What is Your Leadership IQ?
 For this tip, we are going to focus on the acquisition of knowledge and skills toward the goal of improving your leadership. Next week we’ll focus on the application component of intelligence. IQ or intelligence is defined as the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills especially toward a purposeful goal. Before you select how you want to acquire knowledge and skills, it’s important to know WHAT you are acquiring. Content counts and not all topics will create the same level of advancement. 1. FOCUS – What is your purposeful goal? Is there a gap in your knowledge or skills? Do you want to learn cutting edge approaches to leadership? Do you want to go back to the basics and get grounded in proven leadership practices? Start with the outcome and work your way backward. If you understand your goal, compare it to where you are and then you can identify the areas that need focus. 2. SELECT – Identify the topic you want to learn more about. Then find the six most widely acclaimed books, the top three experts and the most highly rated class in the topic. Spend a specific amount of time (three to six months) focused on learning that topic or skill from the best of the best. It’s easy to get excited about lots of different topics and end up reading aimlessly. One of our favorite quotes is “be effective by being selective.” If you try to learn many different things at once, it isn’t nearly as impactful as rapidly advancing your knowledge in a specific area, with the best resources in a focused timeframe. In order to acquire leadership knowledge and skills you have many options. We’ve mentioned books, experts and classes as various approaches for the HOW component of acquisition. Other beneficial acquisition sources include a coach or mentor (not the same) or joining a community where you can learn from peers. To boost your leadership IQ, decide where you need to focus and decide which resources support your acquisition of the knowledge and skills needed to achieve your objectives. |
