Message of the Day - By Our Example

Good Morning,

 

My current read is "Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons from the toys you loved as a child" by Roy Hunder and Michael Waddell (http://www.amazon.com/Toy-Box-Leadership-Lessons-Loved/dp/B0029LHX8K/). The book uses different toys as examples of leadership and what we can learn from them. For example, on the chapter covering Lego's, the leadership lessons are about connecting and communication through connecting, just like what you can do with Legos.

 

The chapter on the Slinky Dog really indicated to me about how we must lead by example. The slinky dog is a toy which has the front and rear ends of a dog connected by a slinky. When you move the front end of the toy in one direction, after a while the back end will follow and try to catch up with the head.

 

Like when we lead, we move forward, there is a a pause as the information (orders and requests) get assimilated and acted upon and then the rest of the organization or team moves forward to follow the leader.

 

The way the leader moves, how fast, how abrupt, how caring, etc. is going to impact are how the organization or team follows. 

 

If we were to think about how we, as leaders, act, and imagine our organization or team attached to us by a slinky, and that whatever or however we do something, the impact will be felt by the organization.

• If we are brash, the impact on our organization will be brash.
• If we are meek, the impact on our organization will be meek.
• If we pull too hard on our organization, we will stretch them out and maybe lose them.
• If we don't hard enough, the organization does not go anywhere.

Our personal example, that is, what we do, has a definite impact on others working with us, and using the dog slinky metaphor, it is actually easier to envision the repercussions of our actions as leaders.

 

It is fitting to see these toys work to provide lessons for us for life.

 

I am looking forward to finishing this book and seeing what we can learn from Mr. Potato Head and the little green army soldiers.

 

Enjoy!

 

Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
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