Category Archives: Leader

“Looney Tunes” Thanksgiving Leadership…

11 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by in Actions, Leader, Leadership, Looney Tunes, Servant, Thanksgiving, Trust

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To begin with, let me say that I am a huge Looney Tunes fan. Saturday morning, growing up, a bowl of cereal sitting in front of the TV. One solid hour of pure, free, clean comedy. The funny thing is that now as an adult, you realize how much of an adult overtone the cartoons had. Every once in a while, I’ll see one again, and I find them as funny, if not funnier than when I was a kid. I enjoyed the main characters, Buggs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, and the Tasmanian Devil. In some way or another, I can identify with each of their personalities.

So, for today’s blog, a Looney Tunes Thanksgiving leadership theme…

For those who can remember, these episodes were called Merrie Melodies. One of the episodes was Holiday for Drumsticks, starring Daffy Duck.  If you have time for a 6:42 laugh, click to watch, Holiday for Drumsticks – Daffy Duck

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Here’s the plot synopsis (taken from fandom.com)…

A hillbilly husband brings home a turkey. After shooting back at their feuding neighbor, the wife prepares some food to fatten up the turkey for Thanksgiving. The turkey is thrown into the animal pen. Daffy Duck, who happens to be one of the farm animals, is jealous of all of the food that the turkey is receiving. Once he sees a feast for the turkey, Daffy rushes to the turkey and tells him to stop eating. Daffy explains that the hillbillies want to fatten up the turkey then eat him, so Daffy says that the turkey should reduce his weight so the hillbillies won’t eat the skinny turkey.

In a montage, the turkey exercises day by day, while Daffy eats up the entire feast that was supposed to be for the turkey. On Thanksgiving Day, the turkey is now extremely slim, while Daffy is fat. Pa finds the turkey and states that it’s too bony for him to eat. However, the tables turn when Daffy brags that he is a healthy duck himself and that the hillbillies can’t eat duck for Thanksgiving. Pa finds Daffy a suitable alternative and attempts to axe and shoot him. Daffy frantically tries to lose his weight, but he nearly gets shot in all attempts. Daffy begs the turkey to save him, and the turkey hides him in various areas, before admitting that Daffy can’t be saved aside from moving to a country that doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. The turkey tells Daffy to take an airplane to Rio de Janeiro, which is a trick to get Daffy into the oven. However, the hillbillies are unable to cook Daffy, as Daffy keeps blowing the matches out.

So, where’s the leadership, you might be asking? How many times have we tried to help others, and it backfired? How often have we, like Daffy Duck, found ourselves having to constantly blow out the match? But… did Daffy Duck know what he was doing? The turkey even tried to trick Daffy in the end. Go figure…

Sometimes it’s a no-win situation. We have all been there before. I’m all about helping others; we should be. It should be in our nature as servant-leaders. I figure if we just do right by people, trust our instincts, and, as my grandfather said, “Make the most of whatever comes, and the least of whatever goes,” then our leadership will turn out alright. Even when it backfires…

Now, go enjoy your Thanksgiving Season with turkey or duck… Next week will be our annual Thanksgiving Thoughts.

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2022 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

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Intentionality of Leadership: Acknowledging Others…

04 Friday Nov 2022

Posted by in Actions, Education, Intentional, Leader, Leadership, Relationships, Servant

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The intentionality of leadership… Where has it gone? Better yet, why is it important? I guess we can answer the first question with it’s here, but we are “oh, so busy, I don’t have time to be intentional.” An answer to the second question might answer the first… why is it important? Well, I have found that intentional leaders usually help create an environment of confidence, helping others to develop and succeed. Their purpose, if we want to say that, is to put others first with support. So, if intentional leadership is here but not practiced, it would seem that time is more focused on themselves than others. Yep, that will keep you, “oh, so busy.” 

I’ve written a few blogs in the past on intentional leadership, but the topic came back to mind the other day when a friend and I were talking. So, here’s a different spin on it… 

Tricia Manning of Be Intentional says, “When you lead with intention, you foster an environment that teaches your employees that their work matters. You help them feel the importance of their contribution, build their self-confidence, and connect their work to their own core values. But this doesn’t just happen.”

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Leaders who are out and about have a better pulse on the culture than those who stay behind a closed door of an office… But it’s more than that… Just because you are out and about, being seen is not enough. It’s speaking to and allowing others to speak to you as well. Ok, bad grammar time –  Ain’t nothing is worse than a leader who walks by and sees you but doesn’t speak. You don’t have to stop and carry on a monologue; just say hello. You don’t even have to ask how they are doing. Just acknowledge, but do it without the “head nod;” take the time to speak.

While this might seem simple and little, another “foundism” I have is that the simple, little things of leadership matter. This defines us more than what we do on a larger stage. When we only serve others when convenient, our intentionality becomes inward-centered. 

As I write this, I realize that we are as much defined by what we don’t do as we are by what we do. As leaders, we provide enormous influence without having to say it. If we ever, really want people to work “with you” instead of “for you,” our leadership intentionality needs to acknowledge others. We could really use this in our classrooms as teachers with our students in education, by the way… 

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2022 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…

H.O.P.E. – Help One Person Everyday

21 Friday Oct 2022

Posted by in Actions, Authentic, Education, Educational Leadership, Effective, Hope, Leader, Leadership, Teachers, Transformational, Value

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This past Friday, at our weekly Civitan meeting, one of our guest speakers spoke and, while speaking, used the acrostic H.O.P.E. for Help One Person Everyday.

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When he said that, my leadership radar immediately went off, and I knew I could somehow get that in a blog. So, here we go…

If we dig into the word “hope,” we find that it comes from the old English “hopian,” which means a positive expectation. To me, it sounds like “hope in,” which is what we do when we hope. We place our hope in someone, something that changes the way we want an outcome; for ourselves or others.

If everything is working nicely, hope is really not in the conversation. However, we use hope to navigate for a specific outcome when challenges appear. I believe hope goes along with transformational leadership. Many times in leadership, we want hope for ourselves. That’s not a bad thing, per se. We hope this happens or does not happens. But when we truly serve with transformational leadership, we also hope for others. We create an inspiration that transcends into many facets of authenticity.

In leadership, our role should be to help others, and we should do that every day. I see too many leaders using others instead of helping. I see too many leaders who put themselves first instead of others. I see… you get the idea. When we help one person everyday, we acknowledge and give value to a belief of greater good.

H.O.P.E. works in all areas of leadership. It also works in education. That is what school leaders and teachers should do. We have buildings and classrooms full of students. Many students who need help, not only in the curriculum of the subject but in finding value in themselves. As educational leaders, we can do that. So many students go all day without being acknowledged. So many students need positive correction to understand that they can have value. This is what educating the whole child is about, and it is one area I believe education is failing.

Hope is needed. H.O.P.E. is also needed. We all need hope, and we all need help. Transformational leadership works because when we help others, we help ourselves; how I wish more leaders understood this. When we help one person everyday, society gets better. Let’s be both hope and H.O.P.E. today. Go Help One Person Everyday.

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2022 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…

Looking in the peripheral? You’ll lose your center focus…

14 Friday Oct 2022

Posted by in Actions, Decisions, Importance, Know Your Why, Leader, Leadership, Passive-Agressive, Purpose, Useful

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This past weekend, Breana and I installed a Ring security device on her apartment. Nothing major, just another level of security. As a dad, that’s important… 40854404

The Ring security device… it’s pretty cool how it works. If Ring asks, I’ll do commercials for them. The security measure I am most impressed with is its panoramic range. It can cover a good bit. I stood in the same spot and could not see what the device could see. I’m like, “How can that work?”

Anyway… as usual, it got me thinking.

Let’s change out the word panoramic to peripheral. How much of our leadership vision is so focused on stuff on the side that we do not see what is going on right in front of us? How many leaders do you know whose vision is so focused on the nuances of the side that they miss what is right in front of them that they do not see or maybe do not want to see?

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I would dare say that most leaders I know focused on the side stuff are micro-managers. Focused so much on the trivial, they believe impactful results can happen here. Small things on the side can help a leader create mini successes. They get caught there because it’s an area where they can flex their leadership the most; be seen and heard. Let’s say passive-aggressive also. However, if most of their effort is placed on the peripheral, what action is being taken on matters that mean the most at the core?

Eventually, our peripheral vision will max out. We have all followed the pen to the side of our head at the eye doctor. But that still does not excuse us for not knowing what is happening. Great leaders know how to move in and out of the peripherals. Be a leader that understands the things on the side while knowing the important things are in front of us. If a matter on the peripheral becomes important enough, it will move to the center area.

I equate peripheral vision to a side for a meal. I don’t go to a restaurant to order a side dish only; it’s just what I want to eat while I’m focused on what I want to order to begin with.

I’m glad the Ring security device has great peripheral/panoramic vision. It catches every movement within its range, helping solve a security issue. It would be nice if leadership could be the same way. I guess that’s why they say many cannot see the trees because of the forest.

Let’s go fight the good fight of leadership. Someone has to…

Go be a great educator and leader today… Our future needs it…

Remember… Think Leadership and Be For Others…

©2022 J Clay Norton

Want more Leadership Thoughts? Follow me on… Twitter @thebookchamber or follow the blog directly.

Want to share this leadership thought with others? Click on one of the social media sharing buttons below and help spread the good…