G2G017 | Visionary Leadership with Dan Quiggle
What is the reality?
75% of careers are derailed because of a lack of emotional competency. Notice, I didn’t say a lack of position in the company, lack of institutional knowledge, or a lack of technical skills.
Frankly, it doesn’t matter if you have the intellectual know-how or a “leader” title. You’re the president? Super. You’re the general manager? Great. You’re the CEO? Congratulations.
The real question you should ask yourself is can you relate to people?
Do you talk above your people? Do you talk beneath your people? Do you belittle your people? And to boot, do you you even know that you’re belittling your people? Because I promise you, they know you’re doing it. But you sign their paychecks, so they aren’t going to tell you these things.
I mean no disrespect to anyone with a CEO or presidential title. I have those titles myself. Really though, anyone can have a leadership title of president or CEO. You can go to FedEx/Kinkos and it costs about $7 to have those titles printed on a business card. Boom! You're a CEO.
However, visionary leaders build companies and create company cultures where the people who work there don’t just get out of bed everyday to begrudgingly meander to work.
Visionary leaders build companies and create cultures where employees pop out of bed every day because those employees have a sense that their work matters. They believe they’re part of something greater than themselves and the company they work for is making a marked difference in this world.
How do you inspire people to pop out of bed? Value them. Prioritize value creation. Give your people, your employees, the gifts of motivation, goals, recognition, purpose, and challenge.
Now you might be saying to yourself, “Yeah, that's possible when your company is a trendy new startup, an innovative tech company, or the creator of some fun-filled product that has to do with puppies, sports, or some hobby that people are passionate about. My company isn’t any of those things.”
And I’ll push back on that with a resounding, no.
People pop out of bed and race to work when the leadership of the company is more than just a collection of titles. People pop out of bed and race to work when their company is led by a visionary leader who deliberately creates a culture that's bigger than themselves, bigger than the product, and bigger than the industry. Visionary leadership requires us to transcend the mundane, appeal to our employees’ better angels, and inspire people to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Lead well,
p.s. - Thanks for listening! Please rate, review, and subscribe to my leadership podcast on iTunes, Spotify, and/or SoundCloud.
