Are You Leading Like a Duck?
Submitted by JD Buckridge on Mon, 11/03/2008 - 21:20.
I had this interesting thought yesterday as I was out on a walk with my girlfriend. We were taking in beautiful Southwest Missouri in one of our may local state park sites. As we sat down and began to just analyze and take in the beauty of the flowing waters of the creek and the sweet brush of soft winds, we also noticed the ducks that were quaking in the calm and clear waters of Shoal Creek.
As we watched these waters and examined the ducks, we began to see them play, swim, eat, groom, and a few other things that I began to pick up on. I began to notice how that when one quaked, so did the others, when one would swim a certain direction, so would the others and so on.
As I began to really observe more carefully, I noticed that there was really truly only one duck that led the quaking, the grooming, the eating and the swimming.
If you know anything about ducks, they fly in formation, but as I quickly realized, they not only fly in formation, but also live in formation. The other ducks would not do anything without the quaking of the, what I would call, "lead" duck. This duck would quack, then the others seem to actually talk back. What was amazing, was that if one duck would stray to far from the flock, the lead duck would quack, and then the stray duck would then return back to the fold.
I watched as the lead duck would see that there was no longer any fish for them to grab in the area they were swimming in, he would quack and then begin moving into a new direction, and would continue quaking as he would swim in that new direction. Premise, be like the lead duck, quack, but when you quack, be the example to the rest of the flock.
If you are not prospecting or allowing yourself to receive new business, neither will your team or co-workers and those around you. If you are in a negative state of mind, so will the others around you be in a negative state of mind.
I challenge you today to begin leading like a duck, take the lead and allow for others to follow you. Be the one they are seeking and begin building your leader brand.
Until next time....
jd
Being a leader not a follower
This is definitely what I needed today, this has got to have been one of the most challenging days I have had in a long time. I am in the car business, and if you know how that is going then you'll know the challenges I have had to face lately. Things are slow but I have to keep as positive as I can or like you said it rubs off. People pick up on little things like that and by showing your getting beat then you are perceived in that way. We will beat this economic bump in the road, it's just going to take some time and work to get back on our feet.
Well JD, thanks for your different outlook on life.
Later,
Mike