Since Jason is en route back to Alabama today, I will try to take a stab at the Leadership post for the week. Now he has read (and posted) farther ahead than I am in Maxwell’s The 360° Leader. So I will drop back a bit to a section that I thought a lot about since I read it.
In the past, as we have talked about John Maxwell’s 360° Leader, we have talked about leading up. The principles we talked about in the segment on leading up involved our relationships with our leaders.
However, we cannot stop there. It is obvious that we can lead those who are natural followers. But it is important that we understand how to lead other leaders. How do we relate to our peers?
One thing that makes leading across so difficult is that, in many cases, those whom we are trying to lead will see us as adversaries. If someone attempting to lead across is seen as politically motivated or a brown noser, then their ability to solicit cooperation will be compromised.
That title sounds like something Obi-Wan Kenobi probably spoke to Anakin Skywalker as he grew older and more arrogant.
You might say I am ranting tonight. But I really have grasped a truth in this situation that I must share.
At the moment, I am experiencing an interesting situation with a team I am on.
Teamwork can be especially difficult if the subject matter that the team is tackling is not the most pleasant thing in the world. In this case, some team members do not even want to participate. So how do we handle this? These team members have chosen to not show up for meetings.
Lead up principle #9 in John C. Maxwell’s book The 360° Leader is to be sure you are better tomorrow than you are today.
Growth is one of the things the insures that you will be able to lead from the middle. Many people have goals to become something or reach a specific level. And at that point, they are satisfied. However, that can be deadly to a career where someone wants to lead. As leaders, we never want to “arrive” in our profession. If we ever get satisfied with our place in life, we are finished in terms of growth.
Due to some health issues in my family the last couple of weeks, I have not been able to post on Friday’s as I have been. Fortunately, everyone is getting better, and I will once again post my leadership columns this coming Friday.
Until then, here is a good read.
I often receive forwards from one of our executives from Dr. Alan Zimmerman. Last Tuesday’s tip hits particularly close to home for those who are into goal setting.
- Jason
Tip:
Lead Up Principle #8 in John C. Maxwell’s book The 360° Leader is about becoming a go-to player.
Often you hear people refer to athletes that perform well in the clutch as “go-to players”. This basically means that a player gets the job done when pressure is on. What separates the Michael Jordans, the David Ortizes, the Tiger Woodses and the Ronaldinos of the world from all other athletes?
There is a passion within them that refuses to give in to pressure. They manage to treat pressure packed situations with a calmness and skill that few possess.
One of the key pieces of wisdom that any leader from the middle can know is when to push buttons, and when to let things go.
In many cases, it may be a case of pushing the right buttons, but the timing is not good. That is just like pushing the wrong button.
John C. Maxwell addresses this in his book The 360° Leader. He gives us several tips to assist us with our judgment.
When Should I Push?
This week in John C. Maxwell’s book The 360 Degree Leader, I read about preparation for time with your leader.
Your leader’s time is very valuable. It is very important to make sure that you are properly prepared each time you take a leader’s time.
One of the things I have been giving a lot of thought to this week is leadership, and the communication skills that it requires.
You would be hard pressed to find a good leader who could not communicate well with others. One of the biggest prerequisites to leadership is being able to convince others to follow you. Part of that ability is directly tied to communication skills.
Let’s think for a moment about communication in leadership.
What do leaders communicate?
Michael is a bit under the weather today. Originally, it was to be his day to post his Black Belt write up. However, since he is listed as “day-to-day” at the moment, and I have yet to complete my write up, I will post something brief today.
- Jason
As many of you have read lately, Michael has been overhauling his system. After rereading some of his posts on the process (especially the goal setting part), I determined that I need to get a fresh start myself.