I’m leading a group at work through a study of John C. Maxwell’s book, How Successful People Lead. We’re looking at Level 4 – People Development, and I’m left asking, “Am I too Selfish to Lead?”
Here’s the thing. If you are like me, you like doing, producing, and getting results. What you don’t like is failing. And so the thought of taking most of my time to develop others makes me uncomfortable. But that’s selfish. That’s not leadership.
Maxwell argues that good leaders spend 80 percent of their energy developing others. They only spend 20 percent of their time on personal productivity. I know my numbers are far from that. They may even be flipped.
By nature, most of us are selfish. I know I am. But we aren’t stuck with that trait. The first step is to understand the disparity and seek ways to change. I suggest you add an hour this week to spend time mentoring someone. Your goal is simple. Develop them professionally and personally.