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WHAT APPEARS TO BE

Try this quiz: How many educational degrees must hang on the office wall for a leader to be effective in his or her role?

Most people tell us “zero”.  There’s an important message in that.

WHAT MIGHT BE

Harvard need not fear an exodus of students. There will always be people who think leadership is about what they know, rather than what they do.

Yet, what’s the result when a person thinks that “leadership” is a diploma or position that is handed to you? Or something that happens to you when you move the tassel to the other side of your square cap?

How does a person limit his growth when he focuses on leveraging his education vs. having his education leverage him? Why is failure imminent when a person believes that what is necessary to be an effective leader is some quality they don’t already possess?

Some people are learning leadership wrong.

WHAT CAN BE

“I’ve never found a correlation between the level of a person’s education and their ability to lead,” shares a veteran, high ranking leader within a Fortune 100 company.

When people shift their focus from trying to discover the leadership silver bullet to more aptly using the tools they already possess (their values, natural skills and greatest strengths), greater results happen.

Try this experiment: Identify what you consider to be the three most important leadership qualities. Then, write down the top three strategies you already know will deliver those qualities. Finally, create and commit to a 24-week behavior-modification plan to execute those strategies.

And then consider that the gang from Harvard will be working for you someday.

What is the difference between what “might be” and what “can be”?  You decide.

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