It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
In this New Year I'm going to continue to explore some leadership quotes that might challenge us, inspire us or remind us of different aspects of the leadership journey. This is part of my personal journey to keep growing, learning and being stretched! Join me each Tuesday at 2:00pm (PST). It will take you just a few minutes to read through the 2 sections of this post, but don't miss the final section where I share some of the things I'm reading, listening to and enjoying this week.
I also invite you to share your favorite quote with a short description of "why it's your favorite". Simply send it to me HERE and I'll post it in an upcoming Tuesday at 2:00pm.
You can find past posts on my website HERE.
Enjoy!
LEADERSHIP QUOTE:
“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority." Ken Blanchard
What does this stir up? Either write me HERE or comment at the end of the blog post HERE.
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:
Ken Blanchard has written and co-written some great books on organizational leadership. His posture for leadership and the simple way he introduces complex ideas have made him an influential leader over the past 50 years.
His quote above is spot on. Leadership can be defined as INFLUENCE.
How does that concept hit you: Influence vs. Authority?
If you're like me, you learned early on that leadership is often based on authority: who's in charge, who's making the decisions, who's out in front, who commands the position.
However, notice the word Blanchard inserts into this quote: SUCCESSFUL. That's the differentiator.
We've all seen horrible leaders lead from a place of authority. It's not their fault. For many of them, they were never equipped to lead, they were just the person that the position landed on.
INFLUENCE: That's what leadership is really about.
Think of a leader who has impacted you or who you highly respect. Do they lead from a position of AUTHORITY or INFLUENCE? What do you see in them?
DEEPER STILL:
One of my first jobs in college was at a fast-food restaurant. I needed a job, and grabbed the opportunity to work across the street from the school, but I would also benefit from some free meals!
Within a week I could see some challenges. The young manager led from a position of intimidation and pure authority. He wouldn't do anything that he didn't want to do, and when the owner wasn't onsite, he abused his position by disappearing, by forcing us to do jobs that would just humiliate us, and he would laugh at us because we HAD TO do whatever he said.
I learned real quickly what bad leadership looked like, and that job lasted about 3 1/2 weeks. I ate as much as I could then I got out of there.
I've worked for some incredible people throughout my career, but that early job left an imprint on me because of the low caliber of leadership that was displayed. I wonder whatever happened to that guy?
How are you leading others from a position of INFLUENCE? How can you be more intentional with that?
Things I'm Reading, Listening To and Watching This Week:
We had the opportunity to see the film Jesus Revolution the other night. Really enjoyed this story of the Jesus Movement of the 70's here in Southern California. I highly recommend it.
This book was recommended to me and I just started reading it. Really interesting thoughts on attention: Stolen Focus
My favorite Ken Blanchard book: The New One Minute Manager Another great one with Mark Miller: The Secret
Trader Joes is selling some great Ecuador Coffee. I've been drinking it all week!
If you're looking for custom printing & promotional gear, reach out to Manahattan Stitching and ask for Katie! They do great work.