Commonsense Leadership. Llewellyn Jack H.

you might not want to be a leader.

      Now we're going to look at two different aspects of leadership: assets and liabilities. I think these elements shape everything people do. The assets are the things that make you who you are and make you good at what you do, both personally and professionally. The liabilities are the things that you would like to do better, areas in which you don't feel as competent as you should; in short, those things about yourself that drive you nuts. Everybody has both. I use them with every single person in every single program I do. Whether it's a corporate coaching program, a sales program, or a sport environment, everybody lists their assets and liabilities.

      Now, we'll get into detail about those because I think they form the foundation of who we are, what we can or cannot do. In other words, if you have certain expectations of yourself, if others have expectations of you, or if you set short- and long-term goals, your assets and liabilities will determine how you meet them. Before we set expectations and goals, how many of us examine our assets and liabilities? If we don't take into consideration our assets and liabilities, we get ourselves in a bind because we may not be able to do what we set out to. Some people have a liability that hangs over their heads. Those people need to examine that first to figure out how to eliminate it, convert it to an asset, or learn to live with it.

      Next, we'll talk about the role of emotion. Emotion makes us who we are. You can look at two people's assets, liabilities, knowledge, and skills and compare them. If they are evenly matched in knowledge and skills, the person who's mentally stronger will win most every time. That's why we put a lot of emphasis on looking at emotional strengths. Let's face it, emotions either become a supplement or a detriment to performance.

      It's also important to look at balance. I get so concerned when I go to corporations where people work long hours. Research has indicated that if you're very good at what you do and you work 10 hours a day, 7.5 to 8 of those hours will be productive. It also shows that if you're very good at what you do and you work 13 hours a day, you still get 7.5 to 8 hours of productivity. It's like stretching four years of college into six. Mom and Dad keep paying but you get the same education.

      This is why we'll talk about time in terms of quality versus quantity, and that relates directly to balance. I've seen so many people who've worked so many hours that they've destroyed their families. They steal time away from their spouses, children, and friends, they sacrifice their leisure activities, and they begin to hate their jobs because their jobs have stolen everything important to them.

      If you're a leader in a corporate environment, you need to help your colleagues understand that work is not who you are, it's what you do. The same goes for leadership. There are a lot of people in positions of power who bring a lot of baggage from the job into their personal lives, which makes them very unpleasant to be around because they get wrapped up in a strange power syndrome. True leaders need to understand that a job is what you do to enable the enjoyment of your personal life.