So many people are busy trying to reach the next rung on the ladder, the next BIG title or the shiny award, that they lose sight of perfecting the now. With so many training and leadership resources about vision, communication, courage, integrity, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking, why do so many people struggle to make it to the top…what’s missing?
I believe a key leadership trait that is often overlooked is leadership discernment. I define leadership discernment as the ability to accurately read people, situations, time, and consequences and make sound judgements when the right answer is not obvious. This becomes especially important at the executive level because senior leaders rarely receive problems with obvious solutions. They are dealing with incomplete information, competing interests, politics, personalities, financial constraints and long-term consequences.
Discernment impacts people decisions. A leader can be visionary and charismatic, but if they repeatedly select the wrong people, trust the wrong advisers, misunderstand organizational dynamics, or fail to recognize problems until they become crises, their other leadership strengths may not matter. I would place judgement and discernment above charisma. Vision tells a leader where they want to go. Strategy determines how they might get there. Execution gets the organization moving. But discernment helps the leader determine whether they are making the right moves, with the right people, at the right time.
Work on distinguishing between;
- what is urgent and truly important
- a good idea and the right idea
- confidence and actual competence
- loyalty and unquestioning agreement
- a temporary setback and a fundamental problem
- an opportunity worth pursuing and a distraction disguised as an opportunity
- a decision that is unpopular and a decision that is simply wrong
You don’t need a BIG title, or an office with a door and a window in order to start practicing the trait of discernment now and simply lead from where you are.
Niki
Style Commander LLC https://stylecommander.shop
