Eight Things You Can Do as a Leader to Make an Impact Right Now
Time is short and markets are uncertain. As a leader, the time to act is now. Of course, you need to be thinking about the
Time is short and markets are uncertain. As a leader, the time to act is now. Of course, you need to be thinking about the
Making the leap from entrepreneur to CEO isn’t always an easy journey. I’ve seen many people struggle with this transition. The ability to lead is
How an organization makes decisions greatly affects whether or not it will have sustained levels of success. Any company can get lucky every once in awhile, but relying on ad hoc judgments is not a good strategy. One of the most important things a leader does is make decisions. He/she must also create a culture that knows how to make sound judgments without relying too much on any one individual. In essence, you want to foster an environment where you, your management team, and other key employees use decision making filters to increase the likelihood of making the right choices.
I see far too many leaders who view their role as a burden. While there will certainly be moments of hard work, leadership should not be excessively hard and there should be many more moments where it feels easy and you truly enjoy what you are doing. If you are getting minimal joy from your work and increasingly believe the rewards aren’t worth the effort, then you are doing something wrong. Of course, sometimes a situations isn’t salvageable but that is rare. More often than not, you are making it harder than it should be. The opportunity to lead others is a privilege and should be embraced accordingly.
It’s easy to have a new idea. It’s much more difficult to see an existing initiative through to completion. People get bored. Results take longer than expected and cost more money than planned. Unforeseen obstacles are strewn in your path. Execution can be tedious work. Employees may want clear direction but often struggle with managing multiple responsibilities and deadlines. As a result, most organizations end up using an ad hoc management style of putting out fires and responding to external events or internal pressures as needed. They take very little control of their own destiny.
Disagreement is a fact of life. It is next to impossible to imagine that you will see “eye to eye” with someone else on every single issue. We all see the world with a slightly different perspective. What matters is how you navigate these disagreements. Do you take different opinions as a personal affront? Are you cordial to the other person who sees things differently? How important is it for you to be perceived as always having the right answer (and at what cost)? How open are you to different interpretations of the same set of facts? Are you willing to learn from your mistakes and admit when you are wrong?
My whole life I have been accused of being too optimistic. I have always perceived this to be a compliment whether it is meant as one or not. The world has enough pessimism. Pragmatism does have its place, especially when it come to financial matters, however it shouldn’t be a primary mode of being. All our great leaders have been idealists and/or romantics.
There is certainly a place for being impulsive and trusting your intuition. We’ve all have examples of being forced to make tough decisions with limited information and time. However, more often than not this pressure is self-inflicted.
It is so easy to fall into bad lifestyle habits when you are stressed out, but this is the time to intentionally do the opposite. Your ability to manage stress is directly related to how fit you are, what you eat and drink, how much sleep you get, the state/strength of your closest relationships, how centered you are spiritually, and whether or not you have positive outlets for your emotional energy.
I recommend that in business or life before taking on anything important, step back and consult with the affected parties. Solicit their feedback not just on whether or not it’s a good idea or what steps are necessary for execution, but also what could make it fail.