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Podcast Season 3, Episode 48: Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life – Transparency Doesn’t Mean You Share Everything with Everyone All the Time

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves to point out that transparency does not mean that you should share everything with everyone all the time.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life: Transparency Doesn’t Mean You Share Everything with Everyone All the Time

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves to point out that transparency does not mean that you should share everything with everyone all the time.

The last couple of episodes, I’ve shared stories about experiences with my brothers, and leadership lessons that came from those. So this time, seems that it is only appropriate to share a story about my sister, and this one involves her wedding day. Her wedding was a beautiful ceremony and a wonderful occasion of celebration for our family. My siblings and I were all part of the wedding party, and we thoroughly enjoyed everything about her special day.

Unbeknownst to her, though, I was experiencing a significant difficulty beneath the surface. You see, about a week before the wedding, I was working in my backyard, removing some weeds. We were living in a rural farming community at the time, and what I did not realize was that one of the “weeds“ that I removed was actually poison sumac. I had been exposed to plants like poison ivy, but had never had a reaction, so I’m sure that I wasn’t being as careful as I should’ve been. I did not recognize it for what it was, and so I used my bare hands to remove it from the yard.

By the next morning, I had started to develop a painful and extremely itchy rash, and within the next couple of days, it had spread over my whole body. I went to an urgent care facility, where I was informed that I had had a reaction to poison sumac, and so I contacted my doctor to get help. I tried the medication and ointments that he prescribed, but they were of little benefit to the pain and the itching. So, when the wedding day arrived, I had no choice but to put on the tuxedo over the rash from the poison sumac, and keep a smile on my face while fully dressed in a suit on a hot summer day. I really did enjoy the wedding, and it was a blessing to be a part of it, but at the same time, it was a miserable physical experience. But this was her day, and an important day, so I kept it to myself.

That experience provided an interesting parallel lesson for my leadership that is a great reminder for you as well. Research has shown that transparency is important for building and maintaining relationship and trust within an organization, but that doesn’t mean all the details, challenges, and flaws need to be openly exhibited. Sometimes, there are issues that you are navigating behind the scenes or beneath the surface, and they need to be dealt with privately. I once heard a pastor say that we ought to confess and address public sins publicly, personal sins personally, and private sins privately. Some issues that you are dealing with are private to your organization, and that privacy needs to be protected while you deal with it. That’s not a justification to cover up and excuse wrongdoing, but it is a reminder to be careful of how much you share, and with whom you share it.

That’s the lesson on leadership from this little thing in life, from quietly dealing with a reaction to poison sumac on my sister‘s wedding day. There are difficult things you have to deal with in your organization, relationships, and life. It is important that you deal with those appropriately, but also that you do so in the right context and with the right audience. Yes, it is important to be transparent, but to protect your organization and your people, make sure you exercise wisdom, discernment, and discretion in what you share, when you share it, and with whom you share it. As my dad once said, “There is no shame in your struggle, but it’s still wise to be careful who you share it with. Because being transparent does not mean that you share everything with everyone.

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Quote Your Dad

”Let the tool do the work.”

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Podcast Season 3, Episode 47: Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life – Work Within Your Strengths

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves as a reminder that you will typically work best if you work within your strengths.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life: Work Within Your Strengths

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves as a reminder that you will typically work best if you work within your strengths.

My younger brother is two years younger than me, but when we were kids it seemed like we were always viewed as a pair. At Christmas time, we would get the same clothes, but in different colors (it seemed like often I would get the blue shirt and he would get the green one). We would get different versions of the same toys, like G.I. Joe action figures. And sometimes people would even refer to us as a pair, calling us things like “mutt and Jeff.”

However, and in spite of the fact that we were often connected together, it became apparent as we grew older that we had very different personalities and traits. I was as introverted as he was extroverted. I was an internal processor, and he was an external communicator. I was reserved, and he was expressive. I strategized, and he motivated. Clearly, we were two different people with different sets of strengths. As we grew older, we learned to use those differences to our advantage, whether it was to sell candy bars for a school fundraiser or to do a presentation in our youth group. We learned to work together, with each of us using our strengths, so that together we could be more successful.

That’s an important concept for your leadership. Like everyone else, you have strengths and you have weaknesses. You will tend to be more successful if you learn to work in a way that uses your strengths, while working with someone else who has strengths where you have weaknesses. When you do that, your strengths can compliment and offset each other. The end result is that you become better working together than you would have been working alone. But that can only happen if you know and work with your own strengths and are willing to let others work with theirs.

That’s the lesson on leadership from this little thing in life, from the way in which my strengths were complimented by my younger brother’s. It’s like when my dad was teaching me how to use a saw, and I remember him saying, “Let the saw do the work.” Rather than fighting against the saw blade, he was trying to teach me how to let the tool work in the way that it was designed, and to let it do its job. Learn to see your strengths in the same way. You have been designed and equipped to function best in a particular way, so as much as possible, let that be the way that you operate, and be willing to let others do the same. If you want to work your best, work within your strengths.

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Quote Your Dad

“You can be better or bitter, but better is better than bitter.”

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Podcast Season 3, Episode 46: Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life – It’s Ok to Laugh at Yourself

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves as a reminder that you need to be able to laugh at yourself.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life: It’s Ok to Laugh at Yourself

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves as a reminder that you need to be able to laugh at yourself.

I feel like this month has been all about laughter and joy. A couple of episodes ago, the focus was about laughing in the circumstances, then there was a reminder of the importance of celebrating milestones on a journey, and now this illustration is in the same vein of joy. It happened when my older brother and his wife came to visit. They had been missionaries in Brazil for about 30 years, and recently had moved back to the United States to work as representatives of their mission agency. Because they had been living in another country, my grandchildren had never met them in person.

They were excited when the day came for their arrival. When the knock on the door came, I opened it, and they stepped inside. My granddaughter was there, waiting to meet them. When she saw my brother, she put her hands on her cheeks, and started jumping up and down and laughing and exclaimed, “Where is your hair?!” She knew he was my brother, and she expected him to look like me, so it completely surprised her when a bald man came in the door.

What I appreciated was that he laughed along with her, and then bent over so that she could touch the top of his head. She did, and she laughed some more, and even after they left, when she saw his picture, she would say that he forgot his hair, laugh, and call him the funny man. It was important that my brother was able to laugh at himself in this situation, and show that to my grandchildren. He modeled for them what it means to not take yourself too seriously, to not take offense too easily, and to laugh at yourself, even at your own expense. Those were important lessons for my grandchildren to learn.

And those are important lessons for you in your leadership. If you take yourself too seriously, other people will not. If you take offense too easily, you will get easily offended frequently. If you cannot choose to laugh at yourself, you will instead become bitter and angry. It is better for our emotional, mental, and social health to be able to laugh at ourselves, and in the laughter, bring joy to others. This truth is emphasized in Proverbs 17:22, which tells us, “A merry heart does good, like medicine.”

That’s the lesson on leadership from this little thing in life, from my granddaughter laughing at the bald head of my brother. You are different than others and you will make mistakes, and people will sometimes laugh at you because of those things. My dad was a pastor, and I can remember as child after the sermon laughing at mistakes he made while speaking when he would mix up words, and hearing him join in the laughter. It is important that you are able to laugh at yourself in those moments as well. Don’t take yourself too seriously, don’t get offended too easily, and choose to express joy.

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Quote Your Dad

“If you are good, you don’t have to tell people, they will tell you.”

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Podcast Season 3, Episode 45: Lessons on Leadership from the Little Things in Life – Don’t Forget to Celebrate!

Life is full of examples that teach us lessons. That’s why stories and illustrations make learning so much more effective. When a story can be used to illustrate or demonstrate a valuable lesson, the story makes it much more understandable, relatable, and memorable. With that in mind, I want to take some time to do just that – share examples of circumstances and stories experienced in everyday life which illustrate leadership lessons that we can learn and apply. This is one of those examples, and it serves as a reminder that it is important to celebrate.

Here is the link to the podcast.

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