It’s surprising how long it takes to learn leadership. It was years of reading, watching, and listening, and years of making mistakes along the way.
In building a great team you need to not only be a great leader, but you also need to find and create great leaders. Here are my 7 lessons. I hope they help you find and understand leadership.
1. Find a True Leader
We see true and false leaders everywhere: our coaches and teachers, our family and “friends”, and people in our community. Find the true leader.
Here’s a good test to tell if someone is a True or a False leaders. It’s called “The Mirror and the Window Test“.
- In bad times, the True leader looks in the mirror and asks, “What could I be doing better?”
- In good times, the True leader looks out the window and says, “Thank you everyone for making these good times possible.”
- But, in bad times, the False leader looks out the window and says “This is all your fault!”
- And, in good times, the False leader looks in the mirror and says, “Look at the great job I’m doing, this is all thanks to me.”
See the difference? Does it remind you of anyone? Find a True leader and ask him or her to be your mentor and be part of your team.
2. Leaders Create Leaders
The world actually needs lots of leaders in order to function. It’s not as rare as you think. It does “take a village”, and there isn’t just one person at the top making it all happen.
A good measure of success is the number of true leaders you create, not the amount of money you make. Create leaders and you will never be poor. But how do we create leaders?
- We give first. We give others “ownership” through delegation and trust.
- We hand hold. It’s how babies learn to walk, and it’s how leaders are grown.
- We commit to learning and we invest our time in others.
3. Lead Through Listening
We listen to understand, and only through understanding are we able to solve problems and lead. As a leader, your people will “follow” if they buy into your ideas rather than telling them what to do. Through listening we can attain commitment from others, rather than compliance.
Remember, people quit people before they quit companies. If you want to keep good people on your team make sure to listen.
4. Be a Skeptic
I’m often reminded of the parable of “The Farmer and the Horse.” A farmer loses his horse, and when his neighbor says, “That’s bad luck” the farmers shrugs and says, “Maybe.” The next day the horse returns, bringing three other wild horses.
Leaders always ask questions and keep an open mind. Never assume that what’s happening is good luck or bad luck. Put your ideas out there and they’ll come back around when you need them.
5. Look for the Adjacent Possible
I’m also reminded of a book that changed my life. One chapter tells of “the Adjacent Possible.” Wherever you are at this moment, you must look first at the possible, close-by places you can go next. You can’t get from rags to riches in a day. First, look for opportunities around you. Then, after a hundred adjacent possible moves you’ll be where you want to be.
Lead by presenting the adjacent possible solutions, and always be willing to pivot and change based on the next adjacent moves.
6. Capture Your Ideas
How often has a great idea slipped in and out of your mind? How often have you woken from an amazing dream and then forgot it soon after? All great leaders keep a notebook near by and don’t let any ideas slip away. Write all of your ideas down and keep a journal.
For tough problems, pose a question to yourself right before you fall asleep. Your subconscious mind will figure it out for you while you sleep, and when you wake up, write it down!
Lead with these great ideas.
7. Read Read Read
Or I could say, Learn Learn Learn. Knowledge is power, and reading will give you both knowledge and an open mind.
A book will show what others have done before you and what mistakes they’ve made. It is said that “you can live a thousand lives if you read a thousand books.” Learn your 1,000 lessons without having to go through a 1,000 mistakes (there are only a few mistakes that are learned better by trial).
Lead with the power of a thousand minds.
Thanks for reading. Drop me a line and share the lessons you’ve learned about Leadership.
Happy Team Building!
