Tool Talk

I saw an ad this afternoon for an online doctoral program guaranteed to help you “Become A Great Leader!” I laughed.

The internet does not make you a great leader. I’m not against it as a source of knowledge. I’m not even against it as a means to assist in education. 

I am against it being viewed as anything more than a tool. Having the best tools doesn’t make you a master at your craft. I know I thought I could jump higher with my Air Jordan’s but let’s face it – I just looked cooler while jumping the same height as I did rocking the Payless BOGO pair that matched my little brother’s. Tools don’t make you successful. This is such a huge pitfall we dodge as leaders.

There are ALWAYS new tools to try. Many of them work; many of them don’t. But they will all take precious time and attention to learn. I don’t know about you, but my garage is full of tools that I rarely use. Some of them…I don’t even know what they’re for. I don’t want my leadership tool belt to get too heavy. I want to know the few tools I have inside and out – and then I want to use them. THIS is what makes you a master at your craft.

Success is a healthy balance of knowledge, sweat and regret. Here’s what I mean…

1.) Knowledge

We have to hit the books. We have to do the homework. We have to learn the concepts and how they work. We have to read about other people’s success so we can be wise to common mistakes people make on the road to success. We have to accumulate knowledge. But God help us if we stop there. Having copious amounts of knowledge alone just makes us annoying and hollow. It’s important, but it’s just the blueprint. Without it, we can’t build anything. But it’s not enough…no matter how smart you sound.

2.) Sweat

This is where you DO what you KNOW. If it doesn’t actually work in real life, it doesn’t count. There are many brilliant-sounding theories lying on the floor of any successful leader’s cutting room. What sounds good may not execute well. The scripts we write in our heads may hit the brick wall of reality in a painful way. We have to implement the knowledge with real people, in real time, in real life. This never happens without a mess. It never happens without forcing you to think on your feet and make game-time decisions that are conveniently absent from the books. This is where things get built. Success never happens without it.

3.) Regret

You will never do it right every time. You will miss the balance between #1 and #2 often. Failure is a necessary step on the road to success. It happens every few miles. The great leaders find a way to learn from every explosion, every missed opportunity, every difficult conversation and every missed goal. Every. Missed. Goal. There will be many. Unless you learn to use regret as fuel for future opportunity, it will remain empty and without purpose. If you do, regret can be the catalyst toward the goals you don’t miss. In the end, those are the only ones that count.

Successful leaders don’t chase tools. They don’t elevate tools and attribute their success to them - that's called advertising. They just learn them. Then they use them. Try and fail. This is what it means to become a master of your craft. Don’t go to the internet to become a great leader. Find some people to lead toward something you love and care about and then get your sweat on. Be prepared to fail. Success never follows failure. It happens right after that - when you decide to try again.

Lean forward,

Bekka