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March 6, 2011
Belief Matters
by Bob Tschannen-Moran

Laser Provision

Do you believe in what you are doing? Do you believe that you will be successful? If not, then it's time to look again at your life and work. Self-belief is what separates leaders from followers. Leaders not only believe in the mission, we also believe in the ability of people to achieve the mission. I know how this works. In less than a week, my wife and I will be on our way to Asia for a whirlwind tour during which time we will be presenting on 14 different occasions in 4 different countries. Along the way, we will also be attempting to conquer the summit of Mt. Kinabalu – a high-altitude climb to almost 4,100 meters or 13,450 feet. Sound crazy? It would be if we didn't believe in the cause and in our capacity. This Provision explains the connection.

LifeTrek Provision

• 3 days in Hong Kong, working with educators through Living Knowledge Communities in three different settings around classroom learning, leadership innovation, and coaching leadership.
• 3 days in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, working with university students and professional coaches on the theme of " Bringing Coaching to Society."
• 7 days in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, facilitating six workshops with international school teachers from 17 east-Asian countries at the EARCOS Teachers' Conference around themes such as trust building, stress proofing, and evocative coaching.
• 2 days in San Francisco, California, presenting at the ASCD Annual Conference on teacher professionalism and evocative coaching.

Philip Hui was born to a low-income family in Hong Kong. After completing secondary education, he obtained his doctoral degree through self-study and continuing education. In 1994, he joined The Hong Kong Institute of Education, leading a stable life that most people admire. Yet, he did not cherish a life like this.

In 2004, he participated in the World Bank’s International Conference on Poverty Alleviation in Pudong, Shanghai. In the conference Premier Wen Jiabao announced that China had surpassed the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and greatly reduced its poor population. Premier Wen contended, however, there were still many poor people in the country, especially in remote provinces. When Philip Hui came back to Hong Kong, he gathered a group of colleagues and friends from the Hong Kong Institute of Education and the teaching profession and formed the Living Knowledge Communities. He identified Jingchuan in Gansu Province to be their project location. In partnership with the Northwest Normal University and Jingchuan County Education Bureau, the Living Knowledge Communities launched its teaching training project.

In Jingchuan, Philip Hui witnessed the struggles of the rural teachers. Not only were the school facilities poor, the teachers’ professional competences were also low. Teachers were underpaid and lacked teacher training opportunities. Seeing their students’ limitations, yet they were aware that they were not able to change anything. They could only teach half-heartedly according to the textbooks. Since the contents were not always related to daily life, many students hated learning, and some teachers hated teaching.

Dr. Hui has been working to change those dynamics ever since, and he sees Evocative Coaching as being able to make a significant contribution. He believes in it and we believe in it, so how could we say no?

Self-belief is like that. It gets you to do things. Whether that be facilitating fourteen workshops in four countries in two-weeks time or climbing to the top of a mountain, unless you believe you can do these things, you won't do them. And once you believe you can do them, you must do them. Here's how Seth Godin describes this dynamic in his book, Tribes:

"The barriers to leadership have fallen. There are tribes everywhere, many in search of leaders. Which creates a dilemma for you: without a barrier, why not begin?

Simple example: ten years ago, if you wanted to publish a book, you needed to find a publisher that would say yes. No publisher, no book. Today, of course, you can publish a book all by yourself. Just visit www.lulu.com and you're done. Without someone to say yes, all that's left are unpublished writers who tell themselves no.

Leadership is now like that. No one gives you permission or approval or a permit to lead. You can just do it. The only one who can say no is you.

Leaders don't need to wait. There's no correlation between money, power, or education and successful leadership. None. Waiting doesn't pay. Saying yes does. Giving people stories they can tell themselves about the future and change is what leaders do. Leaders believe in what they do and that turns out to be a brilliant strategy when it comes to changing the world."

If we don't believe in what we are doing, and we are holding a position of leadership, then we are taking up space. We are not leading and we are not inspiring people to go beyond the paycheck. If we do believe in what we are doing and in our capacity to get things done, and if we share that belief in ways that make people feel good, then there's no telling how many places that will take us. Asia? Mt. Kinabalu? San Francisco? Those are just the tip of the iceberg. When people get excited about an idea and a community, they create movements and movements change the world.

Belief matters. Figure out what excites you and do that. Leadership no longer comes just from the top of an organization. Everyone is a leader and everyone can effect change. So make it happen. Believe in the possibility. Have fun. Connect with like-minded souls. Then watch out: you may be surprised at where that will take you.

Coaching Inquiries: What do you believe in? How do you put your beliefs out in the world? How attractive is your energy? What stories do you tell about the future and change? How confident are you that change is possible? Who is a part of your tribe? What movements do you connect with? What movements would you like to start?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

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