One of my mentors commonly uses the old cliche, “there is more than one way to skin a cat”. Cliches can be tired, but still very true. If it helps, I like to call it “option 3″ thinking. Often times we find ourselves confronted with difficult situations and only two options present themselves as obvious paths. YES or NO. GO or NO GO. HIRE or FIRE. PURCHASE or WAIT.
These are the options that most people take. However, you can be the leader who looks for the option 3.
begin with pausing - don’t rush into a decision or to being tricked that only the obvious answers are the solutions available to you.
think beyond your current people & resources - what if other people were available to you? (new partners) what if someone else possesses the best solution? what if more resources were available, what would you do then? how would you get either of these solutions connected to your delimma? brainstorm without the current limitations that you have right now… ask the question, “what if resources weren’t holding us back, how would we handle this situation?” then, try to use part of that answer as your solution.
do some additional research - ask other leaders in other companies if they have faced the situation before (network). ask other employees who aren’t usually a part of the decision making process. read!!!
take a risk or two or three - the hardest part of option 3 thinking will be trying the thing that no one else has yet tried in your organization. usually, the ideas that will work are ones that people around you will mock, laugh at or are too afraid to try or just to plain lazy.
As a young leader, you must live out the very principles and nature of leadership that you desire to receive from the leaders that shape your current reality.
Becoming a leader requires the exercise of you determining the DEFINING PRINCIPLES that will govern your life and leadership ::: you must know WHAT & WHY people will follow, then go through your environments practicing those principles with as much integrity as possible. HOWEVER, if you should ever find a principle that you have adopted does in fact not have merit, you must be willing to admit it, alter it and move on.
Young leaders ache for leadership to be relational. They want a personal connection with the one(s) from whom they take direction, even going so far as to desire a “buddy” sort of status.
[we can examine the positives and negatives of this hope at another time]
However, here is where the axiom comes into play… A young leader should not expect something from his/her leader which they are NOT willing to live out themselves, even if it scares them.
You can’t treat your leader as an emotionless robot when making “your” decisions that affect them and then hope to receive empathy and understanding in the highest degree when they are making critical decisions that will have a personal impact on you. You shouldn’t expect a corporation to have sensitivities, patience and grace with regards to the end of your partnership together if you would quickly exchange your partnership with them for one that is slightly more affirming or lucrative or personally beneficial in some way.
BOTTOM LINE: to become a leader with defining character & principles, you must live out your early convictions in every environment possible to test them and to help develop and shape the very environment of which you hope to receive the value of your principles being lived out by others - - - - you ALWAYS lead by example.
Leaders run TOWARDS problems not AWAY from them.
The value of a leader is that they jump into messes and make solutions. They meet straight on with difficult situations, people, financial issues, and strategic choices. Often times there are small but irreplaceable development experiences to be found for NEXT leaders by being willing to take the leadership of a problem and finding a workable solution.
SO — the next time an issue arises and you are around, pitch in. get involved. pay attention. offer suggestions. watch for the outcome or resolution. ask if you can take the reigns on this one. take notes. add to your experience so that you will be a better leader.
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