Maxwell or any other great author, all too often I found myself getting too busy doing employee reviews, putting out fires, or just doing my daily job that I just could not finish the book. Then by the time I did begin reading the rest of the book, someone else would recommend another book to me, like Good to Great by Jim Collins. At some point, I found that I had read half of a lot of great books.
More than anything, I wanted to make a book that mentors would pass onto their protégés to help them develop their leadership skills. What you are going to read is not rocket science or splitting atoms, but real life ideas that have worked for hundreds of others.
“No matter what your job is, you get paid to help people
and the more people you help, and the better you help them,
the more success you will achieve.”
Chapter1
Successful Leadership
lead•er•ship n. 1. an ability to lead.
Great leaders from history continue to be remembered and quoted.
My experience has shown that successful leadership does not come from simply reading and knowing what a great leader says and does. In fact, most leaders know what it takes to be a great leader, but simply cannot find the time, or know how to prioritize their time, to make it a way of life. Successful leadership can only be acquired from doing it and doing it again and again.
Make the Time
Becoming a successful leader requires time and persistence. Unfortunately, what we read about, learn, and want to implement all too often falls in the deep black hole of the many great ideas we never end up pursuing. Sound familiar? Perhaps you may have experienced this yourself – most of us have. Have you ever gone away on a leadership retreat or decided to use a great leadership book as the blue print of how your leadership team was going to improve? Then, six months later found yourself back to doing the same things you were doing prior to the retreat?
I remember attending a leadership retreat with my boss and all of my peers quite a few years back. We spent two days studying the book ‘Top Grading’. During the retreat, we discussed how we were going to align our teams and leadership style with this book. We even planned a number of great activities we would put into place to implement these programs. We left the retreat motivated to make the changes to better our teams and improve our leadership.
Three months after the retreat, our plans became a reference of what we were going to do. Then six months later, we never discussed them again. What happened? It is simple – we did not internalize and follow the success blueprint we were given. Unfortunately, I find this outcome is more the norm than the exception. All too often we forget that success depends on well planned, consistent behavior.
Write It Down
Yes, just do it was a slogan popularized by Nike, but it is also extremely useful in business. Many people and organizations are “fixin” to get things done, but never do because they feel the timing is not right. The reality is that, unless you make it a priority, the timing will never be right. You have to want to make it happen right now, and just do it.
Being a Leader: 20% - Attributes & Skills
When we talked about Tiger Woods being the best golfer in history, and not a “natural born” golfer, it was with the understanding that we are born with some talents, while others are developed through hard work and dedication. However, if “natural born” talent is left untouched, it will just go away or fail to develop.
Tiger Woods tapped into his golfing abilities young and then had the desire (this being the actual talent he was born with) to go after it. He practiced – oh did he practice, and practiced some more. There were many days and nights when Tiger probably missed some fun activities with his friends because he had to be either resting or practicing, but he chose this – he desired to succeed.
An attribute is defined as: a quality or characteristic inherent in or ascribed to someone or something. In laymen terms, an attribute is something that is inherently part of who you are as a person.
Key attributes that a great leader needs to possess include kindness, strength, discipline, focus, vision, action and self-motivation.
What are your attributes and how can you improve them to become a better leader? Take the time now to list three of the top leadership attributes you have and the ones that you would like to have:
I Have:
1.
2.
3.
I Would like to have:
1.
2.
3.
Just because something is inherent does not mean practice is not required. As with anything worthwhile, to maintain and improve an attribute, you must put it into practice – into action, and consistently use it. For someone who does not inherently possess an attribute, they will need to first work to acquire it. Then, practice will be needed to develop and strengthen it.
Skills of Leadership
A skill is something that can be learned and definitely not something we are born with despite what people say (we have been through this, and I think you understand). Key skills for a great leader include:
