Currently listening:

The 360 degree Leader (audiobook).  It’s so nice to have a car stereo that works and can play CDs (was without a car stereo for almost 2 years).  I’ve recently added audiobooks (CDs, podcasts, etc) to my library and have started listening to The 360 degree Leader on the drive to and from work (25-30 minutes each way) yesterday.  I’ve completed the first of 3 CDs and have learned quite a bit already.  One of the things that wasn’t totally obvious to me (and the same can be said for others as well) before listening to this audiobook is that one needs to constantly develop his or her leadership skills early on.  All too often, people mistakenly believe that it’s the title or position that bestows ‘leadership’ ability on the individual, so they don’t bother to invest the time and energy necessary to hone their leadership skills.  They think that once they get that lucrative position or title, that’s when they’ll start becoming ‘leaders’.  Little do they know that it’s precisely for this reason that they will forever continue to remain on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder.  Self-analysis: In my humble opinion, I usually score high in terms performance-related variables–stuff that college prepares you for (e.g, asking the right questions, brainstorming ideas, risk management, etc); however, I probably score closer to the mean when it comes to handling ‘people’ issues and situations.  I think part of it stems from my competitive nature and the type of training that I received while as a college student.  In college, we were led to believe that Darwin’s (and Wallace’s) theory of natural section applied to everything in life.  And so we challenged everything and it was as if our mantra was ’May the Best Idea Win!’. Unfortunately, in the professional working world, this is more the exception than the rule as most of the challenges are not technical, but are ’people’-related.  It’s not enough to just ’sell’ your idea; you must ’sell’ yourself first and then know how to present your idea.  According to the author, to be a leader is to be an agent of change.  Unfortunately, many either are averse to change or are quick to judge an idea because they feel that you’re stepping on their toes.  We can take comfort knowing that most great ideas initially face heavy resistance, but, with patience and effective persuasion, will eventually win over the skeptics.  As much as I’m loathe to use a poker analogy here, it goes without saying that it’s more important that you play the player(s) and not simply relying on the cards you’re holding. I think I’ve made progress in the last 8 months or so and have learned how to deal with different (and sometimes, ‘difficult’) personalities.  Of course, there’s still room for improvement and hopefully, I’ll continue to improve.