Easy to follow advice for leaders to use in any situaton when helping others succeed is your intent and focus.

1. Talking about leadership is one great way to start a passionate debate in the world of
business. There are so many different situations and effective styles of leadership that
everyone can be right at least some of the time. While I played in the NFL, leadership
styles were more consistent because we were all playing the same game by the same
rules. Outside of sports, there are many more players, and the rules are less certain.
Since transitioning to business teams, I have continued to work at learning more
styles and nuanced approaches to leadership. Over time certain lessons have stood
out to me as helpful ways to bring harmony and success to the teams. I believe
leadership is greatly improved by being humble and flexible with a few strategies that
can be used when the timing is right to help your team succeed.
In Ryan Holiday’s Book Ego is the Enemy he talks about the Canvas Strategy. Holiday
suggests, “It’s worth taking a look at the supposed indignities of serving someone else.”
His strategy is being used by millions of people on numerous platforms where
information is being shared that may help others be more successful in their own
pursuits.
In the hopes that I may be able to help someone improve their position, or the
effectiveness of leaders in their companies, I would like to share a series of one page
summaries about improving people’s ability to lead teams to success. In addition to
helping others, I am always excited to discuss and explore ideas and opinions of
leadership and achieving team goals.
You will find Leadership Fundamentals- Part 1: Lead With Ownership below. Parts 2
& 3 will be released in succession. I hope you find this information useful and join me
for future installments of this series.
● Lead with Ownership - Part 1
● Communicate Like a Leader - Part 2
● Always be Influencing - Part 3

2. Lead with Ownership
Take ownership of your situation and making the decision to lead at every level.
Taking ownership includes developing and communicating a plan capable of solving the underlying problem.
Listen and ask questions more than you talk and give directions.
Embrace the power of generous listening and empathetic straight talk.
Leadership Fundamentals
Part 1
Principle
Strategy
Tactics (6)
1. Do not overdo it, less is more
When giving direction, explain the desired
outcome and leave room for your team
to make a plan, which will increase their
ownership and interest. Answer any
questions with appreciation for people’s
engagement in the planning and execution
towards achieving the shared goals.
2. Present your ideas last, or not at all
Avoid the urge to say what you think first
so your team feels confident sharing ideas
that may be different or better than yours.
Generous listening allows you to see
how other people on your team think and
solve problems, which makes it easier for
you to create and facilitate development
opportunities.
3. During peaceful times,
lead from behind
Once you hear your teammates ideas, use
them if they will accomplish the goal. Even
though your idea may have aspects that
are better, using your team’s ideas creates
more buy in and overall commitment. Also,
it makes it easy for you to make small
suggestions that can improve the plan
incrementally along the way to success.
4. Making all the decisions
is the wrong decision
The best leaders make more leaders.
Focus on developing effective processes
and communicating clear plans. It hurts
your team if you are needed to make all the
decisions and it means trust is low because
people are worried about making mistakes.
We all make mistakes, and they are the
best opportunities to learn, so people
should not fear their mistakes.
5. Be curious before furious
When someone is angry it means they want
you to understand something you may
have missed, or the anger is not derived
from your interaction. Asking questions
to diffuse conflict is a great way to avoid
escalating the situation and put you in a
position that allows you to lead the other
person to a better outcome.
6. Give trust to get trust
All of the previous tactics are ways to give
the trust you want from others. Giving trust
increases respect and appreciation within
your team while giving you the needed
confidence to take full ownership of the
mistakes made while you are the leader.
When you are in a leadership position,
high levels of trust throughout your team
make it easy for you to give recognition
and accept blame so people can learn from
their mistakes.
Personal
Influence
Team
Influence
Locker Room to Board Room
Marcus Wilkins
mwilkins@marcuswilkins.com
MW
What are leadership fundamentals?
• A system of principles, strategies and tactics you can rely on when decisions need to be made for yourself and your
team. The situations and people will dictate your choices.
• Leading is not about having perfect plans. Each situation is a chance to follow through with the fundamentals so
you have a reliable leadership style others can follow.
What does effective leadership accomplish?
• For yourself - Allow yourself to mentally and emotionally stay ahead of the moment so you can mitigate risks
and build on positive opportunities
• For your team - Allow your team to trust each other and always be aligned
Leadership vs Manipulation
Leadership is being for others and manipulation is being for yourself
Great books that support these ideas:
• Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
• 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
Leadership tips for new leaders:
• Be humble and appreciative of the opportunity you have to lead
• Lead with simple and straightforward plans others can follow
• Save the sarcasm and jokes for when you develop trust and respect
• Introduce change slowly and only after you have listened to others
• You are never to busy to validate your team’s input and feedback
Leadership Fundamentals Part 1