Craig’s Friday Countdown - Leadership Lessons du jour
This may make more sense next week, but some nice folks out west have asked me to stop by to chat. They’ve also asked thirty-four questions, in writing, so far.
The most recent questions were of the situation – action – result variety, where you tell them about something that happened and something you did. Bell rings. Dog salivates. They asked for three situations and I gave them four. Bell rings. Dog salivates. I over prepare.
So the morals of the stories would not be lost to the imagination, I listed some points as “leadership lessons” for each of the situations. I’m not saying the following fourteen are the only or most important leadership lessons. That will be obvious to some because my personal favorite (Go to the problem) isn't even on the list. I’m also not saying I have exhaustive knowledge of the subject. I am saying I have some spare words laying around today, that may or may not be helpful. In reverse chronologic order, here they are:
14. Use technology.
13. Pay attention to revenue and expense.
12. Look beyond the horizon.
11. Swing for the fences.
10. Plan for a future which does not include you.
9. Just because someone else hasn’t done it yet doesn’t mean you can’t.
8. Always be polite, 100% positive and never be dismissive of citizens who arrive at City Hall (or a school board meeting) with an idea the bureaucracy did not create itself.
7. Margaret Mead was right when she said; “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
6. Community values - and your fellow employees - matter. Stand up for them.
5. Do not let prior failures compromise the organization’s spirit or the community’s future.
4. Invest in leadership development.
3. Personally go in harm’s way and lead from the front.
2. Find the most difficult tasks and use them as training exercises.
1. Eliminate the word “can’t” from the team’s vocabulary.
