Today I used my blog post on McKenzie's Voice to launch a campaign to help the homeless and hungry as I share my thoughts on five key attributes of effective and extraordinary leaders. My goal is to raise $2,000 for Regeneration’s Coldest Night of the Year Campaign by February 22, 2014. Commencing today, Monday, February 3, 2014 I will walk 2K daily, 5K on Saturday and Sundays and on February 22, 2014 I will walk and run 10K. However, I want to do a little more to test the attributes of effective and extraordinary leadership. To this end, I am committing to spend the entire night of February 22, 2014 outdoors in the cold in solidarity with the homeless.

1. 5 Tips to Be Extraordinary
On Friday I had the opportunity to present my Leaders Leave Legacy Workshop to a group of about 20
employees of large investment firm in the Greater Toronto Area. During my presentation I made the
point that an effective leader must have clear vision and goals. I used my personal experiences to show
how having clear vision and goals can lead to commitment from team members and ultimately success.
One of the examples I used was my Holiday Season Food Drive and the level of support I received from
others. I also used the example of Elon Musk and his goal to colonise Mars, the Red Planet, with 80,000
people. When I mentioned Elon Musk, I posed the following rhetorical question to the participants: Do
you think Elon Musk’s goal is ridiculous? I followed up by telling the audience that my goal for Holiday
Season Food Drive was to collect 10 boxes of non-perishable food item for the benefit of the Salvation
Army of Brampton. I went on to say that compared to Elon Musk my goal was simple and perhaps it
meant I hadlow expectations or no ambition! My comment was purposefully. It was intended to be selfdeprecating while eliciting reflection and introspection from the participants.
Since my presentation on Friday, I have being reflecting on my statement and I have concluded that
there are five key attributes to be an extraordinary and effective leader. Today, I would like to share my
thoughts on these five key attributes. One of the key lessons I have learned about leadership is that
extraordinary leaders are extremely intentional about everything they do and say. In order to be
intentional as a leader you have to be deeply committed to constant self-examination so that you can
determine your path to becoming aneffective and extraordinary leader.
Before I proceed to share the 5 key attributes to be an effective and extraordinary leader, please allow
me to share one of my lofty goals. For the month of February I am committed to helpingRegeneration
Outreach Community of Brampton in its Coldest Night of the Year Fundraising Campaign on February
22,2014. Regeneration Outreach Community cares for the homeless and those at risk of being homeless.
They believe breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Regeneration’s goal for the Coldest Night
of the Year Campaign is to raise $40,000. Participants can register to join a team or start their own team
at http://coldestnightoftheyear.org/location/brampton. As a participant you can determine to walk or
run 2K, 5K or 10K. As at the time of writing this post for my blog McKenzie’s Voice the amount raisedso
far is $11,735 or 29% of the target.
My goal is to raise $2,000 for Regeneration’s Coldest Night of the Year Campaign by February 22, 2014.
Commencing today, Monday, February 3, 2014 I will walk 2K daily, 5K on Saturday and Sundays and on
February 22, 2014 I will walk and run 10K.
However, I want to do a little more to test the attributes of effective and extraordinary
leadership.Within the context of Elon Musk lofty goal to colonise Mars, I am committing to spend the
entire night of February 22, 2014 outdoors at 156 Main Street in Brampton, Ontario.Please note that I
have never spent an entire night outdoors during the winter. I am terrified of the cold but on February
22, 2014, I want to confront this fear with a mission and a purpose. I will need all your encouragement.
How will I achieve my goal of raising $2,000?I am pledging $50 from my fees from each of my speaking
engagements during the month of February to Regeneration’s Coldest Night of the Year Campaign. In

2. addition, by committing to walk 2K daily commencing today, 5K on Saturdays and Sundays as well as
walk and run 10K and spending the entire night of February 22, 2014 outdoors, I am seeking your kind
support and support of the wide public for thebenefit of Regeneration’s Coldest Night of the Year
Campaign.
You can register at http://coldestnightoftheyear.org/location/brampton to make your contribution.
After you have registered, I am kindly requesting that you call or text me at 647-406-4622 or email me at
mastmckenzie@gmail.com to share tips on how to survive the cold outdoors. Also message me on
Facebook, Google +, Twitter and Linkedin with the hashtag #mckenzie2000.
Why have I set such a lofty goal? My goal may not appear to be as lofty as Elon Musk’s goal to colonise
Mars with 80,000 people but it is specific and sufficiently challenging, it is measurable, attainable, resultfocused and time-bound. More importantly with your kind support I can achieve my goal of raising
$2,000 for the benefit of Regeneration’s Coldest Night of Year Campaign.
As I pointed out above I am using the opportunity to test the 5 attributes of effective and extraordinary
leadership I mentioned below. More importantly I recognise that it is easy when we walk by someone
living on the street to assume that the person is there because he or she is an alcoholic or drug addict.
However, I know that this is not always the case as there are other factors such as mentally illness, lack
of education, job training, employment, housing and abuse that can lead to an individual ending up on
the street with nowhere to live or eat or take care of their personal hygiene. Regeneration Outreach
Community of Brampton has a wonderful program to help provide breakfast and care for those who
need food and care. To this end, I am committing to help Regeneration reach its goals of $40,000 for its
Coldest Night of the Year Campaign. In addition, I want to use my skills and time to help bring public
awareness to the issue of homelessness and care for the needy.
Here are the five attributes of effective and extraordinary leaders:
Clear Vision, Goals and Plan
Effective and extraordinary leaders always have a clear vision, goals and plan. Vision is about tomorrow.
It is about how leaders see the future or what they would like to happen in the future. Vision provides
purpose and direction which are turned into goals, plan and activities.Vision solicits commitment and
support from others. My vision is link to my core values of love and compassion for others and my
strong desire to contribute to my community.
A S.M.A.R.T goals is defined as specific, measurable, achievable, result-focus and time bound. Your plan
document your goals and the activities and tasks required to achieve your goals. Above I articulated and
documented my goals and laid out my plan of action while seeking your commitment. A plan is a
roadmap or guide used in the pursuit of your dreams and ultimately achieving your goals.
Emotional Agility or Flexibility
As a leader you have to be deeply aware of your emotions and how you respond or react to various
situations. What level of emotional agility or flexibility do you possess? How do you respond when you

3. are angry, confused or fearful? I am truly terrified of the cold. Should I allow my fears of the cold
prevent me from taking action to make a contribution to the Regeneration’s Coldest Night of the Year
Campaign? Is it courageous to say I want to spend a night outdoors in the cold? Or is it, perceived by
some people, as ridiculous as Elon Musk's goal to colonise Mars?
Systems Thinking
Victory or success for me is not about whether I stand or sleep outdoors on February 22, 2014. I am fully
committed to executing my plan. I share it publicly because I want to be transparent. I want to be held
accountable by you. I want to confront my fears of the cold during the winter months but my deeper
battle isto help bring public awareness to homelessness and care for the needy. I don’t want to win my
own battle and lose sight of the war. I am deeply conscious that my single act is not all that is required
for public awareness on the subject of homelessness. It is only a small contribution but it is better than
doing nothing. It will not create sustainable change but it is a first step. As an activist I recognise that
public awareness and change must occur within the context of public policy and the overall social
system. To be an effective and extraordinary leader you must ask the following questions:
What is the change you want to make?
What is the larger system or wide environment you to need to effect, and work in, in order to make that
change?
Communicate frequently and with precision
Effective and extraordinary leaders are effective communicators. Leaders must communicate frequently
and with precision to promote transparency and openness. A leader that wants to be taken seriously
must lead with a steady hand and calming voice. Leaders must be patient. A leader must take time to
explain complex actions in a simple manner. Leaders must speak bluntly without offending others.
Leaders must leave a window for descending views and allow room for dialogue and discourse. In this
post on my blog McKenzie’s Voice I have taken the opportunity to put to test the key attributes of
effective and extraordinary leadership. My goals are very are clear.
Build a team
One of the hallmarks of effective and extraordinary leaders is that they always surround themselves
with a strong support team. By articulating my vision and goals I am hoping to inspire your loyalty and
support. I am fully conscious that I cannot do this alone. If I am going to sleep on cardboard boxes I will
need the best cardboard boxes to protect myself. I may even need a cup of coffee. You are part of my
team.
Will you join me? Support Regeneration Outreach Community Coldest Night of the Year Campaign.
Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well
as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor. He can be contacted by
email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog

4. http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter
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