I read a lot. I almost exclusively read books on Leadership, blogs on Leadership, magazines on Leadership, even things written on the stalls in interstate rest stops about Leadership! I give talks on Leadership and contrasts of leadership styles. It’s an interest and study I’ve had for as long as I can remember.
My wife is a great Leader (not because she’s my wife but because I’ve seen her in action and I’ve seen how her staff respects her and how she follows through and tackles tough problems and does what great Leaders do).
She reads almost exclusively science fiction. Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and anything Disney might turn into an animated movie. So what someone reads has nothing to do with how much they know about leadership. A lot of the books she reads have great leadership examples. I’m guessing….I’ve never read them.
One of the blogs I read is by James Altucher. A recent discussion is about an interview he had with Tim Ferriss, author of Tools of the Titans, The Four-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body, and others. In this podcast, Tim talks about some people he interviewed, and a lesson he learned. He calls it, “Don’t be afraid to do something you’re not qualified to do.”
I’m not necessarily qualified to write a blog on leadership (although maybe I am-I’ve witnessed my fair share of cowards in leadership positions). I probably wasn’t the most qualified to be the European Command’s Liaison Officer representing the EUCOM Director of Intelligence to the Special Operation Command’s Campaign Support Group in 2002. But I raised my hand and said, “I’ll go, I’ll do it.”
Kamal Ravikant, a guest on Althucher’s podcast said, “If I only did things I was qualified for I’d be pushing a broom somewhere.”
Very few people who run for office-particularly at the local level- are qualified to hold that office (and please, hold all the Donald Trump examples). I watched hundreds of television ads during the recent election cycle. You did too. Every ad for every candidate for anything, anywhere, talked about how the other candidate WAS NOT qualified to be elected. By that definition, no one was qualified!
Being qualified to have the job you have isn’t the point. It helps, without question. It helps to have an MBA, for example, if you want to be an investment banker, but it’s not a deal-breaker. It especially isn’t a deal-breaker to people who are elected for local office. You have the job! It’s what you do after you get there!
I’ve seen- we have all seen- people we really had our doubts about step up and make tough decisions and become leaders. We’ve also witnessed people in which we had full confidence shirk their responsibilities, delegate their authority, or display the hidden agendas that were in the background until after the election.
Qualifications are down the priority list. Doing, after you’re there, that’s what really counts. You don’t have to always hit home runs. Hit a single every once in a while. But you have to take your swings. Sitting on the bench and sending in a pinch hitter is the coward’s way out.
By the way, I did alright as the EUCOM Intel Liaison Officer. Just sayin…
Vol I-1
