Sandberg Story

Good leaders are humble and humility is attractive!!

Jim Collins in his book Good to Great says that Level 5 leaders exhibit some common qualities. He explains that great leaders are humble, they have an intense resolve, their first priority is the institution and not themselves, they tend to be quiet and modest.

Humble leaders are careful to stay focused and review their motivation in decision making. With humility comes a consistent heart check with regards to priorities. The bi-product of humility in a leader is that they don't pretend to be something they are not. They are real, authentic, vulnerable, and have a sincere concern about doing the right thing - not for self, but for the organization.

Ryne Sandberg, the all-star second baseman of the Chicago Cubs once had the opportunity to display humility. During his playing years he was well paid for his skills. Unfortunately, one year Ryne was in a hitting slump and wasn't playing near to his potential. He was very disappointed in his performance especially since he was being paid so well. So, how did Ryne handle this situation? In addition to working hard at improving his swing and taking hours of batting practice, he also met with the general manager of the Cubs and offered a large chunck of his salaray back to the team. He told the GM that he didn't feel right about taking millions of dollars whn he wasn't performing up to his potential. Through this humility he won the hearts of his team members and the fans of Chicago.

I recently read this quote from Dr. Tim Elmore - "Humility doesn't mean leaders think less of themselves. It means they think of themselves less."

The Indian Talking Stick

When I was growing up my mom frequently told me this - "you have two ears to listen with and one mouth to speak, this means you should listen twice as much as you speak." For those of us who like to talk and share our opinions this can be a difficult practice. However, listening is a critical leadership principle.

The early Indians had a way to deal with this and it was called the Talking Stick. Here's how it worked. Durng a meeting, the Indian Talking Stick is passed around from one person to the next. Only the person holding the Talking Stick was allowed to speak. The stick remains in the person's hand until everyone in the circle understands what has been said. Once this person is fully understood the stick is handed to the next person. There is an interesting result of this method of listening - as the tribal members pass the stick around, they slowly become less combative and more cohesive.

Often, as much as 50% of leadership is about listening, observing, and interpreting what you see and hear. So, how do we listen well? Here's a couple of suggestions:

1. Show Empathy - what this means is entering into another person's situation. This could be a family member at home, this could be a co-worker or employee who may be having a difficult time. The key is understanding how this person feels and then showing genuine care for them.

2. Ask Good Questions - this is my favorite. I enjoy asking questions in order to get a person thinking about a certain subject. When we ask questions we are opening the door for us to listen carefully and connect with people. As we listen we are able to better understand where they are coming from.

Through the art of listening your relationships with be strengthened and your influence will increase.