May 11, 2012

We Don't Always Know

The ascent of leadership within your career and business is a complex journey. It would be simple to look back at when you got a raise or promotion and called those the rungs on the ladder. When you look a bit deeper, they may not have been your growth spots.

Since we aren’t machines nor are our teammates, coworkers and fellow stakeholders, we need to keep a keen eye on human elements and interaction. So if we pause for moment and look at those times in our career where we felt hampered perhaps in a restricted environment, were those possible learning opportunities or obstacles?

Two-Way Leader

I remember early in my career, I was intimidated by leadership. I was the kid who swept the floor (sometimes literally) while others in more important positions made all the decisions. But as I grew through a career of hard work, setbacks and victories, with some hindsight it's clear my “bosses” didn’t have all the answers. In fact, the good ones were secure in that fact. They were learning too. They needed the team’s help to grow and we made mistakes together.

If you feel you need to be strong, even when you aren’t sure, then you may be setting yourself up for future problems. If you think you may appear weak if you need help, trouble may be imminent.

The enterprise can be an overwhelming place at times and there is little allowance to pause when the pressures of the day need our attention. But we need to keep trying to find think time to grow. And asking for help is a sign of strength.

Even the brightest among us don't have all the answers.

Kneale Mann

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