Good afternoon from Vancouver International Airport, where it is obviously Fall, there are no kids in the airport! School is in session!

I attended the People Solutions Conference hosted by Central1 Credit Union in Vancouver, and based on my experience, I look forward to returning next year. The closing speaker, always a scary place to find oneself as a speaker was held brilliantly by Drew Dudley http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_dudley_everyday_leadership.html Drew’s work is largely with young people, and he appears to be growing a following in the business world as well. He is a great story teller, and regular readers will know how important I believe narrative to be in our roles as leaders. And, very importantly, Drew seems to have worked out the power of a great question. He asked some very provocative questions, that actually reminded me of some of the questions we’ve been exploring. Such questions are much more about the one person I can influence the most, me.

Consider only one of Drew’s questions; ‘how would the person you want to be, behave?’ I was immediately reminded of the Leadership Notes from June of this year, http://www.alisdairsmith.com/index.php/leadership-notes/35-lnotes/264-conflict-and-getting-over-ourselves  In that issue, we spoke of my colleague Michelle Manary’s comment about conflict and “getting over yourself”. What struck me was that Drew’s question was another way of “getting over yourself.” If I’m challenged by someone else’s behaviour, my ego, my anger might be triggered. And a great question is is my ego, my anger the driver I want it to be? Or is there a deeper, calmer, more understanding and stronger person deep down inside of me?

I was actually then wondering to myself last night about my suggested 4 questions for before we go to bed that I’ve alluded to a number of times in Leadership Notes:

1. What went well today?
2. Where did I mess up?
3. How might I make amends (recognizing that amends may not be possible yet)
4. What am I thankful for today?

I wonder if Drew’s great question might be added somewhere, say as 1 (a)

What went well today/Where was I the person I want to be?

I wonder what you think?

May this week be one that allows each and every one of us to be the leaders we know we can be