Don't get disqualified

The subject of leadership intrigues me. One of the reasons why is that all of us are leaders in some realm. We're leaders at work, at home, in the community, or maybe we just lead ourselves. Right now I'm reading this book. It's a good book, especially for young adults. While at the gym, working my tail off on the elliptical this AM, I read a chapter on things that disqualify us.

I know so many people who have either disqualified themselves to lead or can never reach there full leadership potential, and it's usually the result of what Irwin talks about in this chapter. It is so important that I wanted to write a post about it (mainly as a warning and reminder to myself). So what are things that disqualify us from leadership?

Poor Interpersonal Relationships: Some people just can't work good with others. You'll never be the leader you were meant to be if you can't get along with people. It's about working together. It's about thinking of others.

Arrogance: Need I contribute anything? There is nothing I despise more (which probably means I can or do have a problem with this). These people are always right. They overestimate their abilities. I love this quote, "They don't adapt well to changes they haven't authored because they cannot condescend to support a position created by others." Ouch. Key to being a great leader is Humility.

Volatility: Ever worked with someone like this? They just explode. You never know what to expect. You don't know what makes them happy.

Aloofness: These people are detached, insensitive, dismissive of others and uncommunicative. They aren't much fun to work with. They are usually critical and demanding.

Inability to Change: I love what Irwin writes about this: "As members of an organization move to higher levels or different departments or organizations, their skills must change. They must be flexible enough to learn new approaches that match the needs of the new situation. Leaders who derail often fail to adapt. When they enter a new department or a new organization, they rely too heavily on methods or models they have used in the past." This one's a big one for us at Hub City. If we are going to grow then things are going to change. We can't do things like we've done things in the past. This is true for the entire organization.

I don't want to get derailed. I don't want you to get derailed either. To find out if you're susceptible to any of these check out www.runwiththebulls.net to take an online assessment.