“Great leaders move us. They ignite
our passion and inspire the best in us.” - Daniel Goleman.
I personally appreciate three traits
that lead to an amazing success – passion, excellence and commitment. Most
leaders possess these three traits that make them stand out from others. Let us look at three inspiring leaders who
emphasized passion, excellence and commitment.
Passion
When you look at Steve Jobs, he was
noted for his passion towards technology. Although many other opportunities
knocked at his doors, he never gave up his passion towards technology which
made him as a legendary innovation leader globally. He co-founded Apple Computers
in a garage and strove hard throughout his life. He took Apple to great
heights. He was fired by the company due to the differences. Steve Jobs did not
lose his hope, and did not give up his passion. He followed his heart, started
his company NeXT and did well. When the Apple was close to bankruptcy, Steve
Jobs was requested by the company to join. He joined the Apple and brought out many
innovations and took the company to great heights globally. Steve Jobs said,
“Winners don’t quit because they are passionate about their work. If you are
not passionate, you will quit because when things become difficult our will say
this is not my kind of stuff.” Apple is
a great turnaround story under the leadership of Steve Jobs. He made a
difference in the lives of people. Hence, you must follow your heart to make it
big in your life.
Excellence
Whatever the area of interest you are
into, you must strive for excellence. If you don’t emphasize excellence, you
will be left out in the race. Since the world is highly competitive, it is
essential to adapt, update and excel in your area of interest. If you work hard sincerely and consistently in
your area of interest for 10,000 hours, you will become a successful
professional and leader. If you continue working hard further in the same area,
you will be able to brand as an expert globally. Abraham Lincoln’s father was a cobbler. Although Lincoln had differences with his
father he always respected his father’s profession. When an opposition leader
in Senate commented upon Lincoln taking over as President being as the son of a
cobbler, Lincoln took it in his stride and silenced his critic by asserting
that he was proud of his father who excelled in his work as a great
cobbler. Hence, we must always take
pride in what we are doing. There is
nothing like good or bad profession. All
professions are good when people work with excellence. Hence, emphasize
excellence to remain relevant and stay ahead of times and technologies.
Commitment
You must stand by your commitment, if
you want to earn trust and confidence from others. Don’t go by short-term
temptations. Think of long-term interests. Keep people before profit. Marshall
Goldsmith shares his admiration for Frances Hesselbein and her commitment in
his award-winning book Triggers: Creating
Behavior That Lasts - Becoming the Person You Want to Be as follows: A few years ago, Frances got an invitation to
the White House. The White House date conflicted with her commitment to speak
to a small nonprofit group in Denver. To most people this wouldn’t be a
conundrum: A meeting with the president
of the United States or an unpaid speech in Denver? We call the folks in
Denver, explain the situation, offer to reschedule or promise to come back the
next year. After all, it’s a pro bono. We’re doing the folks in Denver a favor.
They’ll understand. Frances went the
other way. She told the White House she wouldn’t be attending. “I have a
commitment,” she said. “They’re expecting me.” (The real kicker for Marshall
Goldsmith, the cherry on top of this integrity sundae: Frances never told the
Denver group about the White House invitation.)
To conclude, learn lessons from these inspiring
leaders and acquire three great traits – passion, excellence and commitment to stand
out and grow as a great leader.
“Excellence is an art won by training
and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence,
but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we
repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle
References
Secrets of Your Leadership Success - The 11 Indispensable
E’s of a Leader by M. S. Rao (Shroff Publishers & Distributors)
Smart Leadership: Lessons for Leaders by M. S.
Rao (Sterling Publishers)
Triggers:
Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter (Crown
Business, May 19, 2015)
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Professor M.S.Rao, India
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Leadership Consultants India
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