Lessons Learned
“A failure learned
from becomes a
success. So in this
sense, there need be
WhEN;IT;CoMES;To;BECoMING;AN;EFFECTIVE;LEADER, SoME;LESSoNS;CAN;BE;TAuGh T,;Bu T;o ThERS;CAN oNLy;BE;LEARNED.;If;there;is;a;single;“gene”;or;char- acteristic;that;is;true;of;all;successful;leaders,;perhaps
no real failures, only
it;is;the;knack;to;evaluate;their;experiences;honestly,;learn;from;their;missteps,
learning experiences
and;lead;with;authenticity—so;suggest;the;findings;of;a;recent;study;of;business
put to good use in
leaders;across;multiple;ages,;races,;and;industries.
life.” —Stephen;Covey,
The 8th Habit
“Their;leadership;emerged;from;their;life
stories.;Consciously;and;unconsciously,;they
were;constantly;testing;themselves;through
real-world;experiences;and;reframing;their
life;stories;to;understand;who;they;were;at
their;core.;In;doing;so,;they;discovered;the
purpose;of;their;leadership;and;learned;that
being;authentic;made;them;more;effective,”
wrote;Bill;George,;Peter;Sims,;Andrew;N.
McLean,;and;Diana;Mayer;in;the;February
2007;issue;of;Harvard Business Review.
Assisted Living Executive asked;a;range
of;respected;executives;in;the;assisted;liv-ing;and;senior;living;sector;to;“tell;on;them-selves”;about;the;most;important;lesson
they;ever;had;to;learn;the;hard;way.;The;in-tention;was;to;glean;insights;on;how;some
of;the;industry’s;most;successful;leaders
think;and;got;to;where;they;are;today.
As;envisioned,;the;“lesson”;could;stem
from;something;difficult;early;in;their;career
that;ultimately;helped;them;land;their;feet;on
the;right;track.;It;could;be;about;something
they;would;do;differently;if;it;could;be;done
over;again.;It;could;be;a;business;decision,
or;a;career;decision.;It;could;be;a;mistake,;or
simply;a;tough;challenge;they;had;to;hurdle.
A;common;theme;through;every;testimonial
was;a;willingness;by;these;managers;to;stare
themselves;down;and;turn;a;difficult;expe-
rience;into;wisdom;and;an;opportunity;to
manage;their;business;better.
Evaluate;yourself;honestly
Tiffany Tomasso, coo,
Sunrise;Senior;Living, mclean, vA
“The;most;valuable;lesson;that;gets;re- inforced;regularly;is;that;the;broader
the;role;you;play,;and;the;more;senior;the
position;you;have,;the;softer;you;must;be;as
a;leader.;It;sounds;counterintuitive,;but;you
must;have;the;ability;to;step;back;and;listen
more,;let;your;direct;reports;shine,;and;be
more;complimentary;and;forgiving.;This
