The following abilities of a leader are not the usual ones like ‘excelling in communication’, ‘seeing the big picture’, ‘putting vision and values into practice’, or ‘demonstrating astuteness and competence’. These are certainly important abilities, and there are many extensive lists to which I do not wish to add yet another one. I merely wish to highlight a certain category of abilities that is too often underrepresented. I’d like to focus your attention to the following six abilities which I believe to be self-explanatory, needing no further elaboration. You can use them to reflect upon your own abilities and choices, to evaluate your leadership and its outcomes, and to pinpoint areas for improvement for yourself and for other leaders.
§ The ability to admit misjudgments, mistakes, and wrongdoing.
§ The ability to forgive others’ misjudgments, mistakes, and failure.
§ The ability to see and help others prosper and grow - possibly outgrowing you.
§ The ability to put ‘me’ after ‘we’ and ‘it’.
§ The ability to be constructively critical, downward, upward and towards peers.
§ The ability to sincerely give credit and let others shine.
Good luck!
I especially think the ability to admit mistakes and also to let others shine is sometimes missing in our culture today.
ReplyDeleteToo often we are under perceived or literal pressures to be right. Mistakes are looked on as weaknesses not tolerated in our increasingly fast-paced world. Because of this, many want to take credit when others have done the work.
I suppose both are not new but they can be regrettable if we see them as a rule not an exception.
Terrific thoughts, Carolien, andI hope you have a resilient day!
Steve Beseke
Thanks for your comment Steve, much appreciated. As Jack Welch stated in 1981, talking to Wall Street analysts in the Pierre Hotel in New York: “I want to create a company in which people dare to try new things".
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