Word count without title and bio: approx. 1585

A Collection of Leadership Lessons

by Mindy McCorkle

Yes, I’m one of those: a collector. I collect things; lots of things. Over the last year or so, I started collecting leadership lessons. I am fortunate enough to have lots of opportunity to observe and interact with many successful leaders across several industries and I “collect” their leadership lessons. My favorite question to ask a leader is this: What is the one lesson you’ve learned that you will never forget? I’ve compiled the most eye-opening answers here to share with you. By collecting these lessons, my hope is that one day, I too can become a successful leader.

As I typed these lessons, I tried to take a serious, introspective look at my leadership abilities. In doing so, I felt a bit like I was on the front pew in church and that the sermon was directed specifically at me. I am certainly guilty of doing many of the things this collection indicates effective leaders shouldn’t do! So really this article is mainly for me; to make me face my challenges head on; in black and white. Because it would take the whole magazine to list every item in my collection, I’ve selected ten of my favorites. You may not agree with all of these; some were collected from some very progressive leaders but perhaps this part of my collection can help you in some small way.

  • Watch the Top Performers: Practically every company has had to learn to do more with less - more work with less people, less money, less resources. This has created longer hours, heavier workloads, and more stress on every associate. Leaders tend to focus on associates who need assistance in developing their skills, require guidance and support, or have performance challenges that mandate a closer eye. Now, more than ever, we simply must pay attention to the extra pressure that is being put on our top performers. These are the associateswho always go the extra mile, put in the extra hours, take on extra projects, and hold themselves to a higher standard. All of this makes them more susceptible to burn-out. And nothing inhibits productivity, self-fulfillment, and associate loyalty like burn-out.
  • Beware of The Golden Child Syndrome. While we do need to keep an eye on our top performers to guard against burn-out and to ensure they are adequately applauded, we also have to make sure we aren’t creating a “Golden Child.” If you are lucky enough to have an associate or two on your team that show extreme potential, always over-perform, consistently over-achieve, constantly provide the right solutions to challenges, by all means, recognize and reward!! Be cautious though that you don’t create animosity among the other associates. Always being in the shadow of the Golden Child can be exhausting for the other associates and if they begin to feel as if nothing they do will live up to the standards the Golden Child has set, they may stop trying. If the perception is created that the Golden Child gets first dibs at new opportunities, special projects, incentives, etc., you may start seeing visible signs of animosity or jealous, above and beyond healthy internal competition. If one associate is constantly being recognized more than others, at least make sure that everyone understands why that person deserves it. This is likely especially true if the Golden Child is a long-time employee. You’ll want to make sure that the perception isn’t that he/she is “golden” just because they’ve got seniority. Regardless of how valuable your Golden Child is, you likely can’t run your business with just him/her!
  • React Thoughtfully. We all know words can’t be unsaid. And in today’s techno-focused world, virtually everything ends up on the internet in some form or fashion. Approach every situation as if it will end up on the internet. If you would be embarrassed if what you are about to say or do were to end up on YouTube or Facebook, STOP. My Dad used to call this “putting your mind in gear before you put your mouth in motion.” When faced with difficult or touchy situations, stop to think of the desired outcome first. You could prevent overreacting or letting your emotions get in the way. The negative effects an inappropriate outburst can have a long-lasting negative effect on your reputation. Even in the best economy, you can’t buy back a good reputation.
  • We’re ALL busy! Management associates who constantly talk about how busy they are or what a full workload they have may be sending the wrong message to their associates. Everyone is busy these days. Sure, there are different levels of busy. But using “busy” as an excuse or “reason” for not getting things done is old news. Busy is the new norm – embrace it and quit whining about it!
  • Keep your stress to yourself.If your employees see changes in your behavior (irritability, lack of engagement, moodiness), they may try to read between the lines and that almost always leads employees to incorrect conclusions. Stress can be contagious. If an otherwise relatively low-stress associate sees major signs of stress in the leader, their stress level will most certainly increase.
  • Don’t wear your “disorder” like a badge of honor. You may consider yourself to be a perfectionist. That’s fine. But if you are constantly telling your associates that you are, eventually they may begin to believe they will never measure up. Do you joke about being have Attention Deficit Disorder? That could make your associates feel as if you aren’t interested or don’t care enough to really listen to them. Call yourself a Control Freak? OK. But what message does that send to your employees? Does that make them think you don’t trust them? Maybe. Ever joke about having OCD? Sure, folks may chuckle but Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a real disorder that causes real pain. Not a joking matter, really.
  • TRUST goes both ways. You want your team to trust you. And we all know we have to earn trust. As a leader, we also have to learn to trust others. Learn to trust the systems and the people that you put in place. It is very easy to look over youremployee's shoulders, to second guess them, yourselfor the decisions made. Don't do it. Keep yourmind on strategic thinking and leave the micromanaging, 2-steps-forward-3-steps-back, changing your mind every few days, non-trust behind.
  • If you don’t have the right people in place, ACT QUICKLY! It’s easy to resist associate separations in a time when your workforce may already be thinner than you’d like – and none of us relishes the thought of terminating someone. But the bad apple can truly spoil the rest of the barrel. If associates see poor performance ignored, or worse yet – seemingly rewarded, where is their incentive to become exceptional performers? Your firm has standards. Keep the associates who consistently meet those standards and separate from those who don’t.
  • Check your personal baggage at the door. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t bond with your team. Sharing personal information can surely strengthen the team dynamic. The big stuff, though – the baggage – leave it outside. If you’re angry at your spouse, keep it to yourself. If you’re going through a major personal change, put it in the closet while you’re at work. If you have an outside friendship with someone at work, keep it private. Many companies have fraternization policies; that’s not really what we’re talking about here. Let’s say you have forged a close friendship with someone in accounting. And every Monday morning, one of you is overheard talking about what you did together over the weekend. Even if that person doesn’t report to you, even if you are peers, in completely separate departments, what if one of your associates needs to register a complaint against ‘your friend’? Will they be comfortable doing so? Could they feel disloyal in reporting against someone they know to be their leader’s friend? Will they assume you will go to bat for your friend so why bother? Given that we spend the majority of our time with the people that we work with, it’s not uncommon to develop a friendship with someone at work. Just be careful how it may affect the others on your team.
  • Lead by example. We’ve all heard this one hundreds of times, right!? I had to include it in this collection though. I recently had the opportunity to spend a brief period of time in an office in an unrelated industry. In the short time I was there, I observed some interactions and behaviors that made me realize most leaders think too big when thinking about leading by example. We tend to think of honesty, clear communication, exceptional work ethic, yadayada. All of those are certainly part of setting the example. But it’s often the little things that trip us up. The things we think people don’t notice. Consider the leader who gets the new-fangled, lightweight, state-of-the-art laptop with lots of extra bells and whistles. That might sound like a ‘perk’ for having a lot of responsibility, and many leaders can ‘justify’ such a situation, but is that leading by example? What about the leader who settles into the conference room even though one of her employees reserved it advance, as is company protocol? What example does that set? Something to think about!

I’m still collecting. And for certain, I’m still learning!! If you have a leadership lesson, specific example, or idea to add to my collection, I’d be honored to receive it!