Leadership lessons all around us

I’m changing gears and sharing something that was an a-ha moment for me last week. I will get back to more on balance in a future post.

During a conversation with one of my mentors, she shared a leadership lesson she encountered while on vacation. It was a special nugget that gave her some perspective on things she would like to do differently as a leader. When I heard the story, it gave me things to consider. But that’s not the point that I’m sharing today.

All around us, there are stories waiting to be revealed. Lessons in the ordinary that want to teach us about leadership and are not part of our day-to-day work. In my master’s program, I took a Team Development course. One of the group projects was to analyze a television show and identify the leadership dynamics of the characters. My group selected the show “Bones,” the 2005-2017 drama series featuring the adventures of forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperence Brennan and FBI Special Agent Seely Booth as they investigated potential murders. Watching select episodes, we identified team dynamics and how the two interacted with each other and members of the forensics team. These stories, while fictional, offered comparisons of best practices and things to avoid when working with a team. This is one of many examples where television and movies can teach us about leadership, working in teams, and other important life lessons.

Nature can also teach us leadership. In the brief inspirational video, “Wisdom of Wolves: Leadership Lessons from Nature” by Simple Truths, quotes and reflective statements uncover how observations of wolves and their packs demonstrate patience, communication, and loyalty along with other characteristics that are key to leading others. The insights on communication stood out strongest to me. Just as wolves use different forms of communication among their packs to be successful, humans also have various communication methods that can be strategically used to ensure teams and individuals adequately receive information and direction to successfully complete tasks and contribute to the bigger picture of team and company goals.     

Sports is another area where some often draw leadership examples from. One of my favorite quotes is Wayne Gretzky’s “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I’ve applied this in sales training and in my own professional development. From a sales perspective, the quote can motivate salespeople to take every opportunity to close a sale. From a professional development perspective, this quote has challenged me to look at new opportunities to grow through stretch opportunities and leadership challenges. If I don’t, I may not get that shot that could help me get to the next level of my career journey. Where have you found leadership lessons in the ordinary? How have they made a difference in your personal and professional development? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!