Teaching

The foundation of all successful leadership is always the relationship

Teddy Roosevelt care quoteI started golfing with my older brother when I was about ten years old. Since my brother and I were a twosome, the starters on the course always found two other players to join us to make a foursome. Most of the time, the two other players were older gentlemen.

These older gentlemen would instruct us after most every shot. I found it puzzling that these gentlemen, who couldn’t hit the ball any farther or straighter than either my brother or I, and had just spent the afternoon giving us advice, would always leave the course with a smile and a handshake, saying they enjoyed golfing with us and reminding us of that one hole, or sometimes a single shot, that one of us had played well.

These older players weren’t just playing golf with a couple of young kids. They were building relationships.  I still remember them today. They had a life-long influence on how I play the game of golf, and how I lead.

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How do you lead when the rules change?

Everyone wants to perform up to expectations.  That’s why it’s so important to know the rules. Leaders must, therefore, be very clear to explain the expectations they have for their team.

Some might say that the rules they will be judged against should be detailed, exact, straightforward, and never ever change during the middle of the game. If you have been in business for any number of years, you might want to respond with, “Can I have that?”

We can’t always control the rules that govern our businesses, or our day to day lives in some cases.  Anyone who just lived through – or is living through – the impacts of the Great Recession knows that the rules can change quickly when outside forces move.

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The Story of Successful Leadership: Worth Repeating

Last weekend my family and I attended a Christmas Story concert put on by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.  TSO, as they are affectionately called, puts on a $20 million dollar show filled with rock and roll guitars, moving stages, lights, and songs; all dedicated to telling the Christmas Story.

This is the traditional Christmas Story, familiar to everyone in the audience, but told in a unique, energizing format.

TSO has been touring for over 14 years and is more popular today than when they started.  Why?

For anyone who grew up in the 1980’s, the music takes you back to your youth.  But the audience was filled with all ages, so that isn’t the only draw.

Their popularity comes from the story they tell. The Christmas Story tells of a long awaited success.  It is the culmination of hope.  It is the happy ending that has come after many years of suffering.  Regardless of your background or beliefs, this is a human story.  This type of success story is one that everyone wants repeated in their life.

Make your Story of Leadership a Success worth repeating.

The Cycle of Leadership: Give to Receive

There is a cycle to energy.  It can’t be created or destroyed; it simply changes forms.  According to The Law of Conservation of Energy, potential energy can be converted to kinetic energy, which can be converted to thermal energy, but the original energy remains.

There is a cycle to water.  The limited amount of water continuously cycles through its various forms: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

 

There is also a cycle to Successful leadership:  Give that which you have received and open the pathway to receive even more.

It’s now part of everyday knowledge that Steve Jobs received the idea for the computer mouse at a visit to Xerox labs. He gave that idea to the world through the Apple Macintosh, and the mouse became part of every computer.  The mouse lasted until the cycle of inspiration came around and the world received the touch screen in the iPhone and iPad.

The successful leader will teach, speak and write about the leadership lessons they know and receive so that they can be part of the cycle of leadership.

Look for ways to pass on knowledge as fast you can and as fast as your audience can receive.  Trust me, you will receive more than you can imagine in return.

Now Is The Time To Share What You Know

Each year I get together with about one hundred leaders from around the world to be mentored by John Maxwell over several days.

John and his team take us places we might never see on our own, where we learn about leadership from the best. This year was Boston’s Fenway Park where we talked with Hall of Fame Red Sox great Jim Rice.

Along with lessons on leadership from Jim Rice, we all took batting practice and had the chance to shag fly balls in the outfield.

Jim told us how he was mentored as a ball player throughout his life. He honed his athletic ability in his neighborhood growing up with older kids where he learned how to work hard to be better every day. The art of catching a fly ball off the Green Monster came from Carl Yastrzemski when Jim was a rookie. Ted Williams showed him how to hit out of a slump before Rice was in a slump.

He then showed all one hundred of us how to swing the bat to ensure a single the way Ted Williams taught him. Wow, batting lessons from a hall of famer – it doesn’t get better than that.

Jim Rice taught me that sharing what you know with others is best done before they need to use your knowledge.

Leaders with a history of success have developed a habit of working hard to achieve their success.

Vince Lombardi said, “Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.” How does winning become a habit? Sarah Knowles Bolton, a press correspondent and author of the late 1800s, wrote several books that summarized the lives of successful people: statesmen, artists, and scientists, to name a few. In her research she found that “The victory of success is half done when one gains the habit of work.”

The word habit is usually associated with something bad that needs to be stopped.  Hard work is one habit that you can be proud to claim. Does your history of success show that you have developed the habit of hard work?

What is the best way to learn about the challenges you will be facing in new surroundings?

Achieving higher learning through the use of computers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This won’t be news to anyone:  We live in an information society.  In my family there are three laptops, two ipads, four smartphones, and many books in our library (the books are mostly mine – I haven’t completely given in yet).

I think we are pretty average for a family with two Millennial children and parents who have the daily news pushed to our iphones and ipads.  This is the way information is shared today; online and at your fingertips anytime you need it or want it.

As you can tell I love information, and I love how we can access it anywhere anytime.  But, and this is a big one, I believe you learn the most from being around people and learning first-hand what challenges exist in new surroundings.

George Washington Carver said, “Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books.”

Navy Commander Michael Abrashoff had a saying by which he led: “The most important thing that a commander can do is to see the ship from the eyes of the crew.”

Do you agree that studying on the internet and from books is great, but without living with the issues you won’t know what’s really going on?

You have to know where you’re going. If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never know if you’ve arrived.

Without a purpose, there is no way to measure your success.  This applies to everything you set out to accomplish. You must have a firm picture of the What, When, and the How:

  • A project at work – What is the end goal? When is it scheduled to be completed? How many resources do you need?
  • A vacation trip – What is the destination? When is your vacation time? How are you going to get there?
  • Your dream house – What neighborhood do you want to live in?  When do you want to move? How will you pay for it?
  • Your goal to lose weight – What is your desired weight? When do you want to reach your desired weight? How will you achieve your goal (stop what, or start what, or both)?

Dwight Eisenhower said, ‘We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective.’

Can you share some examples of goals that you have achieved by knowing the What, When, and How?

To be the best, Invest more than the rest. Are you investing in yourself? Are you continuously growing in knowledge and wisdom?

As a leader, you owe it to your team to run the race just as fast, if not faster, than they are.

I attend conferences all over the country to hear from the best.  I recently attended a conference in San Diego where I had the pleasure of hearing great leaders fill me with their wisdom. Leaders like Les Brown, Sharon Lechter, Gene Landrum, Frank Shankwitz, and others, all spoke from their experience.

We were in a packed room sitting close enough that I could see each of these special teachers in their seats before and after their time to speak.  As I was busy taking pages of notes, I could see out of the corner of my eye that each of them was taking just as many notes as I was.  At one point Gene Landrum asked the people at my table if anyone had more paper so he could continue taking notes.

Along with the knowledge I gained from each leader, I learned a life lesson that day:

No matter how much you know; there is always room to grow!

Denis Waitley said, “All of the top achievers are life-long learners…Looking for new skills, insights, and ideas.  If they’re not learning, they’re not growing…not moving toward excellence.”

As a leader, you owe it to your team to run the race just as fast, if not faster, than they are.

What have you done today to invest in yourself?  What will you do tomorrow, the next day…How are you continuously growing in knowledge and wisdom?

Do you want to have the best team working for you? Good leaders look at people’s strength and make use of it, while great leaders look at people’s potential and make the best of it.

A leader’s job is to see where others can go and open the right doors for them to pass through.  A leader’s job is to focus on what is there – strengths – and remove the focus from weakness – that which is not there.

Antoine de Saint-Exupery said, “A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.”

Michelangelo said, “A great statue already exists inside a block of stone. The sculptor’s role is to uncover it.”

If you want the best team, you have to intentionally focus your leadership efforts on unleashing the greatness inside of everyone you influence.

Do you remember who recognized greatness in you?  Who told you that you could be anything you set your mind to? Was it a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, pastor, boss?

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