The skills we require to better succeed
Skills, tools, habit, ways of looking at the world, call them what you will, we need to reflect on what we can each do more or less of, and what blind spots we might have.
What these stages mean, in each they take us from instances where we reflect those negative characteristics to more frequent occurances where we show our best!
Being Real - What does it mean to you?
Think of some one you consider to be Real, and think of how you would describe them? Conversely think of someone who is not real, and think of how people describe them. Personally, I think Warren Buffet is real, certainly Christopher Hitchens was, Noam Chomsky absolutely? And those who aren't? William Jefferson "I didn't inhale" Clinton?make your own list, include politicians, religious leaders, etc
| Skill | Think about this |
| Know what matters | Your staff do what you
tell them because they fear you or because they understand you and
agree this is the right thing to do? The kids messed up the kitchen and you are furious or they were trying to make you breakfast because they wanted to please you? |
| Embody Values consistently | You hate people keeping you waiting, but you'll keep people waiting fir a scheduled meeting at which you arrive late. |
| Align actions with values | We all are late sometimes, but do we phone ahead and try and manage other people's time? |
| Envisage a Legacy | Imagine your employees saying " I once had a boss who....and I'll never forget her/him" |
| Convey Values with anecdote and stories | Warren Buffet still lives in the home he bought in 1958, and manages to save on his Berkshire Hathaway salary of US$100k. Donald Trump's car broke down on the freeway 30 years ago, a stranger stopped and helped him out, a week later he's had his home mortgage settled. Use stories to re-enforce your own beliefs too |
| Hold yourself accountable | Start by admitting when a) you don't know b) you were wrong. Hold others equally accountable,. |
Skills and Behaviors for being Whole
| Skill | Think about this |
| Take time to reflect | You generate more value in your business by thinking properly than doing. Block off one afternoon and one morning at least in the week, where you NEVER have scheduled meetings. |
| Help others in a non-financial way | Force yourself to HAVE to think of someone else from who you can never expect anything in return. It will free your mind in an unusual way. |
| Build collaborative and supportive networks | Easier said than done, but it will force you to broaden perspectives, and to interact with people you would not normally have the chance to. |
| Read! | Those who don't read have little advantage over the illiterate. Read the opinions of those with whom you know you disagree, especially newspapers. |
| See the relationships between seemingly disparate relationships | Try and take the losing side of an argument. We'll do this is our coaching session. |
| Understand boundaries and what defines them | Between friends and employees, with sub-ordinates, with parenting, with friendship, with religion or politics. |
| add to this | think a little more on this |
Skills to help you be innovative
Think of truly innovative ideas, especially those that avoid technology. what kind of people are innovators?| Skill | Think about this |
| Understand the problem and focus on the outcome. | Any 4 year-old must be able to use this device! - |
| Find single solutions to multiple problems | In an economic downturn, if you have great people, and they are your most important asset, then we won't fire anyone, we'll all take a 20% cut and work a 4 day week. |
| Challenge other's thinking and need to be challenged themselves | If you are willing to fire 20% of your workforce, it means perhaps your recruiting is flawed, and whose fault it that? |
| See the world from different angles | My employees don't work for me, I work for my subordinates, as my role is to create an environment for them to succeed. |
| Are not afraid of change | |
| Tolerate mistakes as learning experiences | trying to h=get tow-truck drivers to do the insurance assessment didn't work, OK, learn and move on. |
| Are patient and resourceful | with others and themselves (perseverance) |
| Are courageous and brave | She published all her team salaries, and performance appraisals and posted all bonus letters on the intra net.... |
So how do you rate yourself: complete this, take your time, use this rating system as you go through the list.
| Strongly Disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly Agree |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Are you brave enough to do a consistency check amongst the business leadership team? At home? Discussion and reflection take you into the next section, where you can articulate what is important to you.