The Power of 3

Leadership is not defined by style or personality. It is defined by actions. The Power of 3 provides a paradigm for leadership in three areas. The foundation is the underpinning necessary to build a leadership career. The challenges are the three obstacles all leaders must learn to navigate. Achievement deals with the three areas where leaders need to take action for success.

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The Power Of Three

It's amazing how many times the number 3 comes up in everyday life. The Power of 3, Lessons in Leadership builds a structure for leadership based on combinations of three. Within this structure are straightforward building blocks of a leadership philosophy that is comprehensive, intuitive, and attainable. Leadership is not about style or personality. It is about actions to enable a group of people to succeed beyond what any of them could do alone. Give it a go. You will be surprised by how many "AHA" moments you will encounter in your own leadership journey. You will also be able to quickly and astutely zero in on the causes and potential solutions of leadership failures you will see every day.

Foundation

Honesty Courage Talent

Honesty

Honesty is the ability to see the world and your situation within that world THE WAY IT IS!

Not the way you WANT it to be.

Not the way you think it SHOULD be.

Not the way it COULD be if those in charge would get out of your way.

Building your map of the world and your place enables you to better interact with others who have their own maps of the world.

Courage

Talent

Talent involves three things - knowledge, skill, and perseverance.

Knowledge is knowing how to do something.

Skill is the capability to put that knowledge into action.

Perseverance is the willingness to practice and hone the skill to maximize its utility.

Remember, Michael Jordan was cut from the high school varsity team his freshman year. He spent a year on the JV practicing, honing, and maximizing this skill so he would never be left off the roster again.

Challenge

Expectation, Conflict, and Driving Despair Out

Expectation Conflict Despair

Expectation

There are three reasons expectations are unmet.

Someone didn't know WHAT to do.

Someone didn't know HOW to do it.

Someone didn't WANNA do it.

The follower is only responsible for the last one. The leader is responsible for the other two.

HOW is the hard part. Those performing the tasks need to have talent, means, time, and resources to accomplish the task.

If you give someone a five pound bag and ask them to pick up 10 pounds of stuff off the floor, you lose the right to complain about which 5 pounds they choose to pick up.

Conflict

Conflict occurs when expected actions clash with your personal moral compass. There are only three valid responses.

Fix it.

Accept it.

Leave it.

Any of these will be hard and have consequences. You have to choose which you will engage.

There is one more potential path. Don't fix it, don't accept it, don't leave it, just hang around and bitch about it. This is cancer to the person and the organization. Leaders should excise this rapidly for the benefit of all.

Despair

Despair is the opposite of love. Love is an overpowering emotion that compels you act for someone else's benefit. Despair is an overpowering emotion that PREVENTS you from acting. It is the ultimate shutdown button on your soul.

As a leader, your job is to first drive despair out of your life. Get up each day and drive despair out of your life to the extent that you can.

Then drive despair out of your organization. Despite hard times, injustices, and any other condition that is horrible to your organization, find a way to drive despair out of the lives of those you lead. Leadership fails when despair is allowed to flourish. Leadership succeeds when despair is banished. DRIVE DESPAIR OUT!

Achievement

AID - Leaders Do This

Depend Assist Inspire

Depend

No leader can do everything. They must depend on others for success of the group. This means crediting others when things work well and accepting blame when they don't. It doesn't matter if you were personally the cause of the success or the failure. The leader is responsible for both. In order to depend on others, you MUST delegate authority rather than delegate responsibility. You own the latter. The authority belongs where the problems will be identified and resolved.

Making people understand that success depends on them provides them with ownership. Making that dependence known to others enhances their esteem. The most powerful words a leader can utter are, “I depend on you.”

Assist

Your job is to assist those you are leading to accomplish a goal. For the most part this involves the “What” and “How” items needed to avoid unmet expectations. Getting everyone on the same page (or at least a portion of their maps that are common and shared) is the “What” part. Making sure they have the training, skill, practice, tools, and time to accomplish the mission is the How part. It sounds easy until you realize that it is rare that you will have all of these items perfectly aligned. So, you make lemonade if all you have are lemons. But you make sure that those you are serving are not expecting champagne.

Inspire

Motivation belongs to the individual. The leader must adjust the scenario and environment in order to align the individual’s motivations and talents with the needs of the organization. People like to know that what they are doing is worthwhile and that they are contributing to a greater purpose than themselves alone. Providing a vision of the importance of their work along with appreciation for their efforts are integral to inspiring people. This is where balance between the successes and failures comes in. Celebrating success and working to overcome failure gives people hope and helps drive despair out of your organization.

Featured Leadership Lessons

Maryland Football Death – Where Did Leadership Fail?

October 30, 2018

Power of 3 Leadership Paradigm Tragedy Strikes Recently, a tragedy occurred in the University of Maryland football program. Jordan McNair…

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Let's Talk.

If you have a question or comment about anything on this site, you can contact me using the form below. I can provide training on all or part of the Power of 3 concepts to whatever size group you desire. I can provide keynote addresses on the topic of leadership that are entertaining and make you put your finger on your temple and say, "Hmmmmm." See the Contacts page for more information.

"Power of 3, Lessons in Leadership"

by Steven Mays

Buy Now - Paperback, Hard Cover, and Now On Kindle!

The Power of 3

The Power Of Three

Foundation

Foundation

Challenge

Expectation, Conflict, and Driving Despair Out

Achievement

AID - Leaders Do This

Featured Leadership Lessons

Maryland Football Death – Where Did Leadership Fail?

Let's Talk.

"Power of 3, Lessons in Leadership"

by Steven Mays

Buy Now - Paperback, Hard Cover, and Now On Kindle!

Additional Resources

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