In his book Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, Greg McKeown writes:
“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
You are a leader. The people who follow you and those on your team watch you like a hawk. They watch your every move! They watch you when you know they are watching you, and they watch you when you have no idea they are watching you.
In many, if not most cases, they follow your lead. They do what you do. They say what you say. They act as you act. They give as you give. They withhold as you withhold. They praise as you praise. They criticize as you criticize.
They stand and hold their ground as you stand and hold your ground. They demonstrate courage as you demonstrate courage. They demonstrate fear and anxiety as you demonstrate fear and anxiety. They demonstrate a positive or negative attitude as you demonstrate a positive or negative attitude.
They adopt and sustain a corporate culture based on what they see and hear from you. They are far, far more impacted by what they see you do than by what they hear you say.
Don’t expect those on your team and those who follow you to improve your organization and its results by practicing effective essentialism—unless they see you practicing effective essentialism and supporting your actions with sincere, true, positive, and inspiring words of encouragement and support.
“It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
Copyright © 2014 by Dan Nielsen – www.dannielsen.com
National Institute for Healthcare Leadership – www.nihcl.com
America’s Healthcare Leaders – www.americashealthcareleaders.com
Dan,
I needed to read this…thank you for sharing your wisdom and perspective on Leadership. You bring valuable insight to those of us in the field who don’t stand back and think about the simplicity of Essentialism.
I appreciate your work and thank you for sharing your views.
Regards,
Tod