Bootstrap Leadership

Here is a GREAT quote: “Leadership is difficult but not complex.”

So begins Michael McKinney’s review of the book, Bootstrap Leadership by Steve Arneson (Bootstrap Leadership: Creating a Blueprint for Your Leadership Development).There is so much common sense in leadership that it is usually easy for others to agree about many leadership concepts … in theory. The greater challenge is to take the theories into application when it requires courage to do something ‘common sense.’

I remember one case of wrestling with such an issue that should have been common sense. Well, actually it was common sense; I just didn’t have the courage at first to do the right thing. As soon as I asked myself the question, “If I was the subordinate looking on, what would I expect my boss to do in this case,” the common sense answer jumped out at me!

It is interesting how doing the right thing aligns with doing the leadership thing.

In addition to the opening quote at the beginning of this post, I also strongly agree growing in self-awareness is job #1 of any leadership student – new or experienced. This area is often described as a soft skill but my response is, “If that’s true, why is it so hard?” (That’s not a whine by the way … I am loving this journey.)

There could be many reasons but at the top of the list are probably the undiscovered personal mindsets and the emotional attachment to some of the favored behaviors (which further shield discovering the underlying paradigm). This is a classic blind spot that must be uncovered in order to progress.

Breakthroughs in finding a previously invisible mindset moves the leadership student well down field to personal growth. This breakthrough also helps the budding leader define his or her role in a clearer way to become that leader evangelist talked about by Mr. Arneson.

Finally, becoming a better listener is a high leverage activity both for self and others.

• Self: Get quiet inside and tune into what I am hearing and then my reactions. Why am I responding inside as I am? What mental models are at work? Why, why, why? What can I learn from the speaker?
• Others: Increase understanding by taking in the whole message. Increasing understanding naturally builds trust and credibility. How many of us have enough of either?