Leadership ABC's

Favorite quotations, etc.
Post Reply
thebbqguy
Posts: 436
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 2:33 am
Contact:

Leadership ABC's

Post by thebbqguy »

(I am not 100% sure who to credit for this list. I've seen many different variations on it in various places, but the interpretation of the list is mine.)

ABC’s of Leadership

Attitude: It’s both a blessing and a curse. A good one is one of the biggest, most valuable personal assets you can have, but a bad one can ruin everything.

We’ve all met people who focus on the negative no matter how many good things are happening in their lives. A newlywed with a bad attitude often focuses on the difficulties of family budgeting, struggles finding a place to live or the possibilities of divorce. An athlete with a bad attitude worries about the half-time lead evaporating and that teammates will perform badly causing the team to lose the game. A parent with a bad attitude worries about how bad a child’s report card will be, how difficult it will be to make friends at school, or if they will grow up happy and content.

Those negative thoughts often forecast future problems and lead to the exact circumstances and events causing those precise problems. People with positive thoughts attract spouses who are strong, confident and loyal; teammates who will always provide maximum efforts; and children who pay attention in class, make friends easily and adjust well to their environment.

Be that person others want to congregate with, spend time with, and be around during their spare minutes and hours throughout the day because doing so enriches their own lives and increases happiness.

Belief: If you don’t believe it in the deepest most personal places of your own soul, how do you expect to convince others to believe in what you’re doing and to follow you? Hope is not belief. Being firm, confident and decisive promotes those same traits in others whether they are family, friends, customers or employees.

Would you feel comfortable on a trans-Atlantic airline flight if the pilot at the controls greeted you at the door with, “I barely graduated from flight training school, I’m not feeling well today, but I think I’ll be able to make it to London with no issues.”

I want someone who knows.

Do you think a wife, husband, child, friend, customer or employee wants to spend their days with someone with fragile nerves who breaks out into sweat at the drop of a hat in fear? Or do they want someone cool, calm and collected who confronts difficulty with quiet confidence that makes everything look easy?

Commitment: Do you jump from one thing to another quickly when the next new idea comes along, or do you follow through on projects to completion even though obstacles keep appearing at every turn?

I’m reminded of a cartoon I once saw hanging in a co-worker's office a few years ago of a frog being eaten by an egret. The frog grabbed the egret’s throat to prevent from being swallowed. Even though disaster loomed, the frog refused to stop fighting for survival. There’s another popular sentiment that I’ve heard repeated over and over:

Question: “What’s the difference between eggs and bacon?”
Answer: “The chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.”

I would happily give credit for those two illustrations, if I could identify the source of their creation, but for me they illustrate beautifully what is meant by commitment to a goal.

Dependability: Simply, do you do what you say you’re going to do when you said you would? If you don’t, you will not find new followers and those currently following you will leave.

I do not think it’s necessary to expound on that thought much further. It’s a matter of honesty and integrity. If you don’t have it, your followers will see it instantly.

Harvey McKay published another variation of this list in 2011. Click here to read : http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepubli ... p0919.html

steveo73
Posts: 1733
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:52 pm

Re: Leadership ABC's

Post by steveo73 »

I work as a project manager (I'm also a dad to 3 kids) and to me leadership is close to being another scam within life.

All I want is everyone to do the right thing to the best of their ability. The question is can I influence that and I'm not sure how much I can. I also think contrary to popular opinion that being able to actually live a good life or do the work that you are managing is important.

In saying all of that I think people like working with me and my kids like me. I just don't think that I can make them do what I think is right - its up to them.

I do though like those characteristics in the article.

thebbqguy
Posts: 436
Joined: Mon Feb 18, 2013 2:33 am
Contact:

Re: Leadership ABC's

Post by thebbqguy »

I don't think I can agree with calling leadership a scam.

I may not be understanding your point correctly, but as an example I can't imagine a college basketball or college football team winning consistently without a coach. I can't imagine a baseball team winning without a manager. And there are several examples of companies that were failing under previous leadership, but who are thriving now.

In my own workplace, there are examples of departments floundering under previous supervision/management, but that are thriving now with the same employees.

George the original one
Posts: 5404
Joined: Wed Jul 28, 2010 3:28 am
Location: Wettest corner of Orygun

Re: Leadership ABC's

Post by George the original one »

Leadership is a scam in the sense that we're all told "you need to be a leader", yet if a team is made of nothing but leaders, then it goes nowhere because there's no one following.

Effective leadership is more like project management than cheerleading. Have the authority to set the goals, assign the tasks, council/replace/workaround the laggards.

The mystic of cheerleading is for sales droids.

jacob
Site Admin
Posts: 15907
Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 8:38 pm
Location: USA, Zone 5b, Koppen Dfa, Elev. 620ft, Walkscore 77
Contact:

Re: Leadership ABC's

Post by jacob »

I still use the probably obsolete model of seeing management styles as either autocratic, democratic, or laissez faire. The choice depends on what kind of work is being done. I think creative high-risk/high-reward work is best served by the last choice. In this case, the leader's job is to select the best employes, clear roadblocks and otherwise stay out of the way.

steveo73
Posts: 1733
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:52 pm

Re: Leadership ABC's

Post by steveo73 »

thebbqguy wrote:I may not be understanding your point correctly, but as an example I can't imagine a college basketball or college football team winning consistently without a coach. I can't imagine a baseball team winning without a manager. And there are several examples of companies that were failing under previous leadership, but who are thriving now.
Agreed however my point is how much can I influence someone.

Thinking on this now though I have a good manager above my boss at this point and she is making a difference. I also think on the projects that I am on that I am making a positive difference.

I still think that leadership is a really complicated topic.

workathome
Posts: 1298
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 3:06 pm

Re: Leadership ABC's

Post by workathome »

I think influence by example is best! Like Jacob did-what-he-said and shared. I think that's what a parent is supposed to do too.

Post Reply