The pledge

Rise above negative leadership examples to live your purpose.

You can remember the moment like it was yesterday, maybe it was yesterday. The moment when you made a pledge to yourself, “If I am ever in charge I will never be like that person.” 

This pledge applies to a variety of arenas including parenting, business, sports, hobbies, politics, etc. The area of application that we will focus on for this exercise is with positions of leadership in business. ​

• ​What is the name of that boss who made you realize that everyone lied to you--it’s not any different than high school. 
• Who is the boss that sticks out in your memory as fulfilling all of the caricatures of terrible leaders you observed in movies? 
• When you think about being in a position of leadership, who provided the example that frames your perspective on what should never be done by a boss? 

Rise above the negative examples of leadership

More often than not, when you focus on what you don’t want to be, you will limit your development. When you stop to think about the tier of mediocre role models in your life, those who had some good qualities but don’t make the top 10 list of leaders, were they trapped in the shadow of their negative experiences? 

If your only goal is not to be like someone whom you were harmed by or despised, you allow that person to continue to hold a grasp on your potential. 

I am not trying to be an armchair psychologist. As such, I am speaking from personal experience with my own pledges as well as those I have heard directly from people in a position of leadership. I remember one manager who was so committed to not being what their former manager was that they fell short of clarifying their own identity and clear purpose as a leader. 

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Embrace your identity and live your purpose as a leader

When your vision is to not be like so-and-so you are more likely to become a replica of so-and-so than you are to embrace your identity. Don’t allow negative leadership examples to take residence in your personal and professional development. You are not your former boss and the best way to ensure you don’t become them is to carve out your own purpose. 

Stop comparing yourself to others. The pledge is useless. Saying, “At least I am not like so-and-so,” is nowhere near as important as being able to say, “I am learning to embrace my identity and live my purpose.” Build a bridge and get over that terrible boss. Pursue your purpose and if you reach a point of leadership don’t allow them to shape your vision.  

Leadership development resources from The DYOJO:

• Video - Two Questions to Help Improve Your Leadership 
• Article - Am I a Leader? 
• Resources - Reduce to Produce