The fun of leading!

Many new leaders envision leading successfully as smooth sailing… when everything is going right. NOT! Now, let me say that when things were going well in the organizations I led or managed, I enjoyed the respite. But it was, indeed, a respite. What makes leading fun is the excitement of navigating the chaos, or perceived chaos, of ever-changing forces. The fun is in the challenge.

 

    During the lulls, I often found myself wondering what would break next. I never knew. And the ensuing storms that were stirring up never disappointed me in terms of uniqueness. Getting through those storms was fun, though! It may not have seemed so while navigating them, but, surely, once they had calmed down and I took the time to assess what just happened, I felt successful, having survived. Until the next storm.

    Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “It’s the not the destination, it’s the journey.” I think that’s a perfect way to describe the fun of leading. Yeah, it’s great to get there, but what then? Yeah, enjoy it, but for only a little bit. Then get back into the fray where your skills and talents are pushed, even to their limits. That’s fun!

    I don’t surf. I stay away from bodies of water bigger than a small puddle. I grew up in the desert. In New Mexico. There’s a lot of desert there and very little water. Yeah, that was my attempt at a Yogiism. Anyways, I just read a pretty cool book written by my friend and mentor, Noah benShea, and Shaun Tomson, who does surf. Like for reals! Shaun is a world champion surfer. The book is titled, The Surfer and the Sage: A Guide to Survive and Ride Life’s Waves. Throughout the book, Shaun refers to waiting for the waves, and the bigger the better. The challenge of surfing is surviving and mastering the wave you catch. It’s exhilarating and fun, evidently. It takes a lot of skill and as you’re navigating the wave you have to be shifting your stance and your body to ensure you master the wave.

    Leading is like that. The fun of having led successfully is in the journey, the having to use all of your skills and maybe developing some on the fly. I’m a musician. A jazzer, or so I think of myself as such. The art of jazz is in improvising. You know the tune and you play around it. Similarly, in leading, you have some tools that you can use to guide others to where you want them to go, or where they need to go (that’s even better), and you improvise how and with whom you apply those tools. And, yeah, it’s great when you achieve the objective, but the fun was in the way you got there. Once you’re done, you’re ready for another trial.  

    If you think that leading successfully will feel smooth, you’re in the wrong business. “We did that” isn’t as much fun as “we’re doing that.” As John Shedd once said, “Ships in harbour are safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” They’re built to navigate the seas. Leadership is the same (See what I did there?). The harbour is not where the fun is. The fun is in the sailing. Enjoy the challenge. Have fun!

    Until next time,

    Be GREAT! You ARE!

    HEIRPOWER!

    bob vásquez!

Is character a talent?

I’ve been a character all of my life! No! WAIT! I meant to say that I’ve been developing my character all of my life. Yeah. That’s better! Those who know me may agree with my first assertion. And even question the second. I’ve been helping myself and others develop their character for decades. I’ve even done so professionally. Developing our character is not easy, or at least what may be considered good character.

 

    I looked up the word, character, in the dictionary. Okay, dictionary.com. I’m too cool to look it up in a book. I used my iPad. Here’s how character is defined: the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. By definition, we ALL have character. Of some kind. 

 

    I also looked up the word, talent. It’s defined as “natural aptitude or skill.” We, too, ALL have some aptitude or skill. Hence, my contemplation of the question, “Is character a talent?” Since these are MY thoughts, I’m going to agree that character, in a way, by definition, and by Socratic method, IS, or at least, can be, considered a talent.

 

    “So what?!” you ask. Well, when we consider a skill or virtue a talent, we may be better able to hone it, to develop it. Let’s say you have a talent for solving mathematical problems. NOT I! I don’t even handle our family budget. One plus one is equal to three or more, in my perspective. If math is your talent, you can probably find various opportunities to improve it, and to develop it. It’s the same with having a talent for singing (Which I DO NOT have!), for writing (I have a dozen books on amazon, by the way.), for dancing, and many other things you may be good at without having to work at it much.

 

    So, let’s say that character IS a talent, and we ALL have both, and we want to develop our character as a talent, maybe we can find or create ways to help people, including ourselves, empower themselves to fulfill that talent. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all subscribed and committed to that? As Dr John C Maxwell says, “Talent is a gift, but character is a choice.” Once we choose to hone our character, there’s little stopping us, except ourselves, of course.

 

    Character, in my humble opinion, is the aggregate of one’s thoughts, emotions, language, and behavior manifested in one’s attitude, feeling, communication, and actions in a given moment. Its practices become our identity as observed internally and externally. 

 

    I challenge you to hone that talent today. I think I know how, or at least the areas to work in to do so, as you would any other talent. I’ll share those thoughts soon.

    Until next time,

    Be GREAT! You ARE!

    HEIRPOWER!

    bob vásquez!

Please, correct me!

My good friend and Chosen Sister, Cindy Brookins Yslas, posted a thought on Facebook recently that reminded me of something that all leaders should practice. The post was a quote that said, “Don’t you hate it when people know something about you but don’t tell you (perhaps to save your feelings)… trust me, I want/deserve to know!!!” Effective Leaders tell their Followers what they need to know to succeed at whatever it is they’re doing. Even if it hurts. It’ll hurt more if you don’t. Here’s an example….

    Not that long ago, I was speaking at a Noncommissioned Officer Academy Graduation Dinner. If you haven’t been to one, get invited to one and attend. They’re always great events. Anyway, the dress for the dinner was formal so I wore my mess dress, which is more-or-less a tux for military members. Man, did I look good in it…still do…! Since I was doing those types of events regularly then, my mess dress travel bag was always at the ready. It included everything I would need for an occasion such as that. That uniform required the wearing of a bow tie. I never learned how to tie one, so I had a clip-on. I’d had that clip-on for a while, evidently, because the clip was bent and about to break. It was a weekend and evening, so I had no way to replace it. I had to make it work. Been there. Done that.

 

    I rigged that clip-on bow tie so that it would last through the night. Or so I thought and expected. I arrived at the event during the social hour, as usual. My normal routine was to get to know and chat with my audience as much as possible so that I could tailor my talk to them. I started at the far end of the ballroom, shaking hands, hugging, and chatting with everyone I could, while making my way to the entrance of the room where I would congregate with the host and other distinguished guests. I must have made a couple of hundred new friends as I approached the entrance. Just shy of where I intended to stop, a senior officer came up to me, shook my hand, introduced himself, and whispered to me, “Chief, do you know that you’re not wearing a tie?” WHAT? I’m the epitome of dress and appearance! I’m known as the Ruggedly Handsome Chief! How can I not be wearing a tie? I immediately touched my neck to verify that I, indeed, WAS wearing a tie. He was right! I couldn’t believe it! I thanked him and proceeded to look for my tie. I knew that I was wearing it when I walked into the building. I looked back to where I’d started greeting folks and halfway between there and where I was, my tie lay on the floor. I’d greeted a bunch of folks between there and here, but no one, not one person, had told me that my tie had come off. Needless to say, I was disappointed. I went back, picked up my tie, headed to the bathroom where I stuck it onto my shirt so that I wouldn’t lose it again, and eventually did my talk. The tie stayed on the rest of the evening, and I got a standing ovation for my talk. 

 

    As Cindy’s post reminded me, and I remind you, tell people what they need to know. Even if it hurts their feelings. It actually hurt my feelings that no one told me I was out of uniform that evening. Effective Leaders hold each other accountable. Telling someone that they have parsley between their teeth may be embarrassing for you, but it’ll be MORE embarrassing for the other person AND you, if you don’t. Please, tell me when I’m wrong! 

Until next time, be GREAT! You ARE! ¡HEIRPOWER!

bob vásquez!