Specific examples of development.
When Nicole pulled you (a business owner) aside and said, “You’re a great manager, but not a great leader.”
When i told you (a chief executive) to share your vision and you pushed back.
Coaching. There are a million ways to coach.
Mentoring. There are a million ways to mentor.
Feedback. There are a million ways to provide feedback.
Opportunity. One of my leadership roles (between 1984 – 2013) at Disney involved seven months as Disney’s Grand Floridian Guest Satisfaction Measurement Champion for 1,400 Cast Members and 100 salaried leaders. This is an example of unintentional development. My boss didn’t do this to develop me. There was a need and i was the one my boss’s boss thought was the best fit. It was a development opportunity, but that was not the original intention.
In 2008, two sentences were spoken during a regularly scheduled meeting with my boss: “Jeff, not everyone on the executive team likes you.”. This was literally the best development i received in 15 years at Disney Institute. Bottomline, a negative blind spot compassionately revealed, can be career altering.
A comment from a boss’s observation that i never knew before. My boss, a different one than above, finally (you’d be surprised how busy Disney Institute is) observed a co-facilitated engagement and said, “Jeff, you really command the room.” No one had ever said that to me. Bottomline, a positive blind spot generously revealed, can be career altering.
Being brave, here are some big obvious examples: Publishing a book while at Disney. Starting an LLC, six years before retiring from Disney. Overcoming addiction midway through my 30 year Disney career.
Being authentic, at the risk of being perceived unfavorably, running my speaking and advisory business differently than literally every other successful speaker. No speaking videos, no email collection, no testimonials, no fancy website, and walking away from any gig that doesn’t meet a very high minimum Orlando speaking price of $18.5k.
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