Send to KindleLeadership Questions and Answers
Like all businesses that expect to succeed on the internet, I pay attention to the search terms people use to find my sites. At the risk of being accused of trying to pack this with keywords, I want to address a few questions that are obviously on people’s minds.
I get a lot of visits from people who link leadership and strategic planning. There seems to be a large number of people who are trying to understand the connection. So, let me address the issue. Strategic planning is a subset of good leadership. Good leaders take planning seriously. More than that though, they must communicate the plan and make sure subordinates understand it and know how they contribute to its success. Without a good plan, leaders don’t know where to lead.
I also see a large number of people looking for ideas on how to create vision statements, mission statements, and the difference between the two. My advice on vision statements is to describe what you really want. This is where the leader describes their ultimate desire for the organization. When you present a vision statement to your leadership team they should say “Wow!” If they don’t, you might not be dreaming big enough. On the other hand, the mission statement is a short succinct statement of what the organization is there to do. It should not include anything about how you’re going to do it. These two statements are critical in telling the organization why it’s there.
Some people are apparently looking for my leadership model. Well, I don’t have one. For years I’ve tried to figure out how to solidify what I know to be good leadership techniques into a neat model that would sell books. I decided it couldn’t be done, mainly because there are just too many potential branches into the various aspects of leadership. I will say though that there are a few things that transcend any leadership challenge. They are, know your mission, know your values, know your goals, and most importantly, know your people. Oversimplified? Certainly. And that’s why I don’t have a model.
I’ve found that a lot of people are looking for information on Generation X, and Generation Y (Millennials). That interest has even resulted in my next book. For those looking for answers on this complex subject though, I offer this. I’ve learned that the generations are different. Often though, generations aren’t as different as they like to think; with one exception. The Millennial Generation really is different; but not in a bad way. They’ve grown up differently. They grew up with the technology the rest of us have just learned to use (some more than others). They actually process information differently because of that early influence.
So how does a leader deal with the different generations? First, refer to the previous paragraph. Those rules apply to all situations. Then, learn to embrace the differences and leverage them to help your organization succeed. Generation X, for example, isn’t lazy as a rule, but they do subscribe to a little different set of priorities than Boomers. They don’t intend to spend their life “working for the man” like many Boomers have. Guess what? They’re no less dedicated to success, everyone likes to win, they just want to do it a little more efficiently. So, help them do that. Millennials are masters at moving information. But they’re rude and can’t communicate, right? Not really, and with a little guidance, they can really accelerate the process.
So those are some short answers to what I see people looking for. Leadership is a continuous learning process. So, keep searching!
