100 Posts …and Counting??
This is my 100th blog post. I’ve been at this now for about 2 years.
But I’ve been thinking about counting. What are we counting in our leadership? Blog posts? Performance numbers of some kind? Helpful indicators, no doubt, but incomplete.
My daughter is downstairs watching “The Sound of Music.” She’s singing along with her pretty 9 year old voice. She sings often; sometimes so often that we have to ask her to stop so that she can speak to us, or eat.
Why do I bring that up? It’s because unlike other aspects of my leadership, where I’m counting something, trying to bring an outcome to fruition, monitoring progress, I don’t care what the outcome of my daughter’s singing is.
I just want her to enjoy it. And I enjoy it. No agenda, no push for more, no milestones…
And that’s OK. Other things in my life require those from my leadership. My daughter’s singing doesn’t.
It just makes me happy.
And she needs to know that.
What refreshes your leadership? Your life? Where can you be safe from the ever-present demands of measurement? Who needs a hug instead of “feedback”? What are you giving as a leader that isn’t merited because of some kind of measurement?
I’m about to give my daughter encouragement by telling her how her singing makes me feel.
And I’ll probably get a big hug out of the deal, which is a pretty fair bonus.
http://stoshdwalsh.wordpress.com
Dr.Walsh. You are not just an old man. You are a wise man. Congratulations on 100 contributions to the wisdom of those who aspire to lead.
Stosh,
I don’t get to comment too often because I read your blog as an RSS feed and that doesn’t facilitate feedback very simply. But this entry about the distinction between what Leaders do for productivity and what they do for joy – is too good to pass up.
…who needs a hug instead of ‘feedback’…. that is great insight from a leader to Leaders!!
BTW, did you get into the PhD program?