Sometimes I feel a bit like I need to be the facilitator of my very own thoughts and take on a leadership role in my own head. Does that make any sense? I bet you, like me, know how it is when we get lost deep within our own minds and nearly none of it looks to piece together or make any sense. Right?
Last week, I was standing on a slightly chilly train platform, at 7am going towards London. I was lost somewhere with my own musings about life. All of a sudden I was aware of the taxi driver that had, 10 minutes previously dropped me at the station. He was meticulously cleaning the windows of his taxi. 'Nothing wierd' about that I hear you exclaim. You are right! Except he was cleaning them in a way that showed he cared. And I mean ACTUALLY cared. He was noticing every smear and blemish. He would look from a different angle and then polish again. A small number of you 'would be psycho-analysts' will be pronouncing - oh dear - classic OCD? Or perhaps, just classic concern for detail and to the stuff that does really counts.
Leadership: It counts!
As Director of Performance and Probability at BTFI, I am compelled to 'clean the windows' carefully. We really think that the tiny stuff does matter. Yes, you do have to get the big stuff right first. Clean windows on his taxi are no good if there is no fuel, bald tyres, damaged doors, old seats inside and so on.
It was drummed into me as a vocalist and performer - 'the small stuff matters'. It'll make the difference between being good and being extraordinary. I can recall rehearsing for Les Miserables in London - as an ensemble we were being picked up on the way that we have to come off a note. Twenty minutes it took - twenty minutes for one note! Worthwhile?? YES! After twenty minutes we all sat back in wonder at how different it sounded. It was, amazing. it's just that attention that leaves Les Miserables being a multi million pound worldwide phenomenon - still running after 26 years!
Leadership: Polish
Irrespective of whether you are a leader with a team or a sole contributor in your company, where are you acting to be extraordinary? Go on - give it some thought now.
Where do you polish the windows because it actually matters? Where will you take twenty minutes for your ensemble to come off a note simultaneously?
It seems so tiny, and hardly believable, that it can turn something from good to unusual. I've got a view. Many actually. There's little place for being just good any more. Our customers, internal and external, demand that we continue giving more, demand that we exceed expectations and demand that we want to be unusual. Taking a leadership role, means that polishing the windows is part of your job.
Last week, I was standing on a slightly chilly train platform, at 7am going towards London. I was lost somewhere with my own musings about life. All of a sudden I was aware of the taxi driver that had, 10 minutes previously dropped me at the station. He was meticulously cleaning the windows of his taxi. 'Nothing wierd' about that I hear you exclaim. You are right! Except he was cleaning them in a way that showed he cared. And I mean ACTUALLY cared. He was noticing every smear and blemish. He would look from a different angle and then polish again. A small number of you 'would be psycho-analysts' will be pronouncing - oh dear - classic OCD? Or perhaps, just classic concern for detail and to the stuff that does really counts.
Leadership: It counts!
As Director of Performance and Probability at BTFI, I am compelled to 'clean the windows' carefully. We really think that the tiny stuff does matter. Yes, you do have to get the big stuff right first. Clean windows on his taxi are no good if there is no fuel, bald tyres, damaged doors, old seats inside and so on.
It was drummed into me as a vocalist and performer - 'the small stuff matters'. It'll make the difference between being good and being extraordinary. I can recall rehearsing for Les Miserables in London - as an ensemble we were being picked up on the way that we have to come off a note. Twenty minutes it took - twenty minutes for one note! Worthwhile?? YES! After twenty minutes we all sat back in wonder at how different it sounded. It was, amazing. it's just that attention that leaves Les Miserables being a multi million pound worldwide phenomenon - still running after 26 years!
Leadership: Polish
Irrespective of whether you are a leader with a team or a sole contributor in your company, where are you acting to be extraordinary? Go on - give it some thought now.
Where do you polish the windows because it actually matters? Where will you take twenty minutes for your ensemble to come off a note simultaneously?
It seems so tiny, and hardly believable, that it can turn something from good to unusual. I've got a view. Many actually. There's little place for being just good any more. Our customers, internal and external, demand that we continue giving more, demand that we exceed expectations and demand that we want to be unusual. Taking a leadership role, means that polishing the windows is part of your job.
About the Author:
Motivational Speaker Richard Tyler leads Buildingateam which offer organisations extraordinary team building, leadership training and culture change events using art and performance.
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