Transcript:
“When the leader lacks confidences, the followers lack commitment.” - John C. MaxwellLeadership: The Law of Navigation
I was never very good at the process part of building a business. I also struggled with the patience part and the daily work on leadership. What I was good at was charting a course. It wasn’t pretty at first: people were coming and going, joining and leaving the team because there wasn’t a whole lot of training going on. Despite this, I knew where I was going. Some people thought I was crazy that I declared these lofty goals, but that’s where I knew I was going to be one day.
Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a leader to chart the course. People are depending on you as the team leader. Whether you have one or 10 people on your team, they’re depending on you to have your stuff together and to make the right decisions. Their families, spouses, and children are depending on your ability to lead them and make them successful. What’s exciting for me is, now, I am directly impacting 50-60 people in the real estate business. With our personal development training, we have the ability to reach even more people indirectly, which is just fantastic.
That’s the cool thing about owning a business and being a leader: it’s more than just the grind. You can really change a person’s life!
If you want the best chance at success, it’s crucial that you draw on past experience. Obviously, you don’t want to make the same mistake twice; you want to learn from each and every one you make so that you get better each time. One great thing Dan Sullivan has taught is that everything that has happened in the past is just R&D for the future. So, if this morning session totally bombs, I need to realize that I can’t change it; all I can do is use it to do something different in the future. Everything up to this point is just ammunition for a different future -- don’t forget it.
Another key to giving yourself the best chance at success is examining conditions before making commitments. This is one that takes direct aim at people who always want the shiny objects, the squirrel chasers. Know where you are in your market before you throw money at something; too often, people get all excited about a shiny new tool without thinking through how they will use it and whether it will even help their business in the long run.
One bad thing that I’m still working on is it’s not easy to let other people influence me. That’s not a good thing. I often feel like I have all the answers, which obviously isn’t the case! A big change we made in both companies is having a structure in place where I’m the visionary. But because I make emotional decisions sometimes, I have set up a system so that I am able to listen to what leading members of my team have to say. Navigating leaders understand that ideas come from many places, and so are willing to rely on their team, other leaders, and other organizations when needed.
Navigators make sure their conclusions represent both faith and fact. I faithfully believe that we are going to sell X number of homes this year, but often the people around me explain practical reasons why that might be unrealistic.
The key is being able to deal in both worlds, that of faith and that of fact. You’re the guy or gal that are setting sights on impacting lives and going a certain way, but at the same time you have to take the practical advice of your team members and other important people in your life. It’s a weird thing that you’re always struggling with, but an awareness of it is the start to successful working relationships and a business building environment.
No comments :
Post a Comment