I recently celebrated my 28th birthday. At the celebratory gathering I was asked what I learned during my 27th year. On the spot, I didn't have very good answers. But after taking some time to reflect, I now have a more thorough answer (just in case I get asked again).
Here are the top 27 things I learned during my 27th year:
1. Get out of the way: As a leader I can end up stifling growth unless I get out of the way. Lead them onto the correct path and then trust them to run as far as they can. Trip if necessary.
2. Think long-term: Ask, Is this sustainable? Will this last beyond me?
3. People over projects: Ask questions. Listen. Be interruptible. Ask about life.
4. Many don’t know what they want: Help others discover for themselves what they don’t know.
5. Build consensus: Get key players on board first. Key players don’t always mean people in positional roles.
6. Be positive: There’s something attractive about optimism and believing in someone more than they believe in themselves.
7. Influence > control: Focus on your locus and influence it; don’t try to control it.
8. Thought-life is the source of success: It starts and ends with where I fixate my mind.
9. A collective, balanced “body” > bodies that are balanced: A great team needs different strengths positioned together bringing balance to the whole.
10. Mingle. Measure. Matter: Start with valuing people, keep track of success, and evaluate that their work really truly matters.
11. More learning = less knowing. The more I learn the less I know, because I see how much more there is still to learn.
12. Trust is the foundation: Trust is cyclical—in order to get it, I have to give it.
13. Insecurity yields the opposite of trust: Lead in security not arrogance, and believe in others to help them overcome their insecurity.
14. Results > Making it happen > Ideas: Ideas have potential. Good employees make ideas happen. Leaders get results.
15. Understand the problem, but focus on solutions: Start by determining what needs solved, then solve it.
16. Proactively put time into relationships: Make relational deposits before you need to make withdraws.
17. Show, explain, understand, live, etc. the “why”: Communicate the “why” consistently, provide guidance to solve the “how,” and trust for the "what."
18. Know your leader’s agenda: Make your leader’s agenda your agenda.
19. Innovation is necessary: The same thing doesn’t usually yield the same thing.
20. No one will ever like my idea as much as I do: That’s ok. Accept that and plan accordingly.
21. Presenting the process builds buy-in: In building consensus, showing how a destination was arrived is often more valuable than the deliverable itself.
22. Fail fast: Success is on the other side of failure so get it over with (again and again). Insecurities delay this process.
23. Acknowledge the little things: Celebrating the obvious is ordinary; celebrating the little things is extraordinary.
24. Ask God before you don’t know what to do: Ask God proactively not reactively.
25. Leaders attract leaders: Increase influence by raising up, supporting, and developing other influencers.
26. Love life; live love: Wake up each morning saying, “Today is going to be a good day.” Do this by loving: people, purpose, and God.
27. Debrief/Reflect: Projects, events, days, months, failures, successes, the “why,” conflicts, etc. (more than just once a year on your birthday).
