Yes, it’s almost 2011. With luck, you are taking this opportunity to pause, relax and take a breather before leaping headlong into another hectic year. What better time to reflect upon your leadership motto – the simple phrase that will summarize your leadership style this year?

A recent blog post by Paul Thornton called Leadership – Off the Wall shared the signs that hung as leadership inspiration in the offices of leaders past and present. One that surprised us was posted in the office of a former business effectiveness consultant named Alden Davis. It read, “Start Talking and Get to Work.”

Maybe that strategy worked for Mr. Davis. We find that leaders actually don’t need much nudging to start talking. In fact, some leaders like Joel Spolsky of Fog Creek Software think that communications (like emails, meetings, etc.) need to be held to a minimum. Steve Tobak shared some amazing strategies for reducing communication overload; he recommends not putting so many people “in the loop,” just the ones who can provide a return on their investment of time.

Here’s the irony. A 1996 study found that 80% of business leaders felt they received too much communication; yet only 3% felt that they communicated too much. Hmmm… might we consider adopting “Stop Talking and Get to Work” as our 2011 motto?

We’ve come up with a few spoofs on leadership mottos. Others were provided by famous figures.

“The buck stops anywhere but here.”

“Go away. I am too important to talk to you.”

“Leadership is you doing what I say.”

“You can build a throne with bayonets, but you cannot sit on it for long.” (Boris Yeltsin)

“You can fool some of the people all the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on.” (George W. Bush)

“Life is like a dogsled team. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” (Lewis Grizzard)

Here’s the challenge. Post your (serious or not) leadership motto on Humanergy’s blog and you could win a fabulous prize, a copy of the 2nd Edition of 50 DOs for Everyday Leadership, which is hot off the press! Good luck, and here’s to a year of exemplary leadership and bountiful success!

Have a question or want some input from Humanergy about this topic? Contact us and we’ll get right back to you!