High Performing Leadership: Secrets for Progressing up the Corporate Ladder
Part#1 Knowledge
By Jonathan Creaghan
3. Being (Executives and CEO’s)
2. Wisdom (Management and Directors)
1. Knowledge (supervisor & team leads)
1. Role of Knowledge
1. Role of Knowledge
At this initial level
we are interested in the world of day-to-day living and concrete issues where knowledge and practical skills help us
to live successfully. What you know, the courses you have taken, the books you
have read, the apprenticeships taken, certifications received, and degrees you
have attained are all important. This level includes the information and
guidance your family passed on to you (their wisdom is your knowledge). It is also
the collective information we naturally have within us, gathered through osmosis.
We have been in
the age of reason for over 500 years. Our society is driven by knowledge and
rational thought. It is not surprising that from a leadership perspective knowledge is deemed to be critical.
Knowledge of a job, of people, markets, finance, sales, product and so on are
needed. And very often progress through the company is based on ones ability to
translate knowledge into performance.
Knowledge in partnership
with performance is critical to supervisors and team leaders, who not only need
to have it to be respected by others, but need it to achieve the goals of the
organization. Knowledge of the job, knowledge
of people, knowledge of processes and
goals of the team or department is important at this level.
“Knowledge of the job, knowledge of people, knowledge
of processes is important at this level”
Knowledge can get in the
way though when it becomes the overriding driver for success. In sales
departments this occurs when people who use their lack of knowledge as an
excuse to stay in the office to learn more about products or sales techniques,
rather than actually getting out to sell.
Likewise there are people in leadership positions who believe that hoarding
information will ensure job security, when in reality this actually limits their
growth and advancement possibilities.
Here is the crux
of the matter if you want to grow and rise up through the ranks: “It is not
what you know that will get you there, it’s what you need to know but do not
yet know which is critical.” This may be a gap in knowledge about yourself, others, or the company. You can obtain knowledge by observing, having curiosity,
asking questions and being honest about yourself and your limitations. The level of knowledge, is about discovery and observation. Listen and be open to new experiences, and
seek the truth.
“It is not what you know
that will get you there, it’s what you need to know but do not yet know which
is critical”
To move into
Management, advance from Knowledge to
Wisdom
The movement
from knowledge to wisdom is discovery that the more you
know the less you actually know. The constant drive to control and know all things
as a leader is not possible. As one progresses up the ladder, knowledge has to
give way to something else. The complexity of the job is greater, the
responsibility is heavier and ones ability to get work done shifts from
activity base to meetings, dependence on specific kinds of information, and
thinking. Reliance on knowledge alone
can be a crutch.
People are
seeking you out for your knowledge,
but for you to be extraordinary and move up to the next level, they need to be looking
for something more in you.
(To be continued.........next week, Part #2 "Wisdom")
Jonathan Creaghan helps clients transform themselves and their workplaces. He believes that businesses ultimately succeed or fail because of the human factor. He teaches people to think differently, to see reality with fresh eyes when solving issues that impede them, whether personal or business. Jonathan provides “Solutions for the Human Side of Business”. www.jonathancreaghan.com
Jonathan is the author of several books including Duxter’s Leap! and the Thinking Differently® Leadership series which includes Thinking Differently® about… Getting More Done. His books are published around the globe in several languages.
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Copyright © 2014, Jonathan Creaghan all rights reserved
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