Say What You Do...Do What You Say

May 18, 2016 by Susan Wing in Leadership Lessons

Tervis Tumblers…not a promotion or any kickback for my thoughts, but they impressed me this week with their integrity. Integrity is a key ingredient for sound leadership. Integrity is defined as the adherence to moral and ethical principals; soundness of moral character; honesty. Good leaders cast a vision (they say what they do or are going to do) and they do what they say (with integrity). It’s funny how the day-to-day experiences of life can instruct us if we pause long enough to realize it.

We own a plethora of Tervis Tumblers and use them on a daily basis. While they are not fine crystal, I like that coasters are not needed to protect my furniture and my drinks stay cold longer. We have a small group that gathers at our house on Monday nights and since there are a variety of designs on our glasses, everyone gets their own glass with a different design and it makes it easy to determine which glass is yours. Tervis advertises a lifetime guarantee on their product. While I knew this, I had never put it to the test. As a glass became defective, I set it aside and thought I should send it back. After ten years, I had seven glasses in a pile to return someday. Since I am finally retired, I decided that someday was now, so I went to the Tervis website and easily found the information needed to return the glasses.

Now, leadership and integrity were put to the test.

Life Is Short...Take a Risk and Throw a Mullet

May 03, 2016 by Susan Wing in Leadership Lessons

Whether you are the leader of an organization, the leader of a classroom, a leader in your church or the leader of your children, you will always have the opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and take a risk. Will you take the risk or play it safe? Recently, I decided to head to the beach with some girl friends of mine. One of them researching the area wanted to know if I had ever been to the Flora-Bama (a bar on the Florida/Alabama line). My comment was, “I have driven by it many times.” She then informed me that we would be in town on the weekend of their annual “mullet toss”. Now I must admit that I had heard and wondered about the mullet toss, but had never been in town during this particular event. While I am not a bar person, the thought of watching people fling a fish across state lines did interest me somewhat.

Remember and Believe the Best

December 08, 2015 by Susan Wing in Leadership Lessons, Points to Ponder

t’s Christmastime and one of my favorite times of the year. It is a time when we re-connect with friends and take the time to visit and share good times with one another. Since Christmas comes at the end of the calendar year, it is also a great time to look back at the year and remember the best. Although for many there will have been sadness and troubles during the year, I believe that while we remember it all, we should try and focus on the good.

As I was preparing our family Christmas cards, I went to my photo files on my computer and began with January searching for good photographs to include on our yearly card. This was a great reminder of the blessings and the best of this year! I looked for the best events, best photos of family members and best unique experiences of this year – those were the things that I wanted to draw from and share with others when they saw our Christmas card. During this busy season of the year, I think it is critical to take time to stop and remember the best…

Lead By Example

November 17, 2015 by Susan Wing in Leadership Lessons, Points to Ponder

"Actions Speak Louder Than Words"

How often have we heard that kids will listen to what you say, but will do what they see you do? People that we lead may hear what we say and ask, but will model their actions based on what they see from us. Leaders are often told to lead by example, but what does that really mean? As a parent, teacher and leader, I have always tried to lead by example, but must admit that at times I have been guilty of not taking the time to set up the path to success.

As a parent, I told my children numerous times, “Go clean your room…”
As a teacher, I told my students numerous times, “Study for your test…”
As a principal, I told my teachers numerous times, “Do what is best for your students…”

While all of these are good statements, taking the statement and providing concrete ways to success makes the difference in being an effective leader as opposed to an instruction giver. I happened to see a real life example of leadership in action last week while visiting Disneyworld.

When Craziness Makes No Sense

September 14, 2015 by Susan Wing in Leadership Lessons

I have noticed an upward trend recently and now feel compelled to write about it; there is an increasing lack of common sense in decision-making. I almost wrote about this several weeks ago, but two events in the past two days have convinced me that now is the time.

I firmly believe that the key for success whether a parent, an organization, a teacher, a restaurant, etc.is that there must be the ability to use common sense when making a decision. In an organization, that ability comes from a strong training program with the leader of the organization inspiring the confidence of the worker and the framework for those common sense decisions to be made.

So what were the events and the tipping point to inspire this particular subject? They involve two fast food restaurants, one national park and one teacher conversation. Here you go…names omitted:

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

September 09, 2015 by Susan Wing in Leadership, Simple Stories

On a recent trip, I was reminded of the importance of being willing to step out of your comfort zone. As a leader, a teacher, in your profession or in your personal life, growth will not occur unless you are willing to step out of your comfort zone.

I accompanied my husband on a business trip and since we were going to be close to Zion National Park, I planned a day trip there so he could see the magnificence of the park. It had been twenty-three years since I had been to Zion and I was excited to share the wonder of the park with him. I mentioned to my brother that we were going to be there and he said, “Are you going to do the Angel’s Landing hike? That’s supposed to be ‘the’ hike to take in Zion.” That’s when I began to do some research…and decided to step out of my comfort zone.

There were a couple of things that occurred to me as we made this hike. The first was that I must have been a fool to think that I could accomplish this hike! We were obviously twenty to thirty years older than most everyone else on the trail. The trail description was strenuous – that doesn’t match my ability. The young people who were coming down as we were going up all had red faces and looked worn out. We had previously decided that we would take the hike slow and easy, stop when we needed rest and see if we could conquer this “strenuous” hike. We were definitely stepping out of our comfort zone!

When stepping out of your comfort zone, the following thoughts come to mind:

Everyone Has A Story

August 31, 2015 by Susan Wing in Interesting Icebreakers, Leadership

A key to the success of any organization or group is relational connectedness. People will work harder for the success of an organization if they believe in the vision and cause that they are working for and if positive relationships exist between the members of the organization.

It really boils down to the fact that you need to know the people with whom you work or lead. As a middle school principal, it was important to me to ensure that each year as new teachers came to our school that they had an opportunity to bond and build relationships with the teachers who had been there over the years. That’s one of the reasons leaders take the time to do those “get to know you” icebreaker activities. To the task driven, it may appear to be a waste of time, but if you have solid activities, relationships will begin to form. As relationships develop, collaboration begins to occur. Someone once said that two heads are stronger than one and collaboration for the betterment of your organization is a positive thing! You may lead in an office setting, a school, a volunteer organization, a church small group or children’s group. Periodically, I will share some of these icebreakers on the blog so that if you are leading any type of group, you will be able to modify and adapt these to work in your situation. I like to call them Interesting Icebreakers…

Say What You Do...Do What You Say

Life Is Short...Take a Risk and Throw a Mullet

Remember and Believe the Best

Lead By Example

When Craziness Makes No Sense

Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Everyone Has A Story

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