Rain Rain Go Away and Come Back Another Day. Tropical storm Fay is still with us as I write this today. We can not control the weather but we can control our careers.
Being recognized is in your hands. YOU control your future. Depend on yourself and believe in yourself. Look around and see what successful people are doing. Observing is a powerful teacher.
Getting into a leadership position and being a great leader are two different things, just like becoming a parent and being a great parent is quite different. There is not a lot of competition at the great level, so that can be to your advantage. Take advantage of this advantage and go for the gold.
Many people come to me to ask how they can get into a leadership position. I tell them all the same thing—and that takes about four minutes.
First you have to be technically competent in something, so pick a job or line of work and become the best expert you can in that line of business or role. Learn something new about your business every single day. Ask lots of questions.
After you do that, work really hard on being organized and disciplined. You may need to take a time/life management class to understand the huge responsibility that you have to be organized as a leader and manager of others. If you can’t get things done and on time, it really does not matter how much you know.
Next you need to make sure that you have a very positive and can-do attitude . . . and that you are flexible and willing to take on just about any assignment with a positive attitude. No whiners apply.
Last, but not least, make sure that you understand what great leadership looks like and what the expectations are for leadership behaviors and performance. An excellent place to study this is by reading my new book, Creating Magic…10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies From a Life at Disney, which will be out on October 14. Go to my website to learn more about it: https://www.leecockerell.com. It is also available as a Random House Audio Book on CD, a download or an ebook. I recorded the book a couple of weeks ago. That was hard, but I think it came out great. Reading out loud is a whole lot harder than not moving your lips, especially when you are not allowed to make any mistakes. I read some paragraphs over and over and over to get it right. Now my great grandchildren will be able to listen to me.
The next thing you need to do is be great in your performance. You need to stand out above the rest by doing the things described above. Everyone has a reputation. Make sure yours is the best one.
Finally, you need to be a continuous learner.
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You must work hard every day to become even more technically competent in whatever line of work you decide to take on.
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You must work hard every day to be more and more organized.
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You need to learn a lot about the possibilities that technology can bring to bear on your business.
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You must pay great attention to becoming a better and better leader until people say that you are a great leader. If you are great they will tell you in different ways. If you are not they will not say anything.
Do these things . . . and you should have no problem attaining and sustaining a leadership role! These things are just plain old common sense but not common practice. Don’t get bored with the basics in life.
Have a good weekend and try to stay dry if you live in Florida…..Lee