"The first step will always be the most difficult to take"-Dr. Luciano Santini

"The first step will always be the most difficult to take"-Dr. Luciano Santini

 

  Hello and here we are again to start a great weekend  and wondering why so many people seem angry at everyone around them specially those who are in high leadership roles and no one knows how they were able to get to  that position. Well let us see if I can bring some light to this ongoing question.

I find that so many people ask me during research or interviews with high executives and staff. The question that I would like to focus on today is one that comes up all the time. Why and how did that guy become our leader?

Question number two: Why does that person try so hard to keep me from promoting? I always tell them that I will try to find out the answers. Here is what I have found out. I believe that the answers go way back in time a time where there was no need to have a real education but hard work and learn as you go type of training.

However do not get me wrong there are some great leaders that have had no education and have been great leaders and have proved to have great teaching skills. The questions come from people that are from today's era the new generations that seem to want constant change.

 I have learned that some so called leaders who are in top positions have no idea how to manage knowledge but people only and they base whether to or not  to promote on what they believe is close to their type of education which seems to fail them constantly.

I have found that people get promoted based on how many favors you can do for them or how many times you invite them to lunch or coffee. I know you know the type I am talking about. Today's organizations are on a constant change and that is because change is inevitable and is the only thing that is constant in the circle of life and business.

 I know for a fact that most leaders know and understand this constant however they seem to fail on the part to teach and find the right people to do the jobs with the skills that are needed today and not yesteryear's.

I love this quote from Napoleon Hill and I also believe that there is so much truth to this;

It’s a sure thing that you’ll not finish if you don’t start. Napoleon Hill

An ancient proverb says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” You have probably known people nearing the end of their life’s journey who looked back and said, “If only I had done things differently…. If only I had taken advantage of that opportunity when it came along.” Unfulfilled lives are filled with “if onlys.” 

They are the refrain of the timid souls whose lives were finished before they ever really got started. Life is filled with many opportunities — for great successes and spectacular failures. It is up to you to seize the initiative, to take advantage of the opportunities that come your way. You are condemned to a life of mediocrity — unless you get into action. Don’t delay; do it today! 

I believe that today's leaders again not all of them but those that seem to be failing with their staff because they are bad staff and they do not listen when the truth of the matter really is that they have no idea how to manage this types of knowledge and they become frightened by them which then becomes an issue and hinder them from promoting. 

There is only one way to succeed and be able to move forward if these type of leaders cannot be removed from their positions. The issue is that these leaders are so mind formed in their old ways that the only way this will change is to have them removed or forced to retire. Sometimes they can be retrained if they allow themselves to do so with an open mind but I can tell from research that most would rather retire then to make any type of change.

There are so many other issues in every organization that need to be resolved but leaders have to be able to understand that change is needed. So many organizations believe that because people somehow manage to get by despite language and cultural barriers, that this is not an issue when in face is a really really big problem.

The one thing that they need to understand is that there is a real cost to operational efficiency, also a cost in team cohesion, and a cost in safety. If these leaders whether old school or new era leaders can learn to improve efficiency, cohesion and safety by addressing language and cultural skills then and only then will business results be improved.  

I love the fact that when my blogs are read I find that leaders always call me or ask me how they are able to use some of my techniques and ideas which makes me so happy to see in action. 

Here is one last fact for you; 90% of business leaders surveyed stated that their staff have a deficiency in language and has become a very big challenge and also that only 1/3 go to HR to try to solve the issue and the rest just try to make it by which will lead to a dysfunction within the company and by the time the leaders get a whiff of this happening the organization will already be in distress.