Chess Not Checkers

Do you remember playing checkers as a child? Checkers is a fast paced, highly reactive game where the pieces pretty much have the same purpose and usage.

What about chess? It's a little bit different, isn't it? The board has the same layout as the game of checkers, but the pieces have different shapes, sizes, and abilities. There's much more strategy involved in the game of chess. It's important to think ahead, see the whole board, and move strategically in order to win.

This book, by Mark Miller, takes the reader on a journey through changing a culture in a business from reacting, like playing checkers, to behaving more strategically, like playing chess. Here's a quick peek at what they mean:

This week, at ADMO, we started to look at the first move, "Bet on Leadership". By working through the Chess Not Checkers Field Guide in conjunction with the Videos taught by Randy Gravitt, we are embarking on a culture-changing adventure.

We learned that Leadership is like an iceberg in that only 10% is what you can see (Leadership Skills) while 90% is below the water line (Leadership Character). WHO we are as leaders is far more important than WHAT we do.

One important distinction to make is that everybody can lead. A title doesn't automatically endow someone with leadership skills. We are all leading someone, whether we realize it or not. This is valuable teaching for life outside of work as well as something that can drastically change our culture internally.

We learned that Great Leaders Start with the HEART. They:

Hunger for Wisdom
Expect the Best

Accept Responsibility

Respond with Courage

Think Others First

We learned that the Secret to Success is to SERVE. Great Leaders:

See the Future (Vision)

Engage and Develop Others
Reinvent Continuously
Value Results AND Relationships

Embody the Values (of the organization)

At ADMO, our Values look like this:

And, finally, we learned that Great Leaders GROW. They:

Gain Knowledge

Reach Out To Others
Open Their World

Walk Toward Wisdom

These ideas can seem counter-intuitive. A leader should SERVE?!? Yes! As we move forward into this idea, it's exciting to see where we we will go. Our leaders are challenged this week to:

1. Consider one thing they can do to gain knowledge in the area of leadership

2. Find one way to help another leader grow this week

3. Find one way to open your world

4. Identify one practical step that can be taken towards wisdom

We've made the "Bet on Leadership" by beginning this journey together. I can't wait to see the dividends it pays!

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