ILLUMINATION CHALLENGE 100 — DAY 19
The 3 Basic Laws of Leadership
Skills that everyone can learn
Leadership Development programs and coaching is a huge business. You will find thousands of books, independent consultants, corporate programs, executive coaches, and bloggers (like me) talking and writing about it.
Some tell you to be servant leaders, some evangelize authoritarian methods while some ask you to follow your passion. However, we are all unique, so how can leadership be a single-formula technique?
Styles, processes, your model CEO — everything comes in different shapes and forms. But the three basic laws of leadership remain the same. As long as you follow them while playing to your strengths, you will be successful. Indeed, leadership is a critical skill if you want to advance in your career in today’s cutthroat digital economy.
So what are these 3 laws of leadership?
- Be good with people.
- Get things done.
- Be adaptable.
The above three laws might seem simplistic, but they are difficult to practice. All three are interdependent so you cannot skip one or the other!
People Skills
Good leaders can read people very well; whether it a peer, junior, senior, customer, vendor, client, or family member. Notice I said ‘good with people, not the word ‘extrovert’. Truth is, leaders, come in all types — introverts and extroverts, leaders who barely step into the spotlight (like Charlie Munger), and even extreme authoritarians like Henry Ford.
However, all great leaders are able to galvanize people around them by painting a powerful vision and building a loyal tribe who can execute and support their ideas.
Bias For Action
Leaders get things done. Period.
It is not enough being a visionary; it is critical that your ideas transform into reality. Sure, great leaders may delegate things, but they do not how and whom to enlist to get it done. Otherwise, those visions are just daydreams!
Vision Without Execution is Hallucination!
— — Thomas Alva Edison
Good leaders know have a bias for action. Life will always throw situations where you do not have all the cards open and taking the next step is the only way of assessing right or wrong. Good leaders understand that inaction is also a type of failure and hence err on the side of action!
Each individual has their own motivations, goals, biases, and ways of working. Great leaders know how to customize their approach so that they can tap into their teams’ strengths and get things done. Thus people skills and bias for action go hand in hand.
Adaptability
Life has a curious way of throwing curveballs just when you think you have everything figured out. Great leaders recognize this and are always receptive to change. They do not need to be innovative geniuses, but they are know how to leverage shifts in trends, regulations, and new technologies to further their goals. They follow “learning agility” — pick up new skills quickly and APPLY them to maximise benefit.
Having a large and diverse network also helps them stay in tune with new ideas and innovations.
Life is unpredictable, like a game of poker and leaders must learn how to adapt to the cards fate dealt with them.
Conclusion
These three overarching themes of leadership are critical if you want to get ahead in your career or your life. They form the basis of all leadership values and techniques.
For practical methods to develop these skills, follow these ideas.