What About the Thumb
We have all heard the saying when pointing your finger at someone in blame that three fingers are pointing back at you. The three fingers pointing back to you represent that you are more responsible for the problem than the one you’re pointing to.
I am not sure this is always true. But I am sure we need to take responsibilities for all our actions and everything that we are responsible for and we should hold ourselves accountable for what we should do. And I also know we should not criticize and not judge but we should be more on the encouraging side of things. Pointing blame hardly does that. People often want to give “constructive criticism.â€
I say there is no such thing. Construct means to build up and criticize means to tear down. I have a list of sayings that I call motivational myths. Like “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.†We all know that words have hurt more people than sticks and stones ever could, and the pain they cause is much worse. Equally so words can heal and bring life to the weary and broken hearted.
My topic here is “what about the thumb?† We know that if you are pointing blame at someone three fingers are pointing back at you. Have you ever considered what your thumb is doing? What kind of leader are you? Do you point blame? Are you critical of others? Or are you a positive role model? I want to be the latter and I bet you do to.
First question in leadership, are you a good follower? I think in order to be a good follower. We need to follow the vision of our organization, even if we founded it. In other words we should lead by example.
- Are you thumbing your nose at the policies?
We cannot say “do as I say not as I do.†To me one of the most important attributes a good leader has is that they follow the rules. Not arbitrary rules of popular thinking. I think that most good leaders seem to be rule breakers in the sense that they are self-starters and innovators.
But they lead by example. They follow the vision. They set the standard and live by it. They practice what they preach. They are first. They are out front. They do not thumb their nose at their organization’s vision or passion or standards. They embrace them and follow them. Even the great apostle Paul said “follow me as I follow…â€
It sends mixed signals to those that you are leading if you have a system, a standard, a policy, a vision, a mantra or a code that your organization has and you as a leader do not follow it. First of all we should see ourselves as leaders, not managers. Managers control, leaders set the standard.
To me a leader is a standard bearer, they set the standard. They set the pace, they set the tone. They are the ones that carry the flag. They set the mark or the benchmark. They become mentors and create protégés’. They become the light house to the weary traveler at sea driven and tossed to and fro from the storm.
I was a leader of a “manager†one time, he was not a leader, he complained to me about one of his employees. The employee was heartbroken, for his wife had left him for another man. The employee could not come into work and was depressed and devastated. The manager called me and wanted me to fire him instantly because of his absence. I reminded my manager how good the employee had been up until now.
The manager told me that the company comes first and family second. I had told him it was the other way around. He was surprised, because I had never missed a day of work in eight years. Even though we had two weeks of sick pay and if we didn’t use them we lost them, I never took one off. When I was asked why I did not take them, I said “I wasn’t sick.†He thought that meant I put the company ahead of my family. I told him that the reason I was loyal to my company was that I was first loyal to my family.
We need to be good leaders. We can only lead as we are willing to follow. Follow a creed. Follow a belief system. Follow a mission. Follow our conviction. Follow our organization’s mission statement. Follow our hearts. Leaders take the “they†out of their vocabulary. They replace it with ours and mine, our company, our policy, our mission and our goals. Leaders don’t say “they said to do it that way.†Or “They want us to do it this way.†Leaders take ownership and treat their organization as they would their own.
- Do you have your thumb on your followers?
One thing every leader has is followers, whether they are employees, or volunteers, team members, family members or people that just believe in them. As mentioned above, how do they lead? Do they lead with an iron hand and do they have their thumb on their followers. Do they allow for creativity and allow their people to grow and use their talents.
You can lead with fear and manipulation, all short term results. Or you can lead by being positive, motivating and inspiring which have long term results.
- Are you “thumbing it,†Hitchhiking?
As a leader are you carrying your own load or are you freeloading? Are we dependable, faithful, responsible and accountable? We should never use our position as an excuse to shirk our responsibilities. As said earlier we should lead by example. People will mimic their leaders. As the leadership goes, so goes the organization.
- Do you have a “thumbs up†attitude?
Good leaders are positive. They are friendly. They are in a good mood and are enthusiastic about their role. They are grateful to be in a leadership role and take it very seriously. Good leaders are upbeat, they are thermostats not thermometers. A thermostat sets the temperature. A thermometer goes up and down with the temperature. A good leader sets the tone and the atmosphere of their organization.
A good leader encourages their followers. They celebrate small victories as well as big victories. They encourage small improvements with their team. I was impressed, when studying Nelson Mandela, on how very upbeat to his staff he was. I also liked how he rallied behind South Africa’s rugby team. He knew if he could get his people rallying around something as simple as a game, he could get them to rally around important issues.
A good leader knows that success breeds success. Get your people winning in small areas and they will start winning in big areas.
- Have “a green thumb.â€
Good leaders have a green thumb. They want their team to grow. They want their team to be compensated and receive financial gain. They create an atmosphere that their team can utilize and improve their talents. A good leader is always training their replacement. They want their members to prosper and reach their own individual goals. They believe that the time training their team is the best investment for their organization.
Leaders believe that their team is the lifeblood of their organization and their future depends on the growth of the team. A leader wants to duplicate their passion and the passion of their organization in their members. If their members do not grow either will they. If their members are not happy and successful either will they be.
A leader sees themselves as a farmer with his harvest, not a hunter with his prey.
Robert Allen Mitchell Sr.
Director Consultant of BNI