One thing you can do that will make your associates appreciate you even more.
I spent 30 years as a trainer and consultant talking my way through life assisting other leaders do their jobs even more effectively. Then, wanting a career change, I took an avocation and made it a vocation. I opened and ran a millwork business which became the third largest in the Caribbean by the time I sold it.
Running a woodworking business is, in principle, the same as any other business. All leadership is problem-solving. It faces the challenge of taking a customer‘s problem or an employee’s dilemma and finding a solution.
Our ability to do so in a timely and efficient manner that satisfies all the constituents is at the heart of effective leadership. There are, therefore, some cardinal principles. Here’s the first one:
Great leaders simplify the complex. They take what is complicated and make it simple. They make sense out of confusion and they bring order out of chaos.
Mediocre leaders don’t.
Michelangelo said that “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
Why?
- The more complicated a plan is, the more likely it is to fail.
- The more complex a directive is the greater the chance that someone will get it wrong.
- The more components that are required to be found and assembled, the more maintenance it will take to keep it running.
- The higher the complexity, the greater the cost.
Much of what complicates life is often unnecessary. Many of us, in the midst of the challenges of juggling career, relationships, commitments, and kids long for what?
A simpler life.
So, wanna be a great leader? Simplify, simplify, simplify.