Teaching Moments In Leadership By Rear Admiral Ray Smith, USN (ret) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Make good use of the leadership prism pointing down! Ignore at your own risk! Avoid superficial measures when evaluating employees’ potential. Do not waste time or energy on the “mud” of life! Wash it off and move forward! Maximize opportunities to work directly with your employees. Learn to deal with unpredictability. It’s predictable! Use caution when increasing workload…slowly, at a pace which enables employees to adjust. Remember, making decisions on your own produces outcomes, not necessarily solutions! Find a way! There is always a way! Two is one and one is none! Stay situationally aware of your company’s personal and business dynamics. Develop a work environment where your employees continue to learn. Personal recognition is vital to individual morale and effectiveness. It’s not the lofty sail but the unseen wind that moves the ship. You are the sail and your employees are the “unseen wind”. Basic leadership arithmetic! Authority + responsibility = accountability. BE a personal example of what you expect from your employees. “Know” your employees! They have lives outside of the work place! Be aware and responsive to life crossings. You can change someone’s life! Create “teaching moments” within your organization. Right place, right time, right conditions! Avoid empowerment! ENABLING your employees is the key to their self-esteem and productivity. Learn from failure! “Sometimes the brightest light comes from a burning bridge!” Do not fail at the same thing twice! “There is no wisdom gained in the second kick of a mule!” Beware the Law of Unintended Consequences- i.e., great idea in concept, lousy idea in execution. Do YOUR job! It is embarrassing to order an aircraft carrier anchor for your dinghy! Leaders beware! Personal myths born of youth, which form the foundation of adult personalities, are almost completely devoid of facts and logic! When faced with two courses of action in life, always take the one most personally uncomfortable. It will be the right one! “Loyalty before all, except before honor!” “Perfect knowledge” is elusive, but never emerges from one person! Leaders are responsible for strategy, but they must also retain a working knowledge of the organization’s tactical environment. Avoid complacency, the “dark side” of success. Strive for excellence! Build a team of consistent, not streak hitters! Aristotle had it right! “We are what we repeatedly do!” Excellence then, is not an act but a habit! Like Navy SEALs have learned, the only easy day was yesterday! Manage energy- not time!