I few years ago I read a book called Good to Great. Not everything applied to me as I was transitioning from the corporate world to the creative. But something in my reading jumped out and bit me! I read that as a good leader, I was essentially a bus driver. The bus, my company, is at a standstill, but it’s my job to get it going, and in the right direction. I have to decide where we are going, how we are going to get there, and who is going with me. Who is going with me?
When you trust and invite someone on your bus, it doesn’t happen overnight. I learned from another great leader, Chris Morgan, Worship Pastor at 12Stone Church that you need to watch potential leaders like a hawk. Don’t be too quick to invite them on the bus. You need to do a little life with them first. Watch how they react to conflict, difficult people, how do they handle power? Money? Are they honest? How do they take constructive criticism? Do they value people? Check out this quote by Jim Collins from Good to Great.
“Leaders of companies that go from good to great start not with “where” but with “who.” They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats.” – Jim Collins, Good to Great
I believe I have the right core team in place (on the bus) to go from good to great. They are masters in their craft and I for one couldn’t do this without them.