LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything." Tom Rath

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

The first time I thought about the quote above was when I watched a short video series from Marcus Buckingham called Trombone Player Wanted.

In this presentation Buckingham tells the story of a student who played the trombone, but who really wanted to be a drummer.

The purpose was to challenge people to lean into their strengths, but I remember one illustration he used, and it went something like this:

You come home with a report card from school, and for your grades you have an A in math, a B+ in science, an A in English and a D in Geography. Your parents don't really notice the good grades, but focus on the D and strategize about how to get that grade up a little bit.

What happens in the end is your good grades come down, your bad grade moves up a little bit, and you become mediocre.

What your parents should have done is helped you excel in Math & English, even science, and maybe bring your Geography grade up to a passing C.

I'm sure as a parent I've done the same thing to my kids.

We all do such a great job teaching BALANCE. We strive to be the "best all-around" or to be able to do anything and everything instead of really focusing on what we're really good at.... what we were created to do and be.

How do you read the quote above from Rath? How has that been played out in your own life?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“Instead of following your passion, find your greatest contribution." Tom Rath

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

We're exploring some Tom Rath quotes this month.

I saw the quote above, and had to stop and think it through a little bit.

I've always challenged people to pursue their passion, and when we do a LifePlan, we spend time discovering what that passion is and how to align with it.

When Rath said to "find your greatest contribution", that connected with me as well.

I think PASSION and CONTRIBUTION are often connected.

Ben Horowitz writes... "Passion can be deceiving. You cannot know whether what you are feeling is real. You do not know whether it will last. That is the nature of passion. It is fickle and most often short-lived. Contribution, however, is certain. It is grounded. It is tangible. You can see the impact your contribution has on the lives of other people."

This makes you think, right?

Horowitz goes on to say that often success is what fuels passion, in fact, passion is often just a byproduct of success.

Contribution on the other hand means "adding value to other people's life."

Think about those 2 words in your life: PASSION and CONTRIBUTION. How do they align? What are you following?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“Every hour you spend on your rear end saps your energy and ruins your health." Tom Rath

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I've followed Tom Rath in a number of his books on STRENGTHS and WELLBEING for years, and I want to pull some of his quotes out this month that have impacted me.

Here's the deal... I just had a birthday this week, so I'm thinking a little more about my health this year, and in Rath's book, Eat Move Sleep, he provides some great tips, challenges and reminders to any and everyone when it comes to our health.

This past week, I had a small surgery on one of my eyelids, and it turned into 5 days of very little activity, no lifting or bending, and lots of bruising, bleeding and discomfort. Of course, I'm old, so this is to be expected!

I had searched for something from Tom Rath last week, and ran into the quote above. Today, I identify with this as I've spent more time on my back this past week than I wanted to.

Last night my sleep was restless, my legs were aching, and finally this morning I was given a green light from my doctor to do some increased movement this week with limitations, but at least I'm moving again.

How does this quote hit you? Do you agree or disagree? What's your experience with movement?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“Great vision without great people is irrelevant." Jim Collins

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This is the last quote I'll share from Jim Collins.

This is tied mostly to this "Bus Theory" from Good to Great.

Collins shares: "First, get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats, and then figure out where to drive."

It's a concept I've used in many different ways over the years, and if just makes sense when it's simplified to "get the right people in the right seat on the right bus."

We need great people to help us pursue and fulfill our vision, and this is often one of the most difficult parts of being a leader:

• Who do I choose?

• How do I lead and manage them?

• What do I do when it's not working?

• How do I get them to leave on their own?

• Can I trust them? Do they trust me?

• I don't know why it's not working

Do any of those things sound familiar?

When I see Collin's words here, I'm reminded of the importance of finding the right people to come and join me in the vision I have before me.

How are you doing? Do you have the right people? Do you have ONE person? How do you do leading others?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“The difference between a good leader and a great leader is humility." Jim Collins

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I'm going to share 2 more quotes from Jim Collins.

Think about the quote above: What is humility in leadership?

While Jim Collins makes this statement, Jesus tells us exactly what it means. In Mathew 23 Jesus says:

"Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you'll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty." (MSG)

"The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." (ESV)

We all know people who are humble leaders. We're drawn to them, we learn from them, we follow them and we want to be like them.

Are you a humble leader? What does that look like in your life and leadership?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“Bad decisions made with good intentions are still bad decisions." Jim Collins

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

I want to continue to share some quotes from Jim Collins. As I've followed him and read a number of his books, he has said some things either in his writing or in interviews that have challenged me in profound ways.

The quote above is one of those.

As a leader, isn't this one of our biggest challenges?

We want to serve people, lead our team, make an impact, be a catalyst for growth and drive growth and success, yet when you take that all away it just comes down to the decisions we make.

If you're like me, sometimes I can spend more time justifying a bad decision than actually making the decision.

This quote reminds me and challenges me to THINK before making any decision and to not rush the decision making process.

What do you do in your decision making process to ensure that it's a GOOD Decision?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“If you have more than three priorities, you don't have any." Jim Collins

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This month let's spend some time with Jim Collins. Collins has spent years researching what has made companies GREAT and many of us have been introduced to him through his book, Good to Great.

I remember reading this book back in 2001, and I remember trying to do everything that I read! After going through the book and the principles more slowly, I realized that there were cultural aspects to every organization, and they couldn't be FIXED quickly, but needed to be embedded into the fabric of the organization.

I'm going to take this month to explore more of Jim Collins, but we'll just scratch the surface.

His quote above defines much of what he presents in his research. Organizations that last know what they need to do and they do it. Pretty basic right?

When I saw this quote last week, I was reminded that if I'm going to last long-term, it's not a quick fix, but a slow and steady race.

When you read Collins' quote above, what does that stir in you?

LEADERSHIP QUOTE:

“Servant leadership is all about making the goals clear and then rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win. In that situation, they don't work for you, you work for them." Ken Blanchard

A LITTLE BIT DEEPER:

This is the last of Ken Blanchards quotes that I'll share this month, but I encourage you to read some of his work. It's filled with valuable help for everyone in any kind of leadership!

Servant Leadership can be defined as: "A leadership philosophy built on the belief that the most effective leaders strive to serve others, rather than accrue power or take control."

That's one of the technical definitions, but Blanchard said it much simpler: "...rolling your sleeves up and doing whatever it takes to help people win."

Others First. That's Servant Leadership.

And then, did you see his last comment? "...they don't work for you, you work for them." Talk about a paradigm shift! My job as a leader is to serve those that I'm leading. That's it.

Blanchard teaches so much about Servant Leadership. What does this mean to you? How do you live this out in your leadership?