Enjoy monthly reads, reflections, and thoughts from our wisdom filled team.
Though on the surface you may believe that statement isn’t true, I challenge you to reflect on your initial reaction or the reactions from others around you when they heard of someone who was winning.
If you are the majority, someone around you probably immediately jumped in with a negative comment, judgement, or uneducated perception of the winner’s journey.
Why? Why don’t we applaud and appreciate winners more than we look for their faults?
I have an opinion on the topic.
As a Fighter Wing Commander, one of my favorite recurring events was engaging with our Airmen who were about to graduate Airmen Leadership School (ALS) along with my Command Chief. ALS is the first tier of professional military education for our enlisted force. Airmen must attend this course before taking their first level supervisory position as a non-commissioned officer (NCO). Up until this point in their careers, they have
Imagine, if the whole world stopped. You couldn’t leave your house. And, when you did, you had to wear a mask and gloves, and carry hand sanitizer. Once you were back inside the safety of your home, you had to wash your clothes in hot water, and your hands and body while singing Happy Birthday twice to make sure that soap had 20 seconds to kill the invisible virus. In this scenario, what would you focus on? How would you spend your days? How would you re-invent yourself for the new world?
What if I told you that with only a little practice, using tools you already possess, and at literally no out-of-pocket cost, you could:
· Deepen relationships, both professionally and personally
· Build trust
· Increase engagement and commitment in family and co-workers
· Learn and improve your personal knowledge base
As I look back over time, it seems like there are two types of organizations/teams:
1) Those that have developed a proactive approach to life in all areas. They understand the value of planning, assessing multiple outcomes, risk, place a high value on their health, surround themselves with a circle of influence (people smarter than they are), they are curious and life long learners (they want to be better than yesterday) and they see “opportunities” as opposed to “chaos/problems”.
Hint – they are using the Good to Great playbook, First Who……. Then What principle of Level 5 Leadership. For those who have not read the book Good to Great by Jim Collins, the first principle or character trait of a Level 5 Leader is this “First get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it…
