Have you ever been in such a hurry to finish a task that you didn’t pause to get a better tool? When I was young, I turned over our sandy front yard with a spade before planting sod. The other day, I started a flowerbed project the same way, and Mary, watching me labor, said, “Why don’t you use a tiller?” Duh. So, I took the time away from the project to find, buy, and assemble a tiller. My back sent me the nicest thank you note.
I observe this happens when people receive a promotion to a managerial role. The demands of planning, organizing, scheduling, producing, and measuring leave them with little time to develop so-called soft skills. Yet leveraging output through others is the key to exceptional success, but as Stephen Covey said, with people slow is fast and fast is slow. And we don’t have time for slow. For decades, expert authors have written extensively about servant, high-EQ, engaging, visionary, empowering, situational, and nurturing leadership, yet Gallup's most recent State of the Global Workplace report found only about a third of U.S. workers are engaged at work. Imagine this conversation.
“I have so many deadlines and too much work to get out that only I have the skills to do.”
“Why don’t you engage and train your team?”
“I don’t have time and, to be honest, no one showed me how.”
If this is you, you need a better tool. There are many effective leaders in the world who skillfully coax more out of their teams than anyone thought possible. And that’s where the charge comes from. When you can help someone accomplish more than they dreamed for themselves, you are an outstanding leader, and you will feel great.
Here’s something for you to keep in mind so you let this seed I’m planting sprout.
Manage things. Lead people.
Two distinct skill sets with different tools. The proverb is about leading a horse to water, not managing him there; and Kindles are full of books on time management, not time leadership. Management is not leadership, and we have the exciting opportunity to master both.
I recently re-watched one of my favorite TED talks by acclaimed conductor, author, lecturer Benjamin Zander titled The Transformative Power of Classical Music. In this talk, Zander uses music to teach leadership and life lessons. Because he gets his power by making those around him powerful (the conductor of an orchestra never makes a sound), Zander measures success by how many shiny eyes are around him. People with shiny eyes are excited, energized, self-motivated, challenged, growing, and fulfilled. If Zander sees dull eyes, he asks himself, “Who am I being that the eyes around me are not shining?”
Powerful stuff. You and I must keep learning to make shiny eyes - and we’ll feel a charge. What new leadership tool will you and I use this week? Speaking of tools, I have written a book with a system to help high achievers who want to recalibrate. It is in the editing phase, so stay tuned.