What kind of leader do you wish to be?
How you answer the question says a lot about you. Your answer will also likely indicate where you are in your career journey. Many people will use words like successful, effective, or innovative. But those are way too vague to help you choose your next steps. You need a lot more detail. You might consider profiling yourself in the future. Beginning with the end, describe yourself, your accomplishments, and your legacy. Consider writing your obituary. What is it that you want people to remember about you? What kind of leader do you wish to be?
A few thoughts to get you started on your obituary
Did people trust and respect you? Were you decisive? Did you have great mentors and advisors? Were you a good mentor and advisor? Did you help people achieve and succeed? Were you one who shared credit with others and built teams? Were you a person who built up people even after they made mistakes? Were you known to be a star maker?
Spotting a trend here yet?
The most outstanding leaders accomplish things through people. What leaders do and how they behave tremendously influence how people respond and perform. So, in keeping with that notion, let’s keep digging and see what else you can accomplish during your lifetime as a successful leader.
Were people genuinely happy and satisfied around you? Did the parking lot clear out by 1 minute after closing time, or did people stay longer even when you didn’t ask them to? Were you one who made promises and owned up to any broken promises? Were you one who would not hesitate to hire people more intelligent or more experienced than you? Were you results and performance-oriented? Were you a leader who gave out objectives rather than tasks? Did you communicate the big picture regularly to everyone? Did companies grow and prosper relatively under your watch? Did competitors and suppliers respect you? Was ethics vital to you?
What’s not essential in the end?
Take note of what’s not important enough to even mention: how much money you made, how big your house was, or what kind of car or high-end watch you owned. How much profit your company made is not essential, but that your company kept people productive and gainfully employed is noteworthy. Your deeds gained you things, but those things are not the accurate measure of you as a leader. The real noteworthy treasures are the intangibles and your broad impact on others.
Use your obituary as a life career compass & scorecard.
So, please give it a go. How do you hope your obit will read? Once you get the first draft, store it in a safe place. Pick an annual date to review and edit it. Let it become one of your guiding lights. Remember that this hasn’t even mentioned family and friends, which deserve full-length paragraphs. While you’re at it, consider sharing it for feedback. You may find that you’re selling yourself short.
Now, go forth and get to work. Make it happen!
K