By Allyson Mallah

“The future is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities,” Stephen Hawking once said. It’s true. There’s never been a time when more possibility exists than today. We have the ability to connect with anyone, at any time, and to share ideas while collaborating at unrealized levels. The technology we carry in our pockets or purses is far more advanced than the technology that took us to the moon. As a result, every human being today has the ability to change the world. What it requires is the ability to break through old paradigms and be truly inspired.

BREAKTHROUGH — YOURS

Several months ago I began this four-part series on breakthrough leadership. The first article described the importance of leaders beginning the process of adopting the capacity to breakthrough and to innovate by first looking within. Leaders have to get inspired and believe that they have the ability to personally breakthrough: doing,
becoming, and producing more. I recommended that leaders take action and develop habits and consistently apply them in their lives that lead to breaking through.

BREAKTHROUGH — THEIRS AND OURS

I next focused on how this intention to breakthrough needs to be able to serve teams within your organization, and then the organization as a whole. A truly innovation-rich organization is consistently breaking through. They do so by having leaders who are committed to breaking through and are likewise dedicated to each other in creating a culture that celebrates breakthroughs and works together for that outcome. Old, pre-millennial thinking about organizations valued compliance and staying in the lane while today’s breakthrough organizations are led by breakthrough leaders who shatter old paradigms and imagine the art of possibility.

EVERYONE’S BREAKTHROUGH

My hope in this series is that leaders understand that by developing a breakthrough mindset and sharing it with the teams they work with and their organizations as a whole, they will make their work environment more enjoyable and productive. The ultimate goal is as a leader to eventually permeate your breakthrough mindset throughout the organization, wherein everyone becomes an instrument of innovation. If your company is committed to celebrating creativity and pushing everyone to become a breakthrough artist making contributions to the organization and to the world, it would be my hope that this intention and sensibility would carry on in every aspect of their lives.

Am I asking too much? At face value, perhaps it will seem a bit overwhelming. I truly believe that as you read these words you can become a breakthrough leader.

If leaders inspire an organizational culture that gives back, remains green, and is creative, supportive, equitable, and fair, I genuinely believe that those sensibilities and perspectives will carry over in everything we do. If the organization is teeming with leaders who think and act this way, their churches, schools, and their dinner tables each night are likely equally fortified with this amazing sensibility. By sharing this breakthrough mindset, mothers and fathers can become better partners in raising children who likewise strive to break through obstacles — for themselves and for their future. Hopefully this breakthrough mindset brightly impacts the community, maximizing volunteer efforts wherein our neighbors aren’t defined by their political affiliation, but instead by the fact that we all need to pull together if the next-level of living is the aspiration.

Am I asking too much? At face value, perhaps it will seem a bit overwhelming. I truly believe that as you read these words you can become a breakthrough leader. Your influence can have an impact on the production of those you work with and can create a culture that is more breakthrough oriented. Your influence can also help to create an army of breakthrough artists who inspire and motivate everyone around them. If it feels like I’m asking too much, I understand. Human beings live in groups that are considered tribal. We tend to survive and prosper when we work together. Furthermore, those tribes are defined by the actions we take and the sensibilities we bring. Agrarian tribes find land and grow food, while hunting tribes have a different objective. Because we tend to work together, your evolution as a breakthrough leader will shape those around you and will inspire innovation-rich culture that will impact everyone. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by what it means to be a breakthrough leader, I understand. But I also don’t relent; I challenge you today to breakthrough, to be the best leader you can be and to share that breakthrough mindset with everyone you meet.

Allyson Mallah is the CEO of Everest Edge Enterprises, LLC, a global management-consulting firm, with one focus — to disrupt the status quo and develop an edge for the organizations they serve. Allyson brings over a decade of successful, high performance leadership coaching experience serving a wide variety of clients including the C-Suite, senior leaders, and high potential emerging leaders. She is an ACC-ICF Certified Coach, a graduate of State University of New York and has a track record of professional success, serving as VP for a management-consulting firm for several years and leading business development in highly profitable Fortune 500 companies. Allyson also has an impressive “trek” record in recent years, aggressively challenging herself to continuously explore the world, trekking the Himalayan mountain region, Torres Del Paine in Chile, and the Amazon. A growth-oriented writer and blogger, Allyson has been published in Oxygen’s Women’s Fitness, Max Muscle Sports and Fitness, The Village Health Clubs & Spas, Green Living Magazine, and Scottsdale Health. Find her at e3aligns.com, on Facebook, Twitter or email amallah@e3aligns.com.