Women Taking The Lead With Jodi Flynn

I am a logical person and one of the most useful tools when applying logic is deduction - the process of ruling out. Deduction is very effective. So effective we call the ability to use this process as one's "powers of deduction." In the workshops I do with young leaders I ask them, "Who do you want to be as a leader?"  They are often stumped by this question and often times respond with, "I'm not sure who I want to be but I know who I don't want to be as a leader - my [current/former] bad boss." That is the power of deduction and without realizing it shapes who you are as a leader, as a partner, as a coworker, as a friend and as a parent. We remember how we felt when we had to deal with another person and those who upset us tend to make a lasting impression and that experience shapes who we become – hopefully for the good. In my early experience as a leader I put more thought into avoiding being perceived as a "bad boss" than I did being perceived as a good boss. It's all part of the process and it then lead