“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” In this episode, I freestyle across a few topics. I cover how to deal with frustrations of teammates, the difference between knowledge and wisdom, and how my journey as a leader has multiple layers of depth.
Summary
Frustration with peers. Offering critical comments on other’s efforts, yet unwilling to make changes/take actions that may result in failure (taking the safe route). A good group of teammates never assumes their problems are more important than others. The problems are “our” problems. This doesn’t mean they won’t work hard to make positive changes, but there is a fine balance at doing things at the expense of others. More importantly, the decisions that leaders make on collaborating or moving forward independently have the largest impact on the teams they lead, not necessarily the leaders themselves. Building or breaking bridges between teams must be approached very deliberately. There is no clean answer, but I try to look for what is most important in that time and space to help me make my decision.
“You can be knowledgeable with other men’s knowledge, but you can’t be wise with other men’s wisdom.” Knowledge is internal; Wisdom is shared. Knowledge is inert; Wisdom is knowledge put into action. Good leaders understand both knowledge and wisdom never stop growing. Be open to new ideas. Be willing to share your experiences, both the good and bad (this means you need to have both!). But in the end, your actions must remain uniquely yours and you must take full ownership of them.
Martin Luther King, Jr. – “Your work should have length-something you get better at over a lifetime. It should have breadth – it should touch many other people. And it should have height – it should you put you in service to some ideal and satisfy the soul’s yearning for righteousness.” I’m trying to make sure my efforts and energy hit all three of these. That level of alignment is rare but is achievable.