"Best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go arwy." Believe me when I say "it was one for the record books." I sit here and reflect back over the past few days and think about how the week started and what I was focused on....and whew.
I found Wednesday morning with a lot on my mind. I had been up for a bit and had decided to interrupt my regular routine by going to the office earlier than normal.
Having struggled with a lot of interrupting thoughts, I needed to stop listening to myself and let someone else drown out what was going on in my head. So, I hit number 6 on my truck's CD player and here comes John Maxwell's booming voice with "LEADERSHIP LESSON #8 - A LEADER'S FIRST RESPONSIBILITY IS TO DEFINE REALITY."
To say I was astonished is an understatement and I'm not sure how many times I replayed those opening words....."a leader's first responsibility is to define reality." God gave me the perfect message and I paid attention.
Dr. Maxwell went on to talk about some rules for successful leadership from Jack Welch's book Jack: Straight From the Gut. My notes (I stopped in Starbuck's parking lot to take them) include the following:
- Control your destiny, or someone else will
- Face reality as it is, not as it was or as you wish it were
- Be candid with everyone
- Don't manage, lead.
- Change before you have to
Whether it's Maxwell, or Welch, or Covey, or Carnegie, or Collins, or Drucker, or Lencioni, or Piper, or Morris, or Moore, or the Apostle Paul.....it's not entirely all the same, but similiar lessons over and over and over again. I look at these 5 points and what all these leaders have to say about what they've seen work best and I realize again how true, how basic, and how much I have to learn.
Talk straight; confront the brutal facts; you're always leading because you're always influencing; leave the right impression; tell the truth - don't lie about even the smallest things; say you're sorry, and mean it; ask questions; listen first; have a plan and at least try to work it; pay attention; ask where your own blind spots are; look past yourself; learn - get better; extend smart trust; trust but verify; be "on purpose;" don't just let life push you around - be purposeful; create transparency; you'll be the same 5 years from today as you are today except for.......; tell your wife and kids you love them everytime you leave the house - every time; guys - remember that whatever points you've earned today, your wife considers them expired at midnight each night; it's not about you or me - it's about the values.
And it's not about the coffee, nor the money.
I look back at the stress I experienced in people's lives this week (I repeat....I look back at the stress "I" experienced in people's lives this week) and it was about someone concerned about their money. Now, I don't doubt that I have blind spots to other things right now, but as I run a quick inventory of the week. As I reflect on the stress, the conflicts, the turmoil, the not so nice phone calls, the emails, the upset people, I notice they were all about the money and pride and bad behavior. Not about values, but about people wanting something to do with their individual money and/or pride and behaving badly in the process of pushing for it.
But it is not about the money, and I'm repeating myself quite a bit this morning; It - is - NOT - about - the - money - IT IS ABOUT THE VALUES. And values are led forth with good behavior.
Take that inventory and work through each minute detail and event. Map it back to the beginning. Be blunt with yourself. Better yet, find someone that will Straight Talk to you.
Starbucks' Behar was telling us, in essence, that being about the coffee is about the money, but being about the service is about the values and behaving well.
Back to Lesson #8, what comes to mind when you reflect on the past few days? Are you a leader that defines reality?
Are you a leader that confronts the brutal facts, chases the values, and believes you will survive?
Godspeed,
Danny
..circling back - for something to help with your focus and reflection:
http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/WileyCDA/LCTitle/productCd-0787984914.html
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