Michael Nichols | Leadership Made Simple
Leadership Made Simple
They never came to you – they just believed what they were told. There was more to the story – much more. Not just your side, but the truth.
If only they had asked you.
It’s happened to me, too. My motives have been questioned many times. In some instances, I was aware of the questions. But many times I was not – because they never came to me. Grace was not extended – the same grace desired by every person in the world when wrongly accused.
You are not leading if you are not mentoring and developing new leaders. Simply developing followers who flesh out your ideas and implement your vision won’t cut it.
Having followers is not the defining characteristic of leadership. At its very core, leadership facilitates change. After all, if you are not leading people and teams toward change, what are you leading them to do? To be?
Change is not easy. It’s difficult – not for the faint of heart. And developing people – new leaders – adds more complexity to the mix.
To develop new leaders, you must be willing to invest in people – to mentor them. And mentoring will require more of your time and your resources than you ever thought possible.
I was recently reminded of an experience with an executive of a large organization who was faced with a challenging decision – a decision that eventually cost the organization a lot of money.
This post is part of the series – What Ever Happened to Personal Responsibility?
Would You Return to Your Organization?
If You’re Not Growing, You’re Dying…Really?
Leaders are the Most Creative People on the Planet
Great Leaders Serve
Is Fear Taking Over?
During discussions about the decision the executive made this revealing off-the-cuff statement – My goal is to survive a presidency.
These few words uttered in a moment of vulnerability informed the entire group that he was most interested in self-preservation.
I read a great thought yesterday: Great leaders do not seek to create more followers; they seek to develop more leaders.
Several years ago I led a research project that studied executive team leadership within organizations. The experience was fascinating as I spent hundreds of hours observing and interviewing executives and their teams.
Throughout the project I sought to answer one burning question:
The most important decision you will make today – well…you already made it.
In reality, it was made before you went to bed last night. And in some ways, you made the decision last week, last month, and you’ve been making it for years.
How am I going to start my day?
