Links to other parts of this miniseries:
Everyday Leadership – Part 2
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 22 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Everyday Leadership-Part 1
— From This Is Day One: A Practical Guide to Leadership That Matters by Drew Dudley
As I was reading Drew Dudley’s wonderful book This is Day One, I had an a-ha! moment on the meaning of “everyday leadership” that the author explains throughout the book, and also in his TEDx Talk in Toronto called Leading with Lollipops.
John C. Maxwell, renowned leadership guru, says that leadership is influence. Everyday leadership, then, as Dudley describes it, is about us and everyday people–those who surround us–influencing others for the better. And while we will never know the extent of our influence, we should not underestimate how profound and lasting that impact can be.
Dudley recalls a time when he was at a packed grocery store. While he was standing in the shortest line to pay, it was still about 20 people long, and he couldn’t just leave to return at another time. Here’s the story as the author tells it:
“Glancing up for a moment, I caught a glimpse of the young woman operating the cash register. She was quite simply the greatest cashier I had ever seen. Her arms were a blur as she fired items across the scanner at breakneck speed. Everything beeped, everything found its way into a bag in an instant. This woman was a checkout ninja.
It occurred to me how unusual it was to think to myself, ‘That woman is the greatest cashier I’ve ever seen.’ Unfortunately, the more people in our society we believe capable of doing a job, the less likely we are to recognize excellence in that job. There are magazines and websites dedicated to debating the Top 50 athletes/musicians/business titans of all time, but with cashiers, serving staff, bus drivers, janitors, and even (inexplicably in my mind) teachers and nurses, there’s too often the perception that ‘anyone can do those jobs.’ As such, it seems we treat high performance in those jobs as somehow a lower class of excellence.”
As his turn approached, Dudley watched people treat the cashier poorly–when they noticed her. Some of the patrons didn’t even acknowledge her presence. She never stopped doing her excellent work.
When the author reached the front of the line, he asked her what candy she liked from the shelves next to the checkout, and when he paid for them, he gave them to the cashier. He said, “I got those for you. I have to tell you you’re the very best at this job I’ve ever seen. My job is to teach leadership and the way you’re approaching your job is exactly the type of example I use for what real leadership looks like. […] I’ve been watching and I’ve seen no one has really given you the credit you deserve for it, so I thought you deserved some chocolates.”
The cashier was so moved, she started to cry. Then Dudley realized what a profound impact that interaction had on both of them. Regarding the cashier, he says, “Up until that point, had her family asked how her day was when she got home, it’s quite possible she would have snapped at them and passed along that lack of consideration and respect she’d experienced time and time again from those of us in line. Now… even if not a single positive thing happened to her all day, she was going to lead with ‘This guy did the nicest thing for me today!’”
As per the realization of the impact on himself, he says, “I had been letting a lot of similar opportunities for impact pass me by. I had identified a small percentage of my daily interactions as important and, outside of those interactions, tended to let my focus rest on my phone, my to-do list and the things I felt I had to do to excel at my job. That moment was a reminder that every interaction was a chance to model [leadership].”
And Dudley closes with a beautiful thought: “If you want to model your leadership more consistently, be more conscious about looking for and recognizing the leadership of others. Look for leaders like that cashier: those whose behavior goes beyond what is expected and reminds you of what is possible. Leadership recognized is leadership created.”
And I would append to this last phrase two simple words at the end: Leadership recognized is leadership created and repeated.
Who has had an impact or influence on you and whose leadership have you recognized, thus creating an impact on that person? Let me know in the comments here. It’s a beautiful cycle, isn’t it? Come back tomorrow for another wonderful and moving story about everyday leadership.
ACTION
TODAY: Notice all those everyday leaders who surround you. Recognize and acknowledge their impact on you and your surroundings. Let them know. They will be grateful and you will be positively impacted as well for creating an impact on that person. Keep the cycle going.
FUTURE: Dudley makes a point of recognizing everyday leadership on a daily basis. Give it a shot: you’ll start to see that you can impact lives in a very positive way and, as a result, your life will be impacted too.
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