We chose leaders in government for the next couple of years yesterday. It’s an interesting process in our country, to say the least. We could probably have a really energized debate about what’s good and bad in the folks who emerged from the election as winners and losers, but regardless of that they now have to lead and not, as our President remarked on the campaign trail, stand around drinking a Slurpee, no matter which side they’re on. Which of course puts business thinking into my head.A friend (thanks B) sent me this quote:
Outstanding leaders go out of the way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel.
If people believe in themselves it’s amazing what they can accomplish.
I love that since it contains so many thoughts succinctly expressed. You can’t be a great leader if you don’t believe in the folks you’re leading. You can’t do that freely unless you believe in your own ability to hire, train, and communicate. I’m a firm believer in the string test. If you take a two foot long piece of string and try to push it along a table, it goes all over the place if it moves at all. If you pull it along, however, with your finger up front, it goes everywhere you want it to. That’s why they call it “leading” and not “stand in the back and kick them.”
We, as leaders, need to recognize the high walls in between our team and our goals. We need to motivate that team to go over the walls, firm in the knowledge that the task, while difficult, is possible if we work together and believe. Telling someone on the team they’re less worthy, stupid, incompetent, or burdened with mistaken beliefs doesn’t get the team closer to success. It does just the opposite. We need to have that self-esteem ourselves to lead and instill it in others.
Hopefully the folks we all selected yesterday can do that with our legislative bodies just as we try to do it in business.
Thoughts?
Consult Keith 