One of the 5 Essentials of Effective Leadership is having a clear agenda. Once you understand who you are and the world you want to influence as I discussed in Knowledge of Self, you will want to create an agenda that is easy to understand and easy to communicate to others.
Your agenda is the roadmap to your destination. It’s where you outline the steps you need to take to accomplish a set of objectives or to reach a goal. If you are looking to people to help you achieve your objectives, you must be clear about what you want to do and how you want to do it. If you’re wise, you’ll share your agenda with everyone who can help you along the way, and you will be open to suggestions to improve the your ability to meet your goals.
Years ago a friend came to me and asked for some marketing help. He explained that he was helping impoverished people in Central America become providers of eggs for their families and their communities. He was establishing a system whereby people with no money but a desire to start a business would be sold chickens and feed on credit, and would be taught how to care for the chickens, thereby creating a revenue stream. The no-interest loan had to be paid back in three years either in cash or in chickens that could be sold to a friend or neighbor.
The man’s agenda was clear. He would raise money from donors to launch the chicken farms, purchase the birds and feed and select the people who would become farmers. Launching one of the world’s first micro-loan programs and helping thousands of under nourished people to get protein into their diets became a reality. The man was a leader, because his understanding of himself and his clear agenda made it easy for him to get others to help him fulfill his vision.
Getting your agenda down on paper is essential. You will want to write down your goals, dates to accomplish goals, tools you will need, people you want to help you are all part of your agenda.
Our Values-Centered Leadership was developed to help leaders like you think about and formulate your agenda..
Next time we’ll look at the importance of understanding others.
