​Colleagues,
 
Today we continue the series on the twenty most important things I have learned from others.
 
Striving for perfection is a sign of arrogance

Yes, admit it, this one probably gets your hackles up. Part of leadership is holding yourself (and others) to high standards. It is good to know what the perfect version of something should look like, but it is not worth investing in it. First of all, to actually think you could do something perfectly is arrogant. You are only mortal. Second, in the striving for perfection, what are you leaving undone? I used to only be willing to send out “perfect” emails. So, if I didn’t have time to do more than dash off a quick response, or if I didn’t have the schedule, the worksheet, the letter, whatever it was, in “perfect” shape, I would hold it until I could get it “perfect.” The end result was that I never finished them and instead of having something good enough from me, people got nothing. Perfectly nothing. The perfect is the enemy of the good (paraphrase from Voltaire), so get over it and cut yourself some slack.

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.
 
LISTEN and ask the right question

If you embrace numbers 1-3, this starts to get easier because you’ve begun to realize that it really isn’t about you. As you grow in respecting and desiring to serve others, you begin to actually listen to them. Listening is how you find what they need. As powerful as listening is, learning how to ask the right question can be transformative. People need to sort things out for themselves, but you can ask the question that helps them look at something a bit differently and gain new insight. 

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.
 
M=V/E

Motivation equals value divided by effort. So, quite simply, if people don’t seem motivated enough then one of two things is wrong. Either they don’t see the full value, or the endeavor requires too much effort. This isn’t about being resistant, or lazy, or anything else negative. It is just economics. I may drive nine hours to visit my family, but I won’t travel that distance to visit someone I met at a concert last week. The value is not worth the effort. Note also, that what some people may value highly, others may not. In addition, the same task may require different levels of effort by different people. A motivation problem is simply a misalignment between what we are asking people to do and the value they see in doing it.

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.
 
​Everyone is doing the best they can, and your job is to help them do better
​
This builds on number one. Again, it is not our position to judge. When I was younger (not that long ago), I thought the world would be so much better if everyone thought just like me, so I bent my leadership skills towards trying to make people be like me. Thankfully, I had an incredible mentor who helped me to see my own arrogance, and to begin to understand what servant leadership was. Real leaders honor others by supporting them in their own journeys, not by trying to take others on the leader’s journey. 
 
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,
 
Our annual summer tradition is to share the most important things I’ve learned from other people throughout the month of July. This summer we have 20 lessons. You will receive one a day until we are done. Enjoy!
 
1. Everyone deserves respect, period

This is such a powerful belief for two reasons. First, it frees you of trying to judge people, which is a quite taxing and useless exercise that most of us engage in far too often. Respect people because they are people and don’t worry about trying to decide whether or not they deserve it – they are human beings, so the do.
 
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