Colleagues,
 
Today we continue the series on the twenty most important things I have learned from others.
 
In the end, it’s really about people

I’ve been blessed to have had an incredible career in which I have been able to contribute important things to a lot of people. As a teacher and leader, I have been able to change lives (that’s a shameless plug for the teaching profession). I’m not done yet, either. 
 
However, what I have only recently come to understand is that as important as those things have been, what really mattered was being in the relationships with each person. It really is about the person in front of you at the moment, and about being human together.
 
We forget that in this insanely busy world. Try this – instead of eating lunch at your computer trying to catch up with email, go eat lunch with a colleague. Enjoy being present with and for that person. That is more important than email. Spending time with a colleague will also make you a better leader in a way that catching up on email cannot.
 
I’ll be away from email for a while, but please feel free to respond to this series and I will get back to you after my return.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick

​If this sounds like you, then consider this – how would you treat a child who made that same mistake? Does anyone deserve to be treated differently? 
 
Put a picture of you as a child on your desk or anywhere that you’ll see it (mine is the home screen of my phone). Before you begin running yourself into the ground, look at that picture and think about what you would say to that child. You would likely try and find a lesson if there was one, give them a hug, and help them clean up the mess. Why not treat your adult self the same way?
 
I’ll be away from email for a while, but please feel free to respond to this series and I will get back to you after my return.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick

Colleagues,
 
Today we continue the series on the twenty most important things I have learned from others.
 
The pyramid has 8 sides
​
Most of us have grown up believing that the great pyramid has four sides because that is what we see. The truth however, is that it has eight sides and they are in plain view. How does that happen? It’s right in front of us and we don’t see it. The eight sides weren’t (re)discovered until 1940 when an airplane took a picture from above the pyramid, and this is the critical lesson. When we examine old places from new perspectives, we can see things that have been in front of us the whole time, but that we never saw before. Imagine what this could mean for your leadership.
 
I’ll be away from email for a while, but please feel free to respond to this series and I will get back to you after my return.
 
Do good and be well,
 
Frederick

​​Colleagues,
 
Today we continue the series on the twenty most important things I have learned from others.
 
Embrace wu-wei
​
Wu-wei is a concept articulated in the Tao Te Ching. I’m not a philosopher, so don’t fault my interpretation, but I read wu-wei as doing without doing. Think of that little pebble that drops into a pond and the ripples spread out far and wide. Such a small action, but such a large impact. This couples perfectly with number six (leading from behind). At the beginning of an understanding, if I empower the right person in the right way, and they go forth and do great work, I have done wu-wei, having a great impact but doing nothing. If you believe in servant leadership, you should be embracing this concept.


I’ll be away from email for a while, but please feel free to respond to this series and I will get back to you after my return.
 
Do good and be well,

​Frederick

​Colleagues,
 
Today we continue the series on the twenty most important things I have learned from others.
 
Leading from behind is more important than leading from in front (most of the time)
​
Sometimes, when you are charging ahead, you outdistance the people behind you. When that happens, you are more of a lone wolf than the leader of the pack. Leaders who do everything leave no room for others to grow. Leading from behind means asking people how you can help them and empowering their visions as opposed to telling them what to do to serve yours.

I’ll be away from email for a while, but please feel free to respond to this series and I will get back to you after my return.
 
Do good and be well,

​Frederick