Saturday, July 29, 2023

Your Philosophy of Leadership Reflects MasterClass Notes

Think about your leadership. What does it mean? What is your leadership substance and style? 

Each of us brings a unique and authentic approach. Perhaps lessons can refine and improve them. 

Here are notes from a MasterClass mini-class on leadership. 


Study leaders. 

Remember, we coach young people. Sometimes they struggle. Geno Auriemma advises, "I understand what you're going through." 

Find examples of special leadership. You may not like or agree with their policies, but learn from their processes. 

1. Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals" explores how President Abraham Lincoln assembled Seward, Stanton, and Bates to supplement his limited experience in prosecuting the Civil War. Lincoln's bold move helped preserve the Union, bolstering not diluting his authority. "What experiences can you bring to the team?"

2. Simon Sinek wrote Leaders Eat Last. Maybe Nelson Mandela's father did him one better. He always spoke last, allowing him to give a more thoughtful and nuanced opinion. Son Nelson recognized "leaders speak last." 

3. Cal Rugby coach Jack Clark believes in 'conditional love'. "Family means unconditional, whereas high-performance teams are highly, highly conditional organizations."

4. Sara Blakely went from a fax machine salesperson to entrepreneur. She developed a product (Spanx) and became a global marketing expert with a five billion dollar company. She lived "aim high" and a philosophy of "make it, sell it, build brand awareness." 

5. Louis Hamilton noticed a "ripple effect" in the garage. "We're all connected, all working towards the same goal...empower everybody to be the best they can be." 

6. Shonda Rhimes (Grey's Anatomy, Bridgerton, Scandal) says, "learn to empower the people under me, valuing the people under me. Make sure you're not working in a hero model...everything should be a team model. Everybody is valuable. 

7. Bill Clinton says, "we know diverse groups make better decisions...there are mountains of research...over time the 99 will do better than the one, even if the one is the smartest...It's a way of inventorying the widest variety of experiences, the widest variety of perceptions, the widest varieties of preferences." "It is critically important to empower people around you to disagree with you."

8. "One of the biggest attributes that resilient leaders have is the ability to listen. Listen more than you talk. The people that I respect the most, they always have time for you." - Geno Auriemma

9. Restauranteur Roy Choi notes, "You hear a wide range of opinions...someone has to make a decision...it's their responsibility to make a decision and to communicate it clearly...how you communicate with your team becomes really important." "Make sure you share credit with your team."

10."You are nothing without a good team around you." - Anna Wintour

11."People who use the "I" word too much put people off." - Richard Branson

12."If something you're working on as a team goes wrong, instead of blaming and gossiping, assume that we're in this together and we're going to figure out how we're going to make it better next time...blaming them will never ever let them learn." - Doris Kearns Goodwin

Lagniappe. Horns misdirection and clear. 

Lagniappe 2. SLOB simple backscreen. 

Lagniappe 3...from "The Daily Coach"

  • "Most people can be so much more than they are. They have the capacity for genius but never realize it."


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