Be Involved. Connect with People. Lead With Humility.
Hi Everyone! I am Heather Italiano, creator of People Warriors. And today I want to talk about "being the exception." Be the exception. I am choosing this for my very first vlog series because to me it's the foundational mindset of becoming a People Warrior.
If I were to ask you to think of a great leader in your life - someone you worked for or currently work for, or even a great leader in your community, church, family or circle of friends - in fact, go ahead and think of someone right now….a great leader in your life….you are thinking of that person right now because they stand out.
They stand out amongst all the other people you have met or interact with in your life because they have or have had some kind of profound impact on you. They did something, do something, are something or have something that makes them stand out amongst all the other people in your world. They are the exception.
Now obviously there is a spectrum of being exceptional. You can be exceptionally bad at something. I know I am exceptionally bad at math or anything related to athletics or sports. So we are focusing on the opposite end of that spectrum, the positive end. Where you strive the best you can be. We aren't striving for perfection here - we can't be exceptional in everything we do - but focusing specifically on the areas of your life that matter most.
Why is this idea of "being the exception" a foundational mindset for being a People Warrior?
Because it's a catalyst for the thoughts, decisions and actions it takes to become a People Warrior.
Thought
What are the most important areas of my life? How do I want to be exceptional? Where do I want to be the exception? Where do I need to be the exception? Am I already exceptional in those areas or do I have some work to do? Where are you falling on that exception spectrum?
Decision
Thought drives decision. You know what, I do want to stand out. I know that in these areas of my life I want to be the exception, or I need to be the exception. I need to grow to become the exception.
Action
Once you make that mental decision - yes I want to be the exception - that stirs something in you to start taking action, taking intentional steps that you need to take to become exceptional. This is where People Warriors separate themselves from everyone else. Everyone else may realize they have some growing to do, and decide they want to grow but few actually become disciplined in achieving it.
And here is why this is so important - If you aren’t intentional about being the exception in whatever area it is you want or need to grow, you know what happens? Whether we like it or not, we can very slowly (or something quickly) start to slide towards the opposite end of that spectrum.
If you aren't intentional about being exceptionally great, you can unintentionally become exceptionally not so great. And if we are focused on the areas of our life that matter most, that is something we cannot afford to do.
I want to share with you the first three people in my life that I think of when I think of people who are exceptional leaders. I will share one today, and the other two later this week, then I will wrap things up with a full blog post about this subject at the end of the week with tips and tools for becoming the exception in your life.
Meet Chris!
One of the first leaders that comes to mind for me is Chris. Chris was the CEO of of the company where I got my first entry level position as an administrative assistant. Chris has many great qualities and does many great things as a leader - but these few things stand out from my time working with him…
#1 - He was involved and connected with people.
He walked the floor of the office at least once a week, usually more, to connect with people. He would say hi, catch up, ask how a family member was, etc. He would never stay too long with any one person - he would have a brief connection and then move on to the next person. Now Chris wasn't (and isn't) a loud and boisterous person, never the "look at me, look at me" type. But he would do this anyway not only because it mattered to his employees, but because he genuinely cared about people.
He was involved. He never missed a charity event - one time he showed up in a Batman costume to a company charity walk because we got 50 employees to attend. He played on two company softball teams every Spring and Fall - a men's team and a coed team. He never missed a game, his wife and family would come watch. He also rarely missed Friday all employee meetings and would pick someone new to lead the meeting each week.
#2 - He lead with humility.
Chris one time told me his secret to success was that he surrounded himself with people smarter than him. He would never pretend to be the smartest person in the room. From my experiences, he regularly took the backseat and let other people lead meetings, presentations, initiatives, and yes - even creating the batting line ups for the softball games.
Some leaders grow to the top and then stay at the top, expecting people to come to them to connect. Chris never thought of himself at the top, and was intentional about connecting with and building relationships with the people who worked with him. He never made you feel like you were less. He treated you with equality, humanity and as a friend.
Chris was the exception.
Don't stop here! Check out parts two and three of this blog series where I share another great example of an exceptional leader in my life and then wrap it up with practical tips for how you can start to be the exception in your life.
Start today! Start thinking about where you want to be exceptional. And if you have great stories of exceptional leaders in your life, post it on social media and tag People Warriors so we can hear them. Have a great day, and be the exception!
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