Blog

Three Questions Leaders Should Ask Themselves Twice a Year
By

Lessons for leaders from a gymnast on the pommel horse. By Lisa Hochgraf

Lessons for leaders from a gymnast on the pommel horse.
By Lisa Hochgraf gymnast on the pommel horse

Alec Horniman told attendees of CUES’ CEO Institute III at the University of Virginia in August about watching a gymnast give a presentation while performing a routine on the pommel horse. A gymnast gets 94 points when he raises his hand to the judges, the gymnast said as he started his routine. According to Horiman, Killgallon Ohio Art professor of business administration and senior fellow with the Olsson Center for Applied Ethics at the University of Virginia, the gymnast stepped up his routine as he explained that gymnastics judges add two points to a gymnast’s score for good extension—reaching beyond what is easy. Horniman said the presenting gymnast again stepped up his routine as he talked about how the judges add two points for a pommel horse performance that includes some calculated risks—and did some unexpected pommel horse moves as he said two additional points for creativity could also be earned. Horniman said this story illustrates three questions leaders should ask themselves at least twice a year:

  1. How have I done on extending myself? “The value we create every year increases if we choose to extend,” Horniman said. “This isn’t working harder or longer,” but more intelligently.
  1. How have I done on taking risk? “I don’t mean risk of life and limb,” he explained, but rather, “How have I done on thanking people, acknowledging people, stepping out on that stage (of being a leader people are watching) and being the best I can be?”
  1. How have I done on being creative? “How can you engage yourself in such a way that the credit union benefits?” Horniman added.

“Our invitation is to take charge of that character called us,” he concluded. Lisa Hochgraf is a CUES senior editor. If you like this post, you might also like CUES’ CEO/Executive Team Network, slated for Oct. 22-26 in Savannah, Ga. Download the myCUES app or subscribe to the CUES Advantage e-newsletter to read our monthly “Leadership Matters” column.

Compass Subscription