A Weekly Calendar for Leaders

Leaders require context for what they do and how they spend their time. A philosophy that guides their behavior and the things they treat as a priority. Without context, leaders tend not to lead. They flit. They simply follow their nose and spend their time on the crisis of the day. They manage the momentum of the organization rather than disrupting it based on the need to respond to changes in their environment that shout out a new direction. The appropriate leadership context for today’s rapidly changing and unpredictable world should be all about serving people; "on the inside" – employees, and people "on the outside" – customers. You can't plan your week without getting your thinking straight on which philosophy YOU believe in as a leader. Do you want to control and direct people or do you want to serve and take care of them? For some, subordinating oneself to another person is completely out of their comfort zone. The issue is: which leadership philosophy better serves an organizational strategy today in a world where long term success and survival depends on the ability to stand out from the competitive herd? Where strategy execution separates the winners from the losers; where employee engagement determines if your game plan rocks or goes down in flames. My money's on serving. If you decide to serve rather than control, this book is for you. I will show you some simple, practical things you can do every day of the week to promulgate serving both within your organization where your warriors live, and on the outside where customers and competitors live.

Leaders require context for what they do and how they spend their time. A philosophy that guides their behavior and the things they treat as a priority. Without context, leaders tend not to lead. They flit. They simply follow their nose and spend their time on the crisis of the day. They manage the momentum of the organization rather than disrupting it based on the need to respond to changes in their environment that shout out a new direction. For me, the appropriate leadership context for today’s rapidly changing and unpredictable world should be all about serving people; people "on the inside" – employees, and people "on the outside" – customers. Serving employees… Not directing, commanding and controlling them. Not telling them what to do as they go about performing their daily jobs. Not dictating orders for them to follow. Rather, establishing the picture of the journey to be taken, relating it to their specific job and enabling them to take it with you. This philosophy starts with the question “How can I help?” Helping by removing the barriers that prevent them from doing the job they want to do. By freeing them from organizational bureaucracy that stultifies their efforts. Serving customers… Not flogging products and services at them. Not forcing them to take what you supply. Not treating them like a faceless entity in the crowd. Rather, positioning the organization to respond to their needs, wants and desires; to subordinate its profit motives and declare the customer as the lead priority. Designing solutions and creating memorable experiences for them. By delivering happiness to them every time they engage with some aspect of your organization. You can't plan your week without getting your thinking straight on which philosophy YOU believe in as a leader. Do you want to control and direct people or do you want to serve and take care of them? For some, this is a difficult issue. I have dealt with many managers who found the idea of serving anyone repugnant. After all, if the command and control approach were good enough to get them to where they are, why should they change? For these managers, subordinating oneself to another person is completely out of their comfort zone. The issue is: which leadership philosophy better serves an organizational strategy today in a world where long term success and survival depends on the ability to stand out from the competitive herd and capture the hearts and minds of people? Where strategy execution separates the winners from the losers; where employee engagement determines if your game plan rocks or goes down in flames. My money's on serving. But you have to choose for yourself. If you decide to serve rather than control, this book is for you. I will show you some simple, practical things you can do every day of the week to promulgate serving both within your organization where your warriors live, and on the outside where customers and competitors live. I don’t expect you to do everything I suggest. But I do hope you pick a handful of ideas that excite you enough to give them a go. Focus on 3 critical things and do a brilliant job on them as opposed to trying to do "the possible many" and dilute your efforts on all of them. Serving leadership is a journey. It will never be over. You will never finish. But you can (and must, if you want to make a difference) begin. Get out of the starting gate. Take baby steps and learn from them.

Roy Osing is an accomplished business executive, blogger, organizational advisor, keynote speaker and personal coach with over 33 years as an executive leader. He is the author of the BE DiFFERENT or be dead book series which presents Roy’s career learning’s on how to create organizations that stand-out from their competition and are cherished by their customers. His book series includes: Your Business Survival Guide, the original ground-breaking book recognized by Soundview Executive Book Summaries as “… one of the top business books in the U.S.” This book is dedicated to showing, in practical and proven ways, how organizations can be unique and survive in our highly uncertain marketplace. A recent piece of work Marketing in The Storm is a practical lesson on how to morph from traditional marketing to a marketing paradigm necessary for organizations to thrive and survive in today’s extremely competitive and unpredictable economy. In EXECUTE First; Plan Second Roy argues that a plan without execution is a dream, and shows in precise detail how to become a stand-out at implementing your strategic plan. His book Six Acts of Leadership is a guide for leaders who truly want to break out of the manager role and create an organization that is unique, remarkable and that leaves their customers “breathless”. His personal guide BE DiFFERENT YOU! How to Stand-Out and Power-up Your Career takes his concepts and practices and provides a roadmap to help individuals build a more rewarding and successful career by being truly unique and sought after. His work is dedicated to changing the conversation in organizations from “What is the best in class doing?” to “How can we BE DiFFERENT and stand-out in the crowd?” Roy is actively spreading his word through his Blog, keynote speaking, workshops, mentoring, coaching and advising small to medium businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Roy is one of 50 “… leadership experts in Canada…” invited as a contributing monthly columnist for the Globe and Mail Careers’ Leadership Lab Series. He writes regularly for various other media channels on numerous topics ranging from marketing, sales, career development for young professionals, tips for entrepreneurs and organizational culture.