You’re possibly familiar with the old American fantasy-drama movie titled ‘Field of Dreams’. In the movie, farmer Ray hears a mysterious, persistent voice directing him to build a baseball field on his corn farm. The promise is that if he builds it, people will come and pay to watch the games. He submits and builds a baseball diamond on his corn field. Afterwards, players turn up to play and then people start coming to watch. There’s fulfillment of the famous phrase ‘If I build it they will come’. That’s a movie. Real life does not work the same way.
Ironically, many people set out building their businesses on the same premise. They assume that if they have a good product or service, put it on the market at a reasonable price, people will buy. Sounds familiar? Well, a number end up disillusioned and even give up their dreams after waiting for the flood of customers which doesn’t materialize. At least, not in the time they expected it to happen.
Those who have been in business for a while know that building a solid business takes time. There may be the odd one or two who hit success almost immediately but for most people, it’s a long, slow step-by-step process.
Developing your leadership ability follows a similar path. Leadership develops daily, not in a day, as the ‘Law of process’ says. This law is the second one we’re considering in the continuing series based on leadership guru John Maxwell’s best-selling book ‘The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’.
John says that becoming a leader is a lot like investing successfully in the stock market. If your hope is to make a fortune in a day, you’re not going to be successful. In becoming an effective leader, what you do on a day to day basis over the long run really matters. Sometimes you take two steps forward and one back – or even one forward and two back – which may be in the manner of making some smart leadership decisions followed by gross mistakes. If you stick with the process over the long haul and not give up, you will eventually see fruit. Develop a personal plan for your growth, and follow it through with a commitment to continuous learning and growing, which is the hallmark of great leaders. Read and listen; listen and read – and lead.
One of the business writers whose writings I enjoy reading is Patrick Lencioni, the founder and president of ‘The Table Group’, a firm dedicated to providing organizations with ideas, products and services that improve teamwork, clarity and employee engagement. One of Patrick’s best-selling books is ‘The Five Dysfunctions of a Team’, a leadership fable that outlines the root causes of politics and dysfunction on the teams where you work, and the keys to overcoming them.
Patrick will be one of four star speakers at LIVE2LEAD: Nairobi, a leadership simulcast scheduled for October 27, 2015. Patrick will be speaking alongside the organizer and host of the event, John Maxwell; author and coach – Valorie Burton; and Microsoft COO, B. Kevin Turner. The morning simulcast will be followed by an interactive panelist discussion with industry leaders, in the afternoon. You want to be at the table so as to benefit from the transformative lessons, rich interactions and networking which will be another block in lifting the lid on your leadership. Invest in the process – develop your leadership ability and get better results in your life and business.
This article is the second in a series about how the laws of leadership apply to business leadership. The author can be reached through ‘[email protected]’
