Don’t let “how things are done” dictate how things can or could be. Leaders create and develop cultures uniquely their own. Even if they are on their own at first, they can be the workplace culture.
As others come in, the newbies are inoculated with a pre-existing culture… you.
Cast a vision for your work environment. Define what it looks and feels and even smells like. Write out a description of what kind of people will thrive in it.
be clear about those who will die there if they inadvertently make their way in. Be bold and clear, visionary and dreamy.
Protect it.
Promote it.
Live it.
Enjoy it.
Have fun in it and with it.
And don’t apologize for it…. it is your culture.
Become known as the ass, the grump, the NO guy. Let pessimism run deep in your soul. Always have a ‘critical eye’. See things as obstacles rather than natural challenges. Laugh little. ‘High-five’, never! Treat life and work as a robot… no good times or parties allowed. Appreciate few things and articulate your thanks seldom. Be known for your resistance rather than your support, advice, aid, insights or wisdom. While you’re at it, also find a way to include bitching, complaints, grumbles, negativity, resistance. frowns and anxiety into your repertoire . Hold on fast to all wrongs and resentments and failures for a really long time. Most of all, be sure to dwell on the little things.
It’s easy to notice these traits in others, but it is quite hard to identify our own patterns of surliness. Correct your course. Be the optimistic leader that people cheerfully line up with.
As a little boy you built forts with the logs, branches and surrounding natural supplies. You scoured for a functional location. You sweated and labored to make your fantastical kingdom fort take shape upon the earth in front of you.
It doesn’t have to change just because you are older… just change the supplies. It is the inherent nature of man to build! So, ask yourself, are you enjoying the process? Are you having fun with your real world creation? Is the fantasy within you to bring to life something worth doing? Who are your new playmates in this world of taller boys in the field? And how cool is your fort? What battles will you fight from it’s place of strength? And what will be your crowning glory?
So many dreams and opportunities and fun to be had! Don’t stuff them down; figure them out.
It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.
- Theodore Roosevelt
Your opportunities to quit early are many. At the first sign of resistance. During the middle of the first hard ascent. When the comfort of the bed seems better than the early morning of sweat and hard work. As pain creeps in. Facing an unforeseen and ridiculous obstacle. When you are no longer favored to win. Early on you will run smack into … Anxiety … Loneliness … Pain … Ridicule … Easier Paths … Being behind … Comfort … Conformity … Fatigue.
Don’t trade in your dreams, visions, goals and ambitions by quitting shortly after you have begun. What you are experiencing in those early tests is common to every leader. The resistance sharpens the leader. The pressure shapes you and prepares you for better things yet to come.
Lance Armstrong is a 7 time Tour de France champion (the undisputed, single hardest cycling competition in the world) because he doesn’t quite when things get hard, when others get ahead or when he experiences a set back. He steels himself with resolve, grit, determination. ‘I am done’ is not in his vocabulary when the prize is still out in front. Yesterday he blew out a tire and saw his rivals gain minutes on him in the month long race that is separated by mere seconds in the end. His response:
“Our chances took a knock today,” Armstrong said. “I’m not going home, we’ll stay in the race and keep trying.”
* A short series of failures you can make as a young leader.
Go nowhere. Dabble in no other realms, kingdoms or provinces. Seek the protection under the wing of your momma and the comfort of what you already know. Stay home! This is a sure fire way to stunt your growth as a leader. Sure, it’s rewarding (and possibly essential) to have a home base where you can rejuvenate, develop, connect with ‘easy friends’ and launch out from, but don’t stop there. Don’t get mired down in the usual stuff. Throw yourself out into new environments, adventures and situations. Take a trip. Volunteer on new projects. Seek out connections in cities beyond your current reach. Move to a next level challenge. Take some risks.
If Lebron James stays in Cleveland I will be far less interested in him as a leader. Sure, he may win championships there, but he will have passed up the opportunity to do it on the world’s largest stage. And in the process, he will have shied from the greater challenges and the larger exposure that made him great as a young guy when he skipped college and went right into the NBA.
* A short series of failures you can make as a young leader.
I heard it recently stated that the only 2 things that you really need for business success are: 1) a quality product 2) a big game feel. I have been wanting to disagree with the statement, but when you reduce most successful enterprises, it might very well be true. Personally, I think the 3rd key item is strong leadership, even if it is just 1 person.
Several things inspire me regularly, but below is what is lighting my leadership fire right now. These things are better than a RedBull or morning Venti drip. What is it that fills your tank to keep your energy and your passion high? Do you know what it is that you need to do to bring out your best?
Young leaders. In the last week I have met with 4 different young leaders that have visions, dreams, ideas and plans that they are pursuing. I love to be a part of those conversations, adding what insights, tips, tricks and strategies I can to help see them succeed. Hopefully I will soon get to highlight some of them here. A few of them are from Launch501(c3).
Theodore Roosevelt. Historical biographies of great leaders flip my internal leadership switches to “on”. Some people read quotes for inspiration, others read scripture and others still read facebook. I read 300-600 pages manifests that posses keenness for detail and a knack for narrative that press into the depths of what made men and women of our past so extraordinary as leaders. They keep me up late working, inspire me to greater heights, activate my best ideas and challenge me to press beyond my current state of achievements.
Racing. Ever since undertaking my first endurance sport contest last year, I would say my addiction and competition levels have been steadily increasing. The thrill, the challenge, the race day adrenaline, the community and even the painful training and sacrifice have increased my personal energies and intensified my joy for life. My next venture of an unexpected acceptance to the half-ironman on July 18 in No. Cal. has me really going…
Abby Sunderland. I only wish I knew how to sail and had her courage. She set out to be the youngest person ever to solo circumnavigate the globe @ age 16! — Shit!, that is awesome. — I don’t care that she failed and had to be rescued. She tried. She is capable. She is daring, brave, courageous… [fill in the blank]. Ignore the negative media about celebrity book deals, tv shows, pushy parents and product endorsements… that is our world now. Can’t wait till she tries again. Who wouldn’t hire this young, powerful leader?
Seth Godin call’s it the Dip. Others call it “knowing when to lay down your bet”. However, it shouldn’t take just a losing proposition to stop doing something that is ‘good’ in pursuit of doing something that is great.
In meeting with a successful leader the other day, I was challenged to not always think in terms of “life long time lines”. What if projects had shorter life spans? What if we had clear, short-term, small budget, in-n-out approaches to some of our objectives? What if new products, established teams, marketing budgets, fund-raising efforts, et-al didn’t always go on forever?
In WWII the U.S. Marines spent over a year preparing to take just one key island – Iwo Jima. It was a hotly contested conflict with thousands of lives laid at the alter of freedom, but they knew when and what victory looked like and it wasn’t about being in the marines forever or engaged in war in perpetuity.
The challenge before us for the greatest gains does not always have to include “doing this forever”. Don’t be afraid to cancel things that aren’t meeting you goals or your values or your stated outcomes. Just because you started something does not mean that you should always finish. See more of what you do as “experimental” and don’t get down when it doesn’t work out. Just try something else.
My friend Sarah leads some pretty sweet events at U.S. Airways Center in PHX. She shared with me her axiom of leadership during crunch time with large events, national headline concerts, WWE extravaganzas and NBA playoff runs. It might sound a little silly, but of her aims during these high pressure events is to “lead like a duck… Be cool and smooth on the surface and work really hard behind the scenes.”
In your leadership, it matters what others see and experience in you on the surface. Are you smooth, cool and calm? Do you carry with you grace, patience and a calming chill along with your clear direction, decisive nature and paced rhythm?
Then of course there is what is going on behind the scene or ‘under the surface of the water’. Be the event is awesome and it matters, you be working hard and giving it your very best. Did you adequately prepare ahead of time? Are you constantly thinking through the event? Is every