Leadership is a Choice

Choice

Leadership is not defined by a position or popularity.  Leadership is a choice. I can debate this point with a number of contemporary leadership authors but you have to agree that everyone has a choice. You also have a choice as to the type of leader you portray. There are great leaders then there are great, bad leaders.

I call the great, bad leaders: “Tater Tot Leaders.” I use the analogy of a school cafeteria. One kid throws a tater tot, and I have to admit, the size and shape are conducive to throwing. Then another kid throws one. Before you know it, the whole table is throwing tots. The one kid that threw the first tot is a leader, he has followers but he led in a bad direction. I can use the same analogy to some very bad world leaders that had whole countries following them.

Some authors will deliberate that leaders are born. I will argue that there are some circumstances that may be advantageous to your quality of life and your opportunities because we aren’t all born on a level playing field. However, as life progresses, your ability to lead and the direction you choose to lead are entirely up to you. In fact, this type (power) of leadership stifles the leadership potential within the organization. These types of leaders lack the ability to reach their potential because they associate power or lack of power as vulnerability that deteriorates their leadership. On the contrary, once you think you need invincibility you become a fairytale leader that will allow the organization to perish because you try to live forever without setting up your organization to thrive in the long-term.   

Positional leaders take the power wherever they go, so to speak. These people define leadership as power, and they think there is a finite amount of leadership. These people will not promote leadership for everyone.

So let us create some leadership. Get on board the leader-ship. Choose and accept your role as a leader. Over the years we (my colleagues, family, and I) have tried to simplify the topic of leadership success. Through research and experience we broke it down to four areas that will balance your opportunities: 1) Self-Management – Organization, 2) Communication – Listening,          3) Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Team Building, 4) Character Education – Service Learning

These four areas are intertwined. Success in all four areas will balance the leadership process and your life. There will always be empty seats on the leader-ship. So, climb on board.It's your Choice.

Be Nice

Be Nice

Does this topic need any more explanation? I hope not but just for the sake of argument we will expand on some related topics.

Character Traits

An important concept to remember is that every character trait has an opposite. My theory is that if you do not possess the character trait then you possess the opposite of the trait. For instance, if you do not have enthusiasm you have apathy.  I’m sure that you can find arguments to this but what is in the middle? Just like most leadership traits are entwined, so are most character traits. What is your favorite character trait? I have several.

Trustworthiness might be at the top. If people trust you, authentic relationships are more likely. If you can trust the people around you, more can get accomplished and leadership does not take on a power position but rather a choice. Trust is powerful as is most positive character.

Any character that you bring on the leader-ship is modeled after your appeal. Remember, no one is perfect at character so when you make a mistake it’s OK to apologize then move on in a positive direction. There’s an old quote: “Character begins at birth and ends at death.” That gives you a lot of stimulus and response in between. To be able stop before you react takes a lot of practice. Start now.

Service Learning

As mentioned previously, the power of positive self-communication can make quantum leaps in your ability to achieve some noteworthy feats. Now let us focus on the power of positive “doing.” When you model positive behavior and get your team involved, your influence and the influence of your organization will exceed what you thought you were capable of accomplishing.

There’s a big difference between community service and service learning. Most people have never really thought about it. Community service is donating hours or some other resource to your community. There is no real learning or commitment taking place. Service learning is actually making the connection to the community or a group and discovering a need then carrying through on that need to make the community or group better. Service learning can also be described as community involvement: a connection for the betterment of people around you.

Several years ago I joined a community education foundation because I wanted to give the children of our town more opportunities for success. The president of the organization  asked me if I was joining to give back. My response was, “I’m not joining to give back, I’m joining to give.” Service learning is unconditional whereas community service has motive for self-gain or fulfilling an obligation. I think of community service as punitive or obligatory.  

For instance, many student groups require community service hours without the notion of a plan to make a difference. I think the planning part is most important when formulating service leadership. Service learning is an important component to the leader-ship and should not be taken lightly. What are the needs of the organization or community? What are your special talents and/or the talents of your organization?

Take a long look at how you can make yourself, people around you, and your community better. Over the years there has also been opportunity for our organization to get involved and make a difference globally. One year we raised money for an organization that brings clean water systems to Chinese orphanages. Another year we sponsored a cancer support organization. Other years we supported local food banks and homeless shelters. There are multiple chances to service learn. Come up with a plan.

In our organization, one component of the leader-ship is for members to come up with their individual service learning plan before they add to our platform. The idea of “paying it forward” may have come from a movie but the service learning involved will make a difference for a lifetime.

Leadership from the Bottom Up

Every year I feel compelled to give at least one lesson to every student. Our school ranges from fifth to eighth grades. Today, I started in the fifth grade using contemporary leadership theory mostly from Covey. I mix in some inspirational videos that our school or other schools have produced. The hour just flies by.
I start the lesson by telling the students the one word I want associated with our school: leadership.

Most of the discussion centers on common sense but it gives every student in our school an opportunity to accept their role as a leader.  I let the students know that you do not have to be the loudest, most athletic, or the smartest but you begin by acknowledging your potential. However, Potential Minus Commitment equals nothing.
One of the most powerful slides is: BE NICE
I ask the students if it needs an explanation. Not one student raises his or her hand either out of embarrassment or because it needs no explanation. I like to believe it really needs no explanation.
During the lesson, I delve into stories about past students. I show before and after pictures of our school. The before picture is a blank wall. The after pictures consist of some amazing murals painted by our students.
I am humbled by some of the answers that the students give. I firmly believe that your leadership ability increases exponentially by the number of leaders you have around you. We begin with ten-year-olds. By starting from the bottom up, your full potential stands a chance of success by time you get to the top. The top consists of training for our adult stakeholders.
Everyone associated with your organization deserves a chance to bring out that strength that no on  knew existed.
This is the shortened version of the lesson but I end with a picture of my eighth grade class (from 1972)  and the famous quote:

PEOPLE MAY NOT REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID, OR WHAT YOU SAID,

~BUT~THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HOW YOU MADE THEM FEEL. 

Goals

Goals

I feel that any time you want to do something; you do (accomplish) it. I’m writing this in the broadest form of a statement but when you think about it, you can achieve some remarkable things when you eliminate yourself as a barrier. 

“The most important thing about a goal is having one.” Geoffrey Abert 

Dream big! Your dreams develop into goals, and when you write them down your chances of success increase considerably. Goal setting is remarkably powerful. I dare you to try it (only if you want to be successful). I write mine down for the day and week as soon as I sit at my desk. My yearly goals are kept in my wallet so I can keep reflecting on them. I also write them on something obnoxious and put them on my desk. 

On the first day of our new year, I ask everyone else at work to write them down as well. What they write them on depends on our yearly theme. For instance, one year we had bricks and another year we had sea shells. I coach my daughter’s softball team, and we ask the girls to write them on a softball and keep them in their gloves so they have to look at them. 

Each year, before the start of school, we have a leadership camp for students. We have the kids reflect on their goals for the new school year then write them on magnets. The magnets are hung on the inside of their lockers before the start of school. 

Goal setting becomes a mindset. Success becomes a mindset. However, a plan of action goes into effect after you write down your goal. That’s where some people get lost. What do you need to do to accomplish your goal? This could take training, professional development, or coaching but any worthwhile goal will take a commitment. Your commitment might be as simple as creating a time to do homework or spending a night watching a movie with your family. It might be hard like changing your personality or getting an advanced college degree. The most important component of goal setting is to get started. 

Whatever the degree of difficulty, your goal will take self-communication (upcoming section). How you define success or happiness will be different than another person’s view of life. My paradigm is positioned on the number of smiles I see on the people around me.

And how do you know if it matters? Oh, you’ll know. There’s that little voice in the back of your head called your conscience. It’s almost always right. Do a self check. Does this goal make me or the people around me a better person? There, you answered your own question, more self-communication. 

“Here is my plan for what looks like a very busy year...when I wake up in the morning, before my feet hit the floor, I plan on thinking of three things that I am thankful for and three things I want to get accomplished on that day...just three. I obviously am thankful for so much more and plan on doing so much more. But if I can just take that one minute to gain clarity and perspective, I think I will be able to tackle just about anything with a smile on my face and joy enough to share!”

“So, on day one, I stuck to my plan. However, I was still feeling just slightly overwhelmed at the enormity of a new school year. And then a friend sent me a silly message that literally made me laugh out loud. I still have that smile on my face as an exclamation point on the love of friends and family that fills my days and nights. With that care, with that support that we all have if we look for it, every challenge becomes just another hurdle...some are the low ones, some are the high ones that will trip us at times. But there are always people who will be there to lift us up and take us forward. On this day, I am very grateful for all of them, for all of you. ♥”

Team-Work

Team-Work

Never underestimate yourself or the people around you. Never feel too powerful or too disempowered to participate. When you look at chipping in to get things done, it doesn’t matter who gets things done. Our first day of the New Year, we celebrate with outright engagement.

I work in a school so the first day of the New Year for us is always in early September. We not only like to get the students excited to return to our building but we want everyone to connect with a new beginning, a time to set goals, and start strong.  

We begin with loud music, enthusiasm, and lots of smiles. Everyone is ushered right into the auditorium upon arrival. That’s after we have the upper classmen welcome all of the new students. We line everyone up, announce their name with a bullhorn, and give them high fives as they enter the building.

The auditorium is jacked up with cheering. The last class to arrive is our upper classmen. We roll out the red carpet and give them a standing ovation. After the National Anthem, we count down the New Year. This year, since we had a “Rock Theme”, we struck a gong rather than drop a ball. It’s similar to the Times Square celebration on the traditional New Year.

We briefly talk about our new beginning, yearly theme and service learning platform. The students are excited to start and so is everyone else. That enthusiasm lasts the entire day (or week), and it’s a great starting point.