A 3-Step Formula for Becoming an Engaging Leader
Growing up, it was a horrifying sound: “Robert! Richard! Come to the front yard now!” My dad (a.k.a. “The Warden”) calling out for my brother and me. On this particular Saturday morning he barked, “See those dandelions?” Looking across the sea of yellow covering our yard we timidly affirmed the reality. He continued, “You’re going to get each one up, by the root.”
My dad proceeded to model proper dandelion picking technique using a tool with a wooden handle and a long medal prong. When the lesson was complete, he handed off the tools and disappeared into the house.
After a few hours of work in the blazing sun, my adolescent brain tried to make sense of the experience. I proclaimed to my brother, “I know why Dad’s doing this. He had a bad childhood and he wants to make sure we have one too!”
This cruel and unusual punishment became a regular experience. Each year I noticed that the work got easier and was completed faster.
At eighteen, I leaned against our loaded station wagon prepped for the five hundred mile journey to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. I froze, noticing the solid green lawn stretching out before me.
Years later, when my brain had matured some, I finally saw the dandelion lesson in the form of a formula:
The right tools + hard work + time = sustained results.
On your journey to become an engaging leader, how much you invest in this formula is up to you.
The right tools: An engaging leader is first and foremost a student. A life-long learner. Her tools are books, workshops, mentors, coaches, mistakes, self-reflection, and regular feedback.
Hard work: This is not for the faint at heart. Becoming an engaging leader is hard. Work. If you don’t feel the calling burning in your soul, do something else.
Time: This is a journey. A life-long journey. To become successful at anything necessitates that you do it over time. You need years of reps, not a weekend seminar.
There you have it, the formula for becoming a successful engaging leader. It works, it’s timeless, and gives you sustained results. What are you waiting for?
Something for you to consider:Which part of this fromula requires more of your attention?