There has always been pressure on corporate leaders to perform well. Some have stretched and improved their competencies by learning more about themselves. Most have chosen to adopt best practices of those whom they respect to improve their own leadership style.
So, which is the better method to develop leadership skills---improve your innate signature talents or copy what others have developed and used successfully?
The short answer is don't jump from one leadership fad to another but do engage in authentic conversations and self-assessments to know yourself better.
Throw out the Cookbook. Cookbookish leadership doesn't work when you are following someone else's recipe. Perhaps, the quote from Dr. Maxwell Maltz of the Psycho-Cybernetic Foundation, about the need to focus our internal energy to make the changes we desire, says it best… "Trying to implant a goal that is incongruent with the self-image is like trying to plant grain by dropping seeds on rock hard bone-dry ground.
No one can consistently out perform his or her self-image. No one can overcome it with willpower. No one can sneak past it and perform in an incongruent manner. The bottom line is that you cannot 'do' things without 'being' the kind of person who does those things. You must 'be' to 'do.'"
Bottom Line: Something that works well for a leader in one company is not easily replicated in another.
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