Leadership is all about Me! Not!
Leadership. Self-importance. About me me me. Or not?
Responding to a recent HBR post, JT expresses his disatisfaction with the notion leadership is about ‘me.’
Leadership. Self-importance. About me me me. Or not?
Responding to a recent HBR post, JT expresses his disatisfaction with the notion leadership is about ‘me.’
We know the person by many names: A Hindu or Sikh religious teacher; spiritual leader; influential expert; maharishi; sage. Guru. The guru’s the expert we always go to, the one in our circle of contacts, that knows just about everything (certainly more than most) about a certain subject.
However, the guru faces his or her own challenges, perhaps just as challenging as for those looking up to them. JT shares his thoughts along with a short story.
In many customer or client engagements, there lies a story, full of intrigue and mystery, set against a dark monster dwelling deep in their midst.
The telltales the monster lurks can be seen if you watch. Questions asked go unanswered, or the questions are short, clipped, halting. It’s clear the monster has a good grasp on it’s domain when…
The main way I’ve found to overcome complacency, to instill urgency, is to install a ‘sunlight,’ so a dash of real-world light is let in to swirl about them.
Installing a sunlight, letting your teams know their efforts help make the sun shine, is but one approach toward helping instill motivation, a sense of urgency within. Make sure everyone knows, and is reminded frequently, the value of –their- efforts.
Are you a control freak? Do you feel the need to tell your teams how to do things? Are you frustrated by always feeling you can do the job better than anyone else?
If you allow your behavior—how you manage your teams—to reflect these frustrations the result is likely over-control.