Climbing at 19,000' in Ecuador

Just because you have the title of "leader" doesn't make you are a leader. And just because you don't have the title of leader doesn't mean you aren't a leader.

People are called upon to do many things - both inside and outside of the workplace. Those who have the courage to do the right things, especially when the right things are difficult to do, deserve the title of leader.
Consider the following:

Leaders are called upon to do many things, and those things often conflict with each other. They require a unique balance of sometimes opposing characteristics.

The first set of characteristics that I believe is required to be a successful leader is the balance of courage and humility.

We all perceive the world according to our own reality. The experiences we have had in the past and the experiences we have today all create the perceptions that we hold about other people. Those perceptions influence our biases (and we all have biases), which in turn influence our behaviors.

Sometimes our biases are so ingrained that we don't even know they exist.

To be successful leaders and successful team members we have to become aware of our biases and how they influence our interactions with others in the workplace.

As I look at the business landscape today, I believe two types of companies are emerging – (1) those that choose to cut costs at all cost, and (2) those that recognize that people got us to where we are today and people will get us out of where we are today.

One of the most important characteristics of a People-First™ Leader is that they are self-aware.
Self-aware?
Here’s what I mean. (1) They understand why they respond to others the way they do, and (2) they understand why others respond to them the way they do.
Why is this important?

I had just returned to my hotel room after a beautiful sunrise run in Washington D.C. where I am attending an Inscape Publishing conference. While enjoying a cup of post-run coffee, I read an article about a former NASA official (he served as the NASA Chief of Staff and as its liaison to the White House) who was “charged with using his government position to serve his own financial interest.” If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison.
That’s not leadership!

Last weekend I returned home from a month in Ecuador. The focus of my trip was a climbing expedition to some of the most remote and beautiful volcanoes in the world towering between 16,000 - 20,000 feet above sea level. My time in Ecuador was marked with excitement, adventure, and challenge as our climbing team dealt with deteriorating weather and dangerous avalanche conditions. Through all of that, I enjoyed the serenity of being removed from everyday life and focused on climbing.

If you pick up a training or human resource magazine these days, you're likely to find at least one article about how to work with, maximize, engage and otherwise lead the "Millennials". Sure it rhymes with perennials, but these people aren't just popping up in the spring, they are with you day-in and day-out in the workplace.

The 50 Best Small and Medium Places to Work were announced by HR Magazine in July. Open communication, teamwork, employee training, and cultures which breed the idea of exceeding expectations, are among the characteristics of these top companies.

Yet many organizations, and managers, don’t recognize that a key part of the elements that build a winning team and a great place to work is discipline.

What? Discipline the Non-Performers?

“Eighty-one percent of the respondents to the 2005 Skill Gap Survey of the American Manufacturing Workforce (Deloitte and The Manufacturing Institute, 2005) said they couldn’t find qualified workers to fill their open positions. As far as manufacturers are concerned, the skills gap is upon us,” notes Stacey Jarrett Wagner, managing director, Center for Workforce Success, at the National Association of Manufacturers. - Training and Development magazine, February 2006