First Friday Book Synopsis

“Arrogance diminishes wisdom.”
Arabian Proverb

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Here is one of those delicate balancing acts.  A leader has to be confident – but not arrogant.

Confidence spreads like wildfire.  A confident person will energize followers.  A confident person will lead to decisive actions by all who follow.  A confident person will recruit willing, eager followers.

But…an arrogant person will breed resentment, and the “followers” will be anything but eager.

I thought of all this as I read the opening lines of Hit the Ground Running by Jason Jennings.  He begins the book with a call to decisive action.  He speaks of decisiveness – of decisive action from the very beginning:

Every manager or leader needs to hit the ground running!
When you’re given the opportunity to take charge and you get it right, you put yourself on the your leadership’s radar.  Do it right a second time and you’ll become known as a go-to manager who can be trusted to deliver results.
But if you don’t get it right, you’ll join a long list of question marks at your company.
…it’s imperative that you know how to get up to speed, make good decisions, quickly, and begin producing results fast.

Al of this flows from a person who exudes self-confidence:  confidence about his/her own abilities, confidence about outcomes, confidence about processes.

But, confidence in yourself, and in the abilities of the people you lead…without arrogance.  That is the challenge.