We need “LandMind Sweepers” to go out ahead of us and those "Sweepers" are the people we are leading. The boots on the ground so to speak. Soliciting not only their input but their engagement. This is vital if leadership wants to reach their destination and achieve their mission. Leaders do not have all the answers or all the eyes on the real problems or the growth opportunities in front of them. What got you here this morning won’t necessarily get you here tomorrow morning. In other words, change happens with or without us and it comes faster and faster and often catches us off guard and ill-prepared. That is why we need input and engagement with the "boots" the "sweepers" on the ground.
All strong and lasting structures need a well-designed and well-built foundation, even companies. The purpose of a foundation is to hold up and hold together the structure above it. The ground under the structure can move, expand, get wet, and erode. A house, like a business built without a foundation, or a poorly designed foundation is more likely to crack and be damaged over time. If you build the foundation properly at the start the house can withstand more calamity and remain a safer structure for all inhabitants. The same is true when you build a solid foundation with people, organizations, and businesses. Most companies are finding themselves with a structure with a cracking foundation in need of major reconstruction or repair.
That foundation is, TRUST. This begins at the top of the organization. Trust, not only in character but in integrity, intention, capability and track record. In a business and in most institutions the foundation starts at the top. It is an inverted pyramid and when the top isn't trusted the rest of the building cracks, moves, settles, and begins to deteriorate slowly and unnoticeably. The sad fact is the people on the ground see the cracking, the moving, and the settling long before those at the top usually do. Most of the "Sweepers" feel unheard and underappreciated so they won't let the leaders know what they are seeing. If you aren't building your business' foundation from the top down, you will not have the structure in place to meet the requirements of your vision or be able to achieve your goals.
Leadership is about what Can be or What must be! Leadership is always about transformation. Real transformation and that begins with our minds. Our minds are both "Remarkable" and filled with “LandMinds”. We have an amazing capacity mentally to do great things but we also have little bombs (LandMinds) in each one of our psyche’s and these, if stepped on , have a way of side tracking or throwing us off course.
A leader must be deeply trusted before he or she can take people further than they imagined into the mission. A leader people are willing to follow is one who is trusted not only with their integrity but also there intention. A leader needs to be the lead learner in their organization and build trust from the top down. Be open to learning from the people you are leading and recognize people are watching you to determine how they will act when you aren’t around.
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