I believe that one of the
reasons that people do not attempt to find their leadership voice is
that they are afraid it will call upon them to do great things, big things,
life changing things . . . . and sometimes that is true. But I was thinking out
loud the other day that often it is the small things leaders do that make the
biggest impact. The “just enough” things!
I have been blessed to have a
career that allows me to work with and, hopefully, impact others in a very
positive way. I will admit that I often get caught up in the “grand gesture” as
a metric of leadership success. That time when I did that big thing, that life
changing thing (and thankfully, there have been a few of those!). But more often
than not, when I hear from a former or current student or client, they often refer
to that small thing that made a big difference. A small favor here, some extra
time there, a small inconvenience on my part or just a simple encouragement. To
be honest I probably did not give it much further thought but the point is that
I did just enough to help that individual get to the next level. Once
there, another leader would do a little more to help that person keep moving on
and up. See how this works? Your doing just what you can do is more than enough
to help an individual reach their eventual goal or success!
Now you may be thinking, how
could all these small things done by a number of people create such eventual impacts,
that seems just so random? On the surface, you may be right but when you drill
down on the following three-part equation, it makes sense.
Success is Collaborative – many
of us have no idea as to the true reach of our leadership. A segment of Cheryl
Bachelder’s great book, Dare to Serve, demonstrates this. These days, we
spend more time with our work relationships than we do our own families. Think
about the number of colleagues or direct reports you have and how many hours a week
you spend with them. Then multiply that number by 50 weeks per year and you
will be shocked. So. let’s say you have a team of 20 X 40 hours a week X 50
weeks per year, that gives you 40,000 hours of leadership reach! That is a lot of time for collaboration. A
lot of time to do small favors, quick guidance, an email of encouragement, or
some just in time learning. ALL of this happens in the small day to day
collaborations we experience but all that adds up to thousands of hours of
direct assistance!
Success is Sequential – in the
book, The One Thing, by Gary Keller (of Keller-Williamson Reality) and
Jay Papasan, the authors propose that focusing on one thing at a time leads to
big results because success is sequential. This is true for how we learn, grow,
and succeed. We learn and are equipped by one leader that allows us to proceed
to the next level. There, another leader further equips us for the next thing
and so forth and so on. Your unique just enough contribution, doing what
you could when you could, empowered someone else to proceed. I guarantee if you
think about it, you can trace back your current success to a series of past
events and people that enabled you to be where you are now!
Success is Cumulative – our
success in life is made up of many different components. It was not just one
person, or book, or class. Success is a cumulative combination of many things. A
favor here, a small promotion there, or time with an encouraging person. It all
starts to add up! We collect the skills, knowledge, and qualities that have
been provided to us in some form or fashion. When all of that is combined, you get
the capable person you are today! Even better this cycle of “just enough” leadership
repeats itself time and time again.
You see, we are all part of each
other’s success equation. Or at least we can be if we want to be.
It does not take much, just enough to add to the progression of opportunities
we gift to each other. I can honestly say that any success I have had in life
is due to the help of other people. Some of their contributions were big and
some were small but in the final analysis, it ALL mattered and it all made an
impact. I encourage you to never doubt the power of just enough leadership. It
will not take much, so what are you waiting for? Do you need my permission?
Fine, you have it. I am licensed in Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina to
provide such dispensations!
As always if I can help you and
the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I invite
you to contact me.
Yours in leadership,
Bill Faulkner
Independent Coach, Speaker,
and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
Email
= bill@outloudinc.com
For more information on the
John Maxwell Team, please visit
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