Re-think leadership

Re-think what you learn and teach about leadership. 

Consider your own response to this question: "During the days of Christopher Columbus, was the world flat or round?" 

Many of us believe in the notion that everyone in the Middle Ages thought the world was flat. When we brush up against the historical ceiling of our own educational programming, misconceptions prevail as Jeffrey Burton Russell explains in the "Myth of the Flat Earth". Contrary to our belief, Jeffrey reiterates “with extraordinary few exceptions no educated person in the history of Western Civilization from the third century B.C. onward believed that the earth was flat.”

If a misrepresentation like this exists in our own educational system can you imagine what's going on in the field and study of leadership? 

Whether you believe the world is flat like Thomas Friedman or round like everybody else it doesn't matter. What matters is that we are diligently doing our share to create the change we wish to see in the world even if it means re-thinking what we learn and teach about leadership. 

Playing with sticks

Like most things in life there is a protocol, a system, or a precedent to follow. While adults concoct many self-imposed limitations on a daily basis, children at play create their own freedom of thoughts. 

Take the idea of playing with sticks for instance. On one hand, a blunt stick to us adults is just a boring dull stick. On the other hand, children can re-imagine the same blunt stick into a magnificent shiny sword. 

A sword is symbolic because it represents three things: honor, liberty, and strength. This is especially true when children find themselves in some distant land clashing with titans, monsters, and villains. 

We as good to great leaders oftentimes resemble grown adults playing with blunt sticks. However, if we learn to become extraordinary we too can wield magnificent swords.

21st Century Leadership Road Kill

How much will you invest in your personal development this year?

The best investment you will ever make in your life with your money is your investment in you. On one hand, extraordinary leaders understand this basic premise. As a result, they almost always have an amazing story, life, family, and friends because they habitually reinvest in both their hard and soft skills over longer periods of time. 

On the other hand, good to great leaders falter because of time horizon and investment constraints. In other words, they lack the habit of investing which causes them to miss out on the compounding effects of personal growth. 

Realize that the world is shifting towards an extraordinary leadership mindset. Leaders who refuse to invest in their own leadership development and life skills will end up like 21^st century road kill. Therefore, put your money where your mouth is. Remain congruent with your thoughts, words, and actions.