Skip to main content

Who Needs Enemies?


Today I want to talk about the word enemies. This is one of the “5 common words that create failure” an article found on Inc.com. These are five words that should not be in the vocabulary of a leader. Leaders need to avoid these words and they will be better off in their leadership journey.
Today we are on the second word, enemies. In leadership there is no place for enemies. Competition yes, but not enemies. Competition will help build character, help you work harder and help you create a network. Enemies cause divisiveness and animosity and will eventually lead to loss of your leadership expertise.
Last year I ran for a Division Governor role within Toastmasters. It was a contested race so I had to run against someone else. I didn’t win but instead of being upset and holding a grudge toward the person who beat I extended my services to help in any way I can to make the division a successful one.
This type of gesture will go a lot further than making enemies. I have had now an opportunity to build my leadership skills because of it and next time I run more people will remember me and I will hopefully win next time I run.
Leaders don’t create enemies they create a network of friends and partners that will help them and others be successful leaders. Be a leader not an enemy

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Where Have I Been?

 The title of this article is apropos since I haven't blogged in almost 12 years. I plan to start this blog up again and try to blog on a consistent basis. I will also be broadening the topics that I write about. Be sure to subscribe so you can get notifications about when I post. So what have I been up to since that October day in 2013 when I made my last blog? Let me recap for you. When that post happened I was in the middle of my Toastmaster journey and I'm happy to say that I crossed the Toastmaster finish line by earning my DTM. I didn't continue in Toastmasters after that since I changed jobs and took my leadership skills to Mathnasium and started running a Mathnasium in Blaine MN in 2016. I got the opportunity to blend my education degree with my MBA and use it as the Director of the Mathnasium in Blaine. I also had the opportunity to be the director at one in St Louis Park and one in  Andover. I ran these until 2023 when I decided to go back into the classroom and t...

THUNDEROUS LEADERSHIP

This is a condensed version of a speech I gave. The clap of thunder, the flash of lightening, a storm is coming, are you prepared. Storms occur on a regular basis whether they are weather related or life related we have all encountered a storm at one time or another in our life. The question is “are you prepared and will you survive? In the movie “A Perfect Storm” George Clooney plays a captain of a fishing vessel that gets caught up in the storm of the century. He has to make a quick decision about what to do under the circumstances. He had to react to a situation and make the best decision possible for all parties involved. During these perfect storms of life, decisions like these can be life changing. People get caught off guard during the storms of life because they are either ill prepared or they lack the leadership to make positive life changing decisions. In order to survive these storms in life we must follow strong leaders or be a strong leader ourselves. I am goin...

Canada or Bust

 This week I'm on vacation in northern Minnesota. I want to share some sights and sounds of where I went and what I did. Every summer we go to Wilderness Point Resort in Pequot Lakes. During this time, my son always plans another side trip that he and I take. This year our side trip consisted of a trip to Rainy River in Ontario, Canada, along with several stops along the way. My son collects city halls he takes pictures of them and posts them on a discord server. Our first stop was a visit to the Walker, MN city hall. Along the way to Canada we also stopped and got city hall photos for the following cities: Cass Lake, Black Duck, and Kelliher.  A big highlight was getting out in Shooks and taking a picture at the Royal Shooks Motel. Shooks is an unincorporated community, but at the intersection of highways 1 and 72 is the hotel, conveniently located in the middle of nowhere. In Minnesota and the upper Midwest, there is the legend of Paul Bunyan. We like to visit as many of the...