Leadership and The View from the Safe Seats
I think that we, as leaders, need to begin ignore the status quo and stop trying to please our bosses, and instead try to create and deliver something that has real meaning and impact.
I read a great blog post today by Seth Godin, who is a bestselling author, entrepreneur and agent of change. He writes about why most college students are so "safe" and how that applies to the workplace today...
The second occurred today at Yale. As I drove through the amazingly beautiful campus, I passed the center for Asian Studies. It reminded me of my days as an undergrad, browsing through the catalog, realizing I could learn whatever I wanted. That not only could I take classes but I could start a business, organize a protest movement, live in a garret off campus, whatever. It was a tremendous gift, this ability to choose.
Yet most of my classmates refused to choose. Instead, they treated college like an extension of high school. They took the most mainstream courses, did the minimum amount they needed to get an A, tried not to get into "trouble" with the professor or face the uncertainty of the unknowable. They were the ones who spent six hours a day in the library, reading their textbooks.
The best part of college is that you could become whatever you wanted to become, but most people just do what they think they must.
We have a great opportunity to improve our companies, our jurisdictions, our departments, and our communities.Let's not blow it by trying to get the easy "A"...
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