I had the opportunity to listen to a very eye opening presentation by Cynthia Rivera Weissblum, President and CEO of the Edwin Gould Foundation recently at a leadership summit. She made a great point about the importance of being present to become a successful leader. There are always a million tasks to do and lots of internal and external "chatter" that are a distraction from what is truly important. When you can distance yourself from that "organizational noise", you can become a thought leader that can see the forest through the trees and can add value to your organization. She described a coupling of a love for the greater good and a desire to be operationally sound as the ideal combination for a successful leader. Here are other pieces of advice from Cynthia:
- If you have defined the end game of your position as "doing everything", you have already lost the battle.
- When you are trying to create organizational efficiencies, collect data to show that there is a better way to do things. Data + Humility=Success.
- Don't fear change, that fear is just a reminder that you need to look at the issue from multiple angles.
- Bring consensus by learning to bring the best thinking of an entire group together.