Leader: Who do you intend to be?

“Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions. And the first question for a leader always is: ‘Who do we intend to be?’ Not ‘What are we going to do?’ but ‘Who do we intend to be?’” —Max De Pree, Herman Miller

As leaders we spend a lot of time focusing on action, on getting results. To do this, most of us track our actions with a “to do” list of some sort. However, great leadership is more than just getting results, it requires us to act from a deep sense of who we are. To have a foundation integrity and character that inspires and motivates others to trust us and in turn take action. As leaders it’s important that we manage our action, with a “to do” list, as well as our being, with a “to be” list. ThirdAge blogger Doug wrote a great post on creating a “to be” list. He describes these two domains as follows:

Being and doing – these are the two domains of human existence. A person’s ‘being’ is their boundless, timeless natural self. Their ‘doing’ is the expression of that nature within form (activities) and time. Being is our ‘identity’. Doing is our ‘career’. When we are most healthy and vital, we connect identity with career – who we are with what we do. Conversely, those with careers completely disconnected from their natural self eventually experience ill-health and exhaustion. Clearly, being and doing are equally important for creating and maintaining a fulfilling and meaningful existence.

Dong recommends a great way of improving our being by using a weekly “to be” list, which describes how we intend to be this week. At the end of the week we can review our list to assess how well we did. Here’s my to be list for this week:

• To peach what I practice (yes this is the right way round)!
• To take accountability and to hold others accountable.
• To be optimistic and inspire hope in others. South Africa is facing high levels of uncertainty at the moment and people need hope and encouragement.
• To praise and encourage others.

Here’s the challenge:

1. Spend some time thinking about who you want to be this week.
2. Take this moment to create your own personal to be list for the week ahead?
3. At the end of the week conduct a personal review the progress you’re making daily towards your “to be” characteristics. Then review your list and your progress with a trusted peer.
4. Make the necessary changes based on the feedback you receive.
5. Post a comment on this post on how well you did or how useful the exercise has been.

Technorati Tags: Doing, Being, Identity, Action, Results, Character, GTD, Getting Things Done, Lifehack, Lifehacks, Leadership Development, Leadership, Management, Personal Development

Related posts:

1. Positive or negative: What world view are you creating?
2. Leader, Be Yourself
3. No great leader initially set out to be a leader
4. 10 signs of an unsafe leader
5. Leadership: Measured from the Follower’s perspective

Tagged as: Character, Getting Things Done, Growth, Learning, Personal Leadership, Quotes, Self-Awareness