Honestly, I do not have a Donna obsession. it’s purely coincidental that two different Donna’s have been a part of the inspiration for my writing for two weeks on the run.
On Friday morning I was listening to Donna Ockenden’s Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio Four. Whilst I can’t say that I loved every one of Donna‘s music choices, I was absolutely inspired by her personal story and how she has turned her personal story into a force for good.
What Donna’s story taught me was that life shapes us in so many ways that we don’t fully understand and that an assumption that anyone who has a tough and challenging upbringing is bound to end up on the wrong side of the law is a very wrong assumption to make.
A tough upbringing isn’t something I’d want for anybody, and I’ve met plenty of people who haven’t had a tough upbringing who scare me.
However, it’s how Donna has been able to use her childhood experiences and the rest of her life as a force for good and for doing the best she possibly can with the skills and the knowledge that she has, that has inspired me.
From a leadership perspective there are a core set of values that I look for in any leader and that I also try to follow in my own leadership roles.
The values that I think a good leader has to have are:
Humility. To be truly humble, you have to be able to know when you are wrong and when the course of action you are pursuing is likely to damage the lives of others. You also have to be able to stop and change direction.
Openness. This is an essential element of good leadership. Not using corporate secrecy to hide your true motives from yourself, your team members and your customers.
Reflection. This is a little bit like humility. It’s about making time in your day to reflect on your behaviour and your decision-making and being prepared to be honest with yourself about the impact your behaviour and decision-making has on you and those around you.
Humour. Being able to laugh at yourself and enabling others to laugh at you too.
Losing. Not expecting everyone around you to help you to win all the time.
Frankness. Being able to politely put across your point of view and enable those around you to put across their own points of view to you without fear of reprisal.
Reality. Making sure that it’s easy for others to burst the bubble you may be living in. Also being highly suspicious of anyone who constantly confirms your take on reality.
Caring. As a leader caring almost as much about your team members and the members of their teams as you care about your own family.
Checking. Regularly checking your leadership decisions and whether they are good for you, the business, your teams and your customers
I recently read a book about military blunders and learned that more often than not when the leaders did not adhere to most of the points I’ve raised, it led to the deaths of many soldiers.
Now I’m not saying that in all walks of life poor leadership will result in the deaths of many people, but loss can come in many forms. Poor leadership can lead to a loss of income, status or physical and mental well-being not only for those being led but for the leaders themselves.
It surprises me that for some leaders the points I’ve raised would be seen as weaknesses rather than strengths. Is it the case that to be a strong leader you need to be arrogant, uncompromising and unable to listen and with a winner takes all attitude?
I’d respectively argue that the more a leader behaves in this way, the more likely they are to end up losing. However I’m not saying that winning should ever be a sign that you are a good leader. A good leader needs to be comfortable in their own skin. To be kind and caring does not mean that you aren’t also strong and decisive. A good leader needs to believe in themself and believe in those around them and be a force for good, making decisions that have a positive outcome for everyone.
Your past is not a burden, it is a foundational inspiration for everything that you do.
Be more Donna. 😊
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