Becoming a YES! Leader

A former manager of mine once told a story about taking a walk in a state park with a mentor of hers. During the walk, my manager said she noticed a large amount of litter scattered in the woods by previous hikers and campers and started to complain at length about the inconsiderateness of other people. After several minutes of kvetching, she finally said, “Why can’t other people pick up their mess?” – whereupon her mentor stopped, looked her in the eye, and said, “Instead of complaining, why don’t you pick it up?”

I often think of this story whenever I find myself grousing about a situation that doesn’t meet with my approval – and then I realize exactly what is meant by the old saying “If you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.” Instead of pitching and moaning about what “they” did to cause the problem, or what "they" should do (but aren’t doing) to make it better, I remind myself of the intended moral of my manager’s story and ask: “What can I do to change things?”

When we ask this question of ourselves, we start to see the truth in the statement: Anyone can be a leader! We don’t have to wait for someone else in a position of formal leadership to see the issue and mobilize resources to address it. We can seize the initiative by:

·         Recognizing a gap between the current reality and future possibilities;

·         Exploring different strategies we might pursue to influence the desired outcome;

·         Flexing our approach in the moment to meet the needs of each influencing encounter; and

·         Supporting others (and seeking support from others) so that we can collaboratively work toward the best solution for everyone with a stake in the outcome.

The Daily Improviser – wherever he may be situated on the (real or imagined) hierarchy – can apply this ExploreFlexSupport model to become what I call a YES! Leader. Saying YES! means approaching the world with a positive attitude, expecting the best from each situation, encouraging the best from each person, and applying each element of the ExploreFlexSupport model in every current or anticipated encounter with the world.