A series on leadership — insight one

Recently I thought I had reached a level of wisdom that I could offer thoughts on a number of things in a blog; one of which was Leadership. In my brief overview on the topic, I said this:

Leadership is defined when times are difficult: with vision, decision making, and ownership. This applies to character for that matter.

It struck me that maybe it was impossible to define leadership in a single sentence, and even if I did accurately hit on the three key elements, it’s obviously a very deep subject which warrants more than a sentence. With this in mind, and the need to explore a very important topic further, I thought I’d share some insights from those leaders I have known over the years. I suspect most will fall into what I’ve pointed out as decision making, with vision and ownership being figurative bookends. As I make my way, hopefully I will find something I didn’t pay enough attention to — a reminder that reflection is a powerful tool.

insight one

One leader I know has a simple hiring criteria — hire smart people. The thinking is simple; if you surround yourself with smart people, you will build smart teams, and the result is smart things being done. It should be pointed out that “smart people” doesn’t necessarily mean overly educated but rather curious, critical thinkers with the desire to make things happen. He also takes on the responsibility to ensure that the development of people is either up or out of the organization — the growth of an employee is imperative and sometimes means self-selecting out of the organization.

Another leader (and he was old school), once took exception to how another leader was treating some of his people. When the opportunity to catch ride together presented itself he, in no uncertain terms, made it clear that his employees needed to be respected and any issues were to be brought to him. I was not there but I knew the leader personally and can just imagine the choice words that found their way into the conversation.

Hiring good people definitely falls under decision making and is crucial to successfully executing on any vision. Although an employee owns his or her destiny, the leader owns ensuring the employee develops up in the organization or is respectfully exited. Ownership of an employee’s success lies at the very top of the leadership structure and cascades down for continuity; it can take time to build out a team of great employees so when you have it, protect it with everything you have.

The decision to hire and retain good people may be the only real measure of good leadership.

iamgpe

Moments — You are not your Mistakes...

I have no context to this — it may be the work of a local urban artist, possibly some sort of clever marketing or even the name of a new business. What I do know for certain is it was spray painted on a boarded-up window of what I assume is a local shop under renovations. With a registered trademark and a date, it simply said, “You are not your Mistakes”. I have assumed it wasn’t “You are not your Mislakes” and the author simply forgot to cross the “t” which is a little ironic.

“Yes you are”. I actually said it out loud.

I was reminded of other trite phases such as “This is not who I am” or “I’m bigger than this” which often find their way into a conversation when self-reflection is forced. These words could actually infer lessons learned and that you hold no burden for your mistake but I have to take this at face value so it comes across lacking ownership or responsibility.

There is no ethical consideration for the need to correct your mistakes but it’s in the lessons and skills learned though correction that makes it important for you to do. And even this reason is more of a technical issue, so you don’t repeat the mistake, waste time and energy, and it allows you to move onto your next mistake — the real consideration is one of character and the ultimate reason I said, “Yes you are”. It is a universal truism that those who own their mistakes and work to correct them are of strong character (full stop). And why should you care? Because strong character will help you get through those really big mistakes successfully, particularly when you need someone’s help and you are depending on them.

I think it is more appropriately said,“You are your uncorrected mistakes” because it focusses on what’s really important.

iamgpe

PS — If by chance the name of the business is actually “You are not your Mislakes®” I don’t think anything I have said is off the mark but I will have to apologize to the author. I will let you know.

The words that have redefined me after my death...

It’s one of those books that is dense with information — not hard to comprehend but contains so much that every page has you thinking, has you marking up the margins and folding corners to the point that each page looks the same. I can see why it’s on every list of books that business leaders must read; I had seen it many times myself but only just picked it up a while back —I can’t help but wonder if this is one of those books that finds you. I was halfway into the book when I figuratively crashed into three sentences that had me re-reading the words, highlighting them with even more stars, and setting them to memory.

“Think of yourself as dead. You have lived your life. Now take what is left and live it properly.”

As I look back on my life I feel no regret, and although many things could have been done differently, I have to say everything worked out quite nicely. I will miss myself but like everyone else I will move on — I still have things to do after all.

A couple of days after my timely death I shared my experience and the profound impact of the quote with a confidant. After much enthusiasm on my part, I ended the conversation with, “I’m not sure what live it properly means” — the words just hung there. It did force the realization that a comparison was needed between this new life and one before I died. If I wasn’t going to move forward doing things differently (or properly) why did I go through the hassle of being dead in the first place? A reasonable question in my mind and one I suspect the author intended when he wrote it.

It’s a bold endeavour to set down on paper how to live a life properly but with the time I have left I’m embracing the opportunity to do just that — this is what I have come up with:

Approach everything with a critical eye for understanding — Understanding determines action; the better you understand a situation the better your decisions will be. Good critical understanding forces different points of view, inclusion of different voices and different ways of thinking (The author discusses this a lot, and it’s one of the reasons many circles classify it as a business book).

Attempt to control only yourself — The only thing you have any control over is how you react to the world; believing you can control anything else is an illusion. Control yourself with courage and face everything that comes your way with integrity, determination and kindness. Leave everything else to the logic of the universe.

Simple is better than complex — For no other reason than simple is less exhausting, and unlike many things that are over engineered, simple doesn’t break down as much.

Strive to be extremely healthy — I’m talking physically health here (I believe the above with look after mind and soul). Exercise much more, sit much less, move much more, eat much less and wander into nature much more. This is how you “take what is left” and get the most out of it — for as long as possible.

Do what you enjoy — maybe worth re-evaluating once in a while.

I think this defines a life lived properly quite nicely and will be a big help as I make my way for the second time.

iamgpe

PS — Sure I could have mentioned the book and the author but as I say, I think this is a book that finds you. Plus there is always the internet.

PPS — Boop if you happen to read this, send me an address and a copy will find you.