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What are You Creating?
Elbow Room
Playground Lessons
Cracked-Tooth Leadership
Fabled
Leadership |
Centuries ago an
unfinished, damaged piece of
marble was given to
Michelangelo. The hunk of stone
had been carved, hammered, and
tossed aside. Michelangelo took
this discarded slab of rock and
from it created the sculpture
that is one of the greatest of
the Renaissance period. When
asked how he did it he simply
replied that he removed anything
that didn’t look like the man.
Focus on what it could be rather
than what it was made all the
difference.
He never
saw damage, he only saw David.
As a leader,
your job is to see what your
company can be, not what it is
or what others have tried to
create. Only after you can see
and communicate your vision can
you and others begin the task of
carving away what doesn’t
belong.
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Years ago while on a camping
trip with my sister, the weather
turned cold. So cold, in fact,
we began dressing inside our
sleeping bags in the mornings.
The results were iffy at best.
One morning her shirt was on
inside out. One morning my
pants were backwards –
drawstring hanging like a tail.
You’d think successfully pulling
on boots would be easy. You’d
be wrong.
Turns out changing in such a
tight space was nearly
impossible.
As a leader, it is your job to
see the changes others need to
and can make. Sometimes,
because you can clearly see the
needed change in behavior
patterns, company direction, or
client mindset you may become
impatient and insistent. You
may clamp down, force the issue
and demand progress. It may
work for the short term, but
expecting a lasting, effective
change in under such conditions
is absurd.
People need space and time to
change. You didn’t get where
you are overnight. They won’t
get where they need to be
overnight either.
Give it some room.
click for more about creating
lasting change |
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As a child I hated playing
Follow the Leader. I could
stand it a little longer if I
WAS the leader but most often I
became tired and bored. Simply
doing what the leader did,
stepping where they stepped,
moving the way they moved and
waving my arms like the leader
did nothing for me. I’d often
break off and go watch the boys
play tag.
Marco Polo, however, would keep
me busy all recess long. Simple
concept –a “lost” someone calls
MARCO … the “hidden” someone
shouts POLO .. until the two
parties find each other. When
they do, one heads off again –
leading the way, making it a
little harder this time. MARCO
searches and then calls out.
POLO returns the shout and
again, they find each other.
It’s a good game. A little
element of discovery made all
the difference.
Being a leader doesn’t mean
forcing people to follow in your
footsteps. Sometimes people
need to discover their path on
their own …with just a little
guidance along the way.
Any Marcos shouting for you? |
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During a particularly stressful
time in my life I began eating
jawbreakers and found out how
they got their name. My molar
cracked in half. The strange
thing? It didn't really hurt. I
mean the crack hurt and chomping
down on my own broken tooth hurt
but after the initial shock I
was fine. A little too fine. I
didn't go to the dentist.
I
know, I know, it seems really
dumb. Clearly there was
something wrong - after all,
half my tooth was gone. But
pretty quickly I learned to just
chew on the other side and if I
didn't do anything to aggravate
it, it didn't really aggravate
me.
Fast
forward 12 months and in the
middle of a meal it felt like
someone stabbed a hot knife into
my jaw. One much-needed visit to
the dentist later and guess
what? Root canal. What's worse?
The dentist made sure to tell me
that if I had dealt with it when
the tooth initially broke, I
would have only needed a cap -
much less painful and much less
expensive.
Leaders are confronted with
cracked tooth issues everyday
and if not too painful, they are
easy to ignore. The most
successful leaders, however,
don't ignore small issues;
instead they jump at
opportunities to deal
effectively with these issues
before they become larger, more
painful and more expensive.
Don't wait for the root canal.
Click here to read more about
cracked-tooth issues |
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We all know the story of the
tortoise and the hare. The moral
of the fable: Slow and steady
wins the race.
Um, well, I guess.
Leaders don't always have the
luxury of "slow and steady". And
often, it is unwise. Leaders
most often need to move fast and
not doing so results in missed
business opportunities, poor
decisions and the loss of
exceptional employees.
Former Secretary of State
General Colin Powell once said
when the information gathered in
order to make a decision is in
the 40-70% range, go with your
gut. Basically, when you are
between 40-70% sure, make a
decision. That's fast. Before
40% is too early, he says, and I
think we'd all agree with that.
But after 70%, it's too late.
Windows close. People move on.
Of course, you can't go running
around at the speed of light all
the time either. But most of the
leaders I encounter don't suffer
from moving too fast, or making
decisions too soon. They suffer
from a chronic turtle's pace.
And when they do have to move,
they're shell-shocked.
As a leader you need to know
what works when. When to go slow
and when to move it.
Here's to good hare days.
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