A poem hangs on the wall at Mother Theresa’s orphanage in India. For all who are called to lead, it is a great reminder of what we should do:
1. People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered (including me). Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
No matter what role you play in your company, becoming a more effective listener will help you get ahead in your position. It means fewer errors, improved accuracy, and enhanced working relationships. And, listening to your customers and referral sources will definitely help you in your marketing efforts. You will solicit better information from other people whether interviewing job candidates, solving work problems, or working to make a sale.
Here’s a really simple way to measure the strength of
your executive leadership skills. Ask your people to name 3
important reasons why they enjoy working with you.
Most leaders find it acceptable to be viewed as a “nice”,
“friendly” or “clever” person.
Others prefer to be “hands-off” - you know the type of boss
who lets us do our work the way we choose to do it - the
leader who wants our work done and doesn’t care to be
bothered with the hows or whys of our doing it.
When people make a decision (either consciously or unconsciously) to follow
your leadership, they do it primarily because of one of two things: Your
Character or your Skills. They want to know if you are the kind of person
they want to follow and if you have the skills to take them further. Yes,
there are other variables but these are the bulk of the matter. This week we
focus on the kind of skills that cause people to follow your leadership,
specifically things that an Extraordinary Leader doesn’t do!