Do you want to increase your leadership abilities? Here’s a simple yet effective leadership activity that you can do right now to get clear on your leadership.

1. List the things you want to change. Think about what you want to do differently in your finances, relationships, health, career, spirituality, or whatever aspect of your life you’re looking to change. Write down on paper whatever you would like to change.
2. Pick one thing you want to focus on. Look at your list and decide one thing that really matters to you. What is it? Circle it. Now get a new sheet of paper and write that topic at the top.
3. List what you really want. Make a list of the end result that you want. For example, let’s say you want to have a better connection with someone you love. What does that look like? What does it feel like? How will you know you’ve accomplished it? List all the details that will help you see where you want to go.
4. List the conditions where you’re starting. What are things like now? What is it that you’re doing, or not doing, that’s alarming you that you need to make a change? List the starting conditions of what it looks like, how you feel, and where you’re at right now.
5. List how you’re going to get there. What is it going to take to get to your end result? Tap into your brain power and figure it out. Ask yourself honestly, and answer truthfully. If you’re not sure of all the steps, list as many as you can think of. You can fill in the gaps later.
6. List the obstacles that concern you the most. What’s going to prevent you from taking the action? Identify your pitfalls now, and brainstorm how you will overcome them.

On October 30th, 2010 my cousin Drew Plaugher married the beautiful, caring, and talented Laura Jo Huber. I performed the duties of best man.

As the groomsmen were waiting for the ceremony to start, the officiator, Reverend Terry Brock of The Lima Missionary Baptist Church, told us a story about an experience he had early on in his role as a marriage counseling.

A young man came to him and said, “Reverend. I’m at my wits end. I just can’t take it anymore.”

“Well, what’s the problem?”

“My wife, she’s just driving me crazy.”

“Well, what’s she doing to drive you crazy?”

“Well… when I use the tube of toothpaste, I squeeze it from the bottom up, so that I can use all of the toothpaste.”

“That makes sense,” the reverend said, reassuringly.

“Well, my wife… she just grabs the tube and chokes it from the middle. She wastes so much of the toothpaste that way!”

“I see,” said the reverend.

Of course the toothpaste debacle had caused quite an argument, and had driven a wedge between the two.

“Well, let’s see…” the reverend said, “How much does a tube of toothpaste cost? 59 cents?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, why don’t you just buy two tubes of toothpaste… that way you’ll have one to squeeze from the bottom up, and she’ll have one that she can choke?”

Well, the man laughed at that, realizing how easy the solution was. So, he went off and bought two tubes, and they never had another argument over toothpaste.

The reverend ended his story telling us groomsmen, “If only all life’s problems were that easy to solve.”

I think one of the greatest traits a leader can have is the ability to think win-win. It’s the ability to step back and say, “Okay… What can we do to solve this problem so that everybody wins?”

So, a while back I wrote about secret skills and how I played the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz when I was in high school.

I’ve decided to post a video of me dressed in the lion costume and singing my own rendition of “If I Only Had The Nerve” in front of a few hundred people.

I’m sure there’s a leadership lesson somewhere in this ridiculousness.

Enjoy!

- Jered