Engines, Leadership and YOUR Success

If you are on that management/leadership career trajectory, then keep this in mind...

It’s simple for us engine-heads. We learned early on that it takes Horsepower to get you there and Torque to keep you there. In other words, with high horsepower you’ll get to 60 quicker but if you don’t have the torque, you won’t be able to maintain 60 for long.

So, how does this relate to Leadership and your success? When it comes to your personal style, you ether tend to be action oriented, process oriented, people oriented or idea oriented. Usually we are some mixture, to varying degrees, of each. Leadership is SERIOUSLY about people, EVERYTHING to do with people. As we journey toward whatever career endpoint we envision for ourselves, we need to realize that it has been the ACTION (Often Times) that has gotten us to where we are. BUT, it is the degree to which we are people oriented, that will keep us there.

Horsepower is to Torque as Action is to People. Simple. Right.

Remember that there is a reason why we behave the way that we do. We are all in part a product of our genetics, environment, life experience, etc. We think one way or another for a reason. Knowing this and utilizing this fact is the first step. If you know that your weakness is in the area of people orientation, then BECOME GENUINELY INTERESTED IN PEOPLE. This newfound interest/habit will become a self-fulfilling prophecy, to a degree.

Marshall Goldsmith put it well.
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.

It takes action (horsepower) to get you there and people (torque) to keep you there.