Things Every Good Leader Should Know

We have been doing some cleaning up and cleaning out around here lately. Troy found a tub in his closet and told me I needed to look through it and see where it needed to go because it was heavy and he only wanted to have to pick it up once. Ha! I started going through it, and there were a lot of empty CD cases, three of my college text books (one of which I had looked and looked for a few years ago and couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t with all of the others), some random novels and informational books, and some good ol’ Elkmont High School band nostalgia. Included in that stack of memories was some of the notes I had taken at the George N. Parks Drum Major Academy. Man, I loved that. I am definitely a drum major in my heart forever. (and if you’ve ever seen me sing, a drum major in my hands and all through my body as well). One of the things that I had written down was a list entitled “Things Every Good Leader Should Know”. I think it’s a pretty good list, even if it is *mumble mumble* years old and geared toward teenaged drum majors.

THINGS EVERY GOOD LEADER SHOULD KNOW:

• Have a procedure and follow it.
• “You are at your best when things are at their worst.”
• “You need to learn to listen aggressively; we tend to listen passively.”
• “Don’t let people who say it can’t be done interfere with those who are doing it.”
• Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
• Learn when to back off and leave people alone. People are not going to learn under a lot of tension.
• IILSST – If It Looks Stupid, Stop Them!!!
• Don’t sit at meals and on breaks with people you know – get to know everyone.
• You start every argument you’ve ever been in, because you choose if you are going to enter it or not.
• 2 ears and 1 mouth and a reason for it – listen twice as much as you talk.
• The mind is like a parachute – it only works when it is open.
• You never have a second chance at a first impression. The world is not good at giving second chances.
• ATTITUDE.
• The key is communication.
• Try not to be stupid, stubborn, or stagnant.
• Key to improvement: (1) know what to do and when to do it, (2) know what to look for, establish high standards, and settle for only the best.