A famous line from Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry asks, “Do you feel lucky?” So on this St. Patrick’s Day – a day full of celebration, parades, festivals, feasting and, of course, the wearing of green; where people around the world wish for and toast to “good luck” – I ask you “Do you feel lucky?”

Each of us has experienced luck at some time or other in our lives but today’s challenge for leaders and for people everywhere is to “Make your own luck!”

Luck happens when opportunity and planning intersect.” ~ Ray Attiyah Tweet this!

By definition luck means “Success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one’s own actions.” Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying “The harder I work the luckier I get.” What I have learned, though, is luck happens when opportunity and planning intersect.  This means you can actually create your own luck by creating more opportunities.

One of the best ways to create more opportunities is to look for those lucky charms – those quality people, those top performers, with new ideas and a passion to try new ventures. Fill your bench with those lucky charms, gather them to your organization, spend planned time getting to know them, create an environment where they can connect with each other and then watch the sparks of collaboration and innovation grow.

Eliminate the mind-set of “What if…?” (chance) and start each day with an attitude of “What will it take to…?” (choice)

Allow these individuals to become the “super connectors” in your organization.  Choose to take bold purposeful actions toward successfully implementing their ideas and expect failures to be part of the process.  Eliminate the mind-set of “What if…?” (chance) and start each day with an attitude of “What will it take to…?” (choice).

Ways to overcome the “What if….?” mentality (moving up the rainbow):

 TRUST – build relationships of mutual respect; listen and invest time in people; I’ve always said trust is the lubricant of the most efficient systems

• COMMUNICATION – share standards, expectations, challenges, goals, vision and other information openly and often
• OWNERSHIP – allow employees to “own” their jobs; engage them in the process
• MOTIVATION – lead by example; model right behaviors; recognize and reward efforts

Ways to encourage a “What will it take to….?” mind-set (sliding down the rainbow):

QUESTIONS – change what questions you ask and how you ask them; questions say a lot about our priorities and should focus on the activity, the action, and the situation not the employee or his/her intentions; ask questions that spark confidence and influence peak performance behaviors

• QUICK WINS – simplify processes and remove immediate obstacles; build momentum and confidence; become a catalyst to transfer energy across the organization
• PROACTIVE IMPROVEMENTS – leaders need to get out of the day-to-day running of the business (stop fire-fighting and micro-managing); start looking to fix what’s not broken; proactive improvements set the stage for management to make bold promises to customers knowing the organization will be able to deliver
• POSITIONING/SCOUTING – position people for success in their most-value-added roles; continuously recruit top talent both inside and outside the organization; attract the best and then keep them inspired

The results of this transition from leadership by chance to leadership by choice are amazing! “

By choosing the right combination of people, planning, positioning and proactive purpose organizations find promise in what the future holds. They no longer have to wonder what’s on the other side of the rainbow, as they experience and celebrate each day with a new pot of gold full of confidence, creativity, customer loyalty and more.

And, if you’re lucky (or not) you may also experience the ultimate achievement – finding yourself and your organization at the bottom of a second rainbow striving for even higher levels of performance, excellence and growth!

So I’ll ask again, “Do you feel lucky?”  Who are those lucky charms in your organization and what have you done to connect and inspire them?  What are those proactive improvements you and your team are actively pursuing?  What bold promises have you made to your customers to challenge your team and to create new opportunities?  What are you doing today, this week, this month, this year to make your own luck?