Personal Best, a Large Part of The Winner’s Mindset
Personal best and leadership issues seem to be the buzzwords of the year. Why? Because we are finding that the achievement of one’s personal best is what can allow us to lead others to theirs. When all are working with their strengths, team work is so much more effective.
Personal best and leadership issues seem to be the buzzwords of the year. Why? Because we are finding that the achievement of one’s personal best is what can allow us to lead others to theirs. When all are working with their strengths, team work is so much more effective.
Recently, The New York Times columnist Adam Bryant has just published The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons From CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed. He identifies five traits of winners in the corporate career competition:
1. Passionate curiosity. Asking, like a persistent 5-year-old, the simplest questions: Why do we do it that way? Is there a better way? In the article, Nell Minnow, the founder of “The Corporate Library,” called passionate curiosity “an infectious sense of fascination with which some people approach life.”
2. Battle-hardened confidence. The ability to learn from failure rather than blaming circumstances.
3. Team smarts. The ability to bring people together to achieve a goal.
4. A simple mind-set. Keeping your presentations short and to-the-point.
5. Fearlessness. Making discomfort your comfort zone.
Interesting ideas and useful suggestions, especially for those competing for the top job. But should any of us try to shape ourselves into the collective image of success? I don’t think so. Instead of trying to become someone we’re not, I think we should become the best of whom we are. That means first understanding our own strengths and then how to apply them to accomplish our goals. It’s an inside-out process for which there’s no set of rules.
Appreciatively,
Lynn
Dr. Lynn K. Jones
Certified Personal and Executive Coach
For a review of Bryant’s book, check out the most recent article from The New York Times.
Purchase Bryant’s book through Amazon.com here:
Those five traits seem like good traits for everyone to strive after. Many of them come after years of learning, trying and even failing, some are natural for some people but have to be learned by others. But I agree that the best we can do is work with what we already have. We all have our own unique strengths that we can build off of.
So true, Calla. Those traits require a lot of focused attention to personal discipline and development. We will have much more success if we identify our unique talents and strengths and focus there!