All I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

For our last assignment in our Leadership class, we had to write out our "leadership philosophy" - basically what we believe leadership is, entails, and looks like. Now, if you can't tell from my blog, I'm a bit of a creative writer (technical stuff bores me). I like adding a spin or a bit of sarcasm or even some "cheesyness" to what I write. It (I hope) makes it more fun to read (sure does make it more fun to write).

So, for this leadership paper, I decided to approach it from a "different" angle. Here's what I submitted:

My leadership philosophy comes from an unconventional place. As an undergrad, I worked part time teaching two-year-olds (yes, voluntarily) at a Montessori school. My job was not to “teach,” but to guide and motivate these children through developmental stages to that they could “move up.” During my two years there, I learned more about leadership than I have anywhere else. Don’t believe me? Think about it. If you can “lead” a group of two-year-olds – lead, not command – you can lead anyone.  

The thought process behind my leadership philosophy is summed up quite well by a poem called “All I need to know I learned in Kindergarten” (by Robert Fulgham). Over time, I’ve added bits and pieces from my own personal experiences, and I have found the following to hold true in almost every aspect of my life.

• Share everything – responsibility, power, credit, and blame.
• Play fair – playing favorites does not foster team cohesion.
• Don't hit people. Use your words, instead – they’re much more powerful.
• Put things back where you found them – organization makes everything easier.
• Clean up your own mess – take responsibility for your actions and mistakes.
• Don't take things that aren't yours – don’t take responsibility for others’ ideas.
• Keep your promises – follow through, with both rewards and consequences.
• Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody – fostering and maintaining relationships is a key part of being a good leader.
• Wash your hands before you eat – habits are hard to break. Form good ones.
• Flush – common courtesy goes a long way.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you – treat yourself every now and then.
• Live a balanced life – learn and think, draw and paint, sing and dance, and play and work at least some every day.
• Take a nap every afternoon – just stop and be still for a little while each day.
• Do unto others as you would have them do to you – they’ll return the favor.
• Make friends with the smart kids – then, if you don’t know how to do something, you know someone who does.
• If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all – praise goes a long way.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together – support, protect, and look out for your team members.
• God gave us two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak – listen to your people. How else will you know how to lead them?
• Be aware of wonder – never cease to be curious and never stop learning.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice - they all die. So do we – no one is invincible. Loss and failure are a part of life. It’s how we handle adversity it that shows who we are.
• Remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all , SEE – Get out of your office, look around you, and be aware of what is happening. How else can you help your team get to where they need to be?

I got an A, by the way :) Now, off to pour over survey responses and figure out what my data is telling me (thanks to y'all who took the survey!). Happy Thursday!