Many executives possess all the innate qualities to be truly great leaders, but they lack one fundamental attribute; consistency. In their minds, projecting leadership is something to be saved for board rooms and key customer meetings. But true leadership is evident even in the small daily tasks and how they are executed.
For instance, how are your internal staff meetings conducted? Do you straggle in late, with coffee dripping from your sleeve, and then proceed to answer messages on your netbook or “crackberry” while your employees present you with information? Or do you arrive sharp and on time, and give each employee your full attention? True leadership is evident in how you handle even a mundane staff meeting, or respond to a simple email.
The workplace is ripe with opportunities to demonstrate leadership skills, but these opportunities are often disguised in commonplace clothes. How do you reply to a customer complaint? An aging invoice with a customer who shows promise, but is having difficulty in these economic times?
The temptation is to write off the day-to-day challenges of management as unimportant and take the easy way out by not giving them your full attention. This creates a tiny crack in the dam of professionalism – a crack that can easily lead to a full scale flood if left unchecked. The Buddhist religion contains a very important concept, called “mindfulness”, which simply means giving EVERY task your entire attention at the moment. This is said to lead to a calm, and peaceful perspective that is otherwise difficult to attain.
Just for this week, I challenge you to undertake every task as if the entire Board of Directors were watching. Renew your commitment to leadership internally, and make sure that everything you do reflects this commitment.
You will notice a change in how your staff relates to you, and more importantly, in your own confidence and abilities to execute on a daily basis. Leadership is not just a trait, it is a lifestyle!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Entries (RSS)