In 2018, I celebrated my 35th birthday and of those 35 years, I have been exercising leadership for over 20 of them. During my time, I have learned a large number of leadership lessons and decided to do a podcast episode solely dedicated to these lessons.
The lessons have definitely not come easy though. I have made mistakes, I have stumbled, and I have even failed as a leader. But the main difference between being a leader and acting like one is learning from those mistakes. My father taught me that lessons and to this day it is the most important leadership lesson that I have learned. Frankly, it is even beyond this list which I complied. So below you will find them but listen to my explanation of them
Timestamped Overview
- Don’t judge by age
- The top doesn’t have to be lonely
- Accountability leads to increased morale
- Make professional development a priority
- Delegation is a super tool
- Get away from your desk
- Trust immediately
- Dream big
- The status quo is never an option
- Embrace change
- Love your people
- Be the calming force
- Communication is the end all be all
- Get or keep fit
- Take breaks
- Build close relationships
- Failures are your fault
- Success is because of your people
- Focus on what you can change
- Make yourself a priority
- Recognize the everyday
- Be vulnerable
- Question down
- Answer up
- Good leaders retain great people
- Not everyone will be happy
- Plan to quit
- Read more
- Explain decisions
- Support your peers and boss
- Recognize when to pick up tasks
- Respect is guaranteed
- Trust but verify
- Know your strengths and weaknesses
- Leadership is for everyone
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About the Host
Scott McCarthy
Scott McCarthy is a leadership coach who works with executives, senior leaders and organizations to lead themselves, their teams and their organizations more effectively. A retired Canadian Armed Forces Lieutenant-Colonel, he brings 25+ years of leadership experience, including command of 25 Canadian Forces Supply Depot and responsibility for $8.6 billion in assets.
Scott hosts the Peak Performance Leadership podcast, with more than 300 conversations with leaders, authors and experts, and is the author of You Don’t Know Sh*t About Leadership: And Neither Do I.
You Don’t Need Another Leadership Book. You Need This One.
Built from two decades in uniform and 300+ leadership interviews. Leadership doesn’t start with your team. It starts with you.
Transcript
The following is an AI generated transcript which should be used for reference purposes only. It has not been verified or edited to reflect what was actually said in the podcast episode.
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