Do you find there are some people you get along with straight away? Are there others you find very frustrating or annoying? And have you ever wondered why you ‘click’ with some people and others drive you crazy?

I believe that relationships are the foundation of all success. But, how can we build relationships with people we don’t seem to get along with? In the words of Stephen Covey we need to ‘Seek first to understand, then be understood.’

Human behaviour is very complex, but in simple terms psychologists have been able to identify patterns of behaviour. Recognising these patterns helps us understand what makes people ‘tick’, and what we need to do to communicate effectively with them.

These patterns can be represented as four characters that guide our behaviour – a bit like the devil and angel on each shoulder that ‘whisper’ in our ear. One or two of these characters often ‘shines’ more brightly than the others and becomes our dominant personality. Knowledge of these characters within yourself and others will help you ‘click’ with people by understanding what makes them ‘tick’.   So, if you want to ‘click’ with…

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Human behaviour is, of course, much more complex than four colourful characters, but the Click! Colours^© are a great start to help you build relationships and boost success by understanding people who are not like you. You can find out more at www.clickcolours.net

And remember, if you want to build great relationships quick, you need to understand what makes people tick! So

‘Click’ on your ‘magic belt’, and fire off your red, blue, green and yellow  ‘little arrows’  and you will attract great relationships into your life.

David Koutsoukis

www.acropolisleadership.com

In Ancient Greece, an acropolis was a strategic high point in a town or city and a defensive fortification and safe haven in times of conflict. It was seen as a symbol of strength and typically found in a central location. Buildings on an acropolis often included a temple, such as the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens, the most famous of them all. The Parthenon was built to honour Athena – the Goddess of Wisdom.

In Greek, ‘acro’ can be translated as highest or most significant, and ‘polis’ represents the people of a city or community. Greece was, of course, the birthplace of democracy, and the people of the ‘polis’ had representation and a say in the running of the city (particularly in Athens). These two elements combine to make an ‘Acropolis’ a wonderful metaphor for leadership:

“A leader is a visible symbol of strength and wisdom who has a significant impact on the mindsets of those within their gaze, and whose success is determined by the empowerment of the people that surround them.”

I guess you could say effective leadership uses a combination of Power + Empowerment.

Like the Parthenon that sits atop the Acropolis of Athens, leaders are highly visible and symbols of strength and wisdom. They are a public face of their team or organisation and will affect mindsets and perceptions by how they look, what they do, what they say and how they say it.

So, in honour of  Socrates, here are some questions for you:

1. How ‘visible’ are you as a leader, and what do people see?
2. Are you perceived as having strong character – can you maintain equanimity in times of stress?
3. Do you make proclamations and announcements that position you as being strong and ‘wise’ – and do you continually seek wisdom and encourage your people to do the same?

Remember that you are creating mindsets by how you look, what you do, what you say and how you say it.

Lead well!

David Koutsoukis

www.acropolisleadership.com

Pythogoras lived in the sixth century BC and  is said to have been the first person to declare himself a philosopher – a seeker of wisdom. Although most would know him for him for his discoveries in mathematics, he was also the leader of what you might call a religious cult that taught many unusual and strange doctrines including, notoriously, the abstinence for the eating of – beans. He also believed in reincarnation and is believed to be largely responsible for numerology, later popularised by Nostradamus.

His followers were known as Pythagoreans and venerated certain numerical patterns, especially the so-called ‘tetractys of the decad.’ The tetractys is a diagram that represents the first four numbers in a triangle of ten dots.

Both  the triangle and the number ten – the decad – became objects of worship for the Pythagoreans. They considered ten to be the perfect number because it is made up of the sum of the first four integers, as shown in the tetractys.

Now I like to think of myself as a bit of a philosopher, so I thought I’d come up with my own ‘Magic Numbers’.

One thing we all need in leading, learning and life is energy – both physical and mental.  So here are my magic numbers to help you create the energy that you need.

Magic Numbers for Energy 2-4-6-8-10-12

Every day you need at least:

• 2 litres of water (fluids)
• 40 minutes exercise
• 6 pieces of fruit and veg
• 8 hours sleep
• 10 good laughs
• 12 minutes of conscious silence and stillness

Plus you need the ‘Three Ones’

• Think of at least 1 thing you’re grateful for
• Spend at least 1 minute on something you’re passionate about
• Have a least 1 intimate moment with a loved one

I don’t know what the Pythagoreans would have made of these numbers, but I hope you find them useful – and I’m happy to say that with this formula you can eat as many beans as you like – baked or otherwise!

Lead well!

David Koutsoukis

I’m easily managed; all you’ve got to do is be firm with me.
Show me exactly how you want it done; after a few lessons I’ll do it automatically.
I am the servant of all great men and women; of course,
I’m the servant of all the failures as well.
I’ve made all the winners who have ever lived.
And, I’ve made all the losers too.

But I work with all the precision of a marvelous computer
With the intelligence of a human being.
You may run me for profit, or you may run me to ruin;
It makes no difference to me.

Take me. Be easy with me, and I will destroy you.
Be firm with me, and I’ll put the world at your feet.
Who am I?

I’m Habit!

by Denis Waitley

I love the significance of this piece and also like Horace Mann’s metaphor …

“Habit is a cable; we weave a thread of it each day and it becomes so strong we can not easily break it.”

I’ve been sewing the threads of a ferocious appetite for learning for many years and this is serving me well, but I also have quite a strong cable of procrastination when it comes to exercise  – and that I’m still working on!

Aristotle once said “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit.”

What threads of excellence are you weaving, and what cables of bad habits are holding you back?

David Koutsoukis

www.acropolisleadership.com

Here are three questions all leaders should ask themselves.

1. How often do you communicate the vision for your business or organisation to your people?

2. Have you identified 3-5 key focus areas (perhaps incorporated into your mission) to help achieve your vision?

3. Would  employees be able to articulate the vision, mission and key focus areas off the top of their head?

In Ancient Greece, Apollo was the  God of  archery, the sun and light (among other things). He was also the namesake of the Apollo space missions. In the Acropolis Leadership Model he is the Promoter of Goals.

What is your ‘Apollo Mission’?

Have your people ‘seen the light?

And, are they all shooting at the same lofty, clear targets?

David Koutsoukis

www.acropolisleadership.com

Given this is my first post on this blog I can’t think of a better topic to start. Greeks have a word called ‘Kefi’, which means ‘zest for life’. You get kefi from a positive attitude, a great connection with others and by putting passion into whatever you do – and it’s contagious. Leaders need kefi, teams need kefi, we all need kefi!

Zorba the Greek has kefi – how about you?

David Koutsoukis

www.acropolisleadership.com