Leadership Lessons from the Berlin Wall

In 1961 the East German government built the Berlin wall to stop the flow of people into West Germany. Over time, the wall did more than stop the flow of people. It became a powerful symbol of oppression and stopped the flow of ideas and freedom.

On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.

This historic change opened the flow of people, and again became an equally powerful symbol of change, creativity and a return to greater freedoms.

Both the building and tearing down of the wall are powerful metaphors for leaders. Many leaders put up walls to "protect" or "isolate" themselves from those they lead. While it may not be as intentional as the Berlin wall, it will likely be as obvious and limiting to those you lead.

Walls You May Have Erected

Have you put up walls through your words or actions that reduce or limit any of the following?

• Trust. Are the levels of trust in your organization and on your team where you would like them to be?
• Communication. While communication is always a challenge, do you find yourself able to clearly communicate with your team, and do they communicate freely with you?
• Openness. Are you comfortable in sharing your concerns genuinely and do people share them with you in return?
• Creativity/Ideas. Do you hear great ideas from your team regularly?
• Engagement. Are people onboard, enrolled and moving forward towards their goals and the goals of the team?
• Attitude. Is the attitude of the organization healthy and where you would like it to be?

Your answers to these questions hopefully will be quite instructive.

If you find gaps when answering them, recognize that you as a leader play a role in each of them. If any fall short of where you would like them to be (or where the organization needs them to be for maximum success), get some feedback from others and build a plan to begin tearing down those walls or barriers.

When the Walls Come Tumbling Down

Your walls likely are less obvious than the Berlin wall, and the changes that come with tearing them down may not occur as quickly, but believe me, as you identify your personal walls and begin tearing them down, you will begin to observe new results.

Regardless of the nature of the wall you have built, tearing it down will result in:

• Improved working relationships
• Greater respect and credibility for you
• Better problem solving
• Greater organizational and individual productivity
• Increased employee retention
• Higher morale
• Better Customer service
• Fewer frustrations
• Lower organizational stress
• Greater results

When the Berlin wall fell, the world changed. As you identify the walls you have erected and subsequently knock them down, your world will change too - and change for the better.

Potential Pointer: When you take the time to determine the walls you have created (as a leader, as an employee, as a spouse, as a parent…), you can begin the process of systematically tearing them down. It will take time and effort. It may be painful. But, your efforts to tear down the walls will be richly rewarded.

The walls we create are often subtle and multi-faceted. Leaders who recognize this also realize the need for an ongoing personal learning process to help them continue to become a more effective leader. One way many leaders do that is by participating in The Remarkable Leadership Learning System - a one skill at a time, one month at a time approach to becoming a more confident and successful leader. Kevin wants to give you $748.25 worth of leadership development resources, including two complimentary months of that unique system, in his Most Remarkable Free Leadership Gift Ever. Check it out.