What I Liked Best
By Bob Mason
"Which did you like best, the train, the horses, the rafting, the zip line, or the Alpine Slide?"
We were sitting in the restaurant on the last day of our trip when my wife asked our grandson that question. He didn't hesitate long before saying the Alpine Slide. The Slide, was a heart pounding, high speed plunge, basically a one-man bobsled without the snow. It certainly was exciting and we rode it several times.
Then she turned to me and asked the same question. I thought about it for a few minutes and agreed the Slide was fun but I really enjoy the white water. What I didn't say was that my favorite part of the week had been being away and enjoying time with family without trying to see how much work I could get done.
It was refreshing.
One of the most important actions a leader can take is to…
Stop!
Or, as the old saying goes, stop and smell the roses.
The stress and anxiety of the workplace builds up and will eventually affect your ability to make the right decisions. Have you ever watched the game show Jeopardy? If you've watched that show, or any other game show, you've probably been surprised at some point that a contestant botched an answer. It was simple, how could they have gotten that wrong?
Stress.
It's easy for you because you're relaxed and there is no stress to get it right. For the contestant, there is a lot riding on the answer and they feel stress. The farther they go in the game, the more stress there is to get the answers right.
It's like that on the job. The higher you go in the organization, the more stress you encounter and the more important it is to manage that stress.
One of the ways to manage stress is to take a little time off every now and then and do something completely different. Something that takes your mind off the job.
My wife and I enjoy whitewater rafting and kayaking. Staying upright in the boat requires concentration. We must read the river and make constant decisions on which way to go. There is no time to think about anything else. Lose concentration and the river will grab you. After a few miles of such intense activity, I always feel refreshed and my mind is clear.
The whitewater may be more than you want to do, but find something you enjoy; something that you can immerse yourself in; something that will take your mind off the trials, tribulations, and responsibilities of the job. You'll be glad you did.
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I Learned About Leadership From That!
None of us are truly born with the ability to lead. Some may have more of the qualities that make great leaders, but most often great leadership develops from watching and learning from others. Here is a leadership lesson that I learned.
WHAT I LEARNED FROM A HORSE
His name is Isaac. Well, Sir Isaac to be exact.
Isaac is a horse.
He was my mount for a recent tour of the mountains of southern Colorado. You're probably already wondering what leadership lesson can come from a horse. While I have known a few people who I've thought tended to resemble a certain part of the equine anatomy, I'm not suggesting that your people are horses. But, there are some interesting parallels.
In order to get where the rider wants to go, the rider must make it clear that he or she is in charge. That might seem a little difficult as the horse is at least a foot taller than the rider and usually weighs about 10 times as much. Of course horses are trained to obey the rider's commands.
I pointed Isaac up a steep and rocky trail and was pretty sure he would have preferred to be somewhere else but he started up the trail anyway. Here's where the leadership lesson starts. I told Isaac where we were going, but I did not tell him how to navigate the trail. Instead I left the reigns loose and let him find his own way.
That's a pretty good leadership technique. Just like Isaac understood how to navigate the trail I had set him on, your people probably know the best way to accomplish their tasks. Our job as leaders is to set the goal and point everyone in the right direction. Then, let them find the best way to reach that goal.
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