Leadership Tips

Our minds can give attention to only so much information in a day. Nevertheless, the more responsibility a person shoulders, the more details that accompany that responsibility.

Alertness is like peripheral vision. It keeps you aware of your surroundings while you focus on one particular object.

Alert leadership is much like sitting at a control panel covered with dials. As the number of dials increases, the leader needs to know how to quickly scan all the dials to notice if something is either alarmingly wrong or unusually right.

Through well-developed alertness, we can focus our attention productively on the greatest needs, while remaining alert to new developments.

Keys to Productivity

With greater responsibility comes a larger volume of information to manage. Therefore, alertness is of particular importance for leaders.

Leaders must be alert to everything within their jurisdictions and any outside factors that could affect their jurisdictions.

On an assembly line, each person is responsible for a step in the process. An assembly line worker must show alertness to the step before and the step after his or her own. The assembly line supervisor, however, is responsible for equipping each crewmember, ensuring all parts of the process work together, and maintaining the quality of the final product.

Thus, the supervisor’s alertness must cover the entire process and reach into related processes such as raw materials and packaging. While not responsible for obtaining raw materials or shipping, understanding the procedures, needs, working speeds, etc., of surrounding departments can provide useful information for the supervisor's own area.

Know what areas and people you have responsibility for. Know how to notice needs or developing problems. These habits eventually become subconscious, allowing a leader to efficiently care for others’ welfare and achieve project goals.

Through well-developed alertness, we can focus our attention productively on the greatest needs, while remaining alert to new developments.