The following contains excerpts from the book, The Heart of a Leader (Ken Blanchard).
“Leadership isn’t just about having a powerful position. Anytime you use your influence to affect the thoughts and actions of others, you are engaging in leadership. So you can be a leader as a parent, spouse, friend, or citizen…the best leaders are those who understand that their power flows through them, not from them.”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. When dealing with the subject of Leadership, relationships matter.
The main points in this book are as follows:
- The key to developing people is to catch them doing something right – Give praise immediately, make it specific, and encourage people to keep up the good work.
As teachers at our music school in Midland, Texas we are always looking for a moment of success, where the student does something well. When this happens, we give honest and specific praise to encourage their continued growth.
- Don’t wait until people do things exactly right before you praise them – In the beginning, approximately right is just fine.
- What we give attention to grows – focusing on the negative often creates situations that demoralize people. When good performance is followed by a positive response, people naturally want to continue that behavior.
- You get from people what you expect – When you judge someone, it impairs your ability to see him or her clearly, as if a filter is screening out everything about that person except what fits your assessment.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we have high expectations for each student, believing in their potential to do great things, when given the knowledge they need to do so.
- People who produce good results feel good about themselves – An effective leader will make it a priority to help his or her people produce good results in two ways: making sure people know what their goals are and doing everything possible to support, encourage, and coach them to accomplish those goals.
- Feedback is the breakfast of champions – Providing feedback is the most cost-effective strategy for improving performance and instilling satisfaction. It can be done quickly, it costs nothing, and it can turn people around fast.
Perhaps one of the greatest gifts we, as teachers, can give students in our music school in Midland, Texas is the gift of objectivity. Helping them see their progress and their roadblocks allows them to direct their energies in the most time-effective ways.
- No one of us is as smart as all of us – I realized I didn’t have to be the brightest one in the group. In fact, admitting my vulnerability allowed me to ask for help…By involving the resources we have gathered around us, any problem can be solved.
- Things not worth doing are not worth doing well – People are often busy doing what seems to be extremely urgent but really isn’t…an effective leader must step back, look at the big picture, and make sure the important things are not being pushed out of the way by the seemingly urgent needs of the moment.
Helping students prioritize their work, to maximize their efforts, is another key benefit to having a mentor/teacher. It curbs the loss of time and energy.
- Success is not forever and failure isn’t fatal – Don’t get a big head when you win or get too down in the dumps when you lose. Keep things in perspective.
- Never punish a learner – When a learner makes a mistake, be sure he or she knows immediately that the behavior was incorrect. Place the blame on yourself by saying, “Sorry, I didn’t make it clear.” Then patiently redirect by reviewing the assignment.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we try to help students see that the process of growth includes learning experiences that may seem like failures. But failure isn’t final if you learn something from it. How many times does a baby fall before walking? They just keep trying until they succeed.
- When you stop learning, you stop leading – The very best leaders are learners…by continuing to learn, you can keep up with the competition, respond to new challenges, and maximize you God-given talents.
- Leadership is a high calling – Leading at a higher level is the process of achieving worthwhile results while acting with respect, care, and fairness for the well-being of all involved…when you focus solely on results, you miss the big picture.
- Don’t work harder – work smarter – Successful people work hard, but they also thing before they act. They are proactive, not just reactive.
- Nice guys may appear to finish last, but usually they are running in a different race – People today want what they want, and they want it right now. A negative side effect of such impatience is poor decision-making. Patience helps us realize that if we do what is right – even if it costs us in the short run – it will pay off in the long run.
- If you want to know why your people are not performing well, step up to the mirror and take a peek – Good leaders are committed to helping their people win. When someone fails, they accept responsibility for that failure…The main job of a leader is to help his or her people succeed in accomplishing their goals.
- Managing for profit is like playing tennis with your eye on the scoreboard and not on the ball – If you focus only on financial success and forget about your people and your customers, eventually, your financial success will decline.
- If you want your people to be responsible, be responsive to their needs – Make your people responsible for doing high-quality work by responding to their needs and supporting them. That places the responsibility at the appropriate level – with the people who do the work.
- Trying is just a noisy way of not doing something – Many people are interested, rather than committed…When a person is committed to doing something, he or she will find ways to suppress rationalization.