Leaders Must Understand The 3 Why's

One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of being an effective leader is the manner in which someone examines both what motivates him, as well as what motivates others, to do things the way they do, make the decisions they do, and behave as they do. When someone gets involved in leadership, he should commit to always take the time and make the effort to understand what I refer to as, the three why's:
 1. Why does he believe as he does, and why others have their beliefs?
 2. Why are certain things done in a particular way?
 3. Why do some individuals react by taking timely actions, while others often procrastinate?

1. A true leader must become introspective enough to truly know himself. He must determine if he would like or trust him, if he were not himself. Basically, he must get to know what makes him tick, why he behaves in a certain manner, what his strengths and weaknesses are, why he has certain attitudes (biases, prejudgments, etc.), and how he might address these, or if he even wants to. Meaningful leadership also requires that one make the effort to realize that others often look at something from a different perspective or point of view, have different attitudes (biases, prejudgments, etc.), and accept the fact that it is never necessary for everyone to agree, nor will that ever happen. However, it does require great patience and understanding to permit differences without personalizing the intent, and to keep an open mind and be willing to listen to alternative approaches.

2. Far too often, many of us react to a different point of view, or someone taking an action that we might not initially agree with, as a personal affront. Much of the intransigence, for example, in our political system today, is that too many people see things solely in black and white, and seem unwilling to even consider that there may be a gray area. This often causes an increase in polarization, and a diminishing of communication or the willingness to come to some productive common ground. It is important to remember that simply because you might not agree with someone does not mean that their actions had some sort of sinister intent, etc.

3. Each individual in leadership gets to some point where there must be a decision made to take some timely action, or simply procrastinate. Many falsely believe that procrastination is merely stalling or avoiding action/ conflict, but in fact when we do not act when it is called for, we are often initializing numerous ramifications.

When leaders question and listen, they become more effective. Make it a point to at least examine these three areas.

Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has professionally run events, consulted to over a thousand leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for over 30 years. Rich has written three books and well over a thousand articles. His company, PLAN2LEAD, LLC has an informative website http://plan2lead.net and Plan2lead can also be followed on Facebook http://facebook.com/Plan2lead

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