I have had the benefit of serving as the leader (President, General Manager, Managing Director etc.. call me what you want, just not late for supper 😊) for seven multinationals in six countries.  It truly has been and continues to be, an amazing experience. As an avid seeker of knowledge, the lessons I learned were frequent.  Some were hard lessons and others, stories of great success.  When I share my stories with others, on many occasions, I have been encouraged to write them down.  Over the next three months, I am going to do exactly that, I am going to write.  I will share what I have learned about:

• leadership and followership
• cultures and culture … the same, but different
• the good times and the bad, growth and decline
• the glass ceiling
• “Yes But”
• dealing with APE’s (the arrogant, prideful and egotistical)
• the satisfaction of servant leadership
• transforming…reforming…conforming
• taking the moral high road
• turnarounds and turning around

just to name but a few lessons and get the ball rolling.

Seeking to understand what can be learned through reflecting on what, at the time, may have felt like chaos is the intention of the articles to follow.  Making the personal connections by aligning corporate goals with the goals of everyone, is the thread that ties it all together. Do we choose to lead or do others choose to follow?  Being in a position of leadership is a humbling experience; the lessons from which, it is time to share.