As I was approaching a local high school on my daily morning walk, it became apparent that school was already in session as the usual hustle and bustle had come to a standstill except for one lone male student I observed coming towards me – clearly a late start to his day by the pace at which he was moving. As he grew closer to the entrance of the school, he stopped and began fixing himself up. First, he tied up a lace on one of his shoes, he then straightened a cuff on the leg of his pants, thirdly, he adjusted the backpack he was carrying, and finally he straightened his hair, let out a sigh, and then moments later off he went into the school.
What I noticed through this young man’s actions was how intentional he was about preparing for his entrance into the school. My first thought was “I bet there is a love interest in one of his classes who has caught his attention”, so that’s why he’s primping, or maybe he needs to impress the staff at the office while explaining why he was late for school. Whatever the reason, this young student appeared to prepare himself to meet the demands of his school day, I was most impressed.
Watching this student for the brief moments as I was passing by reminded me of three great leadership principles I aspire to every day: Being prepared; Being intentional in all my actions, behaviors and speech; Being disciplined enough to take advantage of the power of the pause. In a matter of minutes this young student demonstrated them all. I must add though that being late (if that was indeed the case) is not a leadership principle I adhere to but let’s be realistic – it happens.
How do you show up for work each day? Do you lead with intentionality, do you pause before responding, do you consciously make an effort to be prepared beforehand to meet both the known and unknown challenges of the day?
Most of us (me included) are still experiencing the aftermath of the Christmas season and are having a tough time shifting our gears back into the world of work; and so perhaps our strategic tools of preparation, pausing and preparing are still somewhere by the wayside. However, great leaders know that executing the best of our leadership capacity is the difference maker in all that we do both on and off the job. Therefore, it is best not to be without our tools for too long so even if we are a little late in shifting gears after a long break, it happens. Let us all agree to sharpen our tools and get back to what we do best by leading with intention and remembering to prepare and primp at the beginning of the day and pause and reflect throughout the day. Our companies and those we are leading deserve it!
Rosita
January 11/2018
Rosita Hall is a international speaker, best selling author, entrepreneur
