The Discipline of Competence

By Dr. Peter Chee & Brian Tracy

This is the 5th chapter of ITD World's 12-part newsletter series: 12 Disciplines of Leadership Excellence.

Top leaders are those who have committed to excellence in their chosen fields. They have developed the discipline of always doing a good job, no matter how long it takes. In the end, they get paid off by being recognized as very good at what they do.

Perhaps the most important part of your personality is determined by your level of self-esteem. The more you like yourself, the more confidence you have, and the bigger goals you will set. Your level of self-esteem is a critical factor in determining your performance, success, and happiness.

The Roots of Low Self-Esteem

Many people grow up with low levels of self-esteem as a result of destructive criticism and a lack of unconditional love in their childhood. These deficits hurt their happiness and performance in adult life. Fortunately, the better you become at any skill, the more you will like yourself and perform better at what you do.

Resolve to be the Best

One of the most important decisions you make in your career is to "be the best" at what you do. Decide today to be in the top 10% in your industry.

Remember that leaders are made, not born. All skills can be learned. Your job is to set excellence in your field as a goal, and then work toward it until you succeed. Never - ever - accepts mediocrity - which is the default setting of 80% of individuals and organizations.

Leaders Commit to Excellence

As a leader, your job is to get everyone to commit to excellence - by providing your own example. First, choose the specific areas and tasks where excellence is most important in generating higher sales and profitability. You can break each job down into 5-7 key result areas - then give a grade of 1 to 10 to determine how good you or others are at these things.

Admitting weakness in an area is actually a sign of strength - only then will you begin to make improvements, and learn how to make valuable contributions to the business.

Learn New Skills while Improving Old Ones

Peter Drucker wrote, "The only skill that will be important in the 21st century will be the skill of learning new skills. All else will eventually become obsolete."

What you got here won't get you there. Whatever reasons for your success today, you will have to do things much better one year from now on in order to survive, much less grown in your industry. Ask yourself and your people, "What one skill, if I/we were absolutely excellent at it, would most help me/us increase sales and profitability?"

Continuous Learning Opens Every Door

The key to competence is continuous learning. A simple 3-part formula can help you get on top and stay ahead of other people in your field.

1. Reading daily

First, make a decision to read in your chosen field for 30-60 minutes every day - preferably in the morning. "Reading is to the mind as exercise is to the body". By reading, thinking, and making notes, you actually strengthen your mind and intelligence. Reading 30-60 minutes per day will translate into about one book per week - or 50 books per year. To earn a Ph.D. at a leading university requires reading and synthesizing content from 30-50 books - in other words, reading 30-60 minutes each day actually earns you the equivalent of a Ph.D. every year!

2. Listening to educational audio programs

Instead of listening to music as most people do, download audio courses produced by experts in your field and listen to them whenever you have spare time. According to the University of Southern Carolina, by listening to educational audio programs as you drive from place to place, you can get the educational equivalent of almost full-time attendance at the university. What's more, unlike lessons at a university, most of what you hear on an audio program is proven and actionable immediately.

3. Taking seminars and workshops

Attending seminars and workshops given by experts in your field is one of the most effective ways to escalate your knowledge quickly. In fact, you can learn more in 1-2 days from an expert than you might learn by yourself in 10-20 years, if at all.

Deliberate Practice

People who got to the top of their fields use a method called "deliberate practice". At each stage of their careers, they would identify the one skill that could help them the most at that time; they would then focus single-mindedly on developing that skill - until people started to compliment them on how good they were. At this stage, they would move on to the next skill that could help them the most at that time.

The same thing can happen to you too. Ask yourself, "What one skill, if I was absolutely excellent at it, would enable me to make the greatest contribution to my company?". If you don't know, ask your boss, colleagues, friends, and mentors. Once you figure out the answer, work on it until you master that skill.

Now it's time for some Action Exercises

1. Make a decision today to dedicate yourself to lifelong learning. Work on yourself as if your future depended on it - because it does.
2. Identify the one skill that, if you were absolutely excellent at it, would most help you in your current position, and make a plan to develop that skill.
3. Ask successful people around you to recommend the best business books they have read recently, and then either buy/ order/ download that book immediately.
4. Set aside a certain time each day to read, study, and upgrade your knowledge and skill in your field.
5. Encourage your staff to identify the key skill areas where they need to learn and grow, and then provide the time and resources they need to develop those skills.
6. Listen to educational audio programs rather than music from now on; download them onto your smartphone so you have them instantly available.
7. Attend 2 or more seminars/ workshops on key subjects in your field each year. Then apply what you learn immediately.

Stay tuned to our upcoming newsletter to delve deeper into the 6th discipline: Competitiveness.

Wish to scale up your Leadership skills for Sustainable Growth? Get for yourself a paperback handbook now - written by Dr. Peter Chee & Brian Tracy.

More opportunities for Leadership Excellence

At ITD World, we believe that leadership is a competency that can be learned and mastered. We also believe that leadership is influence and through the behaviors and habits developed in our training programs, you may have a better chance of increasing your influence and leadership effectiveness.

This September, we are hosting a special once-in-a-year event - Global Leadership e-Summit (GLS). At this conference, leaders from all over the world are gathered together to network and share insightful experiences in leadership during crises.

In collaboration with ITD World, 5 MEGA GURUs will be there to host the event and help attendees scale up their leadership skills.

Learn more about the Global Leadership e-Summit (GLS) 2020 here: https://itdworld.com/global-leadership-esummit-2020/

For more tips on leadership and management during crises, explore our in-house leadership & HR solutions - provided by the TOP GURUs in the world.

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