Have you ever been at work when there’s a lot to be done and people are standing around asking way too many questions? Or maybe you’ve been in a meeting and it is the perfect time for discussion. But no one says a word. For business leaders to succeed, they need to understand when and where to ask questions.
Humility. Giving. Sacrifice.
Whether you consider it gospel, history, or myth, the traditional story of Christmas makes for a compelling tale filled with leadership lessons. A young peasant girl is chosen by God to fulfill an ancient prophecy and change the path of the entire world. Together with her fiancé she has to make a long journey that ends with the birth of baby Jesus in a dirty stable, surrounded by animals, and shepherds sent by angels.
For those of us who make it our life’s work to write and talk about leadership, coaches are a natural model. They work to motivate others and help them develop their abilities. They bring people together in teams and teach them to balance individual strengths and the growth of the group. They’re philosophical about winning and failure.
But even among great coaches, some stand especially tall. Pat Summitt, who died this week after a five-year battle with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, was one of those giants.
If you haven’t already seen it, The Jim Gaffigan Show—just starting its second season on TVLand—is a treat. It stars Gaffigan as a fictionalized version of himself—a standup comedian, husband, and father of five living with his family in New York City. Misadventures center on domestic topics, the temptations of food (a frequent topic in Gaffigan’s own standup routine), and interactions with a variety of characters.
Along with the laughs, there’s a sense underneath it all that these are people who know how to make life work well. And with a large family living in a two-bedroom apartment, that’s no small achievement. How they make that happen, while never set out didactically, is worth considering for anyone in charge of a team or organization. Here are a few examples:
As someone who’s both a leader and a father, I find myself drawn to think about the parallels between those two roles—especially around this time of year, when Father’s Day calls us all to think about the importance of fathers and the contributions they make to the lives of those around them.
Naturally, there are some obvious distinctions between the two. The bond between parent and child goes much deeper than any connections of leadership, however close. And there are issues of control and accountability in parenting that don’t apply—at least not in the same way—in leadership.
After a few false starts, spring seems to finally be here for good. As we open windows and begin to enjoy longer days, sometimes we literally see our home in a different light—and it’s not always a good sight. Dusty corners, neglected stacks of old paperwork, clutter and smudges that seem to appear out of nowhere prompt us to schedule some time for the ritual of spring cleaning.
In organizational life, too, it’s important to stop from time to time and take a look around with fresh eyes. Where could your team use some work?
Most of us in business leadership have at least some degree of pride in our title, whether it’s manager, director, vice president, CEO, or owner. We put it on our business cards, on our office door, under our name in mail and email signature blocks. It lets people know two things: what you do, and how far you’ve risen.
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with taking pride in your hard work or being happy when it’s rewarded. But the farther up the ladder you go, the more important it is to remember how little your title means to the people who matter most: the people on your team.
Emma Gatewood’s life would be a testament of strength and endurance even if she had never set foot on a hiking trail. The daughter of a Civil War veteran, she was born on a southeast Ohio farm in 1887. She married young and raised 11 children, enduring 33 years in a marriage so abusive that eventually the mayor of her town helped her obtain a divorce—an incredibly rare and difficult feat in those days.
After seeing an article in National Geographic about the Appalachian Trail, she told her children, now grown, that she was going for a walk. She left home in May 1955 with a couple hundred dollars, a pair of Keds sneakers, a homemade knapsack, a blanket, and a plastic shower curtain. She was 67 years old.
One thing I love about the work I do is that it gives me contact with a wide range of leaders. I especially enjoy the opportunity to learn from those whose commitment, drive, and intelligence result in the kind of great leadership we all want to emulate.
They’re a wide-ranging group, but there are a few traits that many of good leaders share. Here’s one near the top of the list: They are masters of delegation.
If you’ve spent much time around young children, you’ve probably seen some version of this interaction play out when you hand a snack to a toddler:
Parent: “What do you say?”
Child (mouth full, all attention on remaining food): “Mmankoo”
You may or may not find this charming behavior in a three-year-old, but for adults—and especially for adults in leadership—gratitude is something worth taking very seriously. Few things motivate people better than feeling appreciated, and few things are more demoralizing than feeling unappreciated.