LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM MOM

These leadership lessons are taken from Jeff Jansens leadership newsletter:

8 LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM MOM
1. Leadership demands action.

Growing up, a phrase I heard often from my mom was, "When good does nothing, evil triumphs."

Leadership demands action. Leaders have an obligation and duty to step up and stand for something. Yes, it's much easier to complain, whine, and pout about the state of affairs... But what really does it accomplish?

Through my mom's example of getting involved in a variety of community organizations, I learned that leaders are compelled to get involved and active. They get in the trenches to understand the challenges so that they can be a part of the solutions to overcome them.

They become a force for good - rather than a "feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making them happy," in the words of George Bernard Shaw.

Leaders do something, and in so doing, combat the forces of entropy and evil that can so quickly and easily take over like weeds overcoming an untended garden. Leaders can't sit idly by and do nothing.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

And Seth Godin, author of a great book called Tribes, says, "Leadership is a choice. It is the choice to not do nothing."

What demands your action this week?

2. Leaders pour their hearts and souls into their people and their purpose.

Leaders are all about their people and their purpose. They invest themselves fully into their people and purpose - knowing that in the long run, all the time and energy will be worth it.

Leaders willingly subvert their own ego for their cause. They understand that their success is not measured in how well they do - but ultimately in how well their people do.

My mom feels to this day that her most important job is to be a mother. She carries on that responsibility in our family and her community. She extends it into the community by mentoring at-risk children. She lets it guide the decisions she makes as a school board president - always keeping in mind what is best for the children.

How are you pouring yourself into your people and purpose?

3. Leaders plant seeds of success.

Leaders invest the time to plant seeds of success in their followers. They create a positive vision of what people can become and continually encourage and nudge them along that path.

I was told often by my mom, "You are a child of destiny. You are destined for great things." She provided me with very fertile soil to explore my interests, try new things, and find my passion and purpose in life.

What seeds of success are you planting in those you are leading?

4. Leaders hold people to a higher standard.

While great parents, coaches, and leaders are very caring, they also know that a big part of their responsibility is to hold people accountable. They are willing to take the tough, yet often unpopular stances for the good of their people.

What tough but unpopular stances did your parents take during your childhood?

Growing up in a community where alcohol was prevalent and often abused, one of my mom's unmistakable standards was that I could not drink in high school. She made it very clear that if I chose to drink, I would not be able to do what I loved - which was play basketball. While most of my classmates spent the weekends going to parties and getting drunk, I stayed home. Yes it was tough at the time to not be a part of the popular peer group, but ultimately I now understand it was for my long-term benefit. I learned that respect is much more important than popularity in the long run.

As a leader, what unpopular but important standards are you willing to hold yourself and your people to for their long-term greater good?

5. Leaders value honesty and accountability.

Honesty and accountability are the hallmarks of great families, sports teams, businesses, and organizations. Without honesty and accountability, trust can never occur. And without trust, you cannot sustain long-term success.

It took me a couple of tries to learn the value of this lesson. In junior high I lied to my parents about attending my guitar lessons when I actually went to the football field instead. And I forged my mom's signature when I didn't complete an assignment she had been warning me about for weeks. In both instances of course, I got caught. I learned the hard way to be honest and accountable for my actions.

Are you willing to hold your people accountable for their actions?

6. Leaders provide strength and hope during the depths of despair.

Sports and life are filled with adversity. How did your parents handle the inevitable adversities that came their way?

My mom has faced tragedy often throughout her life. She lost her mother when she was only 18, and as the oldest daughter with 11 brothers and sisters, became the de facto mom of the family. She survived two bouts with cancer. She overcame two miscarriages. She survived the passing of her husband and my father at the young age of 57.

Despite these tragedies, she reminds us that the human spirit can survive anything. When trivial troubles are getting any of us down, she reminds us that we have survived much worse.

How do you provide strength and hope to your team, family, or school when adversity hits?

7. Leaders remember and appreciate the little things.

Leaders are tuned into the little things that make a BIG difference. They realize that it's the little kindnesses you do on a regular basis that forge the strongest ties.

My mom demonstrates this in the cards she sends for virtually every occasion. She painstakingly picks out the most appropriate card and always has it arrive in a timely fashion. She not only does this for our immediate family but her extended family and friends as well. Birthdays, anniversaries, St. Patrick's Day, you name it, my mom will send the absolute best card to celebrate you and the occasion.

This seemingly simple act of kindness is one that is greatly appreciated by those who receive them. We know that she cares about us because of the time she takes to select the card and send it to us on time. It's these seemingly little acts of kindness that say so much.

What little things are you doing as a leader for your team, family, organization?

8. Leaders keep it all in perspective.

Finally, leaders are able to keep everything in perspective. They invest themselves fully but also are able to keep their priorities in order. As author Stephen Covey suggests, they spend their time on the important, not the urgent.

In one of the many aforementioned cards she sent my mom wrote the words, "Family grows more and more important as I age a little bit." It served as a reminder to me how precious a family can be - and was especially poignant having lost my dad.

Successful captains, coaches, parents, and leaders keep it all in perspective because they are able to separate the important from the urgent, and devote their time accordingly.

How can you invest more of your time on the important rather than the urgent this week?