{"id":25,"date":"2011-05-06T15:20:40","date_gmt":"2011-05-06T23:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/encouragement.com\/blog\/?p=25"},"modified":"2011-05-06T15:20:40","modified_gmt":"2011-05-06T23:20:40","slug":"the-drip-system-how-to-learn-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/encouragement.com\/wordpress\/?p=25","title":{"rendered":"The \u2018Drip System\u2019: How to Learn Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

As summer approaches, it\u2019s good to remember some great car trips taken with the family \u2026 places we\u2019ve visited on summer forays \u2026 and add some thoughts on what it takes to learn leadership through the \u2018drip system.\u2019<\/p>\n

Since I just returned home from Oregon working with the Bureau of Land Management, I\u2019m thinking today of the Oregon Caves \u2013 \u201cone of the few marble caves in the world\u201d \u2013 according to their National Park Service website, which features a stream running from its mouth making it \u201cthe only NPS cave with an unobstructed link to the ocean.\u201d Caves are cool places, both literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n

My favorite cave features are stalactites and stalagmites.<\/p>\n

The most obvious of the two, stalactites, are the ones hanging\u00a0 from above (holding \u2018tight\u2019 the docents remind us); formed by slightly acidic rainwater dissolving the limestone (marble in this case), carrying it downward, where a portion dries into a growing \u2018icicle.\u2019 Below, drips dry into the companion stalagmite, inching upward, until eventually, a solid column may form as they join.<\/p>\n

These take a long time to make you can imagine \u2013 just as it does for your leadership ability to truly develop. Enough geology.<\/p>\n

\u2018The Drip System\u2019 is simply the idea that every day on the job you should purposefully make an effort to enhance your leadership ability. Only a minor amount comes along naturally, the rest must be formed. So, read something about leadership (this blog could help in that area), write something, discuss something, or just plain think about it (reflect) \u2013 each day. Ask yourself questions. What\u2019s working? What isn\u2019t? What are you trying to accomplish? How have you moved one step forward in that quest this day? What have you done? How are people responding to you? What can you do differently? What are you missing?<\/p>\n

These questions, explored regularly, shine a light on the dark areas of your development. Remember that seemingly minor steps eventually end up as major milestones \u2026 but you can\u2019t skip to the end. You need a routine, daily effort over a long, long time to pay off.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m constantly amazed at the number of well-meaning people who take the time and effort to attend a leadership training session, and then apparently do little to follow-up that event, or put the principles learned into practice \u2013 i.e. \u2018application.\u2019<\/p>\n

I see the \u2018above\u2019 work (stalactite) of leadership, as the \u2018head work\u2019 \u2013 the learning, experiencing, observing, and ongoing exposure to leadership situations in the day-to-day conduct of business. All good things. Some of them acquired by just showing up each day at work \u2026 but, many of them coming through intentionally seeking out experiences, assignments, projects, mentors, etc. \u2026 not waiting for happenstance.<\/p>\n

The doing is the \u2018below\u2019 part (stalagmite if you will) where the flow becomes grounded. It\u2019s where you\u2019ve made a concerted effort to apply the idea in a tangible manner.\u00a0 The way to get good at leadership is to regularly put your knowledge into actions. Thus, over time, your knowing and your doing will merge (i.e. the \u2018column\u2019 forms) and you will have earned the capacity to easily connect the things you are learning directly into actions you are taking. This is where the gap between the two goes away.<\/p>\n

A friend recently reminded me of some so-called \u2018overnight success stories\u2019\u2026 and how the majority of them had really been at work on their craft for 10, or 20, or more years before they all of a sudden emerged.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a good reminder for all of us about how the world really operates. Good things are formed over long periods. It\u2019s a drip system \u2026 that requires regular drops.<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0 Jerry Strom<\/p>\n

For more information about our leadership development programs, please visit www.JerryStrom.com<\/a>. Subscribers receive notice of new articles automatically (see the \u2018Register\u2019\u00a0link in the right hand column).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As summer approaches, it\u2019s good to remember some great car trips taken with the family \u2026 places we\u2019ve visited on summer forays \u2026 and add some thoughts on what it takes to learn leadership through the \u2018drip system.\u2019 Since I … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,6,7,8,9],"class_list":["post-25","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership-articles","tag-leadership-article","tag-leadership-coach","tag-leadership-consulting","tag-leadership-development","tag-leadership-training"],"yoast_head":"\nThe \u2018Drip System\u2019: How to Learn Leadership - Encouragement for Leaders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/encouragement.com\/wordpress\/?p=25\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The \u2018Drip System\u2019: How to Learn Leadership - 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