Be an Extreme Leader!

Steve Farber challenges us all to get real and stop thinking we all can practice the golden rule, all day every day, and instead challenges us to be an Extreme Leader:

...Extreme Leader’s Radical Agenda: Make others greater than yourself.

Now that's something we all can do. Make others GREATER than ourselves. How do we do this, you might ask. Steve asks us to think about the implications of making others greater than ourselves means.

That's a challenging question, but I've got a few thoughts.

1. Serve others' needs first - Whether you are standing in line for the coffee, in the parking lot, or at the grocery store, offer others the chance to go first. This doesn't mean you put everyone in front of you in line, and you wait 2 hours for a cup of coffee. Start by pouring someone else's cup full of coffee first, then filling your own cup. Park a little further away from the entrance at the local mall. If you're in line at the grocery store and the person behind you only has a few items, let them in front of you. Any of these small things make people feel GREAT!
2. Believe in people more - Being a leader means instead of treating people as they are, you treat them as they could be. This means EVERYONE has something to share, and is someone you can learn from. Treat them as though they are the superstars they're capable of becoming, and they will shine brighter than a new dime.
3. Pay it forward - Instead of waiting for someone to do you a favor, do someone else a favor. In the parking lot I frequent for work, I occasionally will buy 2 parking tickets instead of 1, and give it to the next person walking up so they don't have to buy a ticket. It's only $2.50, but you should see the smile on people's faces. Offer what you're good at to your friends, neighbors or your church family and follow through by actually helping them. I love going to breakfast with folks and helping them set goals, or learn a bit about blogs.

I'm sure you can think of many more ways to share the Extreme Leadership. Share your thoughts in my comments, or better yet, stop by Steve Farber's blog and share them with him!

Make it a great day!
Phil Gerbyshak


Technorati Tags: leadership, steve farber, extreme leadership

Comments

[Kirsten Harrell, Psy.D.]

Great ideas Phil!
If we each focus on doing some of these things... even the little things, we can make a difference in the world!

[JCatara]

I am a team leader. I have been for over ten years now. People, and the skill they posess are amazing. One thing I have learned is to let them know that experience is mostly learned from mistakes. With that, let them know it is okay to make mistakes. They learn. You learn. Its a win win. The mistakes go away with time. The team members are less afraid to try things this leads to more learning.

[Tom Carpenter]

Just because you throw a bunch of curse words into the exact same message all other modern leadership gurus are delivering doesn't make you unique or valuable. It only makes you arrogant to think that you can be a leader when better than half the people will be "turned off" by your immature usage of language.