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.
There’s something special about the start of a new school year. How can leaders take advantage of the back-to-school spirit?
Here are six ideas to consider:
No matter how well you plan and train and prepare, sooner or later something will happen with the potential to do serious damage to your organization or team—the business equivalent to a tornado. It can take many forms: a sudden drastic change in your industry or regulatory environment, a disrupted supply chain, a major client that goes into bankruptcy, a degree of involvement in a newsworthy scandal, or throwing all your resources into pursuing a “can’t-miss” opportunity that can—and does, miss.
Whatever the situation, you find yourself staring at uncertainty and problems. There may be no good way to spin the situation, but there is a simple question you can use to convert it into a leadership opportunity: What can we learn from this?
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.
(spoiler-free)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to blow up existing box-office records like they were Alderaan and it was the Death Star. Whether you’re a raving fan or barely paying attention, it was hard to miss the excitement, which briefly eclipsed both the holidays and the presidential race in the public’s imagination.
It was one of those sporting events that seemed to captivate the world. Even people who didn’t have a clue what UFC stands for were watching and weighing in on Ronda Rousey’s fight with Holly Holm. Rousey entered the night 12-0, a heavy favorite whose last three fights had lasted only a combined 64 seconds!
But Holm, the humble “Preacher’s Daughter,” brought strength, power, stamina, and, most important, a masterfully executed strategy. Rousey came away with her first professional loss in the worst way imaginable, a “lights-out” knockout that left her with enough injuries to warrant a lengthy medical suspension.
If you pay attention to how often people talk about luck, you’ll quickly realize that it’s a concept we rely on quite a bit in leadership. Depending on the time and the culture, luck can mean a lot of different things, from a random event to the work of supernatural forces to a lucky object, number, or date.
In contemporary America, we think of luck most often as an event or occurrence that falls outside our control. We love to hear stories of chance and coincidence—the wilder and more improbable, the better.
Ben Franklin understood the importance of time management. In Poor Richard’s Almanac, he writes, “Lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough, always proves little enough.”
We generally think of time management as a day-to-day concern, a way to stay focused so we can cram more to-do items in between meetings. It’s well worth paying attention to, but it’s limited in scope.
We’re constantly surrounded by reminders to look and plan ahead, to play the long game, to think strategically about where we want to be in five years while also preparing for retirement. That kind of planning is important to building a successful career, without question. But there’s also something to be said for focusing on the here and now.
The concept of mindfulness, focusing and conscious awareness of the present moment is very important. It’s been found to not only make you more productive but also have health benefits ranging from reduced stress to lower blood pressure.