What is the difference between great leaders and posers? This may sound harsh, but the truth is I’ve witnessed far too many people in positions of leadership that wouldn’t recognize an opportunity if it hit them squarely in the face. If you cannot recognize, attract, and acquire opportunities you should not be in a leadership position. Just this week I’ve observed people in leadership roles who failed to recognize opportunities, or perhaps even worse, took too long to make a decision and let an opportunity pass them by.
What better time to discuss opportunities than now? The message I want to deliver is this; opportunity, timing, and leadership are inexorably linked. So much so, that if you don’t think that timing is everything – think again. Even a cursory review of current events shows it doesn’t really matter whether you’re a politician, investment banker, CEO, or just an average citizen when it comes to making a simple decision, managing a crisis, or attempting to capture an opportunity, timing is everything – timing is leadership.
I’ve often heard people quip they would rather be lucky than smart. While intelligence and good fortune are certainly both valuable traits to possess, neither of these traits holds a candle to having a great sense of timing or having a sixth sense for seeing opportunity where others do not. Luck is a hit or miss proposition, and we’ve all known many a brilliant underachiever. However it has been my observation you’ll rarely come across someone who possesses a great sense of timing, or a nose for opportunity who is anything other than successful.
As the verse from the old Kenny Rogers song goes “you have to know when to hold em’ and know when to fold ’em.” There are a few times in the life of every professional where staggering opportunities will present themselves. The question is not whether these opportunities exist, but will you recognize them as such when they cross your path? I believe one of the key differences between leadership mediocrity and excellence is the ability to not only recognize opportunities but to also possess an understanding and willingness to seize said opportunities. Exploiting opportunities requires you not only possess vision, but also a corresponding bias to action (and a bit of courage as well).
Let me be clear, I’m not advocating for leaders to be opportunists (we have way too many of those), but to be opportunistic in how they view the market, talent, culture, change, strategy, etc. An opportunist evaluates everything from a perspective of what’s in it for me? They are rarely concerned for others, and doing the right thing often takes a back seat to anything that advances their cause – rationalization and justification abound in the world of an opportunist. By contrast, opportunistic leaders seek to use timing and opportunity to advance others over themselves. They look at things through the lens of what will best serve those they lead, what will best advance the mission, what constitutes doing the right thing, what’s in alignment with the values and vision, and what advances the greater good.
I would urge you to keep this in mind – rarely will you come across a static opportunity in the sense that it will stand idle and wait for you to act. Significant opportunities are not only scarce, but they typically operate on the principle of diminishing returns. Put simply, opportunities are time-sensitive. The longer you wait to seize the opportunity, the smaller the return typically is. In fact, the more likely case is the opportunity will completely evaporate if you wait too long to engage. Keep this thought in mind; when opportunity knocks – answer the door.
I can’t even begin to count the number of times I watched people miss great opportunities due to a poor sense of timing. Not too surprisingly, people who possess a poor sense of timing usually don’t even understand timing is an issue. How many times have you witnessed someone holding-out for better talent, a higher valuation, evolving markets, technology advances, or any number of other circumstances that either never transpire, or by the time they do, the opportunistic advantage had disappeared? I’ve observed the risk-averse take due diligence one step too far, the greedy negotiate too long, the impulsive jump the gun, and the plodders move too slow.
As the saying goes “timing is everything.” The following list contains 5 suggestions for how to spot and evaluate opportunity:
The proverbial window closes on every opportunity at some point in time. As you approach each day I would challenge you to consistently evaluate the landscape and seize the opportunities that come your way. Better to be the one who catches the fish than the one who tells the story of the big one who got away.
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