Sometimes it feels like I need trifocals for my mind. That’s because I often have to focus on three different time-horizons simultaneously – past, present, and future. Success in most professional endeavors requires the right combination of leadership, management, and administration. By leadership, I mean the ability to look ahead and to imagine and articulate a future state. More than that, it is about getting others to see the goodness and wisdom of the future we aspire to. It is about helping them see that this future is achievable and worthy of investment and commitment. Management, on the other hand, is about seeing and dealing with the here and now. It is about ensuring that our work will enable us to achieve the future we desire. Lastly, administration is about the past. It is about reviewing results to ensure that we are achieving objects on our path towards our short and long-term goals and ambitions.
We can find wisdom anywhere we look. Sometimes we don’t even have to look that hard. It just jumps up and smacks us in the head. One of my favorite sources is comic strips. For me, The Far Side is a constant spring of priceless life lessons. One of my father’s favorite quotes came from Walt Kelly’s cartoon, Pogo, which originated in 1948. Pogo, the title character said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” While it may be grammatically imperfect, the wisdom is flawless.
Before I get started, I want to clear the air. Yes, I know this first question seems to be extraordinarily self-absorbed. The fact is that leadership requires that we as leaders understand ourselves. Leadership requires self-awareness, not self-absorption. There is a huge difference.