You don’t have to be great alone - you have to be great together

Thank you for subscribing to The Crucible? newsletter, which goes out to leaders like you every other week and always offers a thought on something I’ve learned from clients, interviews, or an idea that seems worth sharing.

?My friend Todd Todd Sattersten is the publisher of Bard Press, and advises that before writers start on a book they're very clear about the problem they are trying to solve – and for whom (essay link below). I think it’s great advice for leaders as well.

I’ve observed that almost all leaders have great intentions almost all the time. Yet… they often fall short to being purposeful, intentional and methodical when it comes to knowing which problem they’re solving. In other words, the leader’s decision for action should be based on a problem's cause rather than mere symptoms. This is critical whether the leader is making decisions proactively (long-term thinking), or reactively (the crisis of the day).

Our book coming out on April 9th is titled “Purposeful People.” It's for people who intend to have or show uncommon determination or resolve. My chapter is on “Five Traits of an Indomitable Team: Lessons from Executive Expeditions.” The successful and high performing teams I’ve worked with over the past four decades as a leader, team member, executive, academician, consultant and expedition leader, all possess five indomitable traits:

1. Adventurous – willing to take risks
2. Selfless – a sense of duty
3. Driven – possess heroic aspirations
4. Dynamic – slow down to speed up
5. Protective – a safe environment.

These traits don’t come together to form social capital without a purposeful leader who creates and sustains an environment where the values become virtues for the highest good.

The books comes out April 9th, and you can register your interest here: https://www.kmdbooks.com/purposeful-people. All the proceeds go to charities (i.e., Children’s Cancer; Military Veterans & Families; Mental and Physical Health; and Homelessness).

 You might like…

Given the topic of purpose this week, you may want to share the “Grit: How Teams Persevere to Accomplish Great Goals” video (2m 13s) below with a friend or colleague.

“It really is about aligning people as a leader to something that has a bigger purpose and something that people are passionate about and when you do that you will find that people dig deep. That they express that grittiness that make teams really extraordinary.”

CEU - Continuing Education Units (1 certification available) | Project Management Institute (PMI)? | PDUs/ContactHours: 0.25

What I’ve been reading…

Here is the essay by Todd Sattersten I mentioned above: “Start With A Good Problem”

It’s worth checking out this quick read for the partial list of big problems people have as a starting point. Can you fall in love with the problem as Todd suggests?

What’s coming up…

Overcoming with Kara Goldin

On Wednesday, March 24th, listen in to hear from Kara Goldin. She is the Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc. and the Author of Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts & Doubters. Her book was written to inspire people to move past their fears and defy the doubters. She has been named one of InStyle’s Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs and EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Northern California. In this episode, Kara shares how to not let anyone crush your dreams!

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Jan Rutherford is an executive coach and keynote speaker. A former Green Beret and founder of Self-Reliant Leadership? - he also leads Crucible? wilderness expeditions with executives and veterans.