Leading Learning and Legacies:: The Principles of Successful Leadership

Copyright © 2016 by Andrea Blaustein.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2016911131

   ISBN:   Hardcover   978-1-5245-2395-4

      Softcover   978-1-5245-2394-7

      eBook   978-1-5245-2393-0

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Rev. date: 07/13/2016

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CONTENTS

Preface

The Social Media Principle

The We Are Not Perfect Principle

The Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say Principle

The Well-Rounded Decision Principle

The Role Model Principle

The Principle of Backbone versus Wishbone

The Principle of Humanity

The Inspiration Principle

The Straight-Up Principle

1The Stay Informed Principle

1The Maintaining Balance Principle

1The Laughter Is Good for Everyone Principle

1The Fine Lines of Friendship

1The No One Is an Expert on Everything Principle

Special Note -Leading Women Who Want to be Leaders

A Few Final Words

Some Recommended Books

Acknowledgments

Your Personal Journal of Leadership

Dedicated to my children, Sean, Jamie, and Leilani. You inspire me daily to take that extra step and to challenge myself. We have been through so much together, and through ups and downs, we never wavered as a family. I am proud of each and every one of you, and I hope that you keep on challenging me as I will do for you too.

The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born—that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That’s nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born.

—Warren Bennis

Earn your leadership every day.

—Michael Jordan

Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.

—Winston Churchill

Preface

Leader one who leads or commands is the summary definition found in every English language dictionary that I looked in, including the Oxford English Dictionary. It may be an efficient definition but is not effective. It is vague and lacks substance. So what is a leader, or more correctly, who is a leader? What is it that we need to have in order to have leadership in schools, workplaces, and community organizations? Is everyone capable of being a leader, or are certain people naturally leaders while some are naturally followers? Are leaders in fact born or made?

The answers to these questions are as varied as the questions themselves. I am of the belief that leaders may be born but are most often made and are products of their environment and influences. Education or wealth does not create leaders. A strong work ethic, emotional intelligence, as well as personal backbone are far more likely to determine who is a true leader.

The most successful businesses of any size have strong leadership. Leaders are fostered and encouraged to reach for the stars. Leaders are not afraid of losing their positions. They know that they are more likely to be successful in their career or position than a manager who is afraid and defensive and behaves like a bully. If a leadership development program is implemented in a successful business, it will grow.

Before I go any further, let me explain to you success, first as defined by some of the greatest leaders of this world.

When a man feels throbbing within him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success.

—Orison Swett Marden

Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.

—Zig Ziglar

Both of these people define success differently, yet neither one of them refer to wealth or power. Of course, in business terms, financial success is a key factor and will be the benchmark by which others will judge you. After all, a business that does not make a profit and does not grow and expand will likely fail within five years. That is a statistic that is beyond dispute and makes complete sense. There is more to it than financial success, however. A stable workforce is a great indicator of success. If your employees remain with you for a decade or more, it is most often because they are content to work there and they are loyal and reliable. Employees that feel valued and feel properly compensated and trusted will generally remain with one company for much of their careers. A workplace where there is a frequent turnover of staff is likely struggling for success in all areas. I know of one company where there are approximately fifty employees. There are, on average, five staff turnovers on a biweekly basis. There are six employees who have been there for five years or longer. The owner of the business seems to have no issue with the turnover. He sees it as a matter of course.

In the corporate world, any leadership program must be tailored to the business or organization building the program. However, certain essential principles are universal. Military or police organizations may modify the wording to take into account the innate structure and chain of command of these organizations. Even in there, however, the key characteristics of a leader will be consistent.

Good leadership should not be a mystery. The path to it is clear, and the inclusion of it in an organization of any type will ensure it stands out. The principles contained in here are not in any particular order. Applying one principle will not make you a leader. It is the combination of characteristics and applied principles that will make you stand out.

While I have referred here and occasionally throughout the book to