As usual, Dalton Hooper gave a really interesting presentation. The title was, “It’s Not Leadership If No One Is Following.” He began with the progression of leadership, saying that we began with bosses, then progressed to supervisors, managers, coaches, and finally … leaders. See the slide below.

It was especially interesting to listen to his presentation because Adrienne Kovacs, my leader, and Laura McGrover, my leader’s leader (to go along with Dalton’s terminology) were both present.

8 Ways to be a Better Leader

Dalton presented 8 points of leadership. You can view his entire presentation here: http://www.stc.org/53rdConf/sessions/dataShow.asp?ID=83. It is conveniently archived at the stc.org site because he also delivered his presentation at the 53rd annual STC conferences in Las Vegas.

His 8 points of leadership are shown on the following slide:

A few notes on each:

1. Begin earning your follower’s trust from day one. Dalton said you can walk into bad situations, where you meet distrust either from misconceptions, gossip, or other information from the very first day. This can paralyze your ability to lead.

2. Focus on their successes first. You’re not successful unless your team is successful. In other words, leadership is not self-serving aggrandizement.

3. Get to know your followers as people. It’s important to connect to your team on an emotional level. Here we see a connection to Dalton’s last presentation on “Why I Didn’t Hire You.” In that presentation he said successful interviewees made an emotional connection with the interviewer that proved to be a defining moment. Same goes with leadership — you must connect with people on a personal level; they have to be on board with your vision and be on the same wavelength. About this topic, a long discussion ensued about how friendly leaders should be with their subordinates. Basically, the conclusion was that you should be friends, but not too friendly or you won’t be able to enforce anything.

4. If you don’t know, say so. Don’t pretend to know what you don’t. When the truth comes out, it’ll only make you look stupid and lose the trust of your team.

5. Let them do their job. Let your team do their job their own way. Give them point B and say “Okay, we need you to take us here. I’m not sure how to get there; it’s your job to determine the best way.” This not only shows confidence in their ability to act for themselves, but also acknowledges that there is more than one way to accomplish a task.

6. Have a plan for the bad times. Leaders always have plans for crises. Dalton cited the example of Giuliani in NY after 9/11. Leaders never panic and turn white when disaster strikes. The true test of character is not what you know to do, but what you do when you don’t know what to do (this was a quotation he mentioned, although I couldn’t find it in the PowerPoint).

7. Feed your followers’ passions. Give your team tasks that interest them, not just any old task. If one worker is passionate about help projects that require original photography, by all means give the projects that require photos and photoshop to that writer, not to anyone else. We do best when we’re doing what we’re passionate about.

8. Invest in your followers. The return will be loyalty. If you dedicate yourself to your followers, they’ll uphold you and carry you through.

My thoughts:

I think what Dalton presented is accurate and true. I agree with some points more than others. In thinking back to what inspires me most about those who have been my leaders, number 3 and number 7 apply the most.

In college I became an English major in part because one of my professors was so passionate about a book we were reading, A River Runs Through It, that he brought in some fly fishing gear and took us out in the quad lawn and had us all feel the beauty of the cast. He inspired me with his enthusiasm, and in so doing connected with me on an emotional level.

As for 7, no one has ever taught me by force. I resist against any and all templates or pre-set ways forced upon me. Not sure why, I just like to do things my way. I assume this is true for many people. This may be stubborn pride, but I certainly perform better when I get to decide how to do it.

What points of leadership hold most true to you? Was there anything you disagreed with? Do you have more thoughts on the friendliness factor of leadership? How does Dalton’s 8 ways to be a better leader compare with Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective leaders? Use the Comment feature below to add your comments.

Pictures

At the request of Becky Siebenthaler, I brought my camera to document Joanna’s last meeting. Here are a few pictures from the meeting:

Joanna delivers her last remarks.

Joanna gives us a final farewell smile.

Dalton deliberates on an important point about leadership.

Dalton leads us in a camp cheer. (Just kidding, I think he’s congratulating someone on correcting answering an arcane Disney trivia question.)

Hanigan (left) was inebriated most of the night, but Mark Rudden (right) kept a close watch on him. (Just kidding.) Rudden showed off his new Mickey Mouse towel as a toga.

Joanna Castner (left) and Tom Johnson, i.e., me, (right)