It’s once again New Year’s resolution time. I never make any myself but I’m not immune to hearing what others are committing to for the year. Person after person enthusiastically extols a commitment that they may keep for the next 365 days or they may throw to the side and shrug off with a resigned “oh well” when a temptation to revert to old behavior becomes too irresistible.
Like you, I’ve heard them all. Or so I thought.
Yesterday, a friend posted his New Year’s resolution on social media and it truly broke from the pack.
He simply wrote,” I’m going to reach out to folks I don’t normally reach out to.”
In one more line he elaborated that “I hear change is good.”
In making this resolution, he brought up one of the strongest abilities that leaders possess. The knowledge that sometimes the ability to change means consciously seeking out and talking with people beyond your circle, hearing new ideas, communicating in ways that may challenge the dialogue you’ve become accustomed to.
One of my greatest mentors was a man who rose to the highest level of the corporate world. And I’m convinced he did it in large part on his ability, willingness, and seemingly unbridled drive to talk to everyone he met.
I never dined with him when he didn’t leave the table knowing something about the server who brought him his meal; I never walked down the street with him when he didn’t strike up a conversation with a stranger waiting for the light to change; and I never spent more than five minutes with him at any event we attended together because he was deliberate in talking to as many people as possible.
To those who didn’t know him, they may have chalked up his ability to dive headlong into conversation at a moment’s notice to his gregarious nature. But having worked with him for many years, I know that these seemingly spontaneous conversations were incredibly deliberate.
They were part of his growth plan.
It’s a big part of what made him a great leader.
Sandi Coryell is a Leadership Speaker, Strategist and Consultant with The Coryell Group. You can follow her on Twitter @SandiCoryell
