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Lessons In Leadership: What Not To Do... From A Canoe!
When it comes to fishing, my husband takes the lead. But his lack of leadership ability in a recent canoe trip on the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota offered wonderful lessons on how leaders can unknowingly screw up. (1) Assign responsibility without authority. Bill insisted that in order to cast his fishing line, he needed to be in the back of the canoe. I was to paddle as he cast and trolled his lure. The only challenge is that the ability to steer a two-person canoe is handled by the person in the back. He'd shout directions to me but I had little authority over the craft. Frustrated, I wanted to turn around and whack him with the paddle. LESSON: If you assign someone a task, put them where they have full control to do what is required rather than hamstring them with your positional authority. (2) Hire a skill set but don't let the employee use it. The Boundary Waters are comprised of many lakes connected with islands and it is frequently necessary to portage the canoe to the next lake. I have a good eye for reading navigational maps. I would identify the portage spot as we approached. On more than one occasion, Bill would insist I was wrong and we'd spend time "looking", only to return to the site I had identified. I felt like throwing the backpacks up the trail. LESSON: If you hire someone with a skill you don't have let them take the lead. (3) Never believe someone closest to the problem. We were fishing along a rock ledge jutting out from one of the islands. Bill was a distance from me when I suddenly yelled for help. "I have a fish and I can't tighten the reel." "No," replied Bill, "You don't have a fish." "Yes, I do. Please help me." He slowly made his way over and took the rod from my hand. A deft fisherman, he fixed the problem and to his amazement, pulled out a fish. I wanted to hit him with it. LESSON: Pay attention to people down line. A removed view might very well be wrong. (4) Practice unclear communication. From my weak directional paddling position Bill would also holler out a specific direction. "Head toward that tree", he'd call. Now remember he is sitting behind me. The island is covered with trees. Just what is that tree? "The GREEN one," he'd say. " Sorry, Bill. They are ALL green!" Since the eyes in the back of my head were shut I could not see where his finger pointed. I wanted to bite that finger. LESSON: Clairvoyance is not a skill set you can hire. Describe specifically what you want, andwhat you see. Bring people along into your vision. (5) Make others bail you out of the trouble you cause. As we circled the various islands, Bill would cast toward the shore. He has a good eye for distance but on occasion his line would snag the low lying bushes and I'd have to climb out and untangle the mess. One foot almost landed on the back of a monstrous rock that moved: a moss covered snapping turtle with a shell the size of a toilet seat and jaws that could break my ankle. I screamed. LESSON: You can be bailed out once. But for repeated errors, get out and do it yourself. P.S. Concerned about workplace violence? Look at my response to a person I deeply love. Consider these lessons VERY carefully. (c) 2004, McDargh Communications. All rights in all media reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright. About The Author Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE is head of McDargh Communications, a training and consulting practice founded in 1980. She's also an award-winning author, radio commentator, and on the Board of the National Speakers Association. Eileen can be reached at http://www.EileenMcDargh.com.
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Coaching The Flexible Leadership Workshop The Leadership Challenge Supervisor Training: Helpful Tips to Lead Your Pack A new supervisor is hired to anchor a gardening project that has fallen apart. The last supervisor walked out on the job because he was overwhelmed with the high expectations of the project. The new supervisor is in charge of ten teenage workers, five young women and five young men, all of whom are not thrilled to be working on a summer day. As the new replacement, the supervisor is in charge of landscaping the lawn and garden areas that garnish a business complex. The complex manager has informed the supervisor that he has a three hour time limit to mow and trim the lawn areas, weed out the old plants and dead greenery, and replace them with a fresh array of tulip bulbs. By the day's end, the supervisor has a $20 food budget to feed the 10 workers on their lunch break. The summer heat is burning, and the teenagers would rather be out by the pool. Instead, they are required to sacrifice this day at work. The supervisor is overwhelmed with the task, but motivated to assist with all the responsibilities of his ten employees for the next three hours. None of Us Arrived with an Owners Manual: A Fresh Perspective on the Drive to Lead (part 2) Why did not I get an Owner's Manual In Leadership, Dreams Are The Stuff That Great Results Are Made Of Leadership is motivational or it's stumbling in the dark. The best leaders don't order people to do a job, the best leaders motivate people to want to do the job. Leadership Skills and Ability What is true Leadership. Ten Steps To Effective Leadership Many people end up in a supervisory position or SOHO ownership almost by default. In today's workplace, if someone stays on their job long enough, they will probably be promoted as others, more senior to them or higher up the chain of responsibility, leave for other opportunities. Leadership Skill Training Quality leadership is a positive asset that is needed in every organization. Observe any successful club, committee or team and you will find a capable leader in each of these organizations. What makes a successful leader? Why do some leaders inspire confidence and have an innate ability to motivate while other "leaders" are mired in mediocrity? Awaken the Leader in You: 10 Easy Steps To Develop Your Leadership Skills "The miracle power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, application, and perseverance, under the promptings of a brave determined spirit." - Mark Twain Celebrating Successes: The Power Of Compliments Years ago, when I was new in management circles, a veteran administrator decided to share his self-described secret of success. He said: You have to be careful, Bill. I*ve learned not to compliment my people. Makes them too self-assured, and they get lax in their work habits. Better to keep them guessing. Why the Squirrel Kept Winning! I had the good fortune (or misfortune depending on your climate perspective) of living in Minnesota for ten years. The Summers were beautiful, Fall was spectacular with the changing colors of the leaves on trees and winter was,?well, damn cold. In Leadership, The Eight Ways Of Right Action (Part 2) In Part 1, I said that leaders who can't have people take right action are ineffective, and I listed four of the eight ways of right action. In Part 2, I'll describe the remaining four ways. The Qualities of Skillful Leadership If you want to be a leader who attracts quality people, the key is to become a person of quality yourself. Leadership is the ability to attract someone to the gifts, skills, and opportunities you offer as an owner, as a manager, as a parent. I call leadership the great challenge of life. The Compassion Paradox Effective leaders are comfortable with paradox. They can call on skills and work in ways that seem to be contradictory. Leadership and Followership in a Team Setting Many solopreneurs work in a team environment either with their client's staff, or with subcontractors. Having spent over 20 years in a teaming environment before becoming a solopreneur 13 years ago, I know that during the course of any highly functioning team effort, the leadership and followership roles flow back and forth between the members. You Make The Difference What do you think makes your company successful? Your newest hardware or software? The newest system you've put into place? The best location in town? Although these are important, they are not the key to success. Creating Unlimited Belief for Success! What's holding your team back from experiencing "breakout performance"? The Six Essential Leadership Attributes Leadership is the foundation for all organizations, whether corporate, nonprofit or government. Leadership is a high calling and responsibility, upon which all else the organization is or does rests. Moreover, leadership is always top down, never bottom up. Leadership Training Seminar - What Makes A Great Leader? At one point or another, we have all been either a leader or a follower. While both roles are equally important, a leader plays an instrumental role in providing direction for his/her followers. A good way to identify an effective leader is to see if his/her followers are able to support and accomplish what their leader is asking of their team. Stepping Into Leadership and Being The Source Of Your Success Why is it that we often wait until we have achieved a level of success in network marketing before we feel as though we have earned the right to step into a leadership role? Leadership is NOT a position you acquire as a result of having achieved a certain volume or compensation plan position. It is a place you come from as a declaration that guides your decisions and actions. When you are the source of everything that shows up in your life and in your business, your actions will be in sync with this self-declared leadership role. The Challenge to Lead The topic of leadership has been and continues to be one of the most vital topics in human history. From ancient civilizations to modern day multi-national corporations, men and women of passion, fervor and zeal have sought to discover the secrets of moving others beyond the gray of their mundane reality to the rich array of colors that embody the palate of the extraordinary life.
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