At That Point
  • home
  • services
  • about us
  • our work
  • our thoughts

Leadership lessons from glass blowing

9/1/2014

0 Comments

 
For our 2013 year end function the ATP team went glass blowing. What an experience! I expected to be forced outside of my comfort zone (and have fun at the same time) but I did not expect a valuable leadership cliché to be proven during our session.

At one point during our glass blowing workshop the facilitator wanted us to attempt a technique without showing us the ropes first. My initial reaction was to let one of the others go first, as my personal habit is to observe first and learn from the mistakes others make. However, the team was quick to voice their preference that I go first.

I realised then that ‘leading from the front’ does not allow for a personal culture of perfection and saving face. It implies getting dirty and even potentially losing face.

As explained on a military forum: “In times of great chaos someone must remain sane to steady the group and drive [the group] through the point of friction. This is the job of all leaders of all ranks.”

Leaders must embrace risks and accept discomfort in order to create and maintain an environment for their team in which the team members can safely explore, ask questions, experiment and learn. The face to be saved is that of the team, not that of the leader.

Nelson Mandela perfectly described the only time a leader can afford to lead from the back. “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
0 Comments

    Archives

    November 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    January 2017
    July 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014

    Categories

    All
    Adapt
    Authenticity
    Bemarking
    Branding
    Business Leads
    Communication
    Communication And Marketing Strategy
    Communication Channels
    Competition
    Consumer Trends
    Content Creation
    Content Marketing
    COVID-19
    Doing Things Differently
    Effective
    Follow Up
    Follow-up
    Follow Up On Business Leads
    Grow Business
    Grow Revenue
    Industry Associations
    Leadership
    Lead Fostering
    Leads
    Management
    Marketing
    Marketing Trends
    Objectives
    Outsourcing
    PR
    Real
    Reputation
    Respect
    Sales Growth
    Social Media
    Strategy
    Target Audience
    Trust
    Truth
    Video
    Video Creation
    Video Production
    Webinars

    RSS Feed

CONTACT US

office [at] atthatpoint [dot] co [dot] za
© COPYRIGHT 2021
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

  • home
  • services
  • about us
  • our work
  • our thoughts