Jolly Leadership Lessons From Santa – Part 3

We have been talking about the leadership lessons we can learn from Santa over the last few weeks. Check out these posts if you’ve missed it.

Part 1

Part 2

Here are the next two lessons.

7. Timing Is Everything

Santa has a specific deadline to deliver the goods…it has to be executed by December 25th. In the same way, leaders must understand the law of timing. The right timing can mean the difference for the right results. Just because something could be done, does not always mean it should be done. Too many leaders are either to quick to pull the trigger or sometimes too slow. Knowing when to move is as important as what you are moving. The right thing at the wrong time can produce the wrong results. So how does one know when the right time is?

a) Read your people

Make sure that for everything decision you make your key people are on board with you. Not everyone will get what you are doing at all times, but your key people should be behind you. Make sure you read the morale of your team before you make big decisions.

b) Follow your gut

A true gut feeling is more than a mystical whim…it is an intuitive skill that gets overlooked. Great leaders know how to follow their gut. But remember, their gut is not a shot in the dark, it is an internal, calculated, and experienced mechanism guiding your leadership.

8. Always Be Preparing

One of the lines I love to hear in the Christmas movies is when Christmas is over, and all the elves yell, “Let the preparations begin for next year!” At that moment, everyone is super excited about starting the process all over again. The truth is we should always be preparing for the next level of advancement. The moment we get comfortable is the moment we stop growing. We need to take time to celebrate, but as my mentor, John C. Maxwell, taught me, “Yesterday ended last night.” This means we have to be careful not to get stuck in the past failures and even successes. We need to keep our eyes looking forward. Preparing on the front end helps you become successful on the back end. Always be prepared so that when your time comes, you are ready for it. Coach John Wooden said, “When opportunity comes it’s too late to prepare.” If you are prepared, you will be ready.

I hoped you enjoyed this fun Santa series over the last few weeks. I am excited for your success in 2020. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help level up your leadership.