I’ve attended many leadership development classes. I’ve facilitated hundreds of hours of them too. In addition, conferences have been a regular part of my life for years as an attendee and speaker, and I’ve sought out the leadership-oriented sessions at every opportunity.
Through it all, the various approaches discussed, models I presented, and the themes about effective leadership behaviors all seemed so…
simple.
Why Are We Still Talking About This
So why are we still struggling to move from all of the talk about effective leadership, to workplace cultures that have world class leaders with employees lined up to join their teams?
Anyone?
The answer actually is quite simple…
…leadership is hard.
All of the wisdom, case studies, models, encouragement, examples, and fancy jargon are incredibly useful up to the point where we have to do something. It’s the “doing” that is so damn hard.
If we think about practicing a musical instrument for hours, it still feels very different when we take the stage and perform in front of a crowd.
If we think about practicing a sport for hours, it still feels different when we step on the ice or court to play in front of a crowd.
And when we lead people, it is very different from “practicing” in an artificial classroom setting.
How About You
What approach do you take to transition from the simple messages around effective leadership behavior and turn them into your leadership practice? Would your employees tell me you are doing a good job; or, is there some room for humility, and then improvement?
I’d love to hear from you.
No Excuses.
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