In my lifetime, I’ve had the privilege of
interacting with some chief executives of various organizations and
institutions. Interaction with these movers and shakers of various fields of
specialization was an objective that I mapped out two years ago to be able to
find out what virtues and values got them at the helm of their respective
organizations. So, climbing the career ladder and establishing oneself as a
reputable executive is leadership in itself but there are certain fundamentals
that must be adhered to for a person to sit at the corner office.
One of the leadership lessons I’ve learnt from the CEOs
is unrivaled integrity. A high level of integrity is an absolute standard that
one needs to have to be a captain of an organization of repute. One of the most
fascinating and interesting definition of integrity is that carved out and
given by the United States of America Marine Corps. The Marine Corps define
integrity as doing the right thing when nobody is looking. Learning from a top
executive, a person needs to act in the rightful manner not just when people
are around him or her but also when alone. So, when alone are you always doing
the right things or doing things the right way? If yes, then you have a good
level of integrity but if no, then you’ve got to work on your personality. The majority
belongs to the latter category and therefore to standout as a leader one needs
to be different in a positive way from the mass.
Definiteness of purpose is another trait. This is a
necessity that is exhibited by the top-notch executives. When you figure out
what distinguishes them from the ordinary ‘gang’ is the sense of purpose that
they have. Having a purpose in life is one thing and how well you orchestrate
it is another different thing. Identify the exact purpose as to why you are
carrying out a particular activity. What distinguishes remarkable leaders from
the failed ones is the exactness to which they attach to their activities. Goals
and objectives that we set in our various spheres of life need to be met with
exactness that is exclusive. What I’ve learnt from these organizational heads
is that vagueness in purpose leads to vague results.
The ability to listen more and speak less is a
lesson that I have certainly picked up from these executives. This is one of
the main reasons as to why not all people are leaders or simply put, one of the
reasons why some leaders aren’t successful. It isn’t God’s will or nature’s
will that we coincidentally have two ears and one mouth; we should be able to
listen more and talk less. The more you listen, the more ideas you assimilate
and the more wiser you become. Talking more than necessary oftentimes creates and
leads to memory brevity. This is not a suggestion that a person needs to be
quiet but the weighty lesson we are supposed to learn is the ability to lend an
ear to different people and individuals.
In life, one needs to be ruthlessly and fiercely
ambitious. This is a core lesson as explicitly demonstrated by these institutional
captains. The remarkable CEOs are normally ambitious with a flair of aggressiveness
and abrasiveness. They have their eyes set on positively changing different
facets of humanity and society. They know what they want in life and they set
out on a mission to achieve their goals and make their dreams come true. Portraying
a unique ambition is what creates their unique personality leading to unique
results. In this context, however, note that I am writing about uniqueness that
is positive because it is what remarkable leaders are associated with. Do not
expect to sit there and have great expectations about life you must get up on
your feet and work towards your goals just like sailors do when they embark on
a voyage.
The remarkable CEOs have a penchant for the small
details. They invariably understand that the smaller details make the greatest
difference. Most individuals have this notion that big acts automatically lead
to greater changes. This is a relatively unwarranted and skewed perception that
individuals need to review. We tend to overlook the minute details and this is
certainly the point where we veer off the road to greatness and success in
life. To be an outstanding leader one needs to decapitate the act of ignoring
the little things. Paying attention to the smaller details eventually pays off
in terms of goal attainment or in the creation of a market brand.
Another leadership lesson that I have bagged from
these exceptional personalities is the precision that they attach to decision
making. Definiteness of making decisions is one of the traits that sets them
apart from the rest of the ordinary folk. In making decisions, these
outstanding captains understand that making them hurriedly without any foresight
will most likely lead to failure hence they take their ample time coupled with hindsight
to make decisions that will ultimately be iced with high levels of efficacy. But
what we need to learn is that in them taking their good time in making
decisions does not imply that they waste a lot of time. There is certainly a
time frame that they have set for themselves to be able to come up with ideas
and proper decisions.
Time management albeit a common rhetoric, is one of
the crucial deeds that separates the wheat from the chaff with regards to
remarkable and failed executives. This is one particular field whereby many
individuals talk too much about it but hardly stick to their words. Preaching water
and taking wine are exact opposites. In other words, it is worthy to say what
you mean and mean what you say. From these A-level executives, we must create
time frames for the scheduled activities if we seek to achieve and attain our
priorities in any given aspect of life. In managing time effectively, a
significant lesson that I have learnt from them is to be able to differentiate
which activities are necessary and which ones are a priority. Thus, in the
quest of being exceptional as a leader an individual needs to fully embrace the
act and practice of effective and efficient time management skills.
One of the lessons that I fancy and at the same time
fascinates me as exhibited by these awe-inspiring and marvelous organizational
leaders is their mastered ability and art to think big and dream big. What we ought to
know is that we have casual dreamers who attach casualness in their way of
doing things. These casual dreamers have casual thoughts and hence their
inability to be remarkable. As a matter of fact, thinking big and dreaming big
are very different from talking big. Remarkable CEOs delve into bold action to
actualize their dreams. Dreaming big and thinking big is an unparalleled panache of being
visionary and establishes a person as a shrewd leader.
Eminent CEOs surround themselves with smarter people
than them. What I’ve overtly learnt is that your character and actions are
the same if not similar to the individuals that you closely associate with. Uncommon
executives do not suffer from the inferiority complex of having smarter people
around them. They understand that to attain greatness there is need to bring on
board smarter people than them because they know that building a self-fortress
will definitely hinder progress.
These are just some of the fundamentals that I found
necessary to share with my audience with regards to leadership lessons. The most
important thing is to be able to apply these traits, virtues and values in our
daily lives. In application of these simple principles we will be able to
gravitate towards excellence, success and transformation in life.
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