Splinters

At the age of fourteen, I took a job remodeling houses to gain experience and

earn an income. My mother and father were recently divorced and I, who was dubbed

the “man of the house,” had a serious knowledge deficit and a steep learning curve in

order to fulfill my man of the house responsibilities. I had to grow up fast!

My opportunity to remodel houses gave me some positive and painful

experiences. One such experience involved replacing a degraded deck. In the process

of demolishing the old weather treated lumber, I somehow caught a splinter deep

between the index and middle fingers on my left hand. The scar still remains, but that is

because I didn’t deal with the splinter immediately and decisively.

I decided it was easier to deal with the splinter later, because it broke off under

the skin and I didn’t have the time, or so I thought, to deal with it at the time. Sadly, my

hand started swelling and became quite painful. I found myself protecting the injured

site more than focusing on the job. I also found it difficult to use my left hand to hold

tools or carry things. Bottom line, this splinter affected me and my duty performance.

So, I finally chose to dig it out, and what a painful experience it was, but it was well

worth it. My hand healed and my duty performance excelled.

Leadership life has taught me that leaders catch splinters every day, from all

kinds of sources, both internal and external which can affect them mentally, emotionally,

spiritually, and physically. These splinters can cause the demise of extraordinary,

efficient, and effective leadership if not dealt with immediately. After interviewing

countless leaders, I discovered there are several symptoms such as retaliation,

moodiness, bity responses, isolationism, favoritism, and apathetic behavior that are

symptoms of catching splinters.

Authentic leaders watch for these symptoms in themselves and in others whom

they lead, because they are well aware of the negative impact “splinters” can create.

Instead of waiting to address splinters, like I did, these wise leaders immediately and

decisively work to remove them before they splinter their leadership and organizational

success. How are you dealing with your personal and professional splinters?