Great Lessons You Can Learn from Great Leaders
I’ve had the good fortune of meeting some wonderful leaders and thinkers over my years of blogging. Since the launch of my book I’ve met even more. And several of them have been wonderful enough to take the method I preach in One Piece of Paper and apply that method to their own leadership styles.
For your reading enjoyment and enlightenment, I’m sharing those perspectives today. It’s the least I can do to give these folks a shout out for their hard work and for spreading the message of how to make leadership personal again.
For each one, I’ve provided a quick snapshot of the author and a pearl of wisdom pulled from their post about their own perspectives on personal leadership using the leadership maxims method in the book. I encourage you to take the time to read each of their posts. They’re interesting, entertaining, insightful, and helpful. They’ll also help you crystallize your own leadership philosophy.
So here’s the roundup of some of my favorite leadership writers and their perspectives on their own leadership philosophies. Enjoy!
Heidi Grant Halvorson – author of Succeed
Don’t visualize success. Visualize the steps you will take to succeed.
I wish I could make the universe deliver wonderful things to my doorstep just by imagining them. I can’t – and neither can you, no matter what anyone tells you. There is not a single piece of hard evidence that “visualizing success,” and doing nothing else, will do a damn thing for you. In fact, you are less likely to achieve your goals when all you do is imagine yourself achieving them. People who think not only about their dreams, but about the obstacles that lie their way – who visualize the steps they will take to make success happen – are able to stay motivated despite setbacks, dig deep, and turn their dreams into reality. You have what it takes to succeed – stop waiting for it to happen to you, and make it happen for you. Read the rest of Heidi’s post here.
Sharlyn Lauby – the HR Bartender
Trust your crazy ideas.
The story behind this maxim: Years ago, someone gave me a bookmark with that saying on it. Now, it hangs on my office wall. I believe if it hadn’t been for this bookmark, maybe I wouldn’t have taken the leap to become a consultant. Maybe I wouldn’t have started writing a blog. But whenever I get this little crazy idea in my head, I see that bookmark on the wall and it reminds me to take the chance. Read the rest of Sharlyn’s post here.
Scott Eblin – author of The Next Level
Get it on the list.
The story behind this maxim is no one’s going to hold me more accountable than me. In order to meet the commitments I’ve made to others, I have to get my tasks on a master list and be diligent in working the list. Read the rest of Scott’s post here.
The best leadership is servant leadership.
I believe servant leadership is the most effective and most rewarding way to lead. I know in my heart that I am there to serve, whether it’s my team, my company, my family, my church or my country. I am truly blessed in life – I have a loving wife, two beautiful children and the opportunity to lead a talented group of people. It is my key responsibility is to do whatever I can to help each of them grow personally and professionally, and to give them the resources they require to be successful not only in their day-to-day work responsibilities, but in accomplishing their dreams as well. Passionate leadership is about serving, not only in the workplace, but most importantly, in life. Read the rest of Rob’s post here.
Wally Bock – author of Three Star Leadership Wally wrote a pretty comprehensive (and complimentary) review of the book. Read it here.
Kevin Eikenberry – author of From Bud to Boss Kevin wrote a pretty fantastic review of One Piece of Paper. Check it out here.
Mike Bowers- author of Ideas to Deals Mike shared his thoughts and review on the book (as well as other great resources). Read about it here.
Wrapping up…
If you’d like to go through an exercise similar to what these folks did, just start writing your own leadership maxims on your blog and let me know about it. If you’d like some additional supporting materials as you do that, drop me a line at info@thoughtleadersllc.com and I’ll get you some templates and tools to help you out. Once you’ve written your leadership philosophy, let me know about it so I can spread the word!
So there’s your window into the method inside One Piece of Paper. I hope you enjoyed it and it gives you a good sense for what’s in the book as well as how some great leaders are applying it. You can get your own copy of the book too – just CLICK HERE to buy.
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