Leadership and Values — What is Leadership?
Leadership to my mind, is the ability to establish and maintain a creative climate, in which people are self-motivated towards the successful achievement of long term worthwhile goals, in an environment of mutual respect that is compatible with their collective and personal values.
How can you lead if you are unclear about your personal values? Personal values do not simply occur. They require a degree of attention, reflection, and cultivation. If you lead with the intention of sharing good values— the things that are important to you and shared with your organization, you must be able to define them without hesitation, much like giving an elevator pitch to a movie producer, or an idea to a busy CEO.
These are my values;
I believe in the virtue of the human mind. I believe in allowing people to direct themselves. I believe in creativity above all, and I believe in unsalted butter. I believe in the words of Kenneth H. Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager among sixty other books, and my father Hugh F. Nichols who predates Mr. Blanchard by some decades;
“Catch someone doing something right.”
I believe in catching people catching other people doing something right. I believe in abundance versus scarcity. I believe everyone should be encouraged to realize we live in a state of good fortune, rather than a state of manufactured insecurity. I believe in aesthetics and beauty. I believe in integrity and reputation. I think that your past is just a dream, but it’s an important teacher. I believe the future it’s not promised to you or to me. And so we must conduct our days like a great symphony’s encore. Today could be the last performance.
I believe in now — the present moment. And if it becomes monotonous, don’t worry. The present moment has a habit of changing. All we need to do is…something.
I believe in the right to a separate work and a private life, but that it’s alright when the two mingle together from time to time. I think people should be encouraged to think on their own, develop their own ideas, and be encouraged to innovate— provided their ideas share values consistent with progress — personally, politically, ethically and morally. I believe in the five branches of philosophy (ethics, politics, metaphysics, epistemology and aesthetics because because I believe in structured thought.
I believe an air frying versus deep frying. I believe in nutrition versus junk food. I believe in meditation and contemplation with single-minded direction and intent versus drifting on the sea of chance. I believe in love and peace vs. war and hate. I believe in the human spirit, and I believe we can save ourselves, and our planet by simply being authentic, prepared always to fully discover our talents and potential for greatness.
…Develop your team, build your competencies, learn more about your competitors and trade-partners and above all - perfect your craft…that’s the way forward. (This advice was recently given to me by someone who is present with us today.)
Effective leaders know who they are, and they work to perfect their craft every day. Perfection we are told, is impossible. But, it’s a perfectly honourable intention!
One cannot practice being who one is without conscious and often unconscious practice. I am an artist, a writer, a musician, a songwriter, a philosopher, a craftsman, a poet and a chef. I’m a husband, brother, father, granddad, friend, and business manager. And, I’m a leader.
My life, is one big practice session.
Everyone wants to work for a winner. And you have to be a leader first to be the winner everyone wants to work with..
