|
8 Moves of Leadership that are Rarely Spoken About
Note: If you haven't seen the movie
"National Treasure" and don't want it spoiled
for you, don't read this article.
Part of success in life is the ability
to lead. We all come across articles on leadership that
list the "top 5" or the "most important"
qualities that go into making one a leader. This article
is about something a little different. :)
Below is a list of 8 rarely spoken of
moves of leadership. A trait is something that is part
of you. A move is something that you do - consciously
or not. How many of these moves do you regularly make?
- Be alert to new potentials. "Reality" is
not absolute.
- Accept inspiration from wherever it
comes; even your opponents.
- Learn something new every day; promote
in new ways every day.
- Search for and find answers in subtle
clues.
- Improvise if no existing solutions
are available. No excuses.
- Make at least one person you care
about happy.
- Offer help, even if there's no apparent
advantage to you.
- Never let negativity be your last
word on the subject.
Now - Here is an example from the movies.
Consider the movie "National Treasure" starring
Nicholas Cage. If you haven't seen it, you should.
Let's look at Benjamin Franklin Gates
(Cage) in light of the above (Don't worry. Not much,
if anything about the movie plot will be given away
to people who haven't yet seen it.)
- Be alert to new potentials. Gates
was nothing if not alert in this movie. For example,
he saw a weakness to the Government's procedures to
protect the Declaration of Independence and saw through
the so-called "reality" that "stealing"
it couldn't be done. The result? A truly entertaining
movie.
- Accept inspiration from wherever it
comes; even your opponents. In a way, this was the basis
for the movie. His foil told Gates that he was going
to steal the Declaration, and because of it, he and
his former partner became opponents. But to stop him,
Gates found himself inspired to do the very same thing
- "steal" the Declaration, though for a noble
reason and with a socially positive outcome.
- Learn something new every day; promote
in new ways every day. While most of the movie was about
"learning something new," and there was little
about "promoting," Gates did this, too. However,
he learned that his soon-to be romantic interest Abigail
Chase collected old coins and was missing one in a collection.
When he warned her that the Declaration was about to
be stolen, he accurately told her what she knew - that
she was missing just one piece that would complete the
set. Soon after, she received a gift from him - the
very coin she was missing. This one act of generosity
(an often unrecognized form of promotion) started the
basis for the two of them to collaborate in the rest
of the movie.
- Search for and find answers in subtle
clues. Again - this entire movie showcased Gates' nearly
Sherlock Holmsian ability to see what others miss, and
more importantly to see the significance of the clues.
For instance, when Gates found Charlotte, he also found
a clue - a highly stylized smoker's pipe. Much later
in the movie, Gates realized from the visual appearance
of the pipe that it matched with another clue, a keyhole
- thereby leading to the next step in the plot.
- Improvise if no existing solutions
are available. No excuses. Gates successfully steals
the Declaration. While making the getaway, a store clerk
challenges him and he has to pay for a copy of the document
- seemingly bad break in the execution of the plan.
Not only does Gates finesse the situation, but it helps
him shortly after when his foil grabs the copy instead
of the original.
- Make at least one person you care
about happy. Gates did this with panache. Gates made
a gift not only to increase his cache of credibility,
but also make the giftee happy in a truly unique way.
- Offer help - even if there's no apparent
advantage to you. Gates has trouble with the law (needless
to say) in this movie. Nevertheless, he helps the FBI
recover the document from the bad guys, even though
he knows he's going to go to jail for stealing it in
the first place. The results are surprisingly enjoyable
at the end of the movie.
- Never let negativity be your last
word on the subject. In some ways Gates reminds us of
a character in another movie: Indiana Jones in Raiders
of the Lost Arc. Whatever the negativity - no matter
what the obstacles, he looked for and generally found
ways to rise above it.
So now you have 8 "rarely spoken
of moves" that go into the creation of leadership.
1howto.com
--------------------------------------------------
Please
Share Your Tips with Us
|
