Although a great leader must be willing to stand up for his principles, ideas, etc, it is also necessary, to be able to know when the battle is worthwhile, and when one might have to let it go. True leaders must develop coalitions of support, so their most important, relevant and sustainable ideas and programs, become a reality! Therefore, there is often a fine line between taking a stand, and knowing when a minor issue may not be urgent enough, to possibly compromise your most relevant, and sustainable systems and ideas. Let's review, in a mnemonic way, how you must be ready, willing and able, to pick, and CHOOSE your battles.
1. Cooperate; case-by-case: The greatest ideas will rarely come to fruition, unless a leader creates and atmosphere of cooperation, and avoids any temptation to blame-and-complain, or to be perceived by others as unfairly taking one side, or another! There is no iron-clad approach, but rather, you must fully examine every circumstance, on a case-by-case basis.
2. Head/heart/heal: Prioritize healing, and doing the right thing, which might best serve your organization! Balance your logical and emotional components, in what I refer to as a head/heart synergy. Doing so, one will be able to know which battles are most worthy of extra time and effort, and therefore, you will best be able to pick and choose your battles!
3. Options/opinions: Don't prejudge alternatives, but rather keep as many options available, as possible! Differentiate between mere opinions, versus actual facts! This will enhance your ability to prioritize the possibilities, and position yourself, to best serve the needs of your organization.
4. Opportunities: Discarding alternatives, in anything less than an open-minded examination, often makes you either unwilling or unable to recognize and/or identify opportunities, as they present themselves. When you take charge of your central goals and priorities, it puts you in the optimal position to prioritize and emphasize, the most important ideas. As the adage goes, Don't sweat the petty stuff!
5. Sustainable system; strengths: Do you know both yours, and your organization's strengths and weaknesses, as well as short-term, intermediate, and longer-term needs? Enhance your areas of strength, and work on your weaknesses. Similarly, know where your group is stronger, and where it needs more attention. Remember, the goal of every real leader, is to develop, and successfully introduce and implement a relevant, sustainable system.
6. Evolve; empathy: Groups must either evolve, or, often, they will perish or become far less relevant! Evolving leadership must maintain its focus on being empathetic, and service-oriented.
Follow these basic rules, and it will help you better focus on where to place your time, resources, energy, and priorities! Pick and CHOOSE the battles, which will best position you, to make a quality impact!
Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has professionally run events, consulted to over a thousand leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for over 30 years. Rich has written three books and well
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