(Powerful leadership lessons are found everywhere. In a sporadic series of blogs, I am going to explore the people that taught me those lessons. Some will be expected, others may not. Thanks for reading!)
Although it was a day I would not want to wish on anyone, I’m glad that it happened to me. The lessons it taught me about leadership still influence.
Summer 1994. I was racing to find a parking spot because I was running late for a meeting. Again. Found an open spot under the “L” tracks between two cars much nicer than mine. But then, that wasn’t hard since mine was a bright turquoise Pontiac Sunbird with a horrible orange pinstripe. It was cheap and I was broke.
I pulled into the spot and finished my last minute prep. Tied my tie, slicked back my hat head and grabbed everything off my back seat to throw in the trunk. It was my last minute ritual. I was frantic and late, but still needed to make sure my stuff was locked in my trunk. As I was putting my prized possessions away I noticed a man walking by my car. He was watching me. But, I looked like chicken running around with its head cut off. People starred when I was doing my frantic “I’m late and need to get ready” dance. I didn’t think anything of it.
Finally done, I closed my trunk and picked up my briefcase to run to my meeting. As I walked around my car towards the sidewalk I heard footsteps behind me. Before I could turn around I felt an arm around my throat. It was huge. Breathing was getting hard. It was pulling me under the tracks. I grabbed on to a girder and held on for dear life. As I wrapped my arms tighter around the girder I felt something sharp against my throat and heard a voice say, ” You feel that. No give me all you got”
Being a broke recently graduated college student, I didn’t have much. But after a little pain, I gave it all away. Watch from my father, ring from my uncle, necklace from a friend and all the money I had. Luckily he didn’t take my car. He did take a big piece of my pride. In return he taught me a few lessons that I still carry with me today
1. Be prepared – No matter what you are doing, be prepared. Leave enough time to get things done properly. Most mistakes come from our lack of preparation and not thinking through possible scenarios. I could have picked a different place to park if I had prepared a little better. If I was completely ready for my meeting, I would have avoided being where I was. My stuff would’ve been put away already. Leaders need to be prepared. Of course you can’t be prepared for every instance, but knowing what you want to happen is a great place to start. People want their leaders to know where they want to go.
2. Pay attention to your surroundings – Don’t be so oblivious to your surroundings that you miss things. Watch carefully. Look for cues that may give you insight. It is vitally important that you look at non-verbals to help you assess what people’s motives are. I should have seen my mugger watching me, but I was oblivious to him. Now I take in my surroundings and watch for what people are not saying to help me decide how to react. Leaders have to master their surroundings, physical and virtual. Leaders can see who they need to influence, convince and avoid.
3. Don’t be frantic – When push comes to shove, don’t panic. When you are rushed and frantic, you are libel to miss things and get sloppy. Take it easy and be calm. If you are calm, the people around you will be calm. More importantly you can think more clearly. Your decisions are better and the outcomes are too. Take a deep breath and relax. People want leaders that aren’t spooked at every turn. They don’t want a robot, but being calm under pressure is a key leadership characteristic
I’m more vigilant and safer now because of that man. I am a better consultant and leader because of him too. Although I wish I had that watch back, I’m grateful for the lessons.
Where have you learned unexpected leadership lessons?
Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.
Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
