Five Tenets of Leadership Success

August 19, 2013 by

five-tenets-leadership-success-todd-nielsenLeaders are an integral part of our society. In many elementary classrooms there is a boy or a girl line leader to lead the class to the restroom, lunch, and recess. There are even the leaders in the game Simon Says. In this game all who participate must repeat the action of the leader. As children get older leadership transforms into something more complex. Leaders don’t just lead by actions, they lead in their thoughts, ideas, and morals – but what will leadership in the future look like?

“Will this new generation of leaders be innovators or followers?” Asked Forbes Contributor, Henry Doss. The answer is simple, it lies in education. In his recent article he shares five keys to educating the next generation of leaders.

  1. Language – to ensure that the leaders of the future do not embrace the “status quo” they must be strong communicators. Ideally leaders will be able to solve dilemmas and convey ideas with the written and spoken word. Furthermore, they are able to communicate with grace and confidence.
  2. Leadership – When Doss speaks of leadership, he is not speaking of leadership in the conventional sense. He states that the leaders of tomorrow must learn how to fail before they can learn to be successful. He also states that the education of today is success-driven. Education must give students the opportunity to take on challenges, risk it all, and fail.
  3. Authenticity – Leaders can not be authentic without being self-aware. Change is a constant and leaders must sense when change is happening or when change is needed, and they must be able to adapt to change, and change quickly. Therefore education should cause students to be more self-aware and to be aware of change around them.
  4. Breadth – Today’s college experience limits what a student can study. Colleges classify areas of study into majors, and students must choose which areas they would like to focus on. The problem with this focus is that students chose a major, and after graduation it may be difficult  to find a career in their major. However change is constant and what is available in today’s job field may not be available in the future.
  5. Resilience – As we mentioned above, not all students are able to find a career in their field of study. Likewise, after graduation. Graduates will hold many jobs often in different fields. This necessitates that leaders be resilient, and education needs to teach them to “turn on a dime.”

While these five points are written in the context of students and a younger generation, they certainly still apply to all of us. As we embrace these and many other tenets of leadership, we will be more prepared to take on any challenge, and to create a better future that we can be proud of.

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Lessons on Leadership and Life from a Football Match

March 13, 2012 by

Cardiff City Footbal - Leadership“Losing a game is heartbreaking. Losing your sense of excellence or worth is a tragedy. ” ~ Joe Paterno

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I’m a big football fan, season ticket holder at Cardiff City, my local team in the UK.   We’re a good side, among the best in England’s second tier league.  3 weeks ago we played a national cup final, at Wembley Stadium, against Liverpool Football Club, arguably the most famous team in the world.  They’re pretty close to the top of the Premier League, which we’re battling to get into.  Their team on the day cost £450m, the most expensive player £35m.  Our full team, including seven substitutes, was pieced together for £4 million.

You could have made a lot of money with a winning bet on Cardiff. Every pundit agreed – if Liverpool turned up anywhere near their best, we had virtually no chance.  The game was watched live by 90,000 passionate supporters and broadcasted live across the world.  It was set to be a valediction for Liverpool.

They duly won, we lost.  So why did it mean so much to me that I’ve chosen to tell the blogosphere about it?

A result is just a measure – it doesn’t tell you anything about the game.  And in the game, there were many lessons for life and for anyone, like me, who studies and promotes leadership. As I trudged 4 miles back to my car and spent the next 4 hours driving home on the same road as most of the 35,000 defeated fans, I had plenty of time to reflect on the day.  And what started as a journey into depression ended up as a triumph of inspiration that I thought might be worthy of sharing.

Lesson 1 – When you win, do it with class

The match was lost in the most dramatic, heartbreaking way possible.  After full time and extra time finished all square, there was a penalty shoot-out and we lost 3-2. When we missed the critical penalty, in the pandemonium of victory celebrations, 3 of the Liverpool players went straight to our side to commiserate the guy who missed and congratulate the entire Cardiff team on the way they played the game.  Classy winners who stayed humble in the hubris of victory, they recognized how fine the line is between winning and losing

Lesson 2 – You can lose, and still win

Every single Cardiff player gave his last drop for the shirt. In the last 10 minutes of extra time, when many of them were going down with cramps, they somehow found the strength and belief to equalize with two minutes to go.   They must have been completely dispirited to lose having given so much and been so close.  But their manager talked to the world about losing with dignity, giving credit to the winners, and learning lessons to draw from in their next battle.  And with these words he re-framed losing into something much more meaningful which resonated with millions across the world who could reflect on their own battles.

Lesson 3 – The team is the most powerful vehicle that we have as human beings

Last year we had a team with a few stars who were capable of great things, but when the chips were down, they put themselves first.  This year, under a new manager, we have a team with no acknowledged stars, but whose spirit and willingness to fight for their colleagues means that they regularly exceed the sum of their parts.  And very quickly, the fans spotted the difference and became an even more passionate ‘twelfth man’.  The ‘one for all’ attitude they can see on the pitch transmits itself far beyond the white lines to inspire greater support for the cause they can see the players so obviously believing in.

Lesson 4 – We all need role models

Our new manager has quickly, by example, fashioned a group in his image through what he demands of and rewards in others.  When asked about how he would console the poor guy who missed the critical penalty, he replied that the team was more important than individuals and they would all take care of that.  You can see the way he behaves transmitting itself to his players.  And you can see examples of his leadership values all over the pitch.  This year we have leaders throughout the team – people who take responsibility not just for what they do, but for challenging each other to dig deeper.  Resilience is so much easier if you know others will give you all they have, while demanding everything you have got. And a leader has to somehow convey values that are demonstrated especially when he has no immediate control.

Lesson 5 – Moments of small, quiet heroism happen all the time

From the defender who literally put his body on the line in front of a certain goal, to the cramping midfielder who played the last 15 minutes on one leg, there were moments of heroism all over the pitch.  Each one seemed to inspire another – acts of courage were contagious and the more one player gave for the team, the more the team as a whole responded. It struck me that I should register these moments more often in other areas of my life and let people know that I have noticed.

Lesson 6 – It won’t take the recession to end to give people back their pride

Wales had 3 big sporting moments that weekend.  Our rugby team won an acclaimed prize by beating the national nemesis (England) away from home. Our champion boxer and Britain’s only world champion retained his title. And Cardiff City lost – with pride, courage and dignity.  Yet in many ways, theirs was to my mind the most inspirational achievement of all.  People where I live were walking slightly taller that morning after the game – somehow they found a common inspiration, even from those who don’t follow the team every week.  Glorious failure has ignited a common sense of civic pride, and when the hangovers cleared, productivity wilrose again.  How many opportunities do we have to engender that pride (in a smaller and less public way) every day?

Final lesson – Disaster, like triumph, is an opportunity if we chose to see it that way

The regular season has 11 games left, all against teams less endowed than Liverpool.  If Cardiff can harness the spirit generated at Wembley, promotion to the Premier League and untold riches can really be ours.  If the players believe in what they did, recreate the resilience formula and inspire generate even 80% of Wembley’s support from fans, they can truly achieve the ultimate goal.  The manager knows that and has already begun to refocus the team and the Cardiff public on the next game, using glorious failure as inspiration for eventual triumph.  Isn’t that just like life?

A legendary Liverpool manager voiced the quote below.  I realized yesterday that I’ve always undervalued it.  Today, as a leader and being in the business of inspiring leadership in others, it means more than ever.

“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it’s much more serious than that.” ~ Bill Shankly 

 Connect with David Hain: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn

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Leadership Lessons from The Story of Tom Rutledge

January 13, 2012 by

LeadershipTom Rutledge is a somewhat hidden hero in the story of Charles Lindbergh’s historic non-stop flight of the Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927.  Tom Rutledge worked at Wright Aeronautical as an engine builder, starting in 1926. The story goes that when Tom first heard that he was assigned the task of building the engine for Charles Lindbergh he asked to be reassigned because he did not want to build an engine for someone he didn’t know.

His request was denied, and though disappointed, he proceeded to build the engine, despite his displeasure. What impressed me with his story is that he did not just quickly rush through and put it together. Instead he took as much care in the work of building the engine, that he would – had he been building it for someone he knew. His integrity and careful attention to detail produced an engine that resulted in one of the most famous airplane journey’s of all time. There is a valuable leadership lesson in this story.

The Great Leadership Lesson from Tom Rutledge

As I pondered this, I thought about how often as successful leaders, managers, or employees we find ourselves with tasks that cause us much displeasure. Do we just trudge through the unpleasant task and do a “good enough” job, or do we put forth the effort and attitude needed to make sure the task is worthy to be called our best work. Tom Rutledge taught we should perform at out best no matter what the task and no matter our oppinion of the importance of the task.

Leadership Takeaway’s From Tom Rutledge

When faced with unpleasant tasks I suggest the following ideas:

  1. If this were the last thing you were to do in this life, would you want to be remembered for doing it well or doing it poorly.
  2. Imagine a person that you highly respect, someone that you wish you were like, and imagine how they would approach the task.
  3. Make a list of all the good reasons why need to do this project well, in other words, focus on the positive.
  4. Think about the benefit that will result from you doing a good job.

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So, now that you’ve read this article, how are you going to use this information to bring greater value to your unpleasent tasks and leadership situations? What other strategies do you have for dealing with unpleasant tasks?

Please take a moment and share your ideas in the comments section below, share this with your social media friends, and subscribe to receive A Slice of Leadership notices, and occasional leadership advice, articles, tips and freebies.
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Resilience – Part 2

May 6, 2011 by

I had not planned on posting any more on this topic, but I had such a huge response to the Leadership Resilience post.  Then a good twitter friend, Tanmay Vora @tnvora, sent me this video below, I had to share it.  I can’t think of a greater example of resilience then Nick , @nickvujicic, http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org.  Watch the video below and think about what lessons you can learn from him on resilience in your own personal life and in your leadership life.

I’d love to hear your comments and thoughts below.

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What a 2-Legged Dog Taught Me About Leadership Resilience

May 4, 2011 by

Several years ago I was in Argentina on a mission for my church.  On one particular day I walked down a dirt road in a small town called General Castex, located in the Las Pampas region of Argentina.  I spotted an animal at the end of this street, but could not figure out what it was.  It was walking on 2 legs, but did not appear to be a 2 legged animal.  As I got closer to the animal, I stopped and gazed in disbelief.  It was a dog, but no ordinary dog.  This dog had lost the use of both its hind legs in some kind of accident, but strangely enough, it was not immobile.  It actually had learned to walk on its front 2 legs.  When it walked, it would bring the back-end of its body high in the air and walk on its front legs.  It could go up and down steps and across the not so even terrain of a small Argentine street.

I snapped a picture (which I can’t seem to find) and knew that there were a hundred lessons to be learned from that animal.  But the primary one ……is resilience.  Resilience is the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched.

I have often felt bent, broken, compressed and stretched as a leader.  I am not aware of too many leaders who have not.  Particularly at the level of start-ups and small business, the stress and problems can be too much for some to bear.  I know of hundreds of small business owners that struggle in one form or another.  Their lives are tough, they sleep little, they work a lot, their families suffer, and sometimes they wonder if it is really worth it all.

I have been there many times, and while I would like to say that those things are behind me, I know that my trials are most likely preparing me for something more difficult.  Only time will tell.   

I can’t say I have all the answers, but I’d like to share a few thoughts I have on how to foster resilience in your own life.

  1. Cling to Your Spiritual Side – If you are religious, cling to that.  If your “religion” is to get out in nature, do it.  In tough times I think we need to feel the hope that there is something, someone, or some force out there that can assist us.  It helps us to feel peace and to gain perspective.  Sometimes in the whole scheme of things, our trials really are insignificant.  The peace and perspective that is gained from spiritual renewal can help us logically think through problems and bounce back bigger and better.
  2. Learn – Reading and learning about others who have struggled, and learning ways that I can improve myself have been one of the most rewarding effects in my life.  It has also helped me find out-of-the-box answers, and better perspectives for many of my problems.  Sometimes I am the problem and I need to learn how to better myself, sometimes it is an operational or communication issue.  If you notice a weakness that you or your organizations has, don’t wait, buy a book, take a class, and start gleaning knowledge from others that will prepare you for life’s “bends”.
  3. Ask For Help – Entrepreneurs and leaders tend to have a built in pride gene that is hard to turn off.  I think it is just as important to accept help, as it is to help others.  Asking and accepting help, requires humility.  There are so many professionals out there that are more than willing to share their insight and offer assistance in many ways.  Get out there and ask for help, the worst thing that someone can say is “No”. 
  4. Manage Yourself – Manage your time, manage your energy, and manage your communication.  It is easy to get into bad habits when one is going through a hard time.  This could be bad eating habits, bad sleeping habits, bad time management, focusing on things that are not important, and poor or short communication to those who are central to your success.  You probably need every resource you can muster.  Don’t waste it by falling into common stress traps, which will work against you in bouncing back.
  5. Focus But Keep Proper Perspective – Stay focused on the problem.  Few problems go away by ignoring them.  It may require a lot of work that you do not enjoy, but things will not get any easier if you can’t bounce back, so you have to focus on the problem and not deviate.  But while you are focusing, keep proper perspective on other important things in your life.  If you work really hard to bounce back or solve a big problem, but in that time you completely ignore your family, or ignored an important part of your business or an important customer, then all you have done is fixed one problem and caused another.  You are not any better off.  Communicate with others about your problems and explain what your plan is.  Focusing does not mean you have to ignore everything else.
  6. Persist – I can’t imagine how how many times that dog must have fallen before it was able to balance itself and walk on 2 legs.  If it had just given up after a few falls it would probably have been dead.  Keep getting up!  Sometimes answers come in the final hour of struggle.
  7. Know When To Call It Quits – This may seem to counter the post, but we are talking about leadership resilience.  Sometimes you need to know that the effort to fix a problem isn’t worth it.  Maybe it will require too much money or too much time, whatever it is, you need to know when let an initiative die and move onto bigger and better things.   Bouncing back may just mean moving on.

 

Warren Bennis, a great organizational consultant and author once said “The leaders I met, whatever walk of life they were from, whatever institutions they were presiding over, always referred back to the same failure – something that happened to them that was personally difficult, even traumatic, something that made them feel that desperate sense of hitting bottom–as something they thought was almost a necessity.  It’s as if at that moment the iron entered their soul; that moment created the resilience that leaders need.

I hope that iron can enter all our souls so that we can be more resilient in our lives and leadership capacities and ultimately achieve all the goals we have set for ourselves and our organizations.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, experience, or comments below.

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