Posts by Steven Mays
Honesty is Hard
Leadership Foundation HONESTY is one of the three parts of the Foundation in the Power of 3 Leadership process as pictured below. It is defined as seeing the world and your situation in it the WAY THAT IT IS. Not the way you want it to be, not the way you think it should be,…
Read MoreBring Me a Rock
Bring Me A Rock People often miss Expectations due to the “Bring Me A Rock” syndrome. This occurs when a leader has a very explicit idea of what should be done but fails to provide the level of specificity needed for the followers to comply with the expectation. As noted in the discussion of the…
Read MoreInspiration
Inspiration – Aspirational and Confirmational The achievement level of the Power of 3 Paradigm has three parts characterized by the acronym “AID”. They are Assist, Inspire, and Depend. Inspiration comes in two kinds, aspirational and confirmational. Aspirational inspiration emphasizes the purpose of the activity and each team member’s role in the activity. Confirmational inspiration recognizes…
Read MoreMaryland Football Death – Where Did Leadership Fail?
Power of 3 Leadership Paradigm Tragedy Strikes Recently, a tragedy occurred in the University of Maryland football program. Jordan McNair collapsed during a training session and subsequently died. The University acknowledged responsibility for the death. They launched investigations into the events leading to Jordan’s death and into the culture of the football program. The University…
Read MoreConflict
When we are faced with actions that clash with our moral compass, conflict occurs. The three choices for dealing with conflict are fix it, accept it, or leave it. A dramatic demonstration of how actions during a conflict of moral ethics affected the entire world follows.
Read MoreHonesty In Action
Honesty – Seeing the world and your situation in that world is critical to good leadership. Seeing things differently than they are can be make it harder to be a good leader.
Read MoreMission Versus Personality
It is not necessary for everyone on a team to like one another in order to achieve leadership. Focus on the mission can overcome personality conflicts. The 1908 Chicago Cubs proved that concept while winning the world series.
Read MoreWhy Talent Is Least Important Aspect of Foundation
The Leadership Foundation has three elements – Honesty, Courage, and Talent. Talent is where most effort is spent, but it is the least important of the three for preventing catastrophic leadership failures.
Read MoreSpin – How “Stuff” Happens
A humorous lesson in communication. Insertion of spin on a repetitive basis can distort the original intent beyond all recognition.
Read MoreDelegate Authority NOT Responsibility
Leaders need followers. Leaders cannot do everything. If they could, there would be no need for followers. Leaders MUST rely on others for success of the common goal. The operative maxim is, “You can delegate authority, but you cannot delegate responsibility.
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