Dr Stephen Covey taught me that the key to the many, is the one. We often think that being an effective leader is tied to leading lots of people. Although the truth is that it’s often more like leading lots of cats. We often believe that the more people we lead, the more effective we must be as a leader. That’s all rubbish. We can “lead” a lot of people and be totally ineffective, as well as lead one person who makes a huge impact on the world and others. The numbers are all relative. Except one.
The key to leading is modeling. You can talk all you want, until you’re blue in the face, and still no one will follow you. But what your followers WILL follow is what you do. Good leaders are good teachers, and the most effective way to teach is to show, especially in the realm of leading. Hence, the importance of that number, one. The key to the many, is the one. I added what makes that statement incredibly effective, I think. “I am the one!” It’s ME! I make the difference. I wish that I’d been able to study with another great Effective Leader who epitomized this entire essay, Mahatma Gandhi. You may remember one of his most profound teachings, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
I remember my granddaughter, Nieves, probably five years old at the time, doing something that intrigued me. I asked her, “Nieves, why do you do that that way?” She looked me in the eye, almost surprised by my question, and answered, “Because YOU do, Opa!”
If you want to be an Effective Leader, you have to behave like one. You have to do what an Effective Leader does. Jim Cathcart, author of The Acorn Principle, asks another question that every Effective Leader should ask daily, several times a day, as a matter of effectiveness. His question is, “How would the person I want to be do what I’m about to do?”
Be that person. An Effective Leader. Act like one. The key to the many, is the one. YOU are the one!
Until next time, be GREAT! You ARE!
HEIRPOWER!
bob vásquez!
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