As part of the Grad Cert assessment this semester, I was asked to formulate a list of six principles of effective leadership. I chose to state them as series of named laws….named after a few recognisable captains of the cinematic genre (and my own law, of course)
- You’re not the Commodore unless someone else buys you the hat (Sparrow’s Law)
Leadership only counts if you’re leading, and the people you’re leading recognise it’s happening and actually follow. - Captain stays on the ship, 2IC takes the risks if the captain can’t be easily replaced (Riker’s Law)
Good leadership involves delegation. If you’re doing everything by yourself without trusting those around you to deliver, you’re not the leader - First one on the boat, last one off the boat (Morpheus’s Law)
Responsibility for the overall outcome is yours, and you look out for your crew by ensuring their wellbeing as part and parcel of the role - Ranking officer on the ship gets final say (Trinity’s Law)
Doesn’t matter what the chosen one says or thinks, the Captain still is the Captain, and has to make the big calls - Diplomacy is the art of saying nice doggy until you find a big enough rock. Captaincy is the timely delivery of appropriately sized rocks. (Dann’s Law)
Leadership is a facilitating role that only functions to make other things happen – you don’t lead for the sake of leading, you lead to make something that needs to be done happen, either proactively or reactively as the situation requires. - Captain’s knock
As the most senior role, you’ve got the most responsibility when things break down, or when the heavy lifting is most needed, or the hardest workload needs to be taken.
