I’m once more taking part in the BSA Wood Badge leadership course for my local council. I enjoy the opportunity to hone my skills when it comes to leading others and teaching them how to train their own leaders. A lot of my content around coaching, mentoring, and even imposter syndrome has come from the lessons I’ve learned during Wood Badge. It sounds crazy but I enjoy taking vacation time to staff something that looks like work because it feels amazing!

A few random thoughts from the week:

• You need a sense of urgency in everything you do. You may not know exactly what’s coming or how to adjust for what needs to be done but you need to be moving with purpose to get it done. Not only does that help you with your vision to make things happen but it encourages others to do the same.
• Team building happens when you’re not focused entirely on the goal. It doesn’t take much for your group to come together but it can only happen when they aren’t charging toward the finish line. Remember that taking a few moments here and there to reinforce the group dynamic can do a lot to build a cohesive unit. Stopping to smell the roses isn’t a bad thing when your team members chat about them too.
• Make sure you appreciate your team when they succeed. The grindstone doesn’t feel quite so rough when you know that your effort is appreciated. It’s difficult some times to remember to recognize those that put in the work but if you do you’ll create happier people and more functional ones too.

Tom’s Take

I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts about leadership and team building as soon as I’m done with the practical application of it this weekend!