The Top 12 Missed Opportunities of Leadership
I’m sure you’re rowing hard.
But are you rowing like a leader?
In order to seize opportunities you must recognize them.
The top 12 missed opportunities of leadership:
- Eliminating ambiguity. Lean into confusion and frustration with openness and optimism.
- Hearing people’s stories. You can’t effectively lead people you don’t know. In order to inspire, you must know values and aspirations.
- Moving people from talk to practical behaviors. What are you going to do?
- Identifying and affirming behaviors that generate energy in others. What energizes team members? Enough with complaining all the time!
- Clarifying the short-term path forward. Where are we going this week, month, or quarter?
- Encouraging team members to reflect on satisfaction/disappointment in their work. What are they learning about themselves?
- Providing broader perspective to people lost in the weeds. Long-term perspective often solves short-term frustration.
- Eliminating antiquated rules, ineffective behaviors, and irrelevant programs.
- Inviting the elephant in the room to dance.
- Addressing nagging performance issues. Your team is waiting for you to speak up.
- Developing yourself. You still have far to go.
- Making *vision ubiquitous. You’re adrift until you clearly describe the destination.
The 5 powers of *vision:
Lewis Carroll wrote, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.
- Vision reveals opportunity. Opportunity for one is distraction to another. For example, eating in a fancy restaurant is distraction the night before an Olympic wrestling match.
- Vision defines forward movement.
- Vision enables tough decisions.
- Vision calls for commitment.
- Vision energizes endurance.
Decisions, apart from vision, are personal whim and organizational convenience.
3 opportunity tips:
- Opportunities emerge after you step forward. They don’t find you when you drifting.
- Choose a small opportunity if a big one isn’t available.
- Change something. Repeating the same behaviors – in the same way – yields more of the same.
What opportunities would you add or remove to the Top 12 list?
Which items on the Top 12 list are most important? Least?
What are the powers of vision?
Where is #12?
Thanks Rex. In the process of editing, I must have eliminated #12. I added “Develop yourself,” one of my favorite topics. That moved vision to #12. 🙂
Have a great week!
Dear Dan Rockwell-san: Great you came up with this thought of featuring the “Top 12 Missed” Opportunity of Leadership. I love your stance (“The Top 12 Missed” …). Could you come up with more of this ? Thanks greatly ! — from KyariKon, your loyal follower in Japan
Thanks KyariKon. I’d be more interested to learn from what you would come up with. 🙂
The 5 powers of vision. Love number one. I’m going to borrow than if you don’t mind.
I would add “Provide consistent, constructive and compassionate feedback.”
Choose a small opportunity if a big one isn’t available. <– Fantastic! I will keep my eyes open for this beginning TODAY!
The 5 points of vision are great. Having a vision is essential.
The 5 powers of vision are motivating. Vision is important to take great decisions.