Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Use Solitude To Make Yourself A Better Leader

One of the paradoxes of leadership is that the time you spend alone can make you a better leader. It's there, out of public leadership's high velocity environment, that you can become a better leader by deepening your understanding of the world and yourself.

Critique your behavior and performance. Group critique should be part of your campaign to gather feedback, but so should quiet review where you can integrate the things you heard.

Reflect. Frederick the Great asked: "What good is experience if you do not reflect?" The answer is: "Not much." Reflect on specific things, but let your mind wander, too.

Think and develop your thinking skills. You can develop your ability to evaluate evidence and come to a conclusion. When you're able to reason effectively you're also more confident in your decisions and you're better at explaining them.

Read books and articles that make you think. Read books in your field, but read fiction, too. Read articles with opposing views. Wrestle with the angel of wisdom. You spend your day scanning short messages and executive summaries. Read things you get lost in.

Study. Some of your time alone should be devoted to a learning project. For business it might be "understand financial statements" or reading a specific list of business books. But some development projects can be "learn more about the music of Beethoven" or "learn to make my own sushi."

Plan and prepare for the important things. Think about that big meeting, that critical project, or a challenge with one of your team members.

Beware! You have to make time for this. Otherwise the demands of the day will drive out your deep learning time. Start with an hour a week. Make it an appointment with yourself.

Boss's Bottom Line

Great leaders make time for depth, development, and reflection. If you aspire to be a great leader, you should, too.

Thanks to Wally Bock / Three Star Leadership Blog
http://blog.threestarleadership.com/2011/05/23/use-solitude-to-make-you-a-better-leader.aspx

 

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