If you
can't make them, you can't lead.
Good
leadership is not a popularity contest. One of the most important days in
my career was the day I realized that leading well was more important than
being well-liked.
Anyone who
has had this epiphany know it’s a tough moment: We’ve all wanted to be the
“cool kid” since our grade school days. Now we sometimes find ourselves
sounding like the principal.
But our
careers are filled with difficult, sometimes unpopular choices, and our success
rests on how we handle them. I once heard Colin Powell say, “Trying to get
everyone to like you is a sign of mediocrity. You’ll avoid the tough decisions,
you’ll avoid confronting people who need to be confronted, and you’ll avoid
offering different rewards based on different performance because some people
might get upset.”
We’re tempted
to postpone and avoid tough decisions and hard conversations. The great American financier T.
Boone Pickens once cautioned: “Don’t fall victim to what I call the
‘ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome.’ You must be willing to fire.” Decide. Act.
That’s your job as a leader.
How do you
find the motivation to do what you wish you could avoid? How do you learn to do
what others don’t want to do and say what others don’t want to say?
In a
nod back to that grade school analogy, I’m giving you some homework. This
worksheet will help you identify the decisions you have to make and the steps
you must take in order to make them. Ready?
Step 1:
Take Responsibility.
The bottom
line is this: Nothing changes if nothing changes. Procrastination kills leadership effectiveness
today and leadership potential tomorrow. Whatever is your biggest problem now
will be your biggest problem next week and your biggest problem next month
unless you do something about it.
List three
decisions you’ve been putting off:
1.
________________________________________
2.
________________________________________
3. ________________________________________
Step 2:
Prepare Yourself.
Are you
feeling anxious about those looming choices? Let’s do some research to boost
your decision-making confidence.
Pick one
of the above problems. List the information you need to move forward and the
experts and colleagues who can offer insight.
Info
needed: __________________________________
___________________________________________
People
needed: ________________________________
___________________________________________
Step 3:
Reflect.
Once you’ve
completed the first two steps, consider where that knowledge takes you. What
insights did you gain? Did you discover things below the surface?
List
your realizations:
1. __________________________________________
____________________________________________
2. __________________________________________
____________________________________________
3. __________________________________________
____________________________________________
Step 4:
Determine your action plan.
What do you
need to do before you take action? Should you meet with key
influencers? Write a step-by-step strategy? Consult with an expert?
List
your next moves and give yourself a deadline to make them.
Action: _________________________________________
Deadline: _______________________________________
Action: _________________________________________
Deadline: _______________________________________
Action: _________________________________________
Deadline: ________________________________________
Go through
that four-step process, and I promise that decision-making will go from overwhelming to attainable.
(Notice, though, I’m still not calling it easy!) Repeat that
process for the additional situations you listed and the countless others
you’ll face in your personal and professional lives.
Let me
offer a few other strategies to make the process easier.
Act
immediately. Although
it is your responsibility to deliberate options and make educated decisions,
you’ll also encounter situations in which you must think on your feet. Great
leaders act with limited information. Don’t hedge! Take action using your
knowledge and instincts to guide you.
Be
confident. Don’t
waste time and energy second-guessing yourself. Someone once told me that I
have no rearview mirror. I believe that’s true: I have little desire to look
backward. I make decisions and move on. You should, too.
Think payoff. Your motivation to act comes
from the benefits you envision. Is your team morale likely to improve? Will
productivity increase? Will you see an impact on the bottom line? Focus on
those positives. It’s like going to the dentist—you may not look forward to the
process, but the outcome is highly beneficial.
Change can
be hard, but uncomfortable changes often lead to breakthroughs. In every
challenge lies the opportunity for growth. One of the most difficult decisions
that I ever made was leaving the organization my father led—the place I had
committed 10 years of my life to. That decision was painful and a little
frightening, but it was also the move that changed my career.
From Success
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