Don Soderquist is one of my heroes.
He helped build Walmart from a regional retail chain into the largest company in the world. I’m blessed to get to work with him at The Soderquist Center.
He said something the other day that threw me for a loop. He said, “Great leaders really don’t do much.”
That’s a weird thing to say.
These were not easy words for me to hear. As a creative person at heart, my passion is to create, to “do.”
Creating is like a drug to me. The more I create, the more fulfilled I am. I’ve been this way my entire life.
But as our team grows, and as my role on the team shifts more from “doer” to “leader,” I’m beginning to understand what Don meant.
Great leaders learn how to “do” through others. They learn how to multiply their efforts by surrounding themselves with a team of people who are much smarter and more talented than they are.
I’m learning that being a great leader requires:
1. Casting an inspiring vision, something people want to accomplish
2. Making sure people have the resources they need
3. Getting out of the way for a while
4. Following up to make sure things are on track
5. Developing people to “do” well, and then to lead others well
The cool thing that I’m starting to realize is with good leadership people can do amazing things. They can do things I could never do. And they can do more of it because there are more of them than there are of me.
I don’t have it all figured out yet, but it’s one more step in the right direction. Thanks Don.
