Many of the skills necessary for good leadership involve taking action, lots of communication and a high level of visibility. You need to be comfortable being seen and heard. Today’s post is about the other side of the coin. I believe that in order to be an intelligent, informed, and insightful leader, you also need the capacity to be an observer – unobtrusive and attentive to detail and nuance. Leaders need to know when and how to simply observe.

Food for Thought ~

We all have heard the phrase “the powers of observation.” Being able to discreetly observe, without interference or actively influencing the situation, can be difficult for some people. Yet, the most effective leaders are those who can, when appropriate, shift to a low-profile position and simply notice what’s going on around them. There’s a lot of information available from first-hand observation. Also, it’s risky to always rely on second or third-hand reports from others. Get out with your co-workers, strategic partners, employees, customers, and suppliers. Watch. Listen. Observe. There is much to learn. The seemingly simple skill of quiet observation is very powerful.

Question for the day ~

How would you describe your skill at observation? Do you make it a point to get information first-hand rather than always relying on the interpretations of others?

Mary

People often ask me to recommend a book on leadership, and I certainly do have a few favorites. One of them is Shackleton’s Way: Leadership Lessons from the Great Antarctic Explorer, a New York Times Business Bestseller by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell. It’s the true story of a disastrous exploratory trip to Antarctica in 1916, led by Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose ship was grounded in the polar ice of the Weddell Sea. The men were stranded for two years on an ice floe twelve hundred miles from any assistance, without means of communication. The amazing leadership achievement is that Shackleton got all 27 of his crew home alive. It’s a story worth reading. His survival and leadership skills were brilliant.

Food for Thought ~

The story illustrates many of the great principles of leadership, but the one I want to emphasize today is his optimism and how essential that was to their survival. In this case, it was, quite literally, a matter of life and death. Although they suffered one setback after another, and the odds were unbelievably slim, Shackleton was able to maintain his conviction that they would survive. His creativity, discipline, and commitment to keeping his crew’s hopes alive are truly inspiring.

Question for the day ~

How would you describe yourself on the optimist – pessimist continuum? Where would your employees and associates place you?

Mary

Two weeks ago I wrote about the fourth and final cornerstone in my model called The Four Cornerstones of Business Success. Last week I wrote about a Big Lesson I learned about leadership. Today I want to make a connection between the two topics. Perhaps the Biggest Lesson of all for me has been the realization of the dramatic impact that a leader has, whether the context is within a family, a business, a community or a government. Whatever the situation, I have seen time and again that the success of the group/organization depends largely on the quality of the leaders. In case you think this is self-evident, I remind you of Edward R. Murrow’s observation that “The obscure we see eventually; the completely apparent takes longer.”

Food for Thought ~

After I had been consulting for a dozen years or so, guiding clients in planning, marketing, and organizational development projects, I began to fully comprehend the crucial variable of leadership effectiveness. The success of the enterprise depended more on the skills and traits of the leader(s) than the strategies, products, or marketing budgets. Quality of leadership is the Number One issue for sustainable success. To be quite explicit, if you are not doing everything you can do to be the best leader you can be, you are not going to realize your personal potential nor that of your enterprise.

Question for the day ~

How close are you to fulfilling your potential?

Link to my article ~

My new column on Leadership as the Fourth Cornerstone was recently published in the NorthBay Business Journal. Usually my column is posted concurrently on-line, but it was delayed this time. So for those of you who would like to read the column, here is the working link to my article!
Thanks for your interest in the topic and your patience with the technology.

Mary

Leadership positions offer a remarkable continuous learning opportunity. For those of us who love challenging work, serving in a leadership role is guaranteed to provide a series of lessons in working with people, systems, structures, and circumstances. Thinking about my clients and my own trajectory as a leader, it seems to me that we each have one or two Big Leadership Lessons that are ours to learn. Looking back, I think mine was realizing that everyone isn’t like me. Yes, I know it seems obvious, but that truism was out of my awareness until I had a number of situations that taught me this lesson. Once I realized the error of my unconscious assumption, I had a much better chance of being a successful leader.

Food for Thought ~

I am sharing this in hopes that it will encourage each of you to ask yourself if there is a Big Lesson that you would do well to learn sooner than later.

Question for the day ~

What issues do you keep running into in your role as a leader? Have you identified your Big Lesson as a leader? How have you modified your approach as a result of this awareness?

Words of Inspiration on the Subject ~

Here’s one of my all-time favorite quotes, by journalist Edward R. Murrow:
“The obscure we see eventually; the completely apparent takes longer.”
And Albert Einstein said: “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.”

Mary