Every journey has a beginning. Although many of you have been on your leadership march for a long time, others are fresh on the trail. Regardless of where you are on your timeline, there are four arenas which require your attention and ultimately your mastery if you want maximum influence and opportunity.
I open some of my talks by telling the audience the presentation they are about to hear is not for them. After I let that sink in, I ask them to think of a leader they know who has failed to live up to their potential or perhaps the person who comes to mind is stuck in their career. I then tell them, “This talk is about how you may be able to help your friend.”
Most leaders don’t understand what REALLY determines their success. We mistakenly believe our trajectory is determined by what we can do. This is a half-truth. As I look back on my career, I’m not sure when I discovered this – regrettably, it was MUCH later than I should have. Do you know what is required to be a great leader?
Since releasing The Heart of Leadership, I’ve received a lot of feedback supporting the big idea of the book: If your heart is not right, no one cares about your skills. If this is true, why does leadership character get so little attention?
One of the benefits of launching a new book is the number of conversations and questions the process stimulates. Today, regarding The Heart of Leadership, the question is: How can I help my team develop leadership character?
As we approach the launch of The Heart of Leadership next week, I received an interesting question: How does the content of this book apply to a leader’s path? Honestly, I hadn’t given much thought to a leader’s path. But I’ve now begun to do so.
As we approach the launch of The Heart of Leadership, I’m reminded of how grateful I am that several of the leadership character traits I outline in the book were instilled in me early in life. I’ve not mastered all of them, but thanks to my parents, I wasn’t starting from scratch as an adult.
One of my favorite people on the planet is Jack Lannom. His organization helps companies put “People First.” Jack has had a tremendous impact on my life and my family. I first met Jack through an audio program entitled Memory Genius. If you get nothing else from this post, check out that program. It can change your life.
My upcoming book, The Heart of Leadership is built upon a simple premise. Unless your heart is right, no one cares about your skills. This may sound harsh, but it’s true. If people don’t trust our heart, they don’t trust us. If they don’t trust us – they won’t follow our leadership.