There are many definitions to leadership – do you know yours?
Great leadership is always about great consciousness. Many believe in a more standard definition: great talent, great oratory, smartest, or something on the characteristics and gifted scale. However, at West Point, true great leadership is taught as “what are you doing to raise, train, and inspire other leaders?”
It is crucial that you know yours.
On one hand, you spend a good part of your time in the IQ arena: reports, spreadsheets, process mapping, standard people problems… Often times, you spend less time in the EQ arena: vision work, inspired communications, healing and elevating potentiality… Therefore, it is common to get lost in your days and weeks on running the business and less time on the strategic values of leadership. And yet, they are so crucial for your growth and potentiality.
Here’s a great illustration I deal with frequently: as the leader how quick are you to correct or change a subordinate’s intended direction? But you protest, “it will cost the company money” or “it will tax company resources to make mistakes.” However, you must not only be willing to “invest” in their “education by hard knocks,” the more of a crucial time it is, crucial situation it is, criticality on the line… that is when your biggest losses contain your biggest gains.
And, the confidence and growth the subordinate experiences because you trusted them, and when they fail, you didn’t beat them up but rather elevated their experience, judgment, and wisdom as a result of their initiative… you develop a team that will follow you to the gates of hell and onward through them!
What is your plan to develop leaders? Do you have one?
AND… is it a plan to develop Great Leaders?
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