My friend, John Wink, is a respected school leader and a stand-out colleague. One of the things I admire most about John is his capacity to share his experiences and wise leadership. Recently he tweeted a self-authored article titled the Five Fingers of Leadership. I was especially intrigued with his description of the pinkie’s role in leadership. Let’s face it, what can a pinkie do? Mine is pretty weak. I experimented with it as I wrote this nugget and found when it works alone, it can barely hold a pen, cannot pick up a piece of paper, or open that Hershey’s Kiss that waits for me. Frankly, in my recollection, it pretty much crooks needlessly all day, hanging there looking delicate, weak, and useless. It is good for a high-brow tea party, but not much use in my work-filled world.

Yet John describes this non-threatening, tiny, insignificant finger as the greatest digit of all. For him the pinkie symbolizes presuming positive intent and trust. He asks us to remember a time we “pinkie sweared”. What does that memory evoke for you? Maybe you’re reminded of an assurance, a vow, a commitment, that one promise that can never be broken. The pinkie could serve as our symbol that as coach leaders we must assume that people give their best even when they fail. Leaders must also assess the trust factor in a given situation before implementing the other fingers. So, if I am a coach leader, my pinkie reminds me to trust that others are doing their best all the time. If I am a coach leader I can be counted on to help those I lead to look for solutions, opportunities, and possibilities in the debris of failure.

Now, thanks to John, I look at my pinkie finger as the foundation digit – the true strength. Anyway, without my pinkie, how could I celebrate with my colleagues when success does inevitably come? When was the last time you heard…“Gimme a high four!”?

I’d like to invite you to join me in a new commitment. As a coach leader I promise to lead first with my smallest finger. Shall we “pinkie swear?”

Here is the link to John’s 5 Fingers of Leadership.

By Reba Schumacher, PCC