It’s so much more comfortable to not do anything about situations that are challenging, uncomfortable and perhaps make us squirm.
I have had people talk about people’s body odor behind their back; bad breath…ditto. I once went into a meeting and was guilty of not telling the Chair that his zip was down.
Many of the situations I’ve described are lost opportunities to simply be kind and make no bones about it, being kind is important.
I recently came across these statistics discussing leadership and was surprised by the figures so I though I would share.
Did you know that:
- Less-than-optimal leadership practices cost the typical organization an amount equal to as much as 7% of their total annual sales.
- At least 9% and possibly as much as 32% of an organization’s voluntary turnover can be avoided through better leadership skills.
- Better leadership can generate a 3 to 4% improvement in customer satisfaction scores and a corresponding 1.5% increase in revenue growth.
- Most organizations are operating with a 5% to 10% productivity drag that better leadership practices could eliminate.
I would say there are perhaps three reasons why we don’t do anything:
- We are ignorant – “I don’t know…”
- We are apathetic – “I don’t care…”
- We lack the skill – “I don’t know how…”
Crucial conversations and confrontations are hardest. My friend and colleague Dr. Marcia Reynolds wrote a book covering this subject. It’s called The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs. I am not getting any commissions promoting her book, she hasn’t even asked me to promote it. However I do think that it’s a valuable book to have in your library.
When was the last time you did a skills scan?
In the book Change Anything the authors share
Every time you try your best to do what you know is right and you fail, there’s a good chance that your failure can be traced in part to a gap in knowledge or a missing skill.
Why is it so difficult though to identify what’s missing for us? Because our lack of skill or knowledge sits in our blind spot.
It’s important to find out what you know and don’t know and what you can and can’t do.
When you add the necessary skills to your success equation then you stand a better chance of improving your leadership results and bringing about change faster and easier.
It’s the little things you either do or don’t do on a daily basis that make ALL the difference in your life and your business. However you can’t change what you DON’T SEE! Get your FREE E-Guide– Discover what’s Missing in Your Success Equation.
Image from http://www.the-scan.com
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