5 Lessons Learned and Not Forgotten

Lesson 1: Yes, Leadership Matters. Schools, homes, churches, hospitals, governments, armies and businesses are the product of leadership. Leadership determines the reach, depth, scope and ultimately the success of any enterprise.

Lesson 2: Leadership Always Begins With A Picture of the Future. Leaders always see a better tomorrow, and more importantly, leaders see it before others see it. This vision is formed through a combination of experience, expertise and intuition. The best leaders use this picture of the future to drive the behaviors of today.

Lesson 3: Not Everyone Wants To Be A Leader. In fact, most people are willing followers. But the best leaders are followers too because they serve others before themselves. A servant-leader mentality is what separates great leaders from the mediocre ones. Followers know that it is a gift to be well led.

Lesson 4: Leaders Initiate Change. Great leaders don’t initiate change for change’s sake or to follow whatever is the current trend in management, but for the sake of real progress. This change is often uncomfortable, but it is necessary. Change is the price of progress.

Lesson 5: Great Leaders Earn Trust Over Time. A leader is always being observed, so if the leader's actions are inconsistent with their words, it is immediately noticed. Consistency from the leader creates a platform for trust and credibility - it also creates a model for others to emulate.

-- Mark Miller, Vice President for Training and Development at Chick-fil-A

Leaders vs. Followers

When leaders make a mistake, they say, "I was wrong."
When followers make mistakes, they say, "It wasn't my fault."

A leader works harder than a follower and has more time;
a follower is always "too busy" to do what is necessary.

A leader goes through a problem;
a follower goes around it and never gets past it.

A leader makes and keeps commitments;
a follower makes and forgets promises.

A leader says, "I'm good, but not as good as I ought to be;"
a follower says, "I'm not as bad as a lot of other people."

Leaders listen;
followers just wait until it's their turn to talk.

Leaders respect those who are superior to them and tries to learn something from them;
followers resent those who are superior to them and try to find chinks in their armor.

Leaders feel responsible for more than their job;
followers say, "I only work here."

A leader says, "There ought to be a better way to do this;"
followers say, "That's the way it's always been done here."

Listen and Learn from Others

Have you ever been in a situation where someone in authority starts talking about the workplace, and you think “This person has no clue!” because his words bear no resemblance to reality? Well, you’re not alone. All too often we forget one of the basics of leadership: Listening. Of all the leadership attributes, listening may be the most important. You can have all the other leadership skills, but if you don’t listen to people, it’s all for naught.

The leader who listens knows what’s going on around him or her because listening opens the doors to genuine communication. It demonstrates respect and caring for others. But listening only gets you part way to better leadership. You must also learn from it and use that learning to guide your actions. It’s only through learning that we are able to change, grow, and prepare for the future. Listening and learning help make a leader credible because they compel the leader to put people first. And that’s when really good things can happen.

Here are three tips to help you be a better listener…and a better learner:

1. Know the difference between hearing and listening. To hear means “to perceive by the ear.” To listen means “to pay attention.” There’s a big difference.

2. Get into the ACT of listening. Employ body language. Look at the person who is speaking. Make and keep eye contact. Position your body in a way that shows you are open and receptive to what the person is saying.

3. Adopt the 2/1 rule: Listen twice as much as you talk. Why do you think we have two ears and one mouth

-- John Baldoni (180 Ways to Walk the Leadership Talk: The How-To Handbook for Leaders at All Levels)

Who Packed Your Parachute

As a leader, do you honor and appreciate the power of WE? Do you stop to thank and recognize the members of your team? Do you consistently show an attitude of gratitude?

I recently read a great story about Captain Charles Plumb, a graduate from the Naval Academy, whose plane, after 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam, was shot down. He parachuted to safety, but was captured, tortured and spent 2,103 days in a small box-like cell.

After surviving the ordeal, Captain Plumb received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit and two Purple Hearts, and returned to America and spoke to many groups about his experience and how it compared to the challenges of every day life.

Shortly after coming home, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man rose from a nearby table, walked over and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

Surprised that he was recognized, Charlie responded, "How in the world did you know that?" The man replied, "I packed your parachute." Charlie looked up with surprise. The man pumped his hand, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "I guess it worked!"

Charlie stood to shake the man's hand, and assured him, "It most certainly did work. If it had not worked, I would not be here today."

Charlie could not sleep that night, thinking about the man. He wondered if he might have seen him and not even said, "Good morning, how are you?" He thought of the many hours the sailor had spent bending over a long wooden table in the bottom of the ship, carefully folding the silks and weaving the shrouds of each chute, each time holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't know.

Plumb then began to realize that along with the physical parachute, he needed mental, emotional and spiritual parachutes. He had called on all these supports during his long and painful ordeal.

As a leader, how many times a day, a week, a month, do we pass up the opportunity to thank those people in our organization who are "packing our parachutes?"

-- An excerpt from 'Aim For The Heart' by Tom Mathews