Leadership?
Many people take on leadership roles as they feel significant and it gives a sense of purpose. It masks insecurity and feeds the need for identity. His message � GET OVER YOURSELF. Good leaders are secure and show humility and integrity and are there to help others. Be a servant leader.
Knowing how to navigate a healthy course
Dave used the examples of Scott vs. Amundsen who both led teams to the South Pole. Scott led his team without sufficient preparation and the whole team perished, whereas Amundsen spent considerable time on planning, ensuring the right equipment was provided. Their team survived. It�s not enough to have the vision, it is necessary to have the strategy to go with it.
Leaders lead themselves, upwards, downwards and sideways
Upwards and sideways leadership is achieved by influence. Always ensure that those in power know what you wish to do and support you. This ensures that they take a share in the blame if things don�t work out.
Theories
Leadership
We posed the question of how he handles it when things go wrong. He said as a part of self-leadership it is necessary to:
� Establish why it didn�t work
� Establish what part you played in the failure
� Debrief with another person
� Resolve issues
� Realise that the job might have failed, but you haven�t.
� Keep perspective and balance.
Dave was an inspiration to us. We could have stayed all day to listen to him not because of the knowledge but because he practices what he preaches. Charismatic? Yes! Transformational? Yes. But also incredibly intelligent, humble, credible, accepting of others, and a genuinely nice guy! Thanks Dave for giving us your valuable time and insight into leadership.