IN CONCLUSION: GOOD TO GREAT
In Jim Collins’ book Good to Great, he remarks that good is the enemy of great. This is a powerful statement against mediocrity. Jim Collins specifically prompts companies to equally focus on what to do, what not to do, and what to stop doing. In the school of Hospitality here at San Diego State University, we’re encouraged to always aim to achieve high and to go above and beyond what is asked from us. Our work should exemplify greatness, not just the bare requirements. For example, in HTM490, our project involved looking at the external and internal industry analyses of event venues in San Diego. We had to look at what was already there, and how to go above those industry standards for the benefit of our own success. It takes looking at others succeed and fail to learn what could work for you.
Collins also brings up the idea of getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off, and then figuring out where to drive it. He says that you must begin with “who” rather than “what” because if people are on the bus because of ‘where’ then what happens when the bus changes direction? You need the right people on the bus to eliminate the need to motivate and manage. And if you get the wrong people off the bus, then great vision without great people is irrelevant. In this metaphor from Collins, he illustrates how important it is to have the right people for the job. If the people who are following you are there for the right reasons, then they will support you no matter what. But like he said, if people are just there to get somewhere, then they might now share the same passion and drive that you have about the destination.
I believe that this is a similar idea to what we learned in class about transformational leadership. A transformational leader works with their subordinates to identify needed change, create a vision to guide the change through inspiration, and execute the change in tandem with committed members of a group. The key words in that definition that stuck out to me were “committed members.” It doesn't matter if you have the best, most perfect vision for your team to follow, if they aren’t committed to the same goals that you are committed too, and then they may not share your passion and match your efforts to get the goal accomplished. A lot of time at work, most people don't want to listen to the supervisors because they can feel like they are trying to hard and therefore no one is committed to following and helping them. But if they are able to show the team why they should get on their bus, then they can get the right people to support them that share the same desire for the end goal achievement.
Collins book has kept me inspired throughout and has allowed me to think about how I can develop myself as a leader and strive to work on becoming a level 5 leader that shows both humility and will in all my endeavors in life. I believe that I am a strong leader and hope to continue to learn from Collins book about the level of leader that I strive to be one day in the workplace. Being a lady boss can be hard sometimes and can come with judgments and ridicule, but if I can find the right people who inspire me and aid in my success, then I believe that I can achieve great leader status and be able to inspire others to jump ship and join my crazy bus ride.
