The process of becoming a great engineering leader, or any kind of leader for that matter, is a perpetual quest. It is an endless journey of self-discovery. Just like going to church, you can never be “done”. There will be successes along the way, but no failures, only feedback from which you can choose to learn and grow. Sometimes the challenges you face will seem too enormous for you, but you will benefit more from the difficult parts of your travels than the easy roads. When Nelson Mandela was asked what changed about him during years in prison he said he matured in prison (an environment not totally unlike some corporate environments). In my experience, age definitely helps improve leadership wisdom, especially since it brings more patience!
There will never be a convenient time for you to invest in developing yourself as a leader. It will never be the most urgent or pressing task on your “to do” list. But it will certainly be the most important thing that you can do to increase your ability to make a positive difference in your work and enhance your overall career success.
You may be fortunate enough to have help: a mentor, coach or guide who provides valuable advice or support in your quest to become a great leader: but no one can give you what you deny yourself. A mentor can help you make best use of the opportunities that you have before you if you are willing to listen openly to their advice.
Leadership is not a position in an org chart or a title on your business card. It’s a mindset, it’s behavior, a way of communicating, especially listening. Do not wait until you are given a position of leadership to become a great leader. Commit today to becoming the kind of leader you admire regardless of your role or title in your organization. Set goals for your leadership development that extend far into the future, clearly imagining yourself as the leader you admire and then taking steps to become more like that leader every day. As you look back on your journey from the far future you will be amazed at your progress and the positive difference that one person can make in your company and in the world.
Cross posted at www.SVProjectManagement.net
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Kimberly Wiefling specializes in enabling people to achieve what seems impossible, but is merely difficult. She is the author of one of the top project management books in the US, “Scrappy Project Management - The 12 Predictable and Avoidable Pitfalls Every Project Faces”, growing in popularity around the world, and published in Japanese by Nikkei Business Press. The founder of Wiefling Consulting, LLC, she consults to global business leaders. She spends about half of her time working with high-potential leaders in Japanese companies, facilitating leadership, innovation and execution excellence workshops to enable Japanese companies to solve global problems profitably.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
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2 comments:
A very nice article.
There is another aspect to the leadership that needs to be kept in mind: In spite of good intentions, there is an occasional need for the leader to respect the environment in which he/she operates. Even the slightest perception -- yes, perception, not reality -- on others' part of a 'wrong' leadership can frustrate the leader's efforts, unless the leader is consciously aware of it and deals with it in a civilized manner.
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