How To Get Big Things Done In Your “Workshop”….All Year Long
Are you feeling the tug on values, leadership, and common sense in your workshops? Good news, please accept this gift with helpful tips as told in the leadership secrets of Sana Claus. I came upon this little book with big ideas that entertained and shared some great insights as to the business mind of Santa. Excerpts adapted from Innovative Leadership by David Cotrell as told through Santa. Take a moment and enJoy.
It’s Not Easy Being Santa Claus
Believe you me, having a smile and be jolly every day when you’re wearing the same thick, hot, red-wool is no picnic.
This is a job that will definitely strain your sanity and drain your ego if you let it. Seems like everyone wants a piece of me. Yet many people I serve question mu existence…or just plain don’t believe in me at all. And those who do believe often expect me to do the impossible-rarely caring about what all I have to do, or go through, to meet their expectations. And they all have expectations!
Give people exactly what they want. And Ho, Ho, Ho, everybody loves good Ol’ Santa. But miss one or two items on the list, and you’d better be ready for the alligator tears, the fat jokes, and the “I could do Santa’s job better than Santa” remarks. It’s not easy being me!
There’s no doubt that my biggest challenge comes from two roles that people rarely associate with the red –cheeked, bag carrying sleigh driver: Santa the MANAGER and Santa the LEADER.
I am, after all, running a business here. I am boss. I have responsibilities-both the gift-getters and the gift –makers. There are workers to lead, orders to fill, processes to manage, stuff to buy, stuff to make, standards to maintain, new techniques to adapt, skills to develop, elf problems to solve, and reindeer droppings to scoop(although I delegate that one). Trust me; I’ve got some big and not so easy fitting boots to fill.
Like most managers, I have to deal with marketplace fluctuations (Dear Santa, I thought I wanted that, but now I want this.”) And I have seen more than my share of budget cuts, technology advancements, increasing demands for higher quality and better service, fluctuations in the economy, competing priorities, and a whole lot more. Whew!
Think you job is tough? Try recruiting in, and for, the North Pole. You try retooling your plant and retaining your people every year to produce the newest fad toys. You try delivering tons of presents on a route as big as mine-all in one night.
No, it’s not easy being Santa Claus. But is spite of it I love what I do. People need me…they depend on me. We’re doing something important here. And knowing that gives me the energy to carry the slack, lead the pack, and keep coming back.
By now, you may be wondering how I meet all these challenges and responsibilities…how I manage to bring everyone and everything together to complete our mission. Some people think I use magic, there’s no magic about it.
So, if it’s not magic, what is my secret? Actually there are eight of them-eight practical strategies for leading others and getting big things done all year long. There called “The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus,” and I wish to share them with you.
Santa
Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus
By David Cortell
- Build a Wonderful Workshop
- Make the mission the main thing.
- Focus on the people as well as your mission
- Let values be your guide
- Choose Your Reindeer Wisely
- Hire tough so you can manage easy
- Go for the diversity advantage
- Make a List & Check It Twice
- Plan your work
- Work your plan
- Make the most of what you have
- Listen To The Elves
- Open your ears to participation
- Pay attention to how you are perceived
- Walk awhile in their shoes
- Get Beyond The Red Wagons
- Help everyone get the reality of change
- Remember the customer really is in charge
- Share the Milk and Cookies
- Help everyone see the differences they make
- Do right by those that do right
- Expand and reinforce the possibilities
- Find Out Who’s Naughty and Nice
- Confront performance problems early
- Coach the “majority in the middle”
- Don’t forget the “Super Stars”
- Be Good For Goodness Sake
- Set an example
- Establish guidelines and accountabilities
- Remember that everything counts!
DoWIT: LEAD
- All Year: Getting things done all year long isn’t about magic, its leadership
- Santa’s Leadership Gift :
- Throw it in the back of some closet and never think of again
- Use, appreciate, and enJoy,
- Look for ways to pass along the favor to others.