The future seems so far away from our day-to-day duties and yet preparing for tomorrow is a principal responsibility of our leadership role. Who will replace us becomes the hardest question of all. This question must be wrestled with without bias on your part. Of course no one can do your job as well as you can, you’re not retiring, you’re in good health so why think about a succession plan?
No matter how you earn a living, one occupational skill you would do well to cultivate is the knack for getting along with the boss; that dispenser of raises and promotions is probably the key person in your working life. In most facilities, it's your boss’s opinion of you that determines your future in the company. A staff person in constant conflict with his/her supervisor, even if he or she is a virtuoso performer on the job can find his/her prospects considerably dimmed.
“We must never forget that the most powerful communication isn't what you say, it's what you do. What counts, in the final analysis, is not what people are told but what they accept. It is this concept of the role of communication in industry that characterizes effective leadership.”
- Frank E. Fischer
The majority of people who are considered excellent conversationalists will tell you that they spend far more time listening than speaking. They also ask questions of clarification, making sure they fully understand what is being said before contributing their own thoughts about the topic. This as you may know is easier said than done. It takes practice, practice and more practice.
There are high spots in all of our lives and most of them have come about through encouragement from someone else. I don't care how great, how famous or successful a man or woman may be, each hungers for applause.
In a recent study I read twenty-five to forty percent of a Company’s revenue dollars are spent doing things incorrectly. As leaders why do we tolerate this terrible performance record? The study seems to indicate that we allow time to do things incorrectly, but not enough time to do an assignment correctly the first time. Perhaps two and three tries will go into an effort before it is completed correctly. Are you surprised by that statistic? It’s not a very good report card for managers and supervisors.
When you think about developing leadership skills for yourself or others picture a triangle. Draw a triangle on a piece of paper and label the three points: education, experience and feedback.
It’s not enough to declare that your selected candidate for promotion to supervisor is now a leader. You must provide him or her with three essential building blocks. And by the way, if you are the one being asked to take on the additional responsibility of leadership you should insist on having the same three building blocks:
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