Maria Shriver

Introducing Dan Mulhern, Expert on Everyday Leadership

By Maria Shriver

Here at MariaShriver.com, we are convening the world's greatest hearts and minds to help all of us navigate our lives to what I refer to as The Open Field -- a place out beyond right and wrong, beyond judgment, beyond expectations, beyond our fears and our comfort zones, and beyond the labels that limit us.

I was recently joined by my great friend Dan Mulhern for a fascinating conversation on leadership.

Dan is an expert on "everyday leadership" and he has agreed to be one of our "Guides" on better leadership -- at home, at work and in our communities.

Being an everyday leader, being an Architect of Change, starts from within. So, I asked Dan: What are three things that anyone can implement today to put them on the path to leading?

He provided some great tips in the video below.

To summarize:

1. Choose to impact life. Leadership doesn't just mean CEO or Governor. All of us can be leaders in whatever domain we occupy. Be active in your life and know that you can change what needs to be changed. It's about making a decision: don't let life happen to you; make sure you happen to life.

2. Set a vision. Always ask yourself, what is my picture of success and how will I know when I have it? Whether you are sitting down with your child or meeting with your staff, think about what success looks like before the meeting. Try to cultivate a long-term mindset all the time and don't just react to what life throws at you.

3. Use your energy meter. All of us have one. It doesn't measure volume or temperature, but it can measure the energy of the people you are trying to engage with. Always measure the energy of the people around you -- and within yourself. Your job is to raise the level of energy ever so slightly. Pay attention: Are our co-workers not engaging with us? Are our children leaving the dinner table without talking to us? In most cases, you've got an energy problem.

I am thrilled to welcome Dan Mulhern to our community of Architects of Change. He promised to contribute his first leadership piece a week from today.

So, stay tuned -- and in the meantime, visit Dan's website and follow him on Twitter.

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Dan Mulhern is an expert on leadership and organizational development. He currently teaches courses in business and law at UC Berkeley. Mulhern is the author of two leadership books, Everyday Leadership: Getting Results in Business, Politics and Life and Be Real: Inspiring Stories For Leading At Home And Work and is the co-author of the bestselling political book, A Governor's Story: The Fight for Jobs and America's Economic Future. He is married to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who served two terms as the governor of Michigan. They have three children.