7 P’s in a Pod ~ The Seeds of Leadership

Welcome back to my blog, sorry to have been away so long since my last post. I’ve been quite busy in the Social Media arena and Google+ Communities, discussing and learning about Leadership. There is a common topic that is recurrent, namely, the traits / characteristics / hallmarks of a great leader. Thousands of words have been spent on describing what makes a leader special. I have no intention of reinventing the wheel but I would like to simply share with you the image that came to mind when I approached the subject.

Poker, The Game of Life & Leadership

In the beginning there was Poker; at least for me. This post has been brewing inside my head for the last 30 years. Only now and through this medium can I finally explain an odd parallel that has accompanied me throughout my waking and working life.

As a child I recall having been introduced to the game of poker by watching my father play, for fun, with friends and colleagues. As I matured so did my knowledge of poker and by the time I started my first job I was quite in love with the game. The fact is that I’ve always found strong associations between poker and life in general.

War on Murphy’s Law

I hope everyone knows or has heard of Murphy’s Law [also referred to as Sod’s Law]. For the uninitiated don’t worry, it is quite simple; the old adage is:

Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong

This simple phrase does not do justice to the total havoc that ensues when the forces of Murphy’s Law come into play. If you intend on doing anything in life more complicated than boiling an egg then beware of Murphy and his blasted Law. By the way, it has nothing to do with Ireland…it’s just a name.

Honesty, Best Policy

Let’s start by accepting the fact that no one is perfect; we all make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are inconsequential and other times they can be major blunders. No matter the gravity of the error, two thoughts will naturally go through your mind. Can I fix it? If not, can I hide it? It is human nature to want to protect your pride – and your job – and here is where the problem lies and where the dilemma is aggravated. Even if you are a conscientious worker, for a moment, the mental process will be something like the following Q&A flowchart:

Links to A4 and hi res poster at end of article

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Congratulations! You have graduated from your managerial training course. You are now a Manager, at least on paper. You are at the beginning of your executive career and you hope to change the world. Unfortunately, at this point you are between a rock and a hard place. On one side there is your ever demanding boss Rock and on the other side there is the general workforce Hard Place.