PRIZE Winning Leadership
An introduction.
I’ve been on a journey. My journey so far includes several seasons, and I hope that I’ll be here to experience and enjoy several more to come.
The last two years have brought me to a place where I wanted to share what’s on my heart and write about it. The last 16 years have taken me through fascinating and unexpected places in my daily activity, in my career, in hobbies, in volunteering and in spare time activities.
“Do you know where you’re going to?”
~ sung by Diana Ross
My life experiences have taught me to consider the theme which inspired the lyrics sung by Diana Ross that often ring through my head from the film ‘Mahogany’: “Do you know where you’re going to?”. The theme of this song is based on evaluating life's journey so far, and asking if what lies ahead is what you really want. I guess it’s my musical inclination along with the era I grew up in that makes this song and these lyrics resonate so well with me when I think of leadership.
I think I could probably find a tune that reflects my experiences and thinking for most seasons of my life and career, and this one, in particular, brings a haunting yet exciting and challenging tone. For me, one thing that comes out of it is the idea that we’re all on a journey, from here to there. Here and there are different places for each one of us, and they can be different places during each season of life, but we all have somewhere for each place for each season we’re in.
Leadership can also be described as taking people from here to there. If there is no 'there' to go to why do we need a leader. If there is no-one following the leader then, as John Maxwell says, she is simply taking a walk.
“He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.”
~ John C. Maxwell
This book is divided into three sections entitled DREAM, DELIVER and DEVELOP. These reflect the leadership journey of firstly figuring out where “there” is, then the journey of getting there, and finally a season to reflect and grow, to find where the next there is.
The central theme in PRIZE winning leadership is that “there” needs to be Inspirational for you. If it’s inspirational, it will have something that makes us want to get up in the morning and take the next step, even on “those days” when life seems to conspire against us; it will have something that is frequently the last thing we think about as we fall asleep at night.
“Your PRIZE is the reason you get up in the morning, and the last thing you think about as you fall asleep at night.”
A key ingredient in this process is to be on the lookout for something NEW, your Next Exciting Win. These are stepping stones between where you are now and where you want to be next, and form a series of exciting steps along the way.
“The decisions you make today will determine the stories you tell tomorrow.”
~ Craig Groeschel
Each chapter in the book addresses a part of this journey and adds a piece to the jigsaw of life to help get there. Part ONE (Dream) looks first at the PRIZE, where to find the Inspiration Zone and your Next Exciting Win. It explores your Dream and how to find it and define it.
Part TWO (Deliver) looks at Influence, Interaction and Implementation. It has been said that “Leadership is Influence” and I know that short statement can’t possibly hold all the answers, but it reveals a key core element. Without influence, a leader won’t be able to lead anyone anywhere and we explore this in chapter 3. So many people try to communicate yet fail to connect with those around them, and chapter 4 looks at this, while chapter 5 explores the 6S Implementation Framework that has developed from 15 years of project management experience.
Part THREE (Develop) is all about personal growth, and Chapter 6 has several stories about my experiences. It finishes by coming back to reflect on where I started out in the preface and encourages us not to miss the collateral beauty of life’s experiences. Experiences can have hard lessons to teach us, but there is often a beauty that emerges from the ashes that can so easily be missed.
Each chapter has a concluding question that asks: “So What!”. It is in asking ourselves this question and digging in to find the answer, that we will take lasting benefit from reading this, and any similar book. I encourage you to pause and reflect and to write down your answers to this question before moving on from one chapter to the next. I would also love to hear from you as you walk with me through this book, and hear the “So What” moments that come your way.
Do you know where you're going to?
Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?
Do you get what you're hoping for?
When you look behind you
There's no open door
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?
Once we were standing still in time
Chasing the fantasies that filled our minds
You knew iI loved you
But my spirit was free
Laughing at the question
That you once ask me
Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?
Now, looking back at all we've planned
We've let so many dreams
Just slip through our hands
Why must we wait so long before we see
How sad the answers to those questions can be?
Do you know where you're going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you?
Where are you going to?
Do you know?
Do you get what you're hoping for?
When you look behind you
There's no open door
What are you hoping for?
Do you know?
~ “Do you know where you’re going to?” was written by Michael Masser and Gerald Goffin and sung by Diana Ross in the film Mahogany. It was initially recorded by American singer Thelma Houston in 1973, and more recently by Mariah Carey.
