{"id":19857,"date":"2017-03-15T21:22:54","date_gmt":"2017-03-16T01:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/?p=19857"},"modified":"2017-03-15T22:08:25","modified_gmt":"2017-03-16T02:08:25","slug":"the-day-i-became-a-leader-why-a-leader-must-be-willing-to-stand-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/2017\/03\/15\/the-day-i-became-a-leader-why-a-leader-must-be-willing-to-stand-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"The Day I Became A Leader. Why A Leader Must Be Willing To Stand Alone."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>I will never forget the moment.<\/strong> \u00a0I had recently started my dream job and was placed over a poorly performing team. \u00a0Because it was my dream job I was very idealistic and optimistic about the company, our place in the market, and our team. \u00a0Morale was horrible but whatever happened before I arrived did not factor into anything I did as a leader.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But the team would soon despise me.<\/strong> \u00a0I was hired in from the outside. \u00a0I was thrilled to be there. \u00a0I admired the leadership I reported to. \u00a0I arrived early and stayed late. \u00a0I was the exact opposite of what they were.<\/p>\n<p>I also instituted a system for success which included such <strong>“unreasonable demands”<\/strong> as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Let’s get to work on time.<\/li>\n<li>Let’s put in eight hours work for eight hours pay.<\/li>\n<li>Let’s don’t waste time.<\/li>\n<li>Let’s don’t gossip about the leadership and field personnel.<\/li>\n<li>Let’s count what counts. \u00a0Let’s only do tasks which actually result in producing measurable results which lead to our success.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The last one was especially unpopular. \u00a0<strong>Christians can “christianize” poor performance<\/strong> with statements like “Well isn’t this supposed to be ministry” or “that is not my spiritual gift”. \u00a0The team was a departmental version of a ponzi scheme. \u00a0I tried to love them and “turn it around” and “help them reach their potential” but I inherited a group of Bernie Madoffs. \u00a0A lot of people talked a good talk. \u00a0They made great arguments and could win any debate. \u00a0They sounded quite convincing. \u00a0They would have made great lawyers. \u00a0They just had no numbers to show for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Then came the moment when I became the true leader.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The individual with the most influence on the team (and the leader of all disgruntled employees) was transferring to another department. \u00a0<strong>This was a PR hit for me<\/strong>\u00a0because everyone was telling him how lucky he was to be getting out and could he get them a job as well. \u00a0Never mind he was hitting only about a quarter of his goal.<\/p>\n<p>On his last day, he stood in my doorway and yelled at a level of volume the entire team could hear, “Everyone knows you don’t know anything. \u00a0You’re just Dave’s (my boss) puppet.”<\/p>\n<p>I was angry. \u00a0I was humiliated. \u00a0I was being bullied by an angry mob\/team. \u00a0I was insecure. <strong>\u00a0I was alone. \u00a0But I knew what I was doing was right. \u00a0It is counter-intuitive but this is when I became the team’s leader.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>This is when you know you are a leader – when you are willing to stand alone<\/strong> with nothing but your system for what is needed to change so your team could survive and your preferred future become a reality. \u00a0You are a leader when goals are not being met, change is needed and you are willing to make the hard decisions to reverse momentum and advance the company’s goals. \u00a0(NOTE – You better be right though.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>I replaced the hallway bully with a talented person who immediately bought into our system.<\/strong> \u00a0Within 30 days he was tripling the numbers of his disgruntled predecessor. \u00a0He would then go on to become one of the stars of our team for the next three years. \u00a0<strong>BTW – nothing quiets critics like success<\/strong>. \u00a0One by one I replaced each disgruntled employee with a high-character, high-production individual who immediately out-performed the person they replaced. \u00a0<strong>Within five months our team was producing record results.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When you go through the crucible of standing alone is when you discover your mettle as a leader.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bill Walsh once said, “My ultimate job is to make a decision. \u00a0Everybody’s got an opinion. \u00a0Leaders are paid to make a decision. \u00a0The difference between offering an opinion and making a decision is the difference between working for the leader and being the leader.”<\/p>\n<p>For the record,<strong> if you are keeping a disgruntled employee who appears “irreplaceable”, you are actually limiting your own success.<\/strong> \u00a0Take the PR hit because disgruntled employees rarely produce great results. \u00a0Attitude determines your altitude. \u00a0Stop letting disgruntled people take you and your organization down. \u00a0Don’t be held hostage. \u00a0You cannot fall prey to naysayers who say you cannot succeed. \u00a0They really are replaceable. \u00a0You’ll see. \u00a0Stand alone.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-18442 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/1269.png?resize=250%2C300&ssl=1\" alt=\"1269\" width=\"250\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Click\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">HERE<\/a>\u00a0or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive\u00a0my new Ebook\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/briandoddonleadership.us4.list-manage.com\/subscribe?u=8cf82b4fe8b977ced00f17537&id=9cf0d32f3b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><em><strong>1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016\u2019s Top Christian Leadership Conferences<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. \u00a0Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership, Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others. \u00a0If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. \u00a0Enjoy!!!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I will never forget the moment. \u00a0I had recently started my dream job and was placed over a poorly performing team. \u00a0Because it was my dream job I was very idealistic and optimistic about the company, our place in the market, and our team. \u00a0Morale was horrible but whatever happened before I arrived did not 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