Donna Highfill
  • Home
  • About
    • About Donna
    • What People Are Saying
    • My Other Blogs
      • Dame Nation Blog
      • Huffington Post
  • Services
    • Power Up BUSINESS
    • Coaching
  • Books and Tools
  • Blog
    • Fave Products
  • Contact Me

5 Leadership Commandments and One Butterfly

AndrewBlog1 commentFebruary 15, 2011

I’ll never forget her face. My grandmother could enter any room and literally bring additional light to it. She spent the last years of her career as a youth minister, and I watched with pride the way she impacted the people around her.

Her ideas weren’t the greatest ideas in the world, her youth trips were pretty standard, and the activities pretty unexceptional. But it didn’t matter, because she had the ability to plug people into her energy in a way that made them glad to be a part of her youth group.

I remember when she was taken to the emergency room in her early seventies because she was playing softball with the youth team. Shortstop. She stepped in because one of the youth was sick.The kids thought that was so cool.

Grandmom had a bigger turnout at her youth events than any other youth minister in town because her events were fun. People laughed and engaged each other in conversation. She wasn’t competing for youth minister of the year, she was simply enjoying the people around her.

I even remember when, in her eighties, after she had suffered a series of mini-strokes that robbed her of most of her memory, she refused to stop shining. My mom said that on Halloween her retirement village had dressed her up as a butterfly. She came down the hallway slowly. Mom said she looked adorable with big wings and antennae, and even with the loss of memory she giggled and her eyes sparkled.

She leaned into mom, her antennae hitting her in the face. Her only words were, “I don’t know why I’m dressed this way.” Then she and mom laughed uproariously together.

Based on what I learned from this remarkable woman, I have created the following “Leadership Commandments:”

  1. If you don’t care about the people you lead, they won’t follow you.
  2. You will get the level of energy out of people that you put into them.
  3. Laughing with others will lighten the environment and escalate productivity.
  4. People pass on how they are treated to the clients they handle.
  5. Caring about others translates into productivity which translates into profitability.

That’s right. Caring about people translates to dollars. But if you care about them only because of the return, it won’t work. Try just caring because people need your leadership and help. The rest will follow. And if all else fails, lighten somebody else’s life. The return wattage will be worth it.

Tags: change leadership, donna highfill, featured, highfill performance group, inspiration, motivation

Related Articles

Power Zaps – Scary Stories

July 28, 2014Donna Highfill

The Story of the Hummingbird

May 4, 2015Donna Highfill

Puppy Love and Leadership

September 27, 2011Andrew

1 comment. Leave new

Tweets that mention 5 Leadership Commandments and One Butterfly | Highfill Performance Group -- Topsy.com
February 16, 2011 1:23 pm

[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Donna Highfill and DevinCHughes, Gary S. Hart. Gary S. Hart said: 5 "Very Good" Leadership Commandments and One Butterfly by @DonnaHighfill http://t.co/I2LjjlM […]

Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Learn How to Tell a Better Story and Achieve Success!

Sign up below to receive 48 FREE Energizing Messages.

Connect with Me

Email
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest

Recent Posts

  • A Cab Driver Who Appeared as if from Nowhere
  • Here’s Some Honesty For You
  • Laughter is My Hero
  • A New Year in Old Clothes
  • Why I Will Face the Fall

CHECK OUT MY BOOK

highfillcover

As a leader, do you implement change only to watch the projects, processes and initiatives stall because you can’t get the people driving them to change? In my new book Real People, Real Change: Stories of a Change Warrior in the Business World I share real stories to illustrate how leaders can move people to action.

Archives

Where Donna Will Be Speaking Next

  • April 22, 2015 - SunTrust Women's Networking Group
  • April 23, 2015 - SunTrust Women's Networking Group
  • May 12, 2015 - LPGA Championship, Kingsmill, Williamsburg VA
  • May 21, 2015 - Education Association of Fundraising Professionals, Eerie, PA

Certified_hi-res

mbti_certified
huffbadge

Learn How to Tell a Better Story and Achieve Success!

Sign up below to receive 48 FREE Energizing Messages.

Recent Posts

  • A Cab Driver Who Appeared as if from Nowhere August 9, 2017
  • Here’s Some Honesty For You March 16, 2017
  • Laughter is My Hero January 10, 2017

Contact Me

804-370-6665
[email protected]
  • Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright
  • About Donna
  • Contact Me
Copyright Donna Highfill 2014