Leadership in a Can
3 Reasons to Work on Improving your Leadership Abilities!
What do leadership and fake Chinese food have in common?
Remember Chow Mein in a can?
Ok, so it was actually two cans, but between them, they had everything my mother needed to make a "delicious" (NOT!) Chinese dinner several times a week. Just mix up the veggies and the "yummy" brown...meat (?) sauce, pour over sticky rice and...... Voila! Your family is pounding the silverware for pizza.
Leadership is central to a successful family.
When it comes to raising a solid family, it's every bit as important as the number for Pizza Hut was to our dinner. In fact, without an effective leader, your family tree will never grow to be much more than a sapling.
One of my favorite authors, John Maxwell, tells a story about a sales manager who spent most of a sales meeting berating the sales staff for their dismally low sales figures. "I've had just about enough of poor performance and excuses," he said. "If you can't do the job, perhaps there are other sales people out there who would jump at the chance to sell our product." Then, pointing to a newly recruited, retired pro-football player, he said, " If a football team isn't winning, what happens? The players are replaced. Right?" The question hung heavy for a few seconds; then the ex-football player answered, "Actually, sir, if the whole team was having trouble, we usually got a new coach."
Thankfully, it's harder to replace a parent than a coach, but the point still carries.
Leadership is an ability that can be learned.A lot of people think that leaders are born, not made. I disagree -- like cream, a born leader will always rise to the top, but in order to stay there, additional skills need to be developed. - Observation -- Seek out and study someone who models motivating others to action. This group includes Presidents, CEO's, Ministers, etc. Observe the impact (good or bad) these people have over others. Study the way they communicate and make decisions. Ask them to share their secrets with you. Read their biographies to discover what made them so effective.
- Education-- Each year I attend at least one major seminar and read 4 or 5 books on this topic. Some of my favorite authors are John Maxwell, Bill Hybels, and Matt Furey. I'll share more as time goes by but do some exploring and discover some favorites of your own.
Leadership-Toolbox is a fantastic website that has some other great ideas for skill development. I have the site bookmarked. - Self-Discipline -- Not much explanation needed.
Question of the day...... Would you follow you if you were in charge?
Leading is not managing!As a father, it's tempting for me to micro-manage everything my family does. As I observe others and work to develop my skills in this area, I'm finding out that there are some pretty big differences between leading and managing......... - It's long-term thinking vs. short-term thinking -- buying a cow instead of borrowing a cup of milk.
- It's raising your family to change the world vs. making your family the world.
- It's vision, values, and motivation vs. control, rules, and punishment.
- It's convincing your family to work towards greatness because they want to vs. making them do things because you told them they must.
And finally..... - Leading is consistently growing and pressing for change -- Managing is protecting the status quo.
So there you have it -- Leadership in a C.A.N ! When raising a family,
it's central to success,
it's an ability that can be learned,
and it's not management.
Other "Leadership" articles
Return to the Personal Growth Basics
|
