Unveiling Leadership Wisdom: 40 Years, 20 Mentors, Countless Lessons
Over the years, I made notes on what I learned from people I reported to or provided some much-needed guidance. There were plenty of leaders, managers, and “supervisors” over the forty years some worth remembering, some not, but they all had made some contributions, good, bad, or indifferent. I came up with a summary list of people who had left enough of an impact which helped create an ever-evolving leadership style and capacity for growth. In chronological order, is a brief description of what I learned from fifteen highly effective leaders, three nice yet, ineffective supervisors, and two truly horrible, douchebag bosses. I no longer wonder how a couple of dimwit nincompoops got their jobs, but I keep them on the list for amusement purposes only.
A big heartfelt thank you to all of the highly effective leaders that I worked with. You all made a tremendous difference that has lasted a career cycle and a lifetime. Even more, as I passed some of your leadership practices and lessons to my direct reports over the years.
There’s a story behind each that might someday make it in a possible book in the future. Some readers might recognize the distinct names and unique and endearing characters and I request for the sake of discretion please consider that your comments are in the public domain.
It’s been an interesting exercise and highly recommend that you give it a try to discover a few of the origins of your your habits and patterns. Visit your list on occasion or when someone triggers a forgotten memory and write it down.
Simon Sinek
Here’s what I learned running a blog through 42 blog articles this year.