What is the best management advice you have every received? Whether it was advice given by a business coach, a mentor of yours, or from your favorite influential leader, we all have had lessons and little snippets of wisdom passed down to us that shape our own leadership and management practices.
This month, FORTUNE MAGAZINE’S e-newsletter CEO Daily highlighted the results of their annual survey, where Fortune 500 CEOs answered that very question. Below are their findings:
The most frequent theme was to focus on building the right team:
- “You are no better than your team.”
- “Hire the best people and give them the freedom to operate their business/dept., demand transparent communication and hold them accountable for the results.”
Also frequently mentioned: “Listen”:
- “You have 2 ears and one mouth – use them in this ratio.”
- “Lead with questions, not answers.”
The need to be ruthless in setting priorities was also a popular topic:
- “Spend your time on the important, not the urgent.”
- “Focus your energy on a few things and delegate the rest.”
And pacing was on the minds of many:
- “Don’t get too low with the lows or too high with the highs.”
- “Start small, fail fast, scale quickly.”
The importance of values in an age of transparency was another recurrent theme:
- “Leadership is built on a foundation of values and only with strong values will our efforts to lead be sustainable and successful long-term.”
- “Do everything as if it will be on the front page of the newspaper tomorrow.”
And then there were a few random chestnuts:
- “Prepare, prepare, prepare!”
- “Leadership is action, not position.”
- “Take your vitamins, you’ll need them.”
The best management advice I’ve ever received is, “You are either growing or dying.” Learn everyday how to make yourself, your team, and your business better.
What is your best management advice? Please share them with me by responding to this post.
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