Doug Dickerson on Leadership

Life is too short to be little. – Benjamin Disraeli

The late Fred Rogers, at his induction into the Television Hall of Fame, gave a speech that I believe typifies what leadership is all about. Rogers said, “Fame is a four-letter word:  like tape or zoom or face or pain or love, what ultimately matters is what we do with it”. And he’s right.

Rogers’s perspective on what is important may seem like a throwback in time, but the message is timeless. Rogers added, “Who in your life has been a servant to you? Who has helped you love the good that grows within you? No matter who they are, whether here or in imagine how pleased those people must be to know that you thought of them right now”. 

Italo Magni said, “If you’re talking with your head, you’re going to speak to their heads. If you’re talking with your heart, you’re going to reach their hearts. If you talk with your life, you’re going to reach their lives”. So here is the question: On which level do you, as a leader, want to lead? 

Here are a few observations from that quote that I believe are worth taking into consideration for your leadership.

When you lead with your head, you can help.

There is certainly an advantage to leading from a position of knowledge. We need smart and wise leaders. It lends credibility to your leadership to be knowledgeable in your field. But leading with your head can only take you so far in leadership.

Howard Hendricks said, “You can impress people at a distance, but you can impact them only up close.” You can draw a person in with your knowledge, but if you want to keep them there and make a difference, there has to be more to it.

When you lead with your heart, you can make a difference

When you lead on this level, you have taken a major step in expanding your influence as a leader. When you lead with your head you earn respect because of what you know. When you lead with your heart, you earn respect because of who you are. Click To TweetAnd that is the difference maker.

Malcolm Forbes said, “At the heart of any good business is a chief executive with one”. Leading from the heart provides the emotional intelligence that you need to integrate head knowledge into a plan of action that can easily be embraced. Until you connect with the heart you will never get to the life-changing encounters that come from leading with your heart.

When you lead with your life, you can change the world

Leading with your life is the most powerful form of leadership. This level of leadership embodies all that you know and all of your passions and unites them into a life committed to adding value to others.

Final Thoughts

Fred Rogers also said, “If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet, how important you can be to the people you may never dream of. This is something of yourself that you leave in every meeting with another person.”

Stop and consider the relationships you have and how your influence is making a difference. When you lead with your life, your influence has no limits. What will be the measure of your leadership?

©2024 Doug Dickerson

The reward for being a good problem solver is to be heaped with more and more difficult problems to solve. – Buckminster Fuller

In Reader’s Digest a few years back, Captain Alan Bean wrote about his Apollo 12 mission. Bean stated, “Test pilots have a litmus test for evaluating problems. When something goes wrong, they ask, “Is this thing still flying?” If the answer is yes, then there’s no immediate danger, no need to overreact.”

When Apollo 12 took off, the spacecraft was hit by lightning. The entire console began to glow with orange and red trouble lights. There was the temptation to do something, but the pilots asked themselves, Is this thing still flying in the right direction? The answer was yes; it was headed to the moon. They let the lights glow as they addressed the individual problems and watched orange and red lights blink out, one by one. 

That’s something to think about in any pressure situation. If you’re still flying, think first, and then act.

The questions the test pilots ask will serve you well as a leader, The questions are tactical, and with the guidance of a steady leader, they will be an asset to your organization. When things go wrong, and they will, here are three questions to ask before taking action.

Is this thing still flying?

Leadership assessment: Evaluation.

Bean observed that the temptation is to “do something!” Human nature dictates that when something bad happens we are to respond. But at times, our response is disproportionate to the size of the problem. In our knee-jerk reactions, we overreact.

Artist Maya Lin said, “To fly we have to face resistance.” What perceptive leaders understand is that not all resistance is negative. While some may think the obstacles they face will ground them, a smart leader sees obstacles as the very thing that will give them lift. 

When you accurately answer the question “Is this thing still flying?” setting the right course becomes easier.

Is this thing still flying in the right direction?

Leadership assessment: Observation.

This is critical to the success of your organization. If you are not on the right course, it doesn’t matter how fast you fly. You’ll get to the wrong destination quicker and the corrections will take longer.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “The great thing in this world is not so much where you stand, as in what direction you are moving.” The test of your leadership and that of your organization is not whether you can face times of adversity, but whether you can honestly and accurately evaluate where you are and where you are headed. 

Once you and your team have carefully evaluated your direction – making sure that you are on target with your values and vision, then when you are faced with adversities, you can properly address them.

Is the right leadership in place?

Leadership assessment: Competence

Not all test pilots become astronauts. While their skills and abilities are admirable, not all have the right stuff. When it comes to the astronaut corps, only the best are chosen.

While it is a delicate question to ask, it is a legitimate one that needs an answer. It could be that the leader who brought the organization to where it is, may not be the one to take into the future. Better to have the right leader in times of adversity than the wrong leader in times of prosperity. Click To Tweet
How you evaluate problems as a leader will determine your success as a leader. Evaluate properly, observe wisely, and be sure that the right leader is at the helm.

©2024 Doug Dickerson 

A race, like an individual, lifts itself up by lifting others up. – Booker T. Washington

Chances are you have never heard of Cooper Erickson and Ethan Olds. And you wouldn’t be alone. Cooper and Ethan gained notoriety back in September of 2023 when competing in a track meet. 

Cooper, a sophomore at Stevens Point Area High School in Wisconsin was on his way to a third-place finish in the race when he saw the runner in front of him stumble and fall. Instead of running past him to cross the finish line in second place, Cooper ran back and helped the runner, a competitor from another school.

Ethan Olds, a classmate of Cooper was coming up behind Ethan in fourth place. When he saw his teammate stopping to help, he also ran back to help.

When asked about what he did, Cooper said, “When you start to take running very seriously, you build a community, and that community is so wide– it’s just whoever you race, you have respect for because they are giving it their all. And I thought that was more important than necessarily finishing in second place or third place.”  (Read the story here)

What the two high school students did at that event serves as a great lesson in leadership. While the boys were only in high school, some might have given them a pass if they had not stopped to help their fellow competitors – they are high school students after all. 

The example of Ethan and Cooper is one worth emulating. As John Maxwell said, “Leaders who fail to lift others in the long run, fail to lift themselves.” And this goes to the heart of your leadership. Why is lifting others essential to your leadership? Let’s explore these three ways.

Leaders who lift have set aside their insecurities

This is perhaps one of the most common causes as to why some leaders don’t lift others. So long as you are insecure you will always be looking upon others with a suspicious eye. This posture puts a lid on your leadership, and what’s worse is that by doing so, you hold others back and keep them from reaching their potential.

Leadership Tip: Don’t allow your insecurities and pettiness to hold others back. The people around you need your best, not your baggage.

Leaders who lift give hope

Something special happens when a leader lifts another person. A shift happens that creates a new level of momentum and energy. Perhaps that person has been stuck, feeling despondent, and believes that the struggle is not worth it. Your one selfless act of leadership can be all it takes to turn things around and give hope to that aspiring leader.

Leadership Tip: Daily look for opportunities to be a leader that lifts. Who needs your hand today?

Leaders who lift build the future

When you lift others, you are helping build the next generation of leaders. In the end, it’s not about what you did for yourself, but what did you for someone else. Did you lift, build, encourage, and inspire those around you? A simple act of kindness on your part by lifting someone else is laying the foundation for another’s rise in leadership.

Leadership Tip: Being a leader that lifts is a recognition that we are all in this together. Lift others, be humble, and remember that it’s OK to turn around in your race and pick someone up.

©2024 Doug Dickerson

Where focus goes, energy flows. – Tony Robbins

On more than one occasion over the years, I’ve come away disappointed with what would have been a great photograph that I ruined by one major mistake. It was out of focus. Ugh!

You would think that after a lifetime of taking pictures and being an avid photographer, I would know better. It’s not like the concept is new to me. After all, I’ve won awards for my photographs and have taught classes for others to better improve their photography skills.

But focusing issues is a common mistake in photography whether you’re an amateur or professional if you’re not careful. The primary reasons are that the camera moved, the subject moved and you didn’t adjust in time, and missed focus among other things. 

In leadership, we often hear that we need to see the big picture – and we do. It’s important to understand where you are, know where you are going, and set proper goals to get there. 

The broader the picture, however, the harder it is to narrow your focus on the things in your leadership that matter most. In photography, you might appreciate the big picture from an artistic point of view, but finer details and focal points can go unnoticed and underappreciated.

In your leadership, what you focus on matters. As Tony Robbins said, It’s where your energy flows. How can you get your leadership in focus and activate your energy? Here are a few tips.

Focus on daily growth

Focusing on the daily disciplines each day that advance you toward your goals. It’s normal to want to rush the process and overnight be at a level of success that took others years to attain. But that’s not how they achieved it and chances are, neither will you. Don’t despise the importance of daily growth.

Focus on serving others

An essential characteristic of your leadership is found in serving others. Someone once said, “If serving is beneath you then leading is beyond you,” and this is one of the most essential characteristics of leadership to learn. Understanding that it’s not about you will remove the focus from yourself and where it belongs – serving the needs of others.

Focus on adding value to others

Similar in nature to serving others, adding value is a key component of your leadership. Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want.” Adding value to others allows you to put into practice the discipline of serving others tangibly. By doing so, you are showing yourself to be a selfless leader that’s worthy of following.

Focus on your priorities

As a leader, you have to know the difference between what’s important and what’s important to you. Many leaders lose their focus when it comes to priorities because they get sucked into the “tyranny of the urgent” that others create. Learning how to stay in your lane and focus on your priorities is a matter of good self-leadership. There’s a difference between adding value to others and adding to the drama. Understand the difference and stick to your priorities. Click To Tweet

Focus on consistency

John Maxwell said, “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” And this is the secret sauce of focus. When you focus on being consistent with your growth and daily disciplines, you will rise in your leadership.

Final Thought

Famed photographer Ansel Adams said, “A good photograph is knowing where to stand,” and it’s true in your leadership. Where you stand matters. And once you know where you stand, everything comes into focus.

©2024 Doug Dickerson