Archive for the ‘Modeling Behavior’ Category
Things Successful Leaders Avoid Saying (Part 6)
Leaders avoid saying things that shut down discussion and communication; some of these are obviously intended to do this, so using them can damage your credibility also.
Here are some examples:
“…Enough said.” or the colloquial “‘nuf said.”
“Last time I checked,” followed by something like “this was still a free country.”
“Just sayin’”
“No offense, but…”
“yes, BUT…”
A great alternative to the last one is “yes, AND” or, “maybe… it is ALSO true that…”
In your next give-and-take – especially if it’s heated – ask yourself (or put on a sticky note in front of you):
“Is my language shutting down the conversation, or keeping it open?”
And remember to sometimes just say “I don’t know – what do YOU think?”
Leaders say sorry, and mean it: The Quantum Apology Model
Dear friend, fellow educator, and previous guess blogger Matt Pries likes to share the following model, with is derived from the Quantum Learning school of thought: Read the rest of this entry »
Group Dynamic Primer Chapter Five: Modeling
It’s cliche to mock the “do as I say, not as I do” leadership failure. That’s because Read the rest of this entry »
Group Dynamic Primer Chapter Three: Integrity
Does it go without saying that leaders must have integrity? If so, sorry. Just a couple of weeks ago, a manager was telling me about having to let a seemingly great hire go. Seeing my surprise, she looked me in the eye and said Read the rest of this entry »
Effective leaders know when to ignore the tone…
“Samantha, please reinstate the afternoon tea and coffee cart for the residents, starting in November.”
Samantha [delivered with sarcastic tone and an eye roll] : “Well, sure, why not. Last time we tried it, Read the rest of this entry »
Effective leaders take three seconds to say this…
If the two-word definition of leadership is “Meet needs,” then you have frequent opportunities to be very explicit about that mission by taking three seconds to ask Read the rest of this entry »
For those who don’t get it…
Something that occasionally presents itself in the world of leadership is that there is one person, also a leader, who doesn’t “get it.”
Maybe it’s another teacher, a member of administration or your direct supervisor. They see what you are doing, they know that those you lead appreciate what you’re doing, but for one reason or another, they don’t think it applies to them. It’s usually one of the following: they think they’re already doing it, they think their team is doing fine and they don’t have the time to “waste,” or they think their way is better.
The Olympics of Dedication
The Olympics have a way of shining a new light on the meaning of dedication.
The opening ceremonies were comprised of one spectacular vignette after another, with thousands of performers, musicians and athletes knowing exactly where to go and what to do during every minute of their moment in the spotlight. That’s dedication.
Every commercial that runs during the Olympic Games tells the athlete’s tale of foregoing dessert, not watching TV, not skipping a single day’s workout in order to be the best. That’s dedication.
Then there was the Chinese farmer who spent the last two years traveling to London via rickshaw just to see the Olympic games. A little extreme, but yes – that’s dedication.
On owning your leadership style…
Let’s make the assumption that, as a leader, you’ve taken a number of human behavior assessments (like the Leadership Practices Inventory, Everything DiSC®, Strengths Finders or Myers-Briggs), and therefore you have some sort of description (or two or five descriptions) as to what kind of leader you are. What happens to those analyses after you finish the assessment? Do they sit on your desk? In a file? Or worse yet, do they take a one-way pass to the recycling bin?
Do leaders “pick on the people they really like”?
When I was in 6th grade, my music teacher, Mr. Jones, played us some “Switched-On Bach” – Bach performed on synthesizer. That was pretty cool back in 1980. If you’re over 40, I bet you know what I’m talking about. It actually got me really interested in “real” Bach music; I’m a fan to this day.
Mr. Jones was a real advocate, and fed me more to listen to, and encouraged my unusual (for a 6th-grade boy) passion for Baroque music. Until one day… Read the rest of this entry »
Leaders Communicate – that includes responding…
I’ve heard the word “wow” twice recently.
1) “Wow! Thanks for calling me back!” Someone called and left a voice mail; he wanted to Read the rest of this entry »
The Allegory of the Four-Way Stop
Four-way stops are easy, right? Stop, then take your turn after everyone else has gone. Is it a tie? Person on the right goes first. Easy. No problem.
Does everyone totally adhere to The Rules of the Four Way Stop? I bet they think they do. But you’ve seen these… Read the rest of this entry »
