I have some additional thoughts I want to share on increasing the speed of leadership, (read part 1 here). This time I want to explore the list of attributes that learning leaders (like yourself) should focus on getting better at, because that is the next natural question that I get.
So let’s get to it. Here is my list of special ‘Speed of Leadership’ skills that I recommend:
- Develop a ‘World View.’ The world is crazy fast and getting faster and more complicated. ‘Speed of Leaders’ leaders need to have a view of things outside the day-to-day and into the future. Myopically focusing on the here and now is what got Blockbuster into bankruptcy (even as Netflix was being very open with them about the disruption they were planning).
- Create Extreme Clarity. Your team needs to know what you are thinking about and where the business is going. The managers of yesterday kept direction a big secret because they didn’t think anyone else was as smart as they were (yes, I once heard a CEO tell me that – needless to say, that organization went bankrupt). People will do amazing things if they know the why, the what, the how and what their role is.
- Get comfortable surrounding yourself with people that are better than you. Hire great people with technical skills and amazing attitudes – the latter being more important.
- Think different. Be disruptive. If it is not broken, contemplate breaking it. Speed and agility start with making scrambled eggs. If you are not the personality type to think outside the box, hire someone who is and remove roadblocks for them.
- Be Brave. Being a leader that moves faster than others is going to cause some people in the organization to tell you all the reasons it won’t work. Do it anyway.
Speed of Leadership is going to set you apart from the 97% that want to hide in their cubicles and do the same things over and over (and as Einstein once added; “And expecting different results”).
Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, #1 Best Selling Author, International Keynote Speaker, and TEC Top Speaker of the Year for 2018. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, connect with Robert on LinkedIn.
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Robert S. Murray
