There’s an old saying that “it’s lonely at the top”.
And yes, I have met some lonely leaders over the years… but it was of their own choosing. It’s only lonely if you don’t bring others along with you.
You see, businesses that are run like dictatorships do tend to be lonely places.
When the occasional impact player happens to arrive… full of life… full of energy… it’s only a matter of time before the environment tramples their ideas… and dampens the enthusiasm… leading to the departure of the individual and a hasty return to the status quo.
Yes… sometimes it’s lonely at the top… but it needn’t be that way.
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Teams, on the other hand, are not lonely. And in business… they provide a wealth of fresh talent and ideas. A great team is the quickest ticket to dominating your space, and making a small fortune.
If we’ve spent any time together, you’ve heard me say that the best leaders have the best teams. But what do you do if you’re a small business with just a handful of employees, or a self-employed professional?
Regardless of the size of the company… you can assemble a team. A handful of key employees… a few impact players from your current customers or suppliers… maybe even your banker, broker, attorney, or accountant.
They all win when you do… and they have insight from a new perspective… ideas from a point of view that is uniquely theirs.
And then we create a winning atmosphere… a safe environment… that encourages out-of-the-box thinking… calculated risk-taking… and the accountability and responsibility on which teams thrive.
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Need ideas? Ask for them.
In his book, Axiom, Bill Hybels tells of a friend who was at the helm of Motorola Corporation for a number of years. During his tenure, senior leaders that were invited to strategy sessions had to come armed with one hundred ideas.
They were refused entry if they couldn’t show their list.
Compare this with the individual I referenced in yesterday’s article who had a couple of hard-heads playing ‘devil’s advocate’… squashing ideas before they had barely seen the light of day.
Well… there is no comparison. We all know Motorola… and you’ve never heard of the other gentleman’s company.
Interestingly, nowhere did it say Motorola expected each attendee to come with one hundred ‘great’ ideas… just one hundred ideas. They knew the greatness was somewhere in the volume of thoughts and ideas that were allowed to be placed… untrampled… into the public discussion.
I look forward to speaking with you.
Takeaways:
The best leaders have the best teams
Strong teams beat average teams… but even an average team beats a company with no team.
Create an environment that rewards new thinking.
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