The Dash

Scott Humphrey, CEO, WFCA

Taking the Lead - The Dash

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big fan of birthdays.

What really bothers me is the realization that my dash is running out. Let me explain. On a headstone there are two dates—the date you were born, and the date that your life ended. In between those two dates is your dash.

That dash represents everything you accomplished in your life—every success and every failure, every opportunity seized and the ones you passed up, every heartache felt and every celebration you experienced. That dash also represents your opportunity to have an impact on this world and the people you meet along the way.

In addition to “celebrating” my 60th birthday, I am also observing my 10th anniversary as the head of the WFCA. It was days before my 50th Birthday when I was honored to step into the most challenging and rewarding professional role in my life. So much has changed personally and professionally over the last decade.

Which brings me to one commonality between birthdays and anniversaries. I approach both as an opportunity to do a check up on me as an individual and a leader. It is a man in the mirror moment. It is a time when I do a deeper dive into questions that all leaders should be asking on a regular basis:

Do I like the person looking back at me?

Am I satisfied with the path I am on?

Am I making a difference in the lives of others?

What is holding me back? And why?

Am I prepared for the future?

Am I fulfilling my purpose?

Well, you get the idea. It is a time of reflection. With that in mind, I would like to share with you a few lessons I have learned over my last 10 years as the CEO of the WFCA…lessons you can apply to your personal and professional life.

Lesson 1 – Success is all about the team

Ultimately your success as a leader will have less to do with your ability and more to do with those who are willing to follow your leadership. If you are the kind of leader who loves the credit and craves the spotlight, your determination alone will likely lead to a smattering of successes, but you will never have the impact possible unless you are willing to surround yourself with people smarter, more visionary, and even harder working than you.

As a leader, if these types of individuals intimidate you, you will ultimately never achieve the success possible by simply putting the right people in the right seats on the bus. Your job is to determine the destination, demand the focus, and lend the support necessary for success. If you think you can do it all—and there are a ton of leaders out there who do—you will make life miserable for your team and never achieve the success that is possible for you or your business.

Lesson 2 – Failure can deter you but should never define you.

The greatest leaders this world has ever seen all suffered failure – many multiple times. The key is not to live in failure, but to learn from it. Please don’t misunderstand, I am not telling you to get comfortable with failure. I hope each failure hurts but does not haunt you. I hope it saddens but never stifles you. Let every failure, even catastrophes, become catalysts that spur you and your team on to greatness. Here is the key: take time with your team to look back long enough to identify the behaviors that lead to failure. Analyze the choices, but refuse the urge to cast blame on an individual. As one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever known—Zig Ziglar—said, “Failure is an event. It is not a person.”

Lesson 3 – Embrace change.

This one is closely tied to Lesson 2. If you are not embracing change, chances are it is because you are afraid of failure. And it is not enough that you embrace change. Your team must do as well. I see this as a foundational core to strong leadership and exceptional performance. If you are not creating an environment where strategic change is encouraged and accepted, you are not a leader. You are a manager. Managers manage what is already in place. Leaders challenge their teams and organizations to boldly go toward the destination of fulfilling the organization’s purpose.

In the decade I have been leading the WFCA, here are a few of the changes we have experienced as a team: relocated our headquarters from Anaheim, CA to Dalton, GA; acquired CFI, launched the Floor Covering Leadership Council; committed the seed money to establish the Floor Covering Education Foundation to solve the installation Crisis, Changed our membership structure expanding our membership from 1200 primary members to some 12,000 today; acquired fcB2B, invested in new technologies; seen key leadership changes; and I could go on… Change is the one constant in a growing organization, and great leaders embrace it.

So, what about you? Will you commit to taking a look in the mirror? Will you commit to making your dash one of value and impact not only to your business, but to the people responsible for its success? It is my hope the lessons above will inspire you to make changes in your life changes that will make your dash have even greater value. ■