‘100 Great Leadership Ideas’ (III)
This week, we’ll continue with remaining parts of ‘100 Great Leadership Ideas’ by Jonathan Gifford.
Part 7: Personal Development
Focus on the Wildly Important: Good leaders know when to get into the detail and know when to get out of it again. Some people busy themselves with meetings and all the things you need to do daily in business while being too scared to think, ‘What could really transform this business?’ or, ‘What direction is this business going in five, 10 or 15 years time?’
Focus on the core achievements that are most essential to achieving your overall goals. Choose not more than three ‘wildly important’ goals.
Ensure that the team understands these goals and prioritize their own activities to focus on achieving the core overriding goals.
Get a Life: Leaders need time to relax and reflect. Minor changes in routine can be very effective: use travelling time to ‘switch off’; make sure that you are not distracted when you are with your family or friends; take up a hobby.
Keep Fit: Look for tell-tale signs of stress: some people become more emotional, louder and more demanding; others retreat within themselves and become withdrawn and uncommunicative. One of the simplest ways to handle stress is to exercise.
Exercise can increase your sense of being in control, strengthen your self-esteem and help you regulate your emotions. Even small amounts of exercise will help. Get up from your desk and walk around. Do some minor exercises: deep breathing; arm windmills; shoulder shrugs. Close your eyes for one minute and think of nothing.
Know the Detail: Effective leaders know their organization in detail. A good grasp of detail informs all decisions and allows leaders to ask penetrating questions and give meaningful direction to their teams.
Manage your time: Ask yourself the question: ‘What would happen if this were not done at all?’ And if the answer is, ‘Nothing would happen’, then obviously the conclusion is to stop doing it… The next question is: ‘Which of these activities on my time log could be done by somebody else just as well, if not better?’ Finally, leaders should ask themselves if they are wasting other people’s time to no purpose.
Part 8: You and the Outside World
See the Bigger Picture: The most successful corporate leaders have a habit of seeing the organization as a whole; taking into consideration employees, consumers and every other stakeholder, as well as shareholders.
These leaders consider the organization’s relationship with society and are concerned with the larger purpose of the organization.
