The Friday Five - Leadership Edition

The Friday Five - Issue 38
Challenging leaders to maximize their potential
Terry Wetzel ~ Summit Leadership Development
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The writer Seth Godin said, “There’s a huge gulf between earned expertise and strong opinion.” Strong opinions are often cheap, fast, and easily arrived it. They require little more than volume and fake certainty. Earned expertise is quiet, gained from years of skin in the game, navigating both failures and wins, and contains emotional self-control. Leaders who mistake the loudest voice in the room for the most competent fail to see the difference.

I saw yet another workplace study and survey of business owners that found the “winner” for the single biggest time-waster goes to unnecessary, poorly structured, or over-attended meetings. Right behind it was inbox management (email and chat messaging). The average person spends roughly 28% of their workday reading, sorting, and responding to emails and instant messages (like Slack or Teams). Feel like there is not enough time in your day? Start here.

If you are a manager or executive long enough, there will be some sort of crisis during your tenure. Leading through a crisis requires communicating early and often, exhibiting empathy, remaining calm, and breaking problems down into manageable next steps. While you generally can’t control the crisis itself, you can always control the stability and safety you create for the people relying on you to guide them through it.

In my consulting business, I talk a lot about the relationship between personal and professional excellence and the fact that they are not separate. In order to have the most satisfying life possible in both of these areas, you have to know what the best decisions are and have the courage to make them. More often than not, we do know. It is courage we lack.

In a culture that glorifies productivity and hustle, strength comes from knowing how to step away. Whether it’s a mid-day walk, a favorite hobby, your favorite tunes in your headphones, or entirely turning off work notifications to be present with friends and family, stepping off the work train isn't a distraction from your work, it is what re-energizes you for work. Give yourself permission to reset this week so you can show up fully when it matters.

If someone followed you around for a week, would they believe you were serious about your goals?

What if you stopped looking for new ideas and simply focused on the best idea you have right now?

The Daily Stoic is a “passage a day” book from Ryan Holiday, the popular podcaster and author. Ryan writes about all things Stoicism as a lifestyle and philosophy. Every day is a timeless and practical reminder of staying in the moment and focusing on what we can control while letting go of what we cannot.

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The photo in today’s web edition was taken in Door County, WI.
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