There’s a good chance at one point or another you have had the misfortune of having to deal with a leader who was to put it NOT so delicately deficient, (at least in leadership skills). However, I wonder if you have ever worked with a boss who had deficiencies and used those deficiencies to become a great leader? Sound ridiculous?…read on!
There are Leaders with Deficiencies, there are also Deficient Leaders, don’t mistake one for the other!
Okay, let’s dive right into it…
Whether you like these leaders or not there are certain common character traits that show up in leaders as varied as Gandhi, Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and the newest whiz kid Mark Zuckerberg, and every leader in these world has these traits.
If you like me are a student of leadership, then you have no doubt read a great many biographies. When we read the biographies of leaders one thing becomes crystal clear: Leadership traits are many and varied! However, three of the most consistent traits are Perseverance, Commitment and their willingness to take risk. In a true leader all of these are in the name of inspiring others and by whatever means, make the world a better place.
How do we know this about leaders such as the ones I just mentioned? Well, the easy answer is they have achieved some thing(s) and as a result got some level of notoriety. But the question worth considering is, where they leaders before they had notoriety?
I would suggest to you the answer is a resounding YES!
Each of us in our position as a leader will be faced with what often feels like massive risk, and the desire to quite. To truly lead we must understand that perseverance, commitment and risk taking are what you need to become a leader who makes a difference a leader of notoriety. These traits are the bare essence of what you will need when you fall down, or get knocked down. Because believe me, you will stumble, trip and even fall on your way to the success you dream of.
Or, on occasion, (and this can be a huge trap) you might even have the thought that you’re not worth it, because that dark voice within that we must all learn to manage might tell you there’s some obvious or hidden deficiencies about you.
In truth, this happens to every single one of us and we have to, HAVE TO, keep going and value the best qualities we have.
Consider these deficient weirdos as examples: Mark Zuckerberg is color-blind and socially awkward. He built the fastest growing ‘social' network on the planet. But here’s what you likely don’t know; Facebook also has one of the best accessibility features for blind or color blind people.
Richard Branson (Virgin) and Steve Jobs (Apple) are/were both dyslexic and yet they built multi-billion dollar businesses. Apple employs an estimated 75,000 people worldwide and that does not include all the subsidiary companies and Virgin employs more than 50,000 people in 30 different countries.
It is important to really get this, YOU ARE GOING TO stumble, trip and fall on your way to success… So what!
Now let yourself imagine what you would achieve if you keep going. Think about how you can change and inspire the world if you get up and keep going knowing that you will make a difference not only to your life but to the many lives that you will touch either directly or indirectly.
Look my friend, we all have some “deficiencies”, but you know what, that doesn’t make us less “valuable” than the person beside us. You have what it takes to become a great leader! Instead of using your “deficiencies” as an excuse to quit, use them as a reason to make a difference.
“Great Leaders refuse to be hindered by the setbacks that others use as excuses. Such a leader uses their deficiencies as a launch pad for making a bigger difference.” ~ Dov Baron
With gratitude,
Dov…
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