SuccessTwins

TONS have been written and produced in the interest of unlocking the keys to successful leadership. We've all read, seen, and heard the voluminous advice and admonitions. 

In my profession of education we often refer the "knowing-doing gap." It's that void between the valuable knowledge we've acquired and the actual application of that knowledge in some meaningful way.

Many impactful leaders I've observed over the years implement a plethora of powerful strategies that move the organizations they lead toward the goals they desire. They know the stuff, but applying it effectively seems elusive. 

The MOST effective leaders, however, disproportionately spend their time, effort, and resources on two things (I'll call them the Success Twins). 

What are those Success Twins? 

• Vision - Clarity of direction and intention is communicated relentlessly, in simple terms, across all internal and external stakeholder groups and platforms. Those leaders make persistently clear Why we're doing what we're doing, Where we're going, and How we can tell how well we're doing.
• People - These super leaders major in knowing and understanding the team members, growing and developing them tirelessly, and placing them in roles that fit them and serve the organization well. No resource in the organization is more potent (or more destructive) than its people. 

Vision & People! 

(Maybe that'd be a good tattoo for leaders to consider adding...)

DummkopfStuff

Dummkopf is a German expression for "blockhead" or "stupid person."

Those of us in leadership roles can appear to be a dummkopf when we:

• Procrastinate.
• Avoid difficult conversations.
• Assume the status quo will stay so.
• Re-deploy plans that failed the first time.
• Think and act from a short-term perspective.
• Fail to mentor new or young players on the team.
• Don't do our homework, and don't hold others accountable for doing theirs.

We are wise to dodge our inner dummkopf.

InfluenceLevers

Most of us want to be able to have some influence. 

Being able to influence others sometimes serves us personally (con men/women are notable and obvious examples). Sometimes being able to influence others serves our team's interests/positions (professional negotiators and many political leaders fit into this category). In notable (too rare) instances, being able to influence others toward a common greater good seems the underlying motivation (exemplary Servant Leaders wear this mantle). 

Observing, listening to, and reading the works from that Servant Leader category reveals some powerful levers they skillfully use when "moving" others:

• They emanate a genuine disposition of CARING. They do care, and aren't afraid to show it.
• They practice active and powerful LISTENING, ensuring that the "other" is heard, and heard well.
• They show EMPATHY in their interactions, both through trying to understand the "other" and expressing it openly.

The use of these Influence Levers is a powerful way for us to invite others into meaningful conversations, subsequent planning, and ultimate action. 

And it energizes all of us for the challenging work that lies ahead.

DecisionPoints

The messiness of life requires us to make decisions. The more people involved, the more complex the decisions to be made. The more risk involved, the more consequential the decision.

Valued mentors over the years have shared with me some solid wisdom in the decision making process:

• Ground all decisions in our deeply held principles. Never forsake those.
• When time affords, seek the counsel of wise others who have faced similar decisions.
• Forecast extensively the then-what-happens? scenarios of the decision options.
• Always factor in the impact of our decision on others.
• Pilot decisions when possible, to "test the waters."
• Be willing to change a decision if it proves untenable.
• Take as much time as is prudent to make the decision. 
• The best decision in the world, made one minute too late.....................is futile.

Happy decisioning!

AnchorsAweigh

Perseverating on past mistakes and fails can become an anchor. 

Failure can mire us in doubt and misgiving and hesitation. Or, it can propel us toward betterness.

Some ways we can use the past as launching pad instead of an anchor...

• Focus on who we want to be, not on what we did or didn't do.
• Assess carefully and articulate clearly what we think caused the fail, rather than focusing on the result of the fail.
• Don't forget to acknowledge the wins and successes.
• Modify our behavior -- resource allocation, engagement strategies, expenditure of time, etc. -- toward achieving the outcomes we desire (which almost always means a "change" in previous practice).
• LEARN from the mistake/fail through examination and LEARN toward the corrective plan of action. Reflective practice, daily and intentionally, is key.

While some circumstances are outside our control, there are a bazillion things we can adjust that are within our span of influence. The habits we adopt and practice are key...

Anchors aweigh!

Complexification

We are WHOLE beings, not machines. 

Not only are we a complex mixture of structural stuff (like bones and muscles and skin and hair and...), we are also made up of tiny little things like cells and mitochondria and neural networks and.... And, then there's the chemical potions that flow through us constantly, relentlessly varying their "mixtures" to ensure (sometimes destroy) our health.

But wait! We also host a bazillion critters that aren't even human. Our gut flora is a community of "foreigners" (non-human life forms) that help us digest food and perform other functions. Health researchers conclude that we have at least 400 different kinds of "bugs" that live in our mouths, helping us function as human beings.

We haven't even touched on the different kinds of ways our minds work (see Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intellengences explained). 

Finally, we also have a spiritual or socio-emotional dimension to us. That part has been relentlessly studied through the millennia; we still seem less than certain about how that spiritual element works.

We are walking, talking complexities of "stuff," while also serving as the apartment complex for who knows how many other species. 

We are at once Nouns and Verbs.

As a lifelong learner and educator, I often wonder why we try to define (and measure) children by such narrow metrics as their prowess in math and English and science. Seems far too reductionist for such complex beings.

Dr. Dylan Wiliam is fond of saying that "a lifetime is not long enough to learn the craft of teaching." Nor is it long enough to learn the craft of LEARNING.

But today................we can start anew.

ServantLeadershipAtWork

 I recently read Servant Leadership at Work: Caring About People and Getting Extraordinary Results by Kent Keith (2024). 

 My top takeaways:

• A Servant Leader’s mindset centers on ethical, practical, and meaningful.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Get to Know Each Other as People.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Understand Colleagues’ Life at Work.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Are Ethical – They Treat People Right.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Create Strong Communities at Work.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Help Colleagues Grow.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Help Colleagues Find Meaning at Work.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Help Colleagues Beyond the Workplace.
• Impactful Servant Leaders… Care About Everyone the Organization Touches.
• Find the potential – in people and processes – then optimize that potential.
• Humans are one of 50 million known species. We are part of (not apart from) nature.  

 

My favorite quotes:

 

Per Robert Greenleaf: “Love is an undefinable term, and its manifestations are both subtle and infinite. But it begins, I believe with one absolute condition: unlimited liability! As soon as one’s liability for another is qualified to any degree, love is diminished by that much.” (p. 2)

 

Winston Churchill is quoted as saying that ‘courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.’” (p. 51)

 

“Simon Sinek says that as the leader, “you’re not in charge, you are responsible for those in your charge.’” (p. 95)  

 

This book was an excellent read. Well worth the time for any who choose to be more effective Servant Leaders.