Picture yourself on a road trip. Are you the meticulous planner, with detailed maps, all stops planned and hotel or campground reservations made? Are you more of a free spirit, where you stop when you see something interesting? Are you someone who drives or flies straight to your destination, with as few stops as possible? Even though there are many ways to travel, there is still a direction and a destination. Your personal style may be this way. You may be a checklist person, where you need to write down all the small steps to your goals. You may fly by the seat of your pants to get where you're going. You may be single-minded and driven until you get there. The thing to keep in mind with leadership, is that you are driving a bus to your destination. You have responsibilities to your passengers. Even though you have a preferred mode of travel, it doesn't always work for the rest of your group. You need to look at their comfort, their safety, their preferences and motivation. They need to have the same destination as you. Your passengers get to choose what bus they're on. Are you on the same bus?
One of my leadership activities is being a business coach. I help others identify their goals and plan strategies to achieve their goals. Very often, the initial coaching goes something like this- "What are your goals?" "These are my goals." "What do you need to do to achieve these goals?" "I need to do a,b,c." "When do you want to have these goals achieved?" "By this date." And then off they go. OK- so there is more, but this boils it down to the essentials. Next coaching (after they have actually done some of the steps) sometimes goes like this- "No one will a or b." "What was their objection?" "I asked them to a or b for me, and they just said no." "What did you offer them?" "I offered them a or b and they said no." "What was in it for them?" "I didn't even get to tell them because they said no." "So why would they want a or b?&quo
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