3 Habits That Make You Dumb, Regardless of Your IQ
Intelligence and talent aren’t the core components of remarkable leadership.
Smart leaders do dumb things.
Cocky talent relies too heavily on abilities.
3 habits that make you dumb, regardless of your IQ:
- Resent the success of others. Nothing makes leaders smaller than hating the success of others.
- Hang on to offenses, failures, and disappointments. Unforgiveness fills your pockets with rocks.
- Serve yourself at the expense of others. Everyone wonders if you’re on their side.
12 habits that trump IQ:
- Create options. The best decisions begin with four options, not one. One-option-decisions are choices, not decisions.
- Consider the impact of your conduct on others. How do you make others feel?
- Protect gains. Visionary leaders lose ground when they fail to build processes around successes.
- Help others reach their goals, especially those over you.
- Let people know what you really think. Game-playing-cowards achieve momentary success, but lose respect over time.
- Engage in praiseworthy behaviors. The opinions of others impact the effectiveness of your leadership.
- Include kindness in everything you do. Toughness without heart is cruelty.
- Approach situations with the best interest of others in mind.
- Reject favoritism. Engage with people as equals.
- Be emotionally steady and willfully determined once direction is set and decisons are made.
- There comes a time when options are distractions. Exploring alternatives doesn’t get anything done.
- Grit takes you places talent and brains only dream about.
- Finish stuff.
- Let people know they can count on you.
- Out-work the people around you.
- Meet pressing needs.
- Solve nagging problems.
- Reach high. Ease makes you lazy, not remarkable.
- Embrace discomfort and dissatisfaction.
- Accepting the status quo makes you average.
- Connect with people who make you want to be better.
- Expect the people around you to stretch their abilities.
Which habits are most important for successful leadership?
What might you add to the list?
All common sense, and all-to-often not followed. It’s encouraging to see messages like this echo the “leadership training” I’ve been giving my 11yr old son, who has no problem taking charge in his peer groups…and even us, sometimes. This is the type of message that could / should be read weekly or more, just to make sure it’s on the forefront of our minds each day. Good stuff, Dan.
This somewhat mirrors the “servant leader” profile which I found to be most rewarding in my career. Looking out for others, making work a better place for others, and helping others achieve their success. It all comes back full circle in a positive way when you start out with those ambitions. Great thoughts Dan!
You asked, “Wha might you add to the list?” Celebrate individuals contributions and behaviors you want repeated.
And listen to some Foo Fighters while reading this post and you’ll be ready to take on any challenge with grit!
I might add, say “yes.” Let people try things. People want to know their ideas matter and are much more interested in and excited about something with their imprint on it.
Dan: I have seen number 11 work with mentors that I have been fortunate enough to have: Finish stuff: Let people know they can count on you. Out-work the people around you. Meet pressing needs. Solve nagging problems. Thank you again for articulating success.
Dan,
Excellent, I like the “Kindness”, “people as equals” and “finish” options, critical for development from my standpoint for business success as well as “Leadership foundations”.
Grit takes you places talent and brains only dream about…excellent analogy for leading outside of the box. As leaders we deal with many different people, and the various layers of a person’s good days and not good days can be challenging (including thine own not good days). ‘True Grit’ is what you need to be able to summon when dealing with the not good days. You have to dig deep, set your ego aside in order to see the truth, don’t judge and don’t take it personally …then you offer the four options to change things back to good, and move beyond. Great Post Dan, thank you!
Add to #12, push yourself until you make mistakes. My dad, a Carpenter, often told me “if you aren’t making a occasional mistake you aren’t working hard enough or fast enough! Just try not to mess up to big.”
Timeless advice, good stuff Dan!
Imbrace honesty, and not flattery.