Africans have a wise proverb: “If you want to travel fast, go alone. If you want to travel far, go with others.” This is certainly true for leaders. If you want to lead successfully, you must get things done through others. You need to know the skills and talents of those you lead in order to play to their strengths. You must appreciate the diverse players on your team and leverage the creativity inherent in their diversity.
The full range of their skills and abilities may not be immediately apparent – it takes time to get to know the people on your team. And it’s easy to make assumptions about others based on their appearance, age, ethnicity, gender, regional accent, personality and occupation, too.
For instance, quiet introverts often get overlooked at work because extroverts love attention and know how to get it. Women often report they, too, get overlooked, even when they speak up with a good idea. And people of color often feel frustrated at the stereotypes with which others view them.
We all make assumptions about others based solely on first impressions. As a leader, it’s essential that you become aware of this tendency and always challenge yourself to look beyond the obvious.
Excerpted with permission from “The Leadership Secrets of Oz” by BJ Gallagher, published in March 2017 by Sourcebooks
