CHIPPED FINGERNAIL POLISH, UNSHINED SHOES, 5 MINUTES LATE

What, after all, is leadership? 

We may think we know.  Well, at least we know it when we see it.  But can we define it?

 Leadership is uncomplicated when we talk about war.  The teams with good leaders win (don’t die), and the teams with bad leaders lose (die). 

For all definitions, descriptions, and characterizations of a “good” leader, there are two that really matter: effective and ineffective. 

Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their goals to produce business results.  Ineffective leaders do not.

 Ineffective leaders try to build their houses starting with the roof.

 What might that look like?  I’d like to show you, but I can’t find any pictures of houses being built roof first.

 That’s because houses all start the same way — with the foundation. 

Another way of saying this is, “Please don’t try to lead your pets, your children, or your staff until you’ve got your own stuff sorted out.”

I think of Maslow’s Triangle when I write that, where at the base we have food, shelter, and a functioning toilet.

To this I would add cleaning one’s room, being tidily groomed, dressing appropriately, eating mostly food that spoils in fewer than 3 days, drinking only beverages that were invented more than 500 years ago, and honoring the most basic of one’s promises and agreements.

Which primarily means doing what you said you were going to do, and showing up on time.

Chipped fingernail polish, unshined shoes, and habitually showing up 5 minutes late tell you more about managers, salespeople, and job candidates than their trite mission statements, overwritten Power Point proposals or fake news CVs. 

Presumably everyone reading this has conquered the lower levels of Maslow’s Triangle.  Almost.  Because we still have that “showing up on time” thing, and almost no one reading this has mastered that.

 A lot of my day has to do with being on time.  My coaching sessions start at a certain time and end at a certain time.  Unlike a doctor appointment or an airplane flight, the end time does not change based on the start time. 

Last week, I had 21 meetings.  2 people didn’t show at all, and 4 showed up late.  These aren’t unusual stats — I’ve noticed that no-shows and lateness holds steady at around 20-30%.

Being late points to one of two things.  The late party is demonstrating he is powerful, or he is demonstrating he is inept.

 The former is a subtle, sometimes subconscious power play where Mr. Green looks to assert his hierarchical dominance over Ms. Brown by breaking their mutual agreement about what time to meet. 

The latter is just poor self-management and bad manners.
Excuses abound.  Here’s what they really mean. 

Ms. Gray:

“Sorry I’m late!  My previous meeting ran long.”

Translation:

“I value the person I was speaking to more than I value you.”

Mr. White:

“Sorry I’m late!  The traffic was really bad because it’s Monday and it’s raining.”

Translation:

“I’m not very good at estimating the factors that might impact my arrival time.  I am also not skillful at big-picture thinking or setting mid- to long-term business strategy.”

Mr. Green:

“Sorry I’m late!  I had problems logging into the conference system.”

 Translation:

“My workday consists mostly of moving chaotically from meeting to meeting with little awareness of what my next meeting is about until I arrive, and I am therefore consistently unprepared.”

Hint: the way to never be late is to always aim to be early.

 Being early allows for further self-mastery, such as mopping perspiration off one’s brow, straightening one’s tie, making sure that one has a pen, and recalling the name of the person with whom one is about to meet.

With all this in mind, please reflect. 

How did 2018 go for you?

Are you happy with how you played the game?

Did you show up for it on time?