Leadership Qualities Aren’t Just For CEO’s & 4 Star Generals

I just read an interesting article on Inc.com regarding the six things “adaptive strategic leaders” do well. As I pondered these qualities in reference to Managing Broker/Owner core competencies, I quickly broadened my point of reference to include Real Estate Agents. Why? Because we all run our own businesses and need to lead ourselves in the right direction, which in the perfect world, would free up the Managing Broker/Owner to lead the office/brand/franchise/company in the right direction…a win-win for all stake-holders including our all important clients. If we’re managing ourselves well, and leading ourselves to success, then it would follow that our clients will benefit too.

We all have immediate, short term fires to fight and follow-ups to do, but by also focusing on the following six areas we might just see opportunities that may have gone unnoticed, or be able to put on the brakes if the direction we’ve been speeding down all of sudden begins to look a little suspect.

 Anticipate

* Look for game-changing information or trends at the fringes of the real estate industry

* Acquire peripheral vision so you aren’t just focused on what’s immediately in front of you task wise

Think Critically

* Question status quo and challenge routine – even (and sometimes especially) your own

* Keep your radar up with regard to being too safe with opinions and ideas, too gullible to a quick fix, too naïve to the manipulation and bias that are sometimes so common that they become the norm

Interpret

* Seek patterns from multiple sources of data before making an important decision

* Question assumptions to ensure they are still based on relevant information

Decide

* Analysis paralysis demoralizes those around you, so develop and enforce processes that lead to well informed decisions – “perfect solutions” are never going to materialize

* Make sure the decision to be made is clear so issues are addressed not lost in ambiguity

Align

* Total consensus is rare – understand what drives other people’s agendas as well as what elephants are in the room (but not openly addressed), and foster dialogue while engaging key stakeholders in matters at hand

* Address tough issues and follow through to build trust and set expectations

Learn

* Encourage both good and bad feedback and be receptive to both

* Remember that failures are valuable sources of learning and insight