Читать книгу Seven Disciplines of A Leader - Wolf Jeff - Страница 13

“You can dream, create, and design the most wonderful place in the world…but it takes people to make the dream a reality.”

– Walt Disney

When Walt Disney made this statement some 55 years ago, he likely never imagined that it would be applied to the workplace and become a core management tenet.

It doesn't matter what business you're in – manufacturing, accounting, legal, high tech, biotech, blue collar, or white collar – nor the size or nature of your organization: It's people who are your most vital resource. Without highly motivated employees, your organization will struggle to survive.

Motivated people give you a competitive advantage. As a leader, you can make the difference between those who care deeply about their roles versus those who simply show up for work every day (if you're lucky), and go through the motions while collecting a paycheck. An effective leader motivates employees to work together and achieve greatness, instilling confidence and trust as they go about their everyday business.

Of the 70 percent mentioned in the previous Gallup article, 52 percent are not engaged, and another 18 percent are actively disengaged. These employees are emotionally disconnected from their companies and may actually be working against their employers' interests. That's a frightening number! What does this say about the state of leadership today?

People make companies. As leaders, we often spend most of our time on strategy and improving bottom-line results, but what about our people? It's our job as leaders to guide them, help them develop more skills, and increase productivity.

I've often questioned why so few MBA programs include essential people skills (often called “soft skills” in their curricula). I was therefore happy to read a recent Wall Street Journal article describing how top MBA programs are starting to incorporate soft skills into their course studies. It's about time! In today's workplaces, these soft skills can make or break a leader. Let me give you an example.