Tag: leadership

Fear Not

“Fear not those who argue but those who dodge.”  — Marie von Ebner Eschenbach

Early in my Fortune 100 career, there was a new assignment which required that I move and inherit an existing, high-performing team.

And even though they knew much more about how things ran, they still wanted me to help them improve. They brought dozens of creative ideas.

I was on a huge learning curve and loving every minute of it. However, you know what happened?

Nothing.

Being insanely busy, and blindly disorganized, none of their ideas moved forward. I was overwhelmed and didn’t even know it.

Crazy thing though, I thought things were actually getting better, because their ideas started to dwindle, but not because things got better.

Even crazier, they thought, “Don’t go to Jeff, he won’t do anything.”

Wished they would have argued with me, “Why aren’t you helping us?” Instead, they dodged.

And who could blame them?

Leader Top Priorities?

Leadership priorities.  Probably the single most important “to do” on a great leader’s list.  Right?

At the top for me is a compelling vision.  Then acting with integrity. And thirdly, building trust.

But these aren’t the priorities I’m talking about.

I’m referring to personal, moral priorities.

A few months ago, I had the privilege to hear a Fortune 100 President give a speech. To my surprise he listed his as:

  1. Faith
  2. Family
  3. Career

Didn’t see that one coming.  Career was third.  As a Fortune 100 President. Wow.

Live authentically, serve humbly, live to make other’s dreams come true.

Conformity Leadership Insight

“The reason they want you to fit in is that once you do, then they can ignore you.” — Seth Godin

Bet most of you have never seen it from that vantage point before. Have you?  Not me.

Until today.

Standing out, or being remarkable, usually makes others uncomfortable. Everyone’s so competitive.

When was the last time you saw people rushing to become the most homogeneous?

Usually 50% At Best

Trust. Distrust.

Like.  Dislike.

Do you trust your leader?  Do you like your leader?

Take President Barack Obama, or any President for that matter.  Usually, at best, a President receives between 50-60% of the popular vote.  More or less half. Stay with me here.

What this means is the other half don’t like and don’t trust the President, relatively speaking.

And it’s the same in large organizations and small businesses. Seriously, it is.

Why do we try so hard to be liked, when in reality, the best we can ever hope for is about half.

Take Simon Cowell, from American Idol (yes, many of you hate Simon and the show), while many people do not like him, everyone trusts that he will tell the truth.

And the reason we know Simon will always tell the truth, is because he always does. Sounds simple, but Simon is consistent to a fault. He’s honest even if it’s “bad news”.

And yet, he’s crystal clear about his mission – select the very best singer. Period. Determine the “Gold Medal” winner. Select the next American Idol.

Most don’t like him. Most absolutely trust him.

If trust is the most important leadership characteristic, who gives a flip about being liked?