This Week in Leadership
The Friday Five - Issue 20
Challenging leaders to maximize their potential
Terry Wetzel ~ Summit Leadership Development
It Is Not Selfish, It Is Wise
A manager’s open-door policy or their tendency to respond immediately to every inquiry is often worn as a badge of honor. We pride ourselves on being "available," "responsive," and "accessible" at a moment’s notice. But, there is a hidden cost to this. When a leader is always available to everyone, they are ultimately effective for no one. To move from a reactive to proactive strategy, we must reframe our view of isolation. Uninterrupted work is not a selfish withdrawal from the team; it is a wise investment in the team’s future.
Scavenger Hunts Cost Money
Are you or your team constantly taking time to look for information by digging through buried email threads, scrolling through endless chat history, or pinging three different colleagues just to find the latest version of a project brief? While these moments feel like small interruptions, they are actually one of the greatest hidden costs in modern business. When information isn't centralized, we aren't just losing minutes; we are losing the cognitive momentum required for high-level, creative work.
Clock vs. Compass
The clock vs. compass analogy is a framework that distinguishes between management (efficiency) and leadership (direction). It’s easy to get lost in the clock, but great leaders live by the compass. A leader who only watches the clock creates a burnout culture of "busy-ness." A leader who only watches the compass creates a culture of "dreamers" who never execute. Use the compass to set the course, and the clock to manage the pace.
Surround Yourself Wisely
We have all heard the concept that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Leadership can be a lonely vantage point, but it shouldn't be a solitary one. You need friends and colleagues who offer more than just “yes" — you need voices of candor to ground you and big thinkers to propel you. Seek these people out. Success isn't just about your own drive; it’s about the quality of the ecosystem you build around it.
Celebrating Small Wins
Celebrating small wins is about more than just being nice — it is a strategic tool for building momentum. Every time we acknowledge a team member for perfecting a new process, handling a difficult client call with grace, or simply meeting a mid-week deadline, we are making a deposit into the team's relational bank account. These micro-recognitions also act as a feedback loop, signaling exactly what excellence looks like in the day-to-day.
Quote of the Week
"Effort is a choice. If it's important to you, there is no excuse for someone putting in more effort than you." — Shane Parrish
Book of the Week
I really enjoyed this book and the perspective it offers regarding employee motivation. Both catalysts and inhibitors of productivity, and how they can impact team members, often get lost in the day to day hustle. The Progress Principle offers good reminders on how not to let this happen.
That’s it for this week
Be epic, not average. The world has enough average.
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The photo in today’s web edition is Eagle Bluff Lighthouse in Door County, WI.
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