Last Week's Leadership Lessons - April 10, 2023

Lessons From The Week of April 3, 2023

This Week:?Self-Discipline / Wandering Minds / Power of Creativity

Reader Beware:?If you were here last time, you know the drill. Please feel free to jump right on ahead to the list of stories. If not, read from here on to understand what I'm trying to capture in this series.

Talking about leadership can be boring as hell!

We're always seeing and hearing the same old definitions, constructs, and formal tips related to and regurgitated about the leadership field, every so often punctuated by a perpetually rotating door of the latest industry buzzwords.

Even with all its great energy and intention, the themes and hopes of the leadership discipline, admittedly, can become a little monotonous -- without great stories and living examples to wake them up.

(Granted, I post about them as well. Guilty. So I guess maybe I mean "overkill." The?overkill?of your run-of-the-mill leadership ideas is what I'm trying to supplement -- and maybe unlock -- here through more unique takes and lenses.)

Hence why I launched this series.

In this series, I want to capture themes and ideas for leadership -- while being particularly cautious that they not be necessarily conveyed as leadership lessons in the articles or sources I cite. I want to find examples that demonstrate more lessons about HUMANITY than the usual script of clichéd leadership building blocks.

The way the world is going, I think it's essential to think about and take in more lessons on humanity in general than leadership specifically. And it's not like I'm forsaking one for the other; the former should inform and be the foundation for the latter. (That's just me. That's just my take.)

And to be clear, these valuable lessons, as I express them, aren't carved in stone. My translations aren't absolute. They can't be. It's not that simple. I think that's what gets us in trouble when it comes to learning (or not) about society and each other: Most issues are typically seen as black and white, left and right, up and down, one side or the other. But again, it's not that simple. Not everything can be. We force it to be that way. In most instances -- not all, but in most -- there is room for interpretation and different ideas and views to be exchanged somewhere on the middle ground. More nuance exists than we typically see -- or will admit.

And in that nuance there's beauty. Because in that nuance we can learn from each other. And because of that nuance, each of my interpretations is just one option for consideration in that middle ground of learning.

All that being said, below are three stories I came across last week that have valuable lessons for leadership, purpose, and expression. In reading these articles, you may find the lessons for leadership may not immediately stand out or reveal themselves -- and that's because lessons can range from the loud, obvious, and obnoxious to the subtle, unassuming, and hidden.

And although the source materials are not all leadership-related per se, they can all apply to leadership -- in terms of how you present yourself, navigate through life and work, and move, impact, inspire, and appreciate others.

Even if you feel you've already crafted your leadership to where you want it to be and the results clearly show it -- where others can get behind them and vouch for you -- it never hurts to continue learning from your fellow human beings, whether you know them or not.

Gestures, speeches, action, inaction, decisions, announcements, etc. They all tie in.

So bear with me. Some of them might seem like a stretch. But have some faith that I may be crazy -- but not?too?crazy.

This practice is merely effort to learn about ourselves, where we can improve, and how we can evolve.

Lessons are everywhere.

1. Are You A Disciple of the Self?

Most of us lack discipline. (I didn't out anybody. This is no big revelation. This IS most of us.) Even discipline for ourselves! Despite having the best of intentions, we tend to eventually renege on commitments to ourselves. (Case-in-point: new year's weight loss resolutions -- every year.) Most likely, it's because the commitments we break to ourselves have no obvious and explicit penalty, punishment, or repercussion. So we let ourselves down all the time, even if we're the only ones who know it. And what's strange is that, in our eyes, letting ourselves down isn't the worst thing that could happen to us. Heaven forbid we let someone else down and they be disappointed in us. Then we'd feel remorse, guilt, and shame. How ass-backwards are we?

I want this piece about self-discipline to serve you for your goals, wants, and desires, not those of others. It's time to have that respect and reverence for yourself.

Leadership Lesson:?Are you a disciplined leader? Do you get shit done, both in general and for yourself? If you are, kudos! If you aren't but want to be, this is for you! YOU NEED TO BE THERE FOR YOURSELF. You need to respect yourself and get things done for yourself. You should be the person you're impressing most first. Instead of merely giving away to others, exhausting your commitment energy on others and leaving none for yourself, pay yourself first.

Okay, it doesn't have to be first. You can do it simultaneously alongside your commitments to others. But we really need to talk about how you're investing in what you want and how hard you're fighting to refine that vision and go for your goal. Too many people are leaving so much of themselves on the sidelines, merely caving to what society expects of them -- an overwhelming belief that your value is tied to how much you selflessly give away to others. That ability to give to others alone, though, is much less of what you're truly capable of than if you also were disciplined and delivered for yourself.

Find the article?here.

2. WANDERING Minds Want To Know

This article is right. Right now, society is all about shutting out the noise and narrowing our focus. We seem to fight our wandering mind, not knowing how well it served us ages ago when we were primitive beasts. Back then, we had to be aware of so much more around us, considering different options, preparing for different situations and outcomes -- for survival. It's amazing how quickly people expect to reprogram millennia worth of our mental operating system. But we're all so different. That's why our mental states are so different from one another, with some being more extreme and/or debilitating than others.

Leadership Lesson: As a leader, yes, it is very important to focus on what is in front of us, but not always at the expense of the bigger picture around or beyond us. Again, everyone is going to have different needs and abilities, with some being able to work with their wandering minds better than others. Nothing is cookie-cutter, and we can't pretend we all operate in the same manner or that the same tools will work across different leaders and workers. So, this multitasking of the mind may be taboo to some but not for all. Are you trying to shut down the natural flow of your brain's operations? Have you found a balance where you're not too wrapped up and lost in the work in front of you, able to breath and exist outside of your duties and responsibilities to get a well-rounded mindset out of yourself?

Find the article?here.

3. This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain On Art.

It's always great to get a mental refresh and supplement the brain's slate of activity and perception. To step away from the project, work, or challenges at hand and take something else in or have a different experience. The abstract can open up our minds. The way in which creatives work outside the lines -- we can draw inspiration from that to step outside the script of the expected, the run-of-the-mill muscle memory of our work and industry. We can walk that line between the rules of our work and the lack of rules in many art forms we enjoy where we might be able to find motivation, inspiration, awe, and drive.

Leadership Lesson: As a leader, how do you step out of what you know, what is expected, and what is the usual script to instead view and take in the unorthodox and find renewal of energy and expansion of the mind. Most times, when leaders can step out of their work and take in some inspirational creativity, it sparks ideas, firing up motivation and channeling their own creativity for their own work.

I highly recommend both Rick Rubin's book The Creative Act: A Way Of Being and Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. Although these books deal more with being the creative, and not merely taking in other people's creativity, I believe the power to understand what we're capable of creatively, whatever that may mean for you, unleashes more of our energy, innovation, and drive for everything we do -- and want to do.

Find the article?here.

Honorable Mention

It's Fun...To Do Your Best Work

Leadership Lesson:?How do you get things out of your system to get to the creative juices and your optimal "working" energy? If too much energy is pent up for other things -- relationships, learning, fun, even relaxation -- you're not optimizing your own system to do the work and/or to lead anyone in any capacity, role, or moment. So, before you get to the work of the day, week, month, season, how do you get the need for fun out of your system -- whatever it may look like to you? Getting to that true fulfillment, no matter what area of your life it may be, including fun, can set your mind straight and energy clear for other things. Remember, it's worth the reminder: All work and no play...

Find the article?here.

Honorable Mention

Checklist: Re-Inventing Yourself

Leadership Lesson:?We always tend to wait too long to be ready. We wait until we get the alert that something is upon us to get our resources ready, make a checklist, and execute on preparation. But reinvention of ourselves -- ongoing evolution -- should be a constant exercise. There don't need to be big wholesale or substantial changes for it to happen but merely an awareness of its need. We need to remain open to the possibilities and opportunities that are available to us. This awareness and action shouldn't just serve as contingency planning in case what we're doing now doesn't work out. This is about getting better, even if just 1% better in whatever way, every day. Yes, this article is about career transitions, but it's just one area where, again, early, ongoing discovery is key to being prepared. We need to be ready to be ready, whether in life, work, business, and/or leadership. The unpredictability most leaders need to navigate is a prime example where preparation is key.

Find the article?here.

That's it! That's the list for this week.

What other examples of leadership lessons – maybe even those that aren’t so apparent and obvious – do you come across in your everyday life and work?

What have you read lately that offers some insight on being human and navigating life -- and yes, by default, leadership.

Reach out and let me know what you think of these. Please share your own if you've found articles or stories with great lessons or insights that can contribute to how we carry ourselves through our lives and work.

Covered In Previous Posts

April 3, 2023 - Apologizing / Preparation / Bad Habits

March 27, 2023 - Procrastination / Confident Introversion / Thought Leadership

March 13, 2023 - Listen Up! / Anxiety Is Old News / Manhood Stuff

March 6, 2023 - Slow Down! / Hope & Happiness / Primitive Empathy

February 27, 2023?- Fear of Public Speaking / Being Interrupted / Sensitivity

February 20, 2023?- Communication / Doing Just Enough / Self-Compassion

February 13, 2023?- Self-Belief / Leadership Branding / Inner Child

February 6, 2023?- Happiness / Facades / Wisdom

January 30, 2023?- Legacy / Emotional Intelligence / Stupidity

January 23, 2023?- Leadership Vulnerability / Creativity / Respect