A Post a Day in May #25: Leadership by the Letter

-
I have pledged to write a new post for this blog every day in May. 
The concept of leadership is much on my mind, as there is such a dearth of it in our world today. Yes, individuals are in positions of leadership, but that does not make those individuals leaders. For it is their actions, not their position, that make them so. 

L E A D E R S H I P: Springboard. Help.  Inclusion. Party.

For my final entry in Leadership by the Letter, I am tying the last four letters together. Partly because I’m running out of days in May, but mostly because I like that, together, they spell SHIP. 

Whether large or small, a ship is a vessel that runs best when the systems that keep it going are operated by a crew (of greater or lesser size), working together to contribute their individual parts towards the forward motion of the greater whole. 

 And every crew has a captain, a leader. 

Geraldine Ferraro: 1984 // Greta Thunberg: 2020
S is for SPRINGBOARD, which is defined as “a starting point for something”. Leadership is exactly that — a starting point; it is not an end unto itself. Its potential must be used to nurture momentum, keep connections lively, and actions meaningful. Leadership means movement. 

H is for HELP: Leaders provide support, offer a hand, remove barriers — of every kind, at every level. Leaders keep a 360-degree view of their context to ensure that those beside, below and above them in the “ship” get the help they need to succeed in their work. 

I is for INCLUSION: There is no “I” in team, goes the cliche, and, while there is an “i” in leadership, it stands for collaborating up, down and to the side with everyone who has something to contribute in order for the greater good and the larger whole to succeed. 

P is for PARTY: Good leadership enables good work, and good work deserves to be celebrated. When a goal is reached, a plan achieved, a project completed — that’s the time for celebration. Have a party. Let loose: Reward comes in many forms, among them praise, laughter and fun.

Leadership is no joke. To be (actually or figuratively) the head of the crew is serious business. Only those with the resolve to be courageous and the willingness to admit being wrong (occasionally, one hopes) should dare to risk the rewards of leadership. 

------------

Writers want to be read, so comments, rebuttals and feedback are all welcome. Subscribe to the blog to receive the posts direct into your email inbox. Use Google Chrome or FireFox as your browser, if you have problems via Safari. I cannot post comments via Safari, but can via Google Chrome. 

Comments

  1. danielle-momoMay 25, 2020 at 9:19 AM

    Beautifully said, I agree.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amanda Le RougetelMay 25, 2020 at 10:31 AM

    From Val Paape:

    "While every letter of “ship” has an excellent contribution to make to the concept of good leadership, I particularly like what you have to say about the S and the P. Indeed, one might also say, the salt and pepper, the “S ’n P”! Salt elevates the taste, makes the food “lively” and the act of eating (working together to achieve a shared objective) pleasurable. The “Pepper” is the excitement, the “productive heat” of engagement; the spice of meaningful, coordinated work—the Party! Only real leaders shake the “S ’n P” out of their teams!

    "Great post! Thanks for the opportunity to “riff” off your theme."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Susan HealdMay 26, 2020 at 12:07 PM

    You're really sailing your ship here, Amanda. And the last sentence is stunning!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated. Please be respectful.

Popular posts from this blog

Listening for the piano / Thinking about grief

-
Image
Grief is not a land in which I have travelled much, though I routinely explore it via others’ experience. I am drawn to do this as a student is drawn to the masters: To observe, to sit with, to wonder if those others’ experiences might help prepare me for my own when I find myself in that place. Will it? Sara Paretsky, author of the V.I. Warshawski mystery series, says that the grief over her long-time husband’s death hit her like a grand piano falling out of the sky onto her head. There is no pre-mourning, she says. Nonetheless, I persist in my studies: Memoirs of loss. Stories of grief. Tales of survival. I sit with those experiences. The words, the feelings, the anguish wash over me. And I ask myself: Will the sun rise tomorrow? Will I see it when it does?  Should I worry about this? Should I just expect, presume that what has always been will always be? Absurd. It will not always be. The loves of my life are all older, are all old. 95, my mother. Almost 80, my p...
Read more

Anniversary post: This year marks 31 together

-
Image
Amanda and Val: many years ago and today.  Man, look how young we were. Sheesh. Thirty-one years and counting certainly shows. But who in their right mind would care about wrinkles or grey hair when it is a good and generous love that has propelled us through the years together.  Every good story is told through both summary and scenes. Val & Amanda’s story: The summary A generous love that has withstood the challenges of two bouts of cancer and multiple joint replacements, of job changes and career disappointments, of cats found and cats lost, of parents living and parents dying. Two women, together, building a good life. Amanda: Three scenes April 1997: Val and I are driving from Winnipeg  down through the Dakotas and Wyoming and Utah to Arizona, camping in a tent along the way and marvelling at what we can do together, still, after Val’s cancer diagnosis earlier that year. At a roadside cafe somewhere in Utah, a woman asks me if we are sisters. Without skipping a b...
Read more

If pride comes before a fall, what comes after disappointment?

-
Image
Disappointment is not something any of us aim for, I’m sure. The very last thing I ever want to be told by someone is that they are disappointed in me. But this week, I have been very disappointed in others. Life goes on, but that niggling thread of “if only” and “why could it not have been different” lingers in the corners of my mind. Last week’s lightening-quick sale of our cottage ended in disappointment all round when the deal fell through at the final hurdle. The details are not what matter here; what matters is that age-old life lesson about counting your chickens before they’re hatched and sharing good news before it is fully rooted and secured. But who among us has not jumped the gun? Presumed that all would go as promised, as planned? Believed in the goodness of people and trusted that the story would unfold as it had begun — smoothly, seamlessly, successfully? Ah, well. Sometimes it just doesn’t. So we find ourselves at a new beginning, with a different round of showings and...
Read more