Some time ago I attended a webinar about successful negotiation and heard a story which doesn’t let me go anymore. It is so simple and yet unexpected and somewhat incomprehensible. It is about a father, his three sons and 17 camels. For your inspiration, this Monday I’d like to tell you a story about unexpected possibilities and solutions.
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Odious, shunned, dreaded and over-worked – in short: unsuccessful! If you are going to be a new leader you have the unique chance to give yourself a really hard time. No matter if you are a leader with hierarchical power or a lateral leader responsible for execution and success of a process or project – this article is for you. ‘Cause this Monday we don’t have one but 10 tips for you of how to be totally unsuccessful as a leader.
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Who calls the shots in a company? Manager or Leader? Who is responsible for an organisation’s success and who has the power to do so at all? And what’s the difference between manager and leader? Ancient questions in terms of leadership development and the answers in the past have been very different. Today the general opinion is that manager and leader are no longer descriptions of positions inside a company but rather different approaches when it comes to leadership tasks. Do you know to which one you tend to? Watch yourself in the upcoming week and do the self-check.
Motion – countermotion. Offense – defense. This kind of thinking and behaviour seems to be deep-seated in european brains, whether it’s in daily live or in job communication. But countermotion and a blind rage of defense unnecessarily cost a lot of energy – in live and in communication. Therefore, in the upcoming week use the power of Kung Fu for effective communication.
Successful people don’t postpone, you often read. As easy this ambitious resolution is made as hard it is to follow it. And that’s the reason why we often write down something on our to-do list, leaving it there for days and weeks without doing anything. We say: Get rid of these to-do-zombies. In the following week, accomplish something that you deferred for a long time.
Sometimes we are really blinkered when we enter the office in the morning. We are totally focussed and concentrated on our own to-do-list, our tasks for the day, orders from the bosses, on our aims and on everything we want to achieve. In doing so we do not see the interests of our colleagues and employees. But those interests are crucial for being a successful leader. Therefore we ask you to give others’ interests your best attention in the upcoming week.
Short-tempered, a little bit choleric, says frankly what he thinks, is annoyed with odds and ends and seems not to give a lot about other people’s advice or opinion: Since many years Homer Simpson enthuses people of any age. But if you meet a Homer-liker communication partner in your working life, enthusiasm decreases immediately. We say: Also with a Homer Simpson effective communication is possible. Give it a try in the following week.
Don’t fall down the stairs. Don’t get hurt. Don’t hit your head. Don’t drop that!
Are you already feeling queasy? No wonder. Our brain isn’t able to handle No’s and Dont’s and is just visualizing all these unpleasant situations. We also happen to use dont’s pretty often in our working life – though there is a far more effective way. In the following week, avoid negations and say exactly what you want instead of what you do not want.