Monday, December 15, 2014

Great Leaders and Big Rocks

Great leaders stay true to themselves. That means they understand their
limitations and they employ others with stronger skills than them to work in
areas where they are the weakest or where they have the least amount of
enjoyment. In the same way that Stephen Covey’s big rock theory, is applied to
productivity, a great leader focuses on his strengths first. When leaders
concentrate on their areas of strength and enjoyment they subsequently spend
little time and energy on the small rocks or the distractions and less enjoyable
tasks. They focus on strengths and therefore they build companies,
departments, and teams that are like them – strong. In return leaders with these
sincere characteristics avoid distractions, aggravating tasks, ego, and
micromanagement.

In order to hone in on the leadership characteristics aforementioned, it is
important to understand that being a leader does not require perfection in every
area. Furthermore, a true leader is not meant to be all things to all people in
every situation and task. The leader may not even be the smartest person on the
team. However, they are always knowledgeable regarding the areas in which
they excel. Practically applied, it is imperative that leaders do a self-assessment:
First, identify what you enjoy about your work, then, dig deep to determine why
that activity or task is enjoyable. Adversely, identify which tasks you least enjoy,
and why this aversion exists. Lastly, seek to understand the reasons behind your
responses, for greater clarity, i.e., if you decide that you hate making speeches,
well that doesn't necessarily mean that you don't like to talk to your team, you
may simply prefer to communicate face-to-face. So be detailed when going
through this exercise. It will serve you greatly as you become a powerhouse
leader.

Our next Moment with Manal will delve further into how to operate with sincerity
as you focus on being true to yourself.