5 Greatest Missed Opportunities of Leadership

Aktav | Dreamstime Stock Photos | Stock Free Images

Aktav | Dreamstime Stock Photos | Stock Free Images

How do you create the mindset and space to not miss out on the most important opportunities of your life? Here are 5 missed opportunities (if you don't watch for them): 

1) Not understanding what "expertise" really means": One of the greatest chellenges is that people think they need to be considered an 'expert' before they speak or write about a topic. The reality is: having a engagement with a "question" is itself an expertise. Being able to show why something matters to you is its own sense of developing an expertise. Start now.

2) Getting stuck in groupthink: Too much "agreement" can stifle an group by destroying its responsiveness and capacity for change. Be willing to be controversial and take a stand.

3) Expecting the oldest, most senior person to have the best ideas: Oftentimes, the "oldest" person in the room is the "most stuck" in the past. What can the wisdom and generativity of fresh eyes bring to a problem?  Don't miss any opportunities to use this to your benefit!

4) Rechecking your assumptions: Why is it that our assumptions are actually the core tools holding us back? Sometimes simply reversing our assumptions could lead us to better solutions [ex. encyclopedia can’t be open source, instead meet: Wikipedia]

5) Never scheduling time for play and exploration: One of the best creative leaders once told me to schedule 1 hour a month by myself for "white space" to play and explore on new ideas. I've found this to be one of the most important times to explore and generate new ideas.

What are other missed opportunities of leadership in your life? Share with us (so we don't miss them too!) and how you are overcoming them in the comments below.