A man found an eagle’s egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eaglet hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them. All his life the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet into the air. Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among the powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat on his strong golden wings. The old eagle looked up in awe. “Who’s that?” he asked. “That’s the eagle, the king of the birds,” said. “He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth - we’re chickens.” So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that’s what he thought he was.
- Anthony de Mello, Jesuit Priest

    I love this quote because it brings home the importance of how our thoughts create and shape our ability to act. I think we’ve all experienced moments when we’ve been complete chickens and soaring eagles, I personally prefer the later. This month’s issue is one of my favorites, I enjoy reading about and discovering what the “Eagles” in our industry are creating and how they are shaping the future of the transaction processing industry.
    Eagles are majestic. Their eyes are steely and their vision is precise. They can see a speck on a rabbit’s tail from a mile away. They are among nature’s greatest hunters. Their feathers are pristine and magical; certain Native American tribes use them for healing ceremonies. When faced with challenges, such as being chased by other birds, they fly directly toward the sun. Their pursuers fall away because they can’t tolerate the light, but eagles thrive on it as they soar higher and higher.
    Wow! Makes you want to be an eagle doesn’t it?
    Make no mistake about it, being an eagle is no small task. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a few eagles in my day, what I’d like to discuss in this short piece are some of the key qualities that I’ve noticed eagles demonstrate.

Visionary

    Eagles have a very clear understanding of where they and their organization are going and a clear strategy for getting there. They don’t just view the world as it is, but see the world as it could be. They live and breathe this vision daily.

Passionate

    Great eagles bring an immense amount of energy to the task at hand; they demonstrate a burning desire to see their vision achieved. This passion is contagious and infiltrates the entire company.

Open Mindedness

    Open mindedness means being willing and able to listen to ideas that are outside one’s current paradigms, being able to suspend judgment until after you’ve heard someone else’s viewpoint.
    Eagles listen to their people without shutting them down early, which demonstrates care and builds trust; they are open to considering new concepts and ideas.

Creative

    Creativity means thinking differently, being able to move outside the box and take on a new and different perspective. Creativity opens up possibilities to develop new models and approach challenges, processes and norms within their organization in alternate ways.

Communicators

    Eagles understand that people will not follow if they do not know what you want. Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. Eagles transmit their vision, passion and enthusiasm to all with whom they communicate. When they speak to coworkers and employees they give them something to feel, something to remember and something to do.

Integrity

    Integrity means alignment of words and actions with inner values. It means sticking to those values even when an alternative path may be easier or more advantageous.

    An eagle with integrity can be trusted and will be admired for sticking to their core values. They also act as a powerful example for people to model, thus building an entire organization with powerful and effective cultural values.
    Being an eagle has its risks, for sure. You must be willing to be independent of the good opinion of others and stand above the crowd, which can be unpopular. Is it more important to be popular or do the right thing? Soaring eagles make mistakes, they crash and burn like the rest of us, but they rise again without blame to fly another day.
    Eagles choose to accept personal responsibility for their actions and take control of their destiny. So I encourage you, if you’re being a chicken in any part of your life, take the road less traveled and be an eagle!

Marc Beauchamp is a consultant and trainer for the Financial Services Industry. He is co-author of “How to Survive and Thrive in the Merchant Services Industry” and offers a free monthly newsletter at his site www.surviveandthrive.biz. He can be reached by email at marcb@surviveandthrive.biz.