WORDS TO LEAD BY - Willing

Continuing with lessons from Wally Adamchik's book, titled Construction Leadership from A to Z which explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is WILLING

WILLING

Willing - disposed to; consenting; inclined; ready

"The extent and complexity of the problem does not matter as much as does the willingness to solve it." - Ralph Marston

(c) Stuart Miles

But you must be willing before you can participate. This is where initiative comes in. One Marine Corps leadership trait is defined as “taking action in the absence of orders” – a willingness to act in the face of uncertainty.

Willingness is a key to creativity and to achieving what is possible. Rhodes Scholar Edward de Bono wrote, “One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.” And it won’t happen unless you are willing.

Business guru, the late Peter Drucker, once said that consistently successful businesses are led by people who are “willing to make courageous decisions.” Where does courage come into play? It comes in the willingness to let go of what we are used to and the assumptions that we have made about what we do and how we do it.

If you are not willing, you are not open. A lack of flexibility and an unwillingness to be open to the possibilities is not a success strategy. In fact, it’s just the opposite.

"Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great." - Niccolo Machiavelli

Willingness Jumpstart:

• Say YES.
• Be open to unexpected outcomes.

We must be willing to let go of the old to experience the new. We must be willing to break some eggs to enjoy an omelet. We must be willing to remove our hand from the side of the pool to learn to swim. Let’s choose to live our life with willingness today and every day!

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc

WORDS TO LEAD BY - Visionary

Continuing with lessons from Wally Adamchik's book, titled Construction Leadership from A to Z which explores "26 Words to Lead By."

This session's word is VISIONARY

VISIONARY

Visionary - a person of unusually keen foresight

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." - Jonathan Swift.

(c) Stuart Miles

...the two basic questions we want to address with vision are:

 "Where are we going?"
 "Why are we going there?"

Yet they are the ones least frequently answered.

When we talk about vision, we simply mean an orientation toward the future.

Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there; they cause change. They motivate and inspire others to go in the right direction and they, along with everyone else, sacrifice to get there. And how does a leader accomplish this? By creating a picture in his or her mind of what they want to happen, and then getting other people to see and buy into that picture, too. The more clarity and detail, the better. People who succeed in the world see themselves succeeding.

There is never a right time to do a difficult thing. A leader's job is to help people have the vision of their potential.

Success does come to those who think about the future. Research confirms that successful people spend at least fifteen minutes every day thinking about what they are going to do in the future and what they can do in the present to improve their lives. How is that possible when we are all so busy? This confirms the power of vision. It is worth the effort to create and sustain because it energizes people and steers them toward their goals.

"A great leader's courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position." - John Maxwell

Visionary Jumpstart:

• Write the speech they will make the day you retire.
• Make your bucket list.
• Conduct a "five whys" exercise for the vision you have for yourself.
• Develop a vision for your company or work group.

No matter if we lead a company, a region, a crew, or simply our self, it is critical to know where we are going. If we don't know where we are going, how will we know when we get there? We can establish a vision of reducing idle time in our trucking fleet by 25%; increasing tons per hour while paving by 10%; reduce the time to process payables by 15%; or increase uptime at our plants by 33%. Set the target and then aim for it. Let's choose to live our life with a vision today and every day!

Donald G Rosenbarger
Senior Vice President
Delta Companies Inc