Leadership … Continued Discussion – 1/13/09

The leadership quote I would like to examine in this posting is from Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey (U.S. Navy, retired), a famed World War II submarine commander, “Put more into life than you expect to get out of it. Drive yourself and lead others. Make others feel good about themselves. They will outperform your expectations, and you will never lack for friends.”

This quote contains several pieces of guidance that speak importantly to me. First, put your energies into what you do. I believe that strongly. I push myself hard, but I get results and I feel that I set a very good example in the process. One can take this too far for sure, but I feel that if something is worth pursuing it is worth doing right. And to get things done right, one has to thoroughly invest oneself in the pursuit.

Second, take the time to acknowledge others. Most leaders I have known are good at this, but most seem to focus solely on the achievers, forgetting those who perhaps need to be mentored and encouraged into achieving. We not only need to congratulate the home run hitter but also provide encouragement to the strikeout victim. It has been my experience that it is often that apparent underachiever who ultimately exceeds expectations to the greatest degree.

Third, a leader can have friends among those he/she leads. I have seen leaders do this well and I have seen them do this poorly. I think a leader can have genuine friendships at any level within the ranks without jeopardizing authority or perception, but this has to be walked carefully. If the perception of favoritism enters the picture everything goes downhill from there. My approach is to treat everyone the same … I treat everyone with respect and I genuinely care about the people with whom I work. And, I have friendly relationships with many on staff, which I do not feel jeopardizes my ability to lead the whole. If anything, I think these relationships underscore for everyone involved that there is a total team at play.

Author Cross-references:

Rear Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey: None

Key Word Cross-references:

Encouragement: Also see post 9/9/09, 3/29/10

Mentoring/Nurturing/Developing: Also see posts 12/8/08, 12/12/08, 2/6/09, 2/28/09, 6/5/09, 7/7/09, 9/9/09, 9/15/09, 10/26/09, 12/5/09, 1/6/10, 3/29/10

Setting the Example: Also see posts 12/12/08, 3/16/09, 5/1/09, 5/17/09, 6/5/09, 7/7/09, 8/17/09, 2/24/10

Team: Also see posts 2/18/09, 4/20/09, 8/3/09, 1/6/10, 4/19/10, 5/26/10

Tags: Leadership