Comments on: Some advice fit for a king http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/ A weekly stimulant for those who lead Thu, 04 Dec 2008 05:06:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Lifetime Make Money Opportunity http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-28064 Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:07:39 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-28064 <strong>How To Make Money Online With The Clickbank Affiliate Program...</strong> Affiliate programs have been the backbone of the internet work from home industry since the beginning of the internet. One of the most popular affiliate programs online today is ClickBank.... How To Make Money Online With The Clickbank Affiliate Program…

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]]> by: Mike Gaunt http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-356 Wed, 28 Feb 2007 03:45:01 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-356 Wow! Dan... what an eye opener! Superintendents often think they are the ones who must make it happen. My best result occur when I LET it happen for others. Thanks for a GREAT reminder! Mike Wow! Dan… what an eye opener! Superintendents often think they are the ones who must make it happen. My best result occur when I LET it happen for others. Thanks for a GREAT reminder!
Mike

]]> by: Robin Baun http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-353 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 18:24:24 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-353 Dan, Probably the best of your articles! I thought that not only will the king etc., not solve our problems but those of us who would want the king to solve our problems won't take responsibility to solve problems, thus leading us down a path where nothing is solved. Then the problems multiply, and we're left with the loudest voice instead of the correct one(s). So the other message is not only to lead, but to take responsibility for what you can, but not more than you can. Dan,

Probably the best of your articles! I thought that not only will the king etc., not solve our problems but those of us who would want the king to solve our problems won’t take responsibility to solve problems, thus leading us down a path where nothing is solved. Then the problems multiply, and we’re left with the loudest voice instead of the correct one(s). So the other message is not only to lead, but to take responsibility for what you can, but not more than you can.

]]> by: Maureen Keenan Meldrum http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-352 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 15:56:07 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-352 Another great one! I alwsys seem open these on days when I am really in need of inspiration (or a genle slap upside). Because we are all so busy, this one was a great reminder that labor can be wisely divided. And, the humility component is critical and often takes some reminding to remember. I really appreciate these messages and hope lots of Michigan leaders and aspiring leaders are reading and thinking about things like this. Another great one! I alwsys seem open these on days when I am really in need of inspiration (or a genle slap upside). Because we are all so busy, this one was a great reminder that labor can be wisely divided. And, the humility component is critical and often takes some reminding to remember. I really appreciate these messages and hope lots of Michigan leaders and aspiring leaders are reading and thinking about things like this.

]]> by: dan http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-350 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:35:52 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-350 nicely put, dave! nicely put, dave!

]]> by: dan http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-349 Tue, 27 Feb 2007 03:33:35 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-349 <p>Shelley,<br /> Great commment. In SOME -- emphasis on SOME -- corners of state government I think there has been a lack of openness and ability to just talk about how the work is going. It really does my heart so much good to read about someone who has their eyes wide open and is talking with candor about how we make things better and move things along. With many retirements coming you are dead-on: we need to build more and more capacity by enabling and empowering people to take on the varied tasks necessary to serve the people of the state. Thanks for your contributions.<br /> Dan </p> Shelley,
Great commment. In SOME — emphasis on SOME — corners of state government I think there has been a lack of openness and ability to just talk about how the work is going. It really does my heart so much good to read about someone who has their eyes wide open and is talking with candor about how we make things better and move things along. With many retirements coming you are dead-on: we need to build more and more capacity by enabling and empowering people to take on the varied tasks necessary to serve the people of the state. Thanks for your contributions.
Dan

]]> by: Jan Pardy http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-348 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 23:39:40 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-348 I think this just proves the saying: I you give a person a fish he/she will eat for a day. If you teach him/her how to fish he/she will eat for a lifetime. Jan I think this just proves the saying: I you give a person a fish he/she will eat for a day. If you teach him/her how to fish he/she will eat for a lifetime.

Jan

]]> by: Ken Rosen http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-347 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:02:16 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-347 What a timely message for me this is, Dan. Our company recently doubled the size of our business through an acquistion of a competitor and my new Executive VP (who came in the deal and ran the competitor) is constantly reminding me that as CEO my job is to lead and empower others to accomplish but not to DO the job myself. As a person who has always been the "go-to" guy to get things done, this is a difficult role to learn. I will keep your message from this week and have no doubt will refer to it often. What a timely message for me this is, Dan. Our company recently doubled the size of our business through an acquistion of a competitor and my new Executive VP (who came in the deal and ran the competitor) is constantly reminding me that as CEO my job is to lead and empower others to accomplish but not to DO the job myself. As a person who has always been the “go-to” guy to get things done, this is a difficult role to learn. I will keep your message from this week and have no doubt will refer to it often.

]]> by: Kathleen Tosco http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-346 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 19:27:41 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-346 You are so right Dan. As leaders, we can only lead if our team wishes to be led, and is willing to follow. Many is the time we must turn back to the group and say "this will be what you make of it". However, the reality of our culture demands that we "make it happen" by sheer force of will. The price of leadership is to bear ultimate responsibility in the eyes of our community. You are so right Dan. As leaders, we can only lead if our team wishes to be led, and is willing to follow. Many is the time we must turn back to the group and say “this will be what you make of it”. However, the reality of our culture demands that we “make it happen” by sheer force of will. The price of leadership is to bear ultimate responsibility in the eyes of our community.

]]> by: Dave Quigley http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-345 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:14:41 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-345 And perhaps the nexus is that while they want you to solve their problems and you want to make things better, the reality is that when they solve the problmes themselves, those wishing for thier king are better off. We need kings far less than we want to admit. So the paradox is that if leaders help to much they cause more harm than good and if people rely on leadership to much, they cheat themselves adn the rest of us of an increbible gift of themselves. And perhaps the nexus is that while they want you to solve their problems and you want to make things better, the reality is that when they solve the problmes themselves, those wishing for thier king are better off. We need kings far less than we want to admit. So the paradox is that if leaders help to much they cause more harm than good and if people rely on leadership to much, they cheat themselves adn the rest of us of an increbible gift of themselves.

]]> by: mary ann greenawalt http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-344 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:03:06 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-344 The king doesn't have to be just an individual, the story also implies that our government...local, state, federal...can be considered "the king" too. Government at any level will fail its constituents if it assumes too much power, if it assumes it can handle everything. The citizens of the city, state, country must take responsibility..be encouraged and permitted to take responsibility.....for their own actions and lives. An example is Katrina. Everyone knew for 200 years that the levees would fail in a category 3 hurricane, but again and again repairs were ignored, money was diverted to other "more important" issues, homes were not insured, were built where they never should have been. New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen, but everyone....local, state, federal....had their heads in the sand and EXPECTED that the federal government would bail them out IF anything ever happened. The city was built on a bayou and over the hundreds of years of its existence was slowly sinking and the levees were shrinking. Yet, no one did much about it, just kept living the good life thinking that a big hurricane would never hit them. Then....the blame game start and the rest is history. The king doesn’t have to be just an individual, the story also implies that our government…local, state, federal…can be considered “the king” too. Government at any level will fail its constituents if it assumes too much power, if it assumes it can handle everything. The citizens of the city, state, country must take responsibility..be encouraged and permitted to take responsibility…..for their own actions and lives.

An example is Katrina. Everyone knew for 200 years that the levees would fail in a category 3 hurricane, but again and again repairs were ignored, money was diverted to other “more important” issues, homes were not insured, were built where they never should have been. New Orleans was a disaster waiting to happen, but everyone….local, state, federal….had their heads in the sand and EXPECTED that the federal government would bail them out IF anything ever happened.

The city was built on a bayou and over the hundreds of years of its existence was slowly sinking and the levees were shrinking. Yet, no one did much about it, just kept living the good life thinking that a big hurricane would never hit them.

Then….the blame game start and the rest is history.

]]> by: John G Agno http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-343 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:33:13 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-343 The young king understands that the work is done through the positive power of relationships, not position. Authentic leaders care, teach, affirm, champion, refine, stretch, lead, and love through personal example. They understand that leadership is a matter of influence, not position. People follow the leader because they want to, not because they have to. Positive leaders are excited, engaged, and intensely focused — they are passionate, and their passion is contagious. Winston Churchill said it well: "The key to your impact as a leader is your own sincerity. Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe." Besides, people really do like their solutions better than your solutions and just need to be empowered to solve their own problems. The young king understands that the work is done through the positive power of relationships, not position.

Authentic leaders care, teach, affirm, champion, refine, stretch, lead, and love through personal example. They understand that leadership is a matter of influence, not position. People follow the leader because they want to, not because they have to. Positive leaders are excited, engaged, and intensely focused — they are passionate, and their passion is contagious.

Winston Churchill said it well: “The key to your impact as a leader is your own sincerity. Before you can inspire with emotion, you must be swamped with it yourself. Before you can move their tears, your own must flow. To convince them, you must yourself believe.”

Besides, people really do like their solutions better than your solutions and just need to be empowered to solve their own problems.

]]> by: carole t http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-342 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:06:23 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-342 Thank you for sharing these thoughts and comments. They are a wonderful way to start another work week which will be full of moments in which it would be easier to just do it rather that to facilitate a growing and learning experience for the people who need to do it. We not only need to provide opportunities for individuals and teams to participate but we must also ensure that each individual and team is fully empowered and fully engaged so that they may reach new heights of success. It is in the fully empowering and fully engaging that we must spend our time facilitating and nurturing. If we do this well, we build a strong and wider base of individuals who are primed and ready to make a difference. Thank you once again for information and comments worth spending the time to read, reflect upon and integrate into our work this week. Thank you for sharing these thoughts and comments. They are a wonderful way to start another work week which will be full of moments in which it would be easier to just do it rather that to facilitate a growing and learning experience for the people who need to do it. We not only need to provide opportunities for individuals and teams to participate but we must also ensure that each individual and team is fully empowered and fully engaged so that they may reach new heights of success. It is in the fully empowering and fully engaging that we must spend our time facilitating and nurturing. If we do this well, we build a strong and wider base of individuals who are primed and ready to make a difference. Thank you once again for information and comments worth spending the time to read, reflect upon and integrate into our work this week.

]]> by: Shelley Miller-O'Neill http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-341 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:04:28 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-341 This column really resonated with me today, for a variety of reasons. 1) I have just returned from 2 weeks away from the office, working in an extremely different environment. To my delight, it appears that everyone "managed" just fine without me- which is not to say that I am not needed, but that people are able to manage their own work and don't always need me to buffer them against other demands, internal and external. 2) As state government continues to shrink, through retirements and not filling positions of employees who move on, we must always be concerned about "transition planning". How can leadership transitions ever occur if folks are not allowed to do their own work, to figure out how to take care of things, to have the opportunity to try different ways? Thanks for the reminder that becoming the role is not a becoming role. This column really resonated with me today, for a variety of reasons. 1) I have just returned from 2 weeks away from the office, working in an extremely different environment. To my delight, it appears that everyone “managed” just fine without me- which is not to say that I am not needed, but that people are able to manage their own work and don’t always need me to buffer them against other demands, internal and external. 2) As state government continues to shrink, through retirements and not filling positions of employees who move on, we must always be concerned about “transition planning”. How can leadership transitions ever occur if folks are not allowed to do their own work, to figure out how to take care of things, to have the opportunity to try different ways? Thanks for the reminder that becoming the role is not a becoming role.

]]> by: Amanda http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-340 Mon, 26 Feb 2007 16:02:46 +0000 http://www.danmulhern.com/wordpress/2007/02/some-advice-fit-for-a-king/#comment-340 I think this is an excellent story. I think this happens all too often, where people in power forget who they are and only know themselves as their title. At the same time, I think many people also forget that leaders, managers, political leaders are only people as well. We associate so much with certain titles that we tend to forget that only people hold those jobs. All of us can only do so much, and remaining humble and having a sense of humility can do a lot to help us in our roles! I think this is an excellent story. I think this happens all too often, where people in power forget who they are and only know themselves as their title. At the same time, I think many people also forget that leaders, managers, political leaders are only people as well. We associate so much with certain titles that we tend to forget that only people hold those jobs. All of us can only do so much, and remaining humble and having a sense of humility can do a lot to help us in our roles!

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