5 Lessons from Two of the Best Leaders in the World
BY CHRIS CARNEAL
I recently made the drive down to Delta Air Lines headquarters south of Atlanta for a private leadership event featuring two titans of business. The event was held inside the Delta Flight Museum, so we were surrounded by vintage airplanes which made for a cool setting.
The main event was a conversation between Ed Bastian, Delta's CEO, and John C. Maxwell, who's taught more leaders than just about anyone alive. Two people at the top of their craft, talking about how you lead other people.
Because I’m driven by Booster’s virtue of WISDOM, I’m always taking notes at events like this. There were countless leadership nuggets, but five points really grabbed my attention…
#1 - A key question for a leader: "What am I missing?"
Ed Bastian said a leader can often identify blind spots with one simple question: What am I missing?
Then he said the part I keep chewing on. When things get too calm, he gets uneasy. He starts looking around for the thing he can't see yet.
That's backward from how most of us are wired. Calm feels like a reward. You exhale. But sharp leaders treat a quiet season as a signal to look harder for what may be bubbling beneath the surface.
I'm an optimist by default, so I can talk myself into believing everything's fine. This is my reminder to keep asking the question, even when there’s no rough air.
#2 - Don't keep score.
In any relationship, scorekeeping creates bitterness and entitlement. Meticulously tracking every favor someone "owes" you is poison. You lead from resentment instead of generosity.
Give to your people and let it go…no need to keep score.
The freest leaders I know stopped counting years ago. They give generously, love generously, and serve generously.
#3 - Have the hard conversation now.
I’ve been learning this one for 20+ years. And I’m still learning it!
Every time I’ve put off a hard conversation, I’ve regretted it. Don't save the tough convo for next month or for the quarterly review. It’s always easier to stall, but that delay always comes back to bite you.
When something's off with a teammate, address it with both candor and kindness. We've all watched a small issue spiral into a big one because nobody wanted the awkward ten minutes. Summon some courage and have that hard conversation….NOW.
#4 - If you grow, you will leave people behind.
I am a relentless optimist, and I love people…so this one stung.
Growth creates separation, and not everyone in the organization can go where you're headed. That's no knock on them. Some have the heart but not the capacity. Others have the capacity but not the desire.
I've lived this at Booster. We've grown into 900 team members across all 50 states. Many on our team have grown alongside us for the last 10-15 years. But others were only with us for a season. Leaders within an organization must do the work to keep growing with the organization.
#5 - The fastest person wins.
No convincing needed here.
Action beats perfection. The leader who moves while others study wins. One line is going on my wall: "I've never met a procrastinator who accidentally succeeded."
Read that again!
I'm wired for speed, so this felt familiar. But over my years, I’ve seen many great leaders cultivate a bias towards action by confidently making a decision and then executing immediately. In a world of procrastinators, be an action-taker.
The sight of a lone airplane parked on a runway reminds us that we’re observing a machine not fulfilling its purpose.
That idleness combined with the external forces of a brutal world will eventually cause it to rust and become useless.
Leaders are the same. We fulfill our purpose and take flight when we push ourselves to be the best version of who God made us to be.
CHRIS CARNEAL is the Founder and CEO of Booster, the nation’s largest school fundraising company. Since 2002, Booster has generated over $1 billion for schools across America. He and his wife, Lyndie, have been married more than 25 years and have four kids.
Chris writes about entrepreneurship, leadership, faith, and family in The Virtue-Driven Newsletter. SUBSCRIBE HERE
