Lather, rinse, repeat is not just for shampooing. It is a necessary leadership principle.
I haven’t check in a while to see if it is still a thing, but years ago I was bored (and curious) so I checked. It seemed every the bottle of shampoo gave these instructions. I’m still not sure why we need directions for something so simple, but if taken literally, there would be an endless loop of repeating the same steps until the bottle is empty.
I’ll be honest. True confession. I’ve never been a repeater. Once is enough for me. It sounds expensive. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. I’m a simple lather and rinse guy.
It’s funny to me on shampoo bottles, but it makes a lot of sense in leadership.
In fact, in leadership, you must lather, rinse, repeat.
And it’s the repeating part that is the endless loop.
You must repeat the vision. Even the simplest vision people tend to forget. Even if it seems boring to you to say it repeatedly, it’s necessary for the people you are trying to lead.
Values need to be restated. If not, people tend to create their own or ignore the ones you have. If they are “valuable” enough to have then keep sharing them with others. Display them for all to see.
Every victory needs to be celebrated. Because it is true what is celebrated gets repeated. You don’t always have to create something new. Sometimes you can recreate from the energy you gained with a previous win.
Do it. Then do it again. And again.
People forget. They lose sight. People get distracted. They need reminding.
Again, as a leader, if you aren’t becoming bored repeating the things that need repeating, you’re probably not repeating it enough.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
Do I need to say it again?
Nate and I are about to launch a new season of the Ron Edmondson Leadership Podcast, so subscribe now. You don’t miss the next one.
