Lessons From the Global
Leadership Summit
I just love this time of year, not only because it’s my birthday month but also because each year I gift myself attendance at the Global Leadership Summit. As a business owner, I believe it is imperative to keep learning – to access new and relevant information to help me grow a profitable and vibrant company.
The Global Leadership Summit does that for me particularly because it is ‘outside of my industry’, if you will. This is an event that is held annually at Willow Creek Community Church based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. My church here in London, Canada is a satellite host location. This was my 14th Summit! It never gets old.
What I love about the Summit is the diversity of speakers and content. The Summit is attended by 180,000 leaders in 125+ countries around the world. Wow. That’s perspective. The speakers represent that scope and that’s what makes it so exciting. The music is also uplifting; the networking is amazing and the time to reflect and give thanks is always much needed and appreciated.
As I attend professional development events regularly, I have learned that ‘she who implements, wins!’ The way I ensure that happens is to focus on just 3 things that I want to take away – that I want to implement in my life and in my business. Just. Three. Things. That’s what I call progress! Most people will go away with the workbook full of notes, get back to their office and put the workbook on the shelf. That’s called ‘shelf help’. That does not serve any good purpose as you get back into the jungle of life.
My approach to implement just 3 things has served me well over the 14 years, both personally and professionally. Here’s what I want to share from this year’s Summit:
1. PATRICK LENCIONI – ‘THE IDEAL TEAM PLAYER’
Patrick has been a regular at the Summit and he is one of my most favorite speakers. He spoke about the three essential virtues that accelerate teamwork and predict team success. They are:
- Humble: ideal team players are humble. They lack excessive ego or concerns about status. Humble people are quick to point out the contributions of others and slow to seek attention for themselves. They share credit, emphasize team over self and define success collectively rather than individually.
- Hungry: Ideal team players are hungry. They are always looking for more. More things to do. More to learn. More responsibility to take on. Hungry people almost never have to be pushed by a manager to work harder because they are self-motivated and diligent. They are constantly thinking about the next step and the next opportunity.
- Smart: Ideal team players are smart. They have common sense about people. Smart people tend to know what is happening in a group situation and how to deal with others in the most effective way. They have good judgement and intuition around the subtleties of group dynamics and the impact of their words and actions.
This is a required combination of all three. If even one is missing in a team member, teamwork becomes significantly more difficult, and sometimes not possible. What’s going on in your team? Have you paid attention? What changes need to be made, if any? We are only as strong as our team.
2. CHRIS MCCHESNEY – ‘THE 4 DISCIPLINES OF EXECUTION’
Oh, this man was talking right to me! He was speaking my language! Execution! YES!
His advice is to focus on the wildly important goals in your business. You must be very aware of Leverage, Engagement and Accountability. He said that with 11-20 goals in a business, your people might love you but they can’t hear you. He said to pay attention to this:
- Focusing on the wildly important (W.I.G.)
- Acting on lead measures
- Keeping a compelling scoreboard
- Creating a cadence of accountability.
So, a W.I.G. (wildly important goals) meeting each week is simply a brief discussion of last week’s commitments, review and update your measures/scoreboard, and make commitments to next week.
Bottom line – he was saying exactly what I tell my clients ALL THE TIME – focus on a few goals, measure-measure-measure; keep track and have an accountability buddy! Yes! Be aware when urgency always trumps importance. “There will always be more good ideas than there is capacity to execute”. Execution 4.6 (ok – just go get his book because his content is awesome – ‘The Four Disciplines of Execution’ – Chris McChesney, Sean Covey and Jim Huling)
3. SHAUNA NIEQUIST – ‘PRESENT OVER PERFECT’
This is where/when I caved and bought a book when I had been telling myself, over the 2 days, that I wouldn’t do that. I need to read all the books I already have, LOL! But once I heard Shauna speak, I knew I had to have the book – and make the commitment to read it right away.
Her message was to leave behind the frantic for a simpler, more soulful way of living. Powerful. Timely. Relevant. #sheisspeakingtome Since I celebrated my 65th birthday this week, it’s a time when I review my vision board, my life goals and dreams and the actions that are required to support same. Shauna’s message rang loud and clear in that it’s time to move from success to significance. It’s definitely time to break free from the constant pressure to perform faster, push harder, and produce more all the while maintaining an exhausting image of perfection. We all fall prey to this, to some degree. It’s time to stop. To rest. To Play. To create. To connect. To cultivate silence. I’m all for that. Thanks, Shauna!
The intention for my life, moving forward, is to live soaked in grace, rest, silence, simplicity, prayer and connection with the people who matter most to me. I’m a work in progress, just like you.
I take on this challenge. Do you? Is it time? Are you ready?
