Poor Planning on Your Part is Not My Emergency
As a leader, I know it’s tempting to go for option one or two because when someone you’re working with has screwed up so badly – especially if it’s somebody on your own team – you’ll want to make certain that the solution is handled thoroughly, delivered correctly, and disruption to the project and the other members of your team are kept to a minimum. Arguably, that’s what a responsible leader would do.
The Art of the ‘Reverse Plan’
I just did a Google search of what being a successful leader means.
The results that came back described all the essential leadership qualities I’ve already talked about in previous articles, so if you’re a regular reader none of them will come as a surprise.
“A leader sets and achieves challenging goals.”
“A leader takes fast and decisive action.”
“A leader develops their team’s skills so they can reach their full potential.”
“A leader communicates their vision and inspires their people to do the work needed to achieve this better future.”
But, surprisingly, what none of the results has come back with so far is this:
Successful leaders know that a plan without a goal is just a dream.
The Three Life Lessons I’ve Learnt From Business
If someone asked you, "What are the three biggest business lessons you've learned over the course of your career?" how easy would you find it to answer?
When I sat down to think about it, I didn’t find it easy at all. Hopefully, neither would you.
Building Better Relationships: The Importance of Equal Business Stature
I hate it when people think that, because they’re the customer, they can treat the supplier like something they’ve found on the sole of their shoe.
You know what that something is. It starts with the same letter that something does.
Customers who treat their suppliers like that are toxic, and suppliers who let their customers get away with it are digging holes for themselves they’ll never jump over.
Characteristics of Leadership: See The Bigger Picture
I’ve always believed there’s a crucial difference between Leaders and Managers.
Leaders lead.
Managers manage.
I know. That’s quite a revelation, right? But, all sarcasm aside, you’d be surprised how many leaders I’ve met over the years who don’t understand that distinction.
Characteristics of Leadership: Avoid the ‘Tunnel Vision Mentality’
There are two definitions of tunnel vision.
As far as leadership and management are concerned, tunnel vision is not being able to see the bigger picture. There can be many reasons for that, but the main one is usually this; we’re so confident that the decisions we’ve made and the outcome we’re focused on is right that we’re unable to accept there might be better ways of achieving our goal. We don’t even stop to consider other possibilities or seek the input of other people. We just keep forging ahead, certain that we’ve got it all worked out, and unable to see the wood for the trees.
Notice I used the word ‘unable’ a couple of times there. That’s because, in my experience, having tunnel vision doesn’t tend to be an obstinate ‘I’m right; you’re wrong’ refusal to see things any other way. Tunnel vision is much sneakier than that. It’s the complete inability to recognise that there are other ways of doing things.