Wearing baggy pants doesn't make you a skater, wearing spandex doesn't make you a cyclist, looking at the world through Oakley shades doesn't make you a snowboarder, saying, 'dude' doesn't make you a surfer and-in business—printing 'leader' on your card doesn't make you lead. Real leaders take us to places we've never been, turn nothing into something, transform good into great, help us grow as human beings and change the pieces of the world that they touch for the better. Real leaders are, in other words, Extreme Leaders. This site will help you make the choice to be one of them. So spend some time, poke around, and when inspiration strikes, chime in on the blog below...
“ Raising someone up does not reduce your stature—in fact, it exalts you in ways you have to experience to believe. Greater Than Yourself shows how you can begin improving the world by giving of yourself. It’s a wonderful message wrapped in a highly entertaining, well written story.”
- Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® and Leading at a Higher Level
Many people in my line of work tend to get a little cynical over time. As I described in The Radical Leap, when I was new to the world of organizational and leadership development an older–and supposedly wiser–guy who had built a sterling rep as an executive coach and corporate change agent gave me the following bit of perspective and advice on my chosen career path:
“No matter what you say or how you say it, no matter if you cajole or threaten, no matter if you provide overwhelming evidence supporting your client’s need to change, they will never, ever listen to you, Steve. You may make good money, but you won’t make a difference. If you’re okay with that, fine; otherwise, find another line of work.”
And this from a “Corporate Change Agent”?
For whatever reason, I (thankfully) chose to dismiss him and his “advice” and follow my heart anyway. Maybe I’ve made a direct difference in people’s lives, maybe I haven’t. I’ll leave that conclusion to others.
What I do know, at the very least, is that I’ve managed to encourage others to make a difference in the lives of the people around them (I’ll give you some evidence of that in my next post), and that, for me, is what makes every day a deeply fulfilling enterprise.
But for now, a question for you:
Has someone older and “wiser” ever given you advice and/or perspective that you summarily disregarded in order to follow the calling of your own heart?
And, if so, what’s the lesson we can all learn from your experience?
And I promise not to summarily disregard your answer.
It wasn’t a mandate, and there were no requirements as to who’d qualify. In other words, they didn’t have to do it, but if they did, they could take on a student, another teacher, a parent in the community–anyone, really.
Those that did take Jill up on the challenge got together every month or so to compare notes, share stories and experiences, and help each other to become better at helping their GTY’s.
Some teachers chose not to officially tell their student GTY’s that they’d been “taken on,” so to speak. Sometimes a guerilla approach is more appropriate in a classroom situation.
On the other hand, the One Condition of GTY is “I’ll do this for you and you have to commit to doing this for someone else,” a commitment you can’t ask for unless the whole process is overt.
So, in that spirit, here, according to Principal Scheulen, is what happened when these students were invited to the end-of-the-year gathering of the GTY faculty group:
“Up until this point in the year, only two students in the group actually knew that they were someone’s GTY,” but we all came together today to tell our GTY projects that they were truly our GTY. We shared many laughs–and even some tears–within the diverse group when we talked with them about LEAP and about changing the world. All in all, it was absolutely amazing to see these students want to hear more about how they could now go out and look for their own GTY projects–and help change the world for the better.”
It makes me wonder: If eighth-graders routinely took on sixth-graders as their GTY Projects, how would the experience of going to school during those ultra-challenging developmental years be different for those kids? How would it have been different for me when I was that age?
The word, “significantly,” comes to mind.
And it makes me imagine how different the world of work will be when these kids grow up and enter the job market–bringing their (by then) life-long GTY experience with them.
Significant, again.
These teachers and students at Crestview are the pioneers of that GTY Future, and I think we should all stand up right now and give them a round of thunderous applause:
I love that this video has gone viral, not only because it’s a display of pure joy and appreciation for another human being, but because it’s a fine example of my favorite business mantra: Do What You Love in the Service of People Who Love What You Do.
Mukhtar, a Copenhagen bus driver, was treated to the ultimate surprise birthday celebration when a couple of passengers and then a whole “street mob” sang the Danish birthday song to him.
All of that you’ll easily gather by watching the video.
And the theme of this campaign of which Mukhtar is now so famously and virally a part?
Love.
All told, Arriva celebrated the birthdays of 21 drivers. They also installed “love seats” on several of the buses where you would sit if you wanted to let fellow passengers know that you’re single. Or if you just had “extra smiles to give to the rest of the bus.”
Arriva is a huge company that employs over 40,000 people in 12 European countries. Yet, I’d venture to say, most non-European readers of this blog have never heard of it. Until this love-video went viral. Or until now.
Once again, don’t tell me that love has no place in the world of work.
Can you imagine yourself saying (and meaning) the following words to someone at work: a colleague, a client, a direct report, your boss? This, in effect, is the Greater Than Yourself Pledge. Words, as you will see, that are not to be taken–or given–lightly:
I promise to pass along my knowledge, give my time, deliver to you my connections, life lessons, insights and counsel.
I promise I will commit to a percentage of my weekly time to meet with you and counsel you.
I promise I will make a difference in your life by promoting your welfare, fortune, success and capacity for achievement.
I promise I will invest in our relationship, share my “personal inventory” and ask you to do the same. I will discover your hopes and dreams, and demand of myself a commitment to the achievement of your hopes and dreams at least as much as my own.
I promise you my confidence, genuine words and gestures of encouragement, and a healthy dose of tough and honest feedback.
In short, I hereby dedicate myself to you and your success.
Try writing a GTY pledge of your own. What would you change? What would you add?
This wonderful note from Avery Nubson is not only a great example of how terrific it feels to raise someone else up, but also a reminder of the fact that reaching out is a great way to uncover opportunities to expand ourselves.
“Amy and I own Nubson Design, a graphic and web design studio in Moorhead, MN. We attended the Greater Than Yourself speech that Steve Farber presented in Fargo, ND with Lindsey, our intern at the time.
“After reading Greater Then Yourself, we had decided that Lindsey would be our project. Her internship had just ended and we knew that she could grow even more with our help. We started meeting with her once a week to look over her school projects and to talk about design. Under our guidance, she won a logo contest for Undeclared Records, Moorhead State University’s recording studio. We also submitted three projects for Lindsey into ND Advertising Federation’s ADDY Awards. She won Silver (2nd) for her Undeclared Records logo in the student category. She graduates in May 2010, and we are continuing to be available for her as she applies for jobs.
“This process has been rewarding for us too. We grew as much as Lindsey did. I learned that I have a passion for teaching and would someday like to teach a class. Amy got more involved with the design students in town. We will continue to be there for Lindsey and we know that she will pay it forward. Our next step is to decide what to do for the next Greater Than Yourself project.”
Thanks for this, Avery! I’m looking forward to your future stories. Which leads me to the inevitable question for readers of this blog:
Mike McDonough (Otis, as he’s known to some) is one brave, audacious dude. He’s an assistant principal at Hilliard Darby High School in Hilliard, Ohio, which qualifies anyone for bravery in my book. But that’s not it.
Mike suffers from a life-long disorder that has recently forced him to have his leg amputated. But instead of giving in to depression or resigning himself to limping through life, Mike has devoted himself to LEAPing–both metaphorically and literally–with a new leg and new lease on life.
“As crazy as it sounds,” Mike says, “I truly feel blessed with everything that has happened to me in my life, even what has happened to my leg, since it has made me realize the value of hard work and appreciate what I do have.
“Although I do not wish bad luck or injury to any of you, I do hope that when an obstacle or any type of adversity presents itself, you take it on and conquer it with hard work and a positive energy.”
Mike was recently fitted with a new prosthetic leg to supplement his already airborne mindset.
I really didn’t seek this out. It was never on my radar screen.
After all, I thought my books were business books; they’re published in the business category, and they live on the shelves in the business section of the bookstore where they’re browsed by–waddaya call them–business people.
So, imagine my surprise (really, really great surprise) when I started to hear from educators–teachers, principals, administrators–about how they’d been applying the principles of Extreme Leadership in their buildings, in their schools, their classrooms. I’ve written about several of these amazing educators on this blog.
They had been reading my books and passing them around from one educator to another, and they insisted that these ideas are not just necessary, but that they will change the world of education.
And I, quick-thinking as usual, had two knee-jerk responses to such a direct and audacious question:
1. Ummm…nothing.
and
2. Are you serious?
Oh yes. They were.
That call represented the beginning of a small-but-passionate national team of educators (and business people passionate about education) devoted to introducing this body of work to as many of their ed-peers as possible and then helping each other to apply the EL principles in every possible way.
And me? I’m kinda just along for the ride, really. I’m not an educator–at least not in the classically-defined way. I can’t claim to have any street cred in the classroom. But I believe these folks when they tell me that my efforts to capture the essence of the best of the best leaders in business will make a difference in shaping the future leaders of our collective world. After all, that’s what educators do: they develop tomorrow’s leaders. And they do it every single day, whether they realize it or not.
Our job is, in part, to make sure they do realize it.
And in that spirit, the OCDE team is inviting their peers in the department and many distinguished principals in the district to come together and talk about what it means–or could mean–to be an Extreme Leader in education today.
Even though this first confab isn’t open to the public, I wanted to show off two of our team members, Debbie Granger and Chris Corliss, in this simple, heart-felt video invitation they made for their peers.
Nothing fancy. Authentic. And I love them.
And I can’t wait to tell you how it all plays out:
Denise Baril, inspired by the Replicate Yourself/Pay It Forward message in Greater Than Yourself, issued a challenge to herself and others to strive to make a difference every day for a month.
Well, it’s not entirely true that she was inspired by the words in my book. It was her boyfriend, Dan, that was the real inspiration. Here’s Denise’s account:
“My partner Dan, who is quiet and reserved by nature, was living this [Greater Than Yourself] principle in secret. He had been sharing his kindness and spirit with a man named John whom he encountered on the street. John did not have a home, lived on the street of his community, and was someone most of us would just walk by and feel sorry for. Dan however viewed his encounter with this individual as a man who he wanted to learn from and be present to. Dan nourished John with food and more importantly with his presence. Dan had also extended his business card to John so he could help him find employment when he was ready to move forward.
On Feb 17, 2010, Dan got a call from John and needed to help him. John, his new friend on the street, had called him, not to ask for help finding a job but to tell him that he was ending his life. John had been drinking and had told Dan that he had taken pills. He was at the end of his journey. Dan was the last person he called. Imagine how that would feel to have a stranger call you to tell you they are ending their life? How would you react?
Dan, moved by the spirit of humanity and faith, asked John where he was and set out to find him. By the grace of God Dan found John and over a period of time was able to convince John to get into his car so he could take him to the hospital. A life was saved that night. One incredible act of kindness.”
That was the start of Denise’s challenge to herself and to the rest of us. She’s documented her 31-day journey on her blog at www.marketingmatterscanada.com
Click on “blog” and then “archives.” You’ll have to dig a little to get to the posts, but it’ll be well worth your time.
Let’s say you have an organization that’s brimming with a sense of excitement and energy for your mission. You’ve conducted boatloads of assessments and evaluations and, as a result, made lots of changes in the way you do business. And now you’re starting to see the results. You’re making great progress towards realizing that mission that you’re all so passionate about. And everyone on the executive level is on board with the changes. Every single person.
Except one.
This one senior exec is resistant to change, and you’re starting to get pressure from others to cut him loose, let him go, say goodbye.
But you’re not so sure. You believe in his potential and–to be frank–you’re very fond of this person despite his weaknesses. Maybe even because of them.
So what do you do?
When faced with this situation at his church, Joshua Beckley is taking the proverbial road less traveled by NOT saying goodbye. Instead, he’s taking on this endangered executive as his GTY Project (read his account here) and he promises to keep us up to date on how it all works out.
How about you? Are you audacious enough to try the GTY approach with–and most of us have at least one–the troublesome/resistant member(s) of your company or team?
Present This Document to Your GTY Project: "With this Certificate, I Dedicate Myself to You and Your Success."
Greater Than Yourself:
A Video Introduction
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