Читать книгу The Sales Leaders Playbook - Nathan Jamail - Страница 5

lead•er•ship n. 1. an ability to lead.

Great leaders from history continue to be remembered and quoted. We quote great government leaders, sports leaders, civil rights leaders, and business leaders. The success of these great historical leaders has been documented, and we have been studying them for years. So, then why do so many organizations continue to struggle with great leadership? Why does the ability to excel in leadership remain a challenge in corporations?

My experience has shown that successful leadership does not come from simply reading and knowing what a great leader says and does. In fact, most leaders know what it takes to be a great leader, but simply cannot find the time, or know how to prioritize their time, to make it a way of life. Successful leadership can only be acquired from doing it and doing it again and again.

Make the Time

Becoming a successful leader requires time and persistence. Unfortunately, what we read about, learn, and want to implement all too often falls in the deep black hole of the many great ideas we never end up pursuing. Sound familiar? Perhaps you may have experienced this yourself – most of us have. Have you ever gone away on a leadership retreat or decided to use a great leadership book as the blue print of how your leadership team was going to improve? Then, six months later found yourself back to doing the same things you were doing prior to the retreat?

I remember attending a leadership retreat with my boss and all of my peers quite a few years back. We spent two days studying the book ‘Top Grading’. During the retreat, we discussed how we were going to align our teams and leadership style with this book. We even planned a number of great activities we would put into place to implement these programs. We left the retreat motivated to make the changes to better our teams and improve our leadership.

Three months after the retreat, our plans became a reference of what we were going to do. Then six months later, we never discussed them again. What happened? It is simple – we did not internalize and follow the success blueprint we were given. Unfortunately, I find this outcome is more the norm than the exception. All too often we forget that success depends on well planned, consistent behavior.

Write It Down

I encourage all leaders to fill the black hole of never implemented great ideas with action. To succeed, you must stay on target to achieve your leadership goals. The first step to making this happen is to write down exactly what you want to do. This can often be the hardest step – so do it immediately. Do not wait for the time to be right, do not get ready to do it, and do not wait till Monday, the new month, or the new quarter to do it. Just do it – and do it now!

Yes, just do it was a slogan popularized by Nike, but it is also extremely useful in business. Many people and organizations are “fixin” to get things done, but never do because they feel the timing is not right. The reality is that, unless you make it a priority, the timing will never be right. You have to want to make it happen right now, and just do it.