After last week’s tribute to my dog, I noticed that three of my last five articles have been about death in one way or another.
A bit macabre I suppose, especially in a weekly email that is supposed to be about leading with honesty, humility, courage, authenticity and vulnerability.
Prior to this recent reboot, I let this blog/email sit dormant for 18 months. I was working on a book and couldn’t do both at once. The book is still a work in progress, but I wanted to get back to writing something weekly as well. So when I started blogging again a few weeks ago, I simply started writing about what was on my mind. Thus, it has been a bit random, and more personal.
They say a person’s writing changes over time, hopefully for the better. My earlier writing (which can be found here) was little metaphors of leadership in everyday situations. My current writing is, in my opinion, a hodgepodge of thoughts that I want to share loosely tied to leading. But it made me wonder how I got here.
When I started writing this blog in November of 2015, the purpose was to grow an audience and develop a following for a new career in speaking and writing, focused on those five core values of leading. I was, and am, deeply concerned by what passes as leadership in the world. For decades (some would argue millenia), there has been a paucity of what I would consider true leadership and the events over the past 5 1/2 years have only reinforced that truth.
A couple of other things have changed since I first started this marathon. My motivation at the beginning was fairly grandiose. Looking back I realize I envisioned myself working with the movers and shakers of the world, basically the C-suite of business leaders. If they would only listened to what I had to say, we would save the world. Just kidding, I never thought we could save the world, but now that I mention it….
{Jeff stares vacantly with his head tilted up and slightly to the left}
Sorry. I’m back now. Anywho, where was I?
Oh yes, the state of leadership.
So here’s the bottom line.
Leading is difficult. It reveals your weaknesses more than your strengths.
Strength-based leadership programs serve a purpose, and they are insufficient. Identify your strengths, build on them and use them as a foundation for your leadership.
And even more so, know your weaknesses. Identify them clearly. Understand when they are most likely to affect you. Strive to overcome them and have a trusted advisor to help you see how they are influencing you.
Integritas,
Dr. Jeff
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