beBetter 

Last Friday, I joined Jennifer Wilson and Amy Vetter on their weekly Leadership Lunch Chat LIVE to explore generous leadership and the element of gratitude. What I didn’t expect was to leave our discussion both humbled by their generous feedback and also convicted to be more intentional with my generosity. 

The truth is, it’s easy to be average. To be outstanding, however, calls for risks. It means not letting our comfort zones or fears of mistakes, perceptions and the unknown keep us from reaching our full potential. 

First and foremost, we must learn to lead ourselves. It starts with understanding who we are. Do we know ourselves very well? Seems like a crazy question, but it is the starting point for leadership, fulfillment and success. What are our values? What decisions did we make that brought us to this point?

When we were growing up, if Mike, Mitzi and I were constantly arguing or fighting, Mom would patiently warn us several times to stop. If we continued to be rowdy, she would finally step back in the room and say, “I’ve had ENOUGH!” which we knew meant our future was not real bright and our backsides were now in jeopardy. As a profession, we need a wake-up call of our own about the disruption and speed of change we are facing. So, today, we will use the term ENOUGH just as Mom did. 

One of the questions that I receive or hear from team members, friends, business associates and yes, even my children, is, “How can I lead?” I might mention that I do not get this question from CeCe (my wife), as she leads our family daily! And yes, I go outside with the dog now.

In my experience of mentoring, coaching and teaching about leadership, one of the fundamental pieces of advice that I always include is, “Make sure you are not holding up the ship!” It’s easy for our organizations to bottleneck and get slowed down when vision, roles, responsibility and authority are not well communicated and owned.