At best I have been an average transactional leader. That is, I did ok in managing the organizations that I led. But as I look back I believe my greatest strength was in serving as a transformational leader. Initiating, inventing, and creating changes are my main strengths.
Action orientation. With a life-time of experience behind them, most senior sages consider their leadership strength is exhibited when they initiate action that leads to significant achievement. This involves a collection of extraordinary qualities: energy, enthusiasm, deep knowledge, realistic goals, organizational skills, problem-solving ability, effective planning, risk-taking, the ability to muster resources, and great execution and follow-through:
Download Article 1K ClubMy strengths are definitely in action and based in my business background. I love problems and love solving them. If someone says, “That can’t be done,” I generally think, “Yes it can.” I can be very focused and am very tenacious. It’s an extension of what I learned in running companies, in doing business. You identify a problem, develop a plan on to how to address it, and then implement.
I’m able to get people together around projects, to inspire or talk to them and gather them. Another strength is that I take action rather than just talking about something. When I decide I want to work on an idea, I just start and follow through. Sometimes I bite off more than I can chew, and then I have to let something go. But for the most part, if I’m focused on a project I’m very good at following through and getting it done.
Long experience has equipped me to understand how to organize people to accomplish goals. My managing philosophy is, “There is nothing you can’t achieve if you don’t care who gets the credit.” That’s not original with me, but it is my key managing philosophy. I motivate people by personally pitching in to do any job.
