Based on the last class and the readings for today, I have a few thoughts on similarities that most (if not all?) leaders have.
A leader:
- recognizes the leadership of those around her/him
- has a team of amazing supporters
- is cautious with money
- has no time
Let’s start with the first point. I read a book called This is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership that Matters by Drew Dudley. If you are curious, I’d recommend his TED Talk. The biggest wow moment that I took away from this book was when he described how we generate impact. I think a lot of people are motivated by creating a positive impact in the world, but how do we do it? Dudley explains in his book, the easiest way to impact the world is to recognize the impact that others have on us. He explains that if someone tells their bus driver that he/she is an amazing person and has helped shape the person they have become, that will be at the front of that bus driver’s brain. The feeling that was given to that bus driver could last a day or it could last his/her entire life. When John Paul posed the question, “How do we become leaders?” – this was where my mind went. I think in a similar way, the best way to become a leader is to recognize the leadership of those around us and their impact on us. By calling it to light, they also start to think about the people that have impacted their lives.
A quick digression on this point. I was a part of a very challenging project at work with a team of wonderful people – except one. I decided to write thank you letters to the people that really helped shape who I was. Then I felt bad that I left this one other person out. I did not have the most positive interactions with him, but I was worried he would feel left out. So when I wrote his thank you note, I was forced to think about the things that he did well. This thank you card really helped me to alter my perceptions and think more about the good things and less about the bad. It really improved my work relationship with this person!
Back on track! A leader has to have amazing supporters. I was shocked to see this letter that Ben Franklin received from Benjamin Vaughn. As a person that writes very personal letters (see above), I feel like I could never write a letter so personal and supportive as this person. Mr. Vaughn is the definition of a hype man! He literally begged and pleaded to Ben Franklin to tell his story to inspire others. I think that the best leaders are able to see that they would not have gotten to where they were without the support of those around them.
My third point seems to be a pattern with many of the leaders we are reading about. Ben Franklin spends some time talking about his humble beginnings and his lack of materialism. We saw something very similar with Warren Buffett. Dafoe specifically says, “He that loves pleasure shall be a poor man.” Additionally, John Paul mentioned that Adam Smith is most famous for his books on economics. I am not sure if it is specific to the leaders we are profiling, but it does seem to be a significant pattern! There must be some correlation between having good money habits and being a leader.
Lastly, I really appreciated that John Paul mentioned that we should recognize that all leaders are constantly being demanded for their time. I once told myself, “Time is the most valuable resource someone has and also the thing that is most taken for granted.” If you really think about it, people get so stressed when they feel like they have no time. I suppose that a leader is used to the constant demand of having no time and is able to be level-headed about it. I think this part of leadership adds an imbalance for the leader that might not ever be truly returned. I think it adds to my last post about the pursuit of leadership being something that not everyone can do. It requires sacrificing time, a resource that is finite to all of us.
Comments:
Connor, very profound and appreciated working through of ideas. I thank you for your story of the prior project group. Tried to touch on this bus driver topic in my post about Flavius in Timon of Athens saying “Hey ok Mr. Leader Man, how about recognizing the havoc here on others caused by your ambition, conflicted self concept, and morbid ambivalence about gold?” That’s something that may come up with Troilus and Cressida, too, because Achilles is a jerk who is only motivated by accolades such as the type written by Vaughn, or by being fooled he is not recognized at all. Very hard “leader” for your common folk to manage.
Hi Connor,
I think that writing personal notes of thanks is definitely something worthwhile to build and maintain relationships. I too was blown away at the letter than Benjamin Vaughn wrote for Ben Franklin. Having someone write such a high regarding letter is quite something. It demonstrates a long standing friendship and getting to know someone over a lifetime to view their accomplishments. Not really knowing their relationship, I have to imagine they had a lot of correspondence to be able to have this kind of insight into someone’s life.
Bringing up the time aspect is also very important. I think that good leaders are also good delegators. You can’t do EVERYTHING yourself. Knowing what tasks can be handed off to others and having the confidence that the job will be done will also help reduce stress. There is a certain amount of trust you have to build with you team that they will complete their work with guidance.
