The below is a guest blog by J. Israel Greene, Certified Speaker, Leadership Teacher & Coach
What are the essential drivers of success? Countless books have been written about this very question: Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, Tony Robbins’ Awaken the Giant Within. The list goes on and on.
Make no mistake, these are all great resources – especially if you are a growth junky like myself. But what if you could narrow the success equation down to four key areas that allowed you to ask the right questions at the right time to produce explosive results? Imagine if it were all that simple?
Well, I’m here to tell you that it is.
As I mentioned, there are four key areas essential to success. For this post, the component I want to drill down on is equipping: to prepare someone mentally for a particular situation or task. This is a term you may have heard tossed around, but very few actually execute on. Many will think why do I need to equip others? I can just get it done on my own and make sure it’s done right the first time.
Here’s the problem with such thinking: trying to do everything on your own will inevitably lead to frustration and, worse, limitation. If you want to reach your potential and build something of lasting value, then you need to become a team player. In the long run, the ability to delegate responsibility and lend authority to potential leaders will result in stronger, more confident teams and sustained growth.
But giving up control can be uncomfortable. Here are a few quick tips to help you become fluent in equipping.
Adopt a team mindset. You must decide that it is worth the effort to invest in people. Once you have made this commitment, then gather the best talent possible and sacrifice. Yes, sacrifice. Sacrifice your personal productivity to add value to each team member. As your employees grow stronger, you will find that the value is going to multiply by having an entire team being able to go where you were unable to go solo.
Remember the Law of Proximity. Those closest to the leader will determine their level of effectiveness. As a leader, your goal isn’t to attract a crowd, but to develop future leaders who are able to advance the vision. Those worth equipping are the ones willing to carry the load with you and demonstrate their willingness by sharing ideas, providing feedback, and acting as the voice of reason during turbulent times. Understand who you need to invest more in.
Help others fulfill their potential. Creating a growth environment and positioning people in the right place is essential to individual and team success. Greatness happens only when all of the players on the team are in roles, which maximize their respective talents, skills, and experiences. This requires that you know the members on your team, and give them tools and resources to help reach their potential. An inspiring leader pays attention to the unique dreams of their team members – and then helps nurture and refine their strengths to get them closer to reaching those dreams.
While equipping is one of the fastest ways to fuel growth, make your mark as a leader, and inspire your team, it’s just one part of the formula.
I would love for you to join me as I partner with Zoho CRM to present How to be a REAL Success, a John Maxwell program, where I will share the other three key- components of being a success.
To learn more about the Sales Leadership webinar series, watch the recorded webinar.
-J. Israel Greene
Certified Speaker | Leadership Teacher | Coach
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