“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler
There are a lot of leaders who like to talk about how hard they work, how many hours they’re putting in, all the sacrifices they make, etc. For those leaders, value is directly correlated to time and misery. The more time you give and the more miserable you are, the more valuable you must be.
That’s of course ridiculous. I can think of at least half a dozen people I’ve worked with in my career who probably set world records for hours worked and levels of misery. Half of them were fired and the other half should have been.
Working lots of hours could provide great value if those hours are spent doing the right things. If the things you do move the organization forward, build & develop the team, or provide world class service to customers, then that’s fantastic. Spending lots of time is absolutely valuable.
So what exactly do those kinds of things look like? How do you move the organization forward, etc.? That obviously varies from one organization to the next, but one of the core truths is this: the things that are incredibly valuable today are not going to be incredibly valuable in three or five or ten years, because they will have been replaced by something else.
How often do you evaluate your skills and capabilities as a leader? How often do you look at some of them and decide they no longer matter? Most leaders almost never do that. They get themselves into a position of leadership by doing certain things, and then they insist on doing those same things the same way until they retire. Which means they spend the last 20+ years gradually (or quickly) becoming obsolete.
Take time this summer to really consider what you will need to be as a leader in the next five years. What things will you need to learn? What skills will you need to add? What trends will you need to understand? And, just as importantly, what will you need to discard?
Leaders have to change as the world changes. Certain core things may stay the same – honesty, integrity, etc. – but virtually nothing else does. Leaders must adapt, and those that don’t will be, and should be, left behind.
