leadership - a subject deeper, and at times rougher, than the southern ocean...

One of our sailing heroes is Rod Davis.  Rod won Gold and Silver medals for the USA and New Zealand in the 1984 and 1992 Olympic games respectively.  Since then he's been involved in several America's Cup campaigns for various syndicates and in 2005 was appointed Yachting New Zealand's Olympic Director.   

We found this great article by Rod in the June edition of Seahorse Magazine.   Rod shares his thoughts on Leadership and offers ten practical tips.

1. Clear thinking - Know where you want to get to and articulate it through every means, prioritising face to face interaction.
2. Loyalty - Loyalty is developed in the old fashioned way - you earn it.
3. A bit of a mongrel - Staying true to your convictions will help keep the spring in your step.
4. Concept vs. detail - Leaders can't afford to be philosophers, but micro managing is perhaps even more deadly.  
5. Leave the Jersey in a better place - Commit to making your company or campaign a better place tomorrow because of your efforts today.  
6. Make the decision - Tough calls don't get any easier with time.   Once the facts are in, get together with your people and make a call.  Then move on.
7. Everyone gets to take out the rubbish - Leaders are not above getting stuck in when it's all hands to the pumps.
8. Don't just say what, say why - Leaders don't just give orders, they take time to teach.
9. The seven C's of Leadership  - from his coaching work Rod uses this model which applies well to leading:  Calm, Communication, Compassion, Confidence, Composure, Certainty and Creativity.
10. Ownership - Make sure everyone sees the bigger picture with regards to their individual contributions.

We're really drawn to point 8,  in our experience the strongest leaders we meet are amongst other things great teachers and coaches. These attributes unlock self discovery, ownership, pride and ultimately build succession.   

Click here to download the full article...

Have a great week
Will