The literature of ancient Israel invites any leader to consider the following: If you have the gift of leadership then lead with diligence.
We don’t often speak of diligence in connection with leadership. Maybe we should. When is the last time you did a personal assessment of your competency to lead, and the outcomes of your leadership? Today might be your best day to honestly assess the Diligence Gap in your work of leading.
Start by considering Leadership as a gift.
The Gift You are Given. An organization gives you a gift when you are invited to take on a role of leading others. The gift is given to you when your exceptional performance is continually noticed. It’s a risk because it assumes that you also have the potential to lead at a higher level of organizational complexity.
The Gift You Give. Every individual you lead receives the opportunity to invest in their career development. In your leadership you give the gift of feedback, training, delegating responsibilities, stretch assignments, and promotions. Your responsibility is to be fair with each individual in light of their capacity and capabilities.
The way you do this is through Diligence. It represents your drive to keep learning how to develop your leadership competency. It is defined as “careful and persistent work or effort.” It implies careful attention with haste and speed in doing something that you highly value, aspire to, and love.
It is the opposite of letting the leadership for each individual linger at the end of your “To Do” list each day.
Diligence is:
…Passion – The desire to lead more effectively and efficiently.
…Experience – The willingness to take on stretch assignments to enhance your leadership capacity.
…Intentionality – The delegation to develop high potential team members to increase team productivity.
…Return on Investment – The impact of developing the next generation of leaders.
What is the Diligence Gap in your leadership? What will you do this week to demonstrate the careful attention and persistent work of leading others?
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