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10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership #8

Welcome to the eighth installment of the 10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership. In this weekly, series I cover topics that tend to be overlooked, forgotten, or completely misunderstood. By sharing with you, it is my hope and belief that I help in eradicating many of the misconceptions that come with leadership.

#8 Leadership Is About Getting Involved

As I mentioned in the last blog post and video, those you lead want to know you are there. They want to know you are present and approachable. I also mentioned that while you are out there, out on the frontlines you must be doing something more than taking up space, breathing the oxygen of others, or out there to confirm your status as figurehead.

LEADERS ARE NOT FIGUREHEADS. A true Leader would never dream about being a “figurehead”. Genuine & Authentic Leaders are way beyond all that. Figureheads have never been nor will they ever be leaders by any sense of the word.

Leaders rise above being FIGUREHEADS by getting involved. Figureheads that stand around taking up space and using up all the oxygen are for all intents and purposes: USELESS!

Leaders never have to ask what to do. Leaders step in and say, “here, let me help.” Figureheads haven’t a clue and for that reason, when it comes time to be a leader a figurehead sits there wondering what the heck is going on and hopes that someone else, someone at a lower paygrade will know what to do.

Think I am kidding?

You know very damn well I am not kidding.

Leaders that get involved do so not out of a sense of “looking the part” or “playing the role”. Leaders that get involved do so because of sense of obligation not only to themselves but to the people they lead. The obligation to those they lead comes from leaders reminding themselves where they come from. They Remind themselves that they started off out in the trenches, out on the frontlines. They remember that it was difficult, hard, and lonely when they were starting off.

Again, that sense of obligation comes from experiencing life working for bad managers as well as great managers. Working in organizations that cared only about the preservation of those at the top and vowing that if they were ever in a position to do something about it, they would make change happen for the better. Now current and future leaders your opportunity to make good on that vow is here.

Leaders that get involved, especially when they are so high up the organizational tree know they do not have to get involved but know that is why they have to get involved. Leaders on the lower levels of the organization, this is the time to start. It is the time to getting involved now as it will make it easier to continue to get involved as you move up the ranks.

The opposite is true for those that do not get involved and expect followers (aka figureheads). They get exactly what they deserve and that is nothing. They give nothing so they get nothing. But there is a very sad component to all this. For those that give nothing and get nothing for some odd reason expect something. They do not get it and they never will.

So, how does one get involved? Simple, YOU get back into the trenches. You dive in and get in there. Never be invited into the trenches. Never be afraid to get back into the trenches.

Never be afraid to get involved. How does one get involved? Remember, it is not about asking how to get involved. You jump in and start doing. If you have to ask, are you sure you are a leader better yet, are you certain you are ready to lead?

Yet, if you are still uncertain on what to do, well there is always the basics. Get involved by starting with the basics. I promise you there is always a need for someone to do the basics: Chop Wood – Carry Water – Dig Foxholes – Fill Sandbags.

Of course, these are metaphorical substitutes for the basics in your chosen field or vocation. Each vocation or career field has its own set of unique basics. Basics can and should be mastered and kept honed and sharpened constantly and consistently.

Take the following with you as you get ready to get out there: Getting involved should never seem like much to you but to your followers it means everything.

Until Next Week, I Thank you.
David Guerra, MBA

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blog Leadership Leadership Principles

10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership #7

Welcome to the seventh installment of the 10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership. In this weekly, series I cover topics that tend to be overlooked, forgotten, or completely misunderstood. By sharing with you, it is my hope and belief that I help in eradicating many of the misconceptions that come with leadership.

LEADERSHIP INVOLVES GETTING OUT THERE

In case no one ever told you or no one before you ever knew, trust me when I say: No Leader ever became a GREAT LEADER by sitting behind a desk.

Also, no Great Leader ever became great by dictating from behind their desk in the comfort of their office.
Well, I am lying, a bit. In the case of Napoleon Bonaparte, General George Patton, and other such Great Leaders of that caliber did become great by leading from behind their desk and in the comfort of their office. Their desk happened to be atop a horse, a tank, in a foxhole and their office was the battlefield, with a business address that’s on a street called, “THE FRONT LINES”. These leaders were fortunate enough to be out there where the bullets were flying. They were the ones that were leading others not only into battle but onto victory and ultimately into the history books.

While the goal of any leader is not to make history the goal is to make more leaders. The primary goal of any leader is to make more leaders, make better leaders. Making more leaders is ONLY done not by dictating but by leading by example.

How does one make leaders by leading by example? What is the example to lead by? The example is simple: Get out there and be visible. Be highly visible. Get into the trenches, the foxholes, troop the line and everything else that comes with getting out there and being visible.

However, standing around, taking up space and breathing everyone else’s oxygen is NOT what getting out there and being visible is all about. It is about ensuring the people not only see you out there but know that you are out there with them and among them. Be visible constantly, consistently and most of all, be approachable.

Get out from behind your desk, out of your office and get into the thick of it. Help out when you can, do more than is expected and always find ways to do more for those that are out on the frontlines, fighting the good fight. It is your job to do more than just shake hands, kiss babies and smile.

It is your job to get to know the people that you are there to support. Remember, it is your job to ensure that they can do their job effectively and efficiently. You are there to support them in every way possible. It is not and never will be the other way around. You hired them to do a job, then let them do that job by you going out there and ensuring they know how to do the job, have the right tools to do it and know that they have your support in doing that job.

Do not for one second, let it enter your mind that they are there for you. That is not an automatic. What is automatic is that you know as a leader you are there to support those you lead. Remember, your followers made you the leader, they can take that away. Also never forget those that hired you, those that brought in, did so with the understanding, you may the title of manager but you were never given the title of leader. That title you have to earn and you have to earn it each and every day.

You earn it, by taking care of those that made you the leader. You earn it, every day that you are present, available, and out on the front lines. There is no short cut, there is no cutting corners. What there is, is you being visible, present, and with them with the sole purpose to support and lead them.

That being said, please know that those you lead, those that follow you will be there for you only after you have shown them that you are there for them, first and foremost. Never ever forget that. If you do forget that, you do so at your own peril.

Now, get out, shake hands, kiss babies, smile, say hello. I do hope you know what I mean. Get out there every day that you can. Be out there in the muck and the mud. Be there with them and for them. When you cannot be out there, make absolutely certain they know where you are, how they can get ahold of you, and most of all, when you will be back.

Yes, they do deserve that much and so much more.

-Dave

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blog Leadership Leadership Principles

10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership #6

Welcome to the sixth installment of the 10 Things You Do Not Know About Leadership. In this weekly, series I cover topics that tend to be overlooked, forgotten, or completely misunderstood. By sharing with you, it is my hope and belief that I help in eradicating many of misconceptions that come with leadership.

#6. LEADERSHIP IS NEVER LEARNED FROM A BOOK

As previously mentioned, there are countless books on Leadership (mine included). Those books are a tool, a guide but NEVER a substitution for actually doing. Books should always be used as a guide, a starting point but never the end all, be all. Books are never used as instead of getting out there and doing it, making it happen. So do not for one second believe there is that one book that will be the only book you will ever need when it comes to leadership. Actually, that one book should be a jumping off point for more books, ideas and concepts.

All current or future leaders, must always be expanding their knowledge, gaining experience and thus increasing wisdom. Putting all your faith in just one book will never suffice. That one book should lead you towards expanding your horizons and thus reading more books, putting the lessons those books share into action.

Let’s look at this from a different perspective when it comes to turning reading about things into doing those things. Currently, there are countless books, articles, and videos on how to start a campfire. While the how to start a campfire catalogue is near infinite, nothing and I do mean nothing will ever compare to actually starting a campfire. However, there are so many ways to start a fire, each has its purpose and process. Discover the other ways of starting a campfire.

Well, the same applies to knitting, jogging, and of course, Leadership. You can read and listen and watch but all that is moot until you are actually out there taking those steps to leading. Until you are out there dealing with those you are responsible for, until you are doing your part to accomplish the mission then will you be putting the words into action.

In 1871 Helmuth von Moltke (Prussian Army Chief of Staff) wrote, “No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first encounter with the main enemy forces.” That same concept applies to reading about leadership versus actually trying to lead.

When reading about any leadership concept or idea, in any book, know that the concepts or ideas are set in a perfect environment, with everything in its proper place and the responses and reactions are anticipated, expected and there is a solution for everything. Of course, as in battle and just like in life, nothing is ever perfect, nothing is ever in its proper place. Plans have a knack for going awry.

Thus, it should serve as a warning that depending too much on the words written in any book without actually trying to put into practice what you have read. By practice, I mean, create situations of failure. As nothing is perfect and no matter if you read one book or thousands of book on the subject of leadership you will fail. However, by practicing to fail, the chances of actually failing, especially when it is time to put steel on target, will exponentially decrease. Remember, failing to prepare for that letdown will all but ensure no chance of success.

One other thing to consider when it comes to putting what you read into action. Know that what you read should be taken with a grain of salt and will NOT work if you act on what you read word for word. Take your time to understand what you read before employing any tactic or strategy.

What you read will work or fail only when you get out there and DO! Then you will know. However, never for one second believe that because the “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People| worked for Dr. Stephen Covey or “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership” worked for John C. Maxwell, it will most certainly work for you.

It worked for them because they made change happen in their lives. They took what was there before them and made it unique to them. They did the homework. They saw that things were not happening and asked themselves what next. They went to work on themselves by figuring out what needed to be done to effectively answer the question of what next?

That is what prompted me to write The Walking Leader. I read about Managing By Walking Around, MBWA if you will, but nowhere could I find how to do it. It was as if by magic or osmosis, people would just know how to get out there and do the MBWA thing. Not finding answers, I came up with the twenty rules or guide or principles to getting out from behind your desk and making things happen.

I put my unique spin on managing by walking around in The Walking Leader and you must put your own unique spin on what you have read, been taught, learned and then get to work. Get to work on NEVER exactly copying anyone’s leadership style. Again, what worked for Napoleon Hill, Tom Peters, Dale Carnegie, Patricia Thompson, and countless others will not work for you. I promise you that much.

What will work for you is making your own leadership style and fine tuning it to suit your unique perspectives and situation. Take what all those books are sharing, the authors imparting their knowledge onto you. Take that knowledge and wisdom flip it, spin it, toss it around and make it your own. Then get to work.

-Dave