Picture yourself on a road trip. Are you the meticulous planner, with detailed maps, all stops planned and hotel or campground reservations made? Are you more of a free spirit, where you stop when you see something interesting? Are you someone who drives or flies straight to your destination, with as few stops as possible? Even though there are many ways to travel, there is still a direction and a destination. Your personal style may be this way. You may be a checklist person, where you need to write down all the small steps to your goals. You may fly by the seat of your pants to get where you're going. You may be single-minded and driven until you get there. The thing to keep in mind with leadership, is that you are driving a bus to your destination. You have responsibilities to your passengers. Even though you have a preferred mode of travel, it doesn't always work for the rest of your group. You need to look at their comfort, their safety, their preferences and motivation. They need to have the same destination as you. Your passengers get to choose what bus they're on. Are you on the same bus?
I am a rule follower. I like rules. I think rules help to avoid a lot of problems. They provide clear expectations for appropriate behavior. They bring a certain civility to life. That being said, I think I'm a dying breed. Almost every day I see people breaking traffic laws (texting, running red lights, causing grid lock, speeding through school zones). These things are illegal and downright dangerous. And don't even get me started about how awful people are when dropping off and picking up at school. I have recently had conversation with a couple people who are dealing with bad employee behavior. The employees do not like some changes that have occured within their respective companies. (On a side note- companies often have to change due to economic or industry factors just to keep their doors open.) Instead of adjusting to the changes or forming a plan to make the changes work in their favor, they have chosen behaviors that are unethical and damaging...
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