Weekly Leader's Update 12-11-2007

Blind Spots (Notes from John Maxwell) – Part 2

Two more “Blind Spots” that can trip us up:


One “Blind Spot” are the subtle ways we can Devalue People.

• Leaders who value their people give them their best effort
o Leaders who devalue their people give them their least effort
• Leaders who value their people serve their people
o Leaders who devalue their people want to be served by their people
• Leaders who value their people empower them
o Leaders who devalue their people control them
• Leaders who value their people motivate them
o Leaders who devalue their people manipulate them.

Another “Blind Spot” is our EGO.

Kirk Hanson, university professor and executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, says that the Achilles’ heel of leaders can be found when they:

• Believe they know it all
• Believe they are in charge
• Believe the rules don’t apply to them
• Believe they can never fail
• Believe they did it all by themselves
• Believe they are better than the “little people” in the organization
• Believe they ARE the organization

“Pride is concerned about Who’s right. Humility is concerned about What’s right.” Ezra Taft Benton

In a leader, pride is costly and destructive. Here is what pride potentially does:

• Instead of taking responsibility, we blame others.
• Instead of being objective, we live in denial.
• Instead of being open-minded and receptive, we are closed-minded or defensive.
• Instead of flexibility we are rigid.
• Instead of team spirit, we end up with low morale.
• Instead of loyalty, we experience a high turnover rate among volunteers or paid staff.
• Instead of being connected, we find ourselves out of touch with the people we’re trying to reach. (Pride causes us to think it ‘s all about us when really it’s all about them.)

Got any beams that need to be inspected?


---Dan Bickel, Wisconsin District Superintendent