It was 7:58 Saturday morning and the captain had turned on the fasten seatbelt sign. I squinted as I gazed out of the window at the brilliant, snow-capped Rocky Mountains. My mind drifted to the mountain I just climbed. WOW, I think to myself, I’m flying home after teaching 26 senior executives during a retreat, accepting their invitation to facilitate their next retreat, and spending 2.5 hours with their CEO. I grabbed a pencil and started to brainstorm a “lessons-learned report” by answering one question: What could I and others (that would be you) learn from this mountaintop experience?
1. Stay Committed to Lifelong Learning
As a former UCLA executive, I realized years ago that it is very difficult to lead a team or organization to success. So, I started studying leadership success. The more I studied, the more I realized that there are many different leadership models. I stayed open to learning several of them, and then created my own (based on analyzing studies that assessed more than 171,000 leaders). The eXpansive Leadership Model (XLM) is built on the foundations laid down by thousands of researchers.
As I brainstorm these lessons learned from 35,000 feet, I realize my first lesson is that although I’ve taught the XLM several years, I’ve also maintained my commitment to learning other leadership approaches and how they relate to my model. During the many executive retreats, this dedication to lifelong learning enables me to answer questions about the relationship of Myers-Briggs, DISC, Covey, Emotional Intelligence… to the XLM. So, how committed are you to growing your leadership skills and increasing your team’s investment in lifelong learning? GE and Boeing both require top executives to invest four consecutive weeks immersed in leadership learning. How much are you investing to reach your mountaintop?
2. Don’t Be Blinded by Your Vision
In past consulting or teaching assignments, I sometimes became too focused on teaching the topic my way. I knew my material so well that my vision turned into tunnel vision. I’m working hard to avoid this subconscious, know-it-all attitude by adopting the beginners mind. This approach asks that I be receptive to other ways of teaching, perhaps even un-learning and re-learning some of what I “knew.” As I embrace this open-minded outlook, my vision of how to teach this course expands.
How open are you to learning when you coach/teach your team (at work and home)? Are you so full of your own opinions and ideas, as I am at times, that you deny yourself the wisdom of the crowd? The Bible teaches that the truth will set you free, not your opinions. The second lesson from the mountaintop is that most of us would be better teachers if we were better students.
3. Carry Wood and Smile
As I stared down at the New Mexico desert from our 500 MPH silver jet, I recall seeing a three-frame cartoon several years ago. The first frame showed an old man carrying a bundle of wood on his hunched back, up a mountain. The caption read, “Before Enlightenment.” The second frame showed the old man straightened up and smiling, with the wood on the ground. The caption read, “Enlightenment.” The third frame again showed the man carrying his wood again, a little further up the mountain. The caption read, “After Enlightenment.”
The cartoon reminds me to think about my success at the executive retreat two ways: First, it’s important not to become addicted to mountaintop experiences. The cartoon tells me that when I have an “enlightening” experience or achieve a worthy goal, I should smile and then continue my journey. Second, this simple cartoon prompts me to reflect on where the real change occurs whenever I “succeed.” What happens on the outside is not nearly as important as what happens on the inside of the leaders I teach and coach. Leadership, like life, is an inside job. I need to remember that my goal is to touch the heart of the participants so that they grow from the inside out. First I touch, then I teach.
Smile and celebrate success after a job is done well. However, don’t become so addicted to the mountaintop that you forget that life is about the journey and the destination. It’s not either/or; it’s both/and. How will you remind yourself to both smile and carry wood?
How do you to stay committed to lifelong learning? What techniques do you use that expand your vision? Do you have any tips to help carry wood up the mountain with a smile?
Keep eXpanding your leadership,
Dave
P.S. Dave Jensen and his team transform proven leadership tools into your success stories. Dave is an executive coach and an engaging speaker at conferences, meetings, and retreats. He can be reached in Los Angeles, CA at (310) 397-6686. Click here for more info about the research-based, online 360-leadership assessment (XLM): http://xlmassessment.com/ )
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