I’m going to attribute this article’s theme to quotes from a number of people including:
Aristotle, Leonardo, Ben Franklin and Lawrence Peter, among others.
“There are three types of people: those who are immovable, those who are moveable and
those who move”. Ben Franklin.
Others have been more succinct in their wryness: “There are those who make things happen, those that watch things happen and those that wonder what happened”.
These are discussed in our Value-Able Processes section about Perspective. It generally comes down to a discussion about “able and/or willing”. Is the individual competent enough to complete their tasks? If not, a decision should be about their experience and/or education.
If they are deemed competent then the discussion broadens out onto their focus and willingness to complete their tasks. Two of the best publications about this matrix of the mind are:
1. Hersey and Blanchard’s, “Situational Leadership”.
2. Herzberg’s “Two Factor theory”.
The leadership focus should not be to see these “competent and/or willing” issues as
permanent attributes by leaders through various types of education, motivation, communication, and, especially, leaders “walking the talk”.
If you have questions or you’d like to continue to receive these leadership posts then subscribe to our Value Able Leadership blog posts.