Effective Leaders Live for the Challenge (Ep. 15)

Episode 15: Effective Leaders Live for the Challenge

 

1. Effective Leaders Look for Problems

“Leadership is self-made. People who have deliberately decided to become problem solvers lead better.” Martin Luther King Jr. 

Nobody is going to do it for you. Most people are trying to stay as far away from problems as possible. For others, those who are not leaders, problems just get in the way. But for the leader, every problem is an opportunity.

QUESTION 1: Do you view your problems as a challenge? As a way to get things done? 

“It is better to solve one problem five different ways, than to solve five problems one way.” George Polya 

You cannot be a  “my way or the highway” leader. You will slip into management mode.

When you are looking for problems, you always need to keep your ego in check. Sometimes, as a leader, you are going to be the problem. 

• Am I the kind of person who gets things done? 
• How is my attitude around the people who look to me as a leader? 
• Do I make excuses?

Just because there is a problem, doesn’t always mean you are going to have the solution right away. 

Keep your thinking in the right direction. There are a lot of problems out there waiting for you and you need to address those problems.

Leaders need to take the initiative to ask the hard questions. Look for areas in your company that others refuse to explore. 

Do what others don’t. Do what others won’t. 

 

2. Effective Leaders Major on the Majors

It’s easy to get bogged down in the little stuff. Leaders are always evaluating and reevaluating. In fact, Andy Stanley says, “If it is worth doing, it is worth evaluating.” 

QUESTION 2: Are you evaluating to find out what the major issues are? Can you distinguish them from the minor issues? 

“Learn how to separate the majors and the minors. A lot of people don’t do well simply because they major in minor things.”Jim Rohn 

Take a few moments to evaluate what the major things that you should be focusing on at your company.

If you wake up every morning and know what the major vision or goal is in front of you, you are going to be at a huge advantage. The best leaders in the world have a laserlike focus on the priorities that they need to fulfill to get the job done. 

ACTION POINT: Major on the majors. You can’t do this unless you write it down. 

 

3. Effective Leaders Employ Problem Solvers

The only people that I need on my team are those who solve problems. 

“Do you need more clarity on that point?” By asking this question I give the problem solvers on my team the ability to ask questions and let me know whether or not I am making sense. 

When you ask this question, you have to be very deliberate and sincere about that question. 

How can I tell if somebody is a true problem solver?

Sometimes you are going to think that you have the right people on the team when you actually do not. 

Look for the following people:

• You don’t want people who have the attitude of, “If it ain’t broke then don’t try to fix it.”
• The kind of people that you want are people who look at a situation and think, “everything is great, the system is working flawlessly. Now, how can we break it and make it better?” 

Look for the problems, then find out what the biggest problems are and put your biggest problem solvers on the forefront. This is the formula for lasting success.

 

MO’s Final Thoughts:

It’s not good enough to just be in a leadership position. The way that we raise our leadership ability is that we tackle problems. When the going gets tough, that’s when the leader gets going. That’s when you are going to put yourself in the position to either bring the team up or push the team down. Look for the big problems and then get people to come alongside you. 

Special thanks to:

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