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@tundra tundra authored on 8 Mar 2015
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 lessons_for_leaders.rst
never explains the difference between expense and capital burn - and why
it matters how people report their time? Silly? Perhaps. But these
are all "selling" and they're fundamentally important.
 
 
Great Leaders Color Outside The Lines
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
The greatest leaders I've ever known all managed to be positive while
selling ideas that are just looney on their face. They get people to
follow them into into ventures that "will never work", to try things
that have never been done before, and to do exactly those things
everyone says cannot be done. Great leaders do this based on a
supreme confidence in their own strategic vision and a willingess to
fail trying new things. They don't quite know *how* they'll pull it
off, they just have an instinct that they can.
 
Amazingly, people are just *drawn* to these kinds of leaders. Who
wants to go work for Boring Co. when you have a chance at breaking
the laws of physics? What you inevitably see a few years down the
road, is an organization that's done way, way more than they would
have otherwise.
 
 
Great Leaders Change Direction
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
When the risk pays off, *great leaders shine the light on their
people, not themselves.*. "We took a risk, and YOU people made it pay
off." One of the signs of a great leader is their language. They use
the word "we" a lot. Lousy leaders say "I" when explaining their
organization's successes. Oh, and that integrity thing? People can
spot insincere gladhanding in a heartbeat. When a great leader says
"Good Job!", people warm to it. When an insincere corporate drone
does it, people snicker behind their backs.
the word "we" a lot. Lousy leaders say "I" when explaining things.
Listen, especially to very public leaders like national polticians or
Fortune 100 CEOs. You can immediately spot the leaders and sniff out
the egomaniacs.
 
Oh, and that integrity thing? People can spot gladhanding in a
heartbeat. When a great leader says "Good Job!", people warm to it.
When an insincere corporate drone does it, people snicker behind their
backs and mock them.
 
When risk taking fails, great leaders take the blame. They do not
yell at their people, they do not scream, they do not curse. They sit
down with their teams and ask "Why did this fail? What can we learn
--------------
 
There is no one model for leaders. They come in many flavors. But
these core behaviors show up time after time across industries,
disciplines, and time. More importantly, their absence signals
someone out of their depth, unprepared to lead, or immature in their
position. One hopes that they can begin to embrace some of these ideas.
disciplines, and institutions. Notice that none of these have much to
do with personality or temperament. They are practiced by the most
flamboyant and the most reserved of leaders. More importantly, they
are manifested at every level of a high function organization. Great
leaders not only demonstrate these behaviors, they cultivate them
throughout their organization.
 
I have been most fortunate to be exposed to people like this pretty
much from the begining of my career. It's my deepest hope that these
ideas continue to have currency into the next generation of leaders.
 
 
Acknowledgements
----------------
-----------------------------
 
::
 
$Id: lessons_for_leaders.rst,v 1.118 2015/03/08 16:14:40 tundra Exp $
$Id: lessons_for_leaders.rst,v 1.119 2015/03/08 16:49:27 tundra Exp $
 
You can find the latest version of this document at:
 
http://www.tundraware.com/lessons