~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LEADERSHIP WIRED John C. Maxwell's FREE Semimonthly Newsletter Designed To Maximize Your Leadership Potential. July 2004 - Volume 7, Issue 14 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue: * Maxwell Moment – The Great Separator * Leadership@Large – Surveying the Leadership Landscape * Book Review – A Good Life * Quick Quotes – Deciding Factor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Maxwell Moment ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE GREAT SEPARATOR By Dr. John C. Maxwell A young man once asked me a very provocative question at one of my leadership conferences. He'd been listening intently all day, and it was obvious that the subjects we were covering were really striking a chord with him. "I've decided I want to be a leader," he said. "Who do I start leading?" As I said, this guy was young—he didn't have a company or even a department to run, yet. I could have advised him to read some of my books, get a job managing a few people, and come back to another conference in five years when he had some experience. But I didn't. "That's an easy answer," I told him. "Start with yourself." I wasn't trying to be cute with that response; I was completely serious. If you want to start leading, you must always start with yourself, because if you wouldn't follow yourself, why should anybody else? Becoming the person others want to follow might involve honing certain technical competencies, learning how to be a better motivator, sharpening your ability to cast a vision, identifying your core values, or polishing your organizational skills. But here's the key: The secret to your success doesn't lie in the specifics; it lies in your willingness to start. Just how essential is starting? Let me describe it this way. Starting is the great separator. It separates the doers from the do nots. It separates the haves from the have nots. It separates the winners from the whiners. In short, it separates successful people from unsuccessful people. I've always said the bookends of success are starting and finishing. People who achieve great things must possess both the ability to begin—to be a self-initiator, and the ability to close—to be able to finish well. In the grand scheme of things, both are equally important. But you can't end well if you don't start. So for the next several issues of "Leadership Wired," we'll talk about how to start successfully. The first step, as we've already discussed, is to start with yourself. Why is this so important? Here are three reasons. 1. It gives you experience, confidence, integrity, and influence. Leaders are either travel agents or tour guides. Leaders who are like travel agents send people to places they've never been themselves, while leaders who are like tour guides take their people to places they know well. Instead of saying, "Here's a map—I hope it's accurate," tour-guide leaders can say, "I've been here many times; I know the best way to get around; follow me." Starting with yourself equips you with the experience, confidence, integrity, and influence you need to be a tour-guide leader. 2. You are with yourself more than anyone else. You may have had trouble finding another leader to mentor you because everyone else is so crunched for time. But you can't use that excuse with yourself—you spend more time with yourself more than anyone else. So don't sit around waiting for someone else to help you—start learning and growing yourself! 3. Start with yourself to give something to others. At first blush, starting with yourself might sound a bit selfish. But, as anyone who has ever listened to a flight attendant give pre-flight safety instructions can attest, you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of someone else. You can't export what you don't have. You can't teach what you haven't learned. Starting with yourself isn't putting yourself before others. It's putting yourself in a position where you can give— of your time, your encouragement, your resources, your expertise, etc.—more effectively. In the next issue of "Leadership Wired," we'll talk about the value of starting early. Until then, I'll leave you with this bit of advice from the great revolutionary leader M.K. Gandhi: "Be the change you want to see in the world." How do you do that? The answer is simple. Start with yourself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leadership@Large ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE MOMENT OF TRUTH When did you realize you were a leader? Was it on the elementary school playground, when you noticed you were the one who always organized the kickball teams? Was it in high school, when you were elected president of the student council? Or did the realization came later, perhaps after you successfully managed a big project at work or watched a person in your sphere of influence growing and thriving under your direction? For several executives who participated in a recent forum sponsored by the Women's Task Force at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, the answer to this question was as varied as the panelists themselves. Dorrit Bern, the chairman, CEO, and president of a clothing retailer for plus-sized women, knew very early in life that she was a leader. "I am one of those risk-takers," she said in an article published in Knowledge@Wharton, the business school's biweekly e-zine. "I am aggressive. I am that little girl on the block who is captain of the boys' baseball team ...I was really, really able." Rosemarie Greco, director of health care reform for Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, doesn't remember the first time she said, "I am a good leader," but she does remember when she realized she was a good teacher. "The qualities that make a good, effective teacher are the qualities that make a good, effective leader," she said. For Carol Ammon, founder and head of a pharmaceutical firm that specializes in chronic pain medications, the moment of truth came well into her career, when she was taking an advanced management course at Harvard. "I realized that when I opened my mouth, people listened," she said. "People wanted to hear what I had to say." For more information, see: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=972 _________________________________________________________________ RUDENESS REDUCTION It would be nice if everyone who rose to a leadership position came equipped with perfect manners—not to mention a knack for instructing his or her followers in the art of proper workplace etiquette. Sadly, such is not always the case. But help is available. Ann Marie Sabath, owner of At Ease Inc. in Cincinnati, trains businesspeople to recognize—and abolish—rude behavior that might keep them from getting new clients. For example, "Regarding punctuality, we teach people that if you're early, you're on time, and if you're on time, in reality, you're late," she told Inc. magazine. Cell phones, though often essential when it comes to a busy leader's ability to communicate, can be a stumbling block for otherwise well-mannered managers—not to mention a turnoff for potential customers. "We encourage individuals to shut off their phones before walking into a building," Sabath said. "And when using a cell phone in public, stand two arm's lengths away from others." Sabath hopes that, one day, all human resources training will include a section on "rudeness reduction." She has reason to hope—her bookings have risen 34 percent in the last year. "I think managers feel like they have no choice but to play the role of professional parents—teaching employees how to dress and how to interact," she said. For more information, see: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20040501/qa.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Book Review ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A GOOD LIFE Remember Who You Are: Life Stories that Inspire the Heart and Mind By Daisy Wademan (Harvard Business School Press, 2004) When you accept a new leadership role—either for the first time or after a series of increasingly responsible positions—you spend many hours tending to urgent matters such as meeting key clients and colleagues, appraising the strengths and weaknesses of your team, learning the corporate culture, implementing new systems, developing growth strategies, and so on. After all that, precious little time is left to process what's happening in your life, evaluate how you're doing and answer important questions like, "What kind of leader do I want to be?" Fortunately, moments for such reflection do open up every now and then—in the quiet of the very early morning, late at night or even during a long commute home. And when they do, it's helpful to have a book like "Remember Who You Are: Life Stories that Inspire the Heart and Mind" on hand to help turn your thoughts in directions they may have missed otherwise. Based on the title alone, a reader might assume that "Remember Who You Are" is Harvard Business School Press's version of "chicken soup for the leader's soul"—full of feel-good anecdotes but a bit light when it comes to useful information. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Remember Who You Are" grew out of an interesting tradition at Harvard Business School—the practice of faculty members sharing a meaningful story from their own lives during the final session of each course. Author Daisy Wademan, a former investment banker who earned her MBA from Harvard in 2002, was so affected by these deeply personal tales that she decided to compile 15 of them in book form so that people who might never have the chance to hear them in person could still benefit from them. "All the talks were different—as wildly different as the personalities of the people who gave them," Wademan writes. "Yet at the same time, they were consistent: All addressed how to create a better life—a good life—as a leader." One professor told of a near-fatal mountain-climbing accident. Another spoke of a college zoology exam. Another talked about her father's death. Each one used his or her story as a springboard to a broader discussion about some critical aspect of leadership: the importance of staying grounded, finding a leadership "voice," separating who you are from what you do, taking risks without fear, setting high expectations for those around you, etc. Although the advice and encouragement in "Remember Who You Are" was originally aimed at MBA students, Wademan has done a fine job of repackaging the material for a much wider audience. The chapters are short, the writing is crisp and the content is memorable and provocative. The book would make a perfect gift for a recent college graduate as well as for individuals who have just assumed their first leadership position. But it also contains many valuable reminders for veteran leaders in any field for, as Wademan so aptly states, "whether you are facing your first day on the job or already sit in the corner office, your need to stay inspired remains the same." - Review by Lois Flowers, INJOY consulting editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Quick Quotes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DECIDING FACTOR "Somewhere deep down we know that in the final analysis, we do decide things and that even our decisions to let someone else decide are really our decisions, however pusillanimous." - Harvey G. Cox "Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well-informed just to be undecided about them." — Laurence J. Peter "Again and again, the impossible decision is solved when we see that the problem is only a tough decision waiting to be made." — Dr. Robert Schuller _________________________________________________________________ Leadership Wired is written by Dr. John C. Maxwell and is available via e-mail on a free subscription basis. You can subscribe at: http://www.INJOY.com/Newsletters. Questions about document transmission or editorial comments? Contact mailto:feedback@INJOY.com. Visitors may use the information contained in this e-newsletter by placing the following credit line: "This article is used by permission from Dr. John C. Maxwell's free monthly e-newsletter 'Leadership Wired' available at www.INJOY.com." This information cannot be used for resale in any manner. Copyright (c) 2004, INJOY, Inc.