Over the past 15 weeks I’ve been compiling much content about leadership in action. There’s been interviews with leaders in business, conversations with people who I consider to be leaders in life, deep reflection of my own practice, much reading and ultimately regurgitation via our weekly FLYING PIGS AT NUMBER 20 post.
This week I thought I’d do something a little different and provide you with a summary of our leadership learnings thus far.
Week 1: Tall poppy syndrome is a poor excuse to avoid stepping up and into a leadership role
Week 2: It’s OK to show vulnerability as a leader
Week 3: Communicating wisely as a leader sometimes means tempering your ‘opinions’ and choosing words carefully and consciously
Week 4: Leadership is a combination of natural skill and conscious learning
Week 5: A leader who understands and can articulate his values will serve those who follow in order understand the broader vision
Week 6: Decision making as a discipline. While decisions can create freedom, the inability to make them can be a very sticky trap
Week 7: Accountability buddies are absolutely essential, particularly in times of change
Week 8: Sometimes you have to draw the line – not all decisions are easy, trust your gut instincts. Set a date, stay strong, act accordingly.
Week 9: If drama is ruling your life consider the repercussions that may have for those around you. It’s one thing to lead with passion, but constant drama is another beast.
Week 10: Two important lessons from my mentor Rosemary Shapiro-Liu this week. (1) be careful to fully and completely understand expectations of any situation and (2) learn the difference between the commas and the fullstops.
Week 11: Decide slowly, act quickly. Choose your partners in the decision making process wisely
Week 12: You must look after you and succession planning is an aspect of self care
Week 13: There are times for unbridled sharing of thoughts, feelings and ideas
Week 14: Beware of burnout, when you’re running on empty, come back to what matters
Week 15: Go back to the simple things, understand the small steps and appreciate the pace of others