Category Archives: Importance

Crushing Your Leadership?

16 Friday Aug 2019

Posted by in Expectations, Importance, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Reflection, Servant

≈ 4 Comments

Well, here we are again with the start of another school year and for many of us, the first full week with students. As we look toward the end of May, the 36 weeks ahead of us does seem long. However, you are in a position to control the magnitude of your attitude and spread your leadership most positively.

A few weeks ago, I was playing golf one Saturday morning with our group. It was my turn on the tee box, and hit a drive that CBS Golf would have loved to put the shot-tracer on. As I got back into the cart, I told my partner, “That was crushed.” You might want to know that our group does “trash talk” each other out of jest, and we have a lot of fun with it. Norm, who is a great friend and mentor in my life, said, “It didn’t go as far as you think it did.” In response (ego inflated), I said, “That had to carry at least 260.” When we got to my ball, Norm just patted me on the back and said, “about 230.” Now, with my ego deflated, I said, “Well, the wind must have picked up while my ball was in the air.” Norm, in his mentor voice, made a profound statement, “They never go as far as we think they do.” (I still think it flew farther… Maybe his SkyCaddie was broken?)

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As I look back on that conversation, I immediately thought about leadership and the notion that a lot of times, we believe our leadership carries a lot further than it actually does. “Profoundess” and good intentions are needed, but what of lasting ripple effects?

Do you see your leadership as a “hit or miss” idea? Is it like a new clothing style, a fad that you will hope it comes back in style one day? Or, is it something more than like a one-hit song? What we are looking for is that all-time greatest hit, styles that transcend time, and leadership that hits the target.

Measuring your leadership takes time, but how long? I am not sure what the answer must be or is, but I do believe if you lead with a servant-heart, the lasting effects will carry the actual distance it should. Strong leadership is seen over time, whereas weak leadership is almost recognized immediately.

A few thoughts to make sure our leadership carries the distance it should over the course of your endeavors for the foreseeable future…

  • No matter how small, how routine, or how insignificant your leadership may seem, someone is always watching, and you never know what effects it will bring.
  • Your call to pursue quality leadership is built on the foundation of being for others that rests on servant hood. Any pursuit of leadership apart from this is futile and only for yourself.
  • It must be recognized, however, that to have the right view of your leadership, you must hear what others say.

Providing leadership that carries as far as we think is often tricky. Societal “feelings” change with the drop of a handkerchief. Sometimes, there actually may be a strong wind in our face. However, others always see the results. Our challenge is to find a way that measures the true distance our leadership carries, and eliminate the self-inflated ego that gets in the way.

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others

©2019 J Clay Norton

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For The Birds…

24 Monday Jun 2019

Posted by in Actions, Importance, Leader, Leadership

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Sitting on my front porch is something I enjoy more and more nowadays. Yes, I guess that does mean I am getting older. I find it fascinating to sit, watch, listen, think, and rest enjoying a glass of tea or lemonade in the afternoons or coffee in the mornings. The sound of the breeze as it bristles through the leaves of the trees, the sound of birds as they fly, perch on the tree limbs and make their noises, the smell of fresh-cut grass, and the smell of fresh rain as it cools the day. All these things begin to resonate into a peaceful, tranquility of getting older.

For the birds

Right off our porch, we have two bird feeders hanging in a crepe myrtle tree. Since school has been out for almost a month now, I found myself being drawn to our front porch and watching the birds come in to eat, wondering what birds will show up today. Our frequent visitors consist of cardinals, wrens, blue jays, a few woodpeckers, a few doves, others I do not know the name of, and my favorite – the unknown bird with a curved bill. What is even more amazing to myself, believe it or not, is that I actually have binoculars sitting on the table of our front porch so I can get a “closer” look at my new friends and their appetite.

As I have watched these birds, I have noticed a few similarities to leadership, and its effect toward all of us being creatures of habit.

When the wrens stop by, the entire family shows up. You know what happens next, they start fighting for a position at the table. Even when they nestle in, not all are happy. Often, you can see two of them go at it for what seems like something petty. When there are only two or three, everyone gets along for the most part. Nothing really changes when the cardinals stop by, but they do seem to hang out only with other cardinals. The blue jays are bullies and are aggressive from the start. They run everyone else off when they stop by except for the woodpeckers. The woodpeckers come in knowing they do not have to beat their brains in for food, and the doves just sit there cooing, glad they do not have to hear the noise of the woodpeckers.

Now about that curved-bill bird… Fat-bellied and takes up a lot of rim space. When he sits down, the feeder tilts to one side. I do not know how he stays so fat, all he does is walk around the rim, making everyone else leave. His “nose” is out of joint for sure. He just doesn’t seem happy and wants all the other birds to be unhappy also. He even runs the blue jays off. He definitely thinks he is large and in charge.

Funny thing is with all of this… Just like birds are creatures of habit, so are we as humans. As I sit and observe, I consider the fact that we can all identify with some, if not most of the above characteristics. There are those who “fight” their own kind for a seat at the table, and while we enjoy our family, a spat does happen from time to time. You can also see leaders who are aggressive and bully others and those who just want to stay with their kind (yes, birds of a feather do flock together). Many people make a lot of noise, just wanting to be heard, and some just sit and “coo” at everything that happens, good or bad. And yes, there are even the curved-bill people with their nose out of joint all the time, wanting everyone to be miserable because they are.

Admittedly or not, we are creatures of habit, even in leadership. The question that has to be answered is, “Are the leadership habits you have, good or bad?” My thought on bad leadership is just like the title of this blog… “For The Birds!”

Thanks again for reading.

©2019 J Clay Norton

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Square Peg, Round Hole Leadership

10 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by in Actions, Authentic, Character, Consistency, Decisions, Facade, Importance, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Purpose, Relationships, Servant

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“I can make it fit. No, you can’t, it is not going to work. You know it, and I know it. Fine, I’ll show you. Go ahead then, you will figure it out.” Moments later, “Why will this not fit?”

A square peg in a round hole… the classic idiom.

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We have all seen the pre-school hands-on learning tool, and we have seen children trying to figure it out. Never ceasing to be amazed at the comedy that it provides.

Oh, but how many leadership truths can be found in something so trivial?

Now, fast-forward to adults in leadership settings who are trying to do the same thing. Have you ever asked that question of, “How did that person get that leadership position?” The comedy increases, but it is not the same kind of harmless fun. It takes on a whole new level that could have a negative effect on many.

Bottom line, truth to be considered, is the fact that some people have leadership positions because of who they know instead of what they know. Yes, believe it or not, wrong people can be in leadership positions. Why and how, are questions that probably do not want to be answered. It happens, and we see it every day. Our society is running rampant with it in every area imaginable where leadership is involved.

While the outer appearance looks great, square peg, round hole leaders really do not contribute to the growth and development of others. Motivation is done through fear, and the assertion of their leadership only happens when mistakes are made, thus creating rejection.

Square peg, round hole leaders sell a facade of leadership that it can work and the main issue is that many “trick” themselves into thinking that it actually can, knowing all along that the square peg is not fitting in that round hole.

So, what to do? I have more questions than I have answers for this blog post, but I do know that time has a way of revealing everything for what it is worth. The one constant I believe that will always work is to be for others and the greater good and not your own self-interests.

©2019 J Clay Norton

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

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Is Your Leadership A Gift?

14 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by in Actions, Choice, Gift, Giving, Heart, Importance, Integrity, Leader, Leadership, Present, Purpose, Relationships, Servant, Transactional, Transformational, Value

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It’s the season of giving…

First, a disclaimer… This is about intentional giving and not about giving out of obligation (I have never been a fan of that anyway).

Have you ever considered the mental taxation and stress that goes on our hearts and minds of buying a present? Often, there are serious calculations that take place, causing the Advil bottle to empty quickly. The heavy sighs of not knowing what to give, the internet searches, the pages of the catalogs turning, asking others what they think, looking for the one present that says as much about you as it does the person you are buying for.

When we buy a present for someone, it is nothing more than a transaction.  Hardly any feelings take place between the seller and the buyer.  There is probably a friendly, polite conversation but no emotional feelings are exchanged. Why? Because when we make a purchase, a relationship is not established. Just another heavy sigh takes place, but this time one of relief, knowing that you have completed the task.

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But…
Once you give that present to someone, it becomes a gift — everything changes; you take on a different mindset — the anticipation in hoping that everything you went through to make that “transaction” was worth it. Relationships are established when we give the present. The present becomes a gift because when we give it, we are expressing to that person you value them and you want them to be a part of your family or a part of your inner circle.

For some of the gifts we give, a lot of thought process goes into it.  We really try hard to find that perfect gift for others.  Why is this? Intentionality! I believe when we give gifts, it says something about what is inside of us and the relationship that we have with the recipients.  As I think about it a little more now, everything we give shows what is inside of us.  Our time, money, thoughts, etc.; even our leadership.

What then can be said of our leadership as we give it to others?  Is it intentional or out of obligation? Is your leadership nothing more than a present of a transaction? Does it matter what we give in regards to leadership?  I believe so.  Let’s make sure that it does. Turn your leadership into a gift for others. Let it transform not only you but them also.

©2018 J Clay Norton

Remember… THINK LEADERSHIP!

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