Practical Leadership – Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Help Wanted: Good Followers

Posted August 11, 2019
by admin

You have the blood of a great warrior. To lead, you must also learn to follow. – E.Y. Laster, Of Captivity & Kings

I once read the story of a young woman who wanted to go to college, but her heart sank when she read the question on the application that asked, “Are you a leader?” Being both honest and conscientious, she wrote, “No,” and returned the application, expecting the worst. To her surprise, she received this letter from the college: “Dear Applicant: A study of the application forms reveals that this year our college will have 1,452 new leaders. We are accepting you because we feel it is imperative that they have at least one follower.”

That story serves as a good reminder that while the calling and desire for leadership are as great as ever, there is also a need for good followers.

A misconception that I have observed over the years is that the two – leaders and followers have mutually exclusive roles. Either you are a leader or you are a follower. I don’t believe this to be true.

We tend to assign titles of a follower or a leader along hierarchical lines. The higher you are in the organizational structure the more one might look upon you as a leader. If you are lower on the ladder you may be labeled as a follower.

Here’s the truth of the matter: The person labeled or looked upon as the follower may be more of a leader than the one with the title. It’s a common misconception. In some situations, the follower can wield more influence as a follower than the leader with the title or higher position. At the end of the day, the one with the influence is the leader.

Organizations are successful because of the collaborative efforts of good leaders and good followers who set aside their egos, pecking orders, and turf wars to create what they couldn’t do by themselves.Organizations are successful because of the collaborative efforts of good leaders and good followers who set aside their egos, pecking orders, and turf wars to create what they couldn’t do by themselves. Click To Tweet

So what are some characteristics of good followers? Here are five worth considering.

A good follower puts the mission first

A good follower is all about advancing the mission of the organization. His focus is on how to achieve common goals and move the team forward. Their work ethic is unparalleled. Never take them for granted.

Good followers make good leaders because they are selfless. They understand that it’s not about them.

A good follower is highly loyal

Loyalty runs through the veins of good followers. They tend to be some of the most reliable and faithful people in your organization. It’s their work ethic and front-line presence that makes all the difference.

Good followers make good leaders because they know that without a culture built upon loyalty nothing else matters.

A good follower is service-minded

Good followers are valuable because they are also the ones who will go above and beyond the call of duty to serve their organization and people. These good followers are assets to your organization because they don’t wait around to be told something needs to be done – they do it.

Good followers make good leaders because they lead by example.

A good follower is an ideal team player

Ultimately, good followers are consummate team players. They are not driven by selfish ambitions. They fully embrace their role and desire to see others succeed. They don’t worry about who gets the credit. They know that every win moves the team forward.

Good followers make good leaders because they understand the power of teamwork.

Leaders and followers need each other. They need to embrace their interdependence because it’s how organizations work best. Leaders and followers need each other. They need to embrace their interdependence because it’s how organizations work best. Click To Tweet

If you are a follower in your organization you need to wholeheartedly embrace that role. You also need to own the dynamic leadership qualities you have that contribute to its success. We need good followers now more than ever.

Please follow and like us:

Rhythm Busters: The Four You Need To Tackle Today

Posted October 21, 2018October 21, 2018
by admin

The way is long if one follows precepts, but short if one follows patterns. – Seneca

Ask any artist, poet, or musician and they will talk to you of the importance of rhythm. The same goes for athletes. Getting into and establishing a rhythm is essential to success.

Unknowingly, however, many people are sabotaging their own success in leadership or in their organizations due to common rhythm busters. These are actions or behaviors that if left unchecked can disrupt the rhythm you need to sustain your momentum.

Think for a moment about the patterns and practices in your organization that work. The ones that create momentum and drive success. List them. Now picture what your organization would look like without them. What if that list was removed from your playbook, not by outside forces, but by self-inflicted wounds?

There are plenty of rhythm busters that can sabotage your momentum and hold you back. These four are ones you need to identify and tackle today. Click To Tweet

Turf wars

Nothing will kill the momentum of your organization any faster than territorial turf wars. It fosters distrust within your team and undermines your goals and mission.

Not understanding the destructive force of turf wars will render a leader ineffective in moving his or her organization forward. Allowed to continue, it won’t matter. The organization will crumble under the weight of its own arrogance.

Patrick Lencioni, in his acclaimed book, Silos, Politics and Turf Wars, writes, “There is perhaps no greater cause of exasperation-not to mention turnover-than employees having to fight with people in their own organization. Understandably and inevitably, this bleeds over into their personal lives, affecting family and friends in profound ways”.

Turf wars will disrupt the rhythm of your leadership and organizational life. It’s time to put a stop to it. Click To Tweet

Chasing the urgent, forsaking the important

Commonly referred to as “the tyranny of the urgent”, this behavior will always disrupt the rhythm of your organization. Study the patterns of most any successful organization or leader and you will see this clear distinction – knowing what is urgent and what is important.

The urgent bends toward pesky interruptions, phone calls, text messages, “need this right away” distractions that take team members away from the priorities that matter to tend to things that can wait. Unless you understand the difference between the urgent and the important you will always fight this battle with little success. Don’t let the urgent disrupt the rhythm of important.

Complacent attitudes

One of the dangers of a well-oiled machine is the belief that it runs by itself. If not careful, members on your team can settle into an attitude of believing that success is automatic if they keep doing the same things over time. While there is much to be said for regular patterns that work, it’s never a good idea to settle into a complacent mindset and take success for granted.

Leaders must always be on guard against anything that would disrupt organizational rhythms. Be it poor attitudes, complacent mindsets, or dated thinking Click To Tweet. As Pat Riley said, “When a great team loses through complacency, it will constantly search for a new and more intricate explanation to explain away defeat”. Don’t allow complacent attitudes to disrupt your rhythm.

Mistaking movement for progress

Mistaking movement for progress is the byproduct of complacent attitudes. This mindset lulls your people into believing that as long as the team is moving then all is well. But not all movement is progress. And smart leaders will recognize this.

As a leader, you must have keen eyes to see whether you are moving in the direction of your goals and vision. You must have ears to the ground to filter thru the noise of those, who despite their best intentions, may be giving bad advice.

Too much is at stake for you as a leader and for the direction of your organization to allow your rhythm to be derailed. Rhythm busters are a constant threat. You must be diligent and stop them before they stop you.

Please follow and like us:

Life, Work, and Discovering Your ‘Why’: Finding Balance in an Unstable World

Posted January 21, 2016
by admin

lifework

In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. – Abraham Lincoln

Architect Frank Lloyd Wright once told of an incident that may have seemed insignificant at the time, but had a profound influence on the rest of his life. The winter he was 9, he went walking across a snow-covered field with his reserved, no-nonsense uncle. As the two of them reached the far end of the field, his uncle stopped him. He pointed out his own tracks in the snow, straight and true as an arrow’s flight, and then young Frank’s tracks meandering all over the field.

“Notice how your tracks wander aimlessly from the fence to the cattle to the woods and back again,” his uncle said. “And see how my tracks aim directly to my goal. There is an important lesson in that.”

Years later the world-famous architect liked to tell how this experience had greatly contributed to his philosophy in life. “I determined right then,” he’d say with a twinkle in his eye, “not to miss most things in life, as my uncle had.”

Many people often miss the most important things in life because they fail at this essential skill as a leader- work/life balance. It’s a struggle for many leaders. Could it be yours?

In research conducted by EY (http://bit.ly/1QjTJZ8) it was reported that, “33% of full-time employees globally say it has gotten more difficult to manage work/family in the last five years. The most common reasons cited 49% “my salary has not increased much, but my expenses have” and 48% “my responsibilities at work have increased.” Sound familiar?

Having a good work/life balance is essential to your success. As a leader you are not immune from the challenge. In fact, it may be more problematic for you. So what is the solution? Here are a few tips to help you recapture some of that much needed balance.

Begin with your priorities

Almost every article I read on work/life balance begins with work. It goes without saying that work is important. But how would things be different for you if you looked at it from the viewpoint of a life/work balance? If the priorities of your life are not in order then how can work? Get life’s priorities in order first then you can take care of the rest.

Discover your ‘why’

I’m a firm believer that you should do what you love and love what you do. When you do, it’s not work but your passion. Understanding your ‘why’ is essential to you as a leader. John Maxwell framed it this way, “People who know their why can keep their heads while everything around them is in turmoil. And that draws others to them.” Life and work makes sense when you know why you are here.

Get flexible with schedules

Fortunately, many companies are seeing the benefit of flexible work schedules which allows for greater productivity, greater teamwork, and happier employees, etc. (http://huff.to/1SxzdV1). Creating a work/life balance does not have to be an either/or proposition where one is good and the other is not. Smart leaders can create a culture where both can thrive.

Define your borders

As a leader many things compete for your time and attention. If not careful you can get caught up in solving problems that are not yours to solve, involved in details that easily can be handled by someone else, and otherwise distracted from having the work/life balance you desire. This is an area in which you will need to stand firm. Define your borders and stick to it.

Get real about relationships

People are your greatest appreciable asset. Building strong relationships is the key to your growth as a leader and to the success of your organization. But surrounding yourself with the right people is more important than surrounding yourself with a lot of people. So here are some questions you need to answer: Are those closest to you adding value or subtracting? Do those closest to you share your vision and values and see the big picture or are they in it for themselves? Relationships are key to your work/life balance. If you are surrounded by the wrong people then it’s time to prune.

Lighten up

Ella Wheeler said, “Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone”. Creating a good work/life balance can be just one laugh away. It’s important to take your work seriously, but not yourself. Laugh. Lighten up. Learn to take things in stride. Don’t be wound up so tight that you can’t enjoy a light moment now and then.

Your work/life balance begins with these simple steps. Are you ready for some balance in your life?

Please follow and like us: