. If you approach your life as difficult, it becomes difficult, if you take life easy, it becomes easy. The same applies for leaders when they look at their organization, employees, environment, and their future.

The way you approach your people, your environment, your partners, and circumstances is the way you lead.
Leaders who have hope and an enduring vision behave and perform purposefully, and because leadership is all about people, how leaders approach their people is crucial. How about you? Do you see your employees as replaceable machines? Do you see them as money suckers? Or do you view them as team mates with whom you can achieve breakthrough results? The way you approach your people, your environment, your partners, and circumstances is the way you lead. Remember, your attitude is your choice and yours alone.
We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control how to react to it.

Viktor Frankl, the famous Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist, said, “The one thing you can’t take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me. The last of one’s freedom is to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstance”. This attitude enabled Frankl to survive the concentration camp and teach us something precious, which is that everything can be taken away from us (positions, properties, wealth, and loved ones), but our attitude can never be taken because we can choose not to allow that. We cannot control what happens to us, but we can control how to react to it.

Great leaders learn to lead themselves before leading anyone or anything else.
How one treats people or situations is a choice, which means we can change it to get the best possible results. William James, a respected American psychologist, said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes”. This is exactly what first-class leaders do. Highly qualified leaders know that the foundation of leadership is learning to adjust their attitude; they learn to lead themselves before leading anyone or anything else.

Great leaders have mastered certain attitudes to approach people around them, their environment and circumstances. Using positivity, purposefulness, and flexibility, they approach actual trends to get the best out of them for their business. They know they cannot resist or change the inevitable, only how they deal with it. Author Charles Swindoll said it best: “We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. … I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it”.
A leader’s attitude has a lot to do with how they approach developments, think, implement strategies, hire new talents, and face challenges. First-class leaders have the capabilities to survive challenges and make breakthroughs because of their attitude. Attitude has a huge impact.

In chapter two of my recently released book First-Class Leadership I have explored the Common Attitudes of First-Class Leaders that are as follows:

• First-class leaders remain positive
• Great leaders are always proactive
• Great leaders are grateful
• Great leaders have purpose
• First-class leaders are risk takers
• Great leaders are solution-oriented
• Great leaders are balanced and have a balanced team

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You can download (FREE) the first two chapters of First-Class Leadership HERE
First-Class Leadership book is available via all major book sellers such as Amazon, Google Books, Managementboek.nl, Bol.com, author’s website, and many local bookstores. ONLY ON AMAZON: You can claim your kindle version of First-Class Leadership for 2.99 EUR ($3.67) instead of 16 EUR. Soon the price will go up:-)
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A moment of reflection
Take a moment of silence and reflect on your attitude.
· Do you see your life as one of purpose?
· Do you happen to things or do things happen to you?
· Do you consider yourself as an ultimate risk taker or a safe player?
· Do you have balance in your life? Do you do what really matters most? If not, do you know why?
Remember, nothing will ever change in your life or business unless you create the environment to change.

What do you think?
Would you agree or disagree with the above? Please share your thoughts and let’s learn from the way you approach your people (they way you lead). Thank you!

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The above blog is an adjusted excerpt from First-Class Leadership book that is available via all major book sellers such as Amazon, Google Books, Managementboek.nl, Bol.com, author’s website, and many local bookstores.
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About the author
Best known for mentoring on leadership, personal development, and conflict resolution, Hamid Safaei is a certified executive coach who helps leaders, senior managers, and budding entrepreneurs discover and cultivate their potential. He has penned two books: First-Class Leadership and Your Journey to Fulfillment. Hamid is passionate about helping both individuals and teams to always be at their best. He has led successful business transformations for a number of Fortune Global 500 companies. He has developed ImOcean Academy, a unique institute where he applies first-class coaching tools and techniques combined with best practices.