There’s a divide that I see a lot out there, and it’s the difference between true leadership thinking and employees who are just putting in their time and pulling a cheque. People who act like leaders will soon get the titles to match their behaviour. Here’s a list of what a typical ‘okay’ employee thinks about:
- Their workspace
- Their compensation
- Their holiday time
- Their title
- Their recognition (or lack of it)
- Their bonus
- Their coworkers, good or bad
- Their work tools (computers, phones, etc.)
The true leader is thinking about a completely different list. Theirs tends to include:
- Company profitability
- Company sustainability
- Company competition
- Finding great people for the company
- Dealing with problem people for the company
- Setting the company up to survive during tough times
- Making payroll
- Coming up with great new product ideas to make the company thrive
- Treating customers like gold so they’ll keep buying and tell their friends
Obvious difference isn’t it? Leaders think about the good of the organization! Non-leaders think about… themselves!
So, pretty simple today. If you want to be in a leadership role one day, start thinking and talking about things that leaders think and talk about. Soon, you’ll find yourself there.
