Do you have a hedgehog?

Colleagues,

A reader responded to last week’s M=V/E message with this:
 
“It's interesting, because you are writing about this from the perspective of helping the leaders support their person… but I am experiencing what you are writing from the perspective of the person needing the inversion of their fraction...almost like I am needing to lead myself. Which makes me think...”
 
They also note that leading yourself is its own topic and that many leaders may lack people to develop them.
 
Admittedly, I have not thought of it this way before.
 
The hedgehog concept jumps to mind. This is another concept borrowed from Jim Collins’ Good to Great and adapted for personal use. The hedgehog helps us focus on the aspects of our work that we are in the best position to capitalize on. It works like this:

1. Draw three overlapping circles.
2. Label one circle “passion,” another “skills,” and another “job.”
3. List out the things you do that take significant amounts of your time and drop them into the appropriate spots in your diagram. Some things may fit in only one circle, some in two, and some in all three.

 
Once you are done, you evaluate your leadership:

1. All three circles (the center) are your priority things to do.
2. Only the passion circle are distractions.
3. Only the skill circle are distractions.
4. Only the job circle sucks your energy and passion.
5. Passion and skill – can you align them to your job?
6. Passion and job – can you partner with someone who has the skill, or can you get training?
7. Skill and job – can you develop someone else’s skill?

 
We’ll look at the “lead yourself” issue from another perspective tomorrow.
 
Cheers!
 
Frederick