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.

Mentoring revealed

Leaders should have at least two mentors. The obvious mentor is a

person or a group of people you want to emulate. They come in a variety

of forms: a teacher, the Chairman of the Board, a think-tank, or brain trust,

however, they all have the same mission, “to advise or train or encourage”

based on their experiences. This is usually a person you admire.

Most successful people have mentors. For instance, Warren Buffett is a

mentor to musical phenom Jay Z and other business leaders world-wide.

Motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins’ mentor is a fellow motivational

speaker and author, Jim Rohn. Michael Jordan and Oprah have both

confessed to mentoring Tiger Woods. Ben Carson, MD, and author, gives

credit to his mother for mentoring him, and according to The Hall of

Mentors, Pope Benedict XVI considers Pope John Paul his mentor.

The other type of mentor is equally as important, yet you may not choose

to sit down and talk to them. Instead, this mentor is strictly someone you

pay very close attention to, because they will teach you exactly what NOT

to do. This is the person you want to avoid becoming.

Ineffective mentors may have been masterful guides at teaching others

the pitfalls to avoid, connecting them to other leaders and resources,

helping them to chart their course to higher heights and so on, but those

days are gone. They may even have an undeniable prowess in an area of

interest to you, as well as significant financial means. However, they are

jaded and lack enthusiasm for the success of others. Their good points

are overshadowed by these less attractive characteristics. Poor examples

of mentor-ship are: self-centeredness, greed, superiority, and petulance.

No one wants to follow this type of person, or at least they shouldn't. But

don’t disregard them totally; there is much to learn from them - just at a

distance.

Examine Your Motives

Motives matter. I have heard this story several times about a woman who writes this endearing love letter to a former beau. The words are flowery and seem to be heartfelt as the woman confesses her guilt for breaking off their relationship. On the surface the letter denotes a sincere woman who desires to rekindle a relationship with the man of her dreams. However hidden deeply in the recesses of the writer’s opportunistic heart is the true story, the backstory. The former beau has recently won millions in the lottery. Hmmm... Not so honest is she?

The motivation behind our leadership matters as well. Why do we want that particular role? Why do we yearn for success? Are our motives good or selfish? Ask the tough questions because it does matter whether we lead like Batman, and we want to make the world a better place or whether we lead like the Joker, motivated only by greed, power, and revenge. Why? Because, followers duplicate our good or bad efforts, and because wrongly motivated leadership will eventually lead to horrible outcomes, or worst, jail time. As the stories go, and it is always true, good always wins in the end.

Once a Leader

A common misconception in leadership is that if you have lead others before then you will always be viewed as a leader. This is not necessarily the truth. To use a cliché, “the proof is in the pudding.” Take this young lady I know. She was from a small town and had done well, been active in the community, serving in several leadership roles and operating her own small business. One day she decided to explore other options, which lead her out of state, amongst people she did not know, placing her in a competitive corporate culture with highly intelligent co-workers. She had a business background but had never worked for anyone much, and especially not on this level. It was truly like starting over. However she was quickly identified as someone with the initiative to solve problems and before long she was promoted and working full-time with C-suite executives. 

The fast pace of her career was exciting and lucrative yet after some time, she longed for home. When she returned to her small town roots, she noticed all the new faces of people who did not know her and about her accomplishments. This became clearly apparent when she returned to volunteer with an organization close to her heart. All of the seasoned members welcomed her back. She was immediately chosen to chair a standing committee of people she had never worked with before, people watching to see if all they had heard about her rang true. To their surprise, this young lady knew what true leadership meant. She did not rest on her laurels and past reputation, instead she stared the scrutinizers in the face, worked alongside them, and earned the right to be a leader in that organization, once again. 

The Home Team

Certainly, we have all heard the sad stories contrasting the overwhelming success of a leader/entrepreneur and the demise of that same person’s marriage and personal affairs. For years, professional women have felt this struggle to have it all while “balancing” motherhood, marriage, and career. Slowly men are dealing with the same issue, especially men of faith, as they focus on what really matters in life.  Usually the solution given is to find balance. But how do you balance your family against your career?  Perhaps today my loved one/child/spouse is my top priority but the rest of the week my work/team/committee takes precedent. Well that may work if you value your job as much as you do your family but most of us do not. We enjoy our work but we LOVE our families. There is a difference, an unequal distribution of value.

Hear me clearly, I do not confess to have all the answers on how to make this work, and I am quite aware that every family situation is complex. Given that, I do believe that just as we lead those we work with to higher heights, we must be intentional about the value we add to our family. Are we affirming their natural talents, are we effective listeners, do we help them learn how to find their own solutions to problems? These are “value-added” leadership skills we can carry from work to home and they give us the opportunity to invest in the growth and development of the team that matters most - the home team.

Stay in Your Lane!

A common theme or saying in today’s society is “stay in your lane.” The phrase means, “Mind your own business or keep moving straight ahead and don’t veer over into what others do best because in all honesty, it is not your forte.” My interpretation sounds humorous, right? Yet, it is true, for many reasons, including for the purpose of building stronger leadership skills. 

As I have been sharing, great leaders know their strengths. They are focused, meaning they pay attention to the path that brings out their personal best. They concentrate on areas where they can make the greatest contributions (most leaders can successfully excel in no more than three areas) and they spend the bulk of their time in that or “those lanes.” Picture this, you need to get to Orlando from Ocala and the local news has already reported that there is a major accident on I-75, it would make sense that you would avoid that particular highway, bound to be filled with distracted rubberneckers going way below the stated speed limit. You would most definitely take an alternative route like State Road 441. 

Rather than get into some else’s lane where they will not add the greatest value or where they might feel deflated, the best leaders delegate responsibilities to leaders-in-training and more importantly, they eliminate as many distractions from their day as possible.  This is the true example of efficiency, a skill all leaders must possess. 

Are you Thinking Like a Leader?

Think like a leader. You might say, I have never been a leader, I'm learning now, so how would I know? Well, it's quite simple. If you have ever worked for someone else then you have some concept of how a leader thinks. Simply put yourself in their position and ask yourself what would you do. For starters, leaders think in terms of multiplication and so should you. Imagine if you owned a company and needed something done, would you want one, very talented person with only 24 hours per day to get the job done or would you prefer ten talented people working together to get it done. I hope you would choose the latter. That's thinking as a leader and in multiplication.  

Leaders also think about solutions to problems in positive ways. They do not see lack as a limitation but a challenge that needs to be overcome. Thomas Edison, one of the world’s greatest inventors knew a thing or two about multiplication and failures. He engaged in ten thousand experiments before inventing the incandescent light bulb. When asked about his failures, he once stated, "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." Leaders stay positive under pressure and so should you. Jettison the thoughts common to laborers and mentally become the leader you feel destined to be.