Next Level Leadership in the Palm of Your Hand

It is October again and that means it is time for budget meetings.  Time to join other leaders from across our organization for hours of revenue and expense reviews and entering the data for the next year into a spread sheet.  This year we are all meeting in Dallas Texas, so that means a 3-hour flight from Washington-Dulles to DFW for me.  I always look forward to flying because I am able accomplish so much more than I ever seem to be able to accomplish from my office.  For this flight, I am excited that I have downloaded a new episode from the “School of Greatness” podcast featuring Simon Sinek.  I have been a raving fan of Simon’s since I watched his famous Ted Talk about starting with “why”, and he is launching a new book called Infinite Game that I have been anxiously awaiting.

Throughout this episode I listen and absorb the content like a sponge.  Of course, it contains a great deal of valuable information about life, leadership, and business, however there is one piece that immediately caught my attention.  Sinek is speaking about so called “leaders” or people who claim they want to be a better leader.  He then asks the question, “what are you doing about it”?  Wow!  Such a simple question, but a powerful one.  If you are in a leadership role or you are striving to be a better leader, what are you doing about it? 

I immediately reflected to 2 years ago when I was completing my own Individual Development Strategy.  As part of that personal development plan I committed to listening to podcasts, reading leadership books, watching Ted Talks, mining for leadership articles, etc.  My employer at the time did not have a “Leadership” training and I realized that if I were going to achieve my short- and long-term goals, I had to become a better leader and that was nobody else’s responsibility but my own.

I then began to think about other supervisor’s, manager’s, and directors with whom I have worked.  I thought about those whom I have supervised in the past and currently supervise.  I thought about interviews where I have asked potential candidates “what do you do for your own personal development”, only to see the blank stare followed by a partial story about some stranger who had achieved financial success, which they think is cool, so they are going to do that too. 

The fact is that in 2019 we have more resources available in the palm of our hands, through our cell phone, than any generation ever.  Technology has advanced so that we can basically “go to college” wherever we are.  In our car, at the gym, even in our bathtub (yes, I have listened to podcasts during Epsom Salt soaks more than once).  The point is, if you truly want to be a leader or a better leader, just as Sinek says, we must become a student of leadership.  It is not dependent on a degree from a high-priced university or a career coach.  We only need to make the decision that we are going to become a better leader and then commit to taking action to make it happen.

If you are reading this, and you truly want to become a better leader, this is something you can start immediately.  Subscribe to a leadership podcast, watch a Ted Talk, follow leadership content providers on social media, or download an audio book.  Commit to one action per week and build from there.  Put down the video game, turn off the television and/or radio and take charge of your own personal development and your future today.