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Sometimes Leaders Need to Get the Boot
Today I stood up to a guy right in front of his boss. I challenged him, the former leader, to change his position and give up his position of power. He had fallen from that position though no fault of his own, yet, he didn't deserve the power that he desired. Yep! I challenged a 5 year old today, right in front of his dad. Here's what happened: Jason, this little boy who I challenged is at school first nearly every day. He takes his rightful position of line leader. This means that he is the first boy in his class to enter the school after the kids walk in a straight line in from the parking lot; where they say The Lord's Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance. Today, as in the last few days, my son Jeremy and I thought that he was going to be first but right before he got there, another boy landed the coveted position. Today, it was another boy, Cory. Every day, my son Jeremy takes the second spot and doesn't grumble. Today, the first kid was Cory, and Jeremy was second. When Jason arrived, he plopped his backpack on the line right in front of Cory. I started chatting with his dad and his son got comfortable. That's when I had a decision to make. Did I challenge the kid in front of his dad? Was it fair that he gets used to being the leader every single day even though he didn't deserve it today? I decided YES.. I was willing to challenge his position. So I said to this 'future leader of America', "you know Jason, you're going to have to get behind Jeremy today because you weren't here first today". I turned to his dad and said, "Yah, you know how important the line leader is in kindergarten!" I then said to Jason, "Jeremy wants to be the line leader every day, and you beat him every day and so you get to be it! Today it's Cory's turn since HE was first". At the very suggestion that he wasn't going to be in the first position, Jason tried to enroll his father at taking his position. He told him he WANTED to be the line leader? PLEEEAASE!!" His dad made him move and Cory moved back into first. Jason wasn't happy, but he obliged. Okay, so maybe I stuck my nose in a place where it didn't belong. Maybe I'm pushing competitiveness among the kids. But, perhaps it's what gets my son MOVING in the morning. It's the GOAL that he wants to achieve. He WANTS to be line leader. He WANTS to get dressed because he might get to lead the line into the school that morning. So for us, it's worth it to get rewarded for a job well done. It's my way of teaching Jeremy goal setting and how good it feels to accomplish what he achieved. I liked it also how the parent accepted my challenge. He was fine with my correction and he supported me. Of course I was nice about it, but I keep hearing how parents aren't doing what is right by their kids. So many of them don't WANT to interfere and so they don't. Could it be that they just don't want to take responsibility? As parents, we should be willing to be involved. After all, we are their role models. Yes, I stuck my neck out for the kids. I didn't let the usual leader return to his position when he didn't deserve it. And I know that tomorrow, Jeremy WILL be the line leader, even if we have to get up 1/ 2 hour early! How about in your life? Is there anyone in your company that doesn't deserve to be where they are? Are they still in a position that they shouldn't be? Have you been patient long enough? Have you considered that it might be time to demote that person and to ask them to take a step backwards? Is there someone you need to encourage to go into counseling? Is there anyone whose drinking habits are running interference with their work? Do you think it may be time to realize that they are doing more harm than good to your company? Managing people takes care, concern and a lot of planning. It takes dedication to knowing the strengths of the people you manage and knowing what they can handle and what they can not. And when you approach the leader who isn't pulling his weight or needs a bit of encouraging to get with the program, make sure you are direct, sympathetic, and of course respectful. Because who knows, YOU may be the next one who will be challenged to wake up and get going. Mary Gardner is an Executive Communications Consultant and Coach. She works with, coaches and trains individuals, sales teams, executives, and celebrities. She enjoys seeing the best come out in people and has fun in the process. Mary is married to Sway and is mommy to Jeremy 5 and lives in Orlando, FL. For More information: mary@marygardner.com
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune) The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (CBS News) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel 's current news flow, was picked up by a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. After a lot of buck ... Asia Markets: Financials in rally mode, as Lehman news helps (Market Watch) Asian markets advanced early Friday, with financials such as Mizuho Financial Group and Macquarie Group rallying after a rebound on Wall Street and on news Lehman Brothers was looking for a buyer. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (paidContent.org via Yahoo! Finance) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel's current news flow, was picked up by a Google News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. News Corp says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp. executive Mark Williams has taken over as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere in an interim capacity, News Corp. said after the move led to renewed takeover speculation. News Corp. says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Mark Williams, a News Corp. executive named late on Wednesday as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere, has taken over in an interim capacity, a News Corp. spokeswoman said on Thursday. JCDecaux in talks to buy News Corp. billboard unit (AP via Yahoo! Finance) In a deal that would create the world's largest outdoor advertising company, French conglomerate JCDecaux SA said Thursday that it is in talks to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Kanye arrested in paparazzi scuffle ... Report: Critic smacked Ebert with binder ... Cafe Tacvba nominated for 6 Latin Grammys ... Groban to perform TV songs at Emmys ... News from United Press International. Site: news - Google News Fidelity to Roll out New Home Page Providing Real-Time Financial ... - MarketWatch
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for leadership 6% - Leadership and Gender (Pew via Yahoo! News) While the public rates women has superior to men on a host of issues associated with leadership, like honesty and intelligence, a mere 6% say women make better leaders than men. Brown Leadership 'Threat' (SkyNews via Yahoo! UK & Ireland News) A small number of Labour MPs have requested Labour leadership nomination papers, according to Sky sources. BJP leadership meets to mull poll winning strategy (Calcutta News) Major roads in Bangalore's central business district were awash with saffron flags Friday as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership looked for a plank to take on a nuclear-deal buoyed Congress in the Lok Sabha polls due early next year. Philly Museum Begins Search For New Leadership (Arts Journal) "The Philadelphia Museum of Art has assembled a search committee to... find a successor to Anne d'Harnoncourt, the longtime director who died unexpectedly June 1." There is no timetable for the search, and the museum's board chair says that the interim arrangement of splitting the artistic and business sides of the leadership is likely to remain in place after a new director is hired. Community Foundation reorganizes leadership (El Paso Times) EL PASO -- The El Paso Community Foundation, the city's largest public community foundation, will undergo leadership changes to ensure its continued support and impact on the region, the organization's board announced. West Salem?s rec department will have change of leadership (West Salem Coulee News) West Salem lost its Park and Recreation director last month when Mary Freybler resigned to take a job with Viterbo University, but the transition to new leadership looks to be relatively painless as Michelle Czerwan, who has been with the parks and recreation department for eight years, has moved up to the acting director position. Leadership spill 'within days' (Adelaide Now) BRENDAN Nelson could face a leadership spill as early as next Tuesday after Peter Costello's declaration that he will not accept being drafted as leader of the Opposition. Nigeria: Abaji Council Trains Staff on Leadership Qualities (AllAfrica.com) The management of the Abaji Area Council, Wednesday began a two-day workshop to train its staff on leadership development and better service delivery. Groton Electric Light commissioners honors for outstanding leadership (Groton Landmark) GROTON -- Each year, commissioners who have provided outstanding leadership to their public power system for three full terms, or at least 10 years, may be nominated by their utility to receive the NEPPA (New England Public Power Association) Commissioner Service Award. An election about vision, leadership and trust (Scoop.co.nz) The 2008 general election will be fought over who has the vision and leadership to take New Zealand into the future, Grant Robertson the Labour Candidate for Wellington Central said today. Site: leadership - Google News 3n User Conference Drives Best Practices and Thought Leadership in ... - MarketWatch
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