Five Heart Habits of Uncommon Leaders
It’s another great book giveaway.
20 copies available!!
Leave a comment on this guest post by Mark Miller to become eligible for one of 20 complimentary copies of his new book, “Uncommon Greatness: Five Fundamentals to Transform Your Leadership.”
Deadline for eligibility is 03/03/2024. International winners will receive electronic version.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, I’ve noticed something about leaders: Most of them are chasing greatness.
Here’s a second observation: Most of the leaders who achieve any measure of greatness discover it is not what they hoped it would be. The recognition, excitement, joy, and fans are fleeting.
I believe every human being was created for another form of greatness: Uncommon Greatness. When pursuing this goal, the leader’s focus is on serving others, not themselves. In the process, the leader elicits greatness from their followers. This rare form of greatness also provides real satisfaction and has an enduring impact.
So, how can a leader shift their focus from common to uncommon greatness? There is only one path: Uncommon Leadership.
For decades, I’ve been searching, studying, stumbling, practicing, and learning, all while attempting to apply the Fundamentals of Uncommon Leadership. These Fundamentals can be divided into two distinct categories: Skills and Heart. Today, let’s examine your heart.
If you want to become a leader people want to follow, you will need to Embody a Leader’s Heart. If your heart is not right, no one cares about your skills.
Uncommon Leaders cultivate 5 heart habits:
Hunger for Wisdom – An unquenchable desire to learn and grow
Expect the Best – A spirit of optimism while remaining grounded in reality
Accept Responsibility – To accept that we, as leaders, are accountable for any shortcomings in the performance of those we lead
Respond with Courage – A willingness to consistently do hard things with grace
Think Others First – The ability to put the needs of others above your own
How’s your heart?
“When you learn to do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.” George Washington Carver.
Be Uncommon… Start with your heart!
Which of the above heart habits are most relevant to you today?
What heart habits do you seen in uncommon leaders?
Mark Miller is a bestselling author of 12 books, speaker, and leadership expert. He is the co-founder of Lead Every Day (leadeveryday.com). His latest book, Uncommon Greatness: Five Fundamentals to Transform Your Leadership (Matt Holt), launches today.
This is a great encapsulation of servant leadership. Thank you!
Taking responsibility for oneself and putting others first is fundamental to a civil society, so I put them at the top. Both of these actions are elusive today thanks to the incredible amount of unresolved trauma in society and in us as individuals. I look forward to reading your book. Businesses and government need to understand why we do what we do. So do we as individuals. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
This list is SPOT ON. I wish there was a way to effectively screen for these attributes during the recruiting and hiring process.
This was shared by our COO in our recent meeting. Perfect for our meeting and I also shared out the link to Leadership Freak with the rest of our group who haven’t been following! I’m always amazed that each day I read an article it has some way of showing up in my day. Keep it up!
It seems the path to uncommon leadership is to seek greatness, not just for others, as for a better future through others.
I’d love to read the book and share highlights of this with educators and leaders in my area (I live in Switzerland): It should be obvious that good leaders put into practice the 5 habits mentioned – but it does not necessarily happen as egos get in the way.
Hunger For Wisdom and Expect the Best – These are two of the heart habits most relevant to me today and in my leadership journey. I read and study “leadership”. I seek wisdom and discernment from those who have gone before me. I carefully watch leaders around me – hungering for wisdom. What do they do that positively impacts those around them? What do they do that doesn’t? And I always expect the best while trying to stay grounded in reality. Sometimes the eternal optimist – unicorns and sunshine gets old and your team may not take you seriously. I see the Courage Heart Habit in uncommon leaders. Erwin McManus says courage is not the absence of fear, rather it is the absence of self. I have been trying to remember that quote when I am confronted with a leadership decision that requires courage.
You nailed it with these 5!
The best leader I ever worked for demonstrated all these traits of Uncommon Leadership, plus a distinct emphasis toward action. Once a course of action had been decided upon, “Do it now.” Was his -and our- mantra. So much is lost in delay and equivocation, even with the best of intentions and the noblest of motives.
I think the 5 heart habits listed our spot on and they are the habits I wish to see in my leaders. I think another hard habit that is equally important as extending grace and leading with empathy.
Responding with courage can be hard. To respond to challenges consistently with grace is harder!
Expecting the best and not asking others to do anything you wouldn’t do is a great way to build your team!
I think accepting responsibility and putting others first are extremely important if you want to be a leader people want to follow. When you find yourself working for someone who does not do that, it is very frustrating.
I love this! I always find something I can learn from these posts!
I love this! I always find something I can learn from these posts!
I find the most relevant heart habit is ‘Respond with Courage – A willingness to consistently do hard things with grace“. People are so worried about possibly offending others that the will not be honest fearing the “hard” things. I believe in being honest with people is the best way to assist them in making changes or being successful. The key though is the “grace”. You need to deliver the hard messages but by using some grace, the recipient will become more receptive.
Respond with courage and Hunger for Wisdom really resonate with me. Thanks for sharing.
The idea of skill and heart is consistent with another of my favorite leaders, Steven Covey and his belief in the importance of character and competence. As an HR administrator, the idea of doing hard things with grace resonated with me. We need to make difficult decisions daily; we need to remember to preserve the dignity of others by acting with grace.
As I navigate the monumental task of rebuilding an area from the ground up due to dysfunction and a lack of clear leadership, many of these fundamentals come into play. However, one that stands out is think others first because part successful change is meeting the needs of your team so they can perform to their greatest potential.
Another heart habit that isn’t referenced here but is critical in my situation is the ability to get everyone on board with change and a willingness to follow you into change.
I serve on the Executive Leadership team at a church and have been in vocational ministry for 30 years. These five traits are spot on. Thank you for posting this!
I leader that I spoke with recently looks for three things when interviewing prospective new hires: hunger, humility and people smarts. These points seem to do a great job of expounding on those thoughts.
In my IT leadership role, I, too, work to follow these five principals, but sometimes I have to remind myself to stay true to them. I also run a small business and would very much like to learn more about how I might be able to apply all of the same principals in that role as well.
Loving this list…all are relatable at my job. I work with an incredible leader, who provides leadership opportunities and does a great job with these heart habits.
Today, I am accepting a lot of responsibility with areas of opportunity presented to me with taking on a new role. The team I have now was discarded and no one took ownership of their development, performance metrics, grace when implementing system changes, etc.. They feel beaten up and now I come in, identifying all of these different ways we can make improvements and everyone is fearful. Change is scary. I want to build their trust and help them move forward and be successful. I want to remove obstacles so they can flourish and actually do the work they know they need to do.
After being told I wasn’t a good fit for a leadership position I held for four years because I “led with my heart” it took me years to realize I wasn’t the one who was wrong.
5 heart habits is a great way of serving others especially in a leadership role. Great words.
Same here. I was told I cared too much for the people I coached.
This is the key that is holding organizations back from what they could be. Great topic and post! I try to lead with putting others first. Philippians 2:4.
Courage is one of the toughest when rowing against the current of leaders above you.
Leadership is giving, giving people the opportunity to do things they may not necessarily want to do, but need to do…including ourselves.
Great stuff! We are focused on servant leadership and I look forward to my daily leadership freak post to share with my team. This is another great one!
Start with the heart is so powerful. Society has re-enforced the idea about status and things but we forget how we got here in the first place…someone believed, took the time, and cared about us in someway. Lets put the human back in leadership.
Expect the best is one of the greatest habits to embody. Most often, when you expect the best, you get the best in return. Consistently living out this habit will ultimately lead to a sense of pride for individuals and teams.
Heart Habits…great way to think about it.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! These are so good! My struggle is inspiring people without these traits to step up and shoot for the stars. I tend to have the highest expectations of those in whom I have the most faith and sometimes that backfires. Thanks for sharing and I love your daily nuggets of wisdom.
Leadership Freak has been inspirational not only to me but to the leaders in the business that I support. Ever since my subscription, I receive a daily dose of reflective actions that is instrumental in shaping my mindset. I see a gradual shift in my outlook from a Manager mindset to one of a Leader.
Such a great reminder on how to focus outside yourself for better results. From a long-time reader, first-time commenter.
This is a GREAT post! I look forward to these every morning, but this one truly resonates. These five traits are a wonderful North Star. Forwarding this post to my team right now!
Excellent points. It is difficult to allow ourselves to step out and become vulnerable. But it is through that vulnerability and risk taking that we learn and grow the most.
My initial response without thinking too hard is that Think Others First will lead to these remaining…Uncommon leaders truly do care about those who they lead, in doing so we understand the inherent conditions that come with it…Hunger for Wisdom, Expect the Best, Accept Responsibility, Respond with Courage.
Thanks!
This really hits close to home being a new leader and wanting the team to succeed.
I have worked under some poor leadership and now I recently have been given the opportunity to be in a position of leadership. I have vowed to not make it all about me and rising to the top but to make everyone around me a leader. This book will help me to not on believe myself but to encourage everyone around me to believe that they were created for another form of greatness: Uncommon Greatness.
Did anyone notice how the first letter of each 5 point cleverly spells heart. Love a good acronym and love this advice. I’m proud that I lead w HEART! leader I practice
This is so true, so often are leaders blinded by the need to accomplish the goal they forgot what it took for them to succeed. I often tell my team we are all 1 School Bus pickup away (promotion, retirement, relocation, health concerns) from our next stop in life. To truly make your journey count in this world…yes impact the mission or the goal, but more importantly impact those around you for the better. For they will be the legacy you really leave behind when that “School Bus” decides to stop at your feet.
These can be in any order, really.
I think the hardest one – these days especially – is thinking of others first. I do my best to do this daily. We live in such an insta-gratification “selfie” world.
When one does this though, they’re sure to gain wisdom.
Also, always love George Washington Carver quotes!
As a middle school principal, this is a great reminder of what true leadership looks like. This is just wanted I needed today. Thanks for sharing!
One of the most important aspects for me is to cultivate an attitude of optimism that fuels the team. When they believe they can do it, and feel like they are respected and supported in their mission, their willingness to achieve becomes passion rather than obedience to the role.
I love it. I learned everything I need to know about Leadership from my Dad. Selflessness, Empathy, Strength, Calm, Cool, Collected, Leading with Grace.
I have recently (6 months) have been promoted to a leadership role and am learning that I have much to learn. I couldn’t agree more with the list above. Fortunately my direct supervisor is a great example.
The most relevant heart habits I relate to are expect the best and respond with courage. Those are the two heart habits that I need to develop and grow in my leadership. Thank you for sharing this encouragement and all the other post. I enjoy reading them.
I was just talkiung to a colleague about the two types of leaders this morning:those that make themselves feel important by finding what is wrong with everyone else and those that already know their worth and strive to bring greatness out of others. Thanks for sharing!
This message really resonates with me. When asked I always tell individuals that I am here to serve my team. I feel like the 5 heart habits fit into what I try to do. I can’t wait to read this book.
I really enjoyed reading this. I was not sure I agreed with you initially that I am chasing greatness, but what would I aspire to if not that? If I am truly great, wouldn’t I do exactly those things on your list? Now that I know them and can internalize them, they are the things I will endeavor to do from now on. Thank you!
Yes, as we develop as leaders, our focus goes to developing those around us. Thanks for the confirmation!
Great reminders!!
Expect the Best. Expecting the worst does nothing but discourage and create an everyone for themselves mentality. Expecting the best in my experience, creates a culture where folks rise to the expectation that anything is possible given the right mix of people and work. Realistic optimism creates a culture where people want to pull together to do well rather than isolate and just survive.
Leading from the heart was my purpose three decades ago when I became an educational leader. It is sooo hard to maintain that in these times of trauma, micromanaging and minutia. Thank you for reminding me of my original purpose. I find I must keep them consciously in the forefront everyday.
Thank for the reminbder.
As I recall the leaders that had teams that did not perform, were not happy and eventually left, those leaders did not embody these traits.
With my 26 years of corporate experience, I’m not sure I’ve seen as many leaders chasing greatness over chasing self-gain.
I’m also not sure many cultures can accept “greatness”.
I’m not saying “greatness” won’t help.
I’d suggest the “ART” is what matters on the performance of the leader. The HE are definitely positives, but I’m not convinced they need to be there to achieve a more practical greatness.
Accept Responsibility – Big Yes. Leaders need to make choices and be responsible for them.
Respond with Courage – Big Yes. It’s not hard to lead people to easy places.
Think Others First – Big Yes. It’s the team that does the work to make the results happen. Keep them wanting to do what needs to be done.
The others…
Hunger for Wisdom – Nice. in the sense of lifelong learning, yes it is important as the times change, so there is always new things to learn and try. However the core of running a business is pretty close to what it always has been. I’d favor a more scientific approach to moving things forward (Hypothesize, test, take actions on conclusions, repeat). To me, being curious is as, if not more, important as a hunger for wisdom. Although they are related.
Expect the Best – Higher expectations to get people to deliver higher results. I often see an “expect the best” piled on a “limited resources” task. I can see the “grounded in reality” part of the definition being more key than just expecting the best.
All are important, as well as other factors.
I feel that 80% of the greatness will come from the ART side of things.
This is just my hypothesis.
Nik, I agree. ART are the foundation of uncommon leadership. But once you have them you also need the HE 🙂
There are many that will tell you that leadership is a team sport where the leader is the coach and elevates play by seeing to each and everyone’s needs and instilling the vision that everyone can see and work together to achieve.
While serving in the military, I had some commanders and leaders that were anything but leaders, you wouldn’t have followed them to a place you wanted to go, but there were many more inspirational individuals at all levels that were leaders and great examples. I hope to be more like them and take the bad examples as a picture of what not to be.
I signed up to receive the blog daily on the advice of a manager mentor as I pursue whether I want to become a manager and I hunger for wisdom. I am happy to say that the five habits are frequent themes in discussions I have throughout our company.
Hunger for wisdom just really hit home for me. I think in order to be an uncommon leader you first have to accept that you need to continue to learn and grow. If you think you are already there, you will fail from the beginning.
Start with heart – when you practice servant leadership from the heart – truly wanting people to live up to their full potential and live a life of greatness you have achieved what you are on this planet for. Thank you for the great work!
Wonderful – sweet and short – exactly what is needed on a Tuesday morning! Thank you!
…”grounded in reality”…staying grounded in reality. So many ways to do this, or try to do this, or not be able to do this. For me currently this means staying focused on why, stop second guessing the decision but not staying gripped on something that may not be working. I catch myself saying, “am I burning this to the ground?” because I am in the middle of hard, mindset shifts.
Here I go again but haven’t many people ruined departments, companies, etc while thinking they are doing the right thing and leading with heart?
In the world of education, we try to cultivate a love for learning. There is no doubt that good leaders continue learning in their professional craft and for their personal endeavors.
Wow- with yesterday’s post about bringing meaning to work and today’s post about the heart of leadership, it’s almost like you are in my head listening to the things I’m working on right now. Can’t wait to read more.
Super Excited about this topic! All to often we get so wrapped up in ourselves, we forget about others. Leadership is a inverted triangle meaning the most important groups are the ones we serve. Bottoms up management with the “heart” to care!
Spot on with the 5 habits. Great reminder early in the week.
Thanks
Expect the best is one of the hardest for me to consistently embody. My pragmatic, realistic nature wants to temper that optimism and it is a daily challenge. I love the simple framework here as it will help me keep focused and disciplined on those attitudes and approaches that are the most impactful to others. Thanks!
This list is great! Serving others is the best reward. When we remember that, each day can be rewarding in some way. Thanks for sharing today’s post. I hope to read the book!
Curious to learn more. I feel servant leadership at face value sounds great, in some applications it can be more challenging (public sector vs. private sector, Union vs. non union). The 5 heart habits are spot on!
Leadership…serving and empowering others without an expectation of personal gain.
Sounds like a great new book!
One of my best bosses valued people first (Think Others First). By doing so, it changed the entire culture for the better and the entire organization excelled. I wish more leaders would consider others rather than themselves.
This is so spot on. As a leader you become the biggest cheerleader for those you work with, and realize the best moments are when they succeed.
Thanks for sharing about this new book. I have read Mark Miller’s book, Culture Rules and found his content to be inspiring and useful.
The Hunger for Wisdom trait, really spoke to me in my walk with leadership.
Think others first should be the #1 trait for all servant leaders. It’s vitally important to make sure the needs of others are met.
The hunger for wisdom speaks to me the loudest. I’m constantly looking for new ways to learn and grow. Sometimes it’s following a new social media account, joining a webinar/panel or surrounding myself with others to learn and absorb info from their experiences. Being a lifelong learner is KEY in LIFE, not just leadership.
Thank you for sharing.
Years ago I read about a study where the performance of students reflected the teachers preconceived notions. They were given false information, so their preconceived notions were wrong. They were led to believe the students were higher performers and they proceeded on that assumption and got good results. After that, my wife, a teacher, and I always tried to proceed on the assumption that all the rats in the experiment are smart rats. We try to treat everyone as a high performer.
Servant leadership creates others that care. Spot on!
What a strong list of “heart traits.” The line in this post that stood out to me was
“If your heart is not right, no one cares about your skills.”
I have worked for leaders whose heart was not right and it permeated the organization. The same is true for those with a strong heart.
This message is awesome and I will share with my Leadership Team! I would love to read the book!
Great Stuff! I would enjoy the opportunity to read your book and share it with my staff and foundation board.
Which of the above heart habits are most relevant to you today? #1
Hunger for Wisdom – An unquenchable desire to learn and grow. 40 years in my job and I have been tasked with doing some new and interesting things and I have loved the learning along the way, how learning one new thing leads into learning another new thing, over and over.
This post screams servant leadership. A great servant leader focuses on growing others to increase individual capacity. Conversely, transformational leadership grows others with the goal of increasing organizational success. I believe if we grow people and are truly invested in their growth, the organization will flourish!
YES, YES, YES!!! When a leader comes to the realization they are serving others, not themselves; that is where the greatness shines. Humility, owning one’s mistakes and being a lifelong learner is key to success in leadership. This post resonates with what I truly believe in while leading my team.
The one on the list that resonates with me is taking responsibility/accountability for the actions of those we lead. When our employees know we have their back, they feel safe to take risks.
It seems like think of others first is the most challenging for leaders I know. We seem to be hardwired for egocentrism.
Mark Miller has such a way of breaking down vital truths to be able to be digested easily. Love it. I wonder, which of these traits different people in my leadership team find most difficult. Responding with courage is something I have to remind myself about on the daily.
Love it!! Thinking of others first has been a focus of mine. Teaching those around me to have empathy and to think of others is a hard concept to teach, especially in this day and age.
Hunger for Wisdom is the current heart habit I’m experiencing daily. I find that I’m eager to learn more and share that knowledge with others.
Loved the article … gathered many points that will help me to become a better leader and mentor to those that I have stewardship over…. excited to get my hands on this book and go deeper in each of these principles
SERVENT LEADERSHIP! The key to all successful leaders. I especially like “Respond with Courage – A willingness to consistently do hard things with grace.” Such an important act that many miss.
Great articles, always. I do find that in the beginning of my leadership role, I created aspirations based on what I saw in others and their leadership style. Building the comfort and confidence to lead others with your own heart and develop your own style, might take time, but builds on that uncommon leadership you are describing.
I think this is a great message. Empathy and understanding take you so much farther than greed and the need to be the best.
Hunger for wisdom – I think of this a bit like having a posture of learning. This appeals to me and I strive for this. Also calling out to me is “respond with courage”….can be so hard when under stress, but it is the work! Thanks for this list!
I love these attributes of servant leadership. I am striving to develop more clarity to support the leaders I coach.
A very nice list of HEART goals – and thinking of leading employees as a whole person effort. Everyone wants to be good at their job, so being optimistic and being accountable at all levels is paramount. I look forward to reading the full book.
This is indeed an important list relating to servant leadership. All true leadership must come from the HEART. And that is something for all of us to strive for…
I do not comment often, but this short tidbit was very inspirational. Sometimes in education, being an Uncommon Leader.
What a great reminder that we must focus on the heart first! If we do that the rest will follow!
“Respond with Courage” really speaks to me right now as I face challenges in my leadership role while trying to serve my team and the public. Thank you
As a leader of a school district I have found two of these heart skills to be very powerful in my leadership role.
– Accepting responsibility- as a leader people wonder if you will pass the buck on a decision if the results are poor. Accepting responsibility when things don’t go as we hope is a wonderful way to show others that failure is not fatal.
– Responding with courage- people look to the leaders at the upper echelon to see if we will shy away from difficult conversations and hard decisions. Have the hard conversation. Make the tough call. Then accept responsibility.
Pairing these two together provides exponential returns to a leader. They build on each other and combined are very powerful in leadership.
Would love to be able to add this to our growing leadership library here at the University of South Carolina. Thanks for the opportunity Dan!
This is great – you can’t be a great leader without a heart that is willing to love and invest in people.
Doing common things in an uncommon way starts with your attitude. Can you bring the same energy to a business presentation as you do to vacuuming your home? Energy is the biggest factor. Put your heart and soul into everything.
Respond with Courage – A willingness to consistently do hard things with grace
THIS, resonates and is a difficult task at times. Remember in hard times, impermanence.
Would love a copy
Loving your people creates a fabulous office environment!
We are in this profession to serve.
Servant Leadership is critical. Leaders often forget to ask their teams how they can support their growth, what obstacles they can help move, and just in general how their staff are doing outside of the office. These are fundamentals- so glad to see this topic being discussed more widely.
Lead by example. Treat all others well and treat yourself with kindness, too. Help people realize it is OK to take care of yourself.
My dad was this guy.
In public life, he was a college president. On a personal level, he knew the names of Deans and Professors, as well as Custodial and Food Service staff.
He saw potential. He invested in the head of his campus security, and challenged him to pursue his masters and doctorate, assisting him along the way. He eventually became a vice-president at the university, and moved on to become the president of the university.
He taught me the value of lifelong learning… to never stop growing.
Expecting the best doesn’t mean we’re soft or easy, it just means we believe in the potential of our team members. I saw his life littered with lives of people others never gave a chance, but who he not only offered opportunity, but worked to invest in and encourage them.
I learned that leading was more than a position or a title, but a responsibility to guide, protect and model what being a good person truly means.
During challenging times in our family, in his work and in our church life, he showed us that leaders respond with lip service and life service. Both are critical, and either one without the other is incomplete.
Necks, backs and wings… in a house with five boys, my mom would have to fry two chickens for dinner… and my dad always picked the necks, backs and wings. That left the bigger, better pieces for the rest of us. As a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary Club, he exemplified that “others first” model in everything he did.
He epitomized the heart of a servant leader. He left this life in 2009, but his legacy lives on in his sons and his grandchildren.
This article reminded me of those five qualities.
It reminded me of what a true leader looks like.
It reminded me of a life well lived in front of me by my dad.
Thank you.
Page Cole
To be considered “great” at anything, it is others that bestow that descriptor. The servant leadership that these principles describe go to that old truth that people may forget the things that you say and do, but they will not forget the way you make them feel. And, for me, I know I think of how people make me feel about myself more than anything.
The heart habit that resonates with me and is most relevant today, is Responding with Courage. As a leader, it’s perfectly okay to not know all the answers for those you lead. What is important is giving yourself some grace and establishing trust with your staff to say, ‘I’m not sure about that, let me find out and get back to you.’ Follow through on commitments. If you say you’re going to look into something or to do a task, DO IT.
This creates a culture of trust with you and staff, that they can rely on you when they check back in for answer on the topic. GRACE! As leaders, we tend to forget that we don’t have to know everything. If that was the case, there would be no opportunities for growth. I remind myself to be vulnerable, have and give grace to yourself and others. View things through the lenses of opportunities for growth.
The habits I see in uncommon leaders is expecting the best. It’s so easy to get and remain in a negative mindset. When we do so, it not only sets the tone within your office, but it also starts to rub off onto staff. As leaders, if we hear something or experience something we aren’t happy with, we should try to view the positive in an outcome. Being positive in these moments again, rubs off onto staff to have a positive mindset even when situations aren’t pleasant. Be an example, even when you think no one is watching, someone always is.
As always, a wonderful micro-inspiration post. Embarking on my leadership journey 8 years ago, I learned some things the easy way and some things the hard way. One of the most important things I learned in that time was something our company CEO said during an event. “Lead with a soft heart and a steel spine”.
I take that into consideration each day when it comes to working and interacting with people. Being kind and considerate costs nothing and being firm and steadfast when it counts/is needed doesn’t make you any less kind.
Thanks for this post. I have been an athletic coach for 41 years and the position is humbling always revealing areas of needed growth. I pay have learned to pay attention to a few principles important to managing my shortcomings. Sinking back into the self-focused leader will happen to me unless I am intentional. When it is about me and my successes the team members become my toolset. My self-centered leadership cause me to take better care of the more productive players, my best tools; while subconsciously dismissing others, the lesser players. The team members know it and trust is broken. So, I try to plan in advance the person I want to be during practice and in conversations with players. Inevitably there will be times a player does not do what he has agreed to do. I can easily jump to conclusions about how a player failed to live up to our standards and become accusatory. I have a safeguard taped to my desk. Author, Oswald Chambers, said, “there is always one more fact”. This operating principle has helped me avoid an accusatory confrontation. A neutral question has led to a justifiable explanation and a bridge building interaction. I love the leadership freak blog. Thanks
Leadership is a constant journey, the road is long with small wins along the way. Every person should be able to come to work and leave either the same way or better. I love getting my morning dose of Leadership Freak emails – such inspiration and thought provoking content
I love these posts and this one especially resonates with me. I’d love to read more!
Thanks for this post!
I so much admire these people, and making it possible to aspire to great leadership makes it well worth finding the mentor while reading this book.
“Expect the Best – A spirit of optimism while remaining grounded in reality” This is by far the toughest one for me and rather than get easier it gets harder for me from year to year. In the world of education, I am finding it tough to remain optimistic.
it is too easy to start down the negative cycle – whinging, casting blame, claiming unfairness etc.
Reflect, and if you feel yourself heading this way – stop – revisit the heart habits – and restart the conversations. This might require an admission from you that you were wrong to bring the team down.
I have enjoyed this. Hunger for wisdom just really hit home for me. I think in order to be an uncommon leader you first have to accept that you need to continue to learn and grow. I would like a copy of the book.
Start with your heart is so important. I measure my success by the growth and success of my team members. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing them blossom and grow into the leader they want to be. As leaders and mentors, we need to remember that . . . the person THEY want to be, not the leader we’d like them to be.
Think others first is getting to be a rare quality. As the notion of self-care pole-vaulted many into self-centeredness, putting the welfare of the whole above self has suffered. I enjoyed the list; adhering to it will certainly seperate teh leaders from the wannabe’s.
I really liked this post – i can identify with this ! I take pride in caring , using my heart first to lead with courage and enhance my team. To growth is about that helping other grow and be their better selves- just like i take this from those around me. Thank you for this post. I’d love to learn more via this book. I love a new read:-)
These are great, thanks!
Excellent thinking points! If those with wisdom take the responsibility to act courageously & with grace then perhaps we are headed in the right direction, but if not, then those without the wisdom may be left to direct us elsewhere.
This is a great post and I am excited to read this book!
Great post! Looking forward to reading the book.
Sounds like an excellent book!
The list is a great reflection of Servant Leadership.
I would add the leader needs to “keep and eye on the goal” – meaning the leader is the one steering the “ship” and whilst you act on the heart habits and think others first – you do have the responsibility to main direction towards the goal. That is a responsibility all the followers bestow on you .. the leader.
Servant leadership is exactly that, striving for greatness, not for oneself, but for others. I believe that through my team and those around me, they make me a better leader. It is through them that I am challenged, held accountable, and strive to be better for them.
I’m intrigued by these heart habits and am looking forward to reading your latest book, @MarkMiller!
The tension between optimism and reality is the toughest one to navigate for me, especially when it relates to people with whom you have a negative reality.
I’m excited to add this to my collection to get better as a school leader!
Our instinct as a leader can be sharpened by achieving together goals for all. Foremost 4me is kindness and courage that creates a fine balance at times where greatness separates those who have authenticity. @Markmiller, gratitude is the link for me