“This book is one of those stories – about a manager and a mentor” reads the back of the David Cottrell’s book, Monday Morning Leadership. This story speaks largely toward leaders who are struggling at their jobs of leadership. This book is made up into eight sessions.
#1. Driver’s and Passengers
This first session speaks of being a leader. A leader is much like a driver and can’t look like the followers, much like a driver can’t look like it’s passengers. A leader is someone who has to try something different, something that’s worth following. “The first thing you have to do is stop being ordinary,” says Tony Pearce, the mentor of the book. Additionally, “A real leader spends his time fixing the problem instead of finding who to blame.”
#2. Keep the Main thing the Main thing
The second session dives into a discussion about keeping the main things the primary focus of the leader. What is our purpose? What do we need to be doing right now? This means that leaders have to find out the specific needs of their customers and their employees and the employees have to find out the specific needs of their customers and their leaders. People leave companies because their needs are not being met-always. However, “People quit people before they quit companies.”
#3. Escape from Management land
This chapter points out that leaders need to be in touch with their followers. What are their needs? What are their strengths and weakness? How much work are they actually willing to put into something? Is their quality work excellent, good or poor? The top people should be clearly recognized for their work and encouraged to be an example for the rest of the employees. In this way, leaders are making the top higher and getting rid of the bottom.
#4. The “Do Right” Rule
Confucius once stated “To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice.” Leaders must be people of integrity. What they represent on the outside, they must also be on the inside. If they see a problem and ignore it, than there will be problems all over the place. Tony suggests, “You must guard your integrity as if its your most precious leadership possession because that is what it is.”
#5. Hire Tough
The fifth session speaks about the employees themselves. If a leader hires tough, then there will be less problems in the future. People choose to fire themselves; in essence, they earn what they earn; CEO’s don’t become CEO’s by being on Facebook all day. The most important asset in the company is to have the right people in the team. The greatest liability in the company is having the wrong people on the team.
“The Three Rules of Three in hiring are: interview at least three qualified candidates for every position; interview the candidates three times; and have three people evaluate the candidates.”
#6. Do Less or Work Faster
Extremely helpful section in practical time management skills. “The job seldom overworks the person, but people often overwork themselves by making bad time management decisions.” As leaders, we need to take responsibility and be in control of our time.
Practically here are some tips…
a. Touch paper only once (either throw it away, act upon it, or put it in the reading pile)
b. Set aside some uninterrupted planning time every day
c. Conduct an audit on every report that hits your in-box (Is it really necessary? Delete key)
d. Clean your desk
e. Control email deliveries (work them into a personal schedule)
f. Batch activities together-do like activities together-so that you’re not starting and stopping all the time (i.e. phone calls all together, emails all together, etc)
g. Go to lunch at 11 or 1 instead of 12
h. Keep track of who is interrupting you and why they’re interrupting you
i. Keep necessary interruptions short (by standing up)
j. Arrange your furniture so that your desk doesn’t face the flow of traffic
k. Schedule one-on-one sessions with your staff and your boss
l. Ask your team what wastes your time and hinders your performance?
m. Make meeting productive but short
n. Don’t fall into the ‘perpetually scheduled meeting’ syndrome
o. Always begin a meeting by covering the most important thing first
p. When people show up late, don’t recap what you’ve covered
q. Start and end meetings on time
#7. Buckets and Dippers
To fill a bucket means to encourage the people on the team. The good team flows with positive enthusiasm, and the leader should be the most positive and most enthusiastic. There are four essentials to getting the buckets filled.
a. Know the main things
b. Give feedback on performance
c. Provide recognition
d. Communicate the team score
#8. Entering the Learning Zone
Leaders must be learners. It sounds like a good pithy statement, so I made it; you’re welcome. Leaders must always be reaching to improve themselves and their circumstances (a case of working on your life, instead of working in your life). The three levels of learning are reading, listening and giving. Additionally, leaders must also be willing to set goals, write them down, commit to them and leave their comfort zone and do it.
“People want to follow people who are balanced in all areas, not just work.”
