Dave Mitchell

the Leadership Difference

 

Laugh and Learn

March 2011

Welcome to the Leadership Difference

Greetings!

In this newsletter, Dave shares a message on leadership and appreciating leaders who really make a difference.  Of course, there's also a section on some great wine he discovered on a recent trip to the Washington wine country and some information on how our online learning systems can enhance in-classroom training.

The Leader as Mentor

 

I will never forget Susan Wally.  We haven't spoken in over 20 years, but her impact on me resonates to this day.  She was that leader for me.  You know, the leader that changes the way you think of yourself, your future and potential.  Susan Wally has as much to do with who I have become professionally as any person in my life.  As is often the case when you are a leader, she doesn't even know it.  Heck, she may not even remember me.

I was the Manager of Training at Marshall Fields in downtown Chicago and Susan was the Personnel Director (yes, it was the 1980s and it was called "Personnel").  I was only a few years removed from growing up in a rural area, so Chicago was still a bit daunting for me.  I was reserved, professional and more than a little self-conscious about being appropriate.  Susan Wally, on the other hand, was a complete force of nature.  Standing over six feet tall with bright red hair and a voice that could drown out a foghorn, Susan's presence in a room was never in doubt.  Her personality matched her size and was exceeded only by her moxie.

Working with Susan was like going to an amusement park.  It was a thrilling and wild ride that left you a bit disheveled but giddy in anticipation of the next experience.  Susan taught me to let my inner freak flag fly!  Susan Wally taught me that you can be enthusiastic and dynamic without losing your credibility.  She also taught me to embrace who you are and trust that your gifts will distinguish you in life if you let them.  I have tried to track down Susan many times to no avail.  Someday I hope I can tell her just how much she influenced me.  She would be surprised, I bet.

As leaders, it is important to remember that we are shaping the lives of others.  Each of us has modeled the behaviors of other people in our lives:  parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, and bosses.  Others are modeling our behaviors, too.  I think it is important to remember that each day we lead.  And if you have a person who has had a particularly positive influence on your life, today would be a good day to let them know.  Leadership is hard, often thankless, but ultimately it can provide others with the impetus for becoming something better.  Susan Wally did that for me and for that I will always remember her.

Book 

If you've seen Dave's Live and Learn or Die Stupid Keynote and would love to revisit the concepts he presented, this book is perfect for you.  Maybe there is someone in your life that could benefit from reading about Dave's unique perspective on how to live a happy life.   

 

 

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Tripping in the Washington Wine Country
 Dave at winery in WA

 

Lori and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary by doing a long weekend in the Washington Columbia Valley wine region.  This up and coming region is making a ton of fabulous wines for a lot less money than the more popular Napa, Sonoma and Willamette Valley regions.  The unique soil, land aspect and weather in the area combine to provide fabulous terroir (the wine growing environment).  I was amazed at the range of wines they are producing; all kinds of French and Italian grape varietals are made into fantastic wine.  Here are some of the wineries we visited that impressed us with their juice:

         Col Solare

         Fidelitas

         Woodward Canyon

         Cougar Crest

         L'Ecole

         J. Bookwalter

         Barnard Griffin

 

Thank you to client and friend Larry McCullough for providing me guidance.  I recommend almost everything these talented winemakers are producing.  Remember our motto, "If you like it, drink it.  If you don't like it, drink it fast!"

Blended Learning: Our Learning Management System

No matter how much attendees love the experience in the classroom the real measure of learning is the change in behavior of the participants after the seminar.  In order to ensure that classroom training endures, we offer on-line resources for our participants.  After a training session our clients can get access to course reviews and evaluations designed to reinforce what the participants learned in the original seminar; all delivered via an easily accessed, on-line delivery system.  This system also provides valuable metrics to build future training strategies. To learn more about the Leadership Difference Learning Management System, please contact Dave or Lisa. 


the Leadership Difference

www.theleadershipdifference.com

407-929-9521