TONY BLAIR: Listen, chickens. This is the way in which to cross the street

Leadership is a journey.

And sometimes that journey means crossing a road.

It may be a wide road.

It may be a narrow road.

It may be a straight road.

It may be a windy road.

But whatever kind of road it is, you can be sure of one thing.

One day you’re going to have to cross it.

So what exactly is the most effective way to cross that road?

Over time, and with a wealth of experience, I have developed a three-stage strategy for road-crossing.

Let’s start with stage one.

Why, you may ask, should you start with stage one, rather than stage two? Or even stage three? Simple.

It’s because stage one is the first stage. And stage two is the second stage.

And as for stage three – that’s what I term the third stage.

Over my years as a Leader, I have known those who attempted to cross a road by undertaking the third stage first.

Or the second stage last.

Or even – I kid you not – the first stage second.

It may have seemed like a great idea at the time.

But their journeys always ended in disaster.

If only they had consulted me!

Stage One: The First Stage.

Identify exactly which road you want to cross.

Frankly, there’s no point crossing any road you don’t want to cross. If you do that, you’ll end up on the wrong side of the road – and, what’s more, not even the right road.

First ask yourself this vital question: how can I know for sure which road it is that I want to cross?

Great question! Thanks for asking!

Think of any of the great Leaders. Nelson Mandela. Napoleon. Genghis Khan. They always came equipped with a route map in their top pockets.

And – vitally – they knew how to fold and unfold that route map.

Without discipline and determination, it’s easy to get into a terrible muddle when trying to unfold a route map.

First, you open it at the wrong place. Then your destination is nowhere to be seen. So you unfold it some more.

And then the bit you really want is upside down.

So you turn the map round in the limited amount of space available. And as you do so, you knock over your cup and your coffee spills all over the table.

And worse: you’ve completely forgotten to bring a pack of household tissues to mop it all up. There’s a lesson to be learnt. Allow sufficient time and space in which to unfold your route map or things can get very messy.

Stage Two: The Second Stage

Once those great leaders identified the right road to cross, they set about crossing it.

I have never forgotten something President Bill Clinton once told me.

‘Tony,’ he said – we were on first-name terms – ‘Tony – let’s cross that bridge when we come to it.’

Just one short sentence. But a whole lifetime of experience.

Food for thought.

Up to then, I’d often tried to cross my bridges before coming to them. Result? I used to fall flat on my face.

Then I realised what I’d been doing wrong. There’s no way you can cross a bridge unless you have come to it.

Stage Three: The Third Stage

Question: How did the chicken cross the road?

Answer: With the right leadership.

The Leader is the Leader because his job is to lead.

To lead, others must follow. Without followers there can be no leader. I often say to new Leaders that the best way to approach the task of crossing a road is through the three ‘L’s:

Look right.

Look left.

Look right again.

And then tell everyone else to cross. It’s all about delivery.

In my experience, people who try crossing roads without first consulting a leader walk straight into the oncoming traffic.

Not good for them. Not good for their community. And not good for the oncoming traffic.

Cheers! More handy tips on Leadership in the weeks to come!