6 Necessities for Achieving Your Full Potential as a Leader
Many
leaders and entrepreneurs are sold on the idea that hard work and
paying your dues will guarantee future success. Indeed, the idea of
pulling yourself up by the bootstraps is something we aspire to do.
On the
subjects of leadership and success, Calvin Coolidge was credited with saying,
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not;
nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not;
unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of
educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”
Sure,
perseverance and having grit have a great deal
to do with being a successful leader. But that’s not all there is to it. Here
are lessons other lessons that true leaders always keep in mind.
1.
Clearly identify your purpose and rally around it.
Steve Jobs
once said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Indeed,
successful leaders identify their passions and life goals and leverage them to
create businesses, help people and make positive impacts on the world. By
making their unique dreams and aspirations the framework around which their
companies operate, leaders fulfill their missions in life without ever feeling
like they are really working.
Though
this seems like common sense, it may be difficult to discern what fields or
interests you should pursue long-term. Dr. Susan Biali suggests
starting the process by asking these three questions:
1. What do
you love to do, that you would do even if you don’t get paid for it?
2. What do
other people say you’re really good at?
3. What is
the one thing you want to experience, or do, or accomplish, before you die, so
that on your last day on earth you feel satisfied and have no regrets in that
area?
2.
Say no.
Warren
Buffett once said, “The difference between successful people and very
successful people is that very successful people say 'no' to almost
everything." Cutting the fat from both your individual actions during the
work day and long-term ventures will lead to more successful outcomes.
In a piece for the
Harvard Business Review, Greg McKeown
suggests, “Not just haphazardly saying no, but purposefully, deliberately, and
strategically eliminating the nonessentials. Not just once a year as part of a
planning meeting, but constantly reducing, focusing and simplifying. Not just
getting rid of the obvious time wasters, but being willing to cut out really
terrific opportunities as well. Few appear to have the courage to live this
principle, which may be why it differentiates successful people and
organizations from the very successful ones.”
After
taking stock of what is absolutely essential, prioritize and focus on tasks
that only you can or should do. Delegate those that are urgent but do not need
your full time and attention. And do not forget to take time off.
3.
Listen rather than react.
The
benefits to active listening are two-fold. First, it will help you get a better
idea of what is really going on before making informed decisions. Former
chairman of IBM Lou Gerstner partially attributed the success of the company at
the turn of the century to listening. In his book Who Said Elephants Can’t
Dance? Inside IBM’s Historic Turnaround, he wrote, “For the first month, I
listened, and I tried very hard not to draw conclusions." This strategy
led to IBM’s success, as he was responsible for increasing the company’s stock
market value by 800%.
Second,
simply listening instead of reacting will allow you to build effective working
relationships that help your organization reach the next level. Deborah Tannen,
author and professor of linguistics at Georgetown University said, “To say that
a person feels listened to means a lot more than just their ideas get heard.
It's a sign of respect.”
Listening
is one of the easiest ways to get good karma and establish positive
relationships with everyone around you.
4.
Inspire your supporters.
John
Quincy Adams, son of Founding Father John Adams and himself a president,
said “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and
become more, you are a leader.” Indeed, one of the defining features of being a
leader is the ability to excite and motivate other people.
Being
inspirational does not mean giving out awards and bonuses every year and calling
it a day. It is more about instilling continuous, long-term motivation and
trust in your supporters, giving them a reason to get out of bed every morning.
It is about firing up people and sparking their innate creativity and desire
to innovate, even when they did not think they had the capacity. Making
sure someone feels like their work is vital to achieving the company’s goals is
one of the easiest ways to encourage your colleagues to be the best they can be.
5.
Focus on EQ instead of IQ.
Before you
can even think about inspiring your followers, you also need to be well-versed
in emotional intelligence (EQ), a mix of self-awareness, self-regulation,
motivation, empathy and social skill. Having a high level of emotional
intelligence is imperative to knowing how to empathize with, encourage and
challenge your team members to reach their highest potential.
Daniel
Coleman, a psychologist and journalist who was the first to associate emotional
intelligence with leadership, found,
“When I compared star performers with average ones in senior leadership
positions, nearly 90 percent of the difference in their profiles was
attributable to emotional intelligence factors rather than cognitive
abilities.”
Travis
Bradberry, another emotional intelligence researcher, identified a few
easy ways to build up your EQ including being self-aware of your strengths and
weaknesses, practicing self-confidence, letting go of mistakes, neutralizing
toxic people and being compassionate.
6.
Never stop learning.
Even if
you are one of the top experts in your field, staying up-to-date about new
developments by reading articles, magazines and reports will keep you at the
top of your game. Also, joining professional associations and local clubs and
going to their events could allow you to network with other ground-shakers, get
caught up with the newest technology, and learn more about issues relevant to
your field.
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