By Thomas Davis, DNAP, MAE, CRNA
Time travel is a captivating theme for Sci-fi movie enthusiasts. Wouldn’t it be fun to go back in time 30 years knowing what you know now and be able to re-live the decades knowing in advance what the outcome will be. If we had it to do again, we would all be successful…and very wealthy people.
While we await the development of time travel capability, there is another way to make decisions in our life that will open the door to success as if we were looking into the future. The approach is so simplistic that many will doubt its effectiveness, however, listening to and building on the knowledge of successful people who are at the end of their careers will pave the way for people at all levels to advance themselves. Regardless of whether you hold a leadership title, or if you want to be more effective in your daily life, learning from those who have walked the walk is a great starting point.
Published in Forbes.com, the article “15 Leadership lessons these leaders wish they had learned sooner” offers wisdom gained through the school of hard knocks. Similarly, an article published by Christina Desmaris in Inc.com, “17 things these successful leaders wish they had known years ago” adds to the pool of wisdom meant to encourage the confidence of those developing their human interaction skills. Reading through the articles, I must admit that I have learned some of the same lessons the hard way and only wish that I had known then what I know now. As you read through the advice offered by experienced leaders, keep an open mind, and imagine that the advice is true. Apply the advice to a current challenge that you are facing and visualize success in the months and years to come. Learning from others can be a life-changing experience.
Things that leaders wish they had known earlier in their life.
- Leaders are there to help people grow professionally and personally. If you are in a leadership position, know your people as individuals and focus on their professional development. If you are a worker, let go of fear of your boss and assume that he/she truly wants you to be successful. Develop a relationship that will enable your growth and position yourself to help others with their advancement.
- Successful people can adapt to any situation. We are all more resilient than we think so open yourself to finding a creative solution and don’t throw in the towel.
- Self-awareness is the key to successful interaction with others. Become self-aware and be mindful of how you affect others. How you show up every day and your basic attitude is contagious. Self-confidence, upright posture, optimism, and a great smile set the tone for any interaction that you engage in.
- The leader isn’t always the smartest person in the room. People who are intent on alpha-dog dominance and insist that their solution is the best tend to micromanage and stifle the creative thoughts of others. The most effective leaders surround themselves with talented people, establish the goal, provide resources, let them do their work, and are open to learn from them.
- The best leaders are transparent. Transparency goes beyond basic honesty and builds a foundation for integrity. Transparent people freely share the reason behind decisions and admit when they make mistakes. Being transparent opens the door to revealing vulnerability which is frightening for many people. Transparency requires courage.
- Confident people define themselves. Never change who you are based on who others think that you are or want you to be. Know yourself, your personal values, and your vision for the future and then be true to yourself and your goals.
- Great leaders listen to and respect frontline employees. Diversity of thought adds strength to any group or organization and must be actively encouraged. Solicit creative thoughts from others, actively listen with the intent of understanding, and then incorporate new ideas into problem solving. Your team members will feel validated, and your supervisor will be amazed and the creative ideas you put forth.
- There is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is about people and management is about things. People have personalities and individual needs, things do not. Use charts and spreadsheets to organize things, use emotional intelligence to connect one on one with people.
- Morality matters as much as competency. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Who you are speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you say.” Your honesty, integrity and transparency are reflected by your behavior, and you will be judged on what you do and not how intelligent you are or what you say.
- Personal growth is a lifetime process. There is no single philosophy or leadership course that will ensure success for the remainder of your career as a leader. As the world changes, so do the leadership challenges and the approaches for solving them. Regardless of whether you hold a leadership title, make a commitment to being open minded, observant, and learning from every experience.
The ten pearls of wisdom listed above were compiled based on feedback from experienced leaders. I am now in my fourth decade as a healthcare provider, educator and leader and have learned many lessons along the way myself. Looking back over my career, the most important thing that I have learned is that leadership is about the people, not the leader. Success arises from using emotional intelligence to connect with those you supervise, those who supervise you, and the population that you serve. True success comes when you can align the personal goals of others with the goals and vision of the organization to reach the point where, in the words of General Eisenhower, “people do what you want them to do because they want to do it.”
Tom is an experienced leader, educator, author, and requested speaker. Click here for a video introduction to Tom’s talk topics.