 I had an interesting conversation with my boss last night about thought leadership and how it is so important in this age when information cannot be contained. It was a thought-provoking conversation. That’s when he asked me if I knew who Peter Drucker was. I had no idea even though the name sounded faintly familiar.I recently read about how each person has his or her own way of learning. Classroom learning, reading, memorizing, etc. may not be the best way for all of us. In my case, maybe if I write about what I read, then it might just stay in my head. Thus began my quest to learn and write about the thoughts and approaches of Peter F. Drucker.
If I have to decribe Peter Drucker in a few words, I would say that he was a writer, a management guru, a business thinker and a thought leader. Those of you who are interested in his biography can find it here. I want to focus on the thought leadership side of Drucker – my own interpretation of it. “Don’t tell me what you’re doing. Tell me what you stopped doing.” According to Drucker, successful leaders are those who ask “What needs to be done?” rather than “What do I want to do?”. They dont simply do a lot of things instead knows what is truly important to do. They do so by learning to say “No” to those numerous other tasks which are not priority. Even then, it really does not matter how many important things you are doing, but how many have you accomplished. |
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| “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”
Drucker also emphasized the need for prioiritization. As a leader, you will constantly be interrupted by a lot of people – your team, your peers, your boss – all who wants your time for their needs. But it is equally important to make time for your own needs. It is true that multitasking comes easy to a leader but there is really no point trying to do everything. Instead, do one or two priority things at a time from your to-do list and do it well; in full. “A leader is somebody who has followers.” As a leader you must know what your strengths are and focus on them. Don’t try to be the expert. Delegate. Find strengths in your team and enable them to do what they are good at. Tell your team what you’ll focus on and talk to them about their priorities while allowing them to approach you and seek support. This is how successful teams work in an organization. This also builds your trust-worthiness. To be a leader, you need not be charismatic. You just need to play your strengths while encouraging your team to do the same. The simplicity of his words and his perspective amazes me. I know I’ve not even scratched the surface, but Drucker’s thoughts have already begun to inspire me. Stay tuned for more on my Peter Drucker’s School of Thought series as I continue to learn more about “The Man Who Invented Management”. |
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