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February 5 - February 19, 2019
If you want to be a connecting leader, become a better listener. Invite others to hold you accountable.
As leaders, we must never underestimate the value of reminding others that we believe in them.
CHAPTER 9 TEAM UNIFORMITY TO TEAM DIVERSITY The Improvement Shift
Diversity slowly marked me with this thought: people different from me could make a positive difference in me.
good leaders see diversity as one of the best ways to build a world-class team.
Patrick Lencioni wrote about this in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict in order to grow.
What prejudices, whether conscious or unknown, do you possess that are keeping you from connecting with people unlike you and diversifying your team?
If you dismiss the ideas of and potential contributions of others, especially of those offered by people different from you, you will never reach your potential and neither will your team.
the best antidote I’ve ever found for personal insecurity is to think about helping other people and putting them first. When you do that, you stop worrying about trying to look good, and you put your attention on making others look good.
To embrace diversity, we must celebrate our differences. But I still believe the way we get there is to look for common ground.
If we can connect where we’re similar and contribute using our differences, we can accomplish great things.
CHAPTER 10 POSITIONAL AUTHORITY TO MORAL AUTHORITY The Influence Shift
a leadership position does not give someone leadership authority. And having a title is not the same as having influence.
Moral authority is the recognition of a person’s leadership influence based on who they are more than the position they hold.
It is attained by authentic living that has built trust and it is sustained by successful leadership endeavors. It is earned by a lifetime of consistency.
it is grounded in four things: competence, courage, consistency, and character.
Everything starts here. Competence is the core of moral authority.
If you can’t do your job, if you can’t deliver the goods, if you can’t lead the team well, why would anyone want to follow you? You can’t cultivate moral authority unless people respect you.
Doing work with excellence to full completion helps a person develop a reputation for competence.
leaders need to also cultivate influence with others and demonstrate competence in their ability to engage with people and motivate and inspire them to work together.
Leadership authority shrinks or expands with a person’s courage.
Martin Luther King Jr. found his voice during the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. His words still resound today: “Our lives begin to end the day we remain silent about things that matter.”
Every leader who possesses moral authority has had to stand alone at some point in time. Such moments make leaders.
Such stands are often very difficult, but when leaders look back afterward, they often see those as their proudest moments.
Moral authority is the credibility you earn by walking your talk . . . It is the relationship other people see between what you say and what you do, between what you claim to be and what you are.
Nothing compensates for a lack of moral authority.
No amount of communication skills, wealth, accomplishment, education, talent, or position can make up for a lack of moral authority.
What Stanley described is internal consistency between values and actions, which is essential to a leader’s success if he or she desires to gain moral authority. Equally important is the ability to be consistent over time.
to have moral authority, our intentions must be right; the motives of the heart must be good.
I define integrity two ways. First, it’s the alignment of your values and actions.
Leaders with moral authority hold themselves to a high standard of conduct.
The second definition has to do with decision-making. Leaders of integrity do the right thing, even when it’s hard, even when it’s not best for them personally.
To be the best leader you can be, you need to acknowledge who you really are and be willing to let people witness your authenticity.
humility is an essential quality for a leader who possesses moral authority.
The final character quality to embrace as a leader in order to have moral authority is love. You must care about people. You must respect them. You must value them.
you don’t get to grant yourself moral authority. You can choose to strive for it, but only others can give it to you, and they must do so freely.
if you gain moral authority, it makes you worthy of respect, inspires trust and confidence, and enables you to lead at the highest standards of performance.
CHAPTER 11 TRAINED LEADERS TO TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS The Impact Shift
if you make only one leadershift in your life, this is the one I would wish for you to choose.
The impact shift from trained leaders to transformational leaders will bring the greatest change to your life and the lives of those around you.
When transformational leaders believe that their cause can make a difference, then they bring conviction to their leadership.
I would rather try something big that is almost impossible than something small that won’t make a difference.
The first person you must lead will always be you.
If you want to see positive changes in your world, the first person you must change is you.
If you want to lead any positive change, you need to realize this: transformation begins with you. If you are not willing to change, you are not going to be able to help anyone else.
If you think you’re leading but no one is following you, then you’re only taking a walk.
To be transformational, leaders must develop and reproduce leaders.
CHAPTER 12 CAREER TO CALLING The Passion Shift
A job is not your calling, no matter how much money it will allow you to make or how it allows you to serve people. A job is merely a vehicle with the potential to take you toward your calling.
Your calling, when you find and embrace it, will result in the merging of your skills, talents, character traits, and experiences.
