The Simple Approach To Powerful, Personal Leadership
By Mike Figliuolo
I received some feedback about my first part of the One Piece of Paper review. Here are more reasons why if you are in leadership you should add this book to your library.
By the time you finish your book, you will be able to declare your non-negotiable maxims on 'one piece of paper.'
PART THREE - LEADING THE THINKING (p. 83-119)
- “When you focus on leading the thinking you will see new trends, opportunities, and risks before your competitors see them. You can shape the market rather than having the market shape you.” (p. 83)
- “Going from being a doer to being a thinker is a big leap. It requires you to let go of always being the person with the answers and to instead become the person asking the questions.” (p. 85)
Write MY maxims:
1. What are your expectations regarding your team’s standards of behavior? Respect differences; there is enough work out there for all of us; we do not have to be experts at everything, that's why we have a team.
2. Where are you taking your people? I can't get there alone. Anything can happen if you let it.
3. How do you want them to interact with you? I am accessible, if you can't find me yell and I will be there.
Where are You Taking Your People?
“Writing a vision statement requires a great deal of thought and an ability to step outside of your daily grind and into a time beyond the foreseeable future.” (p. 101)
How Will You Foresee The Future - some excellent reflection questions to ask yourself.
1. What is the most innovative or visionary idea you have ever seen?
2. What is the best idea you have ever had?
PART FOUR – LEADING YOUR PEOPLE (p. 131-167)
- “You are a leader. Management and leadership are not the same thing. The difference is simple; you manage things; you lead people.” (p. 131)
- Leadership is people focused. (p. 132)
Write YOUR maxims:
1. What is your natural style?
2. How will you remember to treat your team members as individuals?
3. How will you stay connected to your team’s reality?
4. How will you commit to your people’s growth?
“Authenticity is a simple concept. It is defined as being genuine. Or, in my words, it is a state of being in which what you see is what you get.” (p. 137)
Quote: Don’t bring me problems. Bring me solutions.
How Will You Remember To Treat Your Team Members As Individuals?
The more time and effort you spend on getting to know your people the better you will relate to them. This is not a natural state of being for all people. In my own experience, this is a polarizing concept. Some leaders have specific boundaries they live their lives by. Work is work, home is home. Ne'er the twain shall meet. Well, this may not be the most optimal way to reach your people. Mike provides this story and my personal favorite.
Example: (p. 151) This is a wonderful example of a junior soldier that he managed when he was a platoon leader. The soldier was very unruly and they referred to him as a “problem child”. The one day the platoon leader got sodas for everyone and remembered that this soldier was the only one that drank 7UP. This affected the soldier so much that the platoon leader would take the time to get to know him that he changed his attitude completely. He began to follow orders and pay attention to his work better, because he mattered to the platoon leader.
Maxim: He drinks 7UP.
PART FIVE – LEADING A BALANCED LIFE (p. 179-201)
“To lead a balanced life, you need to put things in perspective. When you get stressed out, your focus narrows and you can lose sight of the bigger picture.” (p.182)
Write your maxims:
1. How will you define your boundaries?
2. How will you keep things in perspective?
3. What are you passionate about?
“When you take things too seriously, you lose perspective. Losing perspective creates stress. “(p. 193)
Staying Focused:
- When life gets stressful, how do you regain your composure? Go back to my post about the amygdala hijack!
PART SIX – MAKING IT REAL (p. 211-217)
“Living your maxims on one piece of paper is powerful. Eventually they will change your behavior and you can take massive strides toward being the leader and the person you want to be.” (p. 213)
We can say all these wonderful things about our intent. But it really boils down to our impact, what we do, how we 'be' and how we made the situation better for the people we serve. Mike Figliuolo offers the pragmatic framework to get very clear on what is important to you as a leader. It requires us to back those maxim's up with stories, the powerful ones people remember, and that allow us to step into our 'powerful, personal leadership.'
To get your own copy click here.
