When training school administrators and members of the American Management Association for leadership roles, I always use a poem that differentiates between the leader and the boss.
The boss drives the staff: The leader coaches them.
The boss depends upon authority: The leader on good will.
The boss inspires fear: The leader inspires enthusiasm.
The boss says “I”: The leader says “We.”
The boss assigns the tasks: The leader sets the pace.
The boss says, “Get here on time!”: The leader gets there ahead of time.
THE BOSS FIXES THE BLAME FOR THE BREAKDOWN:
THE LEADER FIXES THE BREAKDOWN.
The boss says “GO”: The leader says “Let’s go.”
The world needs leaders: Nobody wants a boss!
Recently, I received several letters and many comments about the July 4 party. It seems it was a wonderful affair but several residents felt it was poorly attended. The letters and comments attempted to put the blame on those who didn’t attend the party. Board members who were not present, individuals who decided to go elsewhere and members of the tennis community who decided on an alternate venue were criticized and blamed for the poor attendance.
If you look at the capitalized sentence in the poem above, we should all remember that assigning blame does not solve a problem. We obviously have a challenge. Increasing attendance at these wonderful events should become a cooperative endeavor. Assigning blame serves only to divide the community and create unnecessary hostility.
Why not look forward to our Labor Day party? One possibility is to set up a Country Club Committee to poll our residents about what type of party they would like to have as a fitting end to our wonderful summer season. What is an acceptable cost? Should liquor be at the expense of the drinker or included in the fee? Perhaps a simple survey would involve us all in solving the problem instead of seeking whom to blame.
When the new Country Club Committee is formed sometime after July 15, I would suggest that this become one of their priorities. I have confidence that our newly elected board member, Martin Mitchell, Country Club Manager Mary Anne Langone and the committee will be able to offer possible solutions to this dilemma. I’m looking forward to a huge turnout at our Labor Day event.
Problems should always be viewed as opportunities to improve a situation.
