Attitude – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Turning Obstacles Into Opportunities

Posted May 6, 2024May 11, 2024
by admin

Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal. – E. Joseph Cossman

I read a story about a young man who aimed to be a star journalist. However, he lived in a small town with little hope of attaining that goal.

One day the dam upstream broke and the town was flooded. Seizing the opportunity, the aspiring journalist got in a rowboat and headed out to find a story. A short time later, he discovered a woman sitting on her rooftop. He tied up the boat and told her what he was after. They watched as various items floated past the house. The woman would say, “Now there’s a story,” or “No, that’s not a story,” as each item floated past them.

Finally, a hat floats by and then does a 180-degree turn, goes back upstream a ways, and does another 180-degree turn. This continues for a while. Excited, the young man exclaims, “Now, that’s a story!” The woman turns to the young man and says, “Oh no, that’s not a story, that’s my husband. He said he was going to mow the lawn come hell or high water!”.

In life, as in leadership, we often face obstacles disguised as opportunities. But if we take our goals for too long we can be distracted and soon we only see obstacles. As leaders, we must be intentional about this challenge.

Consider what happened to Thomas Edison in December 1914. Thomas Edison experienced such a defining moment. His lab caught fire and everything was destroyed. He lost almost $1 million of equipment and the record of much of his work. The next morning, when walking around the charred embers of his hopes and dreams, the 67-year-old inventor said, “There is value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Now we can start anew.”

How can an aspiring young journalist, or an inventor like Edison, find the opportunity in chaos and obstacles? There are a few clues worth discovering and applying in your leadership.

One person’s flood is another person’s break

When the dam broke and the town flooded, it was an opportunity for the aspiring journalist to find his big story – to get his big break. He had the ambition to get in the boat and look for it.

When the dams break around you, what you choose to see and how you respond will make all the difference between it being an obstacle and an opportunity. Click To Tweet

One person’s fire is another person’s reset

When Edison’s lab was destroyed by fire when he was 67, throwing it in the towel and calling it quits would have been easy. I am sure many would not have blamed him. But he chose to start anew. Within thirty days after the fire, Edison delivered the first phonograph.

For Edison, the fire was his reset. Many of his great works came after the fire. When you face obstacles and challenges, it allows you the opportunity to hit the reset button and move in a new and better direction.

Final Thoughts

Here is a challenge for you that comes from John Maxwell. He asks, “The last time you failed, did you stop trying because you failed, or did you fail because you stopped trying?” Much is riding on your answer. You will face obstacles, but whether you turn them into opportunities is what you have to decide.

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Do You Have a Winning Attitude?

Posted September 7, 2023
by admin

Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude. – Zig Ziglar

I read a story once by Michael Hodgin about two Kentucky racing stable owners who had developed a rivalry.

Each spring they both entered a horse in a local steeplechase. One of them thought that having a professional rider might give his horse an edge in the race, so he hired a hotshot jockey.

Well, the day of the race finally came, and as usual, their horses were leading the race right down to the last fence. But the final fence was too much for both of the horses. Both of them fell, and both riders were thrown. But that didn’t stop the professional jockey. He remounted and easily won the race.

When he got back to the stable, he found the horse owner fuming with rage. The jockey really didn’t understand the owner’s behavior, because he won the race. So the jockey asked, “What’s the matter with you? I won the race, didn’t I?”

The red-faced owner nodded, “Oh yes, you won the race. But you won it on the wrong horse!”

The determination of the jockey is admirable despite the fact that he made that critical mistake.

In leadership, you will be challenged regularly with your attitude. It comes with the territory. Sometimes the attitude challenges that we face are the result of our own poor choices. At other times, our attitude is challenged by outside forces that we have no control over.

In the book, Winning The War in Your Mind, Craig Groescel writes:

“Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. What we think shapes who we are.”

And this is precisely why our attitudes matter. Our thoughts and attitudes are moving us in a certain direction. The question is: Are you headed in the right direction?

Poor attitude choices can be a detriment to your leadership. Your attitude is basically the thermostat by which your team members adjust. Click To TweetWhen you are upbeat and positive, that tends to be the attitude that others embrace. The same holds true if it’s negative. So, as a leader, what posture should you take with your attitude? Here are a few simple approaches worth consideration.

Guard your thoughts

This first piece of advice is all about your discipline as a leader. It’s a profoundly simple piece of advice. And it’s a profoundly difficult discipline to master. But much is riding on the outcome.

I would like for you to think of guarding your thoughts not from a defensive posture, which we’ve all been accustomed to, but from a proactive posture.

When it comes to guarding our thoughts, what does a proactive posture look like? Here are a few examples:

Practice gratitude and random acts of kindness
Prayer or meditation
Volunteer/ serve others
Exercise/walks

When your thoughts and actions are others-centered and when you are intentional about what you choose to watch and listen to, then you are in a proactive way guarding your thoughts. You have less time to be self-absorbed and more time to focus on others.

Guard your company

We don’t always control what happens to us, but we do control how we will respond. This is crucial to understand.

When you are proactive about guarding your mind in the ways that I have already outlined, the next thing you need to do is guard your company. Here’s a truth you must embrace: Not everyone belongs in your circle.

As a leader, you will have many interactions with people within your organization and without. These are generally tied to your specific duties as a leader.

But when it comes to your inner circle- the people closest to you by choice- you must guard your company. To be clear, I am not advocating being a snob. I am, however, saying that in order to protect and guard your attitude, you can’t allow others with poor attitudes in your inner circle who could potentially drag you down. Your winning attitude is too valuable and must be protected.

Final Thoughts

Possessing a winning attitude takes work, discipline, and determination. It is incumbent upon you to be proactive and wise in your choices. A winning attitude is attainable but you must guard your thoughts and guard your company in order to maintain it.

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Pushing Through Your Frustrations

Posted June 21, 2023June 21, 2023
by admin

Needing to have things perfect is the surest way to immobilize yourself with frustration. – Wayne Dyer

I read a story once about a famous composer who had a rebellious son who would stay out late at night and come home after his father and mother had gone to bed. Before going to his room, he would stop by his father’s piano and slowly and loudly play a simple scale, all but the last note.

Then, leaving the scale uncompleted, he would retire to his room. Meanwhile, the father, hearing the scale minus the final note, would writhe in bed, his mind unable to relax because the scale was unresolved. Finally, in consternation, he would stumble down the stairs and hit the previously unstruck note. Only then, would he be able to return to his bed and go to sleep.

I have to confess that I find the story humorous. If only for a moment I channel my inner prankster, I could find myself doing such a thing.

Here’s what I know, we all have frustrations that we deal with on a regular basis. We all have pet peeves that irritate us.

A story in Forbes magazine revealed the Top 10 pet peeves in the office. They were: gossip and office politics, people taking others’ lunch, inconsiderate co-workers, constant interruptions, loud and annoying ringtones, poorly organized meetings, overcrowded and noisy office spaces, smelly food in the office, inadequate temperature control, and finally, forced birthday celebrations.

Which one(s) do you most identify with?

It’s important to be self-aware and be in touch with your frustrations and how they impact your leadership. Owning what frustrates you is an important first step, but not allowing those frustrations to boil over is equally as important. So here are a few tips for you as a leader to push through your frustrations.

Be at peace with your frustrations

Owning the frustrations is a good first step and can help you be at peace with it. This doesn’t mean that this frustration doesn’t need to be addressed or resolved, but you have to give yourself permission to be frustrated. From there, you can begin seeking solutions to what frustrates you – determine if it can be changed and if not, how your attitude towards it needs to change. But first and foremost, own it and be at peace with what frustrates you.

Own your frustrations

Pushing through your frustrations means that you own it. It means that you do not allow what frustrates you to control you or dictate your attitude or your performance. It means that you take control of the negative emotions that would otherwise derail you. Owning it simply means that you are naming or identifying what is frustrating you and you are committed to pushing through it with a good attitude.

Know what you can and cannot control

Nothing with frustrate you more than trying to push through and change something that frustrates you that you have no control over. For example, if a co-worker has a quirky personality that rubs you the wrong way, chances are you are not going to be able to do much about that. People are wired the way they are wired whether you like it or not. And that truth cuts both ways.

If however, your pet peeve falls into your purview as the leader in your organization and said the co-worker is constantly late for work – which is one of your pet peeves, then yes, you can do something about it.

Nothing will frustrate you more than trying to control what you can’t. Effectively pushing through your frustrations is all about working from this knowledge.

Next Steps: As you reflect on my article this week, consider the following:

What would you identify as your top pet peeve as it relates to you in your workplace?
. What is one thing that you can do today that would help you “own it” – attitude change, etc.?
Is this pet peeve an internal change you are going to have to deal with it, or is it something that you can directly do something about?

Remember – You can be at peace with your frustrations and you do not have to allow them to control you. Is your attitude toward your frustration helping or hurting?

For more information on my coaching services, email me at: [email protected]

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Lifting the Lid Off Your Limitations

Posted June 5, 2023June 8, 2023
by admin

Life has no limitations, except the ones you make. – Les Brown

During his first year of graduate study at the University of California, at Berkeley, George B. Dantzig (later known as the father of linear programming) arrived late for a statistic class. He saw two problems on the blackboard. Assuming they were homework, he copied them and a few days later turned in his solutions.

One Sunday morning about six weeks afterward, the professor appeared at Dantzig’s door, waving a manuscript. It turned out that the professor had merely written two examples of unsolvable problems on the blackboard. The work was Dantzig’s manuscript for publication.

The story is a great example of what we can achieve when we set our minds to something – but beyond that, what can happen when the label of “unsolvable” is removed from the conversation?

As much as I’m fascinated by the story and what Dantzig did, it also makes me wonder how many other classmates attempted to solve the problem and how many didn’t even make the effort due to the problems being labeled unsolvable.

Think for a moment about your own experiences. Can you think of a time when you attempted to do something but quit somewhere in the process because someone came along and convinced you that it couldn’t be done?

Now think for a moment about how that situation could have turned for you had you not listened to the voices of those imposing those limitations on you.

Amelia Earhart said, “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” The great divide between stepping up and doing, and just wishing you could is found by embracing the courage to act. It’s all about lifting the lid off of your limitations. Click To Tweet

Lifting the lid off your limitations begins with identifying them. Here are two of the most common limitations lids you will face as a leader. Which one is holding you back?

The limitations of your own creation

The single greatest lid on your limitations is the ones you create in your own mind. When your fears and reservations play like reels on a loop in your own mind and it’s all that you entertain, it will hold you down at every turn. If you don’t win this battle, you will never lift the lid off your limitations and reach your full potential.

The limitations of others that you believe

Any person committed to growing and reaching their full potential will eventually hear the voices of those who say that what you are attempting to do can’t be done. They will try to convince you that your dream is too big or your dream is unattainable. At this point, at this crossroads, you have a choice to make. And the choice will either move you close to the direction of your dreams and goals or will hold you back.

Final Thoughts

Mark Twain advised, “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” And this is the decision you must make. Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions, embrace a positive mindset, and never give up on your dreams.

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The Power of Resistance in Leadership

Posted May 8, 2022May 11, 2022
by admin

Only a mediocre person is always at his best.- W. Somerset Maugham

I came across an interesting story not long ago about how our muscles grow and develop. According to medical research, “muscle size increases when a person continually challenges the muscles to deal with higher levels of resistance or weight. This process is known as hypertrophy. Muscle hypertrophy occurs when fibers sustain damage or injury. The body repairs damaged fibers by fusing them, which increases the mass and size of the muscles.”

Did you catch that? Muscles build when there is resistance. The process actually includes the tearing of muscle fibers. It sounds like a painful process but it is necessary for the bigger picture; gaining muscle strength and growth.

When it comes to our personal growth and our growth as leaders, we tend to stay away from things (or people) that cause us pain. And often, the very thing that will move us in the direction of more growth and development, is the very thing we try to avoid. Why? Because it’s painful or because we are unwilling to pay the price for that growth. It’s the ultimate catch-22.

In The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, here’s how John Maxwell defines the Law of the Rubber Band, “Growth stops when you lose the tension between where you are and where you could be.” There are many uses for a rubber band, but it’s of no use or value until it’s stretched.

As a leader, how willing and open are you to being stretched for the sake of growth? What sacrifices are you willing to make to become a better leader tomorrow? Unless you are stretched you will never reach your full leadership potential.

Your physical muscles grow as they are challenged to deal with higher levels of resistance. What does that look like in leadership? Let’s consider these two ways.

You grow in your leadership as you resist your comfort zones

When you begin moving out of your comfort zones – those familiar places where you routinely operate with a great degree of predictability, then you will begin to feel resistance. It’s akin to the feeling you had when the training wheels came off when learning how to ride a bike, or when learning to swim and you took the plunge into the deep end of the pool. All of your training and learning up to that point have prepared you for the next step. In order to grow, you must be willing to move in the direction of the things you’ve resisted the most up to this point. Click To Tweet

In the book Originals – How Non-Conformists Move the World, Adam Grant quotes John Kotter who sheds additional light here stating, “Without a sense of urgency, people…won’t make sacrifices. Instead, they cling to the status quo and resist.” Perhaps in your leadership, this is where you find yourself – with no sense of urgency. Here’s what you need to know – without embracing resistance that will develop you as a leader, you will stay right where you are. Without a sense of urgency, you will be at the same place a year from now as you find yourself today. Click To TweetYour personal growth and development will only happen when you are willing and prepared to make the sacrifices to get there.

You grow in your leadership when you embrace the tension of growth

Developing your leadership mettle happens when you embrace the tensions of growth. I’m not talking about the tension that arises due to strained relationships or conflict in the office. The tension that I am referring to is the tension that’s created when you recognize that your comfort zone is no longer serving you well and it’s time to get out of it. It’s the tension that takes place when you move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset and from a negative attitude to a positive attitude. It’s the tension that takes place as John Maxwell says when you are willing to give up security for significance and addition for multiplication.

Ultimately, by embracing the tension of growth you will develop a new set of leadership muscles and fortitude you didn’t have before.

Simon Sinek remarked, “Working hard for something we don’t care about is called stress. Working hard for something we love is called passion.” And passion is the ultimate difference-maker when it comes to how you lead. It emboldens you with confidence and confidence is contagious.

Final Thoughts

Your personal growth and development and that of your leadership occur when you embrace the tension and put resistance to work. As you embrace the tension, you will grow as a leader. This is how you put resistance to good work.

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Why Every Leader Must Value Failure

Posted April 18, 2022
by admin

When achievers fail, they see it as a momentary event, not a lifelong epidemic. – John Maxwell

In 2014’s Oscar-winning film Birdman, Michael Keaton plays a washed-out actor trying to start his life again after a series of failed roles. But his efforts are haunted by the voice of the Birdman, the superhero role that had made him famous in his youth. The voice in his head tells him a story about his life- a story about failure and missed chances.

It taunts him with memories of what he was and what he could have been, but now isn’t. The continuing question running through the film is simple: Will he listen to that voice of a failure, or will he dare to believe that he can flourish again?

The story of the movie is one that plays out in the mind and imaginations of many leaders today.

You may relate to the character played by Michael Keaton and wonder if you have squandered too many opportunities in the past and doubt if or if you will ever flourish again.

In order to answer those lingering doubts and questions you may have, I believe it all hinges on your reaction to and outlook on failure. In other words, do you see the value in failure? Do you see the growth opportunities that come to you only because you did fail that otherwise, you may have missed out on? I want to explore two specific ways why valuing failure is important to you as a leader.

Value failure for what you learn

Tom Watson, Sr. is the man who founded IBM. Once, many years ago, he had a top junior executive who had spent $12 million of the company’s money on a venture that failed.

The executive put his resignation on Watson’s desk and said, “I’m sure you want my resignation.” Watson roared back, “No, I don’t want your resignation. I’ve just spent $12 million educating you. It’s about time you get to work.”

It’s been said that experience is a great teacher. So is failure. But most of us don’t like experiencing failures. I get it. But when you see failure as part of the stepping stones towards success your outlook will change. Failures and setbacks are part of your journey so the question becomes what will you learn when they happen.

One of the most valuable things you learn from your failures and mistakes is what you learn about yourself. When you know your strengths and weaknesses it helps you move forward in a smarter and more productive manner.

John Wooden said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts,” and to that end, never despise learning and know that as long as you have a pulse, you have an opportunity to grow and learn.

Value failure for your personal growth

In his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John Maxwell states, “The greatest limitations people experience on their lives are usually the ones they impose upon themselves.” That statement is packed with so much truth and wisdom.

Let me ask you today – what limitations have you placed on your own personal growth and development that as a result is holding you back? What lies have you bought into that make you feel inferior?

Every leader I know has made mistakes and has experienced failure at some point in time. I know that I have made my fair share of mistakes and know what failure feels like. But here’s the truth you need to be reminded of: you experience failures – you are not a failure. You make mistakes – you are not a mistake.

The attitude you embrace and the mindset you establish fundamentally determine how failure will shape your leadership. When you welcome failure as your teacher it will help you grow and get better. But when you turn inward and see yourself as a failure then it will hold you back and defeat you.

Final Thoughts

Failure and learning go hand in hand. As leaders, it comes with the territory and is part of the journey. While we don’t intentionally or purposefully set out to fail we do know that it’s all a part of our humanity that we embrace. Especially as leaders. Welcome it. Learn from it. Grow from it.

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Attitude Checkup: Three Questions You Need To Answer Now

Posted January 24, 2022
by admin

Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. – Lou Holtz

I read a story about a girl named Naaz. One day, she looked in the mirror and found that she had only three strands of hair left on her head!

She said to herself, “I think I will braid my hair today!” So she did and went out and had a great fun-filled day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror, and found just two hair on her head!

She thought to herself, “Well, I think today I will part my hair down the middle”. So she did and had a wonderful day.

The next day, she woke up and noticed that she had only one hair left. She said, “Well, today I will put my hair in a ponytail.” So she did and had a jolly good day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had no hair on her head. “Hurray!” She exclaimed and said, “I don’t have to fix my hair today.” And went with a big smile on her face.

The moral of the story? – Be happy with what you have. Each one of us is fighting some battle. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.

I like the story about Naaz. It’s a simple reminder of something that at times can be lost on us – the importance of choosing the right attitude.

As a leader, your attitude is extremely important. It needs to be. Think of your attitude as the thermostat by which all other attitudes are set. Would you consider that a good thing or bad?

In Business News Daily, Jennifer Post writes, “Psychologists generally agree that our brains are hardwired to put more of our focus and energy on bad news. Maybe it’s because we are surrounded by it, now more than ever in the age of instant news and videos of tragedies being uploaded seconds after they happen.” Sound familiar? This is why your attitude matters.

So let’s take a few moments and have an attitude check-up. Here are three questions worth asking yourself right now.

What are you thankful for?

When you are intentional about what you are thankful for, it will change your perspective and attitude. It’s all too easy to dwell on negative things and complain about what we don’t have or don’t like. When your focus is on what you are thankful for it can be a game-changer.

Even when Naaz had lost all of her hair, she had something to be thankful for. Chances are, you do too.

Question #1 is the mindset question. Your mindset and attitude are uniquely connected. Guard them both.

What are you dreaming about?

When you have a dream in your heart that inspires you it will have a positive effect on you. You cannot move in the direction of your dreams and ultimately achieve them if you harbor a negative attitude. Click To Tweet A dream bigger than yourself will require an equally positive attitude to get you there.

What dream do you have right now that requires the best attitude from you to achieve it? Never allow a negative attitude to take away your dream.

Question #2 is the passion question. How far you go with your dream is in large part determined by your attitude. Guard them both.

How are you serving others?

When your focus is on serving others and giving back you will find it hard to entertain a negative attitude. When you take the focus off of yourself and put it on others it will change your perspective. As a leader, you have to remember that it’s not about you. When you learn that, it changes everything.

In what ways can you serve others in your organization or community? Your attitude will shift for the better when you learn the secret of selfless leadership.

Question #3 is the purpose question. When you know and understand your purpose your attitude will naturally follow.

Final Thoughts

When you align your attitude with your mindset, your passion, and your purpose you will open a whole new realm in your leadership. How’s your checkup looking?

Click here to listen to The Cardinal Point Leadership Podcast

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What the Wright’s Teach Us About Leadership

Posted June 14, 2021
by admin

You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet – Theodore Hesburgh

In A Savior for all Seasons, William Barker shares a story of a bishop from the East Coast who paid a visit to a small, midwestern religious college around the beginning of the twentieth century. He stayed at the home of the college president, who also served as the college’s professor of physics and chemistry.

After dinner, the bishop mentioned that he thought just about everything in nature had been discovered and that all inventions had been conceived.

The college president politely disagreed and said he felt there would be many more discoveries. When the bishop challenged the president to name just one such invention, the president replied he was certain that within fifty years, men would fly.

“Nonsense!” replied the bishop. “Only angels are intended to fly.”

The bishop’s name was Milton. Milton Wright. And he had two boys at home- Orville and Wilbur- who would prove to have greater vision than their father.

Emerson said, “People only see what they are prepared to see.” And this will always be one of your challenges in leadership. The progress you make as a leader is connected to your ability to overcome negative influences and voices around you and from within. Here are a few lessons from the Wright’s that can guide you on your leadership journey.

You will never move beyond the limitations you create in your mind

As long as Milton Wright had the mindset that all inventions and creations had been made, his potential was limited to that. He was not prepared to see beyond it. And as such, his ability to see into the future was restricted.

Be careful in your leadership not to make steel traps in your mindset that will prevent you from seeing all of the unlimited possibilities before you. As Thomas Edison said, “Hell there are no rules here, we are trying to accomplish something.” Don’t allow a negative mindset to get in the way of progress.

If you want to fly, you will have to leave some people behind

The restrictive thinking of Milton Wright didn’t prevent his sons from doing what he only thought angels should do. They made history despite him. And this is the mindset of all successful leaders. It’s a law of leadership that you must learn. Not everyone will or should take the journey with you. It Click To Tweet

Andy Stanley said, “Vision is a mental picture of what could be, fueled by a passion that it should be.” And this is the driving force behind leaders of accomplishment. Success will come to you on your terms when you spread your wings, apply yourself, and possess a willingness to leave some people behind who don’t share your dreams and vision for a brighter future.

The future belongs to those who dare to dream

Things always seem impossible until someone does it. I would like to think that Milton Wright looked back on what he said on that trip and had a change of heart after what his sons accomplished.

Orville Wright said, “If birds can glide for long periods of time, then…why can’t I?”. And that is precisely the mindset that caused him and his brother to make aviation history. And history is full of similar stories of individuals who dared to ask the questions, who dared to take the risks, and who dared to dream of a better tomorrow and found a way to make it happen.

Final Thoughts

If there’s ever been a time for strong leaders who have a dream and vision to rise it’s now. Be willing to dream and see what others don’t. Be willing to leave the skeptics behind you, and dare to dream and act for a better tomorrow.

Are you ready to fly?

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How Change Impacts Your Leadership (Part One)

Posted May 9, 2021May 12, 2021
by admin

Change before you have to. – Jack Welch

How well do you embrace change? Is it in your nature to be an early adapter to change or are you one of the last to get on the change wagon?

It’s been said that the only constant in life is change. And while that much is true, some find it more difficult to embrace than others. To be sure, not all change is bad, and not every change is worth embracing. Somewhere in between is the tension that is real for many.

One of the most infamous changes in business history occurred back in 1985. Pundits referred to it as the “marketing blunder of the century”, and the backlash was more like a customer rebellion.

The formula for Coke had not been tampered with for 99-years. But in 1985, they changed it, and “new Coke” was released. Coke customers were not impressed. The new formula was a bust. Customers stock-piled the original Coke in their basements, the customer service hotline which normally received 400 calls a day was now receiving more than 1,500. The message Coke customers delivered was simple – the old formula has worked for

Coke Ad from 1985.
Credit: Google Images

99 years, why change it?

It took just 79 days for Coke to reverse their “marketing blunder” and revert to their original formula. It was a painful lesson at the time for Coke, and one from which every leader today can learn from.

Leading at the speed of change can be challenging. How you manage it, lead it, and how you compel others to change is important. But first and foremost, it’s an inside job. If you are not willing to change, then you may be the obstacle to progress your organization needs.

In this two-part series, I will explore six obstacles to change that hold leaders back. In this post, let’s take a look at the first three.

Comfort zones

One of the chief reasons why we resist change as individuals and in our organizational structures is that we get settled in comfort zones. It’s an autopilot mindset that we are way too comfortable with. It’s the proverbial ‘new Coke’ formula mindset – it’s been the same and has worked for 99-years, why change it?

In our comfort zones, we tend to protect the status quo and become guardians of the past. If you are a leader stuck in your comfort zone you are a leader who needs to embrace change.

Habits

Most of us are creatures of habit. And just like our comfort zones, we tend to stick close to the familiar. At times, embracing change may require relinquishing old habits for the sake of growth. But old habits can be blindspots. So long as you don’t see how your habits stand in the way of progress we will never be compelled to change.

Your leadership in many ways is an extension of the habits you’ve developed over time. Ask yourself if those habits that served you well in years gone by are still useful today? What habits need to change for the sake of change?

Attitude

Oftentimes, it’s not change itself that’s problematic, it’s our attitude towards change that’s the issue. The reason in part, I believe, is that we go straight to negative thoughts about change. We think it’s going to be something bad. We fear the unknown so we hunker down determined to preserve the way things are. We like the formula just the way it is.

If you want to be a change agent within your organization, you have to model the attitude you hope to see in others. Change is challenging enough as it is without your negative attitude to deal with.

Final Thoughts

In Part 2, I will close out How Change Impacts Your Leadership. Until then, I challenge you to look at areas of your leadership where you tend to resist change and how different things would look if you didn’t.

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Developing Leadership Grit (Part 4) Tenacity or Tension

Posted April 26, 2021April 26, 2021
by admin

Grit – noun

Firmness of character; indomitable spirit; pluck

Dictionary.com

Tenacious people don’t rely on luck, fate, or destiny for their success. And when conditions become difficult, they keep working. – John Maxwell

Pablo Casals was considered the greatest cellist to ever live. When he was 95 years old he was asked why he continued to practice 6 hours a day. He replied, “Because I think I’m making progress.”

Be it an accomplished cellist like Casals or any other person who mastered his or her craft, it requires a higher standard of grit to go there.

Baseball great Ted Williams was known as a “natural hitter”. Once when he was asked about this natural ability, he responded, “There is no such thing as a natural-born hitter. I became a good hitter because I paid the price of constant practice, constant practice.” And herein lies the difference between those excel in their craft and those who remain stagnant and get left behind. It’s tenacity. It’s grit.

One way this grit can be explained comes from the ten thousand hour rule from Malcolm Gladwell. He spelled it out in his book Outliers. The jest of the rule is this: it takes ten thousand hours of intense practice to achieve mastery of complex skills and materials.

While some have attempted to debunk Gladwell’s ten thousand hour rule, the underlying application is that the secret to success in any endeavor is an unparalleled degree of tenacity to achieve it. Grit is the common denominator.

In this fourth and final installment of developing leadership grit, allow me to recap the leadership grit principles presented thus far:

Leadership Grit Principle # 1 – Give up or Grow – Your leadership will have moments of testing. And ultimately it will be your indomitable spirit and grit that will get you through the tests of leadership that you will face.

Leadership Grit Principle # 2 – Resilience or Retreat – Through grit, we develop and grow as leaders. When we join forces with others, we share the load. Your journey is not meant to be traveled alone.

Leadership Grit Principle # 3 – Ingenuity or Insignificance – Grit survives and thrives with ingenuity. We must play the long game and be open to change and new ways of doing things.

And now, the final principle in this series.

Leadership Grit Principe # 4 – Tenacity or Tension

In the end, you will either set your course as a leader with tenacity or you will live in the tension of unrealized potential.

Thomas Edison said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” And this is often the source of tension and frustration with many leaders. They start strong but they don’t finish. The task is left undone. The dream never materializes. And this happened not because they lacked intelligence, talent, or necessary skills. It happened because they lacked grit.

Developing grit goes hand in hand with finding your passion. People who are passionate about their work and life’s calling tend to be grittier. They know the cost and are more willing to pay the price for their success. Let’s face it – it’s hard to be tenacious about things we don’t care about.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, grit is the difference-maker between those who thrive and those who get by. Grit will take you further than intelligence alone. Grit is a game-changing secret weapon that will take your leadership to a new level.

It’s time to get gritty.

Resource:

To learn more about the power of grit, I would encourage you to order and read this book by Angela Duckworth.

Click here to order your copy on Amazon

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