Friday, September 21, 2012

Lonely Leaders

Leading is a lonely profession and it only gets lonelier the higher one gets in an organization. There is certainly potential for positive relationships with staff members but those have inherent limitations. Of course many professionals and solo proprietors work alone and they obviously have no one else in the organization to talk to. 

Who can a leader turn to when there are uncertainties on the horizon and tough decisions to make? Professional advisors such as bankers, attorneys, accountants and coaches are certainly a good source of outside perspective. Friends and family will likely be willing to talk and share perspective but they may tend to be either too kind or too critical and may not even fully understand the issue. Getting a meaningful perspective other than your own and follow through with effective action is critical to adapt to changing circumstances, threats, and opportunities. Average leaders are reluctant to ask for help, tend to avoid accountability, and choose to go it alone; great leaders however recognize their personal limitations and surround themselves with experts in various fields with cumulative experience that would be impossible for one person to have.

While the concept has been around for many years Napoleon Hill in the classic, "Think And Grow Rich", coined the term mastermind and defined it as: "The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony….No two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind, the master mind."

We have witnessed this concept help many organizations grow and flourish as we coach leadership, teamwork, sales, customer service, and communication skills. However we recognize at times more peer perspective is needed so we are now forming Peak Pathways master mind groups for leaders. Contact us for details at 402.332.3031 or send an e-mail to info@peakpathways.com